ReferenceError: Cannot access 'ANTHROPIC_MODEL_ALIASES' before initialization when reading config #45368
Description
Bug type
Regression (worked before, now fails)
Summary
Running OpenClaw CLI commands that load config prints:
Failed to read config ... ReferenceError: Cannot access 'ANTHROPIC_MODEL_ALIASES' before initialization.
Gateway continues running, but CLI reports config-read failure.
Environment
OpenClaw: 2026.3.12 (6472949)
OS: macOS 26.3.1 (arm64)
Node: 24.13.0 (nvm)
Install: stable (npm global), LaunchAgent running
Config path: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Steps to reproduce
- Install OpenClaw 2026.3.12 on macOS (arm64) with Node 24.13.0
- Ensure gateway is running (LaunchAgent).
- Run: openclaw status --all(Also happens with: openclaw gateway status, openclaw plugins list)
Expected behavior
CLI reads ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json without throwing and prints status normally (no config-read error).
Actual behavior
CLI prints:
Failed to read config ... ReferenceError: Cannot access 'ANTHROPIC_MODEL_ALIASES' before initialization
and continues in “best-effort config” mode / partial output.
OpenClaw version
OpenClaw: 2026.3.12 (6472949)
Operating system
OS: macOS 26.3.1 (arm64)
Install method
Install: stable (npm global), LaunchAgent running
Model
anthropic/claude-4.6
Provider / routing chain
anthropic -> claude- opus-4.6
Config file / key location
Config path: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Additional provider/model setup details
~ grep -n "anthropic" ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
14: "anthropic:anthropi-openclaw": {
15: "provider": "anthropic",
18: "anthropic:direct-api-key": {
19: "provider": "anthropic",
36: "anthropic": [
37: "anthropic:direct-api-key",
38: "anthropic:anthropi-openclaw"
63: "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
65: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5-20250918",
66: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
69: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-4.6-opus"
73: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6": {
78: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5-20250918": {
84: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-4.6-opus": {},
85: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.5": {},
87: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6": {
102: "anthropic/openai-codex": {
135: "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
149: "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
162: "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
174: "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6"
Logs, screenshots, and evidence
~ openclaw status --all
[openclaw] Failed to read config at /Users/[REDACTED]/.openclaw/openclaw.json ReferenceError: Cannot access 'ANTHROPIC_MODEL_ALIASES' before initialization
at normalizeAnthropicModelId (...)
[... stack trace truncated ...]
🦞 OpenClaw 2026.3.12 (6472949)
Your second brain, except this one actually remembers where you left things.
Overview
Version : 2026.3.12 (macos arm64, Node 24.13.0)
Config : ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Gateway : local · ws://127.0.0.1:18789 (local loopback) · reachable
Service : LaunchAgent installed · loaded · running (pid 9021)
Agents : 5 total · 1 active (main, 1h ago) · 41 sessions
Channels
Telegram : ON | OK | token env
WhatsApp : ON | OK | linked: +[REDACTED] | allow: +[REDACTED]
Discord : ON | OK | accounts: cos (@PP Chief of Staff), default (@oluwa_tobi_cl)
Diagnosis
! Port 18789 is already in use by pid 9021 (openclaw-gateway)
! Tailscale: error: spawn tailscale ENOENT
Gateway logs (stderr summary)
[diagnostic] lane task error: durationMs=602027 error="FailoverError: LLM request timed out."
[model-fallback/decision] model fallback decision: decision=candidate_failed requested=ollama/qwen3.5:9b candidate=ollama/qwen3.5:9b reason=unknown next=google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview
[whatsapp] Web connection closed (status 408). Retry 1/12 in 2.47s… (status=408 Request Time-out)
[model-fallback/decision] model fallback decision: decision=candidate_succeeded requested=ollama/qwen3.5:9b candidate=google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview reason=unknown next=none
Failed to read config at /Users/[REDACTED]/.openclaw/openclaw.json ReferenceError: Cannot access 'ANTHROPIC_MODEL_ALIASES' before initialization
[plugins] acpx local binary unavailable or mismatched... running plugin-local install
Gateway logs (stdout summary)
[gateway] received SIGTERM; shutting down
[ws] webchat disconnected code=1012 reason=service restart
[telegram] [default] starting provider (@Ades_Tob_bot)
[discord] logged in to discord as PP Chiaff
[whatsapp] Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.
[discord] logged in to discord as oluwa_tobi_cl
[plugins] acpx plugin-local binary ready (version 0.1.16)
[plugins] acpx runtime backend ready
~ grep -n "anthropic" ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
14: "anthropic:anthropi-openclaw": {
15: "provider": "anthropic",
18: "anthropic:direct-api-key": {
19: "provider": "anthropic",
36: "anthropic": [
37: "anthropic:direct-api-key",
38: "anthropic:anthropi-openclaw"
63: "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
65: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5-20250918",
66: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
69: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-4.6-opus"
73: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6": {
78: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5-20250918": {
84: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-4.6-opus": {},
85: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4.5": {},
87: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6": {
102: "anthropic/openai-codex": {
135: "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
149: "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
162: "primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6",
174: "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6"Impact and severity
No response
Additional information
No response