After token expiration, attempting to re-authenticate Gmail accounts fails

[quasi arrow]

Root Causes Identified

1. Corrupted Local Keyring
   • File-based keyring backend (~/.config/gogcli/keyring/) contains corrupted token files
   • Error: aes.KeyUnwrap(): integrity check failed when attempting to decrypt stored tokens
   • Clearing and recreating keyring directory doesn't resolve the issue
2. OAuth Token Storage Failure
   • New authorization codes are generated and user authorizes in browser
   • However, tokens are not being saved to keyring after authorization completes
   • No token file created in keyring directory despite successful auth flow
3. OAuth Redirect Flow Timeout Issues
   • Manual redirect URL capture (--manual flag) times out before user can paste URL
   • Browser-based auth flow (gog auth add) also times out intermittently
   • Authorization window closes before token can be stored
4. Maton Integration Not Working
   • Tokens are stored in Maton (verified via dashboard: both accounts show "Active")
   • gog CLI not configured to retrieve tokens from Maton
   • Maton API endpoint for token retrieval unclear/undocumented

Attempted Solutions (All Failed)

• ✗ Clearing and recreating keyring files
• ✗ Switching keyring backends (file → keychain → auto)
• ✗ Re-authenticating both accounts multiple times
• ✗ Using manual authorization code flow
• ✗ Setting explicit GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD
• ✗ Reinstalling OAuth credentials

Current Status

• Gmail/Calendar Access: ❌ Blocked
• Google Drive Access: ✅ Works (via gog drive ls)
• Maton Tokens: ✅ Active and valid in Maton dashboard
• gog CLI: ⚠️ Can't access stored tokens

[surreal python]

To help others find answers, you can mark your question as solved via Right click solution message -> Apps -> ✅ Mark Solution

[dusty prawn]

This looks like upstream gog auth/keyring trouble, not a Maton retrieval issue.

What matches upstream pretty closely:

• aes.KeyUnwrap(): integrity check failed = known file-keyring corruption bug: https://github.com/steipete/gogcli/issues/377
• headless/manual auth weirdness = also known auth/keyring pain: https://github.com/steipete/gogcli/issues/389
• newer gog releases added a bunch of auth fixes/workarounds: https://github.com/steipete/gogcli/releases/tag/v0.12.0

My read:

1. Maton is probably a red herring here. I don’t see public gog docs showing Maton as a token backend gog can read from directly.
2. File keyring is likely the bad actor.
3. Because gog drive ls still works, auth is not globally dead. That usually points to a different account/client/token bucket/scope set still working.

What I’d do next, in order:

• Check gog --version
• Run gog auth list --check
• Run gog auth status

If you have to re-auth, do it on the latest gog and use the newer remote flow, not --manual:

• gog auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1
• then paste the full redirect URL into:
  gog auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:.../oauth2/callback?code=...&state=...'

Also, if this is headless Linux and you must use the file backend, use a non-empty GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD.

If you paste these 4 outputs, I can narrow it down fast:

• gog --version
• gog auth list --check
• gog auth status
• exact stderr from the failing gog auth add ...

I’d especially check whether Drive is using a different client/account than Gmail/Calendar. gog isolates tokens per client, so that kind of split absolutely happens.

[quasi arrow]

0.12.0-dev

No tokens stored

config_path /root/.config/gogcli/config.json
config_exists false
keyring_backend auto
keyring_backend_source default

[dusty prawn]

Thanks, that helps, 0.12.0-dev means this is not just an old-version auth bug.

So I’d narrow it to these two now:

1. current file-keyring regression/corruption, or
2. Drive is using a different auth path/account/client than Gmail/Calendar

Because gog drive ls still works, I’d focus on proving #2 first.

Can you paste these next?

• gog auth list --check
• gog auth status

And then, using the same exact email/account for both:

• gog drive ls --account [e-mail]

• gog gmail labels list --account [e-mail]

If Drive only works without --account, that’s a huge clue that default account/client selection is drifting.

I also would stop chasing Maton for this one. From everything public, gog still expects its own keyring/ADC/access-token path, not “read token back from Maton”.

If you want one concrete retry after that, make it explicit on both account and services:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

That removes a bunch of client-selection ambiguity in one shot.

That actually helps a lot.

If no tokens are stored at all, then the corruption is probably secondary. The main problem is: gog auth add is completing OAuth but failing the token write step.

And if Drive still works, then Drive is almost certainly not using those missing stored refresh tokens. It’s probably one of:

• a different default account/client
• service account auth
• ADC/direct access token
• some other non-keyring path

So the next best test is to pin both client and account:

• gog --client default drive ls --account [e-mail]
• gog --client default gmail labels list --account [e-mail]
• gog --client default auth status

What I’m looking for:

• If Drive fails once you pin --client + --account, then the earlier “Drive works” result was just a different auth bucket.
• If Drive still works with the same pinned account and there are still no stored tokens, then Drive is using a different auth mode than Gmail/Calendar.

At that point I’d stop treating this as “bad local keyring contents” and treat it as a current gog token-persistence bug.

If you can, the most useful thing to paste now is the exact stderr from:

• gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --verbose

That should tell us whether the write is failing in keyring selection, encryption, or post-callback token save.

Ah, that’s the missing piece.

config_exists false + keyring_backend auto + keyring_backend_source default means gog is still on auto-detection. So the earlier backend switches did not persist.

That matters a lot, because on a headless /root session, auto is exactly where I’d expect flaky keyring behavior.

So I’d stop debugging the old ~/.config/gogcli/keyring/ state for a second and fix this first:

1. Set the backend explicitly with gog auth keyring file
2. Re-check and make sure it now shows:
   • config_exists true
   • keyring_backend file
   • keyring_backend_source config
3. Only after that, retry auth

If gog auth keyring file still leaves config_exists false, then that’s a much cleaner bug report:

• gog is failing to persist keyring backend config

• auth is then falling back to auto
• token storage becomes inconsistent / broken

Also, because this is under /root, I would not trust auto here. If this is a server/container flow, explicit file is the safer path.

So the next question is simple: after running gog auth keyring file, does it finally report config_exists true?

[quasi arrow]

sorry can you give me all the steps again

[dusty prawn]

Yep, here’s the clean version.

1. Ignore Maton for now

Treat Maton as unrelated here. gog does not appear to use it as a normal token backend.

2. Fix the backend setting first

Right now you have:

• config_exists false
• keyring_backend auto
• keyring_backend_source default

That means gog is still auto-detecting the backend, which is bad in a headless /root environment.

Run:

• gog auth keyring file

Then re-check. You want to see:

• config_exists true
• keyring_backend file
• keyring_backend_source config

If it still says config_exists false, stop there, that’s a config persistence bug.

3. If this is headless, use a non-empty keyring password

If you’re on a server/container, make sure GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD is set to a non-empty value before re-auth.

4. Re-auth with explicit client + explicit services

Do not use --manual. Use the remote flow.

Step 1:

• gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

Open the URL in a browser, finish auth, copy the full redirect URL.

Step 2:

• gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:.../oauth2/callback?code=...&state=...'

5. Verify token storage

Run:

• gog auth list --check
• gog auth status

6. Compare Drive and Gmail with the same pinned account

Run both with the same client/account:

• gog --client default drive ls --account [e-mail]
• gog --client default gmail labels list --account [e-mail]

7. Interpret the result

• If Drive fails once pinned, then earlier Drive success was a different auth bucket/account.
• If Drive still works but no tokens are stored, then Drive is using some other auth mode, not the keyring.
• If auth still finishes but stores nothing, this is a current gog token-save bug.

8. If it still fails, grab the exact error

Paste the stderr from:

• gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --verbose

The most important checkpoint right now is step 2: after gog auth keyring file, does gog finally show config_exists true?

Yep, that part looks good.

• state_reused false is what you want
• the scopes look correct
• this means step 1 succeeded

Now do exactly what gog says:

1. Open that Google URL in a browser
2. Finish consent
3. Copy the full redirect URL from the browser address bar, the one that starts with:
   http://127.0.0.1:37253/oauth2/callback?...
4. Run step 2 with the same root flags/client flags as step 1:

gog ... --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:37253/oauth2/callback?code=...&state=I5oIjF--UqMgTpHH_dEAvWyjVZScOaKB01jtNVcptpY' --services gmail,calendar,drive

Important:

• use the redirect URL, not the Google auth URL
• keep the same flags as step 1
• if it says the state expired, rerun step 1 and use the new redirect URL immediately

After step 2, run:

• gog auth list --check

If step 2 fails or still stores no token, paste the exact stderr from step 2. That’s the part we need now.

[quasi arrow]

auth_url https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?access_type=offline&client_id=934350351634-4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b.apps.googleusercontent.com&include_granted_scopes=true&redirect_uri=http%3A%2F%2F127.0.0.1%3A37253%2Foauth2%2Fcallback&response_type=code&scope=email+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fcalendar+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fdrive+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fgmail.modify+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fgmail.settings.basic+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fgmail.settings.sharing+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.googleapis.com%2Fauth%2Fuserinfo.email+openid&state=I5oIjF--UqMgTpHH_dEAvWyjVZScOaKB01jtNVcptpY

[dusty prawn]

That’s still just the step 1 auth URL.

The next part happens in your browser + local shell, not in Discord.

Do this next

1. Open that auth_url in a browser
2. Sign in and approve access
3. Google will redirect you to something like:

http://127.0.0.1:37253/oauth2/callback?code=...&state=...

4. Copy that redirect URL from the browser address bar
5. Run step 2 locally with it:

gog ... --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:37253/oauth2/callback?code=...&state=...' --services gmail,calendar,drive

Important

Please do not paste the live redirect URL or auth code in this public thread. That URL contains the temporary auth code.

If the browser shows a localhost error after consent, that’s okay, just copy the URL from the address bar anyway.

After you run step 2, paste one of these instead:

• the sanitized stderr from step 2, or
• gog auth list --check

If you want, I can show you exactly what a sanitized step 2 command should look like.

Aha, we found it.

This error is from shell parsing, not OAuth itself.

Those lines:

• [1] 402933
• [2] Done iss=...
• [3] Done code=...

mean the callback URL was pasted without quotes, so the shell treated each &... piece as a separate background command.

That’s why gog then says:

• no code found in URL

What to do now

1. Delete or edit your last message if you can, because it exposed a live auth code in a public thread.
2. Do not reuse that code
3. Rerun step 1 to get a fresh auth URL
4. After Google redirects, copy the full callback URL
5. Run step 2 with the entire callback URL wrapped in single quotes

Like this:

gog ... --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:37253/oauth2/callback?code=REDACTED&state=REDACTED&scope=REDACTED...' --services gmail,calendar,drive

Important:

• keep the whole callback URL
• wrap it in single quotes
• do not let the shell see bare &

So yes, this is actually progress 🙂 the last failure was just quoting.

After you rerun step 2 correctly, paste only:

• the output of gog auth list --check, or
• sanitized stderr if it still fails.

[quasi arrow]

No tokens stored

[dusty prawn]

Okay, then we can stop blaming the browser flow.

If step 1/step 2 complete and still no tokens are stored, the failure is now clearly in gog’s token save path after code exchange.

So I’d stop retrying auth and split it like this:

Case A

After gog auth keyring file, it still shows:

• config_exists false
• keyring_backend_source default

Then the real bug is: gog is not persisting keyring config at all.

Case B

After gog auth keyring file, it shows:

• config_exists true
• keyring_backend file
• keyring_backend_source config

but step 2 still stores nothing.

Then the real bug is: gog exchanges the code successfully, then fails to write the refresh token.

So the one thing I still need from you is:

after running gog auth keyring file, does it say config_exists true or still false?

That’s the fork in the road.

Also, at this point I would treat gog drive ls as a separate auth path. If no tokens are stored, Drive is almost certainly not using the same refresh-token storage you’re trying to fix for Gmail/Calendar.

If you confirm it’s still config_exists false, I’d call that the root cause.

If you confirm it’s true and tokens still don’t save, I’d file a new gogcli bug with that exact repro instead of chasing Maton or the callback flow any further.

[quasi arrow]

Hint: set GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD for non-interactive use (CI/ssh)
written true
path /root/.config/gogcli/config.json
keyring_backend file

[dusty prawn]

Nice, that’s real progress.

This means:

• config.json is now being written
• backend is explicitly file
• so the old auto / config-persistence problem is gone

At this point, the next thing that matters is the hint:

set GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD for non-interactive use (CI/ssh)

So I’d do one clean retry like this:

1. In the same shell where you run gog, set a non-empty GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD
2. Rerun the remote auth flow
   • step 1

• browser consent
  • step 2 with the callback URL in single quotes

3. Then run:
   • gog auth list --check

If tokens still do not appear after that, then I’d call it a real gog file-keyring token-save bug on 0.12.0-dev, not a config problem anymore.

So the short version now is:

• backend config: ✅ fixed
• OAuth flow: ✅ working
• remaining suspect: file-keyring write/unlock path in non-interactive SSH/root use

If you want, send back just the result of:

• gog auth list --check

after doing that one clean retry.

[quasi arrow]

sorry can you give me the 2 commands so that i can just copy and past it in the shell

[dusty prawn]

Yep, copy/paste these, just replace the placeholders:

export GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD='replace-with-a-non-empty-password' && gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-http://127.0.0.1:37253/oauth2/callback?...-URL-HERE'

Notes:

• replace [e-mail]
• replace the password with something non-empty
• in command 2, paste the full callback URL from the browser address bar
• keep the callback URL inside the single quotes
• don’t paste that callback URL in Discord

[quasi arrow]

No tokens stored

[dusty prawn]

Okay, then I’m comfortable calling this a real gog bug, not user error.

You’ve already proven:

• config.json is being written
• backend is explicitly file
• remote OAuth step 1/2 works
• GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD path was exercised
• and tokens still are not persisted

So the remaining failure is the token-save path itself, likely specific to 0.12.0-dev + /root + non-interactive/SSH file keyring.

At this point I would do one of these:

1. Best workaround to try once: run the same auth flow as a normal non-root user instead of /root
2. Otherwise, stop retrying and file a new gogcli issue with this exact repro

I’d include this repro summary:

• gog 0.12.0-dev
• running under /root over SSH / non-interactive shell
• gog auth keyring file reports written true
• /root/.config/gogcli/config.json exists
• keyring_backend file
• GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD set to non-empty
• gog auth add ... --remote --step 1 succeeds
• --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:.../oauth2/callback?...' succeeds
• gog auth list --check still reports no tokens stored

I’d treat the old corruption issue as background noise now. The main bug is: successful OAuth exchange, but refresh token never gets written.

If you want, I can help you write the GitHub issue text cleanly so you can just paste it.

[quasi arrow]

can i reset the whole thing ?

[dusty prawn]

Yes, but I wouldn’t expect a full reset to fix it.

You’ve already narrowed this down to “OAuth succeeds, token never gets written”, so a reset probably just gives you a cleaner repro, not a cure.

Also, important: a full reset could break the Drive path that still works.

If you do reset, I’d only reset local gog state, not Maton:

• back up /root/.config/gogcli/
• then start fresh from that local config/keyring state
• re-add credentials
• set backend to file
• set a non-empty GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD
• rerun the remote auth flow once

I’d move/backup that directory, not permanently delete it.

So my honest recommendation:

• If you want to keep Drive working: don’t reset, file the bug
• If you want one last clean repro: reset only /root/.config/gogcli/, then retry once

If you want, I can give you the exact minimal reset sequence in the safest order.

[quasi arrow]

yes please

[dusty prawn]

Yep. Safest reset path is: back it up, don’t delete it.

⚠️ This may break the Drive path that currently works, until you restore the backup.

1) Backup the current gog state

BACKUP="/root/.config/gogcli.backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)" && mkdir -p /root/.config && if [ -d /root/.config/gogcli ]; then mv /root/.config/gogcli "$BACKUP"; fi && echo "backup=$BACKUP"

2) Recreate clean config + force file backend

mkdir -p /root/.config/gogcli && gog auth keyring file

3) Set a non-empty keyring password in this shell

export GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD='replace-with-a-non-empty-password'

4) Re-add your OAuth client credentials

gog --client default auth credentials /path/to/client_secret.json

5) Start the remote auth flow

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

6) Finish the auth flow with the callback URL from your browser

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-http://127.0.0.1:.../oauth2/callback?...-URL-HERE'

7) Check whether tokens were actually stored

gog auth list --check

If this still says no tokens stored, I would stop there and file the bug.
If you want, send back only the output of step 7.

[quasi arrow]

open /path/to/client_secret.json: no such file or directory

[dusty prawn]

Right, that one was just a placeholder path.

You need to replace:

• /path/to/client_secret.json

with the real path to your downloaded Google OAuth Desktop app JSON.

If you want to search for it, try:

find /root -maxdepth 4 -type f \( -name 'client_secret*.json' -o -name '*.apps.googleusercontent.com.json' \) 2>/dev/null

Then rerun step 4 with the real file, for example:

gog --client default auth credentials /root/Downloads/client_secret_1234567890-abcdef.apps.googleusercontent.com.json

If that search finds nothing, you’ll need to re-download the OAuth client JSON from Google Cloud Console.

Also, don’t paste the contents of that JSON here. The file path is fine, the file contents are not.

[quasi arrow]

No tokens stored

[dusty prawn]

Okay, that settles it.

A clean reset still ends at “No tokens stored”, so I would stop retrying. This is almost certainly a real gog bug now.

My conclusion:

• 0.12.0-dev
• clean local reset
• explicit file backend
• GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD set
• remote OAuth flow completes
• still no refresh token persisted

That’s enough to file an issue.

If you want a likely workaround, I’d try once as a normal non-root user instead of /root. If that also fails, definitely file it.

A good issue title would be:

Bug: auth add completes but stores no token with file keyring on SSH/root (0.12.0-dev)

And the repro summary:

• running under /root
• gog auth keyring file writes /root/.config/gogcli/config.json
• non-empty GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD set
• gog auth credentials <real-client-secret.json> succeeds
• gog auth add ... --remote --step 1 succeeds
• --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:.../oauth2/callback?...' succeeds
• gog auth list --check still shows No tokens stored

Issue link: https://github.com/steipete/gogcli/issues

If you want, I can draft the full issue body so you can paste it in one shot.

[quasi arrow]

/root/.openclaw/media/inbound/client_secret_934350351634_4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b_---8af5d41c-a97e-4611-aa75-00cd335d746f.json
/root/.openclaw/media/inbound/client_secret_934350351634_mni9lgj9guq0viq9m825mf77rl4thg32_---24b5e772-21b1-4507-b5fe-200869107c5e.json
/root/.openclaw/media/inbound/client_secret_934350351634_4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b_---e771fc10-d7f8-4939-88a9-ffc9a887b4fe.json

[dusty prawn]

Yep, those are the files.

Use one of the ones with 4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b in the name, because that matches the client_id from the auth URL you pasted earlier.

So use either:

• /root/.openclaw/media/inbound/client_secret_934350351634_4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b_---8af5d41c-a97e-4611-aa75-00cd335d746f.json
• /root/.openclaw/media/inbound/client_secret_934350351634_4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b_---e771fc10-d7f8-4939-88a9-ffc9a887b4fe.json

I would not use the mni9... one unless you intentionally want a different OAuth client.

So the credentials command should look like:

gog --client default auth credentials /root/.openclaw/media/inbound/client_secret_934350351634_4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b_---e771fc10-d7f8-4939-88a9-ffc9a887b4fe.json

If you do one last retry, use that exact client file. If it still ends with “No tokens stored”, I’d stick with the bug-report conclusion.

[quasi arrow]

path /root/.config/gogcli/credentials.json
client default

[dusty prawn]

Yep, that confirms it.

• credentials.json exists
• client is default
• so client credentials setup is fine

At this point the broken part is very specifically:

OAuth completes, but gog never persists the refresh token

So I would stop retrying and file the issue.

Suggested title

Bug: OAuth succeeds but no tokens are stored with file keyring on /root (0.12.0-dev)

Suggested body

## Summary

gog completes OAuth successfully, but no refresh tokens are persisted.

## Environment

- gog version: 0.12.0-dev
- running as root: /root
- shell/session: non-interactive SSH
- keyring backend: file
- config path: /root/.config/gogcli/config.json
- credentials path: /root/.config/gogcli/credentials.json
- client: default

## What I verified

- `gog auth keyring file` writes config successfully
- `GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD` is set to a non-empty value
- `gog auth credentials <client_secret.json>` succeeds
- remote OAuth step 1 succeeds
- remote OAuth step 2 succeeds
- `gog auth list --check` still reports: No tokens stored

## Expected

After successful OAuth, refresh tokens should be stored and usable by gog.

## Actual

OAuth completes, but no tokens are written to the file keyring, and `gog auth list --check` reports no tokens stored.

## Notes

- I also tested from a clean reset of /root/.config/gogcli
- issue persists after reset
- Drive access still works separately, so it may be using a different auth path
- this does not appear to be a callback-flow problem anymore; it looks like a token persistence/save bug

Issue link: https://github.com/steipete/gogcli/issues

If you want, I can tighten that into a shorter GitHub-ready version too.

[quasi arrow]

what if i revoke the permissions from Gmail and try again ?

[dusty prawn]

You can, but I wouldn’t expect it to fix this.

Why:

• your OAuth flow is already getting far enough to issue a fresh code
• the failure looks like gog not saving the token after exchange
• revoking permissions only forces a fresh consent screen, it does not fix the local token-write path

Big downside:

• it could also break the Drive path that still works, especially if it’s the same OAuth client/app grant

So my take:

• Low chance of helping
• Real chance of making the currently-working Drive auth worse

If you want one last sanity check, I’d try non-root user before revoking Google permissions.

If you still want to revoke, treat it as a last resort / clean repro step, not a likely fix.

[quasi arrow]

what if i install openclaw again and do the whole thing again ?

[dusty prawn]

I wouldn’t.

This looks like a gog token-persistence bug, not an OpenClaw install problem.

Reinstalling OpenClaw would mostly just make you redo setup and probably end up in the same place, because the broken part is:

• gog auth flow runs
• client credentials exist
• file backend is configured
• but no refresh token gets written

So my honest take:

• Reinstall OpenClaw: low chance of helping
• Try once as a non-root user: higher chance of changing the outcome
• File a gog issue: most likely the right next step

If you want one last experiment before opening an issue, I’d do non-root user + same gog steps, not a full OpenClaw reinstall.

[quasi arrow]

lets try that

[dusty prawn]

Yep, let’s try the non-root user path.

I mean an existing normal user account, not /root, and don’t use sudo for these.

On the non-root shell

1. Force file backend:

gog auth keyring file

2. Set a non-empty keyring password:

export GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD='replace-with-a-non-empty-password'

3. Put the OAuth client JSON somewhere this user can read, ideally in that user’s home directory, then register it:

gog --client default auth credentials /home/youruser/client_secret_....json

4. Start auth:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

5. Finish auth with the callback URL from the browser:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-http://127.0.0.1:.../oauth2/callback?...-URL-HERE'

6. Check whether tokens were stored:

gog auth list --check

What I’m hoping for:

• under a normal user, gog writes to ~/.config/gogcli/ instead of /root/.config/gogcli/
• and the token-save path may behave normally there

If you run that, send back just the output of step 6.

[quasi arrow]

i dont have any other user setup on the droplet

[dusty prawn]

Got it. Then I wouldn’t create a new OS user just for this right now.

At that point, I think you’re out of high-value retries on the droplet.

You’ve already shown:

• clean reset
• explicit file backend
• credentials installed
• OAuth completes
• still no tokens stored

So my honest recommendation is:

1. Stop changing the droplet
2. File the gog bug
3. If you want one extra sanity check later, do it on a different machine you already use, not by reshaping this server

So I’d call this blocked by gog, not by your setup anymore.

If you want, I can give you a short final issue body now, trimmed down so you can paste it straight into GitHub without editing.

[quasi arrow]

Quick question : has this not happened to someone else ? Why is this new to me and also what caused it ?

[dusty prawn]

Yeah, I don’t think you’re the first one.

Similar gog auth/keyring bugs have shown up before, just not always with this exact combo of symptoms. The nearby patterns are:

• file keyring corruption
• headless/non-interactive keyring weirdness
• OAuth appears to succeed, but token storage fails

So the short answer is:

• No, this isn’t uniquely “you”
• Yes, your exact repro looks a bit edge-casey

Why it may feel new now:

1. The bug can stay hidden until re-auth is needed
   If things were already authorized before, gog may never have needed to go through the broken token-save path again.

2. You’re on a pretty specific environment
   /root + SSH/non-interactive + file keyring + 0.12.0-dev is exactly the kind of combo that exposes edge-case auth bugs.

3. Token expiration/revocation changed the path being exercised
   Once old auth stopped being enough, gog had to do a fresh OAuth exchange and save a new refresh token. That save step seems to be the part that’s broken.

What probably caused it:

• most likely: a gog bug in the refresh-token persistence path for this environment
• less likely: Google itself changed something
• unlikely at this point: Maton or your OpenClaw install being the real root cause

So I’d frame it as:

“This probably existed already, but it only became visible once the old auth expired and gog had to store a fresh token.”

That’s why it can feel sudden even if the underlying bug has been there the whole time.

[quasi arrow]

Is it possible that I forgot the key ring password and that caused it ?

[dusty prawn]

Yes, possibly for the old broken tokens, but not for the whole problem.

What that would explain:

• if the file keyring was originally written with password A
• and later gog tried to read it with password B
• then errors like aes.KeyUnwrap(): integrity check failed make sense

So a forgotten/changed keyring password could absolutely explain the decrypt failure on existing stored tokens.

What it does not explain:

• after your clean reset
• with file backend explicitly set
• and a fresh GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD
• gog still ends up with “No tokens stored”

That means:

• possible contributor to the original corruption/decrypt symptom: yes
• full explanation for the current failure to save fresh tokens: no

So my best read is:

1. Old tokens may have become unreadable because of keyring password mismatch
2. Current re-auth still failing to save tokens is a separate gog bug/path

That’s why this got so confusing, I think you likely had two overlapping problems, not just one.

[quasi arrow]

So how do i get it to work now ?

[dusty prawn]

The honest answer is:

On that exact droplet/root gog setup, I don’t think there’s a reliable “make it work now” fix anymore.

So your realistic options are:

1. Fastest working path: run gog on a different machine or non-root user where token saving works
   This is the one I’d recommend.

2. Temporary bypass: use a gog auth mode that doesn’t rely on stored refresh tokens
   gog 0.12 added things like direct access token / ADC flows, but that’s more of a workaround than a clean fix.

3. Permanent path: file the gog bug and wait for a fix

So if your question is “how do I unblock myself today?” my answer is:

Don’t keep fighting /root on this droplet. Use another machine/user, or a temporary non-persistent auth mode.

If you want, I can help with one of these two next:

• a temporary workaround path
• a clean GitHub issue so this gets fixed properly

[quasi arrow]

I have already filed the issue on GitHub

What if I format the droplet and start all over again ?

You there ?

[dusty prawn]

Yep, I’m here.

Short version: I think you’re blocked by a real gog bug on that /root setup, not by something you missed.

Best next move is either:

1. a temporary workaround path, or
2. a GitHub issue write-up

If you want, I can do either one right now.

[quasi arrow]

I have already filed the GitHub issue

[dusty prawn]

Good, that was the right move.

At this point I’d stop churning the droplet and switch to a workaround path instead.

Realistic options for right now:

1. use gog from another machine/user for Gmail/Calendar
2. try a non-persistent auth mode like direct access token / ADC as a temporary bypass
3. keep using the Drive path that still works and wait for the fix

If you want, I can help you think through the least painful temporary workaround next.

[quasi arrow]

Let’s try 1

[dusty prawn]

Good call. Let’s do the another machine/user path.

Best target: your laptop or any machine with a normal user account
Avoid: the droplet /root setup, and avoid sudo

If you’re using a normal desktop/laptop

Use the native keychain, so don’t force file backend unless you have to.

Run these:

gog --client default auth credentials /path/to/client_secret_....json

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive

gog auth list --check

Then test:

gog gmail labels list --account [e-mail]

gog calendar list --account [e-mail]

What this tells us

• If this works on the other machine, then your Google client/project is fine
• and the broken piece is really the droplet /root token-save path

• plus you’ll have a machine where Gmail/Calendar works right now

Important

Use the same client_secret JSON you already found before, preferably one of the 4dfqnvero... ones.

If you want, send back just the output of:

• gog auth list --check

from the other machine.

[quasi arrow]

And explain this to me like I know nothing

[dusty prawn]

Yep. Super simple version:

What gog needs

gog needs 2 things to work with Gmail/Calendar:

1. permission from Google
2. a place on your machine to save that permission

Think of it like this:

• Google gives gog a key
• gog has to put that key into a little lockbox on the machine
• later gog opens the lockbox and reuses the key

What seems broken on your droplet

On the droplet, gog seems able to talk to Google, but then fails when it tries to save the key.

So the question is:

is Google the problem, or is the droplet’s “lockbox” the problem?

Why we want to try another machine

If you run the same gog setup on another machine:

• same Google account
• same client_secret JSON
• but a different machine/user

then we learn something really important.

If it works on the other machine:

That means:

• your Google account is fine
• your Google OAuth client is fine

• gog itself can work
• the droplet is the weird part

If it fails on the other machine too:

That means:

• the issue is probably with the Google client setup or gog more generally

Why I said not to force file backend on a laptop

On a normal laptop, gog can usually use the machine’s normal password/keychain system.

That’s better than the droplet /root setup, because the droplet seems to be where the saving step goes wrong.

So the test is basically:

“If I ask Google for the same key on a different machine, can that machine save it correctly?”

If yes, great, you’re unblocked and we know the droplet is the problem.

If you want, I can give you the same test again in plain English + exact commands, line by line.

[quasi arrow]

Yes please. Also I have mac . Tell me exactly what I need to do step by step

[dusty prawn]

Yep. Let’s do the Mac test, step by step.

Goal

We are trying to see if gog can save the Google permission on your Mac.

If it works on the Mac, that means:

• your Google account is fine
• your Google OAuth client is fine
• the droplet/root setup is the broken part

Important

On the Mac:

• do not use sudo
• do not force file backend
• do not set GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD
• let gog use the normal macOS Keychain

---

Step 1: Open Terminal on your Mac

Step 2: Make sure gog is installed

If you already have it, skip this.

brew install steipete/tap/gogcli

---

Step 3: Get the Google client JSON onto your Mac

You need the same kind of OAuth client JSON you were using before.

Simplest options:

• use the same client_secret_....json file if you already have it on your Mac
• or re-download it from Google Cloud Console onto your Mac

Put it somewhere easy, like:

~/Downloads/client_secret_....json

---

Step 4: Tell gog where that JSON file is

Run this, replacing the filename with your real one:

gog --client default auth credentials ~/Downloads/client_secret_....json

What this does:

• it tells gog which Google app/client to use

---

Step 5: Start Google login

Run this, replacing [e-mail] with your real Gmail address:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive

What should happen:

• your browser opens
• you log into Google
• you approve access

---

Step 6: Check whether gog saved the token

After login finishes, run:

gog auth list --check

What we want:

• it should show your account
• it should not say No tokens stored

---

Step 7: Test Gmail

gog gmail labels list --account [e-mail]

---

Step 8: Test Calendar

gog calendar list --account [e-mail]

---

What to tell me after

Paste back only the output of:

gog auth list --check

If you want, I can also give you the same steps again but with example commands filled in so you only replace your email and filename.

[quasi arrow]

How do i check if gogcli is installed ?

[dusty prawn]

Easiest check:

gog --version

If it’s installed, you’ll get a version number.
If it isn’t, you’ll usually get command not found.

If you also want to see where it’s installed:

command -v gog

[quasi arrow]

/opt/homebrew/bin/gog

[dusty prawn]

Perfect, that means gog is installed on your Mac.

Next steps:

1. Check version:

gog --version

2. Once your client_secret_....json file is on the Mac, register it:

gog --client default auth credentials ~/Downloads/client_secret_....json

If you want, send me the gog --version output and I’ll walk you straight into the next command.

[quasi arrow]

v0.12.0 (c18c58c 2026-03-09T05:53:14Z)

[dusty prawn]

Nice, that’s good, you’ve got a normal v0.12.0 build on the Mac.

Next step is simple:

1. Get the right client_secret_....json onto the Mac

Use one of the files that had:

• 4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b

in the name.

Put it somewhere easy, like ~/Downloads/.

2. Register it with gog

gog --client default auth credentials ~/Downloads/client_secret_....json

3. Start Google auth

Replace [e-mail] with your real email:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive

4. Check whether it worked

gog auth list --check

If you want, do these one at a time and paste back the output of step 2 first.

[quasi arrow]

output of 2 : path /Users/chintan/Library/Application Support/gogcli/credentials.json
client default

[dusty prawn]

Perfect, that means the client secret is registered correctly on the Mac.

Now do this next:

3. Start Google auth

Replace with your real Gmail address:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive

What should happen:

• your browser opens
• you log in
• you approve access
• macOS may ask about Keychain access. If it does, allow it.

4. Check whether gog stored the token

gog auth list --check

Send me the output of step 4.

[quasi arrow]

[e-mail] default calendar,drive,gmail 2026-04-19T18:15:58Z true oauth
[e-mail] default gmail 2026-04-04T19:26:13Z false refresh access token: oauth2: "invalid_grant" "Token has been expired or revoked." oauth

[dusty prawn]

Nice, that’s the proof we needed.

What this means

• [e-mail] works
  • services: calendar,drive,gmail
  • check passed: true
• [e-mail] is still revoked/expired
  • Google says: invalid_grant

Big conclusion

This proves:

• your Google OAuth client is fine
• gog can store tokens correctly
• the real problem is the droplet /root setup, not your Google account or client JSON

That’s actually great news, because now we know the bug is environment-specific.

If you want to use gog right now

Use the Mac for the working account:

gog gmail labels list --account [e-mail]

gog calendar list --account [e-mail]

If you want to fix the second account on the Mac

Re-auth just that account:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail

One more useful thing

I’d update your GitHub issue with this sentence:

“The same client_secret and gog workflow works on macOS v0.12.0 and successfully stores tokens, so the failure appears specific to the droplet/root environment.”

That’s a really strong signal for the maintainer.

[quasi arrow]

[e-mail] default calendar,drive,gmail 2026-04-19T18:15:58Z true oauth
[e-mail] default gmail 2026-04-19T18:18:36Z true oauth

[dusty prawn]

Beautiful, both accounts are healthy now 🎉

That means:

• both Google accounts are fine
• the OAuth client is fine
• gog works on your Mac
• the problem is specifically the droplet /root environment

So your practical status now is:

• Mac: working
• droplet: blocked by the environment-specific bug

I’d add this exact result to your GitHub issue, because it’s the strongest clue yet:

“Both accounts authenticate and persist tokens successfully on macOS v0.12.0 using the same OAuth client. The failure appears specific to the droplet/root environment.”

If this fixed your immediate problem, please right-click the solution message → Apps → ✅ Mark Solution so it gets indexed on Answer Overflow.

[quasi arrow]

ok now that we know what the problem is... can we fix the /root thing

[dusty prawn]

Maybe, but I wouldn’t try to “repair” /root itself.

Now that we know the Mac works, the likely fix is:

stop running the Google auth/storage part under /root

Your real options

1. Best fix, recommended: run OpenClaw/gog under a normal non-root user on the droplet
   This is the most likely way to make it reliable.

2. Keep using /root: low confidence
   At that point you’re basically waiting for a gog fix, because we already proved the same workflow works elsewhere.

3. Hybrid workaround: use the Mac for Google-dependent stuff for now, and keep the droplet for everything else.

My honest recommendation

The fix is probably not “tweak one more keyring thing under /root”.

The fix is probably:

• create a dedicated user on the droplet
• run the Google auth flow there
• use that user’s home/config/keychain path instead of /root

So: yes, we can probably fix the problem, but the fix is likely moving off /root, not healing /root.

If you want, I can outline the cleanest migration plan at a high level, without dumping risky commands into the thread.

[quasi arrow]

lets do that

[dusty prawn]

Cool. Here’s the clean migration plan at a high level.

Goal

Stop using /root for the Google auth/storage part.

Think of it as:

• /root has the broken lockbox
• we’re giving OpenClaw/gog a new lockbox under a normal user

Plan

1. Create a dedicated non-root user

Make a normal user just for this setup, something like:

• openclaw
• or assistant

Important:

• give it its own home directory
• don’t reuse /root

2. Leave the current /root setup alone for now

Don’t rip anything out yet.

Why:

• we want a safe rollback
• we only switch over after the new user works

3. Log in as the new user

From this point on, do the Google/gog setup as that user, not as root.

That means gog will use:

• that user’s home directory
• that user’s config

• that user’s token/keychain storage

4. Install gog under that user

Same gog version is fine, but install/run it in the new user’s environment.

5. Put the OAuth client JSON in the new user’s home

Do not rely on the /root/... path.

Use a fresh copy in the new user’s own directory.

6. Re-auth both Google accounts under the new user

Do a fresh gog auth flow there.

Important:

• don’t copy the old broken token store from /root
• create fresh tokens under the new user

7. Confirm gog works there

Before touching OpenClaw, make sure these pass under the new user:

• gog auth list --check
• a simple Gmail command
• a simple Calendar command

8. Only then move the OpenClaw runtime over

Once gog works under the new user, run the assistant/service from that user too.

That way:

• the service
• the gog config
• the Google tokens

all live in the same user environment.

9. Keep /root as backup until stable

Don’t delete it yet.
Let the new setup prove itself first.

---

In one sentence

We are not fixing /root.
We are moving the Google auth workflow to a clean non-root user, because that is the most likely real fix.

If you want, next I can turn this into a careful step-by-step checklist.

[quasi arrow]

you will have to give me step by step commands to do this

[dusty prawn]

I can help, but I don’t want to paste blind user-creation / service-migration commands into a public thread and accidentally get you locked out of the droplet.

That part is real system surgery.

Safe plan

Here’s the exact order I’d follow:

1. Create a new non-root user
2. Give that user SSH access
3. Open a second terminal and confirm you can log in as that user
4. Only after that, install/run gog as that new user
5. Put the client_secret_....json in that user’s home
6. Run:
   • gog auth credentials ...
   • gog auth add ...
   • gog auth list --check
7. Once Gmail/Calendar work there, move the OpenClaw runtime over to that user

8. Leave /root untouched until the new setup is proven

Why I’m pausing on exact commands

The exact commands depend on things like:

• Ubuntu vs Debian vs something else
• whether you use SSH keys already
• whether OpenClaw is running as a service

If I guess wrong, I can give you commands that are annoying at best and lock-you-out bad at worst.

If you want the exact commands, tell me just these 2 things:

1. what OS/version the droplet is running
2. whether you already SSH in with a key

Then I can keep it conservative and step-by-step.

[quasi arrow]

1 GB / 25 GB / LON1 - Ubuntu 24.04 (LTS) x64

I am on DigitalOcean

[dusty prawn]

Perfect, Ubuntu 24.04 is enough for the OS side.

I still need one last thing before I give exact commands:

Do you SSH into the droplet with an SSH key already, or with a password?

That changes the safe user-setup steps a lot, and I don’t want to guess wrong.

[quasi arrow]

Its with a Password

[dusty prawn]

Yep, I got the DigitalOcean part.

The one thing I still need is:

When you SSH into the droplet, do you use an SSH key or a password?

Just answer with one of:

• SSH key
• password

That’s the piece that changes the safe commands.

[quasi arrow]

password

[dusty prawn]

Okay, since you’re on Ubuntu 24.04 and SSH in with a password, here’s the safest step-by-step path.

Important safety rule

Do not close your current root SSH session until you have confirmed the new user can log in and run sudo.

---

Phase 1, create the new user

1) Create a new user

Run this as root:

adduser openclaw

It will ask you to set a password. Pick one you know.

2) Give that user sudo access

usermod -aG sudo openclaw

---

Phase 2, test the new user in a second terminal

3) Open a second terminal window on your Mac

4) SSH into the droplet as the new user

Replace YOUR_DROPLET_IP with your real server IP:

ssh openclaw@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

5) Confirm you are really the new user

whoami

You want this to print:

openclaw

6) Confirm sudo works

sudo -v

It should ask for the openclaw user password you just set.

If steps 4–6 work, great, the new user is good.

---

Phase 3, check gog under the new user

7) Check whether gog is available for that user

command -v gog

8) Check the version

gog --version

If gog --version works, continue.

If it says command not found, stop there and tell me, because then we need to install gog for that user environment.

---

Phase 4, move the Google auth flow to the new user

9) Put the correct client_secret_....json file into the new user’s home directory

For example:

/home/openclaw/client_secret_....json

10) Register the client secret

gog --client default auth credentials /home/openclaw/client_secret_....json

11) Start auth for your first account

Replace with your real email:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive

12) Check whether token storage works

gog auth list --check

---

Stop point

Do steps 1 through 8 first.

Then send me back only these results:

• output of whoami
• output of gog --version

Once those look good, I’ll give you the next exact commands for the auth part.

For the sudo -v prompt, enter the password you set for the new openclaw user, not the root password.

[quasi arrow]

The phase 3 is fine

0.12.0-dev

[dusty prawn]

Nice. Then let’s do the auth part under the openclaw user.

Keep both sessions open:

• root session
• openclaw session

---

A. In the root session, copy the client secret to the new user

Run these exactly:

cp '/root/.openclaw/media/inbound/client_secret_934350351634_4dfqnveroip8ncg0i29k9qf8hn28ho2b_---e771fc10-d7f8-4939-88a9-ffc9a887b4fe.json' /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

chown openclaw:openclaw /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

---

B. In the openclaw session, register that client secret

gog --client default auth credentials /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

You should get output showing the path/client was stored.

---

C. In the openclaw session, start auth for the first account

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

This will print a Google auth URL.

---

D. On your Mac browser

• open that Google auth URL
• log in
• approve access
• after Google redirects, copy the full callback URL from the browser address bar

It will look like:

http://127.0.0.1:....../oauth2/callback?code=...&state=...

Do not paste that callback URL in Discord.

---

E. Back in the openclaw session, finish step 2

Paste the full callback URL inside the single quotes:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-CALLBACK-URL-HERE'

Important:

• keep the whole callback URL
• keep the single quotes
• don’t remove the &... parts

---

F. Check whether token storage worked

gog auth list --check

---

Stop point

Do B through F for [e-mail] only first.

Then send me only the output of:

gog auth list --check

If that works under openclaw, we’ll do the second account next.

That’s okay, 0.12.0-dev under the openclaw user is fine for this test.

The important thing now is not the version, it’s whether token storage works under the non-root user.

So keep going with these next steps in the openclaw session:

gog --client default auth credentials /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

Then after browser approval:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-CALLBACK-URL-HERE'

And finally:

gog auth list --check

Send me the output of gog auth list --check.

[quasi arrow]

Can i just copy the json file from my mac to openclaw user ? how can i do that ?

[dusty prawn]

Yes, if you mean the client_secret_....json file, that’s fine.

Do not copy:

• credentials.json
• keychain data
• token store files

Copy only the Google OAuth client secret JSON.

From your Mac

Run this in Terminal, replacing the filename and IP:

scp ~/Downloads/client_secret_....json openclaw@YOUR_DROPLET_IP:/home/openclaw/client_secret.json

Because you log in with a password, it should prompt for the openclaw user password.

Then on the droplet, as openclaw

Check that the file is there:

ls -l /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

If that looks good, the next command is:

gog --client default auth credentials /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

So yes, copying the client secret JSON from the Mac is fine. Copying the working Mac token storage is not what I’d do.

[quasi arrow]

So the file is now copied

should we start with the Auth ?

[dusty prawn]

Perfect. Then in the openclaw session, do these next.

1. Register the client secret

gog --client default auth credentials /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

2. Start auth for the first account

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

3. Open the Google URL in your Mac browser, approve access, then run step 2 with the full callback URL

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-CALLBACK-URL-HERE'

4. Check whether it stored the token

gog auth list --check

Send me the output of step 4.

Yes, exactly.

The order now is:

1. register the client secret

gog --client default auth credentials /home/openclaw/client_secret.json

2. start auth

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

3. finish auth with the callback URL

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-CALLBACK-URL-HERE'

4. check token storage

gog auth list --check

So yes, after the file copy, Auth is the next thing.

[quasi arrow]

no code found in URL

[dusty prawn]

That’s the same callback/quoting problem as before.

no code found in URL usually means one of these happened:

1. you pasted the wrong URL
   (the Google auth URL instead of the localhost callback URL)

2. you pasted the callback URL without single quotes, so the shell split on &

Do this exactly

1. Rerun step 1 to get a fresh auth URL

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 1

2. Open that URL in your Mac browser and approve access

3. Copy the final callback URL from the browser address bar

It must start with something like:

http://127.0.0.1:12345/oauth2/callback?code=...&state=...

If it still says accounts.google.com/..., that is the wrong URL.

4. Run step 2 with the full callback URL inside single quotes

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-FULL-http://127.0.0.1:.../oauth2/callback?...-URL-HERE'

Important:

• use the localhost callback URL
• keep all the ?code=...&state=... stuff

• keep the single quotes

Also, don’t paste the live callback URL in Discord.

[quasi arrow]

i dont get any output but hangs at >

[dusty prawn]

That > prompt means the shell thinks your command is not finished yet.

Usually that means:

• you opened a quote '
• but didn’t close it

Fix it

1. Press:

Ctrl + C

to cancel the half-entered command.

2. Rerun the command and make sure the callback URL is wrapped like this:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'http://127.0.0.1:12345/oauth2/callback?code=...&state=...'

There must be:

• one ' before http://...
• one matching ' at the very end

If you miss the closing quote, bash drops to > and waits for more input.

[quasi arrow]

parse redirect url: parse "‘http://127.0.0.1:44979/oauth2/callback?state=wOVND2mcSsTL3CEg9nxubzDBvggw4PSjn1VDG0q3C2I": first path segment in URL cannot contain colon

what does this mean ?

[dusty prawn]

It means the shell thinks your command is unfinished.

Most likely:

• you typed an opening quote '
• but didn’t type the closing quote

So bash is waiting for the rest of the command, and shows:

>

In plain English

It’s saying:

“I’m still waiting, you haven’t finished typing.”

What to do

Press:

Ctrl + C

Then re-run the command, making sure the callback URL starts and ends with '.

If you want, paste the command with the actual URL redacted, and I’ll show you where the quote is missing.

[quasi arrow]

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url ‘xxxxx’

[dusty prawn]

Yep, there it is.

You used curly quotes:

‘xxxxx’

but bash needs straight single quotes:

'xxxxx'

Use this form instead

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail,calendar,drive --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'xxxxx'

So the fix is:

• wrong: ‘ ... ’
• right: ' ... '

Those curly quotes often happen when text gets auto-formatted.

If you rerun it with normal straight quotes, it should stop hanging at >.

[quasi arrow]

Enter passphrase to unlock "/home/openclaw/.config/gogcli/keyring":
[e-mail] default calendar,drive,gmail 2026-04-19T20:06:06Z true oauth

looks like its worked

[dusty prawn]

Yes! That’s it 🎉

This proves:

• the droplet itself is fine
• /root was the broken environment
• the openclaw user works
• gog can now store and read tokens on the droplet under /home/openclaw/.config/gogcli

Also, the passphrase prompt is expected now. That’s the new user’s keyring protecting the stored token.

Next step, if you want the second account too

Run this under openclaw:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail --remote --step 1

Then do the same step 2 flow with the callback URL, and check again:

gog auth list --check

Big takeaway

You didn’t need to “fix root”.
You needed to stop using root for gog/OpenClaw Google auth.

I’d also update the GitHub issue with:

“The issue reproduces under /root, but disappears under a normal non-root user on the same Ubuntu droplet.”

If this fixed it, please right-click the solution message → Apps → ✅ Mark Solution so it gets indexed on Answer Overflow.

Yep, it worked 🎉

You found the real fix:

• not “repair root”
• use a normal user (openclaw) on the droplet

So the working setup is now:

• gog auth + token storage under /home/openclaw/.config/gogcli
• not under /root/.config/gogcli

What I’d do next

1. auth the second Google account under openclaw too, if you need it
2. make sure the OpenClaw runtime that needs Google access also runs under openclaw, not root
3. update your GitHub issue with the final finding

A good one-line update is:

“Confirmed: same Ubuntu droplet works under a normal non-root user (openclaw), but fails under /root.”

If this solved it, please right-click the solution message → Apps → ✅ Mark Solution so it gets indexed on Answer Overflow.

[quasi arrow]

manual auth state mismatch; run remote step 1 again

[dusty prawn]

Yep, that one is much less scary.

It just means the callback URL you pasted belongs to an older step 1 run, so the saved state no longer matches.

Fix

Start fresh and use the new callback URL immediately.

If you’re doing the second account, run:

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail --remote --step 1

Then:

1. open the new Google URL
2. approve access
3. copy the new callback URL

4. run step 2 right away with that new URL

gog --client default auth add [e-mail] --services gmail --remote --step 2 --auth-url 'PASTE-THE-NEW-FULL-CALLBACK-URL-HERE'

Important

• don’t reuse an older callback URL
• do step 2 fairly quickly after step 1
• keep the full callback URL inside straight single quotes '...'

So this is just a stale state token, not the old broken token-storage problem.

[quasi arrow]

[e-mail] default calendar,drive,gmail 2026-04-19T20:06:06Z true oauth
[e-mail] default gmail 2026-04-19T20:14:05Z true oauth

[dusty prawn]

Nice, both accounts are good now 🎉

That means the final picture is:

• droplet + /root = broken for gog token storage
• same droplet + openclaw user = works perfectly

So you’ve got the fix:

run the Google/gog/OpenClaw bits that need these tokens under the openclaw user, not under /root

Your current good state

• [e-mail] ✅
• [e-mail] ✅

I’d do next

1. keep using /home/openclaw/.config/gogcli

2. make sure the OpenClaw runtime that needs Google access runs as openclaw
3. update the GitHub issue with the final result

A good final update for the issue:

“Confirmed: both Google accounts authenticate and persist successfully on the same Ubuntu droplet when run under a normal non-root user (openclaw). The failure is specific to /root.”

If this solved it, please right-click the solution message → Apps → ✅ Mark Solution so it gets indexed on Answer Overflow.

[quasi arrow]

telegram is still saying something different

Unfortunately still blocked by the same OAuth issue we reported on GitHub, Boss. Gmail access is still down for both accounts until that gets fixed.

Has there been any update on the GitHub issue? Or would you like me to re-authenticate both accounts now with the keyring password we set up (xxx!)? 🎯

[dusty prawn]

That actually makes sense.

What it usually means is:

• gog is fixed under the openclaw user
• but the Telegram/OpenClaw process is still running under /root
• so Telegram is still reading the old broken root environment

In plain English:

the tokens now live in /home/openclaw/.config/gogcli,
but Telegram is probably still looking in /root/.config/gogcli

So this is no longer an auth problem, it’s now a which-user-is-running-the-bot problem.

Next thing I need to know

How are you starting OpenClaw on the droplet?

Is it running:

• as a systemd service
• in tmux/screen
• or just from a normal shell command

That tells me how to move the Telegram/OpenClaw process off /root and onto openclaw.

Yep, that message is the giveaway.

That is almost certainly the old root-run OpenClaw/Telegram process talking, not the new openclaw user environment.

So:

• OAuth is not the blocker anymore
• the running bot process is still attached to the old /root setup

Also, don’t post the real keyring password in the thread.

What we need now

We need to find which user owns the running OpenClaw process.

Please run this on the droplet and paste the output:

ps -eo user,pid,cmd | grep -E 'openclaw|clawdbot|moltbot' | grep -v grep

That will tell us whether the Telegram/OpenClaw process is still running as root or already under openclaw.

[quasi arrow]

root 216683 openclaw-gateway
root 481352 sshd: openclaw [priv]
openclaw 481357 /usr/lib/systemd/systemd --user
openclaw 481358 (sd-pam)
openclaw 481420 sshd: openclaw@pts/1
openclaw 481421 -bash
openclaw 481480 /usr/bin/dbus-daemon --session --address=systemd: --nofork --nopidfile --systemd-activation --syslog-only
root 481754 sshd: openclaw [priv]
openclaw 481809 sshd: openclaw@pts/2
openclaw 481810 -bash
openclaw 483126 ps -eo user,pid,cmd

[dusty prawn]

Yep, and the process list confirms why.

openclaw-gateway is still running as root, so Telegram is still using the old /root state.

To fix that, you need to move the OpenClaw state + gateway service from root to openclaw.

Important

• keep both SSH sessions open
• don’t delete /root/.openclaw
• we’ll copy, not move, first

---

1. In the root session, back up the current OpenClaw state

cp -a /root/.openclaw /root/.openclaw.backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)

2. In the root session, copy the state to the new user

rsync -a /root/.openclaw/ /home/openclaw/.openclaw/

chown -R openclaw:openclaw /home/openclaw/.openclaw

3. In the root session, allow the openclaw user service to keep running after logout

loginctl enable-linger openclaw

4. In the root session, stop the old root-run gateway

openclaw gateway stop

5. In the openclaw session, install the gateway service for that user

openclaw gateway install --force

6. In the openclaw session, start it

openclaw gateway start

7. In the openclaw session, check status

openclaw gateway status

8. In the root or openclaw session, confirm the gateway is now owned by openclaw

ps -eo user,pid,cmd | grep openclaw-gateway | grep -v grep

What you want to see

Instead of:

root      ... openclaw-gateway

you want:

openclaw  ... openclaw-gateway

---

If you do these steps, paste back only:

• output of openclaw gateway status
• output of ps -eo user,pid,cmd | grep openclaw-gateway | grep -v grep

If this fixed it, please right-click the solution message → Apps → ✅ Mark Solution so it gets indexed on Answer Overflow.

[quasi arrow]

openclaw 483499 openclaw-gateway

[dusty prawn]

Perfect, that’s the missing piece 🎉

openclaw-gateway is now running as:

openclaw

That means:

• the gateway
• the gog token store
• the Google auth state

are finally all under the same user.

So this should be the real end of it.

What to do now

Send a fresh Telegram message and test Gmail/Calendar again.

At this point, if Telegram was still saying the old thing before, it was because the bot process was still running under root. That part is now fixed.

Final root cause

The bug wasn’t just “OAuth is broken”.
It was:

OAuth/token storage under /root was broken, and the bot was also still running under /root.

Moving both gog auth and the gateway to the openclaw user fixed the mismatch.

If this solved it, please right-click the solution message → Apps → ✅ Mark Solution so it gets indexed on Answer Overflow.

[quasi arrow]

now telegram says "Something went wrong while processing your request. Please try again."

[dusty prawn]

That’s actually a different failure now, which is useful.

It means Telegram is probably reaching the new gateway, but the gateway hit some runtime error while handling the request.

So now we need the actual error log.

As the openclaw user, run these:

openclaw gateway status

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 50 --no-pager

Paste the output, especially the last error lines.

This is progress, even though it’s annoying, because we’re past the old root/OAuth mismatch and into the next real error.

[quasi arrow]

Troubleshooting: https://docs.openclaw.ai/troubleshooting
openclaw@ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01:~$ openclaw gateway status

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.9 (0512059)
We ship features faster than Apple ships calculator updates.

│
◇
Service: systemd (enabled)
File logs: /tmp/openclaw-1000/openclaw-2026-04-19.log
Command: /usr/bin/node /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway --port 18789
Service file: ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service
Service env: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=18789

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

Gateway: bind=lan (0.0.0.0), port=18789 (service args)
Probe target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
Dashboard: http://144.126.192.250:18789/
Probe note: bind=lan listens on 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces); probing via 127.0.0.1.

Runtime: running (pid 483499, state active, sub running, last exit 0, reason 0)
RPC probe: ok

Listening: *:18789
Troubles: run openclaw status
Troubleshooting: https://docs.openclaw.ai/troubleshooting

[dusty prawn]

That status actually looks healthy.

So:

• the gateway is running
• the service is installed correctly under openclaw
• RPC probe is okay

That means the Telegram error is probably coming from inside request handling, not from the gateway being down.

So the next thing we need is still the log output.

Please run this as openclaw

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 50 --no-pager

Paste the last error lines from that. That’s where the real cause should show up.

[quasi arrow]

Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: Error: EACCES: permission denied, mkdir '/root/.openclaw/workspace/state'
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at Object.mkdir (node:internal/fs/promises:858:10)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at Object.start (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/register.runtime-CaF2lh4r.js:4695:4)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at startPluginServices (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/server.impl-BxLfE9ri.js:27193:4)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at startGatewaySidecars (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/server.impl-BxLfE9ri.js:27456:20)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at Module.startGatewayServer (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/server.impl-BxLfE9ri.js:30209:24)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at startGatewayServer (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/server-pYxwJSF9.js:7:9)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at Object.start (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-BB4zg2Pu.js:1322:47)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at runGatewayLoop (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-BB4zg2Pu.js:974:14)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at startLoop (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-BB4zg2Pu.js:1319:32)
Apr 19 20:23:57 ubuntu-s-1vcpu-1gb-lon1-01 node[483499]: at runGatewayCommand$1 (file:///usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-BB4zg2Pu.js:1332:4)

[dusty prawn]

We found the next problem.

The gateway is now running as openclaw, but something in the migrated state/config is still pointing at /root/.openclaw/workspace.

That’s why it’s trying to do:

mkdir '/root/.openclaw/workspace/state'

even though the service now runs as openclaw.

Next step, don’t edit anything yet

As openclaw, run this:

grep -Rni '/root/.openclaw' /home/openclaw/.openclaw

Paste the output.

What I expect:

• some file inside ~/.openclaw still has an absolute /root/.openclaw/... path
• we’ll update that to /home/openclaw/.openclaw/...

This is good progress, we’ve gone from “mystery Telegram error” to a very concrete stale path reference.

[quasi arrow]

/home/openclaw/.openclaw/logs/config-audit.jsonl:20:{"ts":"2026-04-14T21:03:42.808Z","source":"config-io","event":"config.write","configPath":"/root/.openclaw/openclaw.json","pid":270321,"ppid":270313,"cwd":"/root/.openclaw/workspace","argv":["/usr/bin/node","/usr/bin/openclaw","config","set","agents.defaults.heartbeat.every","0m"],"execArgv":["--disable-warning=ExperimentalWarning"],"watchMode":false,"watchSession":null,"watchCommand":null,"existsBefore":true,"previousHash":"2d9cd5569f6bb8c1d51dab11a21b09ba83886235ead40b45d121b61669c7c46a","nextHash":"f048f5728b29fe952d2972cb625257464f3beea5058c8383a9583dad15b777d9","previousBytes":2552,"nextBytes":2552,"previousDev":"64769","previousIno":"1048758","previousMode":384,"previousNlink":1,"previousUid":0,"previousGid":0,"changedPathCount":null,"hasMetaBefore":true,"hasMetaAfter":true,"gatewayModeBefore":"local","gatewayModeAfter":"local","suspicious":[],"result":"rename","nextDev":"64769","nextIno":"1048960","nextMode":384,"nextNlink":1,"nextUid":0,"nextGid":0}
/home/openclaw/.openclaw/logs/config-health.json:3: "/root/.openclaw/openclaw.json": {
/home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json:4: "workspace": "/root/.openclaw/workspace",
/home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json.good:4: "workspace": "/root/.openclaw/workspace",

[dusty prawn]

Perfect, we found the exact stale path.

The fix is to change:

/root/.openclaw/workspace

to:

/home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace

in the copied config.

As openclaw, run these

1. Back up the two config files

cp /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak

cp /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json.good /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json.good.bak

2. Replace the stale root workspace path in both files

sed -i 's#/root/.openclaw/workspace#/home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace#g' /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json.good

3. Make sure the new workspace directory exists

mkdir -p /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace

4. Restart the gateway

openclaw gateway restart

5. Check status

openclaw gateway status

Then try Telegram again.

This is a really nice, concrete fix: the service moved to openclaw, but the config still had a hardcoded /root workspace path.

[quasi arrow]

Service: systemd (enabled)
File logs: /tmp/openclaw-1000/openclaw-2026-04-19.log
Command: /usr/bin/node /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway --port 18789
Service file: ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service
Service env: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=18789

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

Gateway: bind=lan (0.0.0.0), port=18789 (service args)
Probe target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
Dashboard: http://144.126.192.250:18789/
Probe note: bind=lan listens on 0.0.0.0 (all interfaces); probing via 127.0.0.1.

Runtime: running (pid 483981, state active, sub running, last exit 0, reason 0)
RPC probe: ok

Listening: *:18789
Troubles: run openclaw status
Troubleshooting: https://docs.openclaw.ai/troubleshooting

[dusty prawn]

Nice, the gateway looks healthy again.

So now the checklist is:

• service running as openclaw ✅
• config under ~/.openclaw ✅
• no obvious startup failure ✅

Next step

Try Telegram again now.

If it still throws the generic error, immediately run:

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 50 --no-pager

and paste the newest lines.

At this point we’re down to request-specific errors again, not the old root/path problem.

[quasi arrow]

how can i check if all the .md files are copied ?

[dusty prawn]

Easiest way is to compare the Markdown file lists between the two state dirs.

Run this as root:

diff -u <(cd /root/.openclaw && find . -type f -name '*.md' | sort) <(cd /home/openclaw/.openclaw && find . -type f -name '*.md' | sort)

What it means

• no output = the .md file list matches
• output with - / + lines = something exists in one place but not the other

If you just want the counts first:

find /root/.openclaw -type f -name '*.md' | wc -l

find /home/openclaw/.openclaw -type f -name '*.md' | wc -l

If you want, I can also give you the command to compare all files, not just .md files.

[quasi arrow]

root has 16 openclaw has 17

[dusty prawn]

That by itself is not necessarily bad.

openclaw having one extra .md file is usually okay, it can happen from:

• new-user bootstrap files
• a new session/workspace note
• a generated markdown file that didn’t exist under root

What matters more is:

Is openclaw missing any important .md files that root had?

So the next useful check is the actual file-name diff:

diff -u <(cd /root/.openclaw && find . -type f -name '*.md' | sort) <(cd /home/openclaw/.openclaw && find . -type f -name '*.md' | sort)

If you paste that output, I can tell you whether the extra file is harmless or whether something important is missing.

[quasi arrow]

--- /dev/fd/63 2026-04-19 20:44:22.983099190 +0000
+++ /dev/fd/62 2026-04-19 20:44:22.983099190 +0000
@@ -12,5 +12,6 @@
./workspace/memory/2026-04-09.md
./workspace/memory/2026-04-14-email-workspace-files.md
./workspace/memory/2026-04-14-health-check.md
+./workspace/memory/2026-04-19-2037.md
./workspace/skills/gmail/SKILL.md
./workspace/skills/gog/SKILL.md

[dusty prawn]

That diff looks fine.

The only difference is:

./workspace/memory/2026-04-19-2037.md

That’s just one extra memory note under the new openclaw workspace.

So the takeaway is:

• you are not missing any important .md files
• the extra file is harmless
• the Markdown copy is not the problem

So if Telegram is still acting weird, the next thing to compare would be non-Markdown state, especially things under:

• credentials/
• sessions/
• other config/state files

If you want, I can give you the safest command to compare the full file list, not just .md files.

[quasi arrow]

it does not remember anything from the md files i had updated in .root

[dusty prawn]

That can happen, and it doesn’t mean the .md files failed to copy.

The important distinction is:

• files on disk = copied ✅
• what the current live session has loaded/cached = may still be stale

So the likely problem now is session state, not file copy.

In plain English

The bot can have:

1. the right Markdown files on disk
2. but still be talking from an older session/context

That’s especially likely if you’re testing in the same Telegram conversation that existed before the migration.

Best next test

Try a brand-new Telegram conversation / fresh session with the bot and ask something that depends on those .md files.

If the fresh session remembers them, then the issue is just:

• old session state
• not missing files

If the fresh session still doesn’t remember them, then we should compare:

• sessions/
• memory/index/state files
• not the Markdown files themselves

So right now my guess is:

The files are there, but the current Telegram session is stale.

[quasi arrow]

The Fresh session does not remember them

[dusty prawn]

Okay, that’s a really useful clue.

If a fresh session still doesn’t remember them, then the problem is probably:

the .md files may exist in both places, but their contents may not actually match

So far we only proved:

• same file names ✅

We have not proved:

• same file contents ❌

Next check, compare the actual contents

Run this as root:

diff -rq /root/.openclaw /home/openclaw/.openclaw | grep '\.md'

What this does

It will tell us if any Markdown files:

• differ in content
• exist only on one side

If it prints nothing, then the Markdown contents match too.
If it shows differences, that would explain why the fresh session doesn’t “remember” the updates.

So this is the next real question:

did we copy the same Markdown files, or just the same Markdown filenames?

[quasi arrow]

Only in /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory: 2026-04-19-2037.md

[dusty prawn]

Good, that rules the Markdown files out.

So now we know:

• same .md filenames ✅
• same .md contents ✅
• fresh session still doesn’t remember them ❌

That means the problem is not the Markdown files.

The next likely culprit is non-Markdown state, like:

• session state
• memory/index files
• agent/runtime state
• other copied config

Next check, compare the full state dirs

Run this as root:

diff -rq /root/.openclaw /home/openclaw/.openclaw | grep -v '/logs/' | head -200

Why

That will show us if any important non-Markdown files differ between the old root state and the new openclaw state.

At this point, that’s the right place to look. We’ve basically cleared the .md files.

[quasi arrow]

Part 1/2 : Files /root/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-state.json and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/agents/main/agent/auth-state.json differ
Only in /home/openclaw/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions: cab53fda-af83-4b4f-8539-6092fff9a40f.jsonl
Only in /root/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions: d1c15a40-3c78-44fc-9153-401235c4af53.jsonl
Only in /home/openclaw/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions: d1c15a40-3c78-44fc-9153-401235c4af53.jsonl.reset.2026-04-19T20-37-21.392Z
Files /root/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions/sessions.json and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions/sessions.json differ
Files /root/.openclaw/devices/paired.json and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/devices/paired.json differ
Files /root/.openclaw/identity/device-auth.json and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/identity/device-auth.json differ
Files /root/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite differ
Files /root/.openclaw/openclaw.json and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json differ
Files /root/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak differ
Files /root/.openclaw/openclaw.json.good and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/openclaw.json.good differ

Part 2/2 : Only in /home/openclaw/.openclaw: openclaw.json.good.bak
Files /root/.openclaw/tasks/runs.sqlite-shm and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/tasks/runs.sqlite-shm differ
Files /root/.openclaw/tasks/runs.sqlite-wal and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/tasks/runs.sqlite-wal differ
Files /root/.openclaw/telegram/command-hash-default-3c275b2194c955c6.txt and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/telegram/command-hash-default-3c275b2194c955c6.txt differ
Files /root/.openclaw/telegram/update-offset-default.json and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/telegram/update-offset-default.json differ
Files /root/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams/events.jsonl and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams/events.jsonl differ
Files /root/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams/short-term-recall.json and /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams/short-term-recall.json differ
Only in /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory: 2026-04-19-2037.md

[dusty prawn]

This is actually very helpful.

Most of those differences are expected now, for example:

• auth-state.json
• sessions/
• sessions.json
• devices/paired.json
• identity/device-auth.json

Those changed because you:

• switched users
• restarted the gateway
• created new sessions
• re-paired / re-ran parts of the setup

The one that stands out

[dusty prawn]

This one is the important one for “it doesn’t remember the .md updates”:

/root/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite
/home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite

That looks like the actual memory/index database is different.

So I would not blindly copy everything back over.
I would only test restoring the old memory DB.

Safe test

1. As openclaw, stop the gateway

openclaw gateway stop

2. As root, back up the current openclaw memory DB

cp /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite.bak-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)

3. As root, copy the old root memory DB over

cp /root/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite

4. As root, fix ownership

chown openclaw:openclaw /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite

5. As openclaw, start the gateway again

openclaw gateway start

6. Test a fresh Telegram session again

Why this is the right next move

• we already proved the .md files themselves match
• we already proved the gateway/user/auth setup is fixed
• the remaining likely difference is the memory DB

So yes, I think memory/main.sqlite is the most promising next fix.

This is really helpful.

What matters

A lot of those differences are normal after a user/service migration:

• telegram/update-offset...
• telegram/command-hash...
• tasks/runs.sqlite-*
• session files
• device/auth files

I would not touch those.

What matters for “memory”

These are the ones that stand out:

• memory/main.sqlite

• workspace/memory/.dreams/events.jsonl
• workspace/memory/.dreams/short-term-recall.json

That means the memory/index + recall state differs, not just the Markdown files.

Better restore test

Instead of restoring only main.sqlite, I’d restore the memory-related files together.

1. As openclaw, stop the gateway

openclaw gateway stop

2. As root, back up the current openclaw memory DB

cp /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite.bak-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)

3. As root, back up the current .dreams directory

cp -a /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams.bak-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)

4. As root, restore the old root memory DB

cp /root/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite

5. As root, restore the old root .dreams directory

rm -rf /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams
cp -a /root/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams

6. As root, fix ownership

chown -R openclaw:openclaw /home/openclaw/.openclaw/memory /home/openclaw/.openclaw/workspace/memory

7. As openclaw, start the gateway again

openclaw gateway start

Then test a fresh Telegram session again.

Why

At this point, the real difference seems to be:

• not the .md files
• not the Telegram transport
• but the memory database + dreams/recall state

So this is the most targeted next fix.

[quasi arrow]

Telegram Says : The Gmail credentials need to be re-authenticated. Your OAuth token has expired. Should I re-auth Gmail now, or would you like me to handle that later?

you there ?