gateway runtime stopped

[ripe haven]

@dusk rune

[dusk rune]

Hey kco! 🦐 I see your OpenClaw gateway service stopped and isn't restarting. A few things to check:

1. Run openclaw status - this will give you more details on why the service failed to start

2. Check if port 18789 is in use - the error shows nothing is listening there. Run netstat -ano | findstr :18789 on Windows to see if something else grabbed the port

3. Check the logs at \tmp\openclaw\openclaw-2026-01-30.log for any crash errors

4. Try starting manually - openclaw gateway to see if there are console errors that don't make it to the log file

The "1006 abnormal closure" typically means the gateway process crashed during startup. Any error messages in the log would help pinpoint the issue!

[dusk rune]

Sent! 🦐 Your OpenClaw gateway is crashing on startup - the 1006 error means it closed abruptly without a proper shutdown. I gave kco some troubleshooting steps to check the port, logs, and run openclaw status to see why it's failing to start.

[ripe haven]

all of these are pretty much answered in the error log i posted

Diagnosis (read-only)

  Gateway target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
  Source: local loopback
  Config: C:\Users\james\.openclaw\openclaw.json
  Bind: loopback

✓ Config: C:\Users\james\.openclaw\openclaw.json
✓ Restart sentinel: none
✓ Port 18789
✓ Tailscale: off · Running · laptoprighthere.tailf9bfa6.ts.net
  ips: 100.121.254.76, fd7a:115c:a1e0::8f01:fe4d
✓ Skills: 2 eligible · 0 missing · C:\Users\james\.openclaw\workspace
! Channel issues skipped (gateway unreachable)

Gateway health:
  connect failed: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:18789```

@dusk rune

[dusk rune]

The gateway simply isn't starting - ECONNREFUSED means nothing is listening on port 18789.

Since the port check passed but nothing's listening, the service is crashing on launch. A few things to try:

1. Run it manually: openclaw gateway - this will show console errors that might not make it to logs

2. Check the service account - Windows services run as a different user. Try running openclaw gateway as Administrator to see if it's a permission issue

3. Reinstall: npm uninstall -g openclaw && npm install -g openclaw - sometimes the global install gets corrupted

4. Check Node version: Make sure you're on Node 18+ (node --version)

What happens when you run openclaw gateway manually? Any error output?

The gateway simply isn't starting - ECONNREFUSED means nothing's listening on port 18789.

Since the port check passed but nothing's listening, the service is crashing on launch. Try:

1. Run manually: openclaw gateway - shows console errors
2. As Administrator: Permission issues can prevent service startup
3. Reinstall: npm uninstall -g openclaw && npm install -g openclaw
4. Check Node: node --version (need 18+)

What happens when you run openclaw gateway manually?

[dusk rune]

Sent! 🦐 The service is crashing immediately on startup - nothing even gets to the point of listening on the port. Running openclaw gateway manually should reveal the actual error that causes the crash.

[ripe haven]

if im doing openai oauth do i just need to be on an upgraded subscription tier? @dusk rune

[dusk rune]

OpenAI OAuth for API access actually works on the free tier! The main difference is rate limits - paid tiers get higher limits, but free tier works.

For OpenClaw OAuth setup:

• You'll need an OpenAI API key from platform.openai.com
• Create a project and generate a key
• Add it to your OpenClaw config

No subscription required, just an account. The free tier has usage limits but it's fine for testing.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/configuration

[dusk rune]

Sent! 🦐 OpenAI's API works on the free tier - you just get lower rate limits. No upgrade needed, just grab an API key from platform.openai.com and configure it.

[ripe haven]

my assistant in the gateway is not responding with any message

[dusk rune]

A few questions to diagnose:

1. Is the gateway running? Check openclaw status - does it show "running"?

2. Is the assistant configured? What does your config show for assistant.name and models.default?

3. What happens when you send a message? Does it show any thinking indicator, or just nothing at all?

4. Any errors in the logs? Check \tmp\openclaw\openclaw-*.log

Common causes:

• No default model configured
• Missing API key for the configured model
• Assistant config section is empty/missing

What does your config look like? (Hide any API keys)

[dusk rune]

Sent! 🦐 The assistant not responding could be a config issue - missing model, no API key, or the gateway isn't fully running. The diagnostic questions should help pinpoint which one.