Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Summary

Version: OpenClaw 2026.3.13-1 (61d171a) / macOS 13 Ventura / Node v24.13.1

Problem:
⁠ message send ⁠ (CLI and agent tool) always fails with "No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default)" — but ⁠ action=react ⁠ succeeds on the same session, proving the ActiveWebListener Map IS populated.

Channel status (⁠ channels status --probe --json ⁠, WhatsApp section):
⁠ json
{
"configured": true, "linked": true, "running": true,
"connected": true, "reconnectAttempts": 0,
"lastError": null, "lastOutboundAt": null
}
 ⁠

Minimal repro — react works, send fails:

React (succeeds):

message(action=react, channel=whatsapp, messageId="3BDE41CF2A1D7DD4DAE0", emoji="👀")
→ {"ok": true, "added": "👀"}

Send (fails):

openclaw message send --channel whatsapp --target "+34655112238" --message "test" --account default
→ Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default)

Environment:
•⁠ ⁠Single gateway process (verified via ⁠ ps aux ⁠)
•⁠ ⁠Single install path (⁠ which openclaw ⁠ matches gateway service path)
•⁠ ⁠Single config file (cli = service = ⁠ ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ⁠)
•⁠ ⁠Single WhatsApp account: ⁠ default ⁠
•⁠ ⁠⁠ lastOutboundAt: null ⁠ — outbound has never worked

Diagnosis (from Discord #help):
Since react uses ⁠ sendReactionWhatsApp ⁠ → ⁠ requireActiveWebListener ⁠ and succeeds, but send uses ⁠ sendMessageWhatsApp ⁠ → ⁠ requireActiveWebListener ⁠ and fails, this points to duplicate module instances of ⁠ active-listener.ts ⁠ in the same process — the react codepath reads Map A (populated), the send codepath reads Map B (empty).

⁠ active-listener ⁠ module search:

find "$OPENCLAW_DIR" -name 'active-listener.*' | grep whatsapp
→ [results]

Steps to reproduce

1.⁠ ⁠Fresh install OpenClaw 2026.3.13-1 on macOS 13 / Node v24.13.1
2.⁠ ⁠Link WhatsApp via ⁠ openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp --account default ⁠ (says "✅ Linked!")
3.⁠ ⁠Confirm inbound messages arrive to agent ✅
4.⁠ ⁠Try ⁠ openclaw message send --channel whatsapp --target "+34..." --message "test" ⁠ → fails with "No active WhatsApp Web listener"
5.⁠ ⁠Try ⁠ message(action=react, emoji="👀") ⁠ from agent tool → succeeds ✅
6.⁠ ⁠⁠ openclaw channels status ⁠ shows: ⁠ linked, running, connected, lastError: null, lastOutboundAt: null ⁠

Expected behavior

⁠ message send ⁠ should work when WhatsApp shows as fully connected (⁠ ⁠ linked ⁠, ⁠ running ⁠, ⁠ connected ⁠, ⁠ lastError: null ⁠⁠ ) and other actions (⁠ react ⁠, inbound receive) work correctly on the same session. The ⁠ ⁠ requireActiveWebListener ⁠⁠ Map should be shared across all WhatsApp codepaths (send, react, auto-reply) within the same gateway process.

Actual behavior

 ⁠message send ⁠ fails ⁠ with "No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default)" on every attempt. ⁠ ⁠lastOutboundAt: null ⁠ — outbound has never worked. Inbound and react work fine.

OpenClaw version

2026.3.13-1 (61d171a)

Operating system

macOS 13.6.9 Ventura (Intel x86_64)

Install method

npm global (⁠ npm install -g openclaw@latest ⁠)

Model

anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 (default), anthropic/claude-opus-4-6 (routing)

Provider / routing chain

anthropic (OAT token via auth-profiles)

Config file / key location

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ⁠ — same for CLI and gateway service (confirmed via ⁠ openclaw gateway status ⁠)

Additional provider/model setup details

Single WhatsApp account ⁠ default ⁠, no ⁠ defaultAccount ⁠ override. Gateway runs as LaunchAgent on port 18789 (loopback only). Node v24.13.1 via nvm.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Send attempt log:
[tools] message failed: Error: No active WhatsApp Web listener (account: default)

React success (same session):
message(action=react, messageId="...", emoji="👀") → {"ok": true, "added": "👀"}

channels status:
WhatsApp default: enabled, configured, linked, running, connected
reconnectAttempts: 0, lastError: null, lastOutboundAt: null

Impact and severity

High — all proactive outbound messaging is broken (no cron notifications, no scheduled reports, no contacting external users). Only reactive replies work (agent responding to inbound messages). Blocks core assistant functionality.

Additional information

Discussed in Discord #help. Diagnosis points to duplicate ⁠ active-listener ⁠ module instances in the same process — react codepath reads a populated Map, send codepath reads an empty one. Single PID, single install path, single config confirmed.