Issues updating Openclaw version

[hard grail]

Is there an ETA on #85569 landing, or a sanctioned interim flag (e.g. exposing npm --prefer-copy through openclaw update) so npm-global macOS users don't have to drop to the npm install -g openclaw@latest workaround that loses plugin sync / completion cache / doctor checks?

[blazing moat]

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[near turtle]

I don’t have a maintainer ETA for #85569. I checked the current repo/docs: the PR is still in the “needs maintainer review/security-boundary review” bucket, and I don’t see a sanctioned openclaw update flag that forwards npm --prefer-copy today.

Current openclaw update for package installs still builds the npm command internally as roughly npm i -g <spec> --no-fund --no-audit --loglevel=error, then does the OpenClaw follow-ups: package verification, doctor, plugin sync, completion cache, and restart. There is an env override for the package spec (OPENCLAW_UPDATE_PACKAGE_SPEC), but not for arbitrary npm install flags.

So the practical interim is still the manual npm workaround when you hit the hardlink swap failure, followed by the OpenClaw follow-ups manually:

npm i -g openclaw@latest --prefer-copy
openclaw doctor
openclaw plugins update --all
openclaw completion --write-state
openclaw gateway restart

Docs for the supported update path are here: https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/updating

If you’re actively stuck on this, include openclaw --version plus the exact openclaw update failure tail in the thread. If this needs a maintainer decision beyond #85569, GitHub issues/PR comments are the right place: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues