Handle 413 context overflow errors gracefully#395
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alejandroOPI wants to merge 1 commit intoopenclaw:mainfrom
Closed
Handle 413 context overflow errors gracefully#395alejandroOPI wants to merge 1 commit intoopenclaw:mainfrom
alejandroOPI wants to merge 1 commit intoopenclaw:mainfrom
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When the conversation context exceeds the model's limit, instead of throwing an opaque error or returning raw JSON, we now: 1. Detect context overflow errors (413, request_too_large, etc.) 2. Return a user-friendly message explaining the issue 3. Suggest using /new or /reset to start fresh This prevents the assistant from becoming completely unresponsive when context grows too large (e.g., from many screenshots or long tool outputs). Addresses issue openclaw#394
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Landed on main via fast-forward. Commits: d5547122 (context overflow handling + helper tests), 43f72aea (tool errors concise, requested), 24ee7c47 (changelog + clawtributors credit for PR #395).\n\nGate: pnpm lint && pnpm build && pnpm test && pnpm docs:list |
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Problem
When the conversation context exceeds the model's limit, the gateway returns a raw 413 error that makes the assistant completely unresponsive. Users have no indication of what went wrong or how to fix it.
This happened to me on Jan 6-7, 2026 - the assistant was stuck returning 413 errors for hours until I manually cleared the context.
Solution
This PR adds graceful handling of context overflow errors:
New helper function
isContextOverflowError()inpi-embedded-helpers.tsdetects various forms of the error (413, request_too_large, context length exceeded, etc.)User-friendly error message in
formatAssistantErrorText()returns a helpful message instead of raw JSONEarly return in runner - When
session.prompt()throws a context overflow error, we return a helpful response instead of propagating the errorChanges
src/agents/pi-embedded-helpers.ts: AddedisContextOverflowError()function and updatedformatAssistantErrorText()to detect and handle 413 errorssrc/agents/pi-embedded-runner.ts: Import the new helper and catch context overflow errors in the prompt execution pathTesting
pnpm build)request_too_large,request exceeds the maximum size,context length exceeded,maximum context lengthFuture Improvements
This is a minimal fix. A more complete solution could:
Addresses #394