Agent not showing in chat dashboard | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

north spindle Apr 18, 2026, 9:53 AM

#

I have 2 agents (ive checked by doing openclaw agents list).
In the chat dashboard at the top left there is an option to select the agent i want to talk to, only 1 agent shows (main).
My jeff agent does not show even though it is the default one.
Why could this be?

novel drumBOT Apr 18, 2026, 9:53 AM

#

signal lynxBOT Apr 18, 2026, 9:53 AM

#

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

novel drumBOT Apr 18, 2026, 9:53 AM

#

fossil lanternBOT Apr 18, 2026, 9:57 AM

#

Most likely, the dashboard is talking to a different running gateway/profile than the CLI you used.

The picker in the dashboard comes from the Gateway agents.list response, and that only reflects the running gateway's configured agents. So if openclaw agents list shows jeff but the dashboard only shows main, the usual causes are:

CLI config/profile != service config/profile
gateway/browser hasn’t refreshed since you added jeff
older version bug. There was a fix in 2026.2.13 for a phantom main agent showing in gateway agent listings

I’d check these first:

openclaw --version
openclaw gateway status
openclaw agents list --json
openclaw config get agents.list

#

Important bit: in openclaw gateway status, see if Config (cli) and Config (service) are different. If they are, that’s the problem.

If so, run from the same profile/env you want the service to use:

openclaw gateway install --force
openclaw gateway restart

Then hard refresh the dashboard.

Docs:

If you paste those 4 outputs, I can usually tell exactly which case it is pretty fast.

north spindle Apr 18, 2026, 10:01 AM

#

greenollie@DESKTOP-PASSWORD:~$ openclaw --version
OpenClaw 2026.4.15 (041266a)

greenollie@DESKTOP-PASSWORD:~$ openclaw gateway status

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.15 (041266a) — I speak fluent bash, mild sarcasm, and aggressive tab-completion energy.

│
◇
Service: systemd (enabled)
File logs: /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-2026-04-18.log
Command: /usr/bin/node /home/greenollie/.npm-global/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=loopback (127.0.0.1), port=18789 (service args)
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: running (pid 11132, state active, sub running, last exit 0, reason 0)
RPC probe: ok

Listening: 127.0.0.1:18789
Troubles: run openclaw status
Troubleshooting: https://docs.openclaw.ai/troubleshooting

greenollie@DESKTOP-PASSWORD:~$ openclaw agents list --json
[
{
"id": "jeff",
"name": "Jeff",
"workspace": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/workspace-jeff",
"agentDir": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/agents/jeff/agent",
"model": "openai/gpt-5-nano",
"bindings": 0,
"isDefault": true,
"routes": [
"default (no explicit rules)"
],
"providers": [
"WhatsApp default: linked"
]
},
{
"id": "main",
"name": "TEST",
"workspace": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/workspace-main",
"agentDir": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/agents/main/agent",
"model": "openai/gpt-5-nano",
"bindings": 0,
"isDefault": false
}
]

#

greenollie@DESKTOP-PASSWORD:~$ openclaw config get agents.list

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.15 (041266a) — Less clicking, more shipping, fewer "where did that file go" moments.

[
{
"id": "jeff",
"name": "Jeff",
"workspace": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/workspace-jeff",
"agentDir": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/agents/jeff/agent"
},
{
"id": "main",
"name": "TEST",
"workspace": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/workspace-main",
"agentDir": "/home/greenollie/.openclaw/agents/main/agent"
}
]

fossil lanternBOT Apr 18, 2026, 10:07 AM

#

Your version/config look fine, so this probably is not a CLI vs service mismatch.

What you’re likely seeing is a Control UI limitation/bug:

that top-left dropdown is effectively a session selector, not a clean “all agents” picker
openclaw agents list shows configured agents
the chat header dropdown is built from the current sessionKey plus sessions.list, so an agent can exist but still not show there yet

So yes, in your case jeff can be the default agent and still not appear there.

Why this happens:

default agent does not automatically mean “show this agent as a visible chat option”
if the UI is still on the legacy/current main session alias, the dropdown can show only main

Try this directly:

<http://127.0.0.1:18789/?session=agent:jeff:main>

#

Then do a hard refresh/reconnect.

If that opens Jeff correctly, I’d treat this as a UI bug/rough edge, not bad config.

Docs:

If you want, I can help you write a tight GitHub issue with the exact repro steps.

#

Yep, that confirms it, both agents are configured.

A small nuance: openclaw config get agents.list showing no explicit default flag is still normal here. With this config, jeff is effectively the default because it’s the first entry (which matches what openclaw agents list --json resolved).

So at this point the problem is very likely UI-side, not config-side:

gateway config matches CLI config
both agents exist
jeff resolves as default
but the dashboard header still only shows main

That points back to the dashboard control being session-driven, not a true configured-agent picker.

I’d try this next:

<http://127.0.0.1:18789/?session=agent:jeff:main>

#Agent not showing in chat dashboard