openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Codex native /compact completes, but status shows Compactions: 0 and stale token counts

OpenClaw 2026.5.28, Runtime: OpenAI Codex, Telegram direct session.

Repro

1. In a Codex-backed Telegram direct session, grow context.
2. Send /compact.
3. Check /status after the "Codex compaction started" system event.
4. Compare /status with the live context/token line shown to the user/UI during later turns.

Expected

• /status should show native Codex compaction as pending/completed, or otherwise make clear that native completion is not tracked.
• Once Codex emits context_compacted, OpenClaw should bridge the result into session state/status, including completion/failure diagnostics.
• Token counts shown by /status, session list/UI, and live Codex app-server usage should not materially disagree without indicating which source is being displayed.

Actual

• Gateway logs only started codex app-server compaction.
• /status reports Compactions: 0, because native Codex compaction is not counted as an OpenClaw-completed compaction.
• User cannot tell whether /compact completed or failed from OpenClaw status.
• Token counts diverge across sources:
  • openclaw status / sessions.json showed persisted totalTokens: 65,250 (65k/272k).
  • Live Codex app-server rollout token events around the same investigation showed much higher last_token_usage.total_tokens, including 115,750 / 115,794 earlier and later 104k-110k.
  • The user-facing context/status line showed about 116k/272k, while CLI /status showed 53k/65k.

Evidence From Local Run

Gateway starts:

• 2026-05-31T17:23:03+03 started codex app-server compaction
• 2026-05-31T17:35:31+03 started codex app-server compaction
• 2026-05-31T18:06:12+03 started codex app-server compaction

Codex rollout completions:

• 2026-05-31T17:23:36+03 context_compacted, last usage about 71,752 tokens.
• 2026-05-31T17:36:03+03 context_compacted, last usage about 71,640 tokens.

Relevant local state/code observations:

• sessions.json for agent:main:telegram:direct:6065935464 had compactionCount: 0.
• sessions.json persisted totalTokens: 65,250 while live Codex rollout token events had moved beyond that.
• compact-DWR7VG7G.js calls Codex app-server thread/compact/start and returns compacted:false, pending:true.
• Runtime status code increments compactionCount only when result.ok && result.compacted && !codexNativeCompactionStarted.
• The docs say Codex-backed agents start native compaction and OpenClaw does not wait for completion or record it as OpenClaw-completed compaction.

Likely Root Cause

OpenClaw starts native Codex compaction via thread/compact/start, but does not bridge Codex context_compacted / subsequent live token_count events back into sessions.json, compactionCount, or /status.

This makes /compact look failed or stuck even when Codex completed it, and it lets persisted status token counts drift from live Codex app-server token accounting.