Summary

On OpenClaw 2026.5.4, Discord can receive a mention, create the reply thread, and show typing, but never send a response. The gateway error is a Codex harness import failure before any assistant reply:

Embedded agent failed before reply: Cannot find package 'openclaw' imported from /Users/local/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/@openclaw/codex/dist/shared-client-B7LbV3PF.js

Restoring the host OpenClaw peer link in the local external-plugin npm tree fixes the issue immediately:

ln -s /Users/local/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw /Users/local/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/openclaw
openclaw gateway restart

After that, importing the shared-client bundle succeeds and openclaw agent ... returns normally.

Why this seems upstream-relevant

This is similar to the previously fixed class of plugin peer-link issues, but it appears to still be reproducible through the @openclaw/codex packaged plugin path under ~/.openclaw/npm/node_modules.

Local package metadata shows @openclaw/codex declares openclaw as an optional peer dependency:

{
  "peerDependencies": {
    "openclaw": ">=2026.5.4-beta.1"
  },
  "peerDependenciesMeta": {
    "openclaw": {
      "optional": true
    }
  }
}

However, the generated runtime bundle imports openclaw at startup. That means update/install/repair flows can leave the package manager in a state that looks acceptable, while the Codex harness is guaranteed to fail before reply.

Observed environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.5.4 (325df3e)
• @openclaw/codex: 2026.5.4-beta.1
• OS: macOS arm64
• Node: 22.17.0
• Install/update style: global openclaw with local OpenClaw workspace npm tree under ~/.openclaw/npm/node_modules
• Discord channel status: connected and probe works
• Failing path: /Users/local/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/@openclaw/codex/dist/shared-client-B7LbV3PF.js
• Missing path before repair: /Users/local/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/openclaw
• Existing host package path: /Users/local/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw

Reproduction shape

I do not yet have the exact update operation that deleted the link, but the broken state is easy to identify:

ls -la ~/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/openclaw
# No such file or directory

node -e "const { readdirSync } = require('node:fs'); const { join } = require('node:path'); const dir=process.env.HOME + '/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/@openclaw/codex/dist'; const file=readdirSync(dir).find((name)=>/^shared-client-.*\\.js$/.test(name)); console.log({file}); import(join(dir,file)).catch(e=>{console.error(e); process.exit(1)})"
# Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package 'openclaw' imported from .../shared-client-*.js

Then trigger the agent from Discord. Gateway logs show the harness failure and the Discord user sees typing/thread creation but no response.

Expected behavior

One or more of these should happen:

1. The install/update/repair flow should ensure openclaw is linked into ~/.openclaw/npm/node_modules when @openclaw/codex needs it.
2. @openclaw/codex should not mark openclaw as optional if the runtime bundle imports it unconditionally.
3. Gateway startup or plugin repair should detect the missing peer link and repair or report it clearly.
4. If a Discord turn has already become user-visible, harness startup failure should produce a visible error reply instead of silent typing/no response.

Actual behavior

• Discord appears healthy and connected.
• The bot creates a reply thread and shows typing.
• Codex harness fails before reply with ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND.
• No error is sent to the Discord user.

Workaround

ln -s /Users/local/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw /Users/local/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/openclaw
node -e "const { readdirSync } = require('node:fs'); const { join } = require('node:path'); const dir='/Users/local/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/@openclaw/codex/dist'; const file=readdirSync(dir).find((name)=>/^shared-client-.*\\.js$/.test(name)); if(!file) throw new Error('shared-client bundle not found'); import(join(dir,file)).then(()=>console.log('codex shared-client import ok')).catch(e=>{console.error(e.message); process.exit(1)})"
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw channels status --probe

After this, a direct diagnostic turn returned OK with agentHarnessId: "codex".

Related

Possibly related to the same broader peer-link failure class:

• [Bug]: Docker self-build from main broken — gateway fails to start after channel-to-extension migration #48552: Docker self-build loses node_modules/openclaw self-reference
• Release note for v2026.4.23-beta.6: plugin install/startup fixes around openclaw peer dependency and Cannot find package 'openclaw'
• [Bug]: Agent goes completely silent for 30+ minutes after any provider error — no reply, no error message, no fallback (reproduced on Anthropic AND OpenAI) #48361: interactive channels should not silently swallow user-visible run failures