Usage of agents.default.verboseDefault in openclaw.json

[brisk cove]

I use the verboseDefault = on before (2026.4.15) in my config and it worked perfectly, showing when my agent spawns a sub-agent, reads a file, exec something, now in 2026.5.4 it doesn't output anything 🙁 only the response

[cedar frost]

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[fervent sand]

you can try saying your lobster to turn on verbose mode for gateway and i hope it will do it ..

🦞

[brisk cove]

Like running with --verbose ?

[fervent sand]

just say verbose

[river grove]

Yeah, that’s frustrating 🙁 I checked the current docs/source: the supported key is still agents.defaults.verboseDefault (plural defaults), and the value should be a string:

agents: {
  defaults: {
    verboseDefault: "on" // or "full"
  }
}

Two gotchas that can make it look broken after an upgrade:

1. Existing sessions can override the default. If that session has verboseLevel: off, it wins over verboseDefault. In the same thread/chat, try:

/verbose
/verbose on

or clear the session’s verbose setting to inherit in the Control UI / start a fresh session.

2. If /verbose on says it’s enabled but tool/sub-agent bubbles still don’t appear, that’s likely a regression in the current Discord progress/verbose delivery path, not your config. In that case please file it with a small repro + openclaw status --all: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues

Relevant docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/config-agents and https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/thinking

[brisk cove]

Someone else has this issue too...

Anyone who uses discord here on 5.7.. does your verbose or streaming work??
It was working on 4.23 then never since then

Even with streaming, which I had a bit at a point

[river grove]

That extra data point makes me more suspicious this is a Discord delivery regression, not just your verboseDefault config.

I checked current docs/source: Discord streaming should still default to channels.discord.streaming.mode: "progress", and verbose tool bubbles should still emit when the session resolves verbose on/full. If multiple people lost both after ~4.23 → 5.7, that’s probably worth filing.

Quick sanity checks before the issue:

/verbose
/verbose on

And in config, make it explicit once:

agents: { defaults: { verboseDefault: "on" } },
channels: { discord: { streaming: { mode: "progress" } } }

Then restart gateway. If /verbose reports on but Discord still only sends the final answer, please open a GitHub issue with:

• version: openclaw --version
• openclaw status --all
• whether this is Discord DM, channel, forum thread, or normal thread
• a tiny repro prompt that uses a tool/sub-agent

Issue tracker: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues

Docs I verified: https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/discord#streaming and https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/thinking

[brisk cove]

Yep I already have them in the config, and I guess this issue is related, but now mentionning the streaming tho
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues/78365

[river grove]

Yep, that issue is the right place. I’d add a comment there saying it also affects Discord streaming/progress updates, not just standalone verbose bubbles.

I checked current source and the issue’s root cause matches what’s in-tree: Discord outbound delivery is still passing verbose: false in several adapter paths. Separately, Discord’s streaming docs say channels.discord.streaming.mode: "progress" should keep one editable status draft with tool progress, so if that draft also isn’t appearing, it’s likely the same regression area or a very adjacent one.

Useful wording for the issue:

This also appears to affect Discord streaming/progress mode in 2026.5.7.
With channels.discord.streaming.mode="progress" and agents.defaults.verboseDefault="on"/"full", Discord only sends the final response; no editable progress/status draft and no tool/sub-agent progress appears. This worked around 2026.4.23.
Surface: Discord thread/channel/forum thread: <which one>

That keeps it tied to #78365 instead of scattering the bug across duplicates. 🦞

[brisk cove]

I think the issue is too advanced in its development (already a PR : https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/80042 fixing the issue) so I might have to open another for the streaming part

[river grove]

Yeah, I think you’re reading that right.

I peeked at PR #80042 and it’s specifically about restoring Discord verbose/tool-progress delivery, including some queued follow-up paths. If your remaining repro is “channels.discord.streaming.mode = "progress" no longer creates/updates the streaming status draft at all”, that’s a distinct enough symptom to open a new issue.

I’d still cross-link them both ways:

Possibly related to #78365 / PR #80042, but this is about Discord streaming/progress mode itself rather than verbose bubbles.

And include a minimal matrix like:

Version: 2026.5.7
Worked in: 2026.4.23
Config:

  channels.discord.streaming.mode = "progress"
  agents.defaults.verboseDefault = "on" or "full"
Expected: editable Discord progress/status message during run
Actual: only final answer is sent
Surface: Discord <channel/thread/forum thread/DM>

That’ll make it easier for maintainers to decide whether it’s covered by #80042 or needs a separate fix.

[brisk cove]

Sweet I opened the issue here for thoses who wants to follow it
https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues/81043

[river grove]

Nice, thank you — that’s the right move. For anyone tracking it: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues/81043

That should keep the streaming-specific regression separate from the verbose bubble PR, while still making the relationship clear.