Problem

tools.web.fetch.useTrustedEnvProxy (introduced in 2026.6.6) successfully routes web_fetch through the system proxy when enabled. However, users must manually discover and enable this setting — there is no feedback loop telling them it exists.

When a Gateway process has HTTP_PROXY/HTTPS_PROXY environment variables set but useTrustedEnvProxy is not configured, web_fetch silently uses direct connections. This leads to confusing timeout failures on networks where direct access is blocked (e.g., behind GFW, corporate firewall).

Current Behavior

1. User configures HTTP_PROXY/HTTPS_PROXY in shell/env
2. exec + curl works fine (curl respects env proxy vars)
3. web_search may work (some providers are directly accessible)
4. web_fetch silently fails with timeout → user has no clue why

The user only discovers useTrustedEnvProxy by:

• Digging through changelogs
• Finding the GitHub issue (feat: add tools.webFetch.useEnvProxy config option for proxy support #63598)
• Asking in community channels

Proposed Solution

When HTTP_PROXY or HTTPS_PROXY is present in the Gateway process environment:

1. Default useTrustedEnvProxy to true (or at minimum)
2. Log a warning during startup: "Proxy env vars detected but tools.web.fetch.useTrustedEnvProxy is not enabled — web_fetch will use direct connections"

Option (2) is lower risk and avoids the NO_PROXY gap (#93807) affecting users who do NOT want proxy routing.

Related Issues

• feat: add tools.webFetch.useEnvProxy config option for proxy support #63598 — Original feature request (added useTrustedEnvProxy)
• web_fetch useTrustedEnvProxy ignores NO_PROXY env variable #93807 — useTrustedEnvProxy ignores NO_PROXY (security concern)
• web_fetch ignores HTTP_PROXY environment variables - dispatcherPolicy defaults to direct #61480 — Earlier report of the same symptom

Environment

• OpenClaw 2026.6.6 (macOS)
• Proxy: HTTP_PROXY=http://127.0.0.1:7897