fix: continue update runs after restart (#74362) (thanks @100menotu001)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Providers/Ollama: restore catalog context-window forwarding as `num_ctx` for native `/api/chat` requests; fixes tool selection and context truncation regressions on models with catalog entries (qwen3, llama3, gemma3, …) when no explicit `params.num_ctx` was configured. Fixes #76117. (#76181) Thanks @openperf.
 
 - Plugins/providers: preserve scoped cold-load fallback for enabled external manifest-contract capability providers missing from the startup registry, so providers such as Fish Audio can resolve on request without requiring `activation.onStartup` for correctness. (#76536) Thanks @Conan-Scott.
+- Gateway/update: carry `continuationMessage` from `update.run` into successful restart sentinels so session-scoped self-updates can resume one follow-up turn after the Gateway restarts. Refs #71178. (#74362) Thanks @100menotu001, @HeilbronAILabs, and @artnking.
 
 ## 2026.5.2
 

docs/gateway/configuration.md

@@ -609,7 +609,7 @@ For tooling that writes config over the gateway API, prefer this flow:
 - `config.patch` for partial updates (JSON merge patch: objects merge, `null`
   deletes, arrays replace)
 - `config.apply` only when you intend to replace the entire config
-- `update.run` for explicit self-update plus restart
+- `update.run` for explicit self-update plus restart; include `continuationMessage` when the post-restart session should run one follow-up turn
 - `update.status` to inspect the latest update restart sentinel and verify the running version after a restart
 
 Agents should treat `config.schema.lookup` as the first stop for exact

docs/gateway/protocol.md

@@ -381,7 +381,7 @@ enumeration of `src/gateway/server-methods/*.ts`.
     - `config.apply` validates + replaces the full config payload.
     - `config.schema` returns the live config schema payload used by Control UI and CLI tooling: schema, `uiHints`, version, and generation metadata, including plugin + channel schema metadata when the runtime can load it. The schema includes field `title` / `description` metadata derived from the same labels and help text used by the UI, including nested object, wildcard, array-item, and `anyOf` / `oneOf` / `allOf` composition branches when matching field documentation exists.
     - `config.schema.lookup` returns a path-scoped lookup payload for one config path: normalized path, a shallow schema node, matched hint + `hintPath`, and immediate child summaries for UI/CLI drill-down. Lookup schema nodes keep the user-facing docs and common validation fields (`title`, `description`, `type`, `enum`, `const`, `format`, `pattern`, numeric/string/array/object bounds, and flags like `additionalProperties`, `deprecated`, `readOnly`, `writeOnly`). Child summaries expose `key`, normalized `path`, `type`, `required`, `hasChildren`, plus the matched `hint` / `hintPath`.
-    - `update.run` runs the gateway update flow and schedules a restart only when the update itself succeeded. Package-manager updates force a non-deferred, no-cooldown update restart after the package swap so the old Gateway process does not keep lazy-loading from a replaced `dist` tree.
+    - `update.run` runs the gateway update flow and schedules a restart only when the update itself succeeded; callers with a session can include `continuationMessage` so startup resumes one follow-up agent turn through the restart continuation queue. Package-manager updates force a non-deferred, no-cooldown update restart after the package swap so the old Gateway process does not keep lazy-loading from a replaced `dist` tree.
     - `update.status` returns the latest cached update restart sentinel, including the post-restart running version when available.
     - `wizard.start`, `wizard.next`, `wizard.status`, and `wizard.cancel` expose the onboarding wizard over WS RPC.
 

src/agents/openclaw-gateway-tool.test.ts

@@ -708,12 +708,14 @@ describe("gateway tool", () => {
     await tool.execute("call3", {
       action: "update.run",
       note: "test update",
+      continuationMessage: "Report the update result after restart.",
     });
 
     expect(callGatewayTool).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       "update.run",
       expect.any(Object),
       expect.objectContaining({
+        continuationMessage: "Report the update result after restart.",
         note: "test update",
         sessionKey,
       }),

src/agents/tools/gateway-tool.ts

@@ -519,6 +519,7 @@ export function createGatewayTool(opts?: {
       }
       if (action === "update.run") {
         const { sessionKey, note, restartDelayMs } = resolveGatewayWriteMeta();
+        const continuationMessage = normalizeOptionalString(params.continuationMessage);
         const updateTimeoutMs = gatewayOpts.timeoutMs ?? DEFAULT_UPDATE_TIMEOUT_MS;
         const updateGatewayOpts = {
           ...gatewayOpts,
@@ -527,6 +528,7 @@ export function createGatewayTool(opts?: {
         const result = await callGatewayTool("update.run", updateGatewayOpts, {
           sessionKey,
           note,
+          continuationMessage,
           restartDelayMs,
           timeoutMs: updateTimeoutMs,
         });

src/gateway/protocol/schema/config.ts

@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ export const UpdateRunParamsSchema = Type.Object(
     sessionKey: Type.Optional(Type.String()),
     deliveryContext: Type.Optional(ConfigDeliveryContextSchema),
     note: Type.Optional(Type.String()),
+    continuationMessage: Type.Optional(Type.String()),
     restartDelayMs: Type.Optional(Type.Integer({ minimum: 0 })),
     timeoutMs: Type.Optional(Type.Integer({ minimum: 1 })),
   },

src/gateway/server-methods/restart-request.ts

@@ -39,15 +39,19 @@ export function parseRestartRequestParams(params: unknown): {
   deliveryContext: RestartDeliveryContext | undefined;
   threadId: string | undefined;
   note: string | undefined;
+  continuationMessage: string | undefined;
   restartDelayMs: number | undefined;
 } {
   const sessionKey = normalizeOptionalString((params as { sessionKey?: unknown }).sessionKey);
   const { deliveryContext, threadId } = parseRestartDeliveryContext(params);
   const note = normalizeOptionalString((params as { note?: unknown }).note);
+  const continuationMessage = normalizeOptionalString(
+    (params as { continuationMessage?: unknown }).continuationMessage,
+  );
   const restartDelayMsRaw = (params as { restartDelayMs?: unknown }).restartDelayMs;
   const restartDelayMs =
     typeof restartDelayMsRaw === "number" && Number.isFinite(restartDelayMsRaw)
       ? Math.max(0, Math.floor(restartDelayMsRaw))
       : undefined;
-  return { sessionKey, deliveryContext, threadId, note, restartDelayMs };
+  return { sessionKey, deliveryContext, threadId, note, continuationMessage, restartDelayMs };
 }

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

@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
-import type { RestartSentinelPayload } from "../../infra/restart-sentinel.js";
+import {
+  DEFAULT_RESTART_SUCCESS_CONTINUATION_MESSAGE,
+  type RestartSentinelPayload,
+} from "../../infra/restart-sentinel.js";
 import type { UpdateInstallSurface, UpdateRunResult } from "../../infra/update-runner.js";
 
 // Capture the sentinel payload written during update.run
@@ -102,6 +105,7 @@ vi.mock("./restart-request.js", () => ({
   parseRestartRequestParams: (params: Record<string, unknown>) => ({
     sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
     note: params.note,
+    continuationMessage: params.continuationMessage,
     restartDelayMs: undefined,
   }),
 }));
@@ -167,7 +171,10 @@ describe("update.run sentinel deliveryContext", () => {
       to: "webchat:user-123",
       accountId: "default",
     });
-    expect(capturedPayload!.continuation).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(capturedPayload!.continuation).toEqual({
+      kind: "agentTurn",
+      message: DEFAULT_RESTART_SUCCESS_CONTINUATION_MESSAGE,
+    });
   });
 
   it("omits deliveryContext when no sessionKey is provided", async () => {
@@ -193,7 +200,25 @@ describe("update.run sentinel deliveryContext", () => {
       accountId: "workspace-1",
     });
     expect(capturedPayload!.threadId).toBe("1234567890.123456");
-    expect(capturedPayload!.continuation).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(capturedPayload!.continuation).toEqual({
+      kind: "agentTurn",
+      message: DEFAULT_RESTART_SUCCESS_CONTINUATION_MESSAGE,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("uses an explicit continuationMessage in successful update sentinels", async () => {
+    capturedPayload = undefined;
+
+    await invokeUpdateRun({
+      sessionKey: "agent:main:webchat:dm:user-123",
+      continuationMessage: "Check the running version and finish the update report.",
+    });
+
+    expect(capturedPayload).toBeDefined();
+    expect(capturedPayload!.continuation).toEqual({
+      kind: "agentTurn",
+      message: "Check the running version and finish the update report.",
+    });
   });
 });
 
@@ -234,10 +259,16 @@ describe("update.run restart scheduling", () => {
 
     let payload: { ok: boolean; restart: unknown } | undefined;
 
-    await invokeUpdateRun({}, (_ok: boolean, response: unknown) => {
-      const typed = response as { ok: boolean; restart: unknown };
-      payload = typed;
-    });
+    await invokeUpdateRun(
+      {
+        sessionKey: "agent:main:webchat:dm:user-123",
+        continuationMessage: "This should not run after a failed update.",
+      },
+      (_ok: boolean, response: unknown) => {
+        const typed = response as { ok: boolean; restart: unknown };
+        payload = typed;
+      },
+    );
 
     expect(scheduleGatewaySigusr1RestartMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(payload?.ok).toBe(false);

src/gateway/server-methods/update.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { extractDeliveryInfo } from "../../config/sessions.js";
 import { resolveOpenClawPackageRoot } from "../../infra/openclaw-root.js";
 import { readPackageVersion } from "../../infra/package-json.js";
 import {
+  buildRestartSuccessContinuation,
   formatDoctorNonInteractiveHint,
   type RestartSentinelPayload,
   writeRestartSentinel,
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ export const updateHandlers: GatewayRequestHandlers = {
       deliveryContext: requestedDeliveryContext,
       threadId: requestedThreadId,
       note,
+      continuationMessage,
       restartDelayMs,
     } = parseRestartRequestParams(params);
     const { deliveryContext: sessionDeliveryContext, threadId: sessionThreadId } =
@@ -99,6 +101,10 @@ export const updateHandlers: GatewayRequestHandlers = {
       };
     }
 
+    const continuation =
+      result.status === "ok"
+        ? buildRestartSuccessContinuation({ sessionKey, continuationMessage })
+        : null;
     const payload: RestartSentinelPayload = {
       kind: "update",
       status: result.status,
@@ -107,6 +113,7 @@ export const updateHandlers: GatewayRequestHandlers = {
       deliveryContext,
       threadId,
       message: note ?? null,
+      ...(continuation ? { continuation } : {}),
       doctorHint: formatDoctorNonInteractiveHint(),
       stats: {
         mode: result.mode,