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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix systemd integration broken due to fork/respawn pattern

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OpenClaw's self-respawn/fork pattern makes systemd integration unreliable. After systemctl restart openclaw:

  1. The ExecStart process starts the gateway
  2. Gateway forks to a new PID
  3. Original process exits
  4. systemd reports "failed" because the tracked process exited
  5. The actual gateway runs fine under the forked PID

This means systemctl status always shows "failed", journalctl loses log continuity, and systemd health monitoring is useless.

Root Cause

  1. The ExecStart process starts the gateway
  2. Gateway forks to a new PID
  3. Original process exits
  4. systemd reports "failed" because the tracked process exited
  5. The actual gateway runs fine under the forked PID

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

Current Workaround

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Summary

OpenClaw's self-respawn/fork pattern makes systemd integration unreliable. After systemctl restart openclaw:

  1. The ExecStart process starts the gateway
  2. Gateway forks to a new PID
  3. Original process exits
  4. systemd reports "failed" because the tracked process exited
  5. The actual gateway runs fine under the forked PID

This means systemctl status always shows "failed", journalctl loses log continuity, and systemd health monitoring is useless.

Current Workaround

Using Type=forking with RestartPreventExitStatus=78 and accepting that systemd will always show "failed" after restart.

Suggestion

  • Support a --no-fork or --foreground flag so systemd can track the process directly with Type=simple
  • Or document the recommended systemd unit configuration

Environment

  • OpenClaw: 2026.5.12, 2026.5.18
  • systemd 252 (Debian 12)

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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix systemd integration broken due to fork/respawn pattern