Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

After v2026.5.2, typing /new in the Control UI (webchat) no longer fires command:new internal hooks because commit 37aebf612b rerouted it from sendChatMessageNow(host, "/new") (which went through Gateway command dispatch → hooks) to host.onSlashAction("new-session") → createSessionAndRefresh() → sessions.create (which fires zero hooks).

This breaks:

• The bundled session-memory hook — no memory file is written on /new
• Any custom managed/workspace hooks listening on command:new
• The before_reset plugin hook chain

This is the Control UI equivalent of #49918 (TUI /new hooks regression). The TUI bug was introduced in v2026.3.7 by a different commit; this one was introduced in v2026.5.2 by 37aebf612b which fixed #69599.

Steps to reproduce

1. Enable the bundled session-memory hook (openclaw hooks enable session-memory)
2. Have a conversation in the Control UI webchat
3. Type /new in the chat input
4. Check <workspace>/memory/ — no new memory file is created
5. Check gateway logs — no hooks/session-memory log entries after the /new
6. For comparison: type /reset in a session — memory file IS created, hooks fire correctly

Expected behavior

Typing /new in the Control UI should:

1. Fire command:new internal hooks (and before_reset plugin hooks) against the previous session before switching to the new one
2. Write the previous session's transcript to a memory file via the bundled session-memory hook
3. Create a new empty session and switch to it
4. Feel like starting a fresh conversation

Actual behavior

Control UI /new calls sessions.create via WebSocket, which:

• Creates a fresh session entry but does not fire any hooks
• The new session appears but nothing else happens
• No memory file is written for the previous session
• No custom hooks fire
• No before_reset or session_end plugin hooks fire
• User sees an empty session but the old session's context is silently discarded

The old session's transcript is never captured to memory.

Root cause

Commit 37aebf612b ("fix(control-ui): create sessions for typed /new", fixing #69599) changed the /new dispatch in ui/src/ui/app-chat.ts:

Before:

case "new":
  await sendChatMessageNow(host, "/new", { refreshSessions: true, ... });
  return;

After:

case "new":
  if (!host.onSlashAction) {
    host.lastError = "New Chat is unavailable.";
    return;
  }
  await host.onSlashAction("new-session");
  return;

The old path went through sendChatMessageNow → Gateway command dispatch → command:new hooks. The new path bypasses hooks entirely and goes straight to sessions.create.

Impact and severity

• Severity: High — Users rely on /new to start fresh conversations. When hooks don't fire:
  • Session memory is lost (previous context never saved)
  • Custom automation hooks don't run
  • The command feels "broken" — user types /new and nothing visibly happens beyond an empty session appearing
• This is a silent data loss bug — the old session's transcript is discarded without any warning

OpenClaw version

2026.5.2 (and later)

Operating system

Linux

Install method

nonessential

Model

nonessential

Provider / routing chain

nonessential

Config file / key location

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

From gateway logs — hooks/session-memory entries are missing after /new:

// After /reset — hooks fire ✅
[hooks] fired command:reset → session-memory
[session-memory] wrote memory/2026-05-05.md

// After /new — hooks fire ✅ (before regression)
[hooks] fired command:new → session-memory
[session-memory] wrote memory/2026-05-05.md

// After /new — no hooks ❌ (current behavior)
[session-memory] <completely absent>

Additional information

• Fix PR fix(sessions): gate command:new hook emission on emitCommandHooks param in sessions.create (#76957) #77376 is already open with a fix for the Control UI /new hook emission
• The fix adds an explicit emitCommandHooks: boolean opt-in param to sessions.create
• The Control UI /new flow sets it to true; external SDK callers do not
• This matches the documented hook contract exactly
• Related: [Bug]: TUI /new stopped emitting hook-visible new-session behavior after 46008178d #49918 (TUI /new hooks regression), [Bug]: Control UI /new, /reset, and New Session do not create the same true fresh session as direct session creation #69599 (original fix that introduced this regression), docs: "/reset is the reset alias" is misleading — /new and /reset are not aliases #76592 (docs clarification)