Bug type
Regression (worked before, now fails)
Beta release blocker
No
Summary
Groq Whisper audio transcription fails silently on 2026.3.31+ — provider resolution no longer finds Groq for the audio capability, confirmed working on 2026.3.14 with identical config and API key, verified via Groq dashboard showing zero requests.
Steps to reproduce
- Configure GROQ_API_KEY in env.vars, set tools.media.audio.enabled: true with scope: { default: "allow" }, and tools.media.audio.models: [{ "provider": "groq", "model": "whisper-large-v3-turbo" }].
- Restart gateway.
- Send a voice note (audio/ogg; codecs=opus) via WhatsApp to the OpenClaw instance running 2026.3.31 or later.
- Observe audio arrives as raw media:audio with no transcription — Groq dashboard confirms zero API requests.
- Repeat on an identical instance running 2026.3.14 with the same API key — transcription succeeds.
Expected behavior
In 2026.3.14, Groq Whisper transcribes WhatsApp voice notes successfully — audio is converted to text and delivered to the agent session, confirmed working daily for approximately two months. Groq Console confirms API requests are made.
Actual behavior
On OpenClaw 2026.3.31+, inbound voice notes arrive as raw media:audio with no transcription. Two distinct failure modes observed:
- 2026.4.2: Gateway logs "audio understanding failed: Error: Media provider not available: groq" — provider lookup explicitly fails.
- 2026.4.2-beta.1 (721cab2): No error logged. Logs show audio enters process-message pipeline and is forwarded directly to the agent session with zero processing steps — the STT pipeline is entirely bypassed.
Groq Console → Usage confirms zero API requests from the affected machine in 24+ hours. All config approaches (explicit tools.media.audio.models, shared tools.media.models with capabilities, and auto-detect) produce the same result.
OpenClaw version
Broken: 2026.3.31 (56b5ba0), 2026.4.1 (4f407d2), 2026.4.2 (f8e67ef), 2026.4.2-beta.1 (721cab2). Working: 2026.3.14 (594920f)
Operating system
macOS Monterey 12.7.x (x64)
Install method
pnpm dev
Model
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 and anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
Provider / routing chain
WhatsApp (Baileys) → OpenClaw gateway → tools.media.audio pipeline → Groq API (whisper-large-v3-turbo) — pipeline fails before reaching Groq
Additional provider/model setup details
Auth: GROQ_API_KEY set in env.vars (2026.4.x instance) and top-level env (2026.3.14 instance, legacy format). No auth.profiles entry for Groq — key is resolved via env var only. models.providers is empty — Groq is not registered as a chat model provider (only used for audio).
Audio config tested on the 4.x instance:
- tools.media.audio.enabled: true
- tools.media.audio.scope: { "default": "allow" }
- tools.media.audio.models: [{ "provider": "groq", "model": "whisper-large-v3-turbo" }]
- Also tested: tools.media.models: [{ "provider": "groq", "model": "whisper-large-v3-turbo", "capabilities": ["audio"] }] — same result.
- Also tested: auto-detect (no models arrays) — Groq is never selected, falls through to built-in OpenAI fallback.
No proxies, no baseUrl overrides, no per-agent audio config. Direct egress to api.groq.com.
Groq key verified independently: curl https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROQ_API_KEY" returns whisper models — confirms the key works outside OpenClaw.
Suspected trigger: 2026.3.31 changelog entry "deprecate legacy provider compat subpaths" — likely broke Groq's registration path for the audio capability.
Logs, screenshots, and evidence
1. Error log from 2026.4.2 instance:
audio understanding failed: Error: Media provider not available: groq
2. Log trace from 2026.4.2-beta.1 instance (no error, pipeline bypassed):
Audio arrives at inbound monitor:
{"from":"<group-jid>","body":"<media:audio>","mediaPath":"...ogg","mediaType":"audio/ogg; codecs=opus"} → "inbound message"
Immediately forwarded to session with zero processing:
{"body":"[WhatsApp ...] <sender>: <media:audio>","mediaType":"audio/ogg; codecs=opus"} → "inbound web message"
No STT/Whisper/Groq/transcription entries appear between these two log lines. The audio pipeline is entirely skipped.
3. Groq Console → Usage dashboard:
Zero API requests from the 2026.4.x instance in 24+ hours. Confirms the request never leaves the machine.
4. 2026.3.14 instance comparison:
Same voice note, same API key — transcript delivered successfully. Groq Console shows the API request.
5. Groq API key independently verified:
$ curl https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROQ_API_KEY"
# Returns model list including whisper-large-v3-turbo ✅
6. Related issue: #7573 — similar symptoms reported against 2026.2.1 (explicit audio models ignored, Groq Console shows zero requests).
---
---Impact and severity
Affected: Any OpenClaw user running 2026.3.31+ with Groq as their audio transcription provider. Tested on WhatsApp (Baileys) — likely affects all channels since the failure is in the media understanding pipeline, not the channel layer.
Severity: Blocks workflow. Voice notes are a primary input method — without transcription, the agent receives raw `` tags and cannot process spoken content.
Frequency: Always. 100% reproducible on every voice note sent to a 2026.3.31+ instance. Not intermittent — Groq is never reached.
Consequence: Voice notes are silently dropped as unprocessable input. On 2026.4.2-beta.1, no error is logged — users may not realise their voice messages aren't being understood. The only partial mitigation is auto-detect fallback to free OpenAI Whisper, which is intermittent and unreliable. Paid Groq API key sits unused.
Additional information
Last known good: 2026.3.14 (594920f).
First known bad: 2026.3.31 (56b5ba0).
Suspected trigger: 2026.3.31 changelog entry "deprecate legacy provider compat subpaths" — Groq's audio provider registration path appears to have been broken by this change.
Temporary workaround: Remove explicit Groq config and rely on auto-detect, which occasionally falls through to the built-in free OpenAI Whisper fallback. This is intermittent and unreliable but provides partial STT coverage.
Note on failure mode change: 2026.4.2 logs "Media provider not available: groq" (explicit error). 2026.4.2-beta.1 produces complete silence — no error, no transcription attempt logged. This suggests active changes to the provider resolution code between these versions, but Groq audio remains broken on both.
Related: #7573 (filed Feb 2026, similar symptoms on 2026.2.1 — may indicate a recurring or never-fully-resolved issue with Groq audio provider registration).
Bug type
Regression (worked before, now fails)
Beta release blocker
No
Summary
Groq Whisper audio transcription fails silently on 2026.3.31+ — provider resolution no longer finds Groq for the audio capability, confirmed working on 2026.3.14 with identical config and API key, verified via Groq dashboard showing zero requests.
Steps to reproduce
Expected behavior
In 2026.3.14, Groq Whisper transcribes WhatsApp voice notes successfully — audio is converted to text and delivered to the agent session, confirmed working daily for approximately two months. Groq Console confirms API requests are made.
Actual behavior
On OpenClaw 2026.3.31+, inbound voice notes arrive as raw media:audio with no transcription. Two distinct failure modes observed:
Groq Console → Usage confirms zero API requests from the affected machine in 24+ hours. All config approaches (explicit tools.media.audio.models, shared tools.media.models with capabilities, and auto-detect) produce the same result.
OpenClaw version
Broken: 2026.3.31 (56b5ba0), 2026.4.1 (4f407d2), 2026.4.2 (f8e67ef), 2026.4.2-beta.1 (721cab2). Working: 2026.3.14 (594920f)
Operating system
macOS Monterey 12.7.x (x64)
Install method
pnpm dev
Model
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 and anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
Provider / routing chain
WhatsApp (Baileys) → OpenClaw gateway → tools.media.audio pipeline → Groq API (whisper-large-v3-turbo) — pipeline fails before reaching Groq
Additional provider/model setup details
Auth: GROQ_API_KEY set in env.vars (2026.4.x instance) and top-level env (2026.3.14 instance, legacy format). No auth.profiles entry for Groq — key is resolved via env var only. models.providers is empty — Groq is not registered as a chat model provider (only used for audio).
Audio config tested on the 4.x instance:
No proxies, no baseUrl overrides, no per-agent audio config. Direct egress to api.groq.com.
Groq key verified independently: curl https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROQ_API_KEY" returns whisper models — confirms the key works outside OpenClaw.
Suspected trigger: 2026.3.31 changelog entry "deprecate legacy provider compat subpaths" — likely broke Groq's registration path for the audio capability.
Logs, screenshots, and evidence
1. Error log from 2026.4.2 instance: audio understanding failed: Error: Media provider not available: groq 2. Log trace from 2026.4.2-beta.1 instance (no error, pipeline bypassed): Audio arrives at inbound monitor: {"from":"<group-jid>","body":"<media:audio>","mediaPath":"...ogg","mediaType":"audio/ogg; codecs=opus"} → "inbound message" Immediately forwarded to session with zero processing: {"body":"[WhatsApp ...] <sender>: <media:audio>","mediaType":"audio/ogg; codecs=opus"} → "inbound web message" No STT/Whisper/Groq/transcription entries appear between these two log lines. The audio pipeline is entirely skipped. 3. Groq Console → Usage dashboard: Zero API requests from the 2026.4.x instance in 24+ hours. Confirms the request never leaves the machine. 4. 2026.3.14 instance comparison: Same voice note, same API key — transcript delivered successfully. Groq Console shows the API request. 5. Groq API key independently verified: $ curl https://api.groq.com/openai/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer $GROQ_API_KEY" # Returns model list including whisper-large-v3-turbo ✅ 6. Related issue: #7573 — similar symptoms reported against 2026.2.1 (explicit audio models ignored, Groq Console shows zero requests). ---   ---Impact and severity
Affected: Any OpenClaw user running 2026.3.31+ with Groq as their audio transcription provider. Tested on WhatsApp (Baileys) — likely affects all channels since the failure is in the media understanding pipeline, not the channel layer.
Severity: Blocks workflow. Voice notes are a primary input method — without transcription, the agent receives raw `` tags and cannot process spoken content.
Frequency: Always. 100% reproducible on every voice note sent to a 2026.3.31+ instance. Not intermittent — Groq is never reached.
Consequence: Voice notes are silently dropped as unprocessable input. On 2026.4.2-beta.1, no error is logged — users may not realise their voice messages aren't being understood. The only partial mitigation is auto-detect fallback to free OpenAI Whisper, which is intermittent and unreliable. Paid Groq API key sits unused.
Additional information
Last known good: 2026.3.14 (594920f).
First known bad: 2026.3.31 (56b5ba0).
Suspected trigger: 2026.3.31 changelog entry "deprecate legacy provider compat subpaths" — Groq's audio provider registration path appears to have been broken by this change.
Temporary workaround: Remove explicit Groq config and rely on auto-detect, which occasionally falls through to the built-in free OpenAI Whisper fallback. This is intermittent and unreliable but provides partial STT coverage.
Note on failure mode change: 2026.4.2 logs "Media provider not available: groq" (explicit error). 2026.4.2-beta.1 produces complete silence — no error, no transcription attempt logged. This suggests active changes to the provider resolution code between these versions, but Groq audio remains broken on both.
Related: #7573 (filed Feb 2026, similar symptoms on 2026.2.1 — may indicate a recurring or never-fully-resolved issue with Groq audio provider registration).