openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: v2026.5.5/5.6/5.7: bundled dist references content-hashed chunks not present in tarball (ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND) [1 comments, 2 participants]

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

OpenClaw v2026.5.5/5.6/5.7 dist tarballs reference content-hashed sibling chunks that are not present in the same tarball, causing ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND at gateway boot.

Steps to reproduce

Greenfield install on macOS arm64 (M-series), node v25.9.0, npm global install:

npm install -g [email protected] ls /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/ | grep runtime-provider

Result for 5.7: runtime-provider-CCw6ww38.js runtime-provider-DtJTN3aR.js

But dist/extensions/memory-core/index.js imports runtime-provider-CQ-gl5bA.js, which is not present.

Expected behavior

Gateway boots cleanly; all imports inside dist/ resolve to files that ship in the same tarball.

Actual behavior

Across versions:

Exact error on 5.7: Cannot find module '/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/runtime-provider-CQ-gl5bA.js' imported from /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/extensions/memory-core/index.js

Exact error on 5.6: Cannot find module '/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/hook-runner-global-BMiiOjOf.js' imported from /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/server.impl-DAWM0jI6.js

Gateway enters a 5-second crash loop under launchd until the missing chunk is supplied.

OpenClaw version

2026.5.7 (also 2026.5.6, 2026.5.5, 2026.5.2 — see Summary)

Operating system

macOS 26.x (Tahoe/Sequoia), arm64 (Apple Silicon)

Install method

npm global

Model

anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5

Provider / routing chain

openclaw -> anthropic

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Boot error on 5.7 (from /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-2026-05-10.log):
  Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find module
  '/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/runtime-provider-CQ-gl5bA.js'
  imported from /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/extensions/memory-core/index.js

Boot error on 5.6 (same log file):
  Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find module
  '/opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/hook-runner-global-BMiiOjOf.js'
  imported from /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/server.impl-DAWM0jI6.js

dist/ contents on 5.7 (greenfield install):
  $ ls /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/ | grep -E 'runtime-provider|hook-runner'
  hook-runner-global-BMiiOjOf.js
  hook-runner-global-CCAcWVdN.js
  runtime-provider-CCw6ww38.js
  runtime-provider-DtJTN3aR.js
  (note: runtime-provider-CQ-gl5bA.js absent — but referenced by memory-core)

dist/ contents on 5.2 (greenfield install):
  hook-runner-global-BxiXdopW.js
  hook-runner-global-Die-LGee.js
  runtime-provider-BAJH1zKa.js
  runtime-provider-CQ-gl5bA.js
  (note: 5.2 ships CQ-gl5bA — proving it exists in the codebase, just dropped from 5.7's tarball)

Workaround verified: copying CQ-gl5bA.js from 5.2's dist into 5.7's dist allows the gateway to boot cleanly on 5.7. memory-core then loads, registers tools, and memory_search works end-to-end against text-embedding-3-small.

launchctl status during crash loop:
  -    78    ai.openclaw.gateway   (exit code 78 = EX_CONFIG-adjacent, but actual cause is module-not-found per /tmp/openclaw/*.log)

Impact and severity

Affected: any user installing 5.5/5.6/5.7 from npm registry on macOS arm64 with Homebrew global install.

Severity: high. Gateway enters crash loop under launchd, never reaches "ready". memory-core, telegram channel, and all other plugins unavailable until workaround is applied. Symptoms persist across reboots and clean reinstalls (npm uninstall + cache clean + reinstall) because the bug is in the published tarball itself.

Frequency: 100% reproducible on 5.7 and 5.6 with greenfield installs. 5.5 fails differently (silent exit 78, no log).

Practical consequence: an automated upgrade from 5.2 to 5.7 takes the agent fully offline. No path forward without either (a) rolling back to 5.2, or (b) the manual file-copy workaround. Workaround requires a sibling-version tarball as the source of the missing chunk.

Additional information

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO