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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Regression: bundled plugin runtime deps fail to resolve json5 in 2026.4.29, breaking Slack and Telegram channels [1 comments, 2 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#75821•Fetched 2026-05-02 05:29:31
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pevetpevet
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clawsweeper[bot]clawsweeper[bot]pevetpevet
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After upgrading to OpenClaw 2026.4.29 (a448042), both Slack and Telegram channel probes fail because the bundled staged runtime cannot resolve json5, even though json5 is present in the staged runtime dependencies.

Downgrading to 2026.4.26 (be8c246) on the same machine with the same config fixes the issue completely.

Error Message

  • Slack default: enabled, configured, stopped, bot:env, app:env, works, error:Cannot find package 'json5' imported from /Users/axon/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.29-.../dist/frontmatter-Cc-V8aI2.js
  • Telegram default: enabled, configured, stopped, mode:polling, bot:@PeV_AxonAI_bot, token:env, groups:unmentioned, works, audit ok, error:Cannot find package 'json5' imported from /Users/axon/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.29-.../dist/frontmatter-Cc-V8aI2.js

Root Cause

After upgrading to OpenClaw 2026.4.29 (a448042), both Slack and Telegram channel probes fail because the bundled staged runtime cannot resolve json5, even though json5 is present in the staged runtime dependencies.

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Workaround

Downgrade to 2026.4.26:

npm uninstall -g openclaw
npm install -g [email protected]
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw channels status --probe

This restores normal Slack and Telegram behavior immediately.

Code Example

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

---

npm uninstall -g openclaw
npm install -g openclaw@2026.4.26
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw channels status --probe
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

After upgrading to OpenClaw 2026.4.29 (a448042), both Slack and Telegram channel probes fail because the bundled staged runtime cannot resolve json5, even though json5 is present in the staged runtime dependencies.

Downgrading to 2026.4.26 (be8c246) on the same machine with the same config fixes the issue completely.

Steps to reproduce

  1. upgrade openclaw from 2026.4.26 to 2026.4.29
  2. run openclaw channels status --probe

Expected behavior

openclaw channels status --probe

Gateway reachable.

  • Slack default: enabled, configured, running, connected, bot:env, app:env, works
  • Telegram default: enabled, configured, running, connected, mode:polling, bot:@PeV_AxonAI_bot, token:env, groups:unmentioned, works, audit ok

Actual behavior

openclaw channels status --probe

Gateway reachable.

  • Slack default: enabled, configured, stopped, bot:env, app:env, works, error:Cannot find package 'json5' imported from /Users/axon/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.29-.../dist/frontmatter-Cc-V8aI2.js Did you mean to import "json5/lib/index.js"?
  • Telegram default: enabled, configured, stopped, mode:polling, bot:@PeV_AxonAI_bot, token:env, groups:unmentioned, works, audit ok, error:Cannot find package 'json5' imported from /Users/axon/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.29-.../dist/frontmatter-Cc-V8aI2.js Did you mean to import "json5/lib/index.js"?

OpenClaw version

OpenClaw 2026.4.29 (a448042)

Operating system

macOS 26.4.1

Install method

npm global

Model

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Provider / routing chain

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Additional provider/model setup details

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Impact and severity

Affected: Telegram and Slack users Severity: high (blocks thread replies) Frequency: 4/4 Consequence: Agents do not respond in the affected channels

Additional information

What I verified

doctor stages and installs bundled runtime deps successfully.

Inside the staged runtime: package.json includes: "json5": "^2.2.3"

these files exist:

  • node_modules/json5/package.json
  • node_modules/json5/lib/index.js
  • node_modules/json5/dist/index.mjs

The generated runtime file still contains: import JSON5 from "json5";

Example source path: ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.29-.../dist/frontmatter-Cc-V8aI2.js

Steps attempted

None of these fixed it:

  • openclaw doctor --fix
  • gateway restart
  • openclaw update
  • deleting ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps
  • reinstalling latest globally
  • forcing npm install --force inside the staged runtime dir

Workaround

Downgrade to 2026.4.26:

npm uninstall -g openclaw
npm install -g [email protected]
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw channels status --probe

This restores normal Slack and Telegram behavior immediately.

Likely regression

This looks like a regression in 2026.4.29’s bundled/staged runtime dependency loading or ESM resolution path. The json5 package is present in the staged runtime, but the runtime still fails to resolve the bare import: import JSON5 from "json5"; So this appears to be a staged runtime / module-resolution bug rather than a Slack or Telegram configuration issue.

extent analysis

TL;DR

Downgrade to OpenClaw version 2026.4.26 to resolve the issue with Slack and Telegram channel probes failing due to the inability to resolve the json5 package.

Guidance

  • The issue seems to be related to a regression in the bundled/staged runtime dependency loading or ESM resolution path in OpenClaw version 2026.4.29.
  • Verify that the json5 package is present in the staged runtime dependencies by checking the package.json file and the existence of node_modules/json5 files.
  • The error message suggests that the import statement import JSON5 from "json5"; is not being resolved correctly, potentially due to a module-resolution bug.
  • As a temporary workaround, downgrading to version 2026.4.26 has been confirmed to fix the issue.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue is related to a specific version of OpenClaw and its dependency resolution.

Notes

The root cause of the issue is likely related to a change in the staged runtime dependency loading or ESM resolution path in OpenClaw version 2026.4.29. Further investigation is needed to identify the exact cause and provide a permanent fix.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by downgrading to OpenClaw version 2026.4.26, as it has been confirmed to resolve the issue. This is a temporary solution until a permanent fix is available.

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FAQ

Expected behavior

openclaw channels status --probe

Gateway reachable.

  • Slack default: enabled, configured, running, connected, bot:env, app:env, works
  • Telegram default: enabled, configured, running, connected, mode:polling, bot:@PeV_AxonAI_bot, token:env, groups:unmentioned, works, audit ok
#authentication setup#request error#file not found#serialization error#model compatibility

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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Regression: bundled plugin runtime deps fail to resolve json5 in 2026.4.29, breaking Slack and Telegram channels [1 comments, 2 participants]