Bug type
Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)
Beta release blocker
No
Summary
V2026.4.11
heartbeats are growing each time they are run.
This is with a dedicated heartbeat agent
heartbeat.isolatedSession: true
heartbeat.lightContext: true
heartbeat.lightContext: true
Run heartbeat twice
Observe:
sessionId changes between runs
~/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/.jsonl stays the same file and grows
first-turn Gemini input tokens increase across runs
Steps to reproduce
Steps to reproduce
- Configure a dedicated heartbeat agent with:
isolatedSession: truelightContext: true
- Trigger a heartbeat run.
- Check:
openclaw sessions --agent heartbeat --jsonls -lt ~/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/*.jsonl | head
- Trigger another heartbeat run.
- Check the same two commands again.
Expected behavior
Expected behavior
With heartbeat.isolatedSession: true, each heartbeat run should use a fresh transcript, so prior heartbeat turns should not accumulate in context.
I would expect either:
- a new transcript file per run, or
- at minimum, no reuse of the previous run's transcript history
Actual behavior
The heartbeat sessionId changes between runs, but the transcript file does not. The same old *.jsonl file keeps growing.
This strongly suggests the heartbeat is rotating the session ID while still reusing the previous transcript file.
Actual behavior
Evidence
Session store output after one run
openclaw sessions --agent heartbeat --json
```json
{
"path": "/home/akessel56/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/sessions.json",
"count": 1,
"activeMinutes": null,
"sessions": [
{
"key": "agent💓main:heartbeat",
"updatedAt": 1776028301794,
"ageMs": 86618,
"sessionId": "31ec7166-6c8c-4730-b136-e5a4110fc3a8",
"systemSent": true,
"abortedLastRun": false,
"inputTokens": 80178,
"outputTokens": 622,
"totalTokens": 35240,
"totalTokensFresh": true,
"model": "gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview",
"modelProvider": "google",
"contextTokens": 1048576,
"agentId": "heartbeat",
"kind": "direct"
}
]
}
bash
ls -lt ~/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/*.jsonl | head
```bash
-rw-r--r-- 1 akessel56 akessel56 177126 Apr 12 16:11 /home/akessel56/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/db376b0d-ebe3-42d5-9def-0a089dc4a0a9.jsonl
Another run a few minutes later:
openclaw sessions --agent heartbeat --json
```json
{
"path": "/home/akessel56/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/sessions.json",
"count": 1,
"activeMinutes": null,
"sessions": [
{
"key": "agent💓main:heartbeat",
"updatedAt": 1776028517330,
"ageMs": 46353,
"sessionId": "6e1f19ae-991f-4053-b8a2-a7c8a0864a9a",
"systemSent": true,
"abortedLastRun": false,
"inputTokens": 35390,
"outputTokens": 12,
"totalTokens": 35390,
"totalTokensFresh": true,
"model": "gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview",
"modelProvider": "google",
"contextTokens": 1048576,
"agentId": "heartbeat",
}
]
}
```bash
ls -lt ~/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/*.jsonl | head
-rw-r--r-- 1 akessel56 akessel56 178358 Apr 12 16:15 /home/akessel56/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/db376b0d-ebe3-42d5-9def-0a089dc4a0a9.jsonl
### OpenClaw version
version 2026.4.11
### Operating system
Debian 12 (Bookworm)
### Install method
npm global
### Model
gemini-3.1-flash-lite
### Provider / routing chain
openclaw -> google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview
### Additional provider/model setup details
Why this looks wrong:
The `sessionId` changed:
- `31ec7166-6c8c-4730-b136-e5a4110fc3a8`
- `6e1f19ae-991f-4053-b8a2-a7c8a0864a9a`
But the transcript file stayed the same:
- `db376b0d-ebe3-42d5-9def-0a089dc4a0a9.jsonl`
and increased in size:
- `177126`
- `178358`
So the new isolated session seems to be reusing the previous transcript file.
### Logs, screenshots, and evidence
```shell
## Additional signal from Gemini / AI Studio
Looking at the first turn of each heartbeat run in AI Studio, input tokens also increase over time:
- `12314`
- `13753`
- `17190`
That matches the idea that context is still accumulating across runs.
## Notes
I originally also noticed that the heartbeat session did not show up in plain `openclaw sessions --json`, but that part was just because it is on a separate agent. `openclaw sessions --agent heartbeat --json` does show it.Impact and severity
Can't really use heartbeat, as the costs will keep rising.
Additional information
No response
Bug type
Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)
Beta release blocker
No
Summary
V2026.4.11
heartbeats are growing each time they are run.
This is with a dedicated heartbeat agent
heartbeat.isolatedSession: true
heartbeat.lightContext: true
heartbeat.lightContext: true
Run heartbeat twice
Observe:
sessionId changes between runs
~/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/.jsonl stays the same file and grows
first-turn Gemini input tokens increase across runs
Steps to reproduce
Steps to reproduce
isolatedSession: truelightContext: trueopenclaw sessions --agent heartbeat --jsonls -lt ~/.openclaw/agents/heartbeat/sessions/*.jsonl | headExpected behavior
Expected behavior
With
heartbeat.isolatedSession: true, each heartbeat run should use a fresh transcript, so prior heartbeat turns should not accumulate in context.I would expect either:
Actual behavior
The heartbeat
sessionIdchanges between runs, but the transcript file does not. The same old*.jsonlfile keeps growing.This strongly suggests the heartbeat is rotating the session ID while still reusing the previous transcript file.
Actual behavior
Evidence
Session store output after one run
Impact and severity
Can't really use heartbeat, as the costs will keep rising.
Additional information
No response