openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: WhatsApp media send fails silently in v2026.4.8 — `hasMedia: false` despite `--media` flag (related to #23140, #54131) [1 comments, 2 participants]

openclaw2026-04-08 18:50:09

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openclaw/openclaw#63314•Fetched 2026-04-09 07:55:23

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commented ×1

WhatsApp outbound media sending fails silently in OpenClaw v2026.4.8. The openclaw message send --media command reports success with a Message ID, but the media is never attached — logs show hasMedia: false. This is the same root cause as #23140, but persists in the latest version.

Error Message

Full gateway log excerpt:

[20:45:27] {"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"} "Sending message -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a"
[20:45:27] {"module":"web-outbound"} {"jid":"sha256:4d0ad56c203a","hasMedia":false} "sending message"
[20:45:28] {"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"} "Sent message 3EB07F76A07A7989B2C9CF -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a (804ms)"

Thanks for the amazing tool! 🦞

Root Cause

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Issue #23140 identified that extensions/whatsapp/src/channel.ts does not forward mediaLocalRoots to sendMessageWhatsApp
Issue #54131 reported MEDIA: token fails silently, workaround was openclaw message send --media
Current status (v2026.4.8): Both MEDIA: token AND --media CLI flag fail

Severity: High — WhatsApp media sending completely broken
Impact: All WhatsApp outbound media (images, videos, documents, voice notes) fail silently
Workaround: None currently (manual WhatsApp Web upload required)
#23140 — LocalMediaAccessError when sending media via WhatsApp extension plugin
#54131 — MEDIA: token fails silently, workaround was CLI --media flag

Code Example

openclaw message send --channel whatsapp --target "+6282136585608" --media "/home/sutopo/.openclaw/media/test_red.png" --message "Test media"

---

✅ Sent via gateway (whatsapp). Message ID: 3EB07F76A07A7989B2C9CF

---

{"module":"web-outbound","to":"sha256:cbf013b4d4dd"}
  {"jid":"sha256:4d0ad56c203a","hasMedia":false},
  "sending message"

{"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"}
  "Sent message 3EB07F76A07A7989B2C9CF -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a (804ms)"

---

[20:45:27] {"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"} "Sending message -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a"
[20:45:27] {"module":"web-outbound"} {"jid":"sha256:4d0ad56c203a","hasMedia":false} "sending message"
[20:45:28] {"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"} "Sent message 3EB07F76A07A7989B2C9CF -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a (804ms)"

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Summary

Environment

OpenClaw: 2026.4.8 (9ece252)
OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (x64)
Gateway mode: systemd service (user daemon)
Channel: WhatsApp Web (Baileys)
Node.js: v24.14.1

Steps to Reproduce

Install latest OpenClaw: npm install -g openclaw@latest
Place a media file in ~/.openclaw/media/ (e.g., test_red.png)

Send via CLI:

openclaw message send --channel whatsapp --target "+6282136585608" --media "/home/sutopo/.openclaw/media/test_red.png" --message "Test media"

Check WhatsApp — no media received
Check gateway logs — shows hasMedia: false

Actual Behavior

CLI output:

✅ Sent via gateway (whatsapp). Message ID: 3EB07F76A07A7989B2C9CF

Gateway log (/tmp/openclaw/openclaw-2026-04-08.log):

{"module":"web-outbound","to":"sha256:cbf013b4d4dd"}
  {"jid":"sha256:4d0ad56c203a","hasMedia":false},
  "sending message"

{"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"}
  "Sent message 3EB07F76A07A7989B2C9CF -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a (804ms)"

Key finding: hasMedia: false despite --media flag being passed.

Expected Behavior

Media file should be attached and sent to WhatsApp recipient. Log should show:

hasMedia: true
mediaUrl populated with file path
mediaKind (image/video/document)

Investigation

This is the same root cause as #23140:

Issue #23140 identified that extensions/whatsapp/src/channel.ts does not forward mediaLocalRoots to sendMessageWhatsApp
Issue #54131 reported MEDIA: token fails silently, workaround was openclaw message send --media
Current status (v2026.4.8): Both MEDIA: token AND --media CLI flag fail

The bug appears to be in the WhatsApp extension plugin's outbound send path:

mediaLocalRoots not passed to loadWebMedia
assertLocalMediaAllowed receives undefined for allowed roots
Media validation fails silently, hasMedia set to false
Message sent as text-only

What I Tested

Test	Result
`openclaw message send --media` (CLI)	❌ `hasMedia: false`
`MEDIA:` token in agent reply	❌ Not tested (agent session reset)
Small file (287 bytes PNG)	❌ Same issue
Large file (6 MB MP4)	❌ Same issue
Telegram media send	✅ Works correctly

Impact and Severity

Severity: High — WhatsApp media sending completely broken
Impact: All WhatsApp outbound media (images, videos, documents, voice notes) fail silently
Workaround: None currently (manual WhatsApp Web upload required)

Related Issues

#23140 — LocalMediaAccessError when sending media via WhatsApp extension plugin
#54131 — MEDIA: token fails silently, workaround was CLI --media flag

Suggested Fix

Verify extensions/whatsapp/src/channel.ts forwards mediaLocalRoots to sendMessageWhatsApp
Add error logging when media validation fails (currently silent)
Add integration test for WhatsApp media send in CI

Logs

Full gateway log excerpt:

[20:45:27] {"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"} "Sending message -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a"
[20:45:27] {"module":"web-outbound"} {"jid":"sha256:4d0ad56c203a","hasMedia":false} "sending message"
[20:45:28] {"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/outbound"} "Sent message 3EB07F76A07A7989B2C9CF -> sha256:4d0ad56c203a (804ms)"

Thanks for the amazing tool! 🦞

extent analysis

TL;DR

The most likely fix for the WhatsApp outbound media sending issue in OpenClaw v2026.4.8 is to modify the extensions/whatsapp/src/channel.ts file to forward mediaLocalRoots to sendMessageWhatsApp and add error logging for media validation failures.

Guidance

Verify code: Check extensions/whatsapp/src/channel.ts to ensure mediaLocalRoots is passed to sendMessageWhatsApp.
Add error logging: Modify the media validation code to log errors when validation fails, rather than silently setting hasMedia to false.
Test media sending: After applying the fix, test WhatsApp media sending using the openclaw message send --media command to verify that media is attached and sent correctly.
Check logs: Verify that the gateway logs show hasMedia: true and a populated mediaUrl after applying the fix.

Example

// extensions/whatsapp/src/channel.ts
// ...
sendMessageWhatsApp({
  // ...
  mediaLocalRoots: mediaLocalRoots, // Ensure mediaLocalRoots is passed
  // ...
});
// ...

Notes

The provided fix is based on the investigation and suggested fix in the issue description. However, without the exact code changes, it's difficult to provide a complete solution. The suggested fix should be verified and tested thoroughly to ensure it resolves the issue.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by modifying the extensions/whatsapp/src/channel.ts file to forward mediaLocalRoots to sendMessageWhatsApp and add error logging for media validation failures, as this is the most likely cause of the issue.

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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: WhatsApp media send fails silently in v2026.4.8 — `hasMedia: false` despite `--media` flag (related to #23140, #54131) [1 comments, 2 participants]

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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: WhatsApp media send fails silently in v2026.4.8 — `hasMedia: false` despite `--media` flag (related to #23140, #54131) [1 comments, 2 participants]

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Summary

Environment

Steps to Reproduce

Actual Behavior

Expected Behavior

Investigation

What I Tested

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Related Issues

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Logs

extent analysis

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