- Agents/sessions: remove the transient `*.bak-<pid>-<ts>` backup written by `repairSessionFileIfNeeded` once the atomic replace succeeds, so a stuck session with a persistently malformed JSONL line no longer accumulates one snapshot per repair invocation. Fixes #80960. (#80969) Thanks @100yenadmin. Co-authored by @tynamite.

- CLI/status: show plain empty-state messages instead of empty Channels and Sessions tables when no channels or sessions exist.

- CLI/dashboard: probe Gateway readiness before handing out the dashboard URL, prompting to start or install the managed service when the Gateway is stopped and printing recovery commands instead of opening a dead browser tab.

- CLI/dashboard: treat Gateway `device identity required` probes as proof that the dashboard listener is reachable, so `openclaw dashboard` can still open the Control UI.

- CLI: hide decorative startup and status emoji on terminals that are unlikely to render them correctly, keeping semantic message and identity emoji intact.

- CLI/gateway: recover the Linux user systemd bus environment when `openclaw dashboard` starts the Gateway from stripped desktop shells such as VNC terminals.

- Gateway/WebSocket: log expected startup `1013 gateway starting` retry closes at debug instead of warn while preserving WARN for unexpected pre-connect failures. Fixes #76361. (#82457) Thanks @IWhatsskill.

expect(runtime.log).not.toHaveBeenCalled();

});

it("can accept a reachable dashboard listener when the RPC needs device identity", async () => {

const status = createStatus({

service: {

label: "systemd user",

loaded: true,

loadedText: "enabled",

notLoadedText: "disabled",

command: { programArguments: ["openclaw", "gateway", "run", "--port", "18789"] },

runtime: { status: "running" },

},

port: { port: 18789, status: "busy", listeners: [], hints: [] },

rpc: {

ok: false,

error: "device identity required",

url: "ws://127.0.0.1:18789",

},

});

const confirm = vi.fn();

const result = await ensureGatewayReadyForOperation({

runtime,

operation: "open the dashboard",

readyWhenReachable: true,

interactive: true,

deps: { gatherStatus: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(status), confirm },

});

expect(result).toMatchObject({ ready: true, recovered: false });

expect(confirm).not.toHaveBeenCalled();

expect(runtime.log).not.toHaveBeenCalled();

});

it("still treats a timeout on the target port as not ready", async () => {

const status = createStatus({

service: {

if (rpc.server?.version || rpc.server?.connId) {

return true;

}

return /\bgateway closed \(\d+\):|\bpairing required\b/i.test(rpc.error ?? "");

return /\bgateway closed \(\d+\):|\bpairing required\b|\bdevice identity required\b/i.test(

rpc.error ?? "",

);

}

function gatewayLooksReachable(status: DaemonStatus): boolean {