OpenClaw update failed with database-schema-preflight: what it means and how to fix it

`database-schema-preflight`: 22 reports, 18 still open

What it means: The updater refused because a database or config schema check failed before staging. One case where refusing is correct: the state was already written by a newer build (a nightly, a main checkout, or a downgrade). Then the supported path is to run a build at least as new as the one that last wrote the database.

What to do: Before you retry (a retry overwrites the history), run openclaw update status --json and read lastRun.origin.nextAction. Fix the configuration it names first, because a newer release can't repair an updater that refuses before staging.

The OpenClaw maintainer answered similar reports: #142370, #142331, #153333, #149555. These replies usually list exactly what to collect and the known fix for your version.

Latest reports

#162362 2026.9.7 · darwin/arm64 · 2026-10-01 · open
#153562 2026.9.5 · linux/x64 · 2026-09-20 · closed (not_planned)
#153333 2026.9.4 · win32/x64 · 2026-09-20 · open
#150332 2026.9.4 · linux/x64 · 2026-09-16 · closed (completed)
#149555 2026.9.4 · darwin/arm64 · 2026-09-16 · open
#149259 2026.9.4 · linux/x64 · 2026-09-15 · open

Stuck on 2026.9.3 or 2026.9.4? The OpenClaw maintainer's own recipe (#165706) is one manual hop to the current release, then a Doctor pass: npm install -g openclaw@2026.9.8 --allow-scripts=openclaw, then openclaw doctor --fix, then openclaw gateway restart. From 2026.9.8 onward, openclaw update handles the rest. On npm 11.15 or older, drop --allow-scripts=openclaw. Back up first with openclaw backup create --verify.

Before you retry, openclaw update status --json shows the unredacted failing step on your machine, and openclaw gateway status --deep shows what is actually serving. A retry overwrites that history.

Did an update already break your agent?

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OpenClaw update failure: database-schema-preflight

database-schema-preflight: 22 reports, 18 still open

Did an update already break your agent?

OpenClaw update failure: `database-schema-preflight`

`database-schema-preflight`: 22 reports, 18 still open