Summary

Chat history periodically vanishes from the webchat UI. After the history clears, only the most recent message reappears. All prior messages are gone until page reload. Backend session is unaffected — messages are received and processed correctly.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open chat at 127.0.0.1:18789
2. Exchange several messages
3. Send another message (or wait for a re-render trigger)
4. Prior chat history disappears — only the latest message is visible

Expected: Full chat history remains visible
Actual: History clears, only most recent message shown

Details

• Backend session confirmed healthy (0 compactions, 26k/200k context used at time of occurrence)
• No JavaScript errors in browser console when history disappears
• No failed network requests visible in Network tab
• The 101 WebSocket connection entry is present and healthy
• Bug is intermittent — triggered by re-render events (possibly WebSocket reconnect or focus/blur)
• Suspected cause: on reconnect/re-render, the UI fetches only the last turn instead of full session history

Notes

• Bug pre-dates OpenClaw reinstall on 2026-04-19 — this is a pre-existing issue in the control UI, not a regression
• Text messages and image messages both affected equally

Environment

• OpenClaw 2026.4.15 (041266a)
• Chrome 147.0.0.0 on macOS
• URL: 127.0.0.1:18789/chat?session=main