docs(gateway): scope group reply suppression cause to group config

yetval · yetval · commit e60ae89b20ed · 2026-05-18T11:40:38.000-04:00
diff --git a/docs/gateway/config-channels.md b/docs/gateway/config-channels.md
@@ -803,7 +803,7 @@ If the message tool is unavailable under the active tool policy, OpenClaw falls
 
 Symptom: a group/channel @mention shows the typing indicator and the gateway log reports `dispatch complete (queuedFinal=false, replies=0)`, but no message lands in the room. DMs to the same agent reply normally.
 
-Cause: visible-reply mode for the channel resolves to `"message_tool"`, so OpenClaw runs the turn but suppresses the final assistant text unless the agent calls `message(action=send)`. There is no error because suppression is the configured behavior. Normal group and channel turns default to `"automatic"`, so this symptom only appears when `messages.groupChat.visibleReplies` (or global `messages.visibleReplies`) is explicitly set to `"message_tool"`, or when the active harness sets `defaultVisibleReplies: "message_tool"` (for example, the Codex harness, which suppresses direct-chat finals the same way).
+Cause: the group/channel visible-reply mode resolves to `"message_tool"`, so OpenClaw runs the turn but suppresses the final assistant text unless the agent calls `message(action=send)`. There is no error because suppression is the configured behavior. Normal group and channel turns default to `"automatic"`, so this symptom only appears when `messages.groupChat.visibleReplies` (or global `messages.visibleReplies`) is explicitly set to `"message_tool"`. Harness `defaultVisibleReplies` does not apply here — the group/channel resolver ignores it; it only affects direct/source chats (the Codex harness suppresses direct-chat finals that way).
 
 Fix: either pick a stronger tool-calling model, remove the explicit `"message_tool"` override to fall back to the `"automatic"` default, or set `messages.groupChat.visibleReplies: "automatic"` to force visible replies for every group/channel request. The gateway hot-reloads `messages` config after the file is saved; only restart the gateway when file watching or config reload is disabled in the deployment.
 
