Problem

When the gateway runs as a macOS LaunchAgent (installed via openclaw gateway install), SQLite fails with SQLITE_CANTOPEN: unable to open database file on every startup.

macOS launchd does not inherit shell environment variables. The generated plist includes HOME and PATH but omits TMPDIR. Without TMPDIR, SQLite cannot locate the per-user temp directory (/var/folders/…) needed for journal and WAL files.

Running the gateway from an interactive shell works because TMPDIR is set by the shell.

Fix

Forward TMPDIR and LANG from the host environment into the service environment for both gateway and node LaunchAgents.

• TMPDIR: required by SQLite for temp file creation on macOS
• LANG: ensures consistent locale for string collation and file encoding

Both are omitted from the plist when unset in the host environment (the existing renderEnvDict filter handles this).

Tests

4 new test cases covering TMPDIR/LANG forwarding for both gateway and node service environments.

Fixes #20489

Greptile Summary

Forwards TMPDIR and LANG environment variables from the host environment to both gateway and node LaunchAgent services on macOS. This fixes SQLite's SQLITE_CANTOPEN error that occurs when the gateway runs as a LaunchAgent, where TMPDIR is needed for SQLite journal and WAL files. The renderEnvDict filter ensures these variables are omitted from the plist when unset in the host environment.

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with minimal risk
• The fix is minimal, well-tested, and directly addresses the root cause. The implementation correctly forwards environment variables through existing infrastructure that already handles undefined values appropriately. The changes are limited to two straightforward additions per function with comprehensive test coverage.
• No files require special attention

_{Last reviewed commit: 296d5ed}