$cd ../troubleshooting/
High🤖 API / Providers
Plugin ContextEngine Crash — Factory Validation Failed After Upgrade
// OpenClaw v2026.4.14 introduced ContextEngine v2 with stricter plugin factory validation. Third-party plugins compiled against the old context API — community favorites like lossless-claw, custom memory shims, and experimental provider wrappers — may crash gateway startup or explode on first agent run with errors mentioning ContextEngine, factory validation, or invalid plugin manifest shape. Core OpenClaw often boots fine; the failure triggers when a plugin registers its context factory. This unofficial guide helps you identify the offending plugin in logs, disable or update it, pin OpenClaw until maintainers ship compatible releases, and verify a clean boot before re-enabling extensions one at a time.
diagnose.sh
🔍 Is This Your Issue?
?Crash started immediately after upgrading to OpenClaw v2026.4.14 or newer
?Logs mention ContextEngine, factory validation, or plugin init failed
?You run third-party plugins (e.g. lossless-claw, custom memory extensions)
?Gateway exits before 'listening on' or Control UI never connects
?Disabling all plugins (or removing plugin entries) lets gateway start
boot.log
✅ Fix 1 — Identify Crashing Plugin in Logs
Find which plugin name appears last before stack trace
# Capture startup crash openclaw gateway start 2>&1 | tee /tmp/openclaw-boot.log # Search for plugin + ContextEngine errors grep -iE 'contextengine|factory|plugin' /tmp/openclaw-boot.log # List configured plugins grep -A20 '"plugins"' ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Debug logging shows factory registration order
# Enable debug for next boot # openclaw.json: "log_level": "debug" openclaw logs --follow | grep -iE 'plugin|context' # Check global vs local plugin paths ls -la ~/.openclaw/plugins/ npm list -g | grep -i claw
openclaw.json
✅ Fix 2 — Disable Incompatible Plugins
Boot clean without third-party context hooks
// ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json — disable plugins temporarily
{
"plugins": {
"enabled": false
}
}
// Or remove / comment specific entries:
// "lossless-claw": { "enabled": false }Binary search: which plugin crashes ContextEngine
openclaw gateway restart openclaw gateway status # Confirm healthy, then re-enable ONE plugin at a time # Edit openclaw.json → single plugin enabled: true # Restart after each change
pin_version.sh
✅ Fix 3 — Update Plugins or Pin OpenClaw Version
Prefer official plugin updates over pinning forever
# Update plugin if maintainer shipped v2 support cd ~/.openclaw/plugins/lossless-claw # example git pull && npm install && npm run build # Or via openclaw plugin CLI (version dependent) openclaw plugins update lossless-claw
Rollback is valid — upgrade when changelog mentions plugin SDK
# Pin OpenClaw until plugins catch up npm i -g openclaw@2026.4.13 openclaw --version # Document pin; retry @latest monthly # Watch: github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases openclaw doctor
💡 Pro Tip: Enable Plugins One at a Time
After an upgrade, start with plugins: [] or all disabled, confirm gateway healthy, then enable each plugin individually and restart. The first re-enable that crashes pinpoints the incompatible package without guessing from stack traces.
🛡️ Prevention Checklist
- • Read release notes before `npm i -g openclaw@latest` — ContextEngine breaking changes are called out in 2026.4.x
- • Pin plugin versions in openclaw.json alongside OpenClaw version in your runbook
- • Subscribe to plugin repos (e.g. lossless-claw) for ContextEngine v2 compatibility tags
- • Staging gateway on a copy of ~/.openclaw before upgrading production Mac Mini
- • Keep `openclaw doctor` and debug logs enabled during upgrade week
❓ FAQ
Q1. What changed in ContextEngine v2?
v2026.4.14 refactored how plugins register context factories — the functions that assemble prompts, memory slices, and tool context before model calls. Validation now rejects manifests with deprecated fields, async factories that throw at init, or mismatched schema versions. Plugins that monkey-patched internal ContextEngine v1 hooks break immediately. Core channels (Discord, Telegram) are unaffected; this hits ~/.openclaw/plugins and npm-linked community extensions.
Q2. Why does lossless-claw appear so often in crash reports?
lossless-claw hooks deep into context compression and token accounting — exactly the surface ContextEngine v2 rewrote. Older lossless-claw releases export factory signatures the new validator rejects. Check the plugin repo for a v2-compatible tag or branch. Temporary workaround: disable lossless-claw in config — agents run with default context handling until an update ships.
Q3. Gateway won't start at all — is it always plugins?
Not always, but plugin load happens early in gateway bootstrap. A synchronous throw in plugin init prevents the HTTP/WebSocket listener from binding — looks like a total crash. Try `openclaw gateway start --no-plugins` if your CLI version supports it, or set plugins.enabled: false in openclaw.json. If gateway then starts, plugin isolation is confirmed.
Q4. How do I pin OpenClaw to the last working version?
npm i -g openclaw@2026.4.13 (or your last known good). Document the pin in package-lock or a dotfile note. Avoid `@latest` in cron until plugins catch up. When maintainers release fixes, upgrade OpenClaw first, then bump each plugin, testing one at a time. Official releases: github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases.
Q5. Can I patch a plugin locally?
Advanced users symlink fixed plugin code into ~/.openclaw/plugins/name or npm link a fork. You must match the new factory interface documented in OpenClaw plugin SDK for your version. Community forks sometimes appear within days of breaking releases — prefer upstream fixes when available. Back up openclaw.json before editing plugin paths.
Q6. Will disabling plugins lose my memory or sessions?
Disabling a context plugin stops its compression/enrichment behavior — it does not delete ~/.openclaw memory stores or channel sessions. You may see larger prompts or different token usage until the plugin returns. Channel auth (WhatsApp, Telegram) and gateway tokens are unrelated. Re-enable after updating the plugin to restore previous context behavior.