fix(doctor): persist group visible reply default (#76513)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Plugins/install: keep managed npm-root security scans from treating earlier plugin `openclaw` peer links as failures, so one external plugin install cannot poison later official npm installs. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Memory LanceDB: allow installed-but-unconfigured plugin metadata to load so onboarding and setup flows can prompt for embedding config instead of failing the plugin registry first. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - CLI/plugins: keep `plugins enable` and `plugins disable` from creating unconfigured channel config sections, so channel plugins with required setup fields no longer fail validation during lifecycle probes. Thanks @vincentkoc.
+- Doctor/config: set `messages.groupChat.visibleReplies: "message_tool"` during compatibility repair for configured-channel configs that omit a visible-reply policy, so upgrades can persist the intended tool-only group/channel reply default. Thanks @kagura-agent.
 - Agents/sessions: keep delayed `sessions_send` A2A replies alive after soft wait-window timeouts, while preserving terminal run timeouts and avoiding stale target replies in requester sessions. Fixes #76443. Thanks @ryswork1993 and @vincentkoc.
 - CLI/sessions: keep intentional empty agent replies silent after tool-delivered channel output, instead of surfacing a misleading "No reply from agent." fallback. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Config/doctor: cap `.clobbered.*` forensic snapshots per config path and serialize snapshot writes so repeated `doctor --fix` recovery loops cannot flood the config directory. Fixes #76454; carries forward #65649. Thanks @JUSTICEESSIELP, @rsnow, and @vincentkoc.

docs/.generated/config-baseline.sha256

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-b9831b7dafd0a7d6d1256ee531b30c0b75c64bf0f494fcc9e68bf2255fdb560a  config-baseline.json
-b6ebb672410bd1ff148ee6d25fba1a359032686959e28d7b8f0313323f94debf  config-baseline.core.json
+d9dbaace82aff4445be6ed11e52e69b4548239e3a4e659538f96dfb3ed3c57ac  config-baseline.json
+9d4d4ab553dadca237d837f71dc7fc13e4ea65d33a564c2ea6775180c413e86a  config-baseline.core.json
 f2a1aad257c570b497865680c331568a6775369528749826dfa35c1f644483fc  config-baseline.channel.json
-fffe0e74eab92a88c3c57952a70bc932438ce3a7f5f9982688437f2cdaee0bcb  config-baseline.plugin.json
+858f82733d9828b28bf88bc226e155d8417c494215eb3f808f15799daa42a7d7  config-baseline.plugin.json

docs/channels/groups.md

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ otherwise -> reply
 ## Visible replies
 
 For group/channel rooms, OpenClaw defaults to `messages.groupChat.visibleReplies: "message_tool"`.
+`openclaw doctor --fix` writes this default into configured-channel configs that omit it.
 That means the agent still processes the turn and can update memory/session state, but its normal final answer is not automatically posted back into the room. To speak visibly, the agent uses `message(action=send)`.
 
 If the message tool is unavailable under the active tool policy, OpenClaw falls

docs/gateway/doctor.md

@@ -189,6 +189,7 @@ That stages grounded durable candidates into the short-term dreaming store while
     - `routing.groupChat.requireMention` → `channels.whatsapp/telegram/imessage.groups."*".requireMention`
     - `routing.groupChat.historyLimit` → `messages.groupChat.historyLimit`
     - `routing.groupChat.mentionPatterns` → `messages.groupChat.mentionPatterns`
+    - configured-channel configs missing visible reply policy → `messages.groupChat.visibleReplies: "message_tool"`
     - `routing.queue` → `messages.queue`
     - `routing.bindings` → top-level `bindings`
     - `routing.agents`/`routing.defaultAgentId` → `agents.list` + `agents.list[].default`

src/commands/doctor-legacy-config.migrations.test.ts

@@ -146,6 +146,63 @@ describe("normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues", () => {
     fs.rmSync(tempOauthDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
 
+  it("sets the group visible reply default for configured channels", () => {
+    const res = normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues({
+      channels: {
+        discord: {},
+      },
+      messages: {
+        groupChat: {
+          mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw"],
+        },
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(res.config.messages?.groupChat).toEqual({
+      mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw"],
+      visibleReplies: "message_tool",
+    });
+    expect(res.changes).toContain(
+      'Set messages.groupChat.visibleReplies to "message_tool" so group/channel replies use the message tool by default.',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("does not set group visible replies without channels or when already explicit", () => {
+    expect(
+      normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues({
+        messages: {
+          groupChat: {
+            mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw"],
+          },
+        },
+      }).changes,
+    ).toEqual([]);
+
+    expect(
+      normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues({
+        channels: {
+          discord: {},
+        },
+        messages: {
+          visibleReplies: "automatic",
+        },
+      }).config.messages?.groupChat?.visibleReplies,
+    ).toBeUndefined();
+
+    expect(
+      normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues({
+        channels: {
+          discord: {},
+        },
+        messages: {
+          groupChat: {
+            visibleReplies: "automatic",
+          },
+        },
+      }).config.messages?.groupChat?.visibleReplies,
+    ).toBe("automatic");
+  });
+
   it("does not add whatsapp config when missing and no auth exists", () => {
     const res = normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues({
       messages: { ackReaction: "👀" },
@@ -216,6 +273,11 @@ describe("normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues", () => {
 
   it("leaves invalid legacy secretref-env markers for validation to reject", () => {
     const res = normalizeCompatibilityConfigValues({
+      messages: {
+        groupChat: {
+          visibleReplies: "message_tool",
+        },
+      },
       channels: {
         discord: {
           token: "secretref-env:not-valid",

src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-compatibility-base.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   normalizeLegacyRuntimeModelRefs,
   normalizeLegacyNanoBananaSkill,
   normalizeLegacyTalkConfig,
+  normalizeMissingGroupVisibleRepliesDefault,
   seedMissingDefaultAccountsFromSingleAccountBase,
 } from "./legacy-config-core-normalizers.js";
 import { migrateLegacyWebFetchConfig } from "./legacy-web-fetch-migrate.js";
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ export function normalizeBaseCompatibilityConfigValues(
   next = normalizeLegacyOpenAIModelProviderApi(next, changes);
   next = normalizeLegacyRuntimeModelRefs(next, changes);
   next = normalizeLegacyCrossContextMessageConfig(next, changes);
+  next = normalizeMissingGroupVisibleRepliesDefault(next, changes);
   next = normalizeLegacyMediaProviderOptions(next, changes);
   return normalizeLegacyMistralModelMaxTokens(next, changes);
 }

src/commands/doctor/shared/legacy-config-core-normalizers.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,42 @@ import { isRecord } from "./legacy-config-record-shared.js";
 import { isLegacyModelsAddCodexMetadataModel } from "./legacy-models-add-metadata.js";
 export { normalizeLegacyTalkConfig } from "./legacy-talk-config-normalizer.js";
 
+function hasConfiguredChannels(cfg: OpenClawConfig): boolean {
+  const channels = cfg.channels;
+  if (!isRecord(channels)) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  return Object.keys(channels).some((channelId) => channelId !== "defaults");
+}
+
+export function normalizeMissingGroupVisibleRepliesDefault(
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig,
+  changes: string[],
+): OpenClawConfig {
+  const messages = cfg.messages;
+  if (
+    !hasConfiguredChannels(cfg) ||
+    messages?.visibleReplies !== undefined ||
+    messages?.groupChat?.visibleReplies !== undefined
+  ) {
+    return cfg;
+  }
+
+  const nextMessages = messages ? { ...messages } : {};
+  nextMessages.groupChat = {
+    ...messages?.groupChat,
+    visibleReplies: "message_tool",
+  };
+  changes.push(
+    'Set messages.groupChat.visibleReplies to "message_tool" so group/channel replies use the message tool by default.',
+  );
+
+  return {
+    ...cfg,
+    messages: nextMessages,
+  };
+}
+
 export function normalizeLegacyCommandsConfig(
   cfg: OpenClawConfig,
   changes: string[],

src/config/schema.base.generated.ts

@@ -19056,7 +19056,7 @@ export const GENERATED_BASE_CONFIG_SCHEMA: BaseConfigSchemaResponse = {
                 enum: ["automatic", "message_tool"],
                 title: "Group Visible Replies",
                 description:
-                  'Overrides visible source replies for group/channel conversations. "message_tool" keeps normal final replies private and requires message(action=send) for room output; "automatic" posts normal replies as before.',
+                  'Overrides visible source replies for group/channel conversations. Defaults to "message_tool" when no global visible reply policy is set. "message_tool" keeps normal final replies private and requires message(action=send) for room output; "automatic" posts normal replies as before.',
               },
             },
             additionalProperties: false,
@@ -28529,7 +28529,7 @@ export const GENERATED_BASE_CONFIG_SCHEMA: BaseConfigSchemaResponse = {
     },
     "messages.groupChat.visibleReplies": {
       label: "Group Visible Replies",
-      help: 'Overrides visible source replies for group/channel conversations. "message_tool" keeps normal final replies private and requires message(action=send) for room output; "automatic" posts normal replies as before.',
+      help: 'Overrides visible source replies for group/channel conversations. Defaults to "message_tool" when no global visible reply policy is set. "message_tool" keeps normal final replies private and requires message(action=send) for room output; "automatic" posts normal replies as before.',
       tags: ["advanced"],
     },
     "messages.queue": {

src/config/schema.help.ts

@@ -1642,7 +1642,7 @@ export const FIELD_HELP: Record<string, string> = {
   "messages.groupChat.historyLimit":
     "Maximum number of prior group messages loaded as context per turn for group sessions. Use higher values for richer continuity, or lower values for faster and cheaper responses.",
   "messages.groupChat.visibleReplies":
-    'Overrides visible source replies for group/channel conversations. "message_tool" keeps normal final replies private and requires message(action=send) for room output; "automatic" posts normal replies as before.',
+    'Overrides visible source replies for group/channel conversations. Defaults to "message_tool" when no global visible reply policy is set. "message_tool" keeps normal final replies private and requires message(action=send) for room output; "automatic" posts normal replies as before.',
   "messages.queue":
     "Inbound message queue strategy for messages that arrive while a session run is active. Default mode is steer, with followup fallback when steering is unavailable.",
   "messages.queue.mode":