Summary

OpenClaw memory_search API returns 0 hits for specific terms despite content being verified present and indexed.

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.3.2 (85377a2)
• OS: macOS 26.3.0 (arm64)
• Provider: openai/text-embedding-3-small
• Agent: tex
• Index status: 7/7 files, 45 chunks indexed

Issue Details

Query 'Rocky Point bagging' returns 0 hits despite 17+ instances verified across indexed files via grep.

Affected queries (all return 0 hits):

• 'Rocky Point bagging'
• 'bagging operations'
• 'core business unit'
• 'retail garden products'

Working queries on same index:

• 'Norwell Valley' (2 hits)
• 'Waree portfolio' (4 hits)
• 'Josh Keith' (1 hit)

Reproduction Steps

1. Index files containing target terms
2. Run memory_search with specific terms
3. Observe 0 hits despite content presence

Remediation Attempted

• Database recreation (3x with rm ~/.openclaw/memory/tex.sqlite)
• Forced reindexing (openclaw memory index --agent tex --force)
• Content modifications and alternative phrasings
• Embedding cache clearing
• All unsuccessful

Expected Behavior

memory_search should return hits for terms present in indexed content

Actual Behavior

Specific terms consistently return 0 hits while other queries on same index work normally

Workaround

CLI search works: openclaw memory search --agent tex --query 'Rocky Point bagging'

Impact

Strategic knowledge retrieval may fail unpredictably for business-critical terms