#help: OpenClaw process exited before device approval could complete

17 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

fervent tiger
#

6:01:51 [INFO] Home directory initialized
16:01:51 [INFO] Checking for installed plugins...
16:01:51 [INFO] Plugin "oxylabs-ai-studio-openclaw" does not meet requirements, skipping
16:01:51 [INFO] Enabling "telegram" plugin...
16:01:53 [ERROR] Error while enabling "telegram": Error: Command failed: openclaw plugins enable telegram Config invalid File: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json Problem: - channels.discord: invalid config: must NOT have additional properties Run: openclaw doctor --fix
16:01:53 [INFO] Appending plugin "telegram" configuration
16:01:53 [INFO] Plugin "whatsapp" does not meet requirements, skipping
16:01:53 [INFO] Starting OpenClaw gateway...
16:01:55 [WARN] OpenClaw exited with code 1
16:01:55 [WARN] OpenClaw process exited before device approval could complete

acoustic vaultBOT
#

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barren wigeonBOT
#

That last warning is just the symptom. The real failure is earlier:

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json is invalid, specifically something under channels.discord has an old or unknown key, so plugins enable telegram fails and the gateway exits.

Please run these in order:

openclaw --version
openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw status --all

Then retry starting it:

openclaw gateway start
#

A few useful notes:

  • OpenClaw process exited before device approval could complete is downstream noise here.
  • must NOT have additional properties usually means a stale Discord config key from an older schema or copied example.
  • openclaw doctor --fix is the correct repair path for this, it rewrites the config to the current schema.

Docs:

If doctor --fix does not clear it, paste:

  1. openclaw --version
  2. the openclaw doctor --fix output
  3. your redacted channels.discord block from ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

and I can help find the exact bad key.

fervent tiger
#

"discord": {
"enabled": true,
"token": "TOKEN",
"groupPolicy": "allowlist",
"guilds": {
"*": {}
},
"groupAllowFrom": [
"829787852723978321"
],
"allowFrom": [
"829787852723978321"
]
}
},

barren wigeonBOT
#

Yep, that’s the bad key.

groupAllowFrom is not valid for Discord. It’s used on channels like Telegram/WhatsApp, not Discord.

For Discord:

  • allowFrom = DM access
  • guilds.<server_id>.users / roles = who can trigger in servers
  • groupAllowFrom = invalid, remove it

Use this shape instead:

"discord": {
  "enabled": true,
  "token": "TOKEN",
# 
  "groupPolicy": "allowlist",
  "allowFrom": [
    "829787852723978321"
  ],
  "guilds": {
    "YOUR_SERVER_ID": {
      "users": [
        "829787852723978321"
      ],
      "requireMention": true
    }
  }
}

If it’s your private server and you want replies without pinging the bot, set:

#

If you want, paste your server ID redacted like 123...789 and I can show the exact final block.

fervent tiger
#

17:27:47 [INFO] Home directory initialized
17:27:47 [WARN] No primary model found
17:27:47 [INFO] Checking for installed plugins...
17:27:47 [INFO] Plugin "oxylabs-ai-studio-openclaw" does not meet requirements, skipping
17:27:47 [INFO] Enabling "telegram" plugin...
17:28:02 [INFO] Appending plugin "telegram" configuration
17:28:02 [INFO] Plugin "whatsapp" does not meet requirements, skipping
17:28:02 [INFO] Starting OpenClaw gateway...
17:28:05 [WARN] OpenClaw exited with code 78
17:28:17 [WARN] OpenClaw process exited before device approval could complete

barren wigeonBOT
#

Nice, that means the Discord config error is fixed. The new blocker is this line:

[WARN] No primary model found

So now the gateway is exiting because no default model is configured. The device approval warning is just downstream again.

Try this next:

openclaw --version
openclaw models status

Then either:

Easiest

# 
openclaw onboard

That should walk you through auth + picking a default model.

Or manually, if auth is already set up

openclaw models set <provider/model>
openclaw gateway start

You can also set it directly in config under:

agents.defaults.model.primary
fervent tiger
#

19:56:13 [INFO] Skipping linuxbrew (already exists)
19:56:13 [INFO] Home directory initialized
19:56:13 [INFO] Checking for installed plugins...
19:56:13 [INFO] Plugin "oxylabs-ai-studio-openclaw" does not meet requirements, skipping
19:56:13 [INFO] Enabling "telegram" plugin...
19:56:20 [INFO] Appending plugin "telegram" configuration
19:56:20 [INFO] Plugin "whatsapp" does not meet requirements, skipping
19:56:20 [INFO] Starting OpenClaw gateway...
19:57:00 [WARN] OpenClaw exited with code 1
19:57:13 [WARN] OpenClaw process exited before device approval could complete

barren wigeonBOT
#

Good, this means you’re past the bad Discord config. The plugin step is succeeding now.

What’s missing is the real gateway error. The installer output only shows “it exited”, not why.

Please run these and paste the output:

openclaw --version
openclaw status --all
openclaw gateway status
openclaw doctor
openclaw logs --follow

If openclaw logs --follow doesn’t show anything useful, use the file log fallback from the FAQ:

fervent tiger
#

Service: systemd (disabled)
File logs: /tmp/openclaw-0/openclaw-2026-04-14.log

Config (cli): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Config (service): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Gateway: bind=loopback (127.0.0.1), port=18789 (env/config)
Probe target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
Dashboard: http://127.0.0.1:18789/
Probe note: Loopback-only gateway; only local clients can connect.

Runtime: unknown (systemctl not available; systemd user services are required on Linux.)
RPC probe: failed
RPC target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
gateway closed (1006):

systemd user services unavailable.
systemd user services are unavailable; install/enable systemd or run the gateway under your supervisor.
If you're in a container, run the gateway in the foreground instead of openclaw gateway.

Troubles: run openclaw status