Bug Description

WhatsApp outbound sends via the message tool fail with:

Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default). Start the gateway, then link WhatsApp with: openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default.

Inbound messages and auto-replies work perfectly. Only the message tool outbound path is broken.

Versions Affected

• v2026.3.12 (6472949) — broken
• v2026.3.13 (61d171a) — broken
• v2026.3.8 (3caab92) — works ✅

Root Cause

Two separate listeners Map instances exist in the bundle due to a bundling issue:

1. dist/reply-*.js — contains a new Map() that the message tool reads from via requireActiveWebListener()
2. dist/plugin-sdk/thread-bindings-*.js — contains a separate new Map() that the WhatsApp channel writes to via setActiveWebListener()

The WhatsApp plugin successfully registers its listener in Map #2, but the message tool looks it up in Map #1 — which is always empty.

How to reproduce

# Find the two separate Map instances
grep -rl "new Map" /opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/ | xargs grep -l "Listener\|listener" 

On v2026.3.12 this returns two files with separate Maps:

• dist/reply-BEN3KNDZ.js
• dist/plugin-sdk/thread-bindings-CPgqjJz5.js

On v2026.3.8, the listener registry is shared correctly (single Map instance).

Evidence from Logs

Gateway logs confirm WhatsApp IS fully connected:

[whatsapp] [default] starting provider (+971582031744)
[whatsapp] Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.
[whatsapp] Inbound message +97155812399 -> +971582031744 (direct, 57 chars)
[whatsapp] Auto-replied to +97155812399

But the message tool fails immediately after:

[ws] ⇄ res ✗ send 9ms errorCode=UNAVAILABLE errorMessage=Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default).

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install openclaw v2026.3.12 or v2026.3.13
2. Configure WhatsApp channel, link with QR code
3. Receive an inbound WhatsApp message — works fine, auto-reply works
4. Try to send an outbound message via the message tool — fails with "No active WhatsApp Web listener"

Workaround

Downgrade to v2026.3.8: npm install -g [email protected]

Environment

• macOS (arm64), Node v25.4.0
• WhatsApp channel with channels.whatsapp.enabled: true
• Tested with and without plugins.entries.whatsapp.enabled: true — same result
• Tested with and without channels.whatsapp.defaultAccount: "default" — same result
• Fresh QR re-link (deleted credentials, re-scanned) — same result

Notes

The v2026.3.13 changelog mentions: "bundle plugin-sdk subpath entries in one shared build pass so published packages stop duplicating shared chunks" — this fix may not have fully resolved the shared state issue, or it introduced a regression that also affects v2026.3.12.