OpenClaw v2026.5.12-beta.5: Gateway protocol, upgrade notes

v2026.5.12-beta.5 arrived on 2026-05-13 with a change that matters during maintenance: gateway protocol. The page is a researched reading note from the official release record, with a test path for a real Gateway.

The tag is pre-release: keep it isolated from a production Gateway and compare it with the stable line before making it a default. Support still depends on the provider, channel, platform, and account behind the installation, so check those boundaries before extrapolating from the tag.

Before the package changes

Gateway/OpenAI HTTP

What changed. honor max_completion_tokens and max_tokens on inbound /v1/chat/completions requests so client-provided token caps reach the upstream provider via streamParams.maxTokens, with max_completion_tokens taking precedence when both are sent.

Check it with. Check Gateway/OpenAI HTTP 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.

Models/OpenAI CLI auth

What changed. make openclaw models auth login --provider openai start the ChatGPT/Codex account login by default, while --method api-key remains the explicit OpenAI API-key setup path.

Check it with. The useful evidence for Models/OpenAI CLI auth is the refusal path as well as the success path. Use synthetic credentials and record the policy that made each decision.

Google/Gemini

What changed. normalize retired Gemini 3 Pro Preview ids inside explicit SDK OAuth auth-result config patches, so provider helpers emit google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview for Gemini 3.1 testing.

Check it with. Before widening access for Google/Gemini, replay a narrow allow and deny case. A readable denial and a revoked test credential are part of the acceptance record.

Gateway

What changed. pass Talk session scope to resolver [AI].

Check it with. Measure Gateway after a fresh session and after a reconnect. The record should say what was retained, what was intentionally absent, and which identity requested the recall.

Details behind the headline

Gateway protocol

require v4 clients and stream explicit chat deltaText/replace frames so SDK clients can consume assistant updates without local diffing.

Test Gateway protocol at the edges of the interface: clean start, reload, reconnect, and a refused or unavailable action. Keep the final screen and error message with the release note.

Test this release without widening the boundary

1. Note the current version, host, provider, and workspace before exercising Gateway/OpenAI HTTP.
2. Keep a tested backup beside the release record if the update can touch configuration, sessions, or a database.
3. Run a read-only prompt with a known answer and save provider, model, reasoning, and latency details.
4. Change only the candidate route, then confirm that a failed request returns a readable error and leaves the session intact.
5. Stop if the observed behavior falls outside the official note, and link the log or screenshot to the version record.

openclaw --version
openclaw gateway status
openclaw security audit

Record what the release actually changed

Keep the version, source URL, test identity, and rollback decision together. If this tag is pre-release, leave it isolated; if it is stable, record the migration and rollback result before reconnecting every channel.

Corrections worth replaying

Gateway. pass Talk session scope to resolver [AI]. Keep the reproduction and the post-fix result together in the acceptance record.

Gateway protocol. require v4 clients and stream explicit chat deltaText/replace frames so SDK clients can consume assistant updates without local diffing. Record the failure that this correction addresses before declaring the upgrade complete.

Use the complete OpenClaw v2026.5.12-beta.5 release notes for the exact change list, then cross-check the official release index and the model provider reference before acting.