OpenClaw v2026.5.28-beta.4: Browser, channel, and automation inputs are stricter, upgrade notes

v2026.5.28-beta.4 arrived on 2026-05-29 with a change that matters during maintenance: browser, channel, and automation inputs are stricter. 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

01 / Agent and Codex runtime recovery is steadier

Source signal. subagents keep cwd/workspace separation, hook context stays prompt-local, session locks release on timeout abort, stale restart continuations are avoided, and Codex app-server/helper failures no longer tear down shared runtime state.

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

02 / Channel delivery and session identity got safer

Source signal. Channel delivery and session identity got safer across outbound plugin hooks, Matrix room ids, iMessage reactions/approvals, Slack final replies, Discord recovered tool warnings, WhatsApp profile auth roots, Telegram polling, and Microsoft Teams service URL trust checks.

The useful evidence for Channel delivery and session identity got safer is the refusal path as well as the success path. Use synthetic credentials and record the policy that made each decision.

03 / Mobile and chat surfaces got a broader refresh

Source signal. the iOS Pro UI, hosted push relay default, realtime Talk tab playback, Gateway chat transport, onboarding, Talk permissions, WebChat reconnect delivery, and session picker behavior now preserve more state across reconnects and empty searches.

Read Mobile and chat surfaces got a broader refresh as an authorization checkpoint: prove who may act, what the action can reach, and how the rejected attempt is surfaced to the operator.

04 / Browser, channel, and automation inputs are stricter

Source signal. Browser tool timeouts, viewport/tab indices, Gateway ports, cron retry handling, Discord component ids, schema array refs, Telegram callback pages, and channel progress callbacks now reject malformed values earlier and preserve the intended delivery context.

The operator question around Browser, channel, and automation inputs are stricter 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

Provider, media, and document coverage expands

Provider, media, and document coverage expands with Claude Opus 4.8, Fal Krea image schemas, NVIDIA featured models, MiniMax streaming music responses, encrypted PDF extraction, voice model catalogs, GitHub Copilot agent runtime support, and a Codex Supervisor plugin path for delegated Codex workflows.

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

Status

show active subagent details in status output.

The best check for Status is deliberately narrow. Run one normal case and one boundary case, then compare the result with the previous release.

Diffs

split the default language pack and expand default Diffs language coverage while keeping the host floor aligned.

Use Diffs for a small reproducible task: save the input, visible result, useful failure, and version context another operator would need.

Test this release without widening the boundary

1. Note the current version, host, provider, and workspace before exercising Agent and Codex runtime recovery is steadier.
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

Agents. fall back to local config pruning when the optional agents delete Gateway probe cannot authenticate, so offline installs can still delete agents without removing shared workspaces. Keep the reproduction and the post-fix result together in the acceptance record.

Tighten phone-control mutation authorization [AI]. The release records a focused fix in tighten phone-control mutation authorization [ai]. Record the failure that this correction addresses before declaring the upgrade complete.

Use the complete OpenClaw v2026.5.28-beta.4 release notes for the exact change list, then cross-check the official release index and the model provider reference before acting.