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[Bug]: Cron jobs broken after update to 2026.3.8 #42883

@unknowndistance-ops

Description

@unknowndistance-ops

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Summary

Cron jobs working as expected until upgrading to 2026.3.8 after which they will no longer run.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Upgrade a working macOS OpenClaw install to 2026.3.8.
  2. Do not change OpenClaw config after the upgrade.
  3. Run openclaw cron list and confirm an existing isolated cron job is present.
  4. Run openclaw cron run --id <job_id>.
  5. Run openclaw cron runs --id <job_id> --limit 20.
  6. Run openclaw gateway status.
  7. Repeat the manual run and observe job state, run history, and gateway behavior.

Observed after upgrade: cron execution became inconsistent. Sometimes no run entry was created, sometimes gateway restart state was broken, and at least one run later timed out.

Expected behavior

After upgrading, existing isolated cron jobs should continue working as they did before. Running openclaw cron run --id <job_id> should reliably launch the job, create a visible run entry in openclaw cron runs, and then finish with either success or a clear surfaced error. Gateway lifecycle should also remain stable, without stale listeners, port conflicts, or requiring manual LaunchAgent cleanup/reinstall.

Actual behavior

After upgrading to 2026.3.8, isolated cron behavior became inconsistent. Manual openclaw cron run --id <job_id> was accepted/enqueued, but often did not immediately create a visible run entry in openclaw cron runs. In some cases the job stayed idle with no run history; in another case it moved to running and later failed with Error: cron: job execution timed out. At the same time, gateway lifecycle became unstable: openclaw gateway stop could unload the LaunchAgent while leaving a gateway process still listening on port 18789, causing gateway already running / port already in use errors until manual cleanup/reinstall.

OpenClaw version

2026.3.8

Operating system

macOS 26.3

Install method

npm global

Model

codex-5.4

Provider / routing chain

openclaw > codex 5.4

Config file / key location

No response

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

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No response

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