no answer from claw on topics | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

lilac bison May 12, 2026, 1:47 PM

#

I noticed recently that my openclaw:

read the message (with reaction empji)
typing
then nothing. no response at all

mianly on topics. also occasionally happen in DM. how can I solve it? I'm not even sure how to start debug it

solemn boltBOT May 12, 2026, 1:47 PM

#

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

drowsy sageBOT May 12, 2026, 1:48 PM

#

This pattern usually means OpenClaw did handle the turn, but the final answer didn’t make it back to Discord.

First thing: please check your version:

openclaw --version

Then run this while reproducing it in the topic/thread:

openclaw status --all
openclaw logs --follow

What to look for in the log/session:

didSendViaMessagingTool: false → the model answered “privately” instead of calling the Discord message tool. This is common in guild channels/topics because visible channel replies require a tool call.
Discord permission errors → make sure the bot invite includes Send Messages in Threads for forum/topic/thread workflows.
model/provider errors or tool-call JSON errors → switch that Discord session/channel to a stronger tool-calling model.

#

Quick workaround if you want old-style automatic posting in group/channel rooms:

{
  messages: {
    groupChat: {
      visibleReplies: "automatic"
    }
  }
}

And for private servers where you want it to answer without @mention:

{
  channels: {
    discord: {

#

      guilds: {
        YOUR_SERVER_ID: {
          requireMention: false
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

After config changes:

openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway restart

#

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/discord and https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq#first-60-seconds-if-something-is-broken

If you paste the openclaw --version plus the relevant redacted log lines around one failed turn, we can tell which bucket it is pretty quickly. 🦞

lilac bison May 12, 2026, 1:49 PM

#

iit's telegram. where to search for didSendViaMessagingTool?

drowsy sageBOT May 12, 2026, 1:49 PM

#

Ah — Telegram topics, got it. My Discord-specific note was too narrow.

didSendViaMessagingTool is in the session transcript JSONL, not usually the main log. For Telegram topics, first find the session key/file:

openclaw sessions --all-agents --active 120 --json

Look for a session key containing something like:

telegram:group:<chat_id>:topic:<thread_id>

Then search the transcripts:

#

grep -R "didSendViaMessagingTool" ~/.openclaw/agents/*/sessions/*.jsonl | tail -20

If you want nearby context around one failed turn:

grep -R -n "didSendViaMessagingTool" ~/.openclaw/agents/*/sessions/*.jsonl | tail -20

For Telegram topics specifically, also check live logs while reproducing:

openclaw logs --follow

Things to look for:

#

didSendViaMessagingTool: false + assistant text → model answered privately; set messages.groupChat.visibleReplies: "automatic" or use a better tool-calling model.
Telegram API errors like message thread not found, chat not found, bot was blocked, not enough rights, etc. → delivery/routing/permission issue.
No agent run at all → group/topic activation or allowlist issue.

Most likely config workaround for Telegram groups/topics:

{
  messages: {
    groupChat: {
      visibleReplies: "automatic"
    }
  }
}

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/groups and https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/telegram

lilac bison May 12, 2026, 1:54 PM

#

db6c755d-c51b-4db6-81db-a8fe7d683d3b-topic-17.trajectory.jsonl:{"traceSchema":"openclaw-trajectory","schemaVersion":1,"traceId":"db6c755d-c51b-4db6-81db-a8fe7d683d3b","source":"runtime","type":"trace.artifacts","ts":"2026-05-12T13:13:03.790Z","seq":6,"sourceSeq":6,"sessionId":"db6c755d-c51b-4db6-81db-a8fe7d683d3b","sessionKey":"agent:butler:telegram:group:-1003908026480:topic:17","runId":"4b4f6676-a285-4021-b2b0-80a9014dbb99","workspaceDir":"/Users/aviadlevy/.openclaw/workspace/butler","provider":"google","modelId":"gemini-2.5-flash","modelApi":"google-generative-ai","data":{"capturedAt":"2026-05-12T13:13:03.790Z","finalStatus":"success","aborted":false,"externalAbort":false,"timedOut":false,"idleTimedOut":false,"timedOutDuringCompaction":false,"timedOutDuringToolExecution":false,"promptErrorSource":null,"usage":{"input":79571,"output":754,"cacheRead":19416,"total":99741},"promptCache":{"lastCallUsage":{"input":20906,"output":66,"cacheRead":0,"cacheWrite":0,"total":20972},"lastCacheTouchAt":1778591581682},"compactionCount":0,"assistantTexts":["Noted. Your work updates for today have been logged. 📝"],"finalPromptText":"today:\n- session with Tom, the salesforce MCP is almost ready\n- AI session with Nissim\n- AI session with Andrei from Gady's team\n- short session with Sam about the new maven cache repo\n- short sync with Pasha about next steps\n- short sync with Nir about FF slackbot\n- session with Sergey from QA about paperclip and his adjustment to assest if we can use it OX wide","itemLifecycle":{"startedCount":4,"completedCount":4,"activeCount":0},"toolMetas":[{"toolName":"read","meta":"from ~/.openclaw/skills/work-journal-optimizer/SKILL.md"},{"toolName":"session_status"},{"toolName":"read","meta":"from memory/2026-05-12.md"},{"toolName":"write","meta":"to memory/2026-05-12.md (373 chars)"}],"didSendViaMessagingTool":false,"successfulCronAdds":0,"messagingToolSentTexts":[],"messagingToolSentMediaUrls":[],"messagingToolSentTargets":[]}}

drowsy sageBOT May 12, 2026, 1:54 PM

#

Yep, that confirms it exactly:

finalStatus: success
assistantTexts: ["Noted. Your work updates for today have been logged. 📝"]
didSendViaMessagingTool: false
messagingToolSentTexts: []

So OpenClaw didn’t crash and Telegram didn’t fail. The model completed the task, wrote the file, produced a final answer, but because this is a Telegram group/topic the visible reply mode expected the model to call the messaging tool — and Gemini 2.5 Flash didn’t.

Fix options:

Recommended quick fix: restore automatic visible group replies

#

  messages: {
    groupChat: {
      visibleReplies: "automatic"
    }
  }
}

Or keep message_tool mode but use a more reliable tool-calling model for that agent/session than gemini-2.5-flash.

After editing config, run:

openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway restart

#

If you want to verify after the fix, reproduce once and check the next trajectory. You should either see a visible Telegram message, or didSendViaMessagingTool: true if you stay in message-tool mode.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/groups

#no answer from claw on topics