Summary

In the macOS menu bar app, About → Check for Updates shows:

Update Error!
Appcast feed () after trimming it of quotes is empty for OpenClaw!

This is happening on app 2026.2.26 and appears to be caused by the installed app bundle being a debug bundle id (ai.openclaw.mac.debug) with an intentionally empty Sparkle feed URL.

Environment

• OpenClaw app: 2026.2.26 (build 15232)
• OpenClaw CLI: 2026.2.26
• macOS: 26.3 (25D125), arm64

Repro steps

1. Launch /Applications/OpenClaw.app
2. Open About in menu bar app
3. Click Check for Updates
4. Observe popup: Appcast feed () ... is empty for OpenClaw!

Actual behavior

Update check throws an error dialog instead of checking for updates (or reporting “up to date”).

Expected behavior

For release app builds:

• app should have release bundle id + non-empty SUFeedURL
• update check should run normally

For debug builds:

• updater UI should be disabled/hidden or show a clear “updates disabled for debug build” message (not a Sparkle feed parsing error)

Local evidence (sanitized)

From installed /Applications/OpenClaw.app:

defaults read /Applications/OpenClaw.app/Contents/Info CFBundleIdentifier
# ai.openclaw.mac.debug

defaults read /Applications/OpenClaw.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString
# 2026.2.26

defaults read /Applications/OpenClaw.app/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion
# 15232

plutil -extract SUFeedURL raw -o - /Applications/OpenClaw.app/Contents/Info.plist
# "" (empty)

defaults read /Applications/OpenClaw.app/Contents/Info SUEnableAutomaticChecks
# 0

Why this seems to happen

Packaging scripts in repo indicate:

• Debug bundle id path intentionally clears Sparkle feed URL:
  • scripts/package-mac-app.sh lines 28-30 set SPARKLE_FEED_URL="" when BUNDLE_ID ends with .debug
• Dist packaging intends release bundle id for updater compatibility:
  • scripts/package-mac-dist.sh lines 19-21 use ai.openclaw.mac so Sparkle auto-update works

So if a shipped app has ai.openclaw.mac.debug, updater error is expected from current Sparkle config.

Related issues

• macOS: menu bar icon missing + app launch triggers gateway restart (status item scene reconnect loop) #29081 (notes .debug bundle id observed in 2026.2.26 app)
• [Bug]: macOS app 2026.2.21 incorrectly offers Sparkle downgrade to 2026.2.15 #22954
• Bug: Updater offers older version (2026.2.15) when installed is 2026.2.25 #27720
• [Bug]: Companion app code signature corrupted by partial Sparkle update — SIGKILL on launch #28248

If useful, I can provide full Info.plist (with secrets redacted), but above fields should be enough to reproduce.