fix: note stable symlinked paths (#1505) (thanks @odysseus0)

When installing the LaunchAgent/systemd service, the CLI was using
fs.realpath() to resolve the entry.js path, which converted stable
symlinked paths (e.g. node_modules/clawdbot) into version-specific
paths (e.g. .pnpm/clawdbot@X.Y.Z/...).

This caused the service to break after pnpm updates because the old
versioned path no longer exists, even though the symlink still works.

Now we prefer the original (symlinked) path when it's valid, keeping
service configs stable across package version updates.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 ### Fixes
 - Media: preserve PNG alpha when possible; fall back to JPEG when still over size cap. (#1491) Thanks @robbyczgw-cla.
 - Agents: treat plugin-only tool allowlists as opt-ins; keep core tools enabled. (#1467)
+- Daemon: prefer symlinked CLI paths to keep service configs stable. (#1505) Thanks @odysseus0.
 
 ## 2026.1.22
 

src/daemon/program-args.test.ts

@@ -45,6 +45,26 @@ describe("resolveGatewayProgramArguments", () => {
     ]);
   });
 
+  it("prefers symlinked path over realpath for stable service config", async () => {
+    // Simulates pnpm global install where node_modules/clawdbot is a symlink
+    // to .pnpm/clawdbot@X.Y.Z/node_modules/clawdbot
+    const symlinkPath = path.resolve(
+      "/Users/test/Library/pnpm/global/5/node_modules/clawdbot/dist/entry.js",
+    );
+    const realpathResolved = path.resolve(
+      "/Users/test/Library/pnpm/global/5/node_modules/.pnpm/clawdbot@2026.1.21-2/node_modules/clawdbot/dist/entry.js",
+    );
+    process.argv = ["node", symlinkPath];
+    fsMocks.realpath.mockResolvedValue(realpathResolved);
+    fsMocks.access.mockResolvedValue(undefined); // Both paths exist
+
+    const result = await resolveGatewayProgramArguments({ port: 18789 });
+
+    // Should use the symlinked path, not the realpath-resolved versioned path
+    expect(result.programArguments[1]).toBe(symlinkPath);
+    expect(result.programArguments[1]).not.toContain("@2026.1.21-2");
+  });
+
   it("falls back to node_modules package dist when .bin path is not resolved", async () => {
     const argv1 = path.resolve("/tmp/.npm/_npx/63c3/node_modules/.bin/clawdbot");
     const indexPath = path.resolve("/tmp/.npm/_npx/63c3/node_modules/clawdbot/dist/index.js");

src/daemon/program-args.ts

@@ -27,6 +27,20 @@ async function resolveCliEntrypointPathForService(): Promise<string> {
   const looksLikeDist = /[/\\]dist[/\\].+\.(cjs|js|mjs)$/.test(resolvedPath);
   if (looksLikeDist) {
     await fs.access(resolvedPath);
+    // Prefer the original (possibly symlinked) path over the resolved realpath.
+    // This keeps LaunchAgent/systemd paths stable across package version updates,
+    // since symlinks like node_modules/clawdbot -> .pnpm/clawdbot@X.Y.Z/...
+    // are automatically updated by pnpm, while the resolved path contains
+    // version-specific directories that break after updates.
+    const normalizedLooksLikeDist = /[/\\]dist[/\\].+\.(cjs|js|mjs)$/.test(normalized);
+    if (normalizedLooksLikeDist && normalized !== resolvedPath) {
+      try {
+        await fs.access(normalized);
+        return normalized;
+      } catch {
+        // Fall through to return resolvedPath
+      }
+    }
     return resolvedPath;
   }