Bug Description

WhatsApp gateway exhibits cascading reconnects every ~60 seconds after the first 30-minute idle reconnect. This appears to be the aggressive 30-minute heartbeat reconnect documented in #13544 and #14000, still unresolved on v2026.3.24.

Root Cause

The gateway intentionally reconnects WhatsApp Web after 30 minutes of message inactivity:

{"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp/heartbeat"} "No messages received in 30m - restarting connection"
{"subsystem":"gateway/channels/whatsapp"} "Web connection closed (status 499). Retry 1/12 in 2.3s... (status=499)"

After the first reconnect succeeds, the idle timer immediately fires again within ~60 seconds, creating a cascading loop:

17:03:17 - 30m idle, reconnect succeeds
17:04:28 - 31m idle, reconnect succeeds
17:05:40 - 32m idle, reconnect succeeds
17:06:52 - 33m idle, reconnect succeeds
17:08:03 - 35m idle, reconnect succeeds
17:09:14 - 36m idle, reconnect succeeds
17:10:26 - 37m idle, reconnect succeeds

Key observation: The idle duration keeps incrementing (30 to 31 to 32 to 33...), which suggests the idle counter does NOT properly reset after each reconnect.

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.3.24 (very recent)
• OS: Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 (x64)
• Node: 22.22.1
• Channel: WhatsApp

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start OpenClaw gateway with WhatsApp channel connected
2. Have the WhatsApp channel receive messages (active period)
3. Leave channel idle for ~30 minutes with no inbound messages
4. After first reconnect succeeds, observe cascading reconnects every ~60 seconds

Expected Behavior

• After the 30-minute idle reconnect succeeds, the idle timer should reset and wait another 30 minutes before reconnecting again
• OR the idle reconnect should not be triggered if the WebSocket is still healthy
• OR the idle timeout interval should be configurable

Actual Behavior

• First 30-minute reconnect works correctly
• Subsequent reconnects fire every ~60 seconds in a cascading loop
• Each reconnect generates system messages to WhatsApp chat
• This generates significant noise in the chat

Gateway Logs

Full journalctl output:

Mar 26 17:03:17 [whatsapp] No messages received in 30m - restarting connection
Mar 26 17:03:17 [whatsapp] Web connection closed (status 499). Retry 1/12 in 2.3s... (status=499)
Mar 26 17:03:21 [whatsapp] Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.
Mar 26 17:04:28 [whatsapp] No messages received in 31m - restarting connection
Mar 26 17:04:28 [whatsapp] Web connection closed (status 499). Retry 1/12 in 2.31s... (status=499)
Mar 26 17:04:33 [whatsapp] Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.
Mar 26 17:05:40 [whatsapp] No messages received in 32m - restarting connection
Mar 26 17:05:40 [whatsapp] Web connection closed (status 499). Retry 1/12 in 2.2s... (status=499)
Mar 26 17:05:45 [whatsapp] Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.
Mar 26 17:06:52 [whatsapp] No messages received in 33m - restarting connection
Mar 26 17:06:52 [whatsapp] Web connection closed (status 499). Retry 1/12 in 2.26s... (status=499)
Mar 26 17:06:56 [whatsapp] Listening for personal WhatsApp inbound messages.

Related Issues

• Openclaw: Problems with dns failure #13544 - Aggressive 30-minute heartbeat reconnect (reported Feb 10, 2026)
• [Bug]: WhatsApp 499 reconnect triggers false 'scheduled reminder' system message #14000 - False scheduled reminder triggered on 499 reconnect (reported Feb 11, 2026)

The fix (reportedly in v2026.3.13) appears incomplete - the cascading reconnects after first reconnect are still occurring on v2026.3.24.

Suggested Fixes (Priority Order)

1. Fix idle counter reset: Idle timer must reset its counter after each successful reconnect
2. Use exponential backoff: After a reconnect, increase the idle timeout before next check (e.g., 30m to 35m to 40m to 60m max)
3. Health-check before reconnect: Only reconnect if WebSocket is genuinely unhealthy, not just based on message inactivity
4. Configurable interval: Make the 30-minute interval configurable
5. Suppress noise during graceful shutdown: When gateway is restarting, do not send WhatsApp disconnect system messages to the WhatsApp channel