Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Summary

After upgrading to 2026.6.5, openclaw memory status --deep reports:

Dreaming artifacts: diary present · 64 corpus files · ingestion state absent

even though dreaming session/daily ingestion state is present and functioning — it was migrated from legacy JSON sidecars into SQLite plugin state.

Steps to reproduce

1. Upgrade to OpenClaw 2026.6.5 on macOS with memory-core dreaming enabled.
2. Run doctor/migrations so legacy dreaming JSON files are archived:
   • ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams/session-ingestion.json → session-ingestion.json.migrated
   • ~/.openclaw/workspace/memory/.dreams/daily-ingestion.json → daily-ingestion.json.migrated
3. Verify SQLite plugin state has ingestion rows (example):

   SELECT namespace, COUNT(*) FROM plugin_state_entries
   WHERE plugin_id='memory-core' AND namespace LIKE 'dreaming%'
   GROUP BY namespace;

   Observed on a healthy install:
   • dreaming-session-ingestion-files: 2883
   • dreaming-session-ingestion-seen: 997
   • dreaming-daily-ingestion: 10
4. Run:

   openclaw memory status --deep

Expected behavior

Status should report ingestion state as present when either:

• legacy session-ingestion.json exists, or
• migrated SQLite plugin-state namespaces contain rows (dreaming-session-ingestion-files, dreaming-session-ingestion-seen, and/or dreaming-daily-ingestion).

Suggested output:

Dreaming artifacts: diary present · 64 corpus files · ingestion state present (sqlite)

Actual behavior

Status reports ingestion state absent whenever the legacy JSON file is missing — even with thousands of SQLite ingestion rows and an active dreaming pipeline.

Root cause (source-level)

auditDreamingArtifacts() in extensions/memory-core/src/dreaming-repair.ts only checks filesystem presence of:

memory/.dreams/session-ingestion.json

It does not consult migrated SQLite plugin state introduced by the memory-core-dreams-json-to-sqlite migration (extensions/memory-core/doctor-contract-api.ts).

CLI formatting in dist/cli.runtime-RyDOuSJ3.js maps audit.sessionIngestionExists directly to the user-facing string.

Evidence that dreaming is actually healthy

On the affected install (false-negative status):

• openclaw memory rem-harness --json returns 512 recall source entries and 464 deep candidates.
• Gateway logs show successful dreaming runs, e.g.:
  • memory-core: dreaming promotion complete (workspaces=1, candidates=8, applied=8, failed=0)
  • memory-core: dream diary entry written for light phase
• memory/.dreams/events.jsonl updates on schedule.

Suggested fix

Update dreaming artifact audit to treat SQLite plugin-state ingestion namespaces as authoritative after migration, e.g.:

1. If session-ingestion.json exists → ingestion state present (file)
2. Else if dreaming-session-ingestion-files or dreaming-session-ingestion-seen has rows for the workspace → ingestion state present (sqlite)
3. Else → ingestion state absent

Optionally mirror this in doctor output so post-migration installs don't look broken.

Impact and severity

• Severity: low (cosmetic / misleading diagnostics)
• Blast radius: users who migrated on 2026.6.5 may think dreaming ingestion is broken and attempt unnecessary repairs/restores of .migrated JSON files.

OpenClaw version

2026.6.5 (5181e4f)

Operating system

macOS 26.5.1 (arm64)

Install method

npm (Homebrew node)

Additional information

Related migration id: memory-core-dreams-json-to-sqlite

Legacy archived files are expected and should not be restored manually once SQLite rows exist.