OpenClaw v2026.4.25-beta.2: Plugin startup and install paths move to the cold, operator field notes

The source record for v2026.4.25-beta.2 names a provider, model, voice, or context change. This is an operator's reading of that record, with the exact source facts kept next to a bounded experiment rather than a generic feature list.

Pre-release status matters here: stage the tag beside the stable package and do not infer support for every account or platform. A release tag describes the project change. Your Gateway's provider, channel, platform, and account support should be recorded separately.

A small field test

Voice replies get a full TTS upgrade

What changed. /tts latest, chat-scoped auto-TTS controls, personas, per-agent/per-account overrides, and new Azure Speech, Xiaomi, Local CLI, Inworld, Volcengine, and ElevenLabs v3 provider coverage.

Check it with. A catalog label for Voice replies get a full TTS upgrade is only the first signal. Confirm the account, endpoint, context limit, and tool policy that the running Gateway actually selected.

Plugin startup and install paths move to the cold

What changed. Plugin startup and install paths move to the cold persisted registry, cutting broad manifest scans while making plugin update, repair, provider discovery, and install metadata more deterministic.

Check it with. Check Plugin startup and install paths move to the cold with a known prompt and a disposable account. Save the selected route, reasoning setting, latency, and refusal or fallback result so another operator can reproduce it.

OpenTelemetry coverage expands across model calls, token

What changed. OpenTelemetry coverage expands across model calls, token usage, tool loops, harness runs, exec processes, outbound delivery, context assembly, and memory pressure with bounded low-cardinality attributes.

Check it with. The operator question around OpenTelemetry coverage expands across model calls, token is where the reply lands after a restart. Record the conversation identifiers before testing and compare them after the channel is healthy again.

Browser automation gets safer tab URLs, iframe-aware

What changed. Browser automation gets safer tab URLs, iframe-aware role snapshots, CDP readiness tuning, headless one-shot launch, and deeper browser doctor probes for slow hosts.

Check it with. For Browser automation gets safer tab URLs, iframe-aware, inspect state rather than only the new control. Repeat the flow after reload and reconnect, and note the session, pending action, URL, and visible error.

The details that affect a runbook

Control UI and setup flows add PWA/Web Push support

Control UI and setup flows add PWA/Web Push support, Crestodian first-run repair, TUI setup, context mode selection, and a shorter startup greeting.

A successful click does not establish Control UI and setup flows add PWA/Web Push support. Compare the state before and after a reload, then verify that a user can tell what happened without reading internal logs.

TTS/WhatsApp

add /tts latest read-aloud support with duplicate suppression and /tts chat on|off|default session-scoped auto-TTS overrides, completing the on-demand voice-note UX for current-chat replies. Fixes #66032.

TTS/WhatsApp lives at the handoff between the Gateway and a conversation. Send one harmless message, reconnect once, and compare the account, thread, sender, and final transcript.

TTS/channels

resolve channel and account TTS overrides generically, enabling Feishu and QQBot accounts to deep-merge channels.<channel>.accounts.<id>.tts over global and per-agent TTS config.

Use TTS/channels as a routing test: capture the destination before the send, interrupt the transport, and verify that retry logic did not duplicate or redirect the response.

Operator checklist before rollout

1. Before touching persistent state, capture the version, host, provider, and workspace for Voice replies get a full TTS upgrade.
2. Read the linked release record and verify a backup whenever the change can alter configuration or session data.
3. Interrupt one delivery after admission, reconnect the transport, and compare the final reply with the original conversation.
4. Force a short transport interruption and verify that retry or recovery preserves the original thread and sender.
5. Close the test with the evidence attached, and do not widen the rollout while a behavior remains unexplained.

openclaw --version
openclaw gateway status
openclaw models

Keep the source trail attached

Close the loop with an explicit next action: keep the candidate isolated, proceed with the staged upgrade, or stop and investigate. Do not treat a green install as proof that the runtime path is correct.

Regression cases from the source

Plugins/CLI. let flag-driven openclaw channels add install the selected channel plugin from its default source without opening an interactive prompt, fixing published npm Telegram setup in stdin-closed automation. Treat the fix as a boundary condition and retain the source wording beside your local result.

Plugins/startup. load the default memory-core slot during Gateway startup when permitted so active-memory recall can call memory_search and memory_get without requiring an explicit plugins.slots.memory entry, while preserving plugins.slots.memory: "none". Keep the reproduction and the post-fix result together in the acceptance record.

This page is a practical reading of the v2026.4.25-beta.2 source record; the release index and model provider reference remain the references to use for migrations and support boundaries.