fix(ui): resolve stale gateway URL under nginx reverse-proxy multi-instance setups by leifengfeng · Pull Request #69647 · openclaw/openclaw

leifengfeng · 2026-04-21T08:47:21Z

Summary

When multiple OpenClaw instances are served behind a single nginx domain with different path prefixes (e.g. /a, /b, /c), switching between instances keeps the WebSocket URL pinned to whichever instance was visited first. Refreshing or reopening the browser does not correct it.
Root cause: loadSettings() falls back to the shared legacy localStorage key when the current path's scoped key is absent. The legacy key holds the first instance's gatewayUrl, and the existing equality check treats it as a user-override rather than a stale default.
Adds isStaleGatewayUrl() to detect cached URLs that share the same host but differ in pathname — indicating they originated from a sibling reverse-proxy path rather than an intentional user choice. When detected, the page-derived default is used instead.

Changes

ui/src/ui/storage.ts: Added isStaleGatewayUrl() helper and updated loadSettings() gateway URL resolution to ignore stale cross-path cached values while preserving intentionally different (cross-host) user overrides.

Test plan

Configure nginx with two path-based reverse proxies (e.g. /a and /b) pointing to separate OpenClaw instances
Visit /a/chat, verify WebSocket connects to the /a backend
Switch to /b/chat, verify WebSocket connects to the /b backend (not /a)
Switch back to /a/chat, verify WebSocket still connects to /a
Manually enter a custom cross-host gateway URL, verify it is preserved and not overridden
Single-instance (no basePath) setup still works as before

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

…stance setups When multiple OpenClaw instances are served behind a single nginx domain with different path prefixes (e.g. /a, /b, /c), switching between instances keeps the WebSocket URL pinned to whichever instance was visited first. Even refreshing the page or reopening the browser does not correct it. Root cause: loadSettings() falls back to the shared legacy localStorage key when the current path's scoped key is absent. The legacy key holds the first instance's gatewayUrl, and the existing equality check treats it as a user-override rather than a stale default. Add isStaleGatewayUrl() to detect cached URLs that share the same host but differ in pathname — a sign they originated from a sibling reverse-proxy path rather than an intentional user choice. When detected, the page-derived default is used instead. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>

greptile-apps · 2026-04-21T08:50:40Z

Greptile Summary

This PR adds isStaleGatewayUrl() to storage.ts and plumbs it into loadSettings() to prevent a cached WebSocket URL from a sibling reverse-proxy path (same host, different pathname) from being reused when the browser navigates to a different OpenClaw instance. The fix correctly solves the described multi-instance nginx scenario. One design tradeoff to be aware of: because persistSettings writes to both the scoped key and LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY simultaneously, an intentional user override to a same-host-but-different-path gateway URL will also be silently discarded on revisit, since the stale check is applied uniformly across all storage-key fallbacks and not limited to the legacy-key path.

Confidence Score: 4/5

Safe to merge for the described multi-instance nginx bug, with a known tradeoff that same-host custom gateway overrides will be silently discarded.

The core fix is correct and solves the stated bug. The one P2 concern — intentional same-host, different-path gateway overrides being silently dropped — is a product of the chosen heuristic and is acknowledged by the PR description (only cross-host overrides are preserved). No security issues or runtime errors introduced. Reducing from 5 to 4 because the silent discard of deliberate user config is a real (if unusual) UX regression worth a second look before merging.

ui/src/ui/storage.ts — specifically the scope of the isStaleGatewayUrl check relative to which fallback key triggered the load.

Prompt To Fix All With AI

This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: ui/src/ui/storage.ts
Line: 229-232

Comment:
**Stale check applied to all storage sources, not just the legacy key**

`isStaleGatewayUrl` is applied regardless of which key (`scopedKey`, `default`, or `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY`) the settings came from. The stated bug originates specifically from `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY` contaminating sibling-path sessions, but the fix also affects settings read from the scoped key or the `default` key.

More concretely: `persistSettings` always writes to both the scoped key and `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY` (line 343–344). If a user on `/a` deliberately changes their gateway to `wss://same-host/custom`, the legacy key will hold that value. On the next visit to `/a`, the scoped key is empty, the legacy key is read, and `isStaleGatewayUrl("wss://same-host/custom", "wss://same-host/a")` → `true` → the intentional override is silently discarded. The PR description acknowledges only cross-host overrides are preserved; same-host, different-path overrides are not — consider documenting this limitation or limiting the staleness check to reads that fell through to `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY`.

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "fix(ui): resolve stale gateway URL under..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

Re-review progress:

State: Complete
Detail: The targeted re-review finished, the durable review comment was updated, and the synced verdict was routed.
Run: https://github.com/openclaw/clawsweeper/actions/runs/25414312793
Updated: 2026-05-06T03:12:49.158Z

greptile-apps · 2026-04-21T08:50:43Z

+    const gatewayUrl =
+      parsedGatewayUrl === pageDerivedUrl || isStaleGatewayUrl(parsedGatewayUrl, pageDerivedUrl)
+        ? defaultUrl
+        : parsedGatewayUrl;


Stale check applied to all storage sources, not just the legacy key

isStaleGatewayUrl is applied regardless of which key (scopedKey, default, or LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY) the settings came from. The stated bug originates specifically from LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY contaminating sibling-path sessions, but the fix also affects settings read from the scoped key or the default key.

More concretely: persistSettings always writes to both the scoped key and LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY (line 343–344). If a user on /a deliberately changes their gateway to wss://same-host/custom, the legacy key will hold that value. On the next visit to /a, the scoped key is empty, the legacy key is read, and isStaleGatewayUrl("wss://same-host/custom", "wss://same-host/a") → true → the intentional override is silently discarded. The PR description acknowledges only cross-host overrides are preserved; same-host, different-path overrides are not — consider documenting this limitation or limiting the staleness check to reads that fell through to LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY.

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review. Path: ui/src/ui/storage.ts Line: 229-232 Comment: **Stale check applied to all storage sources, not just the legacy key** `isStaleGatewayUrl` is applied regardless of which key (`scopedKey`, `default`, or `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY`) the settings came from. The stated bug originates specifically from `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY` contaminating sibling-path sessions, but the fix also affects settings read from the scoped key or the `default` key. More concretely: `persistSettings` always writes to both the scoped key and `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY` (line 343–344). If a user on `/a` deliberately changes their gateway to `wss://same-host/custom`, the legacy key will hold that value. On the next visit to `/a`, the scoped key is empty, the legacy key is read, and `isStaleGatewayUrl("wss://same-host/custom", "wss://same-host/a")` → `true` → the intentional override is silently discarded. The PR description acknowledges only cross-host overrides are preserved; same-host, different-path overrides are not — consider documenting this limitation or limiting the staleness check to reads that fell through to `LEGACY_SETTINGS_KEY`. How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-04-21T08:51:56Z

+  try {
+    const cached = new URL(cachedUrl);
+    const current = new URL(currentUrl);
+    return cached.host === current.host && cached.pathname !== current.pathname;


Preserve explicit same-host gateway path overrides

The new stale-URL check treats every same-host pathname mismatch as cache corruption, so a deliberate override like wss://example.com/ws (with the UI served at /openclaw) is now rewritten to the page-derived URL on load. This happens when reading fallback persisted settings (legacy/default keys), and it breaks valid reverse-proxy deployments where UI and WebSocket live on different paths under the same host by forcing reconnection to the wrong endpoint after refresh.

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The previous isStaleGatewayUrl() check was too broad — it rewrote any same-host different-path URL, breaking valid reverse-proxy deployments where the UI and WebSocket endpoint intentionally live on different paths under the same host (e.g. UI at /openclaw, WS at /ws). Replace the heuristic with an explicit gatewayUrlAutoDerived flag in PersistedUiSettings. The flag is set to true when the gateway URL matches the page-derived default, and false when the user sets it manually. On load, an auto-derived URL from a different page context is discarded in favor of the current page default; a user-set URL is always preserved. A missing flag (pre-existing data) defaults to false, preserving backward compatibility. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>

…flag Two existing tests use toEqual for exact JSON shape matching of persisted settings. Add the new gatewayUrlAutoDerived field to the expected objects so they pass with the flag-based fix. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-04-21T09:42:46Z

+      parsedGatewayUrl === pageDerivedUrl || parsed.gatewayUrlAutoDerived === true
+        ? defaultUrl


Migrate legacy unflagged defaults when switching base paths

On upgraded clients, previously saved settings in openclaw.control.settings.v1 have no gatewayUrlAutoDerived flag, so loadSettings() still preserves stale cross-instance URLs: if /a was saved before upgrade and the user opens /b, the fallback legacy record is read and this condition keeps /a because the flag is undefined. That means the reverse-proxy multi-instance routing bug remains for existing users until a later write happens to set the new flag, so the fix does not reliably apply at upgrade time.

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…t upgrade The gatewayUrlAutoDerived flag correctly distinguishes auto-derived from user-set URLs for new data, but pre-existing records without the flag still carry stale cross-instance URLs on the first load after upgrade. Instead of a heuristic (which breaks valid same-host different-path overrides like wss://host/ws on UI path /openclaw), persistSettings now also writes a page-scoped key keyed by the current page-derived gateway URL. This key is only written when absent, so a user's manual override already saved under the page-scoped key is preserved. On the first visit after upgrade: 1. loadSettings reads legacy data (stale URL, no flag). 2. The stale URL is preserved for this one load (safe default). 3. persistSettings writes the page-derived scoped key with the flag. 4. On the next load the scoped key is found directly — no fallback to the legacy key, and the correct page-derived URL is used. This also adds a resolveGatewayUrl helper that centralises the three-tier gateway URL resolution logic (page-match → flag → preserve). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-04-21T10:30:44Z

+    if (pageDerivedKey !== scopedKey && storage?.getItem(pageDerivedKey) === null) {
+      storage?.setItem(pageDerivedKey, serialized);


Update page-scoped cache when override URL changes

persistSettings only writes pageDerivedKey when that key is missing, so after a user saves one custom gateway URL and later changes it, the page-scoped entry keeps the old URL while scopedKey/legacy are updated. On the next reload, loadSettings() reads the page-scoped key first and restores the stale gateway URL, so user endpoint changes do not persist once a page-scoped record already exists.

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-04-21T10:36:11Z

+  // whether this was auto-derived or user-set, so preserve it.
+  // The fix takes effect on the *next* load: persistSettings writes
+  // the page-scoped key and the flag, so a subsequent page visit
+  // will find its own scoped key and never reach this path.
+  return stored;


Migrate unflagged legacy gateway URL on load

For upgraded clients that only have legacy settings (no gatewayUrlAutoDerived), this branch keeps the previously cached URL unchanged, so visiting a different reverse-proxy base path (for example /b after /a) still reconnects to the old backend. Fresh evidence in this revision is that the undefined-flag path returns stored directly with no host/path migration logic, so stale cross-instance URLs are not corrected at read time.

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chatgpt-codex-connector · 2026-04-21T10:36:11Z

+    if (pageDerivedKey !== scopedKey && storage?.getItem(pageDerivedKey) === null) {
+      storage?.setItem(pageDerivedKey, serialized);


Rewrite page-scoped entry when persisting new settings

This guard prevents updating an existing page-derived key, which means later saves under a custom gateway only update scopedKey/legacy while the page-scoped record stays stale. On reload, loadSettings() reads the page-scoped key first and restores outdated values, so user changes (gateway and other UI settings saved in this blob) can be silently reverted after refresh once that key already exists.

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The "only write when missing" guard prevented the page-scoped localStorage key from being updated when the user changed their gateway endpoint. After an initial seed, subsequent saves to a different URL left the page-scoped entry stale, so a reload would reconnect to the previous endpoint. Remove the guard so persistSettings always writes the page-derived scoped key alongside the gatewayUrl-scoped key and the legacy key. This ensures the page-scoped entry stays in sync with the user's current choice. Update the session-token test to match: the last-saved URL is now what loadSettings returns, and gwUrl's token remains isolated in sessionStorage (verified explicitly). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <[email protected]>

clawsweeper · 2026-04-29T04:24:58Z

Thanks for the context here. I swept through the related work, and this is now duplicate or superseded.

Keep open: current main and v2026.6.1 still preserve a stale legacy gateway URL, so the PR is not obsolete, but the branch is not merge-ready because its unflagged legacy path still returns the stale stored URL before the first connection and it lacks real reverse-proxy proof.

Canonical path: Close this stale PR. The latest review rated it F, the branch still lacks merge-ready proof, and there has been no human follow-up after the durable review.

So I’m closing this here because the remaining work is already tracked in the canonical issue.

Review details

Best possible solution:

Close this stale PR. The latest review rated it F, the branch still lacks merge-ready proof, and there has been no human follow-up after the durable review.

Do we have a high-confidence way to reproduce the issue?

Yes. Source inspection shows current main and v2026.6.1 preserve a non-matching legacy gatewayUrl fallback as an override, so visiting one path with only another path's legacy record keeps the old backend URL.

Is this the best way to solve the issue?

No. The PR is aimed at the right owner path, but its unflagged legacy branch still returns the stale stored URL before first connection unless another path happens to save settings first.

Security review:

Security review cleared: The diff touches browser local/session storage logic and adjacent unit tests only; I found no concrete security or supply-chain concern.

AGENTS.md: found and applied where relevant.

What I checked:

stale F-rated PR: PR was opened 2026-04-21T08:47:21Z, is older than 30 days, and the latest review rated it F.
proof blocker: real behavior proof is missing and proof tier is F, so this branch is not merge-ready without contributor follow-up.
no human follow-up: live comments and timeline hydrated by apply contain no non-automation activity after the ClawSweeper review.

Likely related people:

gittb: Authored the merged basePath default WebSocket URL change that established the reverse-proxy gateway URL behavior this PR builds on. (role: feature introducer; confidence: high; commits: 5d7314db225f; files: ui/src/ui/storage.ts, ui/src/ui/storage.node.test.ts)
Vincent Koc: Recent checkout blame and release history attribute current storage/test lines to this author in the shallow checkout. (role: recent area contributor; confidence: medium; commits: 3060ebf0523a, 2e08f0f4221f; files: ui/src/ui/storage.ts, ui/src/ui/storage.node.test.ts)
Sally O'Malley: Authored the scoped Control UI session-per-gateway storage work adjacent to this gateway URL persistence path. (role: adjacent owner; confidence: medium; commits: d37e3d582fd8; files: ui/src/ui/storage.ts, ui/src/ui/storage.node.test.ts)
ObitaBot: Authored the localStorage settings key scoping change that is directly related to cross-deployment settings isolation. (role: adjacent contributor; confidence: medium; commits: 5ece9afa8b57; files: ui/src/ui/storage.ts)

Codex review notes: model gpt-5.5, reasoning high; reviewed against fa614d0907e8.

clawsweeper · 2026-05-20T05:38:38Z

ClawSweeper PR egg

🎁 Pass real behavior proof to wake the egg and unlock a hatchable treat.

Where did the egg go?

The egg game starts only after the PR passes the real-behavior proof check.
Before that, no creature or rarity is rolled. The treat waits for real proof.
This is still just collectible flavor: proof affects review readiness, not creature quality.

openclaw-barnacle · 2026-06-07T05:03:06Z

This pull request has been automatically marked as stale due to inactivity.
Please add updates or it will be closed.

openclaw-barnacle Bot added app: web-ui App: web-ui size: XS labels Apr 21, 2026

greptile-apps Bot reviewed Apr 21, 2026

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chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Apr 21, 2026

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leifengfeng and others added 3 commits April 21, 2026 17:13

Merge branch 'main' into fix/stale-gateway-url-nginx-reverse-proxy

a362403

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openclaw-barnacle Bot added size: S and removed size: XS labels Apr 21, 2026

chatgpt-codex-connector Bot reviewed Apr 21, 2026

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Merge branch 'main' into fix/stale-gateway-url-nginx-reverse-proxy

be13862

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openclaw-clownfish Bot mentioned this pull request Apr 29, 2026

fix(control-ui): share gateway token scope across loopback hosts #73987

Open

Merge branch 'main' into fix/stale-gateway-url-nginx-reverse-proxy

d8cf862

openclaw-barnacle Bot added the triage: needs-real-behavior-proof Candidate: external PR needs after-fix proof from a real setup. label May 6, 2026

openclaw-barnacle Bot added the stale Marked as stale due to inactivity label Jun 7, 2026

leifengfeng closed this by deleting the head repository Jun 10, 2026

fernandol-nvidia mentioned this pull request Jun 29, 2026

[Bug]: Control UI can connect to the wrong gateway across base paths #97636

Closed

This was referenced Jun 29, 2026

fix: stop using unscoped legacy storage key for control UI settings #97643

Closed

fix(control-ui): WebSocket connects to wrong gateway when two share an origin #97665

Merged

fix(ui): ignore sibling base-path legacy gateway url #97695

Closed

		parsedGatewayUrl === pageDerivedUrl \|\| parsed.gatewayUrlAutoDerived === true
		? defaultUrl

		if (pageDerivedKey !== scopedKey && storage?.getItem(pageDerivedKey) === null) {
		storage?.setItem(pageDerivedKey, serialized);

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leifengfeng commented Apr 21, 2026

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Confidence Score: 4/5

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