update
May 6, 2026
By Teun
OpenClaw 2026.5.6 fixes Codex routing and fetch handling
OpenClaw 2026.5.6 fixes a doctor repair regression that could rewrite valid ChatGPT/Codex OAuth routes and move some users onto OpenAI API-key paths. The release also patches plugin, debug proxy, and web fetch issues tied to header metadata and timed-out requests.
OpenClaw 2026.5.6 ships a small set of fixes focused on routing and request handling. The release addresses a regression in the 2026.5.5 doctor --fix repair that could rewrite valid openai-codex/ ChatGPT/Codex OAuth routes to openai/, according to the release notes. That could break OAuth-only GPT-5.5 setups or shift users onto the OpenAI API-key route by mistake.
The project says that if 2026.5.5 already changed a system’s default model, users should run openclaw models set openai-codex/gpt-5.5 && openclaw config validate to move the default agent back to the Codex OAuth PI route. OpenClaw also linked recovery documentation for checking and fixing Codex OAuth routing at docs.openclaw.ai.
⚡ New to this?
This release fixes a routing bug that could send a ChatGPT/Codex OAuth setup down the wrong path. OAuth is the sign-in method that lets a tool act on your behalf without an API key, while API-key setups use a secret token instead. It also fixes fetch handling, which is the code that sends network requests, so valid plugin and proxy requests are less likely to fail.
🦞 OpenClaw angle
If you run self-hosted agents with Codex OAuth, verify that your default model still points to openai-codex/gpt-5.5 after any recent doctor repair. Add openclaw config validate to your post-upgrade checks so route drift is caught before agents start failing. If you use proxy or replayed fetches in automation, retest those paths after upgrading because the header-handling changes may affect how your middleware passes request objects.
The release includes a second fix for plugin and runtime fetch behavior. OpenClaw said it now drops third-party symbol metadata from plain request header dictionaries before passing them into native fetch or Headers, so SDK and guarded or proxy fetch paths do not reject otherwise valid plugin requests. The change fixes issue #77846, and the notes credit @shakkernerd.
A related update normalizes captured fetch header dictionaries in the debug proxy before requests are replayed. According to the release notes, that prevents symbol metadata from caller-owned header objects from causing debug-proxy fetches to fail.
OpenClaw also changed web fetch cleanup after timeouts. The project said it now bounds guarded dispatcher cleanup so timed-out fetches return tool errors instead of leaving Gateway tool lanes active. That fix is tied to issue #78439 and credits @obviyus.
The release is not a broad feature update. It is a maintenance release that tightens how OpenClaw handles OAuth routing, plugin requests, replayed fetches, and timeout cleanup, all areas where small changes can affect whether tools work at all.
For operators running Codex OAuth setups, the main risk is route drift caused by the earlier doctor repair. For users relying on plugins or proxy-based fetches, the fixes reduce the chance that valid requests get blocked because of header metadata that should not have mattered in the first place.
