PR #73614: fix(logging): expand leading tilde in logging.file (#73587)

• Repository: openclaw/openclaw
• Author: hclsys
• State: open | merged: False
• Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/73614

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

What

Fixes #73587. After updating from 2026.4.24 to 2026.4.26, gateways with openclaw.json logging.file set to a ~/-prefixed path crash on startup with ENOENT: no such file or directory, mkdir '~/...' and (under launchd / systemd) enter a tight respawn loop that takes the entire stack down — gateway, channels, sidecars, crons.

Root cause

logging.file paths come straight from openclaw.json. ~ is a shell construct; Node's fs.mkdirSync does not expand it. resolveActiveLogFile in src/logging/logger.ts was returning the literal string, and buildLogger then called fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(activeFile), { recursive: true }) on '~/.openclaw/logs' directly:

[openclaw] CLI failed: Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, mkdir '~/.openclaw/logs'
    at Object.mkdirSync (node:fs:1334:26)
    at buildLogger (file:///.../node_modules/openclaw/dist/logger-BYIbL3gn.js:433:5)

The same config worked under 2026.4.24, so this is a regression where an earlier expansion site was bypassed.

Fix

Reuse the existing expandHomePrefix helper from src/infra/home-dir.ts inside resolveActiveLogFile. The helper is already used by state-migrations.ts:1125 and exec-allowlist-pattern.ts:74, follows the same OPENCLAW_HOME / HOME / USERPROFILE / os.homedir() resolution order as the rest of the codebase, and short-circuits cleanly when the input does not start with ~. With the expansion happening up front, both the isRollingPath matcher (which inspects the basename, unchanged) and the downstream fs.mkdirSync see an absolute path.

function resolveActiveLogFile(file: string): string {
  const expanded = expandHomePrefix(file);
  if (!isRollingPath(expanded)) {
    return expanded;
  }
  return rollingPathForDate(path.dirname(expanded), new Date());
}

Pre-implement audit

1. Existing-helper check (vincentkoc #57341 lesson). grep finds expandHomePrefix already exported from src/infra/home-dir.ts and used at two production call sites. Reuse rather than introduce a new helper. ✅
2. Shared-helper caller check (steipete #60623 lesson). resolveActiveLogFile is module-private and called only from buildLogger (line 521 + line 532). No silent contract change for other callers. ✅
3. Broader-fix rival scan (steipete #68270 lesson). Zero rival PRs reference #73587. ✅

Test changes

Three new regression tests in src/logging/logger.settings.test.ts, exposed via the existing __test__ export:

• expands a leading tilde to the home directory — pins the ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log → <home>/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log shape.
• leaves absolute paths unchanged — guards against an over-eager helper.
• expands tildes inside rolling-path inputs and keeps the rolling pattern — confirms the rolling-pattern detection still fires when the input is ~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw-YYYY-MM-DD.log.

The tests resolve the effective home with the same precedence the production helper uses (OPENCLAW_HOME → HOME → USERPROFILE → os.homedir()), so they remain stable under the per-suite home-dir overrides the harness sets up.

Verified locally

npx oxlint src/logging/logger.ts src/logging/logger.settings.test.ts
# Found 0 warnings and 0 errors.

npx vitest run src/logging/logger.settings.test.ts
# Tests  6 passed (6)

npx vitest run src/logging/redact.test.ts src/logging/logger-redaction-behavior.test.ts
# Tests  36 passed (36)

(Two pre-existing src/logging/-suite-level failures in logger-redaction-behavior.test.ts and redact.test.ts reproduce on plain main without this patch and are independent of this change — confirmed via stash + re-run on the f256eeba43 baseline.)

lobster-biscuit: 73587-logging-file-tilde-expand

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Changed files

• CHANGELOG.md (modified, +1/-0)
• src/logging/logger.settings.test.ts (modified, +47/-0)
• src/logging/logger.ts (modified, +12/-4)