openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Gateway crash-loops when hooks.transformsDir points to workspace skill path [2 comments, 2 participants]

OpenClaw gateway v2026.4.29 crash-loops on startup when the config contains a hooks.transformsDir outside ~/.openclaw/hooks/transforms.

Observed on a local install in WSL2:

• The control UI/login page loads, but clicking Connect showed disconnected (1006): no reason.
• openclaw gateway status --json showed repeated auto-restart / ECONNREFUSED while the gateway was failing to stay up.
• The journal showed:
  • Gateway failed to start: Error: Hook transformsDir module path must be within /home/clawuser/.openclaw/hooks/transforms: /home/clawuser/.openclaw/workspace/skills/linear-webhook
  • repeated restart attempts from systemd.
• Removing the hooks block from ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.last-good allowed the gateway to reach ready and the webchat connection to succeed.

The problematic config was:

• hooks.transformsDir: "/home/clawuser/.openclaw/workspace/skills/linear-webhook"
• mapping transform module: ./openclaw-linear-transform.js

Why this looks like an OpenClaw regression rather than a user mistake:

• The invalid path existed in both openclaw.json and openclaw.json.last-good.
• The current runtime enforces containment under ~/.openclaw/hooks/transforms, but there is no migration or downgrade path for older configs that were previously accepted or written by OpenClaw.
• The gateway hard-fails startup instead of surfacing a clear config error with a recovery path.

Expected behavior:

• Either migrate old hooks.transformsDir values into the canonical hooks directory, or
• refuse the config with a direct validation error before crash-looping, or
• keep compatibility with older config paths that OpenClaw itself generated.

A small improvement in openclaw doctor or gateway status would also help: detect this specific invalid path and tell the user exactly how to fix it.