openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Windows 2026.4.26 gateway/WebChat/TUI handshake timeouts + stuck agent:main:main queue [1 comments, 2 participants]

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

OpenClaw 2026.4.26 on Windows 11 / Node 24.14.1.

Symptoms:

• Gateway starts and reaches [gateway] ready.
• Control UI can connect and load sessions/models/config.
• Sending a simple WebChat message queues forever.
• openclaw tui --session main --message "Reply with only OK." --deliver --timeout-ms 120000 fails with: gateway disconnected: closed gateway connect failed: Error: gateway closed (1000)
• openclaw tui --local --session main --message "Reply with only OK." reaches local embedded runtime, writes to transcript, but returns: Agent failed before reply: This operation was aborted. usage input=0 output=0
• Logs include: handshake-timeout closed before connect gateway connect failed: Error: gateway closed (1000) stuck session: sessionId=unknown sessionKey=agent:main:main state=processing queueDepth=1

Important context:

• I recovered prior sessions and registered a separate jesse-history agent.
• openclaw status --all now sees main and jesse-history.
• I have not run doctor --fix or archived orphan transcripts because recovered history may still be needed.

Steps to reproduce

1. On Windows, run OpenClaw 2026.4.26 with Node 24.14.1.

2. Use a clean/custom OpenClaw state directory and config: OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH=%USERPROFILE%.openclaw-clean\openclaw.json OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=%USERPROFILE%.openclaw-clean OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=18789

3. Start the gateway: node "%APPDATA%\npm\node_modules\openclaw\dist\index.js" gateway --port 18789

4. Wait until the gateway logs: [gateway] ready

5. Open the dashboard: openclaw dashboard --no-open Then open the token-authenticated URL from the clipboard in Chrome.

6. In WebChat/main agent, send a simple message: Reply with only OK.

7. Observe that the message remains queued / hangs and no assistant reply is produced.

8. Stop the gateway, restart it, and test TUI against the gateway: openclaw tui --session main --message "Reply with only OK." --deliver --timeout-ms 120000

9. Observe TUI fails with: gateway disconnected: closed gateway connect failed: Error: gateway closed (1000)

10. Test local embedded runtime: openclaw tui --local --session main --message "Reply with only OK." --deliver --timeout-ms 120000

11. Observe local runtime starts and writes to the transcript, but the assistant message says: Agent failed before reply: This operation was aborted | This operation was aborted.

Expected behavior

After the gateway reports [gateway] ready, both the Control UI/WebChat and TUI should be able to send a simple message to the main agent and receive a normal assistant response.

Specifically:

• Sending Reply with only OK. in WebChat should produce OK, not remain queued indefinitely.
• Running openclaw tui --session main --message "Reply with only OK." --deliver --timeout-ms 120000 should connect to the gateway and return OK, not disconnect with gateway closed (1000).
• The agent:main:main session lane should not remain stuck in processing with queueDepth=1.
• The session transcript should append both the user message and assistant reply.

Actual behavior

The gateway starts and eventually reports [gateway] ready, and the Control UI can connect far enough to load sessions, models, config, tools, and agent metadata. However, actual chat runs do not complete.

Observed behavior:

• Sending Reply with only OK. in WebChat/main leaves the message queued indefinitely.
• The main session transcript initially remained at 0 bytes / 0 lines after the queued WebChat attempt.
• Running: openclaw tui --session main --message "Reply with only OK." --deliver --timeout-ms 120000 fails with: gateway disconnected: closed gateway connect failed: Error: gateway closed (1000)
• Running: openclaw tui --local --session main --message "Reply with only OK." --deliver --timeout-ms 120000 reaches the local embedded runtime and writes to the transcript, but the assistant message is: Agent failed before reply: This operation was aborted | This operation was aborted.
• Usage for that failed local attempt is input=0, output=0, so it appears to abort before a real model request is made.
• Logs show repeated: handshake-timeout closed before connect gateway connect failed: Error: gateway closed (1000)
• Logs also show: stuck session: sessionId=unknown sessionKey=agent:main:main state=processing age=292s queueDepth=1

Net effect: the UI is visible and sessions can be loaded, but the main agent cannot actually answer even a minimal prompt.

OpenClaw version

OpenClaw 2026.4.26 (be8c246)

Operating system

Node.js v24.14.1 Windows 11 / Windows 10.0.22631 x64

Install method

No response

Model

anthropic/claude-opus-4-6

Provider / routing chain

OpenClaw gateway-injected/openai-responses wrapper -> Anthropic -> claude-opus-4-6

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

No response