Bug type
Regression (worked before, now fails)
Beta release blocker
No
Summary
On macOS, openclaw gateway restart can report a launchctl bootstrap failure when another OpenClaw process concurrently bootstraps the same LaunchAgent; unified logs show the service spawned successfully.
Steps to reproduce
- On macOS with the OpenClaw Gateway LaunchAgent installed, trigger a Gateway restart while the OpenClaw app/helper is also starting or repairing
ai.openclaw.gateway.
- Observe the CLI restart result.
- Check macOS unified logs for overlapping bootstrap activity on
gui/501/ai.openclaw.gateway.
Expected behavior
openclaw gateway restart treats this race as success when launchctl print gui/<uid>/ai.openclaw.gateway shows the LaunchAgent is loaded or running after the concurrent bootstrap.
Actual behavior
The CLI reports Gateway restart failed: launchctl bootstrap failed: Bootstrap failed: 5: Input/output error, while the unified log shows one bootstrap succeeded, a competing bootstrap failed with 37: Operation already in progress, and launchd spawned ai.openclaw.gateway successfully.
OpenClaw version
NOT_ENOUGH_INFO
Operating system
macOS
Install method
npm global / mac app helper
Model
claude-cli/claude-sonnet-4-6
Provider / routing chain
OpenClaw Gateway LaunchAgent on macOS launchd
Additional provider/model setup details
LaunchAgent label: ai.openclaw.gateway
Observed service target: gui/501/ai.openclaw.gateway
Gateway port: 18789
Observed around 2026-05-21 06:31 local time.
Logs, screenshots, and evidence
Impact and severity
Impact: restart is reported as failed even though the service recovers, which makes Gateway health triage misleading and can trigger unnecessary retry/restart handling. Frequency: observed during concurrent CLI and app/helper restart activity.
Additional information
Mac unified log evidence showed one launchctl bootstrap succeeded, a second overlapping bootstrap failed with Operation already in progress, then launchd spawned the Gateway process successfully. This looks like a restart race, not a Gateway process crash.
Bug type
Regression (worked before, now fails)
Beta release blocker
No
Summary
On macOS,
openclaw gateway restartcan report a launchctl bootstrap failure when another OpenClaw process concurrently bootstraps the same LaunchAgent; unified logs show the service spawned successfully.Steps to reproduce
ai.openclaw.gateway.gui/501/ai.openclaw.gateway.Expected behavior
openclaw gateway restarttreats this race as success whenlaunchctl print gui/<uid>/ai.openclaw.gatewayshows the LaunchAgent is loaded or running after the concurrent bootstrap.Actual behavior
The CLI reports
Gateway restart failed: launchctl bootstrap failed: Bootstrap failed: 5: Input/output error, while the unified log shows one bootstrap succeeded, a competing bootstrap failed with37: Operation already in progress, and launchd spawnedai.openclaw.gatewaysuccessfully.OpenClaw version
NOT_ENOUGH_INFO
Operating system
macOS
Install method
npm global / mac app helper
Model
claude-cli/claude-sonnet-4-6
Provider / routing chain
OpenClaw Gateway LaunchAgent on macOS launchd
Additional provider/model setup details
LaunchAgent label:
ai.openclaw.gatewayObserved service target:
gui/501/ai.openclaw.gatewayGateway port:
18789Observed around 2026-05-21 06:31 local time.
Logs, screenshots, and evidence
Impact and severity
Impact: restart is reported as failed even though the service recovers, which makes Gateway health triage misleading and can trigger unnecessary retry/restart handling. Frequency: observed during concurrent CLI and app/helper restart activity.
Additional information
Mac unified log evidence showed one
launchctl bootstrapsucceeded, a second overlapping bootstrap failed withOperation already in progress, then launchd spawned the Gateway process successfully. This looks like a restart race, not a Gateway process crash.