OpenClaw v2026.8.2: Safer upgrades, boundary review

The security lens for v2026.8.2 is its trust boundary. The official record describes an access, approval, or trust-boundary change; this reading keeps the exact tag visible and turns the source bullets into checks an operator can actually repeat.

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.

Boundary review

01 / Your Home agent, beside your work

Source signal. open Home in a right or bottom dock with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+H, keep your current page in view, and preview or remove its work-context snapshot or attach selected text to your message.

Your Home agent, beside your work 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.

02 / A desktop companion for Linux

Source signal. install the .deb or AppImage on x86-64 Linux, connect to a local or remote Gateway, and open Quick Chat from the system tray or an X11 keyboard shortcut. AppImage updates are signature-verified; .deb installs remain under your package manager. See the Linux guide.

The visible promise in A desktop companion for Linux needs a continuity check. Use non-sensitive data, refresh midway, and confirm that the same work remains attached to the right session.

03 / Start work without switching pages

Source signal. create and run a background session from New Session, keep its selected local, cloud, or paired-device placement, and open it from the completion notice.

Do not infer continuity from a populated screen when testing Start work without switching pages. Compare the transcript, session id, and source workspace before and after compaction or refresh.

04 / Safer upgrades

Source signal. preserve newer configuration, stop incomplete session migrations before claiming success, and recover a stopped Gateway after a failed update when the installed package or rollback is verified safe. #90551, #134206.

Safer upgrades changes what a run can carry forward. Use synthetic names, inspect both recalled and omitted context, and check which workspace or participant can read it.

What the implementation list adds

Replies that finish the job

return a final answer after settled tool work and surface failures after an accepted turn, fixing conversations that stopped at tool output or an initial acknowledgement.

Measure Replies that finish the job before and after the update with synthetic data, and explain every accepted finding in the release record.

Recovery cleanup

preview retained migration originals with openclaw update cleanup --dry-run, then explicitly remove eligible originals while the selected Gateway is stopped; cleanup preserves current SQLite history but permanently gives up rollback to removed originals.

Measure Recovery cleanup 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.

Session visibility default

let unsandboxed sessions work with other sessions of the same agent by default, including retained cron sessions; shared-agent operators should set tools.sessions.visibility to tree or self when they need narrower access, while sandbox and cross-agent restrictions remain enforced.

Before widening access for Session visibility default, replay a narrow allow and deny case. A readable denial and a revoked test credential are part of the acceptance record.

Test this release without widening the boundary

1. Note the current version, host, provider, and workspace before exercising Your Home agent, beside your work.
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

Optional image decoding. update the release's managed Sharp dependency to 0.35.4 with libheif 1.23.2, fixing vulnerabilities in image decoding while preserving optional installation. See the plugin dependency caveat under Known issues. Keep the reproduction and the post-fix result together in the acceptance record.

Workspace permissions. apply permission changes to active runs and preserve session tool policies on cloud workers, so changing where work runs does not widen what it may do. #131661. Record the failure that this correction addresses before declaring the upgrade complete.

Use the complete OpenClaw v2026.8.2 release notes for the exact change list, then cross-check the official release index and the Gateway security guide before acting.