fix: tighten gateway restart loop handling (#23416) (thanks @jeffwnli)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Gateway/Restart: fix restart-loop edge cases by keeping `openclaw.mjs -> dist/entry.js` bootstrap detection explicit, reacquiring the gateway lock for in-process restart fallback paths, and tightening restart-loop regression coverage. (#23416) Thanks @jeffwnli.
 - Security/Audit: add `openclaw security audit` detection for open group policies that expose runtime/filesystem tools without sandbox/workspace guards (`security.exposure.open_groups_with_runtime_or_fs`).
 - Security/Exec env: block request-scoped `HOME` and `ZDOTDIR` overrides in host exec env sanitizers (Node + macOS), preventing shell startup-file execution before allowlist-evaluated command bodies. This ships in the next npm release. Thanks @tdjackey for reporting.
 - Security/Gateway: emit a startup security warning when insecure/dangerous config flags are enabled (including `gateway.controlUi.dangerouslyDisableDeviceAuth=true`) and point operators to `openclaw security audit`.

src/cli/gateway-cli/run-loop.test.ts

@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@ const markGatewaySigusr1RestartHandled = vi.fn();
 const getActiveTaskCount = vi.fn(() => 0);
 const waitForActiveTasks = vi.fn(async (_timeoutMs: number) => ({ drained: true }));
 const resetAllLanes = vi.fn();
-const restartGatewayProcessWithFreshPid = vi.fn(() => ({ mode: "skipped" as const }));
+const restartGatewayProcessWithFreshPid = vi.fn<
+  () => { mode: "spawned" | "supervised" | "disabled" | "failed"; pid?: number; detail?: string }
+>(() => ({ mode: "disabled" }));
 const DRAIN_TIMEOUT_LOG = "drain timeout reached; proceeding with restart";
 const gatewayLog = {
   info: vi.fn(),
@@ -30,8 +32,7 @@ vi.mock("../../infra/restart.js", () => ({
 }));
 
 vi.mock("../../infra/process-respawn.js", () => ({
-  restartGatewayProcessWithFreshPid: (...args: unknown[]) =>
-    restartGatewayProcessWithFreshPid(...args),
+  restartGatewayProcessWithFreshPid: () => restartGatewayProcessWithFreshPid(),
 }));
 
 vi.mock("../../process/command-queue.js", () => ({
@@ -140,6 +141,7 @@ describe("runGatewayLoop", () => {
       });
       expect(markGatewaySigusr1RestartHandled).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
       expect(resetAllLanes).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+      expect(acquireGatewayLock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
     } finally {
       removeNewSignalListeners("SIGTERM", beforeSigterm);
       removeNewSignalListeners("SIGINT", beforeSigint);
@@ -153,8 +155,6 @@ describe("runGatewayLoop", () => {
     const lockRelease = vi.fn(async () => {});
     acquireGatewayLock.mockResolvedValueOnce({
       release: lockRelease,
-      lockPath: "/tmp/test.lock",
-      configPath: "/test/openclaw.json",
     });
 
     // Override process-respawn to return "spawned" mode

src/cli/gateway-cli/run-loop.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export async function runGatewayLoop(params: {
   start: () => Promise<Awaited<ReturnType<typeof startGatewayServer>>>;
   runtime: typeof defaultRuntime;
 }) {
-  const lock = await acquireGatewayLock();
+  let lock = await acquireGatewayLock();
   let server: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof startGatewayServer>> | null = null;
   let shuttingDown = false;
   let restartResolver: (() => void) | null = null;
@@ -83,8 +83,12 @@ export async function runGatewayLoop(params: {
         clearTimeout(forceExitTimer);
         server = null;
         if (isRestart) {
+          const hadLock = lock != null;
           // Release the lock BEFORE spawning so the child can acquire it immediately.
-          await lock?.release();
+          if (lock) {
+            await lock.release();
+            lock = null;
+          }
           const respawn = restartGatewayProcessWithFreshPid();
           if (respawn.mode === "spawned" || respawn.mode === "supervised") {
             const modeLabel =
@@ -102,11 +106,29 @@ export async function runGatewayLoop(params: {
             } else {
               gatewayLog.info("restart mode: in-process restart (OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN)");
             }
-            shuttingDown = false;
-            restartResolver?.();
+            let canContinueInProcessRestart = true;
+            if (hadLock) {
+              try {
+                lock = await acquireGatewayLock();
+              } catch (err) {
+                gatewayLog.error(
+                  `failed to reacquire gateway lock for in-process restart: ${String(err)}`,
+                );
+                cleanupSignals();
+                params.runtime.exit(1);
+                canContinueInProcessRestart = false;
+              }
+            }
+            if (canContinueInProcessRestart) {
+              shuttingDown = false;
+              restartResolver?.();
+            }
           }
         } else {
-          await lock?.release();
+          if (lock) {
+            await lock.release();
+            lock = null;
+          }
           cleanupSignals();
           params.runtime.exit(0);
         }
@@ -161,7 +183,10 @@ export async function runGatewayLoop(params: {
       });
     }
   } finally {
-    await lock?.release();
+    if (lock) {
+      await lock.release();
+      lock = null;
+    }
     cleanupSignals();
   }
 }

src/infra/infra-parsing.test.ts

@@ -56,6 +56,17 @@ describe("infra parsing", () => {
       ).toBe(true);
     });
 
+    it("returns true for dist/entry.js when launched via openclaw.mjs wrapper", () => {
+      expect(
+        isMainModule({
+          currentFile: "/repo/dist/entry.js",
+          argv: ["node", "/repo/openclaw.mjs"],
+          cwd: "/repo",
+          env: {},
+        }),
+      ).toBe(true);
+    });
+
     it("returns false when running under PM2 but this module is imported", () => {
       expect(
         isMainModule({

src/infra/is-main.ts

@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ export function isMainModule({
     return true;
   }
 
+  // The published/open-source wrapper binary is openclaw.mjs, which then imports
+  // dist/entry.js. Treat that pair as the main module so entry bootstrap runs.
+  if (normalizedCurrent && normalizedArgv1) {
+    const currentBase = path.basename(normalizedCurrent);
+    const argvBase = path.basename(normalizedArgv1);
+    if (currentBase === "entry.js" && (argvBase === "openclaw.mjs" || argvBase === "openclaw.js")) {
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+
   // Fallback: basename match (relative paths, symlinked bins).
   if (
     normalizedCurrent &&

src/shared/pid-alive.test.ts

@@ -31,8 +31,14 @@ describe("isPidAlive", () => {
     });
 
     // Override platform to linux so the zombie check runs
-    const originalPlatform = process.platform;
-    Object.defineProperty(process, "platform", { value: "linux", writable: true });
+    const originalPlatformDescriptor = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(process, "platform");
+    if (!originalPlatformDescriptor) {
+      throw new Error("missing process.platform descriptor");
+    }
+    Object.defineProperty(process, "platform", {
+      ...originalPlatformDescriptor,
+      value: "linux",
+    });
 
     try {
       // Re-import the module so it picks up the mocked platform and fs
@@ -40,7 +46,7 @@ describe("isPidAlive", () => {
       const { isPidAlive: freshIsPidAlive } = await import("./pid-alive.js");
       expect(freshIsPidAlive(zombiePid)).toBe(false);
     } finally {
-      Object.defineProperty(process, "platform", { value: originalPlatform, writable: true });
+      Object.defineProperty(process, "platform", originalPlatformDescriptor);
       vi.restoreAllMocks();
     }
   });