fix(auto-reply): preserve visible fallback for requested modes

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Auto-reply/group chats: fall back to automatic source delivery when a channel precomputes message-tool-only replies but the `message` tool is unavailable, so Discord/Slack-style group turns do not silently complete without a visible reply. Fixes #74868. Thanks @kagura-agent.
 - Agents/subagents: bound automatic orphan recovery with persisted recovery attempts and a wedged-session tombstone, and teach task maintenance/doctor to reconcile those sessions so restart loops no longer require manual `sessions.json` surgery. Fixes #74864. Thanks @solosage1.
 - Plugins/runtime-deps: keep bundled provider policy config loading from staging plugin runtime dependencies, so config reads no longer fail on locked-down `/var/lib/openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps` directories. Fixes #74971. Thanks @eurojojo.
 - Memory/runtime-deps: retain the native `node-llama-cpp` runtime only when local memory search is configured, so packaged installs can repair local embeddings without relying on unreachable global npm installs. Fixes #74777. Thanks @LLagoon3.

src/auto-reply/reply/dispatch-from-config.test.ts

@@ -4427,6 +4427,34 @@ describe("sendPolicy deny — suppress delivery, not processing (#53328)", () =>
     );
   });
 
+  it("falls back when a channel precomputed message-tool-only delivery but the message tool is unavailable", async () => {
+    setNoAbort();
+    const dispatcher = createDispatcher();
+    const replyResolver = vi.fn(async (_ctx: MsgContext, opts?: GetReplyOptions) => {
+      expect(opts?.sourceReplyDeliveryMode).toBe("automatic");
+      return { text: "requested fallback" } satisfies ReplyPayload;
+    });
+
+    const result = await dispatchReplyFromConfig({
+      ctx: buildTestCtx({
+        ChatType: "channel",
+        SessionKey: "test:discord:channel:C1",
+      }),
+      cfg: { tools: { allow: ["read"] } } as OpenClawConfig,
+      dispatcher,
+      replyResolver,
+      replyOptions: {
+        sourceReplyDeliveryMode: "message_tool_only",
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(replyResolver).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(result.queuedFinal).toBe(true);
+    expect(dispatcher.sendFinalReply).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ text: "requested fallback" }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("keeps native command replies visible in group/channel turns", async () => {
     setNoAbort();
     const dispatcher = createDispatcher();

src/auto-reply/reply/source-reply-delivery-mode.test.ts

@@ -125,6 +125,14 @@ describe("resolveSourceReplyDeliveryMode", () => {
         messageToolAvailable: false,
       }),
     ).toBe("automatic");
+    expect(
+      resolveSourceReplyDeliveryMode({
+        cfg: emptyConfig,
+        ctx: { ChatType: "channel" },
+        requested: "message_tool_only",
+        messageToolAvailable: false,
+      }),
+    ).toBe("automatic");
     expect(loggerMocks.warn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
@@ -302,5 +310,19 @@ describe("resolveSourceReplyVisibilityPolicy", () => {
       suppressHookUserDelivery: false,
       deliverySuppressionReason: "",
     });
+    expect(
+      resolveSourceReplyVisibilityPolicy({
+        cfg: emptyConfig,
+        ctx: { ChatType: "channel" },
+        requested: "message_tool_only",
+        sendPolicy: "allow",
+        messageToolAvailable: false,
+      }),
+    ).toMatchObject({
+      sourceReplyDeliveryMode: "automatic",
+      suppressAutomaticSourceDelivery: false,
+      suppressDelivery: false,
+      deliverySuppressionReason: "",
+    });
   });
 });

src/auto-reply/reply/source-reply-delivery-mode.ts

@@ -24,35 +24,35 @@ export function resolveSourceReplyDeliveryMode(params: {
   requested?: SourceReplyDeliveryMode;
   messageToolAvailable?: boolean;
 }): SourceReplyDeliveryMode {
-  if (params.requested) {
-    return params.requested;
-  }
-  if (params.ctx.CommandSource === "native") {
-    return "automatic";
-  }
-  const chatType = normalizeChatType(params.ctx.ChatType);
   let mode: SourceReplyDeliveryMode;
-  if (chatType === "group" || chatType === "channel") {
-    const configuredMode =
-      params.cfg.messages?.groupChat?.visibleReplies ?? params.cfg.messages?.visibleReplies;
-    mode = configuredMode === "automatic" ? "automatic" : "message_tool_only";
-    if (
-      mode === "message_tool_only" &&
-      configuredMode === undefined &&
-      params.messageToolAvailable !== false &&
-      !visibleRepliesPrivateDefaultWarned
-    ) {
-      visibleRepliesPrivateDefaultWarned = true;
-      log.warn(
-        `Group/channel replies are private by default since 2026.4.27. ` +
-          `To restore automatic room posting, set messages.groupChat.visibleReplies to "automatic" in openclaw.json and save the config. ` +
-          `The gateway hot-reloads messages config; restart only if file watching/reload is disabled. ` +
-          `Relates to https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues/74876`,
-      );
-    }
+  if (params.requested) {
+    mode = params.requested;
+  } else if (params.ctx.CommandSource === "native") {
+    mode = "automatic";
   } else {
-    mode =
-      params.cfg.messages?.visibleReplies === "message_tool" ? "message_tool_only" : "automatic";
+    const chatType = normalizeChatType(params.ctx.ChatType);
+    if (chatType === "group" || chatType === "channel") {
+      const configuredMode =
+        params.cfg.messages?.groupChat?.visibleReplies ?? params.cfg.messages?.visibleReplies;
+      mode = configuredMode === "automatic" ? "automatic" : "message_tool_only";
+      if (
+        mode === "message_tool_only" &&
+        configuredMode === undefined &&
+        params.messageToolAvailable !== false &&
+        !visibleRepliesPrivateDefaultWarned
+      ) {
+        visibleRepliesPrivateDefaultWarned = true;
+        log.warn(
+          `Group/channel replies are private by default since 2026.4.27. ` +
+            `To restore automatic room posting, set messages.groupChat.visibleReplies to "automatic" in openclaw.json and save the config. ` +
+            `The gateway hot-reloads messages config; restart only if file watching/reload is disabled. ` +
+            `Relates to https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues/74876`,
+        );
+      }
+    } else {
+      mode =
+        params.cfg.messages?.visibleReplies === "message_tool" ? "message_tool_only" : "automatic";
+    }
   }
   if (mode === "message_tool_only" && params.messageToolAvailable === false) {
     return "automatic";