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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Vision image lag: model describes previous images instead of current one [1 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#70455•Fetched 2026-04-24 05:57:52
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When using vision-capable models (e.g. ), images sent by users are consistently described with a 1-2 message lag — the model describes the previous image instead of the current one.

Root Cause

  • Verified files on disk have unique MD5 hashes — no file caching issue
  • The model catalog entry for was missing (only existed). After patching to add it with input: ["text", "image"], vision started working but with the lag
  • The issue appears to be in how OpenClaw passes images to the model — the image is included in the message context when the message arrives, but by the time the agent processes and responds, the image data has been stripped
  • Using the read tool on the image file doesn't help because the model has already moved on to the next message context

Fix Action

Fix / Workaround

  • Verified files on disk have unique MD5 hashes — no file caching issue
  • The model catalog entry for was missing (only existed). After patching to add it with input: ["text", "image"], vision started working but with the lag
  • The issue appears to be in how OpenClaw passes images to the model — the image is included in the message context when the message arrives, but by the time the agent processes and responds, the image data has been stripped
  • Using the read tool on the image file doesn't help because the model has already moved on to the next message context
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Description

When using vision-capable models (e.g. ), images sent by users are consistently described with a 1-2 message lag — the model describes the previous image instead of the current one.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Configure a vision-capable model (e.g. ) with input: ["text", "image"] in the provider catalog
  2. Send image A (e.g. food)
  3. Send image B (e.g. watch)
  4. Send image C (e.g. car)
  5. Observe: model describes image A when responding to image B, image B when responding to image C, etc.

Expected Behavior

Model should describe the image attached to the current message, not a previous one.

Actual Behavior

  • Image descriptions are consistently 1-2 messages behind
  • The read tool on the image file returns the correct file (verified via MD5), but the model's response describes a previous image
  • Image data is stripped from context after processing: [image data removed - already processed by model]
  • This makes it impossible for the agent to describe what it actually sees

Investigation

  • Verified files on disk have unique MD5 hashes — no file caching issue
  • The model catalog entry for was missing (only existed). After patching to add it with input: ["text", "image"], vision started working but with the lag
  • The issue appears to be in how OpenClaw passes images to the model — the image is included in the message context when the message arrives, but by the time the agent processes and responds, the image data has been stripped
  • Using the read tool on the image file doesn't help because the model has already moved on to the next message context

Suggested Fix

  1. Keep image data accessible in the agent's context after initial processing (don't strip it)
  2. Or include a text description/hook of what the model saw in the image before stripping
  3. Or ensure the read tool's image is what the model actually processes for vision (not the message context image)

Environment

  • OpenClaw 2026.4.15
  • Model: xiaomi/mimo-v2.5-pro
  • Channel: Discord
  • Platform: Linux (Ubuntu)

extent analysis

TL;DR

Modify the image processing pipeline to retain image data in the agent's context after initial processing to ensure the model describes the current image.

Guidance

  • Investigate the OpenClaw image processing code to identify where the image data is being stripped from the context and modify it to retain the data.
  • Consider adding a text description or hook of what the model saw in the image before stripping the image data to help with debugging.
  • Verify that the read tool is using the correct image file by comparing the MD5 hashes of the image files.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue does not contain specific code references.

Notes

The issue seems to be related to how OpenClaw passes images to the model and the stripping of image data from the context. The suggested fixes provided in the issue are a good starting point for investigation and modification.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Modify the image processing pipeline to retain image data in the agent's context after initial processing. This is because the issue is likely due to the stripping of image data, and retaining it should allow the model to describe the current image.

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