Bug Report

Version: OpenClaw 2026.6.1 (2e08f0f)
OS: macOS 15.4.0 (arm64, M4 Mac Mini)

Summary

The gateway's memory auto-sync creates a dead loop: it indexes files (creating chunks) but never writes the meta table entry (memory_index_meta_v1), so indexIdentityState remains "missing" forever. All memory_search calls return "index metadata is missing" with 0 results.

Root Cause (from source analysis)

In manager-dZw31DAG2.js, the runSync() method at ~line 2073:

if (indexIdentity.status !== "valid" && !needsFullReindex) {
    this.dirty = true;
    // ... mark sessions dirty
    return;  // ← Returns without writing meta!
}

The condition needsFullReindex is false when hasIndexedChunks is true (which it is, because the sync itself just created chunks). So after the first sync cycle:

1. Identity is "missing" (no meta)
2. hasIndexedChunks = true (sync created chunks)
3. needsInitialIndex = false (has chunks)
4. needsExplicitIdentityReindex = false (not CLI-triggered)
5. Early return without writing meta
6. Next sync → same loop

Reproduction

1. Start with an empty meta table in omes-vec.db (e.g., after DB corruption or version upgrade)
2. openclaw gateway start
3. Gateway auto-sync runs, indexes files, creates chunks
4. memory_search returns "index metadata is missing"
5. Running openclaw memory index --force from CLI writes meta correctly
6. But gateway restart clears meta again (gateway re-syncs from scratch)

Workaround Attempted

• openclaw gateway stop → clear DB → openclaw memory index --force → openclaw gateway start
• Gateway starts, sees existing chunks, but still enters the dead loop because its sync finds identity "missing" and hasIndexedChunks=true

Environment

• Embedding provider: openai-compatible (local oMLX on localhost:8000, model bge-m3-mlx-fp16)
• DB: ~/.openclaw/memory/omes-vec.db (SQLite with sqlite-vec)
• Extra paths: 4 external directories (~1200 files total)
• 6 agents configured, all show providerState: pending after gateway starts

Expected Behavior

When gateway auto-sync encounters identity "missing" but has indexed chunks (from its own sync or CLI), it should either:

1. Write meta after completing the sync (even if identity is still "missing"), OR
2. Treat "identity missing + has chunks from current sync" as needsInitialIndex = true