fix: hide raw agent failures in group chats

(cherry picked from commit 1969452c3f)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Agents/Discord: keep raw `Agent failed before reply` runner failures out of Discord group/channel chats and show detailed runner errors in direct chats only when `/verbose` is enabled. Thanks @codex.
 - UI/Windows: quote resolved pnpm `.cmd` launcher paths before spawning UI install/build/test commands so Node installs under `C:\Program Files` no longer fail as `C:\Program`. Fixes #45275. Thanks @Kobevictor, @stoppieboy, and @iubns.
 - Codex/agent: translate `--thinking minimal` to `low` for modern Codex models (gpt-5.5, gpt-5.4, gpt-5.4-mini, gpt-5.2) at request build time so the first turn is accepted instead of paying a wasted call + retry-with-low fallback. Older Codex models still receive `minimal` directly. Fixes #71946. Thanks @hclsys.
 - Plugins/uninstall: remove tracked plugin files from their recorded managed extensions root even when the current state directory points somewhere else, so `openclaw plugins uninstall --force` does not leave the plugin discoverable. Thanks @shakkernerd.

docs/concepts/messages.md

@@ -176,6 +176,11 @@ OpenClaw resolves that behavior by conversation type:
 - Groups/channels allow silence by default.
 - Internal orchestration allows silence by default.
 
+OpenClaw also uses silent replies for internal runner failures that happen
+before any assistant reply in non-direct chats, so groups/channels do not see
+gateway error boilerplate. Direct chats show compact failure copy by default;
+raw runner details are shown only when `/verbose` is `on` or `full`.
+
 Defaults live under `agents.defaults.silentReply` and
 `agents.defaults.silentReplyRewrite`; `surfaces.<id>.silentReply` and
 `surfaces.<id>.silentReplyRewrite` can override them per surface.

src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner-execution.test.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { LiveSessionModelSwitchError } from "../../agents/live-model-switch-erro
 import type { SessionEntry } from "../../config/sessions.js";
 import { CommandLaneClearedError, GatewayDrainingError } from "../../process/command-queue.js";
 import type { TemplateContext } from "../templating.js";
+import { SILENT_REPLY_TOKEN } from "../tokens.js";
 import type { GetReplyOptions, ReplyPayload } from "../types.js";
 import { MAX_LIVE_SWITCH_RETRIES } from "./agent-runner-execution.js";
 import type { FollowupRun } from "./queue.js";
@@ -18,6 +19,9 @@ const state = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   createBlockReplyDeliveryHandlerMock: vi.fn(),
 }));
 
+const GENERIC_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT =
+  "⚠️ Something went wrong while processing your request. Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session.";
+
 vi.mock("../../agents/pi-embedded.js", () => ({
   runEmbeddedPiAgent: (params: unknown) => state.runEmbeddedPiAgentMock(params),
 }));
@@ -260,14 +264,17 @@ function createMockReplyOperation(): {
 function createMinimalRunAgentTurnParams(overrides?: {
   followupRun?: FollowupRun;
   opts?: GetReplyOptions;
+  sessionCtx?: TemplateContext;
 }) {
   return {
     commandBody: "fix it",
     followupRun: overrides?.followupRun ?? createFollowupRun(),
-    sessionCtx: {
-      Provider: "whatsapp",
-      MessageSid: "msg",
-    } as unknown as TemplateContext,
+    sessionCtx:
+      overrides?.sessionCtx ??
+      ({
+        Provider: "whatsapp",
+        MessageSid: "msg",
+      } as unknown as TemplateContext),
     opts: overrides?.opts ?? ({} satisfies GetReplyOptions),
     typingSignals: createMockTypingSignaler(),
     blockReplyPipeline: null,
@@ -1706,9 +1713,9 @@ describe("runAgentTurnWithFallback", () => {
 
     expect(result.kind).toBe("final");
     if (result.kind === "final") {
-      expect(result.payload.text).toContain("Agent failed before reply");
-      expect(result.payload.text).toContain("All models failed");
-      expect(result.payload.text).toContain("402 (billing)");
+      expect(result.payload.text).toBe(GENERIC_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT);
+      expect(result.payload.text).not.toContain("All models failed");
+      expect(result.payload.text).not.toContain("402 (billing)");
       expect(result.payload.text).not.toContain("Rate-limited");
     }
   });
@@ -1923,7 +1930,7 @@ describe("runAgentTurnWithFallback", () => {
     expect(failMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it("forwards sanitized generic errors on external chat channels", async () => {
+  it("uses compact generic copy for raw external chat errors when verbose is off", async () => {
     state.runEmbeddedPiAgentMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(
       new Error("INVALID_ARGUMENT: some other failure"),
     );
@@ -1953,6 +1960,42 @@ describe("runAgentTurnWithFallback", () => {
       resolvedVerboseLevel: "off",
     });
 
+    expect(result.kind).toBe("final");
+    if (result.kind === "final") {
+      expect(result.payload.text).toBe(GENERIC_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("forwards sanitized generic errors on external chat channels when verbose is on", async () => {
+    state.runEmbeddedPiAgentMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(
+      new Error("INVALID_ARGUMENT: some other failure"),
+    );
+
+    const runAgentTurnWithFallback = await getRunAgentTurnWithFallback();
+    const result = await runAgentTurnWithFallback({
+      commandBody: "hello",
+      followupRun: createFollowupRun(),
+      sessionCtx: {
+        Provider: "whatsapp",
+        MessageSid: "msg",
+      } as unknown as TemplateContext,
+      opts: {},
+      typingSignals: createMockTypingSignaler(),
+      blockReplyPipeline: null,
+      blockStreamingEnabled: false,
+      resolvedBlockStreamingBreak: "message_end",
+      applyReplyToMode: (payload) => payload,
+      shouldEmitToolResult: () => true,
+      shouldEmitToolOutput: () => false,
+      pendingToolTasks: new Set(),
+      resetSessionAfterCompactionFailure: async () => false,
+      resetSessionAfterRoleOrderingConflict: async () => false,
+      isHeartbeat: false,
+      sessionKey: "main",
+      getActiveSessionEntry: () => undefined,
+      resolvedVerboseLevel: "on",
+    });
+
     expect(result.kind).toBe("final");
     if (result.kind === "final") {
       expect(result.payload.text).toBe(
@@ -1961,7 +2004,83 @@ describe("runAgentTurnWithFallback", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it("formats raw Codex API payloads before forwarding external errors", async () => {
+  it.each(["group", "channel"] as const)(
+    "keeps raw runner failure boilerplate out of Discord %s chats",
+    async (chatType) => {
+      state.runEmbeddedPiAgentMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(
+        new Error("openai-codex/gpt-5.5 ended with an incomplete terminal response"),
+      );
+
+      const runAgentTurnWithFallback = await getRunAgentTurnWithFallback();
+      const result = await runAgentTurnWithFallback(
+        createMinimalRunAgentTurnParams({
+          sessionCtx: {
+            Provider: "discord",
+            Surface: "discord",
+            ChatType: chatType,
+            GroupSubject: "agent group",
+            GroupChannel: "#general",
+            MessageSid: "msg",
+          } as unknown as TemplateContext,
+        }),
+      );
+
+      expect(result.kind).toBe("final");
+      if (result.kind === "final") {
+        expect(result.payload.text).toBe(SILENT_REPLY_TOKEN);
+      }
+    },
+  );
+
+  it("uses compact generic copy for raw runner failures in normal Discord direct chats", async () => {
+    state.runEmbeddedPiAgentMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(
+      new Error("openai-codex/gpt-5.5 ended with an incomplete terminal response"),
+    );
+
+    const runAgentTurnWithFallback = await getRunAgentTurnWithFallback();
+    const result = await runAgentTurnWithFallback(
+      createMinimalRunAgentTurnParams({
+        sessionCtx: {
+          Provider: "discord",
+          Surface: "discord",
+          ChatType: "direct",
+          MessageSid: "msg",
+        } as unknown as TemplateContext,
+      }),
+    );
+
+    expect(result.kind).toBe("final");
+    if (result.kind === "final") {
+      expect(result.payload.text).toBe(GENERIC_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("keeps raw runner failure guidance visible in verbose Discord direct chats", async () => {
+    state.runEmbeddedPiAgentMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(
+      new Error("openai-codex/gpt-5.5 ended with an incomplete terminal response"),
+    );
+
+    const runAgentTurnWithFallback = await getRunAgentTurnWithFallback();
+    const result = await runAgentTurnWithFallback({
+      ...createMinimalRunAgentTurnParams({
+        sessionCtx: {
+          Provider: "discord",
+          Surface: "discord",
+          ChatType: "direct",
+          MessageSid: "msg",
+        } as unknown as TemplateContext,
+      }),
+      resolvedVerboseLevel: "on",
+    });
+
+    expect(result.kind).toBe("final");
+    if (result.kind === "final") {
+      expect(result.payload.text).toContain("Agent failed before reply");
+      expect(result.payload.text).toContain("incomplete terminal response");
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("formats raw Codex API payloads before forwarding verbose external errors", async () => {
     state.runEmbeddedPiAgentMock.mockRejectedValueOnce(
       new Error(
         'Codex error: {"type":"error","error":{"type":"server_error","message":"Something exploded"},"sequence_number":2}',
@@ -1990,7 +2109,7 @@ describe("runAgentTurnWithFallback", () => {
       isHeartbeat: false,
       sessionKey: "main",
       getActiveSessionEntry: () => undefined,
-      resolvedVerboseLevel: "off",
+      resolvedVerboseLevel: "on",
     });
 
     expect(result.kind).toBe("final");

src/auto-reply/reply/agent-runner-execution.ts

@@ -356,6 +356,37 @@ function collapseRepeatedFailureDetail(message: string): string {
 
 const SAFE_MISSING_API_KEY_PROVIDERS = new Set(["anthropic", "google", "openai", "openai-codex"]);
 const EXTERNAL_RUN_FAILURE_DETAIL_MAX_CHARS = 900;
+const AGENT_FAILED_BEFORE_REPLY_TEXT = "Agent failed before reply:";
+const GENERIC_EXTERNAL_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT =
+  "⚠️ Something went wrong while processing your request. Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session.";
+
+type ExternalRunFailureReply = {
+  text: string;
+  isGenericRunnerFailure: boolean;
+};
+
+function isNonDirectConversationContext(ctx: TemplateContext): boolean {
+  const chatType = normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty(ctx.ChatType);
+  return chatType === "group" || chatType === "channel";
+}
+
+function isVerboseFailureDetailEnabled(level: VerboseLevel | undefined): boolean {
+  return level === "on" || level === "full";
+}
+
+function resolveExternalRunFailureTextForConversation(params: {
+  text: string;
+  sessionCtx: TemplateContext;
+  isGenericRunnerFailure: boolean;
+}): string {
+  if (!isNonDirectConversationContext(params.sessionCtx)) {
+    return params.text;
+  }
+  if (!params.isGenericRunnerFailure && !params.text.includes(AGENT_FAILED_BEFORE_REPLY_TEXT)) {
+    return params.text;
+  }
+  return SILENT_REPLY_TOKEN;
+}
 
 function buildMissingApiKeyFailureText(message: string): string | null {
   const normalizedMessage = collapseRepeatedFailureDetail(message);
@@ -379,7 +410,7 @@ function formatForwardedExternalRunFailureText(message: string): string {
     .replace(/^⚠️\s*/u, "")
     .replace(/\s+/gu, " ");
   if (!sanitized) {
-    return "⚠️ Something went wrong while processing your request. Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session.";
+    return GENERIC_EXTERNAL_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT;
   }
   const detail =
     sanitized.length > EXTERNAL_RUN_FAILURE_DETAIL_MAX_CHARS
@@ -389,24 +420,41 @@ function formatForwardedExternalRunFailureText(message: string): string {
   return `⚠️ Agent failed before reply: ${detail}${suffix} Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session.`;
 }
 
-function buildExternalRunFailureText(message: string): string {
+function buildExternalRunFailureReply(
+  message: string,
+  options?: { includeDetails?: boolean },
+): ExternalRunFailureReply {
   const normalizedMessage = collapseRepeatedFailureDetail(message);
   if (isToolResultTurnMismatchError(normalizedMessage)) {
-    return "⚠️ Session history got out of sync. Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session.";
+    return {
+      text: "⚠️ Session history got out of sync. Please try again, or use /new to start a fresh session.",
+      isGenericRunnerFailure: false,
+    };
   }
   const missingApiKeyFailure = buildMissingApiKeyFailureText(normalizedMessage);
   if (missingApiKeyFailure) {
-    return missingApiKeyFailure;
+    return { text: missingApiKeyFailure, isGenericRunnerFailure: false };
   }
   const oauthRefreshFailure = classifyOAuthRefreshFailure(normalizedMessage);
   if (oauthRefreshFailure) {
     const loginCommand = buildOAuthRefreshFailureLoginCommand(oauthRefreshFailure.provider);
     if (oauthRefreshFailure.reason) {
-      return `⚠️ Model login expired on the gateway${oauthRefreshFailure.provider ? ` for ${oauthRefreshFailure.provider}` : ""}. Re-auth with \`${loginCommand}\`, then try again.`;
+      return {
+        text: `⚠️ Model login expired on the gateway${oauthRefreshFailure.provider ? ` for ${oauthRefreshFailure.provider}` : ""}. Re-auth with \`${loginCommand}\`, then try again.`,
+        isGenericRunnerFailure: false,
+      };
     }
-    return `⚠️ Model login failed on the gateway${oauthRefreshFailure.provider ? ` for ${oauthRefreshFailure.provider}` : ""}. Please try again. If this keeps happening, re-auth with \`${loginCommand}\`.`;
+    return {
+      text: `⚠️ Model login failed on the gateway${oauthRefreshFailure.provider ? ` for ${oauthRefreshFailure.provider}` : ""}. Please try again. If this keeps happening, re-auth with \`${loginCommand}\`.`,
+      isGenericRunnerFailure: false,
+    };
   }
-  return formatForwardedExternalRunFailureText(normalizedMessage);
+  return {
+    text: options?.includeDetails
+      ? formatForwardedExternalRunFailureText(normalizedMessage)
+      : GENERIC_EXTERNAL_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT,
+    isGenericRunnerFailure: true,
+  };
 }
 
 function shouldApplyOpenAIGptChatGuard(params: { provider?: string; model?: string }): boolean {
@@ -1460,13 +1508,19 @@ export async function runAgentTurnWithFallback(params: {
             ? "⚠️ Agent failed before reply: model switch could not be completed. " +
               "The requested model may be temporarily unavailable.\n" +
               "Logs: openclaw logs --follow"
-            : "⚠️ Agent failed before reply: model switch could not be completed. " +
-              "The requested model may be temporarily unavailable. Please try again shortly.";
+            : isVerboseFailureDetailEnabled(params.resolvedVerboseLevel)
+              ? "⚠️ Agent failed before reply: model switch could not be completed. " +
+                "The requested model may be temporarily unavailable. Please try again shortly."
+              : "⚠️ Model switch could not be completed. The requested model may be temporarily unavailable. Please try again shortly.";
           params.replyOperation?.fail("run_failed", err);
           return {
             kind: "final",
             payload: {
-              text: switchErrorText,
+              text: resolveExternalRunFailureTextForConversation({
+                text: switchErrorText,
+                sessionCtx: params.sessionCtx,
+                isGenericRunnerFailure: !shouldSurfaceToControlUi,
+              }),
             },
           };
         }
@@ -1637,6 +1691,17 @@ export async function runAgentTurnWithFallback(params: {
         ? sanitizeUserFacingText(message, { errorContext: true })
         : message;
       const trimmedMessage = safeMessage.replace(/\.\s*$/, "");
+      const externalRunFailureReply =
+        !isBilling &&
+        !(isRateLimit && !isOverloadedErrorMessage(message)) &&
+        !rateLimitOrOverloadedCopy &&
+        !isContextOverflow &&
+        !isRoleOrderingError &&
+        !shouldSurfaceToControlUi
+          ? buildExternalRunFailureReply(message, {
+              includeDetails: isVerboseFailureDetailEnabled(params.resolvedVerboseLevel),
+            })
+          : undefined;
       const fallbackText = isBilling
         ? BILLING_ERROR_USER_MESSAGE
         : isRateLimit && !isOverloadedErrorMessage(message)
@@ -1649,13 +1714,18 @@ export async function runAgentTurnWithFallback(params: {
                 ? "⚠️ Message ordering conflict - please try again. If this persists, use /new to start a fresh session."
                 : shouldSurfaceToControlUi
                   ? `⚠️ Agent failed before reply: ${trimmedMessage}.\nLogs: openclaw logs --follow`
-                  : buildExternalRunFailureText(message);
+                  : (externalRunFailureReply?.text ?? GENERIC_EXTERNAL_RUN_FAILURE_TEXT);
+      const userVisibleFallbackText = resolveExternalRunFailureTextForConversation({
+        text: fallbackText,
+        sessionCtx: params.sessionCtx,
+        isGenericRunnerFailure: externalRunFailureReply?.isGenericRunnerFailure ?? false,
+      });
 
       params.replyOperation?.fail("run_failed", err);
       return {
         kind: "final",
         payload: {
-          text: fallbackText,
+          text: userVisibleFallbackText,
         },
       };
     }