OpenClaw v2026.5.9-beta.1 Release Summary

Key Changes

Plugin SDK & Developer Experience

OpenClaw has significantly expanded its Plugin SDK to support more complex agentic workflows. A new api.runtime.llm.complete helper allows plugins and context engines to perform single-shot LLM inference using the agent's existing credentials and model configuration. Additionally, the SDK now supports "workflow seams," enabling plugins to register typed session actions, schedule future session turns via the host scheduler, and request bounded agent-finalize retries.

For developers, VS Code debugging is now supported out-of-the-box with new .vscode/launch.json configurations and an optional OUTPUT_SOURCE_MAPS build path for precise TypeScript breakpoints.

Model & Provider Enhancements

• OpenAI Realtime: The default model has been updated to gpt-realtime-2, and the backend WebSocket bridge has been migrated to the GA session shape.
• Google Gemini: Capability detection has been hardened to ensure multimodal models (like Gemini 3 Flash) correctly report image support even when registry lookups fail. Additionally, retired Gemini 3 Pro IDs are now automatically normalized to google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview.
• Amazon Bedrock: Support for the serviceTier parameter (default, flex, priority, reserved) is now available, allowing users to optimize for cost or latency.
• Qwen Support: OpenAI-compatible Qwen models now support qwen and qwen-chat-template thinking formats, enabling dynamic control of reasoning via /think levels.
• Mistral: Added mistral-medium-3-5 to the bundled catalog with reasoning support.

Channel & Integration Updates

• iMessage: Introduced an opt-in "inbound catchup" feature that replays messages received while the gateway was offline. Per-group systemPrompt support has also been added to bring iMessage to parity with other group-capable channels.
• Telegram: Streaming delivery has been simplified to prevent duplicate final bubbles. The transport layer now includes a recovery probe to return to the primary transport after transient network failures, and the /think picker now displays the current active thinking level.
• Slack: Fixed a session-splitting bug in implicit-conversation channels; root turns and subsequent thread replies now share a single session key.
• Discord: Expanded voice capabilities with new /vc modes (STT/TTS, realtime talk buffer, and bidi realtime sessions).

Core Runtime & Performance

• Performance: Significant optimizations have been made to the session list and model resolution paths, reducing response times for large session stores from seconds to milliseconds.
• Stability: The Gateway now avoids false event-loop health degradation during rapid probes.
• Security: HTTP client secrets and auth headers are now redacted in shared logs and formatted error outputs. Config backup restores now force 0600 permissions on openclaw.json to protect credentials.

Impact

Fixed Issues

• Windows Stability: Fixed a terminal hang occurring after openclaw update on Windows by piping post-core child stdio. Resolved EPERM errors during plugin-skill registration by using directory junctions instead of symlinks.
• Codex Reliability: Fixed a bug where long-running Codex turns would lose shell/apply_patch permissions due to relay TTL expiration.
• Memory & Dreaming: Resolved a regression where dreaming promotion was blocked because daily notes were skipped if unchanged on disk across calendar days.
• Auth Profiles: Fixed a critical issue where a single session-specific format rejection (e.g., a prefill-strict 400 error) would trigger a provider-wide cooldown, blocking healthy sessions on the same profile.

Breaking Changes

• iMessage: The bundled BlueBubbles channel surface has been removed. Users must migrate to the channels.imessage configuration using imsg on a signed-in Mac or an SSH wrapper.

Upgrade Guide

Migration Steps

1. iMessage Users: If you were using the BlueBubbles integration, you must migrate your configuration to the native iMessage plugin. Refer to the updated docs/channels/imessage-from-bluebubbles.md for specific mapping guidance.
2. Node.js Version: The supported Node.js floor has been raised to 22.16+ to support the node:sqlite statement metadata API. It is recommended to use Node 24.
3. Nix Users: If running in OPENCLAW_NIX_MODE=1, be aware that mutating commands (e.g., plugins install, openclaw update) are now refused to maintain the immutability of the Nix store. Configuration changes should be made in the Nix source.