openclaw-lighthouse

openclaw doctor --repair not enough: reinstall via install.sh and restart gateway

Problem

You run a doctor repair, but OpenClaw is still broken (for example: replies are missing, commands still fail, or behavior stays inconsistent).

Field report:

openclaw doctor --fix 不管用
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
修好了

Why this happens

openclaw doctor --repair can fix many runtime/config problems, but it may not fully recover a partially broken CLI install.

In this case, reinstalling from the official install.sh refreshed the install and restored normal behavior.

Step-by-step fix

1) Try doctor repair first

openclaw doctor --repair

2) Reinstall from the official script

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

3) Restart the gateway

openclaw gateway restart

4) Verify basic health

openclaw status

Then send one test message to confirm replies are back.

Optional checks if it still fails

1. Confirm binary and version are sane:

which openclaw
openclaw --version

1. If provider setup is missing after reinstall, run:

openclaw onboard

1. If this is a root VPS and systemctl --user is unavailable, use the root-VPS gateway workaround:
   • Gateway health check fails with 1006 on root VPS (systemctl --user unavailable)

Validation

• before fix: doctor command alone reported as ineffective (field report)
• after fix: install.sh reinstall restored normal behavior (field report)

Security notes

• Only use the official install URL: https://openclaw.ai/install.sh
• Do not run copied scripts from random mirrors.
• If you have custom local changes, back up ~/.openclaw before major recovery work.

Related Issues

• OpenClaw clean uninstall and reinstall (root/Linux)
• openclaw uninstall + reinstall: provider onboarding is skipped, no AI provider prompt, OpenClaw unusable

Upstream status

• local workaround documented
• issue opened upstream
• fixed upstream

References

• X post (field report): https://x.com/BBB202622/status/2029697392812118510
• Install docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/install

Credits

• B3 (BlueBirdBack) — real-world report and validation
• Rac — runbook write-up