Skip to content

[Bug]: Gateway HTTP server hangs indefinitely on Windows (no response to any request, health check timeout) #69674

@Xike-Creek

Description

@Xike-Creek

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

Gateway starts and binds to port 18789, but HTTP requests hang indefinitely after Request completely sent off. openclaw doctor health check times out after 10 seconds. TCP connection is established but no data is transmitted.

Steps to reproduce

Install OpenClaw 2026.4.15 globally via npm on Windows 11.
Run openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose.
In another terminal, run curl.exe -v http://127.0.0.1:18789/.
Observe curl hangs after Request completely sent off.
Run openclaw doctor and note Health check failed: gateway timeout after 10000ms.

Expected behavior

Gateway should return an HTTP response (e.g., 200 OK with HTML/JSON, or 404 Not Found). WebSocket health check should succeed.

Actual behavior

Gateway logs show readiness, but no HTTP response is ever sent. netstat confirms LISTENING and ESTABLISHED connections. No error logs appear in console or log file. openclaw doctor reports WebSocket timeout.

OpenClaw version

2026.4.15 (041266a)

Operating system

Windows 11 Pro (Build 22631)

Install method

npm global (npm install -g openclaw)

Model

N/A (issue occurs before any model interaction, at HTTP server level)

Provider / routing chain

N/A (local gateway not using external provider)

Additional provider/model setup details

N/A

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Startup log excerpt:

text
17:04:39 [gateway] starting HTTP server...
17:04:39 [canvas] host mounted at http://127.0.0.1:18789/__openclaw__/canvas/
17:04:40 [gateway] ready (5 plugins...; 54.6s)
(No further log lines appear when curl request is made)

openclaw doctor output:

text
Health check failed: gateway timeout after 10000ms
  Gateway target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789
  Source: local loopback
netstat shows:

text
TCP    127.0.0.1:18789        0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING       68624
TCP    127.0.0.1:18789        127.0.0.1:xxxxx        ESTABLISHED     68624

Impact and severity

Security vulnerability
Denial-of-service (local gateway unusable via HTTP/WebSocket)
Routing
Compliance issues
Severity: High for Windows users. The gateway cannot serve any web UI or API requests, effectively breaking the core functionality.

Additional information

Disabling all plugins except talk-voice does not resolve the issue.
Resetting openclaw.json to defaults does not help.
Node.js version used: v24.12.0 (possible compatibility factor, not yet tested with v20 LTS).
Workaround: CLI commands (openclaw chat, openclaw repl) still work.

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    bugSomething isn't workinggatewayGateway runtimeregressionBehavior that previously worked and now failstriage:blockedclaw-marshal labeltriage:bugclaw-marshal label

    Type

    No type
    No fields configured for issues without a type.

    Projects

    No projects

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions