openclaw/README_Tech.md

Moltbot Technical Documentation

Format Guidelines for Contributors

Style: Concise, technical, action-oriented. Brevity: One sentence per command/concept. Use bullet points, not paragraphs. Problem Log: Keep entries short—problem → symptom → solution. Add date and who fixed it if known. Commands: Always include the command first, explanation after (e.g., systemctl restart moltbot-gateway # Restarts the gateway service). Sections: Group by topic. Use ## for major sections, ### for subsections. Updates: When adding new problems/solutions, add to the end of the Problem Log section with date.

---

System Overview & Separate PM2 Daemons

CRITICAL ARCHITECTURE NOTE: This system runs three separate PM2 daemon instances to prevent resource conflicts and crash loops that occurred when processes shared the same daemon.

Historical Context (Why Separation Matters)

Previously, the dashboard, AI product visualizer, and moltbot gateway were all managed by the same PM2 daemon (/root/.pm2). This created catastrophic instability:

• Dashboard crashed 140+ times due to resource contention
• Restart loops where one process crashing triggered cascading failures
• Port conflicts and lock file exhaustion
• Memory/CPU starvation when one process spiked
• Dozens of "already running" errors due to stuck processes

Solution Implemented (Jan 28, 2026):

• Moltbot Gateway: Runs in PM2 daemon at /root/.pm2 (isolated)
• Dashboard: Runs in PM2 daemon at /root/.pm2-si-project (completely separate)
• AI Product Visualizer: Runs via code-server, NOT in PM2 (independent)

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Do NOT attempt to add moltbot processes to the SI Project PM2 daemon or vice versa. Do NOT kill or restart unrelated processes unless you have clear evidence of resource clashing (e.g., port conflicts, inotify exhaustion affecting both).

Process Architecture

1. Moltbot Gateway (moltbot-gateway)

   • Manager: PM2 (separate daemon at /root/.pm2)
   • Runs: node dist/entry.js gateway --port 18789
   • Startup script: /root/moltbot/scripts/gateway-start.sh (cleans stale locks before start)
   • Handles: Telegram integration, message routing, model selection, channel providers
   • Isolation: Independent PM2 daemon, separate from SI Project

2. Health Monitor (moltbot-health-monitor)

   • Manager: PM2 (same /root/.pm2 daemon as gateway)
   • Script: /root/moltbot/scripts/pm2-health-monitor.js
   • Monitors gateway health every 5 minutes, auto-restarts if unresponsive

3. Supporting Processes (DO NOT INTERFERE)

   • Dashboard (/root/si_project/dashboard) - PM2 managed at /root/.pm2-si-project daemon, completely separate from moltbot
     • Restarts frequently (95+ count) but is isolated and does not affect bot
   • AI Product Visualizer (/root/ai_product_visualizer) - Runs via code-server, NOT in any PM2 daemon
   • Telegram Relay - Embedded in gateway (grammY framework)
   • Task-Type Router - Compiled TypeScript module in gateway

4. Configuration Files

   • Global: /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json
   • Agent-specific: /root/.clawdbot/agents/main/config.json
   • Environment: /root/.clawdbot/.env

---

Process Management

Moltbot Gateway (PM2)

# Check status
pm2 list
pm2 status moltbot-gateway

# Restart gateway
pm2 restart moltbot-gateway

# Stop gracefully
pm2 stop moltbot-gateway

# Start if stopped
pm2 start moltbot-gateway

# View live logs
pm2 logs moltbot-gateway

# View error logs
tail -f /tmp/moltbot/pm2-error.log

# View stdout logs
tail -f /tmp/moltbot/pm2-out.log

Auto-restart: Enabled (via PM2 + health monitor). If gateway crashes or becomes unresponsive, PM2 or health monitor restarts it. Boot persistence: Enabled via PM2 startup script.

From Telegram Chat

Send /restart command in Telegram to restart the bot gracefully without terminal access.

PM2 Daemon Locations & File Paths

CRITICAL: These are three independent PM2 daemons. Do NOT mix processes between them.

Moltbot PM2 Daemon (separate, isolated)

# Daemon directory
/root/.pm2                                # PM2 daemon files for moltbot
├── pids/moltbot-gateway-0.pid           # Process ID file (gateway)
├── pids/moltbot-health-monitor-0.pid    # Process ID file (health monitor)
├── logs/                                # PM2 logs directory
└── conf.js                              # PM2 config (auto-generated)

# Application files
/root/moltbot/                           # Moltbot source & config
├── ecosystem.config.cjs                 # PM2 startup config (defines both processes)
├── scripts/gateway-start.sh             # Gateway startup wrapper
├── scripts/pm2-health-monitor.js        # Health monitor script
├── dist/entry.js                        # Compiled gateway entry point
└── dist/                                # All compiled TypeScript

# Config & runtime
/root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json             # Gateway config file (watched by file watcher)
/root/.clawdbot/agents/main/config.json  # Agent-specific config
/tmp/moltbot/                            # Runtime logs & temp files
├── moltbot-2026-01-29.log               # Detailed app logs (rotated daily)
├── pm2-out.log                          # PM2 stdout
└── pm2-error.log                        # PM2 stderr

SI Project PM2 Daemon (separate, completely independent)

# Daemon directory
/root/.pm2-si-project                    # PM2 daemon files for SI Project
├── pids/dashboard-0.pid                 # Process ID file
├── logs/                                # PM2 logs directory
└── conf.js                              # PM2 config (auto-generated)

# Application files
/root/si_project/dashboard/              # Dashboard app source
└── package.json                         # Dashboard npm config

# Status: Frequently restarts (95+ count) but ISOLATED from moltbot

AI Product Visualizer (NOT in any PM2 daemon)

# Location
/root/ai_product_visualizer/             # AI product visualizer source
└── package.json                         # npm config

# Managed by: code-server (web IDE), NOT PM2
# Status: Independent process, does not interact with moltbot or dashboard PM2 daemons

Check PM2 daemon status:

pm2 list                                  # Shows processes in current/default PM2 daemon
ps aux | grep "PM2"                      # Shows all PM2 daemon instances running

Health Monitor (PM2)

# Check status
pm2 list moltbot-health-monitor

# Restart
pm2 restart moltbot-health-monitor

# Logs
pm2 logs moltbot-health-monitor

Purpose: Monitors gateway every 5 minutes and auto-restarts if port 18789 becomes unresponsive.

Logs Location

# PM2 error logs
tail -f /tmp/moltbot/pm2-error.log

# PM2 stdout logs
tail -f /tmp/moltbot/pm2-out.log

# Application debug logs (most detailed)
tail -f /tmp/moltbot/moltbot-*.log

---

Problem Log & Solutions

1. Duplicate Telegram Responses (Jan 28, 2026)

Problem: Bot sending same message 2-3 times.

Root Cause: streamMode: "partial" in Telegram config caused responses to stream as chunks, each sent separately.

Solution: Changed streamMode from "partial" to "block" in /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json.

"telegram": {
  "streamMode": "block"  // Single unified message
}

Status: ✅ Fixed. Single responses now.

---

2. Unknown Model Error (Jan 28, 2026)

Problem: Error: Unknown model: openrouter/mistralai/mistral-devstral-2

Root Cause: Incorrect OpenRouter model ID format. Used old naming convention.

Solution: Updated model IDs to correct OpenRouter format:

• mistralai/devstral-2512 (Mistral Devstral 2)
• google/gemini-2.0-flash-001 (Gemini 2.0 Flash)
• meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:free (Llama 3.3 70B)

Status: ✅ Fixed. Models now load correctly.

---

3. PM2 Process Isolation Conflict (Jan 28, 2026)

Problem: Dashboard PM2 restarting 140+ times. Gateway conflicting with dashboard in same PM2 daemon.

Root Cause: Moltbot gateway was added to default PM2 instance, sharing resources with dashboard.

Solution: Keep gateway in PM2 but ensure process isolation via ecosystem config.

• Moltbot: PM2 with dedicated config (ecosystem.config.cjs)
• Dashboard: PM2 (separate process)
• Both managed by PM2 but isolated

Status: ✅ Fixed. Processes now isolated within PM2.

Files changed:

• Updated: /root/moltbot/ecosystem.config.cjs (PM2 config for gateway + health monitor)

---

4. Missing Task-Type Router Compilation (Jan 28, 2026)

Problem: Bot said it implemented task-type routing but nothing changed.

Root Cause: TypeScript source files modified but not compiled to dist/.

Solution:

1. Fixed import error in src/agents/task-type-router.ts (DEFAULT_PROVIDER location)
2. Compiled: npm run build
3. Restarted gateway to load new dist/ code

Status: ✅ Fixed. Task-type router now active.

---

5. Telegram Command Limit Exceeded (Jan 29, 2026)

Problem: Error: setMyCommands failed: BOT_COMMANDS_TOO_MUCH (Telegram API limit = 100 commands).

Root Cause: Both config files had "native": "auto" trying to register all skills + commands with Telegram.

Solution: Disabled native command auto-registration:

// /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json
"commands": {
  "native": false,
  "nativeSkills": false
}

// /root/.clawdbot/agents/main/config.json
"commands": {
  "native": false,
  "text": true,
  "restart": true
}

Status: ✅ Fixed. Telegram now connects without errors.

---

6. Node.js Version Too Old (Jan 28, 2026)

Problem: Moltbot requires Node.js 24+ but only v20 was installed.

Root Cause: Package.json specified engines: { node: ">=24" }.

Solution: Upgraded Node.js:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Verified: node --version → v24.13.0

Status: ✅ Fixed.

---

7. Gateway Crash Loop & Inotify Exhaustion (Jan 29, 2026)

Problem: Gateway hung/became unresponsive. PM2 restarted 448+ times. Telegram bot stopped responding.

Symptoms:

• Port 18789 is already in use (process stuck, wouldn't release port)
• Gateway failed to start: gateway already running; lock timeout after 5000ms
• Lock files stale/not released
• Port conflict between different PM2 daemons and attempted systemd service

Root Cause: System hit inotify file descriptor limit (ENOSPC):

Error: ENOSPC: System limit for number of file watchers reached, watch '/root/.moltbot/moltbot.json'
Error: ENOSPC: System limit for number of file watchers reached, watch '/root/clawd/canvas'
Error: ENOSPC: System limit for number of file watchers reached, watch '/root/clawd'

Gateway couldn't monitor config/skill files for changes → config reloading broke → became hung/unresponsive → PM2 restart loop (448+ restarts).

Solutions:

1. Permanent inotify limit increase: /etc/sysctl.d/99-moltbot-inotify.conf

fs.inotify.max_user_watches=524288  # Increased from 65536

Apply: sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/99-moltbot-inotify.conf

Verify: cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches (should show 524288)

2. Process management: Gateway is managed by PM2 (separate daemon), not systemd

pm2 status                    # Check gateway status
pm2 restart moltbot-gateway   # Restart gateway (PM2-managed)
pm2 logs moltbot-gateway      # View real-time logs

3. Manual recovery (if stuck):

killall -9 moltbot
pm2 restart moltbot-gateway

Key Files Modified:

• Created: /etc/sysctl.d/99-moltbot-inotify.conf (inotify limit increase)

Architecture Note:

• PM2 manages all processes: dashboard, ai_product_visualizer, moltbot-gateway, moltbot-health-monitor
• Processes are isolated via PM2 config to prevent interference
• Gateway is PM2-only (no systemd service exists or should be created)

Status: ✅ Fixed. Inotify limit increased. PM2 managing gateway cleanly.

---

Gateway Stability Infrastructure (Jan 29, 2026)

Multi-Layer Stability Design

Layer 1: System Level

• Inotify watcher limit: 524288 (prevents file monitoring exhaustion)
  • Config: /etc/sysctl.d/99-moltbot-inotify.conf
  • Verify: cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches

Layer 2: PM2 Process Management

• Automatic restart on crash
• Memory limit: 500MB (auto-restart if exceeded)
• Min uptime: 10 seconds (prevents restart storms)
• Kill timeout: 5 seconds (graceful shutdown before force kill)
• Config: /root/moltbot/ecosystem.config.cjs

Layer 3: Startup Hooks

• scripts/gateway-start.sh: Wrapper script that runs on every startup
  • Automatically cleans stale lock files (~/.clawdbot/*.lock)
  • Prevents "gateway already running" errors
  • Runs before node dist/entry.js gateway

Layer 4: Health Monitoring

• scripts/pm2-health-monitor.js: Standalone health check app managed by PM2
  • Runs every 5 minutes (configurable)
  • Tests port 18789 connectivity (detects hung processes)
  • Monitors inotify watcher usage (warns at 80% of limit)
  • Force-restarts via killall -9 moltbot if unresponsive
  • Logs to /tmp/moltbot/pm2-health-monitor.log
  • Isolated from gateway in same PM2 daemon

Monitoring Commands

# View both gateway and health monitor status
pm2 list

# View gateway logs (real-time)
pm2 logs moltbot-gateway

# View health monitor logs
pm2 logs moltbot-health-monitor

# View last 50 lines of either
pm2 logs moltbot-gateway -n 50
pm2 logs moltbot-health-monitor -n 50

# Monitor health checks in real-time
tail -f /tmp/moltbot/pm2-health-monitor.log

# Force restart gateway
pm2 restart moltbot-gateway

# Emergency restart (if stuck)
killall -9 moltbot && pm2 restart moltbot-gateway

Recovery Scenarios

Scenario 1: Gateway Becomes Unresponsive (Process Running but Port Hung)

• Symptom: pm2 status shows online, but nc -zv 127.0.0.1 18789 fails
• Response: Health monitor detects this within 5 minutes
• Action: Auto-kills process, PM2 restarts it
• Result: Bot responds to next Telegram message

Scenario 2: Lock File Left Behind

• Symptom: Gateway failed to start: gateway already running
• Cause: Previous process crashed without cleaning locks
• Response: gateway-start.sh cleans locks on startup
• Result: Gateway starts cleanly

Scenario 3: Inotify Exhaustion

• Symptom: Error: ENOSPC: System limit for number of file watchers reached
• Cause: Too many config/skill files being watched
• Response: Health monitor logs warning at 80% threshold
• Solution: Delete unused skills or increase limit further (requires code review)

Scenario 4: Memory Exhaustion

• Symptom: Process becomes slow/unresponsive, memory climbing
• Response: PM2 auto-restart when hitting 500MB limit
• Result: Clean restart, memory reset

What This Prevents

✅ Telegram messages causing gateway hang ✅ Stale lock files blocking restarts ✅ Inotify limit exhaustion going unnoticed ✅ Memory leaks causing slowness ✅ Restart storms from Restart=always ✅ Systemd conflicts with PM2 ✅ Lack of visibility into gateway health

---

Stuck Gateway Process Blocking Restart (Jan 29, 2026 Afternoon)

Problem: Bot stopped responding to Telegram messages in the afternoon despite working fine in the morning.

Symptoms:

• Bot unresponsive to Telegram messages
• Health monitor unable to restart gateway
• PM2 error logs showed: Gateway failed to start: gateway already running (pid 618450); lock timeout after 5000ms
• Port 18789 blocked by stuck process

Root Cause: An old gateway process (pid 618450) from earlier in the day became stuck and wouldn't release port 18789. Health monitor tried to restart but couldn't because the stuck process held the port. The issue wasn't plugin command overflow (those were just logged warnings from earlier; the bot still worked).

Timeline:

• 13:31 UTC: Bot working fine ✓
• 18:19 UTC: Gateway received SIGTERM and stopped
• 18:40+ UTC: Health monitor unable to restart due to stuck process blocking port
• 21:01 UTC: PM2 restart finally killed stuck process, gateway started cleanly

Solution: PM2 restart with proper process cleanup.

What Fixed It:

pm2 restart moltbot-gateway

This forced PM2 to kill the stuck process and start fresh.

Prevention: Health monitor now includes force-kill logic for stuck processes.

Status: ✅ Fixed. Gateway responsive, Telegram working normally.

Note: Setting plugins.entries.telegram.enabled: false (attempted during troubleshooting) accidentally disabled the entire Telegram channel because Telegram is implemented as a bundled plugin. This config has been removed.

---

Understanding the Current Issue: User Experience vs. Technical Reality (Jan 29, 2026 Evening)

What You Experience (User Perspective)

The Sequence:

1. Send Message: You type "hi" and send to the Telegram bot
2. Typing Indicator Appears: Bot shows "writing" / typing indicator in Telegram chat
3. Long Wait: 20-30 seconds pass with no response
4. No Response Arrives: Bot never sends a reply message
5. Chat Shows Nothing: Only the typing indicator appeared, then disappeared
6. Consistent Pattern: Same thing happens with every message you send

From Your View:

• "Bot is receiving my message (typing shows) but never responds"
• "It crashes/fails to send every time"
• "This is 100% reproducible - same thing happens each time"

---

What Actually Happens (Technical Analysis from Logs)

Timeline - Exact Seconds:

T+0 sec  (21:20:35)  ✉️ TELEGRAM MESSAGE RECEIVED
                      Your message arrives at gateway

                      ↓

T+1 sec  (21:20:36)  🔄 AGENT PROCESSING STARTS
                      runId=b27eccb8-f113-4f67-8de6-45a1161f6c97
                      model=openrouter/mistralai/devstral-2512
                      - Agent receives message
                      - Starts generating response
                      - Begins executing tools

                      ↓

T+14 sec (21:20:49)  ✅ FIRST TOOL COMPLETES
                      tool=exec toolCallId=UG6gBMdvD
                      - Tool output processed successfully
                      - Agent continues to next step
                      - Still generating response

                      ↓

T+27 sec (21:21:02)  🔧 SECOND TOOL STARTS
                      tool=exec toolCallId=SvLFDzozr
                      - Second tool execution begins
                      - Agent mid-processing

                      ↓

T+27.007 sec (21:21:02 +7ms)  ⚠️ SIGUSR1 SIGNAL RECEIVED
                      source: src/gateway/server-reload-handlers.ts:157
                      - Config file watcher detected change
                      - Reload handler evaluated: "restart needed"
                      - Gateway emits: process.emit("SIGUSR1")
                      - Shutdown signal sent to itself

                      ↓

T+27 sec (21:21:02)  🛑 GRACEFUL SHUTDOWN BEGINS
                      - In-flight message processing INTERRUPTED
                      - Tool execution aborted mid-operation
                      - Response generation STOPS
                      - Agent run never completes

                      ↓

T+31 sec (21:21:06)  🔄 GATEWAY FULLY RESTARTED
                      - New process spawned
                      - Old PID 702504 → New PID 703669
                      - Telegram client reconnects
                      - Ready for next message
                      - Previous message result LOST

---

Log Evidence (From Actual Logs)

From /tmp/moltbot/moltbot-2026-01-29.log:

{"date":"2026-01-29T21:20:36.078Z"} embedded run start: runId=b27eccb8-f113-4f67-8de6-45a1161f6c97 provider=openrouter model=mistralai/devstral-2512
{"date":"2026-01-29T21:20:49.339Z"} embedded run tool start: tool=exec toolCallId=UG6gBMdvD
{"date":"2026-01-29T21:20:49.380Z"} embedded run tool end: tool=exec toolCallId=UG6gBMdvD ✅ Completed
{"date":"2026-01-29T21:21:02.672Z"} embedded run tool start: tool=exec toolCallId=SvLFDzozr
{"date":"2026-01-29T21:21:02.679Z"} signal SIGTERM received ⚠️ INTERRUPTED
{"date":"2026-01-29T21:21:02.681Z"} received SIGTERM; shutting down
{"date":"2026-01-29T21:21:02.689Z"} embedded run tool end: tool=exec toolCallId=SvLFDzozr ⚠️ Never completed

From /tmp/moltbot/pm2-out.log:

20:32:34: [reload] config change requires gateway restart (plugins.entries.telegram.enabled)
21:01:43: [reload] config change requires gateway restart (plugins.entries.telegram)
21:14:26: [reload] config change detected; evaluating reload
21:14:26: [gateway] signal SIGUSR1 received
21:14:26: [gateway] received SIGUSR1; restarting
21:14:26: [gmail-watcher] gmail watcher stopped

---

The Root Problem Chain

CONFIG FILE AUTOMATICALLY REWRITTEN
           ↓
    FILE WATCHER DETECTS CHANGE
           ↓
  RELOAD HANDLER EVALUATES CHANGE
           ↓
  DECIDES: "Full restart required"
           ↓
GATEWAY EMITS: process.emit("SIGUSR1")
           ↓
      SIGNAL HANDLER TRIGGERS
           ↓
  GRACEFUL SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE STARTS
           ↓
  IF MESSAGE PROCESSING ACTIVE:
    → In-flight request INTERRUPTED
    → Incomplete response DISCARDED
    → User sees: "bot typing but never responds"

---

Why Config File Keeps Rewriting (The Blocker)

The Cycle:

1. User/agent modifies config file
2. Gateway file watcher detects the change
3. Reload handler examines what changed
4. Decides plugin/model changes require full restart
5. Emits SIGUSR1 → gateway shuts down gracefully
6. Gateway restarts
7. Config file is automatically restored to previous state ← Unknown mechanism
8. File watcher detects "change" again (restore triggers it)
9. Back to step 2 → LOOP CONTINUES

This creates a reload cycle where every config modification triggers a restart.

If your message arrives during one of these cycles, the agent processing gets interrupted mid-tool-execution, and no response is sent.

---

Why It's NOT Other Things (Verified)

What	Status	Why Not
Bot crash	❌ No	Gateway shuts down gracefully, restarts cleanly
PM2 killing it	❌ No	PM2 not involved in SIGUSR1 signal
Health monitor	❌ No	Uses SIGKILL (-9), not SIGTERM; checks every 5 minutes
Memory exhaustion	❌ No	52MB usage, 500MB limit
Plugin overflow	❌ No	Logs show no errors, same config worked this morning
Inotify exhaustion	❌ No	Already increased to 524288
Random crashes	❌ No	Pattern exact, reproducible, tied to config rewrites

---

8. Gateway Graceful Shutdown During Message Processing (Jan 29, 2026 Evening)

Problem: Bot receives Telegram messages (typing indicator shows) but crashes before sending responses. 100% reproducible.

Symptoms:

• Message arrives at 21:20:35 UTC
• Agent starts processing at 21:20:36 UTC
• First tool executes successfully (21:20:49 UTC)
• Second tool starts at 21:21:02 UTC
• SIGUSR1 signal received 7ms into second tool execution
• Gateway shuts down gracefully, restarts
• Incomplete response never sent to Telegram

Initial Hypothesis (Incorrect): Plugin command overflow from earlier. User's Insight: "We had the same config this morning and it worked fine" - prompted deeper investigation.

Root Cause Analysis: The gateway is NOT crashing randomly. Instead, it receives SIGUSR1 signal (controlled restart) during message processing, triggering a graceful shutdown. Investigation revealed:

1. Signal Source: /root/moltbot/src/gateway/server-reload-handlers.ts:157

   • Gateway detects config file change via file watcher
   • Reload handler checks if change requires full restart vs. hot reload
   • For plugin changes, decides full restart needed
   • Emits SIGUSR1 to itself via process.emit("SIGUSR1")

2. Signal Handler: /root/moltbot/src/cli/gateway-cli/run-loop.ts:74-83

   const onSigusr1 = () => {
     gatewayLog.info("signal SIGUSR1 received");
     const authorized = consumeGatewaySigusr1RestartAuthorization();
     if (!authorized && !isGatewaySigusr1RestartExternallyAllowed()) { ... }
     request("restart", "SIGUSR1");  // Triggers graceful shutdown
   };
   

3. Why It Happens During Messages:

   • Config file /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json keeps being automatically rewritten
   • Each rewrite triggers file watcher → reload handler → SIGUSR1 → shutdown
   • If rewrite happens during message processing, in-flight message gets interrupted
   • ~27-second pattern: Time from agent start to second tool execution

4. Why Config File Keeps Rewriting:

   • When user attempted to disable plugins.entries.telegram.enabled, file was modified
   • When I attempted to switch model to Claude Sonnet, file was modified
   • Both times, config file was automatically restored/rewritten (likely by a config management layer)
   • Each rewrite re-triggers the reload cycle

Timeline:

• 20:32 UTC: First config change (attempted telegram disable)
• 21:01 UTC: Re-enabled telegram
• 21:01+ UTC: Config rewrites + file watcher cycles began
• 21:14 UTC: Config change logs show repeated modifications
• 21:20 UTC: Message arrives and gets interrupted mid-processing

Not the Root Causes (Verified):

• ✗ Plugin command overflow (logs show no errors, same config worked this morning)
• ✗ PM2 health monitor (uses SIGKILL not SIGUSR1, checks every 5 minutes not during messages)
• ✗ PM2 timeouts (5 second limit but crash at 27 seconds)
• ✗ Inotify exhaustion (already increased to 524288)
• ✗ Memory pressure (gateway shows 52MB usage, limit is 500MB)
• ✗ Random crashes (pattern is exact, reproducible, tied to config rewrites)

Current Status: 🚨 UNRESOLVED

• Root cause identified: Config file auto-rewriting → file watcher → reload handler → SIGUSR1 → shutdown during messages
• Next steps needed:
  1. Identify what mechanism auto-restores/rewrites config file
  2. Prevent config rewrites during normal operation
  3. OR add deferred restart logic (don't restart if active requests exist)
  4. OR add request timeout handling for messages interrupted by reload

Investigation Notes:

• Config modification timestamps: 21:14:26 and 21:01:43 UTC match reload log messages exactly
• File watcher working correctly (detecting changes as intended)
• Reload handler working correctly (making appropriate restart decisions)
• Gateway signal handling working correctly (graceful shutdown on SIGUSR1)
• Issue is the config file being rewritten externally, not any of these components

---

Troubleshooting Attempts This Session (Jan 29, 2026 Evening)

Session Goal: Resolve bot crashing when sending Telegram messages despite working fine earlier that day.

Attempt 1: Investigate PM2 Restart Loop (20:32-21:01 UTC)

Action: Checked PM2 restart count and error logs Files Examined:

• pm2 list - found gateway restarted 3→4 times
• /tmp/moltbot/pm2-error.log - found "orphaned user message" warnings
• /tmp/moltbot/moltbot-2026-01-29.log - found agent starts but never completes

Result: ✗ Not the plugin overflow. Logs show same config that worked this morning was active.

Attempt 2: Verify PM2 Daemon Separation (21:01 UTC)

Action: Checked if moltbot was properly isolated from SI Project dashboard Commands:

pm2 list                           # Checked main daemon
ps aux | grep "PM2"                # Found both daemons running
ls -la /root/.pm2/                 # Found moltbot PID files
ls -la /root/.pm2-si-project/      # Found dashboard PID files

Result: ✅ Verified: Moltbot properly separated. Dashboard (95+ restarts) is isolated and not affecting bot.

Attempt 3: Rule Out Health Monitor (21:05 UTC)

Action: Analyzed health monitor script to verify it wasn't sending SIGTERM File Examined: /root/moltbot/scripts/pm2-health-monitor.js

Findings:

• Uses SIGKILL (-9) not SIGTERM
• Checks every 5 minutes, not during every message
• Not the culprit

Result: ✗ Health monitor ruled out as SIGTERM source.

Attempt 4: Disable Telegram Plugin (20:32 UTC - Abandoned)

Action: Attempted to disable telegram plugin to test if plugin was causing issue Change: Set plugins.entries.telegram.enabled: false in /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json

Result: ✗ Unintended consequence: This disabled the entire Telegram channel (telegram is a bundled plugin, not external). Bot stopped responding entirely.

Lesson: Don't disable bundled plugins via config; they're core to gateway functionality.

Attempt 5: Switch Model to Claude Sonnet (21:14 UTC - Incomplete)

Action: Attempted to switch model from Mistral Devstral to Claude Sonnet to rule out API issue Change: Modified /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json to use anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5

Result: ⚠️ Test inconclusive: Config was automatically rewritten before test completed.

Attempt 6: Analyze Config File Rewrites (21:14 UTC)

Action: Examined config file modification timestamps Commands:

stat /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json*         # Check modification times
grep "reload" /tmp/moltbot/pm2-out.log    # Check reload logs

Findings:

• Config file modified at 21:14:26 UTC, 21:01:43 UTC
• Times match reload handler logs exactly
• Config is being automatically rewritten

Result: 🔍 Key discovery: Something auto-restores config file after changes.

Attempt 7: Trace SIGUSR1 Signal Source (21:20+ UTC - Current)

Action: Analyzed exact logs showing SIGUSR1 during message processing Files Examined:

• src/gateway/server-reload-handlers.ts:157 - Found process.emit("SIGUSR1")
• src/cli/gateway-cli/run-loop.ts:74-83 - Found SIGUSR1 signal handler
• /tmp/moltbot/moltbot-2026-01-29.log - Exact timestamps of crash

Timeline from logs:

21:20:35: Telegram message received
21:20:36: Agent embedded run start
21:20:49: First exec tool completes
21:21:02: Second exec tool starts
21:21:02 (+7ms): SIGUSR1 signal received ← Gateway self-terminates
21:21:02: Shutdown sequence begins
21:21:06: Gateway restarts

Result: ✅ Root cause identified: Gateway receives SIGUSR1 (self-inflicted via reload handler) during tool execution, triggering graceful shutdown.

Attempt 8: Confirm Config-Triggered Reloads (21:20+ UTC)

Action: Traced PM2 logs showing config change → reload → SIGUSR1 sequence Commands:

pm2 logs moltbot-gateway --lines 50 --nostream   # Full log review
grep -n "reload\|SIGUSR1" /tmp/moltbot/pm2-out.log  # Timeline analysis

Key Logs Found:

20:32:34: [reload] config change requires gateway restart (plugins.entries.telegram.enabled)
21:01:43: [reload] config change requires gateway restart (plugins.entries.telegram)
21:14:26: [reload] config change detected; evaluating reload
21:14:26: [gateway] signal SIGUSR1 received

Result: ✅ Pattern confirmed: Every config rewrite triggers reload handler → SIGUSR1 → shutdown.

Attempted Fixes - Summary

Attempt	Action	Result	Status
1	Check restart loop	Found increasing restarts, not plugin overflow	✗ Not root cause
2	Verify PM2 isolation	Confirmed separation working correctly	✅ Confirmed safe
3	Rule out health monitor	Verified not sending SIGTERM	✓ Eliminated
4	Disable telegram plugin	Completely disabled Telegram (bundled plugin)	✗ Made worse
5	Switch to Claude Sonnet	Config auto-rewritten before test	⚠️ Inconclusive
6	Analyze config rewrites	Found config being auto-restored	🔍 Key discovery
7	Trace SIGUSR1 source	Found gateway self-terminating via reload handler	✅ Root cause
8	Confirm reload sequence	Mapped entire config → reload → shutdown cycle	✅ Mechanism confirmed

What Still Needs Investigation

🚨 BLOCKER: Identify config auto-rewrite mechanism

The config file /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json is being automatically rewritten after each modification:

1. User/agent modifies config
2. File watcher detects change
3. Reload handler emits SIGUSR1
4. Gateway restarts
5. Config file is automatically restored to previous state ← Unknown mechanism

Possible causes:

• Config sync/validation layer rewriting file
• CLI attempting to restore settings on startup
• Web provider re-applying config
• Environment variable override rewriting config on load
• Hook or background process reverting changes

Next steps to identify:

• Check for file watchers on config beyond the gateway
• Review CLI entry point for auto-config logic
• Check for config hydration/defaults logic on gateway startup
• Search for any config-restore or config-revert functionality
• Monitor file operations: lsof /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json
• Trace who writes to config file: inotifywait -m /root/.clawdbot/

---

Configuration Summary

Model Fallback Chain

Primary: Mistral Devstral 2 2512 (agentic specialist) Fallbacks:

1. Gemini 2.0 Flash (long-context, 1M tokens)
2. Llama 3.3 70B (creative/pedagogical)
3. Moonshot Kimi K2.5 (language model)
4. Claude Sonnet 4.5 (escalation)
5. Claude Opus 4.5 (complex reasoning)

Task-Type Routing

• File Analysis → Gemini Flash
• Creative Content → Llama 3.3 70B
• Debugging → Claude Sonnet 4.5
• CLI/Commands → Mistral Devstral 2
• General → Mistral Devstral 2 (default)

Telegram Settings

• Streaming Mode: block (single message per response)
• Commands Native: false (avoid API limit)
• Restart Command: true (allows /restart from chat)
• User ID Allowlist: 876311493 (only you)

---

---

Architecture: Process Management

PM2 Daemons on This Host

• Moltbot Gateway (pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs or pm2 restart moltbot-gateway)

  • Managed by: PM2 (separate daemon, independent from other PM2 instances)
  • Port: 18789
  • PID file: /root/.pm2/pids/moltbot-gateway-0.pid
  • Config: /root/moltbot/ecosystem.config.cjs

• Other PM2 Daemons (separate instances)

  • si_project/dashboard - Frontend dashboard
  • ai_product_visualizer - Backend visualizer
  • Each runs in its own PM2 daemon to prevent interference

Systemd Services (Independent)

• code-server.service - Code editor (not PM2-managed)
• ssh.service - SSH server (not PM2-managed)
• These do not interact with moltbot or other PM2 processes

Safety Design

• Process isolation: Each PM2 daemon is independent (separate instances)
• No port conflicts: Moltbot never uses systemd (only PM2)
• Independent logging: Moltbot logs to /tmp/moltbot/ (separate from other services)
• Inotify limit: System-wide increased to prevent file watcher exhaustion

Monitoring & Control

pm2 list                      # View all PM2 daemons (in current user's daemon)
pm2 status                    # Show moltbot-gateway status
pm2 restart moltbot-gateway   # Restart gateway
pm2 logs moltbot-gateway      # Real-time logs
pm2 logs moltbot-gateway -n 100  # Last 100 lines

---

Quick Troubleshooting

Bot Not Responding

1. Check status: pm2 status
2. Check logs: pm2 logs moltbot-gateway or pm2 logs moltbot-gateway -n 50
3. Restart: pm2 restart moltbot-gateway
4. Check port: nc -zv 127.0.0.1 18789
5. Check inotify limit (if file watching errors): cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches (should be 524288)
6. If stuck, force kill and restart:

killall -9 moltbot
pm2 restart moltbot-gateway

Telegram Connection Error

Check logs for setMyCommands failed or network errors:

pm2 logs moltbot-gateway | grep -i telegram

If command limit error: Verify native: false in /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json and /root/.clawdbot/agents/main/config.json.

High Latency (>1 minute)

Expected for first API call to OpenRouter. Check OpenRouter API status. If consistent, check model health: node dist/entry.js models status

Duplicate Responses

Check streamMode: "block" is set in /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json.

Gateway Crashes Frequently

Check PM2 restart count: pm2 list | grep moltbot-gateway

• If ↺ count is high (>10), check logs for root cause:
  • Inotify exhaustion: dmesg | grep -i inotify
  • Memory pressure: pm2 logs moltbot-gateway | grep -i memory
  • Telegram errors: pm2 logs moltbot-gateway | grep -i telegram If issue persists, reduce retry attempts in retry policy config.

---

Deployment Checklist

• Node.js 24+ installed
• Moltbot cloned and built (npm run build)
• PM2 installed globally (npm install -g pm2)
• Config files populated (moltbot.json, agents/main/config.json)
• API keys in environment or .env
• Telegram bot token configured
• Gateway started: pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs
• Telegram connection verified: node dist/entry.js channels status
• Test message sent in Telegram

---

Key File Locations

/root/moltbot/                          Main installation
├── dist/                               Compiled code (loaded at runtime)
├── src/                                TypeScript source
├── ecosystem.config.cjs                PM2 config (moltbot-gateway process)
└── README_Tech.md                      This file

~/.clawdbot/                            Config directory
├── moltbot.json                        Global gateway config
├── agents/main/
│   ├── config.json                     Agent-specific config
│   └── auth-profiles.json              API key storage
└── .env                                Environment variables

/root/.pm2/                             PM2 daemon directory
├── pids/moltbot-gateway-0.pid          Process ID file (moltbot-gateway)
└── logs/                               PM2 logs directory

/etc/sysctl.d/                          System configuration
└── 99-moltbot-inotify.conf            Inotify limit increase (filesystem watchers)

/tmp/moltbot/                           Runtime logs
├── moltbot-*.log                       Detailed application debug logs
├── pm2-out.log                         PM2 stdout log
└── pm2-error.log                       PM2 stderr/error log

/etc/systemd/system/                    Systemd services (NOT used for moltbot)
├── code-server.service                 Code editor (independent)
├── ssh.service                         SSH server (independent)
└── ...other services

---

Analysis & Solutions (Jan 30, 2026)

Root Cause Identified

The bot is NOT crashing randomly. The gateway receives SIGUSR1 signal (controlled restart) during message processing, triggering a graceful shutdown that interrupts in-flight requests.

The Problem Chain:

CONFIG FILE AUTOMATICALLY REWRITTEN
       ↓
FILE WATCHER DETECTS CHANGE
       ↓
RELOAD HANDLER EVALUATES CHANGE
       ↓
DECIDES: "Full restart required"
       ↓
GATEWAY EMITS: process.emit("SIGUSR1")
       ↓
SIGNAL HANDLER TRIGGERS
       ↓
GRACEFUL SHUTDOWN STARTS
       ↓
IF MESSAGE PROCESSING ACTIVE:
  → In-flight request INTERRUPTED
  → Incomplete response DISCARDED
  → User sees: "bot typing but never responds"

Potential Sources of Config Auto-Rewrite

1. macOS App Config Sync (Most Likely)

• File: apps/macos/Sources/Moltbot/AppState.swift
• Mechanism:
  • ConfigFileWatcher watches config file for changes
  • When detected, calls applyConfigFromDisk()
  • In remote mode, ConfigStore.save() writes to gateway via WebSocket configSet
• Evidence: Commit 62e590323 explicitly fixed this to "keep gateway config sync local"

2. Gateway Config Validation/Defaults Application

• File: src/config/io.ts:462-519
• Mechanism: writeConfigFile() applies:
  • validateConfigObjectWithPlugins() - validates and potentially modifies config
  • applyModelDefaults() - applies default values
  • stampConfigVersion() - adds metadata
• Impact: Each write could trigger file watcher → reload cycle

3. Plugin/Channel Auto-Configuration

• Files: Various channel plugins
• Mechanism: Some plugins may auto-configure on startup/reload
• Evidence: Logs show plugins.entries.telegram.enabled changes

Why It Happens During Messages

From logs:

• Message arrives at T+0 sec
• Agent starts processing at T+1 sec
• First tool completes at T+14 sec
• Second tool starts at T+27 sec
• SIGUSR1 received 7ms into second tool execution
• Gateway shuts down gracefully, restarts
• Incomplete response never sent to Telegram

The ~27-second pattern matches the time from agent start to second tool execution, suggesting a config rewrite happens predictably during this window.

Why It's NOT Other Things (Verified)

What	Status	Why Not
Bot crash	❌ No	Gateway shuts down gracefully, restarts cleanly
PM2 killing it	❌ No	PM2 not involved in SIGUSR1 signal
Health monitor	❌ No	Uses SIGKILL (-9), not SIGTERM; checks every 5 minutes
Memory exhaustion	❌ No	52MB usage, 500MB limit
Plugin overflow	❌ No	Logs show no errors, same config worked this morning
Inotify exhaustion	❌ No	Already increased to 524288
Random crashes	❌ No	Pattern is exact, reproducible, tied to config rewrites

---

Potential Solutions

Solution 1: Defer Restarts During Active Requests (Recommended)

Approach: Modify src/gateway/config-reload.ts:277-340 to defer restarts when agent runs are active.

Implementation:

// In src/gateway/config-reload.ts, add active request tracking
let activeAgentRuns = new Set<string>();

// In agent loop, track active runs:
activeAgentRuns.add(runId);

// In runReload, check before restart:
if (plan.restartGateway && activeAgentRuns.size > 0) {
  opts.log.warn("config change requires restart, but deferring (active agent runs)");
  restartQueued = true; // Queue for later
  return; // Don't restart now
}

// When agent run completes:
activeAgentRuns.delete(runId);
if (restartQueued && activeAgentRuns.size === 0) {
  // Now safe to restart
  restartQueued = false;
  opts.onRestart(plan, nextConfig);
}

Pros:

• Preserves in-flight messages
• No data loss
• Clean restart when idle

Cons:

• Requires tracking active runs across gateway
• More complex implementation

---

Solution 2: Disable Config File Watcher (Quick Fix)

Approach: Set gateway.reload.mode: "off" to disable automatic reloading.

Implementation:

// In /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json
{
  "gateway": {
    "reload": {
      "mode": "off"
    }
  }
}

Pros:

• Immediate fix
• No more auto-restarts
• Config changes only apply on manual restart

Cons:

• Manual restart required for config changes
• Doesn't address root cause

---

Solution 3: Fix macOS App Config Sync (Root Cause Fix)

Approach: Prevent macOS app from writing to gateway config when in remote mode.

Implementation:

// In apps/macos/Sources/Moltbot/AppState.swift
private func syncGatewayConfigIfNeeded() {
    guard !self.isPreview, !self.isInitializing else { return }
    
    // DON'T sync gateway config in remote mode
    // Only sync app-specific settings
    if self.connectionMode == .remote {
        return // Skip gateway config sync entirely
    }
    
    // ... rest of sync logic
}

Pros:

• Fixes root cause
• Prevents cross-write conflicts
• Clean separation of concerns

Cons:

• Requires macOS app rebuild
• May need to adjust other remote mode logic

---

Solution 4: Add Config Write Debouncing

Approach: Increase debounce time and add change detection to ignore spurious writes.

Implementation:

// In /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json
{
  "gateway": {
    "reload": {
      "mode": "hybrid",
      "debounceMs": 5000  // Increase from 300ms
    }
  }
}

Pros:

• Reduces restart frequency
• Allows multiple changes to coalesce

Cons:

• Doesn't prevent restart during messages
• May delay legitimate config changes

---

Solution 5: Identify and Disable Auto-Rewrite Source

Approach: Use file monitoring to identify what's writing to config.

Implementation:

# Monitor config file writes
inotifywait -m -e modify /root/.clawdbot/moltbot.json

# Check gateway logs for write sources
grep -n "writeConfigFile\|config.*save" /tmp/moltbot/moltbot-*.log

# Check macOS app logs if running
log show --predicate 'process == "Moltbot"' --last 1h

Pros:

• Identifies exact source
• Targeted fix possible

Cons:

• Requires investigation time
• May need additional tooling

---

Solution 6: Use Hot Reload for More Config Changes

Approach: Expand hot reload rules to handle more config changes without restart.

Implementation:

// In src/gateway/config-reload.ts
const BASE_RELOAD_RULES: ReloadRule[] = [
  // Add more hot-reloadable paths:
  { prefix: "agents.defaults.model", kind: "hot", actions: ["restart-heartbeat"] },
  { prefix: "channels.telegram.streamMode", kind: "hot" }, // Example
  // ... existing rules
];

Pros:

• Fewer restarts
• Better user experience

Cons:

• Not all changes can be hot-reloaded
• Complex to get right

---

Recommended Action Plan

1. Immediate (Quick Fix): Set gateway.reload.mode: "off" to stop auto-restarts
2. Investigation: Use inotifywait to identify what's writing to config
3. Short-term: Implement Solution 1 (defer restarts during active requests)
4. Long-term: Fix root cause (macOS app config sync or other auto-rewrite source)

---

Notes

• The logs show the pattern is exact and reproducible, not random crashes
• The config watcher is working correctly; the issue is what's triggering the writes
• The gateway's reload logic is sound; it just needs to be more defensive about in-flight requests
• The macOS app commit 62e590323 suggests this is a known issue area
• The gateway's reload logic is sound; it just needs to be more defensive about in-flight requests

Last Updated: Jan 30, 2026 (10:30 UTC) Maintained By: Claude Code + Moltbot Task Router Latest: Analysis complete. Root cause identified: Config file auto-rewriting → file watcher → reload handler → SIGUSR1 → shutdown during messages.