Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

Dashboard update path skips with managed-service-handoff-started, while CLI update succeeds.

Steps to reproduce

1. Start OpenClaw 2026.5.22.
2. Open the Dashboard.
3. Confirm update banner shows:
4. "Update available: v2026.5.27 (running v2026.5.22)"
5. Click "Update now".
6. Observe Dashboard behavior.

Expected behavior

Dashboard update successfully installs the new version and updates OpenClaw.

OR

Dashboard update fails with a specific error explaining why the update could not proceed.

Actual behavior

Dashboard displays:
"Update skipped: managed-service-handoff-started. See the gateway logs for the exact failure and retry once the cause is fixed."
Gateway restarts.
OpenClaw remains on version 2026.5.22.
Gateway logs show:
update.run completed with status=skipped
gateway restart occurs successfully
No obvious error corresponding to "managed-service-handoff-started" appears in the gateway log.

OpenClaw version

2026.5.22

Operating system

Ubuntu 24.04

Install method

pnpm/npm mode

Model

Llama-3.1-8b-Instruct

Provider / routing chain

local only OpenClaw

Additional provider/model setup details

Package installation (pnpm/npm mode)
Stable channel
Tailscale enabled
At least one remote Tailscale client connected (Floki-mobile)

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

1. Version Before Update
openclaw --version
OpenClaw 2026.5.22 (a374c3a)

Supports:

Starting version.
2. Dashboard Failure Message

Even without a screenshot, you recorded the exact text:

Update skipped: managed-service-handoff-started.
See the gateway logs for the exact failure and retry once the cause is fixed.

Supports:

What the Dashboard reported.
3. Gateway Log Excerpt

The most relevant lines are:

03:58:03 update.run completed ... status=skipped
03:58:05 signal SIGUSR1 received
03:58:05 received SIGUSR1; restarting
03:58:11 gateway starting...
03:58:15 gateway ready

Supports:

Dashboard initiated an update.
Gateway classified it as skipped.
Gateway restarted successfully.
4. Update Status Output
Install: pnpm
Channel: stable
Update: available · pnpm · npm update 2026.5.27

Supports:

Update was available.
5. Dry Run JSON

The key fields:

{
  "currentVersion": "2026.5.22",
  "targetVersion": "2026.5.27",
  "actions": [
    "Run global package manager update with spec openclaw@latest",
    ...
  ],
  "notes": []
}

Supports:

Updater could successfully plan the update.
6. Successful CLI Update JSON

The most important evidence:

{
  "status": "ok",
  "before": {
    "version": "2026.5.22"
  },
  "after": {
    "version": "2026.5.27"
  }
}

Supports:

The update mechanism itself works.
7. Version After Update
openclaw --version
OpenClaw 2026.5.27 (27ae826)

Supports:

Update completed successfully via CLI.

Impact and severity

Low priority unless updating from the dashboard is required for a user.

Additional information

Previously, I thought that this was a problem with updates failing with Tailscale nodes active and that they were interfering with the update, but at least under CLI Tailscale definitely doesn't interfere.