openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Windows auto-update restart script hangs indefinitely on `schtasks /End`, leaves zombie cmd.exe and flashing Terminal window [1 comments, 2 participants]

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.4.20 (auto-updated from prior stable)
• OS: Windows 11 (Build 26200+)
• Node.js: System-installed (C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe)
• Gateway port: 18789
• Scheduled Task: OpenClaw Gateway (At logon, runs gateway.cmd)
• Auto-update config: update.auto.enabled: true, channel: stable

Description

After OpenClaw auto-updates to v2026.4.20 on Windows, the restart batch script (openclaw-restart-*.bat) generated in %TEMP% hangs indefinitely, leaving a zombie cmd.exe process and causing a flashing Windows Terminal window.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have OpenClaw installed on Windows with update.auto.enabled: true
2. Let auto-update trigger (or wait for scheduled check)
3. Update completes successfully (update-check.json confirms autoLastSuccessVersion: 2026.4.20)
4. Restart bat is generated and executed
5. Bat hangs — cmd.exe stays alive for 50+ minutes, bat file is never self-deleted

Expected Behavior

The restart script should:

1. Stop the old Gateway via schtasks /End
2. Wait for port 18789 to be released (max 10 attempts)
3. Start the new Gateway via schtasks /Run
4. Self-delete and exit

All within ~15 seconds.

Actual Behavior

• cmd.exe running the bat hangs indefinitely (observed 50+ minutes)
• The bat file is never self-deleted (still present in %TEMP%)
• A Windows Terminal window repeatedly flashes on screen (appears to be port-checking via findstr)
• Meanwhile, the Gateway service (node.exe) is actually running and healthy on port 18789

Root Cause Analysis

The restart script (openclaw-restart-*.bat) has this structure:

@echo off
REM Standalone restart script — survives parent process termination.
timeout /t 2 /nobreak >/dev/null
schtasks /End /TN "OpenClaw Gateway"          ← HANGS HERE
REM ... port polling loop ...
schtasks /Run /TN "OpenClaw Gateway"
del "%~f0"

Line 5 schtasks /End /TN "OpenClaw Gateway" hangs because:

• The scheduled task's Last Result: 1 (from the previous run at logon)
• The task state is Ready (not Running)
• schtasks /End on a task that is not currently running appears to hang on Windows in certain TaskScheduler states, rather than returning immediately with an error

Evidence:

• schtasks /query /TN "OpenClaw Gateway" /v /fo list shows:
  • Last Run Time: 2026/4/22 9:08:07
  • Last Result: 1
  • Status: Ready
• TaskScheduler Operational Event Log has zero entries for "OpenClaw Gateway" in the past 2 hours — confirming schtasks /End never completed its RPC call
• cmd.exe PID created at 10:18:12, still alive at 11:30+ with the bat as its command line

Suggested Fix

The restart script should guard against schtasks /End hanging:

REM Option A: Use timeout wrapper
start /b /wait cmd /c "timeout /t 10 /nobreak >/dev/null & schtasks /End /TN "OpenClaw Gateway""

REM Option B: Check task state before attempting to stop
schtasks /query /TN "OpenClaw Gateway" /fo csv | findstr /i "Running" >/dev/null
if not errorlevel 1 (
    schtasks /End /TN "OpenClaw Gateway"
) else (
    echo Task not running, skipping End
)

Additionally, schtasks /End should have a timeout (e.g., 10 seconds) and fall through to force-kill if it doesn't return.

Workaround

Set update.auto.enabled: false in openclaw.json to prevent the auto-update restart script from being triggered. Manual updates can still be performed via the CLI or GUI.