OpenClaw v2026.5.22: Perf, upgrade notes

v2026.5.22 arrived on 2026-05-24 with a change that matters during maintenance: perf. The page is a researched reading note from the official release record, with a test path for a real Gateway.

The tag is stable, but the direct notes still define its migrations, corrections, and package-specific limits. 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/perf

What changed. reuse process-stable channel catalog reads, avoid repeated bundled-channel boundary checks, and rotate gateway watch CPU profiles so benchmark runs do not accumulate unbounded artifacts.

Check it with. Gateway/perf 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.

Gateway/perf

What changed. reuse immutable plugin metadata snapshots across startup, config, model, channel, setup, and secret metadata readers so hot paths avoid repeated plugin file stats and manifest registry reloads.

Check it with. Read Gateway/perf as an authorization checkpoint: prove who may act, what the action can reach, and how the rejected attempt is surfaced to the operator.

Gateway/perf

What changed. lazy-load startup-idle plugin work, core gateway method handlers, and the embedded ACPX runtime so Gateway health and ready signals no longer wait on unused handler trees or ACPX probes.

Check it with. Keep discovery separate from permission for Gateway/perf. Review the manifest, source, dependencies, and removal path in a disposable workspace before enabling it.

WebChat

What changed. summarize internal message-tool source replies so tool cards no longer duplicate the visible reply body.

Check it with. The operator question around WebChat is where the reply lands after a restart. Record the conversation identifiers before testing and compare them after the channel is healthy again.

Details behind the headline

Gateway

preserve deferred lifecycle-error cleanup across later non-terminal events so provider timeouts can persist failed session state instead of leaving sessions stuck running.

The safe reading of Gateway is operational: prove the model can answer the intended task, then force a bounded failure and verify that no side effect is repeated.

Test this release without widening the boundary

1. Note the current version, host, provider, and workspace before exercising Gateway/perf.
2. Keep a tested backup beside the release record if the update can touch configuration, sessions, or a database.
3. Send one harmless message through the named account and save the account, thread, and sender identifiers.
4. Compare the transcript before and after reconnect, including delivery state and any visible error.
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

WebChat. summarize internal message-tool source replies so tool cards no longer duplicate the visible reply body. Keep the reproduction and the post-fix result together in the acceptance record.

Gateway. preserve deferred lifecycle-error cleanup across later non-terminal events so provider timeouts can persist failed session state instead of leaving sessions stuck running. Record the failure that this correction addresses before declaring the upgrade complete.

Use the complete OpenClaw v2026.5.22 release notes for the exact change list, then cross-check the official release index and the Gateway health guide before acting.