OpenClaw 2026.4.29 Breaks Setups: CPU Spikes, Tool Restrictions, and Fixes

OpenClaw 2026.4.29 is causing issues across multiple setups. Here are the four main problems and how to fix them.

Problem 1: CPU Spiking After Update

Multiple users report lag, slow responses, and fans spinning. The likely cause is the new active-run steering feature, now enabled by default. It changes how the agent handles multiple incoming messages while processing. If your setup sends messages in quick bursts (heartbeats, cron jobs, multi-channel messages), steering queues and drains them differently, increasing work per cycle.

Quick test: If CPU spiked immediately after updating and wasn't present on 2026.4.23, steering is the cause.

Temporary fix: Rollback:

npm install -g [email protected]

Problem 2: Tools Stopped Working on Restricted Profiles

tools.exec and tools.fs no longer silently widen restricted security profiles. If you run on messaging or minimal profiles, tools that worked yesterday may fail today.

Check startup logs:

openclaw logs --tail 50

Look for warnings about tool profile restrictions. If found, add explicit permissions:

{
  "tools": {
    "exec": {
      "alsoAllow": ["your-specific-command"]
    }
  }
}

This is a security fix — the old behavior was a vulnerability. Setups relying on silent widening will break.

Problem 3: Telegram/Discord/Slack Acting Weird

This update fixes several channel reliability issues, but the fixes may cause temporary weirdness as connections re-establish.

If your Telegram bot went silent, restart the gateway:

openclaw gateway restart

If still silent, check for ghost lock files (separate issue, but updates restarting processes can trigger it):

find ~/.openclaw/agents/*/sessions/ -name "*.lock" -exec rm {} \;

Problem 4: Group Chats Behaving Differently

The new visibleReplies enforcement changes response behavior in group contexts. If your agent stopped replying in groups or started replying unexpectedly:

openclaw config get messages.groupChat.visibleReplies

Adjust the value to your preference. This setting was loosely enforced before; now it's strict.

Should You Update or Wait?

• Working fine on 2026.4.23: Wait a few days. Let early adopters find edge cases.
• Having Telegram reliability issues: Update — the Telegram fixes are real.
• Running restricted security profiles: Update, but set aside 10 minutes to check logs and fix alsoAllow entries.
• Already updated and broken: Rollback to 2026.4.23 with the npm command above. Fix later when time permits.

Pin your version. Update deliberately. Don't auto-update overnight.