Fixing OpenClaw Gateway Crash and Warnings | Generated by AI

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Question: How do I fix the openclaw-gateway.service that keeps crashing with the error error: unknown option '--host' and a Telegram group policy warning?

Answer:

Your log shows two distinct problems — one is the fatal crash (the --host option error), and the other is a Telegram warning. Fix them separately:

Problem 1 (Fatal): error: unknown option '--host'

This is the root cause of the crash loop (restart counter at 131+). The gateway startup command is passing a --host flag that is not a valid option for the current version of OpenClaw. The error message itself hints: (Did you mean --port?).

This typically happens when:

Fix Steps:

Step 1 — Remove the invalid gateway.host config key:

openclaw config set gateway.bind "localhost"

Or if you specifically want to set a port:

openclaw config set gateway.port 3001

Do not use gateway.host — the correct config keys are gateway.host for some older setups, but the current recommended fix is openclaw config set gateway.bind "localhost" and openclaw config set gateway.port 3001.

Step 2 — Run the auto-fix doctor:

openclaw doctor --fix

openclaw doctor --fix runs health checks and auto-fixes common issues including permissions, config, and missing directories.

Step 3 — Check your systemd service unit for any hardcoded --host flag:

systemctl --user cat openclaw-gateway.service

If you see --host in the ExecStart= line, edit it out:

systemctl --user edit openclaw-gateway.service

Remove the --host argument and save.

Step 4 — Reinstall and restart the gateway:

openclaw gateway install --force
openclaw gateway restart

Or via systemd:

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway

Problem 2 (Warning): Telegram Group Messages Being Silently Dropped

The log warns:

channels.telegram.groupPolicy is "allowlist" but groupAllowFrom (and allowFrom) is empty — all group messages will be silently dropped.

This won’t crash the service, but it means your bot ignores all Telegram group messages. Fix it with one of these two options:

Option A — Add allowed sender IDs to the allowlist:

openclaw config set channels.telegram.groupAllowFrom '[-1001234567890]'

Replace the number with your actual Telegram group chat ID.

Option B — Open group messages to everyone (less secure):

openclaw config set channels.telegram.groupPolicy "open"

Summary of Commands to Run

# 1. Fix the host config issue
openclaw config set gateway.bind "localhost"
openclaw config set gateway.port 3001

# 2. Auto-fix any other config problems
openclaw doctor --fix

# 3. Fix the Telegram group policy (choose one)
openclaw config set channels.telegram.groupPolicy "open"
# OR add specific group IDs to the allowlist

# 4. Reinstall and restart
openclaw gateway install --force
openclaw gateway restart

# 5. Verify it's stable
openclaw status
openclaw logs --follow

After restarting, the crash loop should stop and the restart counter should freeze.

References:

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