OpenClaw v2026.5.6: Doctor/OpenAI Codex, upgrade notes

v2026.5.6 arrived on 2026-05-06 with a change that matters during maintenance: doctor/openai codex. 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

01 / Doctor/OpenAI Codex

Source signal. revert the 2026.5.5 doctor --fix repair that rewrote valid openai-codex/* ChatGPT/Codex OAuth routes to openai/*, which could break OAuth-only GPT-5.5 setups or accidentally move users onto the OpenAI API-key route. If 2026.5.5 already changed your default model, run openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.5 && openclaw config validate to switch the default agent back to the Codex OAuth PI route. Fixes #78407.

Read Doctor/OpenAI Codex as an authorization checkpoint: prove who may act, what the action can reach, and how the rejected attempt is surfaced to the operator.

02 / Plugins/runtime fetch

Source signal. drop third-party symbol metadata from plain request header dictionaries before passing them into native fetch or Headers, so SDK and guarded/proxy fetch paths do not reject otherwise valid plugin requests. Fixes #77846.

Use Plugins/runtime fetch to test ownership as well as installation. Confirm which agent owns the skill or plugin and that a missing or rejected package cannot mutate another workspace.

Details behind the headline

Read the narrow change in context

v2026.5.6 is a stable checkpoint with a deliberately small surface. The source names Doctor/OpenAI Codex: revert the 2026.5.5 doctor --fix repair that rewrote valid openai-codex/* ChatGPT/Codex OAuth routes to openai/*, which could break OAuth-only GPT-5.5 setups or accidentally move users onto the OpenAI API-key route. If 2026.5.5 already changed your default model, run openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.5 && openclaw config validate to switch the default agent back to the Codex OAuth PI route. Fixes #78407. A narrow patch still has a clear job: it should remove one failure or preserve one compatibility promise without changing unrelated configuration.

Keep this patch beside the upgrade and rollback record. Compare the installed tag, package version, and service owner before applying it. If this entry is a correction release, record the broken behavior that led you here, then repeat that exact scenario after the update. That evidence is more useful than a general claim that the package installed successfully.

The adjacent source detail is Plugins/runtime fetch: drop third-party symbol metadata from plain request header dictionaries before passing them into native fetch or Headers, so SDK and guarded/proxy fetch paths do not reject otherwise valid plugin requests. Fixes #77846. Read both signals together, because a hotfix can alter the boundary around a plugin, channel, session, or installer even when the version number looks like a minor suffix.

A small worksheet for this version

• Write the old version, the new version, and the package or tag that actually changed.
• Capture one reproduction before the update and the same reproduction after it.
• Record the first useful log line, the final user-visible result, and any rollback command that was tested.
• Leave unrelated channels, skills, and provider defaults untouched until the correction is understood.

Test this release without widening the boundary

1. Note the current version, host, provider, and workspace before exercising Doctor/OpenAI Codex.
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

Doctor/OpenAI Codex. revert the 2026.5.5 doctor --fix repair that rewrote valid openai-codex/* ChatGPT/Codex OAuth routes to openai/*, which could break OAuth-only GPT-5.5 setups or accidentally move users onto the OpenAI API-key route. If 2026.5.5 already changed your default model, run openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.5 && openclaw config validate to switch the default agent back to the Codex OAuth PI route. Fixes #78407. Keep the reproduction and the post-fix result together in the acceptance record.

Plugins/runtime fetch. drop third-party symbol metadata from plain request header dictionaries before passing them into native fetch or Headers, so SDK and guarded/proxy fetch paths do not reject otherwise valid plugin requests. Fixes #77846. Record the failure that this correction addresses before declaring the upgrade complete.

Use the complete OpenClaw v2026.5.6 release notes for the exact change list, then cross-check the official release index and the model provider reference before acting.