openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Skill Workshop autoCapture agent_end reviews time out and block hooks on routine sessions

Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

On OpenClaw 2026.5.26, the bundled @openclaw/skill-workshop plugin repeatedly timed out in the agent_end hook during routine successful sessions when autoCapture was enabled, requiring autoCapture to be disabled as a workaround.

Steps to reproduce

1. Run OpenClaw 2026.5.26 with the bundled @openclaw/skill-workshop plugin enabled.
2. Configure Skill Workshop with autoCapture enabled and reviewMode set to hybrid.
3. Let normal agent sessions complete, including long-running or automation-triggered sessions.
4. Observe gateway logs for the Skill Workshop agent_end hook.

Expected behavior

Skill Workshop auto-capture should either complete its review within its configured timeout or safely skip unsuitable sessions without causing repeated agent_end hook timeout errors.

Actual behavior

The Skill Workshop agent_end handler repeatedly timed out after 30000ms on routine successful sessions. Disabling only plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.autoCapture stopped new Skill Workshop timeout errors while leaving the plugin installed and manual use available.

OpenClaw version

OpenClaw 2026.5.26 (10ad3aa)
@openclaw/skill-workshop 2026.5.26

Operating system

macOS 26.4.1 (25E253)

Install method

npm/Homebrew global install on macOS LaunchAgent runtime

Model

Default agent model route; exact model does not appear necessary for the observed agent_end timeout.

Provider / routing chain

OpenClaw gateway -> configured agent runtime/model provider; Skill Workshop reviewer is invoked from the plugin agent_end hook.

Additional provider/model setup details

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

OpenClaw 2026.5.26 (10ad3aa)
@openclaw/skill-workshop 2026.5.26

Relevant config before workaround:
plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.enabled=true
plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.autoCapture=true
plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.reviewMode=hybrid
plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.reviewInterval=15
plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.reviewMinToolCalls=8
plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.reviewTimeoutMs=45000

Observed gateway log lines:
2026-05-27T08:25:36.951-04:00 [hooks] agent_end handler from skill-workshop failed: timed out after 30000ms
2026-05-27T10:30:52.549-04:00 [hooks] agent_end handler from skill-workshop failed: timed out after 30000ms

Nearby memory pressure warning before one timeout:
2026-05-27T10:30:09.248-04:00 memory pressure: level=warning reason=rss_threshold rssBytes=1857568768 heapUsedBytes=1556981936 thresholdBytes=1610612736

Source behavior in extensions/skill-workshop/index.ts:
- agent_end returns early when plugin disabled, autoCapture disabled, reviewMode is off, event was unsuccessful, or sessionId starts with skill-workshop-review-.
- It does not appear to skip internal/helper sessions by class, session key, origin, channel, or workspace type.

Local workaround:
plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.autoCapture=false

After disabling autoCapture:
- Gateway remained healthy.
- No new "agent_end handler from skill-workshop failed: timed out" log entries were observed in the next monitor pass.

Impact and severity

Affected: OpenClaw users with Skill Workshop autoCapture enabled, especially on automation-heavy or long-running gateway installs.
Severity: Medium. The gateway did not crash, but repeated hook timeouts add noise, consume runtime resources, and can interfere with stability monitoring.
Frequency: Repeated twice in the observed window before autoCapture was disabled.
Consequence: Operators may need to disable Skill Workshop autoCapture, losing automatic skill proposal capture until upstream handles unsuitable sessions or timeout containment more gracefully.

Additional information

This appears to be the official bundled Skill Workshop plugin, not a local plugin:

• Installed package path: <openclaw-install>/dist/extensions/skill-workshop
• Package name: @openclaw/skill-workshop
• Source tree: extensions/skill-workshop

Suggested fix directions:

• Add skip logic for internal/helper sessions and automation contexts that are unlikely to produce useful skills.
• Ensure reviewer timeout uses the configured reviewTimeoutMs consistently, or clarify why the hook reports 30000ms while config reviewTimeoutMs is 45000.
• Consider a circuit breaker/backoff for repeated agent_end review timeouts.
• Consider logging enough redacted context to identify skipped/failed session class without exposing transcript content.

Temporary workaround:

Set plugins.entries.skill-workshop.config.autoCapture=false. This keeps the plugin installed and manual Skill Workshop use available, but disables automatic capture.