Summary

The commands.list gateway RPC was added in OpenClaw 2026.4.12 (PR #62656) and refined in PR #64147 to handle skill entries / native-name metadata. It is documented in docs/gateway/protocol.md as a live operator-helper method:

Operators may call commands.list (operator.read) to fetch the runtime command inventory for an agent.

However, the method is not present in the dist code of pinned runtime 2026.4.25:

• Not in the BASE_METHODS array at dist/server-4qKfLNPH.js:10031-10148.
• Not in METHOD_SCOPE_BY_NAME at dist/method-scopes-l7Jbbj9F.js:2548-2666.
• Not registered via api.registerGatewayMethod("commands.list", ...) in any dist/extensions/*/index.js file.
• No validateCommandsListParams validator export.
• No CommandsList* type in dist/plugin-sdk/.
• Only agents-ztRewXHm.js:824 references it, and only as a CLI-command source-file path (src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts — the CLI verb), not as a gateway RPC handler.

There is no CHANGELOG entry mentioning the removal across all releases between 2026.4.12 and 2026.4.25 (intervening: 2026.4.14, 4.15, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23, 4.24, 4.25).

Reproducer

# 1. Install pinned runtime
npm install [email protected]

# 2. Start gateway
openclaw gateway --port 18789

# 3. From any operator-scoped WS client, call commands.list:
#    {"type":"req","id":"1","method":"commands.list","params":{"scope":"both","includeArgs":true}}
#
# Expected (per docs/gateway/protocol.md): operator-read-scoped method
# returns runtime command inventory.
#
# Actual: gateway returns "method not found" / "unknown RPC method".

Impact

• External clients that built on 2026.4.12+ (CLI tools, web UIs, operator dashboards) need to migrate, but there is no documented migration path.
• docs/gateway/protocol.md operator helper section is misleading.
• Crust-OS desktop has been carrying a paper-tiger adapter wrapper since the silent removal, which we have now correctly marked as posture: "shim" + category: "runtime-absent".

Ask

Either:

1. Restore commands.list as a registered gateway RPC if its removal was unintentional, OR
2. Update the protocol.md doc to remove the operator-helper reference, AND add a CHANGELOG entry under the appropriate release explaining the removal + migration path (e.g., "use tools.catalog for runtime tool inventory; commands inventory now derived client-side from skill/plugin manifest discovery").

A similar audit confirmed three other documented-but-absent methods (diagnostics.stability, exec.approval.list, plugin.approval.list) — those are listed in the Crust-OS rename-target analysis at docs/audit/openclaw-rpc-rename-target-analysis-2026-05-09.md for the same upstream attention.

References

• CHANGELOG entries that added the method: lines mentioning Gateway: add a commands.list RPC (PR #62656) and keep commands.list skill entries categorized (PR #64147).
• Documentation: docs/gateway/protocol.md "Operator helper methods" section + "Skills and tools" accordion.
• Crust-OS audit deliverable that surfaced this: docs/audit/openclaw-rpc-rename-target-analysis-2026-05-09.md.