Openclaw not working | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

bold crater Apr 28, 2026, 7:21 AM

#

I can't get openclaw working...

Keeping getting this message on telegram

"⚠️ Something went wrong while processing your request. Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session."

weary vortexBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:21 AM

#

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

hard estuaryBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:22 AM

#

That Telegram message is a generic wrapper — the real error will be in the Gateway logs.

First, please paste this output:

openclaw --version
openclaw status --all
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw pairing list telegram

Then trigger the Telegram error once and check:

openclaw logs --follow

#

Don’t paste bot tokens/API keys.

One thing to look for: if logs mention PAIRING_REQUIRED, scope-upgrade, or GatewayClientRequestError: scope upgrade pending approval, fix it with:

openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <requestId>
openclaw gateway restart

Docs for the relevant checks: https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq and https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/troubleshooting 🦐

bold crater Apr 28, 2026, 7:23 AM

#

OpenClaw 2026.4.23 (a979721)
Config warnings:

plugins.entries.slack: plugin disabled (not in allowlist) but config is present
plugins.entries.openclaw-engram: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-core") but config is present

hard estuaryBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:24 AM

#

Those two config warnings are probably not the Telegram failure — they’re “stale config present but plugin disabled” warnings.

The next useful bit is the actual runtime error. Please run:

openclaw status --all
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw pairing list telegram

Then in another terminal:

openclaw logs --follow

Send one message to your Telegram bot until it shows the error, then paste the log lines from that moment.

#

If you see anything like PAIRING_REQUIRED, scope-upgrade, or pending approval, run:

openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <requestId>
openclaw gateway restart

Telegram troubleshooting docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/troubleshooting 🦐

bold crater Apr 28, 2026, 7:45 AM

#

Further output:

"Config warnings:

plugins.entries.slack: plugin disabled (not in allowlist) but config is present
plugins.entries.openclaw-engram: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-core") but config is present
◇
Gateway reachable.
Telegram default: enabled, configured, running, connected, in:2m ago, mode:polling, bot:@Merv1Bot, token:config, groups:unmentioned, works, audit failed

Tip: status --deep adds gateway health probes to status output (requires a reachable gateway).
Config warnings:

plugins.entries.slack: plugin disabled (not in allowlist) but config is present
plugins.entries.openclaw-engram: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-core") but config is present
08:23:23 [plugins] [lcm] Plugin loaded (enabled=true, db=/Users/macmini/.openclaw/lcm.db, threshold=0.75)
Config warnings:
plugins.entries.slack: plugin disabled (not in allowlist) but config is present
plugins.entries.openclaw-engram: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-core") but config is present

🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.23 (a979721) — If you can describe it, I can probably automate it—or at least make it funnier.

│
◇ Config warnings ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ - plugins.entries.slack: plugin disabled (not in allowlist) but config is present │
│ - plugins.entries.openclaw-engram: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-core") │
│ but config is present "

hard estuaryBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:46 AM

#

Good news: Telegram itself is reachable here:

running, connected, mode:polling, bot:@Merv1Bot, token:config, works

So this probably isn’t a bad bot token.

Two separate things in that output:

The plugin warnings are likely harmless cleanup noise.
groups:unmentioned, audit failed means your Telegram group config is asking OpenClaw to handle unmentioned group messages, but the bot/group setup may not support that. Common fixes:
- In BotFather: /setprivacy → Disable for @Merv1Bot
- remove + re-add the bot to the Telegram group
- or keep privacy mode on and mention the bot explicitly in group messages

But if you’re getting the error in a DM, the next thing to check is the agent/model error, not Telegram.

Please run this while sending one failing Telegram message:

#

openclaw logs --follow

Then paste the lines around the failure. Also useful:

openclaw channels status --probe --json
openclaw models status
openclaw doctor

The key bit we need is the actual exception after the Telegram message comes in — the friendly “Something went wrong” message hides the real cause. Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/telegram#troubleshooting 🦐

bold crater Apr 28, 2026, 7:49 AM

#

07:49:07+00:00 info Telegram: ok (@Merv1Bot) (39ms)
07:49:07+00:00 info Agents: main (default), qwen
07:49:07+00:00 info Heartbeat interval: 2h (main)
07:49:07+00:00 info Session store (main): /Users/macmini/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions/sessions.json (284 entries)
07:49:07+00:00 info - agent:main:telegram:direct:6034907749 (5m ago)
07:49:07+00:00 info - agent:main:main:heartbeat (6m ago)
07:49:07+00:00 info - agent:main:cron:7bf409f6-8205-4391-acb6-b209f094e394 (9m ago)
07:49:07+00:00 info - agent:main:cron:7bf409f6-8205-4391-acb6-b209f094e394:run:46f699d6-edd4-49ac-8757-90f43ad1a4bb (9m ago)
07:49:07+00:00 info - agent:main:cron:7bf409f6-8205-4391-acb6-b209f094e394:run:ea50fa56-4138-4d05-bd42-35876c53f551 (29m ago)
07:49:07+00:00 warn Config warnings:

plugins.entries.slack: plugin disabled (not in allowlist) but config is present
plugins.entries.openclaw-engram: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-core") but config is present
07:49:07+00:00 info gateway/ws {"subsystem":"gateway/ws"} ⇄ res ✓ channels.status 515ms conn=207b99df…488d id=88c3f574…d5d8
07:49:08+00:00 info gateway/ws {"subsystem":"gateway/ws"} ⇄ res ✓ doctor.memory.status 919ms conn=f3d97aed…3068 id=b8f7e6e2…0e0e
07:49:09+00:00 info plugins {"subsystem":"plugins"} [lcm] Plugin loaded (enabled=true, db=/Users/macmini/.openclaw/lcm.db, threshold=0.75)
07:49:10+00:00 info Run "openclaw doctor --fix" to apply changes.

hard estuaryBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:49 AM

#

That paste is from status/doctor, not the failing Telegram turn — there’s no inbound Telegram message or agent exception in it yet.

What we know now:

Telegram token is good: Telegram: ok (@Merv1Bot)
Gateway is reachable
The failing session is likely agent:main:telegram:direct:6034907749
Doctor found fixable config/state issues: Run "openclaw doctor --fix"

I’d do this next:

openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw gateway restart

Then in Telegram send:

#

/new

If it still errors, run this and leave it open:

openclaw logs --follow

Then send a simple hi to the Telegram bot and paste the log lines that appear immediately after that. Also paste:

openclaw models status

At this point Telegram looks healthy, so I’m expecting the real failure is probably model/auth/session runtime rather than the Telegram channel itself.

bold crater Apr 28, 2026, 7:51 AM

#

running "/new" in telegram gives me this message "openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw gateway restart"

#

sorry

hard estuaryBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:51 AM

#

Ah — those two lines are terminal commands, not Telegram commands.

Run these on the Mac mini / machine where OpenClaw is installed:

openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw gateway restart

Then go back to Telegram and send:

/new

If it still gives the “Something went wrong” message, leave this running in Terminal:

#

openclaw logs --follow

Then send hi to the Telegram bot and paste the new log lines that appear right after that. That’ll show the actual error. 🦐

bold crater Apr 28, 2026, 7:51 AM

#

it gives me this message "⚠️ Something went wrong while processing your request. Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session."

hard estuaryBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:51 AM

#

No worries at all — that was easy to misread.

Run those in Terminal on the OpenClaw machine:

openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw gateway restart

Then test Telegram with:

/new
hi

If it still fails, run this in Terminal and paste what appears when you send hi:

#

openclaw logs --follow

#

Yep, that means the Telegram wrapper is still hiding the real error.

Please do this exact sequence:

Open Terminal and run:

openclaw logs --follow

Leave that running.
In Telegram, send:

hi

#

Copy/paste the new Terminal log lines that appear right after sending hi.

Also paste:

openclaw models status

The Telegram bot is connected, so the next suspect is model/auth/session runtime — the logs will tell us which one.

bold crater Apr 28, 2026, 7:54 AM

#

07:52:17+00:00 error diagnostic {"subsystem":"diagnostic"} lane task error: lane=main durationMs=100 error="Error: Failed to inspect sandbox image: failed to connect to the docker API at unix:///Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock; check if the path is correct and if the daemon is running: dial unix /Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock: connect: no such file or directory"
07:52:17+00:00 error diagnostic {"subsystem":"diagnostic"} lane task error: lane=session:agent:main:telegram:direct:6034907749 durationMs=100 error="Error: Failed to inspect sandbox image: failed to connect to the docker API at unix:///Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock; check if the path is correct and if the daemon is running: dial unix /Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock: connect: no such file or directory"
07:52:17+00:00 warn model-fallback/decision {"subsystem":"model-fallback/decision"} {"event":"model_fallback_decision","tags":["error_handling","model_fallback","candidate_failed"],"runId":"095c265d-a20e-4417-a060-403d2dba6451","decision":"candidate_failed","requestedProvider":"anthropic","requestedModel":"claude-sonnet-4-6","candidateProvider":"anthropic","candidateModel":"claude-sonnet-4-6","attempt":1,"total":2,"errorPreview":"Failed to inspect sandbox image: failed to connect to the docker API at unix:///Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock; check if the path is correct and if the daemon is running: dial unix /Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock: connect: no such file or directory","errorHash":"sha256:34a7fbd86785","nextCandidateProvider":"openai","nextCandidateModel":"gpt-5.5","isPrimary":true,"requestedModelMatched":true,"fallbackConfigured":true} model fallback decision

#

07:52:17+00:00 error diagnostic {"subsystem":"diagnostic"} lane task error: lane=main durationMs=91 error="Error: Failed to inspect sandbox image: failed to connect to the docker API at unix:///Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock; check if the path is correct and if the daemon is running: dial unix /Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock: connect: no such file or directory"
07:52:17+00:00 error diagnostic {"subsystem":"diagnostic"} lane task error: lane=session:agent:main:telegram:direct:6034907749 durationMs=91 error="Error: Failed to inspect sandbox image: failed to connect to the docker API at unix:///Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock; check if the path is correct and if the daemon is running: dial unix /Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock: connect: no such file or directory"
07:52:17+00:00 error Embedded agent failed before reply: Failed to inspect sandbox image: failed to connect to the docker API at unix:///Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock; check if the path is correct and if the daemon is running: dial unix /Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock: connect: no such file or directory

hard estuaryBOT Apr 28, 2026, 7:54 AM

#

Found it — this is not Telegram. OpenClaw is trying to start/use the Docker sandbox, but Docker/OrbStack isn’t running or the socket path is stale:

failed to connect to the docker API at unix:///Users/macmini/.orbstack/run/docker.sock

Fastest fix: disable sandboxing for now. Run this in Terminal on the Mac mini:

openclaw config set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode off
openclaw gateway restart

Then in Telegram try:

#

/new
hi

If you want sandboxing enabled instead, start/install OrbStack or Docker Desktop, then verify this works in Terminal:

docker info

You can also inspect what OpenClaw thinks the sandbox config is with:

openclaw sandbox explain

#

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/sandboxing 🦐

#Openclaw not working