Summary

When a local exec command is terminated (e.g., by SIGPIPE from | head, or by manually killing the exec session), OpenClaw sometimes emits a generic message:

⚠️ API provider returned a billing error — your API key has run out of credits or has an insufficient balance...

This is misleading: the underlying failure is a local process termination (SIGPIPE/exit 141 or SIGKILL), not an API billing/credit issue.

Why this matters

This message trains users to look at provider billing dashboards when the actual issue is just a shell pipeline / process termination. It also creates false incident noise for monitoring.

Reproduction (likely)

1. Run a command that will be intentionally truncated, e.g.:

   curl -I https://example.com 2>&1 | head -n 5

   (This often causes SIGPIPE / exit code 141 in the upstream process.)
2. Or start a long-running grep -R ... and terminate the exec session.
3. Observe OpenClaw producing the “API billing error” explanation.

Observed

• The underlying tool failure presented as SIGPIPE/SIGKILL (exit 141 / signal kill)
• Followed by the “API provider returned a billing error…” explanation in the chat surface

Expected

• If exit code indicates SIGPIPE (141) or SIGKILL, surface a message like:
  • “Command terminated early (SIGPIPE) — likely due to piped truncation (e.g., | head).”
  • “Command killed (SIGKILL) — likely manually terminated / OS kill.”
• Do not label as billing/credits unless the HTTP response or provider error explicitly indicates 402/insufficient balance.

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.2.6-3
• Host: macOS (Mac mini)