openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix openclaw update emits false newer-config warning after successful upgrade [1 comments, 2 participants]

Summary

openclaw update completed successfully from 2026.5.4 to 2026.5.6, but the final restart step emitted a misleading warning:

Config was last written by a newer OpenClaw (2026.5.6); current version is 2026.5.4.

After the command exited, live verification showed the CLI, global package, plugins, and managed gateway service were all actually on 2026.5.6, so this appears to be a false warning caused by the old updater process checking config metadata after the package has already stamped the config with the new version.

Environment

• OS: Linux 6.18.7-surface-1 x64
• Node: v25.9.0
• Install root: /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw
• Service manager: systemd user service
• Gateway service command: /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/node/bin/node /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway --port 18789

Steps to reproduce

1. Start with OpenClaw 2026.5.4.

2. Run:

   openclaw update

3. Observe successful package update and plugin update.

4. At the end of the restart step, observe the warning above.

Observed output excerpt

Update Result: OK
 Root: /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw
 Before: 2026.5.4
 After: 2026.5.6

Updating plugins...
Installing @openclaw/voice-call into /home/schergr/.openclaw/npm…
Installing @openclaw/whatsapp into /home/schergr/.openclaw/npm…
Config overwrite: /home/schergr/.openclaw/openclaw.json (... -> ..., backup=/home/schergr/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak)
npm plugins: 2 updated, 0 unchanged, 1 skipped.

Restarting service...
Config was last written by a newer OpenClaw (2026.5.6); current version is 2026.5.4.

Post-update verification

Immediately afterward:

$ openclaw --version
OpenClaw 2026.5.6 (c97b9f7)

$ npm -g ls openclaw --depth=0
/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/lib
└── [email protected]

$ openclaw gateway status
Runtime: running
Connectivity probe: ok
Capability: admin-capable

The systemd service also reports:

OpenClaw Gateway (v2026.5.6)
ExecStart=/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/node/bin/node /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway --port 18789

Likely cause

The config writer stamps:

"meta": {
  "lastTouchedVersion": "2026.5.6"
}

Then the still-running old 2026.5.4 update process performs a config load/check and calls the future-version guard, which compares VERSION=2026.5.4 against meta.lastTouchedVersion=2026.5.6 and emits the warning.

Relevant built artifact location in the installed package:

dist/io-DDcMg_WY.js
warnIfConfigFromFuture(cfg, logger)
stampConfigVersion(cfg)

Expected behavior

A successful self-update should not end with a warning that implies the currently running OpenClaw is older than the config if the warning is just coming from the pre-update updater process.

Possible fixes:

• suppress the future-config warning during the updater's final old-process phase, or
• re-exec/use the newly installed CLI before performing the post-update config/service restart check, or
• make the warning text update-aware, e.g. "update process is still running old version; live service should be verified after restart".

Impact

Low functional impact, but high confusion factor: the update says OK and then ends with a warning that suggests a version/config mismatch or bad restart, even though the install is healthy.