Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

On OpenClaw 2026.4.8 on Ubuntu, openclaw gateway status and openclaw gateway install report that user systemd services are unavailable and that the gateway service is disabled, even though systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service works in the same shell and shows the service enabled and active.

Steps to reproduce

1. Install OpenClaw 2026.4.8 via npm global on Ubuntu.
2. Run the gateway as a user systemd service:
   • systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service
3. Confirm the service is healthy:
   • systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service
4. In the same shell session, run:
   • ~/.npm-global/bin/openclaw gateway status
5. Observe that OpenClaw reports:
   • Service: systemd (disabled)
   • systemctl --user unavailable: Failed to connect to bus: Permission denied
   • systemd user services unavailable.
6. In the same shell session, run:
   • ~/.npm-global/bin/openclaw gateway install
7. Observe that the install command fails with the same systemctl --user unavailable error, while systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service continues to work.

Expected behavior

When systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service succeeds in the current shell and shows the service enabled and active, openclaw gateway status should report the service as enabled/active instead of disabled/unavailable, and openclaw gateway install should not fail claiming that systemctl --user is unavailable.

Actual behavior

openclaw gateway status reports:

• Service: systemd (disabled)
• Runtime: unknown (systemctl --user unavailable: Failed to connect to bus: Permission denied ... )
• systemd user services unavailable.

At the same time:

• systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service succeeds
• the service is enabled and active
• the gateway is listening
• RPC probe: ok

openclaw gateway install also fails with:

• Gateway install failed: Error: systemctl --user unavailable: Failed to connect to bus: Permission denied

but systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service succeeds immediately afterward.

OpenClaw version

2026.4.8 (9ece252)

Operating system

Ubuntu 24.04

Install method

npm global

Model

gpt-5.4

Provider / routing chain

openclaw -> litellm-main -> gpt-5.4

Additional provider/model setup details

Default runtime uses OpenClaw with local LiteLLM routing. Relevant gateway config is stored in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. The issue appears in CLI gateway status/install behavior and is not limited to a specific model response path.

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

$ systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service

● openclaw-gateway.service - OpenClaw Gateway (v2026.3.8)
 Loaded: loaded (/home/jeanclaude/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
 Active: active (running)
 ...

$ echo "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR"
/run/user/1001

$ echo "$DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS"
unix:path=/run/user/1001/bus

$ ~/.npm-global/bin/openclaw gateway status

[lcm] Plugin loaded (enabled=true, db=/home/jeanclaude/.openclaw/lcm.db, threshold=0.75)
[lcm] Compaction summarization model: (unconfigured)
[plugins] grafana-lens: plugin loaded but Grafana tools are disabled — grafana.url is required...
[edicts] register: workspaceDir=/home/jeanclaude, configPath=edicts.yaml
... repeated several times ...

Service: systemd (disabled)

Config (cli): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Config (service): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Runtime: unknown (systemctl --user unavailable: Failed to connect to bus: Permission denied
Failed to read server status: Transport endpoint is not connected)
RPC probe: ok

systemd user services unavailable.
systemd user services are unavailable; install/enable systemd or run the gateway under your supervisor.

Listening: *:18789

$ ~/.npm-global/bin/openclaw gateway install

Gateway install failed: Error: systemctl --user unavailable: Failed to connect to bus: Permission denied
Failed to read server status: Transport endpoint is not connected

$ systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service
$ systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service

● openclaw-gateway.service - OpenClaw Gateway (v2026.3.8)
 Loaded: loaded (...; enabled; preset: enabled)
 Active: active (running)
 Main PID: ... /usr/bin/node /home/jeanclaude/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway --port 18789


Additional observed CLI startup/plugin evidence from the same environment:

[lcm] Compaction summarization model: (unconfigured)
[plugins] grafana-lens: plugin loaded but Grafana tools are disabled — grafana.url is required...
[edicts] register: workspaceDir=/home/jeanclaude, configPath=edicts.yaml


Observed config state:
- `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` already contains:
  - `plugins.entries.lossless-claw.config.summaryModel = openrouter/google/gemini-2.5-flash`
  - `plugins.entries.openclaw-grafana-lens.config.grafana.url = http://localhost:3000`
  - `plugins.entries.openclaw-grafana-lens.config.grafana.apiKey = <redacted>`

Impact and severity

Affected:

• Linux users running OpenClaw gateway as a user systemd service

Severity:

• High (breaks CLI service management/status accuracy and causes false recovery/install guidance)

Frequency:

• Reproduced consistently in observed runs of openclaw gateway status, openclaw gateway install, and post-update restart flow

Consequence:

• openclaw update falsely reports the gateway service as disabled
• users must manually restart with systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service
• CLI troubleshooting output suggests incorrect remediations (enable linger, set XDG_RUNTIME_DIR, install/enable systemd) even when those are already satisfied

Additional information

Related but likely distinct from:

• openclaw gateway status fails on EC2/headless servers due to missing user-level systemd #11805
• [Bug]: openclaw gateway install fails: systemctl is-enabled unavailable (unit not-found exit 4) #33633
• gateway start fails on fresh Ubuntu when systemd service is disabled or not-found #34791
• [Bug]: gateway status falsely reports port conflict when service is managed by systemd #24529

This environment differs from #11805 because systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service succeeds in the same shell and the user service is already enabled and active.

Also observed in the same CLI path:

• repeated plugin bootstrap logs
• false Grafana missing-config warning despite config being present
• false LCM “Compaction summarization model: (unconfigured)” warning despite the configured summary model being actively used by the running gateway

Possible affected area:

• CLI user-systemd probe / subprocess environment handling
• CLI bootstrap/config hydration path for plugins