Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Summary

Session files are silently dropped from the memory index on every gateway restart. After restart, memory_search returns no results for previous sessions — only the currently active session gets indexed.

Steps to reproduce

1. Configure memorySearch.sources: ["memory", "sessions"] with experimental.sessionMemory: true and sync.onSessionStart: true
2. Use the system normally — sessions accumulate and get indexed over time
3. Restart the gateway (openclaw gateway restart, SIGUSR1, config change, or update)
4. Query the memory database:
   sqlite3 ~/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite "SELECT source, COUNT(*) FROM chunks GROUP BY source;"

Expected behavior

Both memory and sessions chunks are present in the index after restart. Historical session files remain searchable via memory_search.

Actual behavior

After restart, only memory chunks are present. The sessions source shows 0 chunks or only the single currently active session. All historical session data is gone from the index.
The meta table still records sources: ["memory", "sessions"], so subsequent interval syncs see matching meta, skip full reindex, and never recover the lost session data.

OpenClaw version

2026.3.12 (6472949)

Operating system

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Install method

npm global

Model

anthropic/claude-opus-4-6 (model is irrelevant — this is a memory subsystem bug

Provider / routing chain

Embedding provider: Voyage (voyage-4-large) via memorySearch.remote.apiKey

Config file / key location

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ; agents.defaults.memorySearch

Additional provider/model setup details

Relevant memory config:

"memorySearch": {
  "enabled": true,
  "sources": ["memory", "sessions"],
  "experimental": { "sessionMemory": true },
  "provider": "voyage",
  "model": "voyage-4-lite",
  "sync": {
    "onSessionStart": true,
    "onSearch": true,
    "watch": true,
    "intervalMinutes": 5,
    "sessions": { "deltaBytes": 5000, "deltaMessages": 10 }
  }
}

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

After restart, database state:

$ sqlite3 ~/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite "SELECT source, COUNT(*) FROM chunks GROUP BY source;"
memory|749
sessions|8
Expected ~6000+ session chunks (3200+ session files on disk).
Leftover temp file from runSafeReindex confirms — temp DB contains only memory chunks:
$ sqlite3 ~/.openclaw/memory/main.sqlite.tmp-* "SELECT source, COUNT(*) FROM chunks GROUP BY source;"
memory|104
Root cause in source — shouldSyncSessions() in memory-core:
shouldSyncSessions(params, needsFullReindex = false) {
    if (!this.sources.has("sessions")) return false;
    if (params?.sessionFiles?.some((f) => f.trim().length > 0)) return true;
    if (params?.force) return true;
    const reason = params?.reason;
    // BUG: reason check comes BEFORE needsFullReindex
    if (reason === "session-start" || reason === "watch") return false;  // early return
    if (needsFullReindex) return true;  // never reached on restart
    return this.sessionsDirty && this.sessionsDirtyFiles.size > 0;
}

Call chain:

1. onSessionStart: true → sync({ reason: "session-start" })
2. No meta (or stale) → needsFullReindex = true
3. runSafeReindex() → creates temp DB → shouldSyncSessions({ reason: "session-start" }, true)
4. reason === "session-start" fires first → returns false → sessions skipped
5. Temp DB (memory only) replaces original → session index data lost
6. Meta written with sources: ["memory", "sessions"] → interval syncs match → no recovery

Impact and severity

Affected: All users with memorySearch.sources including "sessions" and experimental.sessionMemory: true
Severity: High (silently destroys session search index on every restart)
Frequency: 100% — occurs on every gateway restart, config change, or update
Consequence: memory_search loses all historical session context. Agent cannot recall previous conversations.

Additional information

Suggested fix — move the needsFullReindex check before the reason-based early return:

shouldSyncSessions(params, needsFullReindex = false) {
    if (!this.sources.has("sessions")) return false;
    if (params?.sessionFiles?.some((f) => f.trim().length > 0)) return true;
    if (params?.force) return true;
    if (needsFullReindex) return true;  // ← moved BEFORE reason check
    const reason = params?.reason;
    if (reason === "session-start" || reason === "watch") return false;
    return this.sessionsDirty && this.sessionsDirtyFiles.size > 0;
}

This preserves skipping sessions on routine session-start/watch events while ens
uring full reindex always includes sessions.
Workaround: openclaw memory index --force after every restart.