fix(update): block gateway-owned package updates

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Channels: keep Matrix and Mattermost bundled in the core package instead of advertising external npm installs before those channels are cut over. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Bonjour: disable LAN mDNS advertising after a repeated stuck-announcing recovery instead of repeatedly restarting ciao and saturating the Gateway event loop.
 - Channels/setup: label installable channel picker hints as remote npm installs and hide remote install hints for bundled plugins that already ship with OpenClaw.
+- CLI/update: refuse package updates launched from the active gateway process tree before stopping the managed Gateway service, avoiding self-terminated in-lane updates that leave old Gateway code running. Fixes #75691. (#75819) Thanks @ai-hpc.
 - CLI/plugins: stop treating the non-plugin `auth` command root as a bundled plugin id, so restrictive `plugins.allow` configs no longer tell users to add stale `auth` plugin entries.
 - Doctor/plugins: update configured plugin installs whose stale manifests still declare channels without `channelConfigs`, so beta upgrades repair old Discord-style package payloads during `doctor --fix`.
 - Doctor/plugins: repair configured external plugin installs whose persisted install record points at a missing package directory, so upgrades reconcile phantom npm metadata before plugin runtime validation. Thanks @vincentkoc.

src/cli/update-cli.test.ts

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ const runRestartScript = vi.fn();
 const mockedRunDaemonInstall = vi.fn();
 const serviceReadCommand = vi.fn();
 const serviceReadRuntime = vi.fn();
+const mockGetSelfAndAncestorPidsSync = vi.fn(() => new Set<number>([process.pid]));
 const inspectPortUsage = vi.fn();
 const classifyPortListener = vi.fn();
 const formatPortDiagnostics = vi.fn();
@@ -128,6 +129,10 @@ vi.mock("../infra/runtime-guard.js", () => ({
   },
 }));
 
+vi.mock("../infra/restart-stale-pids.js", () => ({
+  getSelfAndAncestorPidsSync: () => mockGetSelfAndAncestorPidsSync(),
+}));
+
 vi.mock("node:child_process", async () => {
   const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof import("node:child_process")>("node:child_process");
   return {
@@ -498,6 +503,7 @@ describe("update-cli", () => {
       pid: 4242,
       state: "running",
     });
+    mockGetSelfAndAncestorPidsSync.mockReturnValue(new Set<number>([process.pid]));
     prepareRestartScript.mockResolvedValue("/tmp/openclaw-restart-test.sh");
     runRestartScript.mockResolvedValue(undefined);
     inspectPortUsage.mockResolvedValue({
@@ -1425,6 +1431,26 @@ describe("update-cli", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("refuses package updates from inside the active gateway process tree", async () => {
+    mockPackageInstallStatus(createCaseDir("openclaw-update"));
+    serviceLoaded.mockResolvedValue(true);
+    mockGetSelfAndAncestorPidsSync.mockReturnValue(new Set<number>([process.pid, 4242]));
+
+    await updateCommand({ yes: true });
+
+    const errors = vi.mocked(defaultRuntime.error).mock.calls.map((call) => String(call[0]));
+    expect(errors.join("\n")).toContain(
+      "openclaw update detected it is running inside the gateway process tree.",
+    );
+    expect(errors.join("\n")).toContain("Gateway PID 4242 is an ancestor");
+    expect(defaultRuntime.exit).toHaveBeenCalledWith(1);
+    expect(serviceStop).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(runCommandWithTimeout).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      ["npm", "i", "-g", "openclaw@latest", "--no-fund", "--no-audit", "--loglevel=error"],
+      expect.any(Object),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("blocks package updates when the target requires a newer Node runtime", async () => {
     mockPackageInstallStatus(createCaseDir("openclaw-update"));
     vi.mocked(fetchNpmPackageTargetStatus).mockResolvedValue({

src/cli/update-cli/update-command.ts

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import { resolveGatewayRestartLogPath } from "../../daemon/restart-logs.js";
 import { readGatewayServiceState, resolveGatewayService } from "../../daemon/service.js";
 import { createLowDiskSpaceWarning } from "../../infra/disk-space.js";
 import { runGlobalPackageUpdateSteps } from "../../infra/package-update-steps.js";
+import { getSelfAndAncestorPidsSync } from "../../infra/restart-stale-pids.js";
 import { nodeVersionSatisfiesEngine } from "../../infra/runtime-guard.js";
 import {
   channelToNpmTag,
@@ -236,9 +237,30 @@ type PrePackageServiceStop = {
   inspected: boolean;
   runtimeInspected: boolean;
   running: boolean;
+  blockMessage?: string;
   serviceEnv?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
 };
 
+function formatGatewayAncestryBlockMessage(pid: number): string {
+  return `openclaw update detected it is running inside the gateway process tree.
+Gateway PID ${pid} is an ancestor of this process, so this updater cannot safely stop or restart the gateway that owns it.
+Run \`${replaceCliName(formatCliCommand("openclaw update"), CLI_NAME)}\` from a shell outside the gateway service, or stop the gateway service first and then update.`;
+}
+
+function isGatewayAncestorPid(pid: unknown): pid is number {
+  return typeof pid === "number" && pid > 0 && getSelfAndAncestorPidsSync().has(pid);
+}
+
+function gatewayAncestryBlockMessage(pid: unknown): string | undefined {
+  return isGatewayAncestorPid(pid) ? formatGatewayAncestryBlockMessage(pid) : undefined;
+}
+
+function gatewayRuntimeAncestryBlockMessage(
+  runtime: { pid?: unknown } | null | undefined,
+): string | undefined {
+  return gatewayAncestryBlockMessage(runtime?.pid);
+}
+
 async function maybeStopManagedServiceBeforePackageUpdate(params: {
   shouldRestart: boolean;
   jsonMode: boolean;
@@ -301,6 +323,18 @@ async function maybeStopManagedServiceBeforePackageUpdate(params: {
     };
   }
 
+  const blockMessage = gatewayRuntimeAncestryBlockMessage(serviceState.runtime);
+  if (blockMessage) {
+    return {
+      stopped: false,
+      inspected: true,
+      runtimeInspected: true,
+      running: true,
+      blockMessage,
+      serviceEnv: serviceState.env,
+    };
+  }
+
   if (!params.jsonMode) {
     defaultRuntime.log(theme.muted("Stopping managed gateway service before package update..."));
   }
@@ -1817,6 +1851,13 @@ export async function updateCommand(opts: UpdateCommandOptions): Promise<void> {
       return;
     }
 
+    if (prePackageServiceStop?.blockMessage) {
+      stop();
+      defaultRuntime.error(prePackageServiceStop.blockMessage);
+      defaultRuntime.exit(1);
+      return;
+    }
+
     if (shouldBlockPackageUpdateFromGatewayServiceEnv({ prePackageServiceStop })) {
       stop();
       defaultRuntime.error(

src/infra/restart-stale-pids.ts

@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ function readParentPidFromProc(pid: number): number | null {
  * `node:fs` to inject `/proc/<pid>/status` payloads) — there is no
  * reachable override for runtime callers to mutate.
  */
-function getSelfAndAncestorPidsSync(): Set<number> {
+export function getSelfAndAncestorPidsSync(): Set<number> {
   const pids = new Set<number>([process.pid]);
   const immediateParent = getParentPid();
   if (!Number.isFinite(immediateParent) || immediateParent <= 0) {