Patch 4 is a regex-based monkey-patch over OpenClaw's compiled JS that
suppresses EACCES inside replaceConfigFile. Its source-shape coupling
has broken three times in eight days (#2377, #2484, #2876) chasing
upstream refactors; #2686 and #3497 report the latest casualty, where
the regex no longer finds the function in 2026.4.24 and the image build
fails.

Patch 4 is also unnecessary by design:

* In mutable-default mode, openclaw.json is chmod 660 sandbox:sandbox
  and the gateway UID is in the sandbox group (#2681), so plugin
  install writes through without ever hitting EACCES.
* In shields-up mode, the entire config tree (file + parent dir + the
  plugin/extensions state dirs in HIGH_RISK_STATE_DIRS) is locked to
  root:root by design — refusing runtime mutations is the whole point
  of shields-up. Suppressing the EACCES masked that refusal and made
  the install appear to succeed silently while only the auto-discovery
  half landed.

The expected flow is configure-in-mutable-mode → shields up → run.
Plugin install attempted while shielded should fail cleanly, which is
what happens without Patch 4.

Reverts the rcf-shim replacement attempt; the require-hook approach
does not catch OpenClaw's ESM named imports anyway (capture-at-import-
time semantics).

Resolves #2686
Resolves #3497

Signed-off-by: Tinson Lai <tinsonl@nvidia.com>

## Summary
Patch 4 in the sandbox `Dockerfile` is a regex-based monkey-patch over
OpenClaw's compiled JS that wraps `replaceConfigFile` in an EACCES
try/catch suppression. It is source-shape-coupled and has been rewritten
three times in eight days chasing OpenClaw refactors:

- `fefd69fa2` (#2377) — original literal-string match against
[openclaw/openclaw@v2026.4.9](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.4.9).
- `5dcb0a9b9` (#2484) — updated the literal string for the restructured
write block in
[openclaw/openclaw@v2026.4.24](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.4.24).
- `e0290e153` (#2876) — hardened to a tolerant
whitespace/property-order-aware regex against
[openclaw/openclaw@v2026.4.24](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.4.24).

#2686 and #3497 are the latest break: in current OpenClaw, the regex no
longer finds the function shape and the image build aborts at Step
17/56.

Patch 4 is also unnecessary by design. The EACCES it was suppressing
does not happen in the supported flows:

- **Mutable-default mode** (fresh sandbox, before `nemoclaw shields
up`): `openclaw.json` is `chmod 660 sandbox:sandbox` and the gateway UID
is in the sandbox group, courtesy of #2851 (closing #2681; superseding
the EACCES-swallow attempt in #2693). `openclaw plugins install` writes
through normally; no EACCES.
- **Shields-up mode** (locked): the entire config tree — file, parent
directory, and the `extensions`/`plugins` state dirs from
[HIGH_RISK_STATE_DIRS](src/lib/shields/index.ts#L292-L306) — is locked
to `root:root` by design. Shields-up exists *to refuse* runtime config
and plugin mutations. Suppressing the EACCES masked that refusal and
made `openclaw plugins install` appear to succeed silently while only
the auto-discovery half landed.

The expected lifecycle is **configure-in-mutable-mode → `shields up` →
run**. Plugin install attempted while shielded should fail cleanly; that
is exactly what happens without Patch 4.

This PR therefore deletes Patch 4 entirely.

## Related Issue
Resolves #2686
Resolves #3497

Related context:

- #2681 — original "make `.openclaw` group-writable" issue, closed by
#2851.
- #2851 — PR that made mutable-mode plugin install work without an
EACCES swallow.
- #2693 — closed earlier EACCES-swallow attempt, superseded once #2851
landed.
- #2544 — NemoClaw issue tracking the broader "plugin config requires
multi-minute rebuild" problem.
- openclaw/openclaw#72950 — upstream defect (no env-var or
writable-overlay path for `plugins.entries.<id>.config`); the real fix
has to land there.

## Changes
- `Dockerfile`: drop the Patch 4 block (the `COPY scripts/rcf_patch.py`
line and the inline Python invocation + grep guard).
- `scripts/rcf_patch.py`: deleted.
- `src/lib/sandbox/build-context.ts`: stop staging
`scripts/rcf_patch.py` into the sandbox build context.
- `test/rcf-patch.test.ts`: deleted.

## Type of Change

- [x] Code change (feature, bug fix, or refactor)
- [ ] Code change with doc updates
- [ ] Doc only (prose changes, no code sample modifications)
- [ ] Doc only (includes code sample changes)

## Verification

- [x] `npx prek run --all-files` passes
- [x] `npm test` passes
- [x] Tests added or updated for new or changed behavior
- [x] No secrets, API keys, or credentials committed
- [ ] Docs updated for user-facing behavior changes
- [ ] `make docs` builds without warnings (doc changes only)
- [ ] Doc pages follow the [style
guide](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/blob/main/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md)
(doc changes only)
- [ ] New doc pages include SPDX header and frontmatter (new pages only)

Signed-off-by: Tinson Lai <tinsonl@nvidia.com>


<!-- This is an auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai
-->

## Summary by CodeRabbit

* **Chores**
* Removed OpenClaw patching logic from Docker build process and related
artifact copies
  * Updated build context script staging behavior

* **Tests**
* Enhanced sandbox configuration test suite with environment variable
passthrough support
* Added version-based conditional patching validation and warning
behavior tests

<!-- end of auto-generated comment: release notes by coderabbit.ai -->

---------

Signed-off-by: Tinson Lai <tinsonl@nvidia.com>