fix(gateway): preflight strict agent delivery

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Discord/voice: merge configured media-understanding providers such as Deepgram into partial active provider registries, so follow-up voice turns keep transcribing after another media plugin is already active. Fixes #65687. Thanks @OneMintJulep.
 - WhatsApp: stage `qrcode` through root mirrored runtime dependencies so packaged QR pairing can render from staged plugin-runtime-deps installs. Fixes #75394. Thanks @FelipeX2001.
 - Discord/voice: apply per-channel Discord `systemPrompt` overrides to voice transcript turns by forwarding the trusted channel prompt through the voice agent run. Fixes #47095. Thanks @qearlyao.
+- Gateway/agent: reject strict `openclaw agent --deliver` requests with missing delivery targets before starting the agent run, so users do not wait for a completed turn that cannot send anywhere. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Discord/voice: run voice-channel turns under a voice-output policy that hides the agent `tts` tool and asks for spoken reply text, so `/vc join` sessions synthesize and play agent replies instead of ending with `NO_REPLY`. Fixes #61536. Thanks @aounakram.
 - Plugins/runtime-deps: include packaged OpenClaw identity in bundled plugin loader cache keys, so same-path package upgrades stop reusing stale versioned runtime-deps mirrors. Fixes #75045. Thanks @sahilsatralkar.
 - Plugin SDK: restore reply-prefix and reply-pipeline helpers on the deprecated root/compat SDK surface so external plugins still using `openclaw/plugin-sdk` do not fail message dispatch after update. Fixes #75171. Thanks @zhangxiliang.

src/gateway/server-methods/agent.test.ts

@@ -1110,6 +1110,38 @@ describe("gateway agent handler", () => {
     expect(callArgs.bestEffortDeliver).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  it("rejects strict delivery with a missing target before dispatching the agent", async () => {
+    mocks.agentCommand.mockClear();
+    primeMainAgentRun();
+    const respond = vi.fn();
+
+    await invokeAgent(
+      {
+        message: "strict missing delivery target",
+        agentId: "main",
+        sessionKey: "agent:main:main",
+        deliver: true,
+        replyChannel: "telegram",
+        bestEffortDeliver: false,
+        idempotencyKey: "test-strict-delivery-missing-target",
+      },
+      {
+        reqId: "strict-delivery-missing-target",
+        respond,
+        flushDispatch: false,
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(mocks.agentCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(respond).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      false,
+      undefined,
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        message: expect.stringContaining("requires target"),
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("downgrades to session-only when bestEffortDeliver=true and no external channel is configured", async () => {
     mocks.agentCommand.mockClear();
     primeMainAgentRun();

src/gateway/server-methods/agent.ts

@@ -1128,6 +1128,7 @@ export const agentHandlers: GatewayRequestHandlers = {
     let resolvedTo = deliveryPlan.resolvedTo;
     let effectivePlan = deliveryPlan;
     let deliveryDowngradeReason: string | null = null;
+    let deliveryTargetResolutionError: Error | undefined;
 
     if (wantsDelivery && resolvedChannel === INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL) {
       const cfgResolved = cfgForAgent ?? cfg;
@@ -1165,9 +1166,32 @@ export const agentHandlers: GatewayRequestHandlers = {
       });
       if (fallback.resolvedTarget?.ok) {
         resolvedTo = fallback.resolvedTo;
+      } else if (fallback.resolvedTarget && !fallback.resolvedTarget.ok) {
+        deliveryTargetResolutionError = fallback.resolvedTarget.error;
       }
     }
 
+    if (wantsDelivery && isDeliverableMessageChannel(resolvedChannel) && !resolvedTo) {
+      if (!bestEffortDeliver) {
+        respond(
+          false,
+          undefined,
+          errorShape(
+            ErrorCodes.INVALID_REQUEST,
+            deliveryTargetResolutionError
+              ? String(deliveryTargetResolutionError)
+              : `delivery target is required for ${resolvedChannel}: pass --to/--reply-to or configure a default target`,
+          ),
+        );
+        return;
+      }
+      context.logGateway.info(
+        deliveryTargetResolutionError
+          ? `agent delivery target missing (bestEffortDeliver): ${String(deliveryTargetResolutionError)}`
+          : "agent delivery target missing (bestEffortDeliver): no deliverable target",
+      );
+    }
+
     if (wantsDelivery && resolvedChannel === INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL) {
       const shouldDowngrade = shouldDowngradeDeliveryToSessionOnly({
         wantsDelivery,