AgentFixboard
UnverifiedLast checked OpenClaw#regression#setup

Update migrates state but leaves the systemd Gateway on unsupported Node

After a 2026.10.5 to 2026.10.6 npm update, the systemd user Gateway stays on Node 24.20.0 and exits on every start with Node 24.20.0: openclaw requires Node >=24.22.1 <25, or >=26.12.1. systemd then reports Result=start-limit-hit.

From GitHub

openclaw/openclaw

IssuePull request

Difficulty
Easy
Time
~5 min
Steps
2
Fixed in
—
Last checked

Unverified: we could not confirm from the sources that a fix shipped. Source: PR #181618 merged. Last checked 2026-10-23.

Symptom

After a 2026.10.5 to 2026.10.6 npm update, the systemd user Gateway stays on Node 24.20.0 and exits on every start with Node 24.20.0: openclaw requires Node >=24.22.1 <25, or >=26.12.1. systemd then reports Result=start-limit-hit.

Evidence what you'll see

  • The retained update report recorded node-runtime: warn, then OpenClaw update failed: state-migrated-no-rollback and Failed: gateway verification — Managed Gateway service status: stopped.
  • The CLI ran OpenClaw 2026.10.6 (fe06181) on Node 26.12.1, while the unit ExecStart still named the Nix-store Node 24.20.0 binary.
  • openclaw update repair --yes --json exited 0 and did not refresh the service pin. openclaw doctor --fix --non-interactive printed that the command came from an operator-owned drop-in and exited 1 with Service runtime: status=stopped, state=failed, lastExit=1.
  • Gateway RPC returned ECONNREFUSED on the configured loopback port until the unit's Node directory was pointed at 26.12.1.

Why it happens

Package 2026.10.6 requires >=24.22.1 <25 || >=26.12.1. The installed updater migrated state while the managed unit kept the old absolute Node path. Doctor treated a %t EnvironmentFile drop-in as owning the environment and would not rewrite the runtime non-interactively. Pull request 181618 repairs a provably owned unit through the existing backup path and keeps unrelated drop-ins.

Affected versions

OpenClaw 2026.10.5 to 2026.10.6 (fe06181), Linux x64 kernel 6.18.57, npm global install under ~/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw, systemd user unit ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service with a Nix-store Node 24.20.0 ExecStart. The report's drop-in only set ExecStartPre and EnvironmentFile=-%t/openclaw-homeassistant.env.

Fix steps

0 of 2 done

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How to check it worked

  • openclaw gateway status --deep reports the Gateway running 2026.10.6 on a supported Node, instead of repeating Node 24.20.0: openclaw requires Node >=24.22.1 <25, or >=26.12.1 and start-limit-hit.

If it still fails

  • No published release tag contains pull request 181618. Tag v2026.10.6 was compared against merge 53f8d4f7f577aff93ca625c210185145a90ad81a and does not contain it (diverged).
  • The linked issue does not claim the original update invocation or the generated environment file at update time. A real PATH or launcher override still stays operator-owned after the pull request.

Sources and credit

Summarized in our own words from these public reports. Credit goes to their authors.

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