openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix doctor: Gateway PATH check reports false warnings for non-existent user directories [2 comments, 3 participants]

Problem

Running openclaw doctor shows this warning:

Gateway service PATH missing required dirs:
/Users/xiphis/.npm-global/bin, /Users/xiphis/bin,
/Users/xiphis/.nix-profile/bin

These directories do not exist on my system and never have. They are not in my shell PATH, not in the Gateway service PATH, and not needed for any functionality.

Root Cause

In runtime-paths-Dfe89gRZ.js, addCommonUserBinDirs unconditionally expects these directories:

function addCommonUserBinDirs(dirs, home, existsSync) {
  dirs.push(`${home}/.local/bin`);
  dirs.push(`${home}/.npm-global/bin`);
  dirs.push(`${home}/bin`);
  // ...
}

And addNixProfileBinDirs adds ${home}/.nix-profile/bin when NIX_PROFILES is not set.

These are pushed as "expected" directories regardless of whether:

1. The user's shell PATH includes them
2. The directories actually exist
3. The Gateway service PATH was configured with them

Why This Is Wrong

1. False positive by design: The check compares an idealized "minimal PATH" against the actual service PATH, but the minimal PATH includes directories that may never exist.

2. Ignores reality: My Gateway service env file has a clean PATH:

   PATH=/Users/xiphis/.local/bin:/opt/homebrew/opt/node/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

   This is correct and functional. The "missing" directories are neither needed nor wanted.

3. User hostility: Telling users their PATH is "missing required dirs" when those directories are neither required nor present in any configuration is confusing and frustrating.

Expected Behavior

The check should only warn about directories that:

• Are actually in the service PATH but don't exist
• OR are explicitly configured by the user

It should NOT warn about hypothetical directories that the user never had and never configured.

Suggested Fix

Change addCommonUserBinDirs to use addExistingDir for all entries:

function addCommonUserBinDirs(dirs, home, existsSync) {
  addExistingDir(dirs, `${home}/.local/bin`, existsSync);
  addExistingDir(dirs, `${home}/.npm-global/bin`, existsSync);
  addExistingDir(dirs, `${home}/bin`, existsSync);
  addExistingDir(dirs, `${home}/.volta/bin`, existsSync);
  addExistingDir(dirs, `${home}/.asdf/shims`, existsSync);
  addExistingDir(dirs, `${home}/.bun/bin`, existsSync);
}

And fix addNixProfileBinDirs to not add non-existent default paths.

Environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.4.29
• Platform: macOS (darwin)
• Install: Homebrew