Let me continue from where we left off. The key task is to fix the CLI backend subagent result delivery. The root cause is that `runCliAgent` doesn't write to session JSONL.

I need to look at the code more carefully to find the best fix. Let me look at the specific sections of the reply-DhtejUNZ.js and gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js files to understand where we can inject the JSONL write.

Let me also set up the chat title first.


No matching deferred tools found


Bash

grep -n "runCliAgent\|appendAssistantTranscript\|readLatestSubagentOutput\|sessionManager.appendMessage\|createIfMissing\|isCliProvider" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -60

Find key functions in reply-DhtejUNZ.js


12:import { $ as buildUsageWithNoCost, $n as setConfigOverride, $t as resolveConfigSnapshotHash, B as retryAsync, Bn as AVATAR_MAX_BYTES, Cn as parseDurationMs, Ct as resolveApiKeyForProfile, Ei as resolveAuthProfileDisplayLabel, Fi as DEFAULT_CONTEXT_TOKENS, Gn as isSupportedLocalAvatarExtension, Gr as resolveSlackNativeStreaming, Hn as isAvatarHttpUrl, Ii as DEFAULT_MODEL, J as OLLAMA_NATIVE_BASE_URL, Jn as resolveAvatarMime, Kn as isWorkspaceRelativeAvatarPath, Kr as resolveSlackStreamingMode, Li as DEFAULT_PROVIDER, Lr as applyMergePatch, Pi as splitTrailingAuthProfile, Q as buildStreamErrorAssistantMessage, Qn as resetConfigOverrides, Qr as resolveAgentMaxConcurrent, S as resolveThinkingDefault, Si as withFileLock, St as resolveProfilesUnavailableReason, Ur as mapStreamingModeToSlackLegacyDraftStreamMode, Vn as isAvatarDataUrl, Wn as isPathWithinRoot, Wr as resolveDiscordPreviewStreamMode, X as buildAssistantMessage, Y as createOllamaStreamFn, Yn as validateJsonSchemaValue, Yt as loadConfig, Z as buildAssistantMessageWithZeroUsage, Zn as getConfigOverrides, Zr as DEFAULT_SUBAGENT_MAX_SPAWN_DEPTH, Zt as readConfigFileSnapshot, _t as getSoonestCooldownExpiry, ai as resolveOwnerDisplaySetting, an as normalizeTelegramCommandName, at as resolveEnvApiKey, bi as resolveAuthStorePathForDisplay, bt as markAuthProfileUsed, c as modelKey, ci as listProfilesForProvider, cn as isInboundPathAllowed, d as normalizeProviderId, dn as resolveIMessageRemoteAttachmentRoots, er as unsetConfigOverride, et as getApiKeyForModel, f as parseModelRef, fn as normalizeScpRemoteHost, fr as buildEnforcedShellCommand, g as resolveDefaultModelForAgent, gt as resolveAuthProfileOrder, h as resolveConfiguredModelRef, i as findNormalizedProviderValue, in as TELEGRAM_COMMAND_NAME_PATTERN, ir as unsetConfigValueAtPath, ji as normalizeSecretInput, l as normalizeModelRef$2, li as markAuthProfileGood, mi as ensureAuthProfileStore, n as buildConfiguredAllowlistKeys, ni as resolveShellEnvFallbackTimeoutMs, nn as validateConfigObjectWithPlugins, nr as parseConfigPath, nt as requireApiKey, o as inferUniqueProviderFromConfiguredModels, on as resolveTelegramCustomCommands, ot as resolveModelAuthMode, pn as parseNonNegativeByteSize, r as buildModelAliasIndex, rr as setConfigValueAtPath, rt as resolveApiKeyForProvider, s as isCliProvider, si as dedupeProfileIds, t as buildAllowedModelSet, ti as getShellPathFromLoginShell, tn as writeConfigFile, tr as getConfigValueAtPath, tt as getCustomProviderApiKey, un as resolveIMessageAttachmentRoots, v as resolveModelRefFromString, vt as isProfileInCooldown, x as resolveSubagentSpawnModelSelection, xi as resolveOpenClawAgentDir, y as resolveReasoningDefault, yt as markAuthProfileFailure } from "./model-selection-CjMYMtR0.js";
16279:async function readLatestSubagentOutput(sessionKey) {
16301:async function readLatestSubagentOutputWithRetry(params) {
16306:		result = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.sessionKey);
16319:		const next = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.sessionKey);
16776:			reply = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.childSessionKey);
16778:		if (!reply) reply = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.childSessionKey);
16779:		if (!reply?.trim()) reply = await readLatestSubagentOutputWithRetry({
25980:	const { storePath, sessionKey, ctx, groupResolution, createIfMissing } = params;
25987:		createIfMissing
35391:async function runCliAgent(params) {
35403:	if (workspaceResolution.usedFallback) log$12.warn(`[workspace-fallback] caller=runCliAgent reason=${workspaceResolution.fallbackReason} run=${params.runId} session=${redactedSessionId} sessionKey=${redactedSessionKey} agent=${workspaceResolution.agentId} workspace=${redactedWorkspace}`);
36377:	if (isCliProvider(providerUsed, cfg)) {
36523:	if (isCliProvider(params.providerOverride, params.cfg)) {
36525:		const runCliWithSession = (nextCliSessionId) => runCliAgent({
36884:				if (!isCliProvider(normalizedOverride.provider, cfg) && !allowAnyModel && !allowedModelKeys.has(key)) {
36907:			if (isCliProvider(normalizedStored.provider, cfg) || allowAnyModel || allowedModelKeys.has(key)) {
69879:				sessionManager.appendMessage(message);
70325:	const originalAppend = sessionManager.appendMessage.bind(sessionManager);
70398:	sessionManager.appendMessage = guardedAppend;
83276:				if (isCliProvider(provider, params.followupRun.run.config)) {
83291:							const result = await runCliAgent({
83825:	const isCli = isCliProvider(params.followupRun.run.provider, params.cfg);
84697:		const cliSessionId = isCliProvider(providerUsed, cfg) ? runResult.meta?.agentMeta?.sessionId?.trim() : void 0;
86676:export { normalizeOptionalText as $, registerAgentRunContext as $n, parseIdentityMarkdown as $t, CHANNEL_MESSAGE_ACTION_NAMES as A, resolveSessionDeliveryTarget as An, enqueueSystemEvent as Ar, resolveSessionKeyForRequest as At, consumeRestartSentinel as B, countActiveDescendantRuns as Bn, getAcpSessionManager as Br, setCliSessionId as Bt, listAgentsForGateway as C, createDedupeCache as Cn, DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_ACK_MAX_CHARS as Cr, handleSlackHttpRequest as Ct, pruneLegacyStoreKeys as D, resolveHeartbeatDeliveryTarget as Dn, stripHeartbeatToken as Dr, resolveDiscordChannelAllowlist as Dt, loadSessionEntry as E, resolveOutboundSessionRoute as En, resolveHeartbeatPrompt as Er, resolveInboundSessionEnvelopeContext as Et, markGatewaySigusr1RestartHandled as F, CHANNEL_TARGET_DESCRIPTION as Fn, setHeartbeatWakeHandler as Fr, parseVerboseOverride as Ft, trimLogTail as G, resolveAnnounceTargetFromKey as Gn, DEFAULT_INPUT_IMAGE_MIMES as Gr, lookupContextTokens as Gt, formatRestartSentinelMessage as H, listDescendantRunsForRequester as Hn, normalizeSendPolicy as Hr, describeFailoverError as Ht, scheduleGatewaySigusr1Restart as I, hasControlCommand as In, resolveHeartbeatReasonKind as Ir, createDefaultDeps as It, normalizeCronJobCreate as J, buildOutboundSessionContext as Jn, extractFileContentFromSource as Jr, sleepWithAbort as Jt, writeRestartSentinel as K, readLatestAssistantReply as Kn, DEFAULT_INPUT_MAX_REDIRECTS as Kr, resolveContextTokensForModel as Kt, setGatewaySigusr1RestartPolicy as L, shouldComputeCommandAuthorized as Ln, resolveSlackUserAllowlist as Lr, createOutboundSendDeps$1 as Lt, deferGatewayRestartUntilIdle as M, formatTargetDisplay as Mn, peekSystemEventEntries as Mr, resolveAgentOutboundTarget as Mt, emitGatewayRestart as N, resetDirectoryCache as Nn, peekSystemEvents as Nr, createOutboundSendDeps as Nt, resolveGatewaySessionStoreTarget as O, resolveHeartbeatSenderContext as On, buildMentionRegexes as Or, agentCommand as Ot, isGatewaySigusr1RestartExternallyAllowed as P, CHANNEL_TARGETS_DESCRIPTION as Pn, requestHeartbeatNow as Pr, applyVerboseOverride as Pt, normalizeOptionalSessionKey as Q, onAgentEvent as Qn, resolveAgentTimeoutMs as Qr, loadAgentIdentityFromWorkspace as Qt, setPreRestartDeferralCheck as R, isAbortRequestText as Rn, resolveDiscordUserAllowlist as Rr, runWithModelFallback as Rt, classifySessionKey as S, getTotalPendingReplies as Sn, CommandLane as Sr, resolveSlackChannelAllowlist as St, loadCombinedSessionStoreForGateway as T, ensureOutboundSessionEntry as Tn, isHeartbeatContentEffectivelyEmpty as Tr, requestBodyErrorToText as Tt, readRestartSentinel as U, subagent_registry_exports as Un, resolveSendPolicy as Ur, maskApiKey as Ut, formatDoctorNonInteractiveHint as V, initSubagentRegistry as Vn, resolveAgentSessionDirs as Vr, runCliAgent as Vt, summarizeRestartSentinel as W, runSubagentAnnounceFlow as Wn, DEFAULT_INPUT_IMAGE_MAX_BYTES as Wr, applyModelOverrideToSessionEntry as Wt, inferLegacyName as X, emitAgentEvent as Xn, normalizeMimeList as Xr, resolveAgentAvatar as Xt, normalizeCronJobPatch as Y, clearAgentRunContext as Yn, extractImageContentFromSource as Yr, resolveSessionAuthProfileOverride as Yt, normalizeOptionalAgentId$1 as Z, getAgentRunContext as Zn, resolveInputFileLimits as Zr, identityHasValues as Zt, applyToolPolicyPipeline as _, resolveInboundDebounceMs as _n, getTotalQueueSize as _r, formatUsageReportLines as _t, DEFAULT_OAUTH_WARN_MS as a, buildPairingReply as an, resolveTtsApiKey as ar, stripLegacyDeliveryFields as at, createOpenClawTools as b, dispatchInboundMessage as bn, setCommandLaneConcurrency as br, resolveCommitHash as bt, buildChannelSummary as c, buildHistoryContextFromEntries as cn, resolveTtsPrefsPath as cr, getPluginToolMeta as ct, resolveChannelAccountConfigured as d, resolveOpenProviderRuntimeGroupPolicy as dn, setTtsProvider as dr, loadOpenClawPlugins as dt, buildSafeExternalPrompt as en, resolveUserTimezone as er, normalizePayloadToSystemText as et, resolveChannelAccountEnabled as f, warnMissingProviderGroupPolicyFallbackOnce as fn, textToSpeech as fr, createPluginRuntime as ft, waitForEmbeddedPiRunEnd as g, createInboundDebouncer as gn, getQueueSize as gr, loadProviderUsageSummary as gt, getActiveEmbeddedRunCount as h, provider_dispatcher_exports as hn, getActiveTaskCount as hr, parseActivationCommand as ht, resolveCronStyleNow as i, unbindThreadBindingsBySessionKey as in, isTtsProviderConfigured as ir, hasLegacyDeliveryHints as it, consumeGatewaySigusr1RestartAuthorization as j, resolveOutboundChannelPlugin as jn, isSystemEventContextChanged as jr, resolveAgentDeliveryPlan as jt, resolveSessionModelRef as k, resolveOutboundTarget as kn, normalizeMentionText as kr, agentCommandFromIngress as kt, buildChannelAccountSnapshot as l, recordPendingHistoryEntryIfEnabled as ln, resolveTtsProviderOrder as lr, resolvePluginTools as lt, abortEmbeddedPiRun as m, dispatchReplyWithBufferedBlockDispatcher as mn, OPENAI_TTS_VOICES as mr, normalizeGroupActivation as mt, BARE_SESSION_RESET_PROMPT as n, getHookType as nn, getTtsProvider as nr, migrateLegacyCronPayload as nt, buildAuthHealthSummary as o, resolveMentionGating as on, resolveTtsAutoMode as or, applyBrowserProxyPaths as ot, runEmbeddedPiAgent as p, shouldAckReactionForWhatsApp as pn, OPENAI_TTS_MODELS as pr, deleteTelegramUpdateOffset as pt, normalizeHttpWebhookUrl as q, clearSessionQueues as qn, DEFAULT_INPUT_TIMEOUT_MS as qr, computeBackoff as qt, appendCronStyleCurrentTimeLine as r, isExternalHookSession as rn, isTtsEnabled as rr, buildDeliveryFromLegacyPayload as rt, formatRemainingShort as s, DEFAULT_GROUP_HISTORY_LIMIT as sn, resolveTtsConfig as sr, persistBrowserProxyFiles as st, getReplyFromConfig as t, detectSuspiciousPatterns as tn, clearBootstrapSnapshot as tr, normalizeRequiredName as tt, formatChannelAllowFrom as u, resolveDefaultGroupPolicy as un, setTtsEnabled as ur, createPluginLoaderLogger as ut, buildDefaultToolPolicyPipelineSteps as v, formatInboundEnvelope as vn, markGatewayDraining as vr, formatUsageWindowSummary as vt, listSessionsFromStore as w, runMessageAction as wn, DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_EVERY as wr, readJsonBodyWithLimit as wt, canonicalizeSpawnedByForAgent as x, createReplyDispatcher as xn, waitForActiveTasks as xr, resolveAgentOutboundIdentity as xt, sniffMimeFromBase64 as y, formatZonedTimestamp as yn, resetAllLanes as yr, resolveUsageProviderId as yt, triggerOpenClawRestart as z, stopSubagentsForRequester as zn, ACP_SESSION_IDENTITY_RENDERER_VERSION as zr, getCliSessionId as zt };


grep -n "appendAssistantTranscriptMessage\|createIfMissing" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js | head -20

Find appendAssistantTranscriptMessage calls in gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js


10938:function appendAssistantTranscriptMessage(params) {
10950:		if (!params.createIfMissing) return {
10992:		const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({
10997:			createIfMissing: true,
11355:						const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({
11361:							createIfMissing: true
11450:		const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({
11460:			createIfMissing: false


Let me look at the `runCliAgent` function to understand what it returns and how we can potentially write to the session JSONL after it completes.

Let me look at the area around `runCliAgent` in reply-DhtejUNZ.js and also find where the subagent announce flow happens to understand where we can inject the write.


sed -n '35380,35500p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read runCliAgent function


		workspaceDir: resolveUserPath(sanitizedFallback),
		usedFallback: true,
		fallbackReason,
		agentId,
		agentIdSource
	};
}

//#endregion
//#region src/agents/cli-runner.ts
const log$12 = createSubsystemLogger("agent/claude-cli");
async function runCliAgent(params) {
	const started = Date.now();
	const workspaceResolution = resolveRunWorkspaceDir({
		workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
		sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
		agentId: params.agentId,
		config: params.config
	});
	const resolvedWorkspace = workspaceResolution.workspaceDir;
	const redactedSessionId = redactRunIdentifier(params.sessionId);
	const redactedSessionKey = redactRunIdentifier(params.sessionKey);
	const redactedWorkspace = redactRunIdentifier(resolvedWorkspace);
	if (workspaceResolution.usedFallback) log$12.warn(`[workspace-fallback] caller=runCliAgent reason=${workspaceResolution.fallbackReason} run=${params.runId} session=${redactedSessionId} sessionKey=${redactedSessionKey} agent=${workspaceResolution.agentId} workspace=${redactedWorkspace}`);
	const workspaceDir = resolvedWorkspace;
	const backendResolved = resolveCliBackendConfig(params.provider, params.config);
	if (!backendResolved) throw new Error(`Unknown CLI backend: ${params.provider}`);
	const backend = backendResolved.config;
	const modelId = (params.model ?? "default").trim() || "default";
	const normalizedModel = normalizeCliModel(modelId, backend);
	const modelDisplay = `${params.provider}/${modelId}`;
	const extraSystemPrompt = [params.extraSystemPrompt?.trim(), "Tools are disabled in this session. Do not call tools."].filter(Boolean).join("\n");
	const sessionLabel = params.sessionKey ?? params.sessionId;
	const { contextFiles } = await resolveBootstrapContextForRun({
		workspaceDir,
		config: params.config,
		sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
		sessionId: params.sessionId,
		warn: makeBootstrapWarn({
			sessionLabel,
			warn: (message) => log$12.warn(message)
		})
	});
	const { defaultAgentId, sessionAgentId } = resolveSessionAgentIds({
		sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
		config: params.config,
		agentId: params.agentId
	});
	const heartbeatPrompt = sessionAgentId === defaultAgentId ? resolveHeartbeatPrompt(params.config?.agents?.defaults?.heartbeat?.prompt) : void 0;
	const docsPath = await resolveOpenClawDocsPath({
		workspaceDir,
		argv1: process.argv[1],
		cwd: process.cwd(),
		moduleUrl: import.meta.url
	});
	const systemPrompt = buildSystemPrompt({
		workspaceDir,
		config: params.config,
		defaultThinkLevel: params.thinkLevel,
		extraSystemPrompt,
		ownerNumbers: params.ownerNumbers,
		heartbeatPrompt,
		docsPath: docsPath ?? void 0,
		tools: [],
		contextFiles,
		modelDisplay,
		agentId: sessionAgentId
	});
	const executeCliWithSession = async (cliSessionIdToUse) => {
		const { sessionId: resolvedSessionId, isNew } = resolveSessionIdToSend({
			backend,
			cliSessionId: cliSessionIdToUse
		});
		const useResume = Boolean(cliSessionIdToUse && resolvedSessionId && backend.resumeArgs && backend.resumeArgs.length > 0);
		const systemPromptArg = resolveSystemPromptUsage({
			backend,
			isNewSession: isNew,
			systemPrompt
		});
		let imagePaths;
		let cleanupImages;
		let prompt = params.prompt;
		if (params.images && params.images.length > 0) {
			const imagePayload = await writeCliImages(params.images);
			imagePaths = imagePayload.paths;
			cleanupImages = imagePayload.cleanup;
			if (!backend.imageArg) prompt = appendImagePathsToPrompt(prompt, imagePaths);
		}
		const { argsPrompt, stdin } = resolvePromptInput({
			backend,
			prompt
		});
		const stdinPayload = stdin ?? "";
		const baseArgs = useResume ? backend.resumeArgs ?? backend.args ?? [] : backend.args ?? [];
		const args = buildCliArgs({
			backend,
			baseArgs: useResume ? baseArgs.map((entry) => entry.replaceAll("{sessionId}", resolvedSessionId ?? "")) : baseArgs,
			modelId: normalizedModel,
			sessionId: resolvedSessionId,
			systemPrompt: systemPromptArg,
			imagePaths,
			promptArg: argsPrompt,
			useResume
		});
		const queueKey = backend.serialize ?? true ? backendResolved.id : `${backendResolved.id}:${params.runId}`;
		try {
			return await enqueueCliRun(queueKey, async () => {
				log$12.info(`cli exec: provider=${params.provider} model=${normalizedModel} promptChars=${params.prompt.length}`);
				const logOutputText = isTruthyEnvValue(process.env.OPENCLAW_CLAUDE_CLI_LOG_OUTPUT);
				if (logOutputText) {
					const logArgs = [];
					for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i += 1) {
						const arg = args[i] ?? "";
						if (arg === backend.systemPromptArg) {
							const systemPromptValue = args[i + 1] ?? "";
							logArgs.push(arg, `<systemPrompt:${systemPromptValue.length} chars>`);
							i += 1;
							continue;
						}
						if (arg === backend.sessionArg) {
							logArgs.push(arg, args[i + 1] ?? "");


grep -n "runSubagentAnnounceFlow\|announceSubagentCompletion\|childSessionKey\|cliSessionId" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -40

Find subagent announce flow in reply-DhtejUNZ.js


4641:		const bySessionKey = sorted.find((entry) => entry.childSessionKey === trimmed);
4798:		const key = subagentMatch.entry.childSessionKey;
15797:	return `v1:${params.childSessionKey}:${params.childRunId}`;
15814:		`session_key: ${event.childSessionKey}`,
16391:		targetSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16411:			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16419:			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16716:		`- Your session: ${params.childSessionKey}.`
16734:async function runSubagentAnnounceFlow(params) {
16742:			const entry = loadSessionEntryByKey(params.childSessionKey);
16776:			reply = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.childSessionKey);
16778:		if (!reply) reply = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.childSessionKey);
16780:			sessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16794:			pendingChildDescendantRuns = Math.max(0, typeof countPendingDescendantRuns === "function" ? countPendingDescendantRuns(params.childSessionKey) : countActiveDescendantRuns(params.childSessionKey));
16803:				sessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16811:		const subagentName = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(params.childSessionKey);
16848:			sessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16862:			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16875:			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16884:			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
16927:					key: params.childSessionKey,
16937:					key: params.childSessionKey,
17018:			targetSessionKey: params.entry.childSessionKey,
17029:			childSessionKey: params.entry.childSessionKey,
17044:function findRunIdsByChildSessionKeyFromRuns(runs, childSessionKey) {
17045:	const key = childSessionKey.trim();
17048:	for (const [runId, entry] of runs.entries()) if (entry.childSessionKey === key) runIds.push(runId);
17056:function resolveRequesterForChildSessionFromRuns(runs, childSessionKey) {
17057:	const key = childSessionKey.trim();
17061:		if (entry.childSessionKey !== key) continue;
17092:			const childKey = entry.childSessionKey.trim();
17244:* Prevents infinite retry loops when `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` repeatedly
17273:	defaultRuntime.log(`[warn] Subagent announce give up (${reason}) run=${entry.runId} child=${entry.childSessionKey} requester=${entry.requesterSessionKey} retries=${retryCount} endedAgo=${endedAgoLabel}`);
17285:	const childSessionKey = params.entry.childSessionKey?.trim();
17286:	if (!childSessionKey) return "missing-session-entry";
17289:		const agentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(childSessionKey);
17296:		const sessionEntry = findSessionEntryByKey(store, childSessionKey);
17334:	defaultRuntime.log(`[warn] Subagent orphan run pruned source=${params.source} run=${params.runId} child=${params.entry.childSessionKey} reason=${params.reason}`);
17455:	runSubagentAnnounceFlow({
17456:		childSessionKey: entry.childSessionKey,


Let me look at the runSubagentAnnounceFlow function more closely, and also see how `runCliAgent` returns and if there's a place where we can write to session JSONL.

Let me look at the subagent announce flow and the area where `runCliAgent` returns its payload. Specifically, I need to understand:
1. When does `runCliAgent` complete?
2. When does `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` get called?
3. Is there a way to write to the JSONL before the announce flow reads it?

Let me look at lines around 36377 where `isCliProvider` is checked and where the announce flow is called.


sed -n '36350,36570p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read area around isCliProvider check and announce flow


	const { cfg, sessionId, sessionKey, storePath, sessionStore, defaultProvider, defaultModel, fallbackProvider, fallbackModel, result } = params;
	const usage = result.meta.agentMeta?.usage;
	const promptTokens = result.meta.agentMeta?.promptTokens;
	const compactionsThisRun = Math.max(0, result.meta.agentMeta?.compactionCount ?? 0);
	const modelUsed = result.meta.agentMeta?.model ?? fallbackModel ?? defaultModel;
	const providerUsed = result.meta.agentMeta?.provider ?? fallbackProvider ?? defaultProvider;
	const contextTokens = resolveContextTokensForModel({
		cfg,
		provider: providerUsed,
		model: modelUsed,
		contextTokensOverride: params.contextTokensOverride,
		fallbackContextTokens: DEFAULT_CONTEXT_TOKENS
	}) ?? DEFAULT_CONTEXT_TOKENS;
	const entry = sessionStore[sessionKey] ?? {
		sessionId,
		updatedAt: Date.now()
	};
	const next = {
		...entry,
		sessionId,
		updatedAt: Date.now(),
		contextTokens
	};
	setSessionRuntimeModel(next, {
		provider: providerUsed,
		model: modelUsed
	});
	if (isCliProvider(providerUsed, cfg)) {
		const cliSessionId = result.meta.agentMeta?.sessionId?.trim();
		if (cliSessionId) setCliSessionId(next, providerUsed, cliSessionId);
	}
	next.abortedLastRun = result.meta.aborted ?? false;
	if (hasNonzeroUsage(usage)) {
		const input = usage.input ?? 0;
		const output = usage.output ?? 0;
		const totalTokens = deriveSessionTotalTokens({
			usage,
			contextTokens,
			promptTokens
		});
		next.inputTokens = input;
		next.outputTokens = output;
		if (typeof totalTokens === "number" && Number.isFinite(totalTokens) && totalTokens > 0) {
			next.totalTokens = totalTokens;
			next.totalTokensFresh = true;
		} else {
			next.totalTokens = void 0;
			next.totalTokensFresh = false;
		}
		next.cacheRead = usage.cacheRead ?? 0;
		next.cacheWrite = usage.cacheWrite ?? 0;
	}
	if (compactionsThisRun > 0) next.compactionCount = (entry.compactionCount ?? 0) + compactionsThisRun;
	sessionStore[sessionKey] = await updateSessionStore(storePath, (store) => {
		const merged = mergeSessionEntry(store[sessionKey], next);
		store[sessionKey] = merged;
		return merged;
	});
}

//#endregion
//#region src/commands/agent/session.ts
function resolveSessionKeyForRequest(opts) {
	const sessionCfg = opts.cfg.session;
	const scope = sessionCfg?.scope ?? "per-sender";
	const mainKey = normalizeMainKey(sessionCfg?.mainKey);
	const explicitSessionKey = opts.sessionKey?.trim() || resolveExplicitAgentSessionKey({
		cfg: opts.cfg,
		agentId: opts.agentId
	});
	const storeAgentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(explicitSessionKey);
	const storePath = resolveStorePath(sessionCfg?.store, { agentId: storeAgentId });
	const sessionStore = loadSessionStore(storePath);
	const ctx = opts.to?.trim() ? { From: opts.to } : void 0;
	let sessionKey = explicitSessionKey ?? (ctx ? resolveSessionKey(scope, ctx, mainKey) : void 0);
	if (!explicitSessionKey && opts.sessionId && (!sessionKey || sessionStore[sessionKey]?.sessionId !== opts.sessionId)) {
		const foundKey = Object.keys(sessionStore).find((key) => sessionStore[key]?.sessionId === opts.sessionId);
		if (foundKey) sessionKey = foundKey;
	}
	if (opts.sessionId && !explicitSessionKey && (!sessionKey || sessionStore[sessionKey]?.sessionId !== opts.sessionId)) {
		const allAgentIds = listAgentIds(opts.cfg);
		for (const agentId of allAgentIds) {
			if (agentId === storeAgentId) continue;
			const altStorePath = resolveStorePath(sessionCfg?.store, { agentId });
			const altStore = loadSessionStore(altStorePath);
			const foundKey = Object.keys(altStore).find((key) => altStore[key]?.sessionId === opts.sessionId);
			if (foundKey) return {
				sessionKey: foundKey,
				sessionStore: altStore,
				storePath: altStorePath
			};
		}
	}
	return {
		sessionKey,
		sessionStore,
		storePath
	};
}
function resolveSession(opts) {
	const sessionCfg = opts.cfg.session;
	const { sessionKey, sessionStore, storePath } = resolveSessionKeyForRequest({
		cfg: opts.cfg,
		to: opts.to,
		sessionId: opts.sessionId,
		sessionKey: opts.sessionKey,
		agentId: opts.agentId
	});
	const now = Date.now();
	const sessionEntry = sessionKey ? sessionStore[sessionKey] : void 0;
	const resetPolicy = resolveSessionResetPolicy({
		sessionCfg,
		resetType: resolveSessionResetType({ sessionKey }),
		resetOverride: resolveChannelResetConfig({
			sessionCfg,
			channel: sessionEntry?.lastChannel ?? sessionEntry?.channel
		})
	});
	const fresh = sessionEntry ? evaluateSessionFreshness({
		updatedAt: sessionEntry.updatedAt,
		now,
		policy: resetPolicy
	}).fresh : false;
	return {
		sessionId: opts.sessionId?.trim() || (fresh ? sessionEntry?.sessionId : void 0) || crypto.randomUUID(),
		sessionKey,
		sessionEntry,
		sessionStore,
		storePath,
		isNewSession: !fresh && !opts.sessionId,
		persistedThinking: fresh && sessionEntry?.thinkingLevel ? normalizeThinkLevel(sessionEntry.thinkingLevel) : void 0,
		persistedVerbose: fresh && sessionEntry?.verboseLevel ? normalizeVerboseLevel(sessionEntry.verboseLevel) : void 0
	};
}

//#endregion
//#region src/commands/agent.ts
const log$11 = createSubsystemLogger("commands/agent");
const OVERRIDE_FIELDS_CLEARED_BY_DELETE = [
	"providerOverride",
	"modelOverride",
	"authProfileOverride",
	"authProfileOverrideSource",
	"authProfileOverrideCompactionCount",
	"fallbackNoticeSelectedModel",
	"fallbackNoticeActiveModel",
	"fallbackNoticeReason",
	"claudeCliSessionId"
];
async function persistSessionEntry$1(params) {
	const persisted = await updateSessionStore(params.storePath, (store) => {
		const merged = mergeSessionEntry(store[params.sessionKey], params.entry);
		for (const field of OVERRIDE_FIELDS_CLEARED_BY_DELETE) if (!Object.hasOwn(params.entry, field)) Reflect.deleteProperty(merged, field);
		store[params.sessionKey] = merged;
		return merged;
	});
	params.sessionStore[params.sessionKey] = persisted;
}
function resolveFallbackRetryPrompt(params) {
	if (!params.isFallbackRetry) return params.body;
	return "Continue where you left off. The previous model attempt failed or timed out.";
}
function prependInternalEventContext(body, events) {
	if (body.includes("OpenClaw runtime context (internal):")) return body;
	const renderedEvents = formatAgentInternalEventsForPrompt(events);
	if (!renderedEvents) return body;
	return [renderedEvents, body].filter(Boolean).join("\n\n");
}
function runAgentAttempt(params) {
	const effectivePrompt = resolveFallbackRetryPrompt({
		body: params.body,
		isFallbackRetry: params.isFallbackRetry
	});
	if (isCliProvider(params.providerOverride, params.cfg)) {
		const cliSessionId = getCliSessionId(params.sessionEntry, params.providerOverride);
		const runCliWithSession = (nextCliSessionId) => runCliAgent({
			sessionId: params.sessionId,
			sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
			agentId: params.sessionAgentId,
			sessionFile: params.sessionFile,
			workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
			config: params.cfg,
			prompt: effectivePrompt,
			provider: params.providerOverride,
			model: params.modelOverride,
			thinkLevel: params.resolvedThinkLevel,
			timeoutMs: params.timeoutMs,
			runId: params.runId,
			extraSystemPrompt: params.opts.extraSystemPrompt,
			cliSessionId: nextCliSessionId,
			images: params.isFallbackRetry ? void 0 : params.opts.images,
			streamParams: params.opts.streamParams
		});
		return runCliWithSession(cliSessionId).catch(async (err) => {
			if (err instanceof FailoverError && err.reason === "session_expired" && cliSessionId && params.sessionKey && params.sessionStore && params.storePath) {
				log$11.warn(`CLI session expired, clearing from session store: provider=${params.providerOverride} sessionKey=${params.sessionKey}`);
				const entry = params.sessionStore[params.sessionKey];
				if (entry) {
					const updatedEntry = { ...entry };
					if (params.providerOverride === "claude-cli") delete updatedEntry.claudeCliSessionId;
					if (updatedEntry.cliSessionIds) {
						const normalizedProvider = normalizeProviderId(params.providerOverride);
						const newCliSessionIds = { ...updatedEntry.cliSessionIds };
						delete newCliSessionIds[normalizedProvider];
						updatedEntry.cliSessionIds = newCliSessionIds;
					}
					updatedEntry.updatedAt = Date.now();
					await persistSessionEntry$1({
						sessionStore: params.sessionStore,
						sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
						storePath: params.storePath,
						entry: updatedEntry
					});
					params.sessionEntry = updatedEntry;
				}
				return runCliWithSession(void 0).then(async (result) => {
					if (result.meta.agentMeta?.sessionId && params.sessionKey && params.sessionStore && params.storePath) {
						const entry = params.sessionStore[params.sessionKey];
						if (entry) {
							const updatedEntry = { ...entry };
							setCliSessionId(updatedEntry, params.providerOverride, result.meta.agentMeta.sessionId);


sed -n '16734,16900p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read runSubagentAnnounceFlow function


async function runSubagentAnnounceFlow(params) {
	let didAnnounce = false;
	const expectsCompletionMessage = params.expectsCompletionMessage === true;
	let shouldDeleteChildSession = params.cleanup === "delete";
	try {
		let targetRequesterSessionKey = params.requesterSessionKey;
		let targetRequesterOrigin = normalizeDeliveryContext(params.requesterOrigin);
		const childSessionId = (() => {
			const entry = loadSessionEntryByKey(params.childSessionKey);
			return typeof entry?.sessionId === "string" && entry.sessionId.trim() ? entry.sessionId.trim() : void 0;
		})();
		const settleTimeoutMs = Math.min(Math.max(params.timeoutMs, 1), 12e4);
		let reply = params.roundOneReply;
		let outcome = params.outcome;
		if (childSessionId && isEmbeddedPiRunActive(childSessionId)) {
			if (!await waitForEmbeddedPiRunEnd(childSessionId, settleTimeoutMs) && isEmbeddedPiRunActive(childSessionId)) {
				shouldDeleteChildSession = false;
				return false;
			}
		}
		if (!reply && params.waitForCompletion !== false) {
			const waitMs = settleTimeoutMs;
			const wait = await callGateway({
				method: "agent.wait",
				params: {
					runId: params.childRunId,
					timeoutMs: waitMs
				},
				timeoutMs: waitMs + 2e3
			});
			const waitError = typeof wait?.error === "string" ? wait.error : void 0;
			if (wait?.status === "timeout") outcome = { status: "timeout" };
			else if (wait?.status === "error") outcome = {
				status: "error",
				error: waitError
			};
			else if (wait?.status === "ok") outcome = { status: "ok" };
			if (typeof wait?.startedAt === "number" && !params.startedAt) params.startedAt = wait.startedAt;
			if (typeof wait?.endedAt === "number" && !params.endedAt) params.endedAt = wait.endedAt;
			if (wait?.status === "timeout") {
				if (!outcome) outcome = { status: "timeout" };
			}
			reply = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.childSessionKey);
		}
		if (!reply) reply = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.childSessionKey);
		if (!reply?.trim()) reply = await readLatestSubagentOutputWithRetry({
			sessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
			maxWaitMs: params.timeoutMs
		});
		if (!expectsCompletionMessage && !reply?.trim() && childSessionId && isEmbeddedPiRunActive(childSessionId)) {
			shouldDeleteChildSession = false;
			return false;
		}
		if (isAnnounceSkip(reply)) return true;
		if (isSilentReplyText(reply, SILENT_REPLY_TOKEN)) return true;
		if (!outcome) outcome = { status: "unknown" };
		let requesterDepth = getSubagentDepthFromSessionStore(targetRequesterSessionKey);
		let pendingChildDescendantRuns = 0;
		try {
			const { countPendingDescendantRuns, countActiveDescendantRuns } = await Promise.resolve().then(() => subagent_registry_exports);
			pendingChildDescendantRuns = Math.max(0, typeof countPendingDescendantRuns === "function" ? countPendingDescendantRuns(params.childSessionKey) : countActiveDescendantRuns(params.childSessionKey));
		} catch {}
		if (pendingChildDescendantRuns > 0) {
			shouldDeleteChildSession = false;
			return false;
		}
		if (requesterDepth >= 1 && reply?.trim()) {
			const minReplyChangeWaitMs = FAST_TEST_MODE ? FAST_TEST_REPLY_CHANGE_WAIT_MS : 250;
			reply = await waitForSubagentOutputChange({
				sessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
				baselineReply: reply,
				maxWaitMs: Math.max(minReplyChangeWaitMs, Math.min(params.timeoutMs, 2e3))
			});
		}
		const statusLabel = outcome.status === "ok" ? "completed successfully" : outcome.status === "timeout" ? "timed out" : outcome.status === "error" ? `failed: ${outcome.error || "unknown error"}` : "finished with unknown status";
		const announceType = params.announceType ?? "subagent task";
		const taskLabel = params.label || params.task || "task";
		const subagentName = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(params.childSessionKey);
		const announceSessionId = childSessionId || "unknown";
		const findings = reply || "(no output)";
		let completionMessage = "";
		let triggerMessage = "";
		let steerMessage = "";
		let internalEvents = [];
		let requesterIsSubagent = requesterDepth >= 1;
		if (requesterIsSubagent) {
			const { isSubagentSessionRunActive, resolveRequesterForChildSession } = await Promise.resolve().then(() => subagent_registry_exports);
			if (!isSubagentSessionRunActive(targetRequesterSessionKey)) {
				const parentSessionEntry = loadSessionEntryByKey(targetRequesterSessionKey);
				if (!(parentSessionEntry && typeof parentSessionEntry.sessionId === "string" && parentSessionEntry.sessionId.trim())) {
					const fallback = resolveRequesterForChildSession(targetRequesterSessionKey);
					if (!fallback?.requesterSessionKey) {
						shouldDeleteChildSession = false;
						return false;
					}
					targetRequesterSessionKey = fallback.requesterSessionKey;
					targetRequesterOrigin = normalizeDeliveryContext(fallback.requesterOrigin) ?? targetRequesterOrigin;
					requesterDepth = getSubagentDepthFromSessionStore(targetRequesterSessionKey);
					requesterIsSubagent = requesterDepth >= 1;
				}
			}
		}
		let remainingActiveSubagentRuns = 0;
		try {
			const { countActiveDescendantRuns } = await Promise.resolve().then(() => subagent_registry_exports);
			remainingActiveSubagentRuns = Math.max(0, countActiveDescendantRuns(targetRequesterSessionKey));
		} catch {}
		const replyInstruction = buildAnnounceReplyInstruction({
			remainingActiveSubagentRuns,
			requesterIsSubagent,
			announceType,
			expectsCompletionMessage
		});
		const statsLine = await buildCompactAnnounceStatsLine({
			sessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
			startedAt: params.startedAt,
			endedAt: params.endedAt
		});
		completionMessage = buildCompletionDeliveryMessage({
			findings,
			subagentName,
			spawnMode: params.spawnMode,
			outcome,
			announceType
		});
		internalEvents = [{
			type: "task_completion",
			source: announceType === "cron job" ? "cron" : "subagent",
			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
			childSessionId: announceSessionId,
			announceType,
			taskLabel,
			status: outcome.status,
			statusLabel,
			result: findings,
			statsLine,
			replyInstruction
		}];
		triggerMessage = buildAnnounceSteerMessage(internalEvents);
		steerMessage = triggerMessage;
		const announceId = buildAnnounceIdFromChildRun({
			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
			childRunId: params.childRunId
		});
		let directOrigin = targetRequesterOrigin;
		if (!requesterIsSubagent) {
			const { entry } = loadRequesterSessionEntry(targetRequesterSessionKey);
			directOrigin = resolveAnnounceOrigin(entry, targetRequesterOrigin);
		}
		const completionResolution = expectsCompletionMessage && !requesterIsSubagent ? await resolveSubagentCompletionOrigin({
			childSessionKey: params.childSessionKey,
			requesterSessionKey: targetRequesterSessionKey,
			requesterOrigin: directOrigin,
			childRunId: params.childRunId,
			spawnMode: params.spawnMode,
			expectsCompletionMessage
		}) : {
			origin: targetRequesterOrigin,
			routeMode: "fallback"
		};
		const completionDirectOrigin = completionResolution.origin;
		const directIdempotencyKey = buildAnnounceIdempotencyKey(announceId);
		const delivery = await deliverSubagentAnnouncement({
			requesterSessionKey: targetRequesterSessionKey,
			announceId,
			triggerMessage,
			steerMessage,


Now I understand the flow better. The `readLatestSubagentOutput` reads from JSONL, and for CLI backends this JSONL doesn't exist, so `reply` will be empty and `findings = reply || "(no output)"`.

The key question is: can we make the CLI backend write its output to the JSONL after it runs?

Looking at the code flow:
1. `runCliAgent` runs the CLI subprocess and returns `{payloads: [{text: stdout}], meta}`
2. The result is returned but the JSONL is never written
3. `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` calls `readLatestSubagentOutput` → gets empty → reports "(no output)"

The real issue is that after `runCliAgent` completes, nothing writes that output to the session JSONL file. Since this code lives in compiled node_modules, patching it directly isn't feasible. I'm considering two paths: either modify CLI backends to return proper JSON output so they use `runEmbeddedPiAgent` instead, or find a way to hook into the JSONL writing after the CLI agent runs.

The JSONL path is predictable (`~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/sessions/<sessionId>.jsonl`), but I don't have access to the sessionId from within the wrapper script. I'm exploring whether there's a config option that enables JSONL writing for CLI backends, or if I can leverage the gateway's `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` function through some RPC mechanism.

Let me check what `runCliAgent` actually returns and how the `DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND` is set up to see if there's an `output: "json"` configuration option available.


Let me look at how the output mode is handled and what `DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND` expects:


grep -n "DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND\|output.*json\|outputMode\|parseCliOutput" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -40

Find DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND and output mode handling


34207:const DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND = {
34223:	output: "json",
34286:	output: "jsonl",
34350:		const merged = mergeBackendConfig(DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND, override);
35592:				const outputMode = useResume ? backend.resumeOutput ?? backend.output : backend.output;
35593:				if (outputMode === "text") return {
35597:				if (outputMode === "jsonl") return parseCliJsonl(stdout, backend) ?? { text: stdout };


grep -n "appendAssistantTranscript\|chat\.transcript\|transcript\.append" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js | head -20

Find transcript RPC methods in gateway


10938:function appendAssistantTranscriptMessage(params) {
10992:		const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({
11355:						const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({
11450:		const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({


sed -n '35580,35640p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read outputMode handling in runCliAgent


						status: resolveFailoverStatus("timeout")
					});
					const err = stderr || stdout || "CLI failed.";
					const reason = classifyFailoverReason(err) ?? "unknown";
					const status = resolveFailoverStatus(reason);
					throw new FailoverError(err, {
						reason,
						provider: params.provider,
						model: modelId,
						status
					});
				}
				const outputMode = useResume ? backend.resumeOutput ?? backend.output : backend.output;
				if (outputMode === "text") return {
					text: stdout,
					sessionId: void 0
				};
				if (outputMode === "jsonl") return parseCliJsonl(stdout, backend) ?? { text: stdout };
				return parseCliJson(stdout, backend) ?? { text: stdout };
			});
		} finally {
			if (cleanupImages) await cleanupImages();
		}
	};
	try {
		const output = await executeCliWithSession(params.cliSessionId);
		const text = output.text?.trim();
		return {
			payloads: text ? [{ text }] : void 0,
			meta: {
				durationMs: Date.now() - started,
				agentMeta: {
					sessionId: output.sessionId ?? params.cliSessionId ?? params.sessionId ?? "",
					provider: params.provider,
					model: modelId,
					usage: output.usage
				}
			}
		};
	} catch (err) {
		if (err instanceof FailoverError) {
			if (err.reason === "session_expired" && params.cliSessionId && params.sessionKey) {
				log$12.warn(`CLI session expired, clearing session ID and retrying: provider=${params.provider} session=${redactRunIdentifier(params.cliSessionId)}`);
				const output = await executeCliWithSession(void 0);
				const text = output.text?.trim();
				return {
					payloads: text ? [{ text }] : void 0,
					meta: {
						durationMs: Date.now() - started,
						agentMeta: {
							sessionId: output.sessionId ?? params.sessionId ?? "",
							provider: params.provider,
							model: modelId,
							usage: output.usage
						}
					}
				};
			}
			throw err;
		}
		const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);


sed -n '34200,34300p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND definition


	noOutputTimeoutRatio: .3,
	minMs: 6e4,
	maxMs: 18e4
};

//#endregion
//#region src/agents/cli-backends.ts
const DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND = {
	command: "claude",
	args: [
		"-p",
		"--output-format",
		"json",
		"--dangerously-skip-permissions"
	],
	resumeArgs: [
		"-p",
		"--output-format",
		"json",
		"--dangerously-skip-permissions",
		"--resume",
		"{sessionId}"
	],
	output: "json",
	input: "arg",
	modelArg: "--model",
	modelAliases: {
		opus: "opus",
		"opus-4.6": "opus",
		"opus-4.5": "opus",
		"opus-4": "opus",
		"claude-opus-4-6": "opus",
		"claude-opus-4-5": "opus",
		"claude-opus-4": "opus",
		sonnet: "sonnet",
		"sonnet-4.6": "sonnet",
		"sonnet-4.5": "sonnet",
		"sonnet-4.1": "sonnet",
		"sonnet-4.0": "sonnet",
		"claude-sonnet-4-6": "sonnet",
		"claude-sonnet-4-5": "sonnet",
		"claude-sonnet-4-1": "sonnet",
		"claude-sonnet-4-0": "sonnet",
		haiku: "haiku",
		"haiku-3.5": "haiku",
		"claude-haiku-3-5": "haiku"
	},
	sessionArg: "--session-id",
	sessionMode: "always",
	sessionIdFields: [
		"session_id",
		"sessionId",
		"conversation_id",
		"conversationId"
	],
	systemPromptArg: "--append-system-prompt",
	systemPromptMode: "append",
	systemPromptWhen: "first",
	clearEnv: ["ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_OLD"],
	reliability: { watchdog: {
		fresh: { ...CLI_FRESH_WATCHDOG_DEFAULTS },
		resume: { ...CLI_RESUME_WATCHDOG_DEFAULTS }
	} },
	serialize: true
};
const DEFAULT_CODEX_BACKEND = {
	command: "codex",
	args: [
		"exec",
		"--json",
		"--color",
		"never",
		"--sandbox",
		"read-only",
		"--skip-git-repo-check"
	],
	resumeArgs: [
		"exec",
		"resume",
		"{sessionId}",
		"--color",
		"never",
		"--sandbox",
		"read-only",
		"--skip-git-repo-check"
	],
	output: "jsonl",
	resumeOutput: "text",
	input: "arg",
	modelArg: "--model",
	sessionIdFields: ["thread_id"],
	sessionMode: "existing",
	imageArg: "--image",
	imageMode: "repeat",
	reliability: { watchdog: {
		fresh: { ...CLI_FRESH_WATCHDOG_DEFAULTS },
		resume: { ...CLI_RESUME_WATCHDOG_DEFAULTS }
	} },
	serialize: true
};
function normalizeBackendKey(key) {


Now I see the issue more clearly. The `DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND` uses `output: "json"` and includes `--output-format json`. The `claude-sonnet-openclaw` wrapper script does NOT include `--output-format json` and the `output` config for the custom backend is `"text"`.

The fix for `claude-sonnet-openclaw` is to add `--output-format json` to the command AND to make the backend config say `output: "json"`.

But wait - the issue is more fundamental. Even with `output: "json"`, the `runCliAgent` function returns `{payloads: [{text}], meta}` but NEVER writes to JSONL.

The JSONL is only written by the API backend path, so there are two separate issues: `claude-sonnet-openclaw` doesn't use `--output-format json` which could cause output parsing mismatches, and ALL CLI backends never write to JSONL regardless of output format, which means `readLatestSubagentOutput` will always return empty. I need to trace through how the `runCliAgent` result is actually handled after execution to see if there's code somewhere that writes to JSONL.


Let me trace what happens after `runCliAgent` returns in the subagent path:


grep -n "runCliAgent\|runSubagentAnnounceFlow\|appendAssistant\|payloads\[" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | grep -v "^[0-9]*:.*import\|^[0-9]*:.*export\|^[0-9]*:.*\/\/" | head -50

Find how runCliAgent result is used after returning


16734:async function runSubagentAnnounceFlow(params) {
17244:* Prevents infinite retry loops when `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` repeatedly
17455:	runSubagentAnnounceFlow({
20874:			await appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript({
35391:async function runCliAgent(params) {
35403:	if (workspaceResolution.usedFallback) log$12.warn(`[workspace-fallback] caller=runCliAgent reason=${workspaceResolution.fallbackReason} run=${params.runId} session=${redactedSessionId} sessionKey=${redactedSessionKey} agent=${workspaceResolution.agentId} workspace=${redactedWorkspace}`);
36175:	const payloads = params.payloads === void 0 ? void 0 : params.payloads.length === 0 ? [] : isOutboundPayloadJson(params.payloads[0]) ? [...params.payloads] : normalizeOutboundPayloadsForJson(params.payloads);
36525:		const runCliWithSession = (nextCliSessionId) => runCliAgent({
83035:	for (let i = payloads.length - 1; i >= 0; i -= 1) if (payloads[i]?.text) {
83040:	const existing = payloads[index];
83291:							const result = await runCliAgent({


sed -n '20860,20910p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript call context


		handledBy: "plugin",
		payload: extractToolPayload(handled),
		toolResult: handled
	};
}
async function executeSendAction(params) {
	throwIfAborted(params.ctx.abortSignal);
	const pluginHandled = await tryHandleWithPluginAction({
		ctx: params.ctx,
		action: "send",
		onHandled: async () => {
			if (!params.ctx.mirror) return;
			const mirrorText = params.ctx.mirror.text ?? params.message;
			const mirrorMediaUrls = params.ctx.mirror.mediaUrls ?? params.mediaUrls ?? (params.mediaUrl ? [params.mediaUrl] : void 0);
			await appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript({
				agentId: params.ctx.mirror.agentId,
				sessionKey: params.ctx.mirror.sessionKey,
				text: mirrorText,
				mediaUrls: mirrorMediaUrls
			});
		}
	});
	if (pluginHandled) return pluginHandled;
	throwIfAborted(params.ctx.abortSignal);
	const result = await sendMessage({
		cfg: params.ctx.cfg,
		to: params.to,
		content: params.message,
		agentId: params.ctx.agentId,
		mediaUrl: params.mediaUrl || void 0,
		mediaUrls: params.mediaUrls,
		channel: params.ctx.channel || void 0,
		accountId: params.ctx.accountId ?? void 0,
		replyToId: params.replyToId,
		threadId: params.threadId,
		gifPlayback: params.gifPlayback,
		dryRun: params.ctx.dryRun,
		bestEffort: params.bestEffort ?? void 0,
		deps: params.ctx.deps,
		gateway: params.ctx.gateway,
		mirror: params.ctx.mirror,
		abortSignal: params.ctx.abortSignal,
		silent: params.ctx.silent
	});
	return {
		handledBy: "core",
		payload: result,
		sendResult: result
	};
}
async function executePollAction(params) {


grep -n "appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript\|function appendAssistant" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -20

Find appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript definition


51:import { $ as resolveMainSessionKey, B as resolveSessionKey, C as normalizeSessionDeliveryFields, D as capArrayByJsonBytes, E as archiveSessionTranscripts, F as parseInlineDirectives$1, G as resolveThreadFlag, H as resolveChannelResetConfig, J as resolveFreshSessionTotalTokens, K as DEFAULT_RESET_TRIGGERS, Q as resolveExplicitAgentSessionKey, R as jsonUtf8Bytes, S as normalizeDeliveryContext, U as resolveSessionResetPolicy, V as evaluateSessionFreshness, W as resolveSessionResetType, X as canonicalizeMainSessionAlias, Y as setSessionRuntimeModel, Z as resolveAgentMainSessionKey, _ as isCacheEnabled, a as resolveAndPersistSessionFile, at as buildGroupDisplayName, b as deliveryContextKey, c as recordSessionMetaFromInbound, d as updateSessionStore, f as updateSessionStoreEntry, j as readSessionTitleFieldsFromTranscript, lt as resolveSessionLockMaxHoldFromTimeout, n as parseSessionThreadInfo, o as loadSessionStore, ot as resolveGroupSessionKey, q as mergeSessionEntry, r as appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript, s as readSessionUpdatedAt, st as acquireSessionWriteLock, t as extractDeliveryInfo, tt as deriveSessionMetaPatch, u as updateLastRoute, v as resolveCacheTtlMs$1, w as normalizeAccountId$3, x as mergeDeliveryContext, y as deliveryContextFromSession } from "./sessions-XdimqNx2.js";
20874:			await appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript({


`appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript` is imported from `sessions-XdimqNx2.js`. This is a different function from `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` in `gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js`.Let me look at what `appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript` does and whether we can use the gateway RPC to write to the transcript after CLI runs complete.Let me look at the gateway RPC methods that could help with transcript writing.


grep -n "chat.transcript\|transcript.*append\|appendMessage\|message.*append" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js | head -30

Find gateway RPC methods for transcript writing


10626://#region src/gateway/server-methods/chat-transcript-inject.ts
10664:			messageId: SessionManager.open(params.transcriptPath).appendMessage(messageBody),
11005:		if (!appended.ok) params.context.logGateway.warn(`chat.abort transcript append failed: ${appended.error ?? "unknown error"}`);
11363:						if (appended.ok) message = appended.message;
11365:							context.logGateway.warn(`webchat transcript append failed: ${appended.error ?? "unknown error"}`);
11462:		if (!appended.ok || !appended.messageId || !appended.message) {
11463:			respond(false, void 0, errorShape(ErrorCodes.UNAVAILABLE, `failed to write transcript: ${appended.error ?? "unknown error"}`));
11471:			message: stripInlineDirectiveTagsFromMessageForDisplay(stripEnvelopeFromMessage(appended.message))
11477:			messageId: appended.messageId


grep -n "\"chat\.\|method.*chat\|\"session\." /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js | head -40

Find chat-related RPC methods in gateway


8012:	"chat.history",
8013:	"chat.abort",
8014:	"chat.send"
10626://#region src/gateway/server-methods/chat-transcript-inject.ts
10676://#region src/gateway/server-methods/chat.ts
11071:	"chat.history": async ({ params, respond, context }) => {
11121:	"chat.abort": ({ params, respond, context }) => {
11178:	"chat.send": async ({ params, respond, context, client }) => {
11437:	"chat.inject": async ({ params, respond, context }) => {
17902:		object: "chat.completion.chunk",
17914:		object: "chat.completion.chunk",
18023:				object: "chat.completion",


sed -n '10626,10680p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js

Read chat-transcript-inject method


//#region src/gateway/server-methods/chat-transcript-inject.ts
function appendInjectedAssistantMessageToTranscript(params) {
	const now = params.now ?? Date.now();
	const messageBody = {
		role: "assistant",
		content: [{
			type: "text",
			text: `${params.label ? `[${params.label}]\n\n` : ""}${params.message}`
		}],
		timestamp: now,
		stopReason: "stop",
		usage: {
			input: 0,
			output: 0,
			cacheRead: 0,
			cacheWrite: 0,
			totalTokens: 0,
			cost: {
				input: 0,
				output: 0,
				cacheRead: 0,
				cacheWrite: 0,
				total: 0
			}
		},
		api: "openai-responses",
		provider: "openclaw",
		model: "gateway-injected",
		...params.idempotencyKey ? { idempotencyKey: params.idempotencyKey } : {},
		...params.abortMeta ? { openclawAbort: {
			aborted: true,
			origin: params.abortMeta.origin,
			runId: params.abortMeta.runId
		} } : {}
	};
	try {
		return {
			ok: true,
			messageId: SessionManager.open(params.transcriptPath).appendMessage(messageBody),
			message: messageBody
		};
	} catch (err) {
		return {
			ok: false,
			error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)
		};
	}
}

//#endregion
//#region src/gateway/server-methods/chat.ts
const CHAT_HISTORY_TEXT_MAX_CHARS = 12e3;
const CHAT_HISTORY_MAX_SINGLE_MESSAGE_BYTES = 128 * 1024;
const CHAT_HISTORY_OVERSIZED_PLACEHOLDER = "[chat.history omitted: message too large]";
let chatHistoryPlaceholderEmitCount = 0;


I found the key function: `appendInjectedAssistantMessageToTranscript`. It calls `SessionManager.open(params.transcriptPath).appendMessage(messageBody)` — this writes directly to a transcript file.

Now let me look at the `chat.inject` gateway RPC method to understand the request parameters:


sed -n '11437,11500p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js

Read chat.inject gateway RPC method


	"chat.inject": async ({ params, respond, context }) => {
		if (!validateChatInjectParams(params)) {
			respond(false, void 0, errorShape(ErrorCodes.INVALID_REQUEST, `invalid chat.inject params: ${formatValidationErrors(validateChatInjectParams.errors)}`));
			return;
		}
		const p = params;
		const rawSessionKey = p.sessionKey;
		const { cfg, storePath, entry } = loadSessionEntry(rawSessionKey);
		const sessionId = entry?.sessionId;
		if (!sessionId || !storePath) {
			respond(false, void 0, errorShape(ErrorCodes.INVALID_REQUEST, "session not found"));
			return;
		}
		const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({
			message: p.message,
			label: p.label,
			sessionId,
			storePath,
			sessionFile: entry?.sessionFile,
			agentId: resolveSessionAgentId({
				sessionKey: rawSessionKey,
				config: cfg
			}),
			createIfMissing: false
		});
		if (!appended.ok || !appended.messageId || !appended.message) {
			respond(false, void 0, errorShape(ErrorCodes.UNAVAILABLE, `failed to write transcript: ${appended.error ?? "unknown error"}`));
			return;
		}
		const chatPayload = {
			runId: `inject-${appended.messageId}`,
			sessionKey: rawSessionKey,
			seq: 0,
			state: "final",
			message: stripInlineDirectiveTagsFromMessageForDisplay(stripEnvelopeFromMessage(appended.message))
		};
		context.broadcast("chat", chatPayload);
		context.nodeSendToSession(rawSessionKey, "chat", chatPayload);
		respond(true, {
			ok: true,
			messageId: appended.messageId
		});
	}
};

//#endregion
//#region src/config/schema.ts
function cloneSchema(value) {
	if (typeof structuredClone === "function") return structuredClone(value);
	return JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(value));
}
function asSchemaObject(value) {
	if (!value || typeof value !== "object" || Array.isArray(value)) return null;
	return value;
}
function isObjectSchema(schema) {
	const type = schema.type;
	if (type === "object") return true;
	if (Array.isArray(type) && type.includes("object")) return true;
	return Boolean(schema.properties || schema.additionalProperties);
}
function mergeObjectSchema(base, extension) {
	const mergedRequired = new Set([...base.required ?? [], ...extension.required ?? []]);
	const merged = {


Excellent! I found the key: `chat.inject` is a gateway RPC method that:
1. Takes `sessionKey`, `message`, and optional `label` params
2. Calls `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` with `createIfMissing: false`
3. Broadcasts the message

**The key constraint**: `createIfMissing: false` — if the session JSONL doesn't exist, it will fail.

Let me check `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` to see what happens when `createIfMissing: false`:


sed -n '10938,10995p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js

Read appendAssistantTranscriptMessage with createIfMissing logic


function appendAssistantTranscriptMessage(params) {
	const transcriptPath = resolveTranscriptPath({
		sessionId: params.sessionId,
		storePath: params.storePath,
		sessionFile: params.sessionFile,
		agentId: params.agentId
	});
	if (!transcriptPath) return {
		ok: false,
		error: "transcript path not resolved"
	};
	if (!fs.existsSync(transcriptPath)) {
		if (!params.createIfMissing) return {
			ok: false,
			error: "transcript file not found"
		};
		const ensured = ensureTranscriptFile({
			transcriptPath,
			sessionId: params.sessionId
		});
		if (!ensured.ok) return {
			ok: false,
			error: ensured.error ?? "failed to create transcript file"
		};
	}
	if (params.idempotencyKey && transcriptHasIdempotencyKey(transcriptPath, params.idempotencyKey)) return { ok: true };
	return appendInjectedAssistantMessageToTranscript({
		transcriptPath,
		message: params.message,
		label: params.label,
		idempotencyKey: params.idempotencyKey,
		abortMeta: params.abortMeta
	});
}
function collectSessionAbortPartials(params) {
	const out = [];
	for (const [runId, active] of params.chatAbortControllers) {
		if (active.sessionKey !== params.sessionKey) continue;
		const text = params.chatRunBuffers.get(runId);
		if (!text || !text.trim()) continue;
		out.push({
			runId,
			sessionId: active.sessionId,
			text,
			abortOrigin: params.abortOrigin
		});
	}
	return out;
}
function persistAbortedPartials(params) {
	if (params.snapshots.length === 0) return;
	const { storePath, entry } = loadSessionEntry(params.sessionKey);
	for (const snapshot of params.snapshots) {
		const sessionId = entry?.sessionId ?? snapshot.sessionId ?? snapshot.runId;
		const appended = appendAssistantTranscriptMessage({
			message: snapshot.text,
			sessionId,
			storePath,


Now I understand the full picture. The `chat.inject` method uses `createIfMissing: false`, so if the JSONL doesn't exist, it fails with "transcript file not found".

The `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` function supports `createIfMissing: true` which will create the file if it doesn't exist. But this is called internally and `chat.inject` hardcodes `createIfMissing: false`.

So the fix path is:

**Option A: Patch `chat.inject` to use `createIfMissing: true`**
This would allow creating JSONL files for CLI backends. But it's patching node_modules...

**Option B: Create the JSONL file manually before calling `chat.inject`**
If we know the session JSONL path (`~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/sessions/<sessionId>.jsonl`), we could create the file with the proper header before calling `chat.inject`. But we'd need to know the sessionId, which is stored in `sessions.json`.
**Option C: Find a way to make the JSONL created before the announce flow**

The practical approach is probably to modify `chat.inject` to accept `createIfMissing: true`, or find where the session gets initialized and ensure the JSONL is created at that point rather than waiting for the first message injection.

Actually, there's a timing problem here—the announce flow runs after the CLI completes, but by then `readLatestSubagentOutput` has already been called, so injecting the transcript retroactively won't work.

The real solution is to have the CLI runner write to the JSONL file immediately after the subprocess finishes, before `agent.wait` resolves and before `readLatestSubagentOutput` gets called.

I'm considering a few approaches: monkey-patching through OpenClaw's plugin system, creating a background watcher to monitor for completed sessions and generate the JSONL retroactively, or patching node_modules directly. The most practical option right now is patching node_modules—I'd need to locate where the CLI agent returns its output and ensure it writes to the transcript JSONL at that point, though I'm not sure if `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` is accessible from that context.

Looking more closely at the code, I realize `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` lives in a different module, so I'd need to either import it or write directly to the JSONL file from within the CLI agent's return path. I'm checking where `runCliAgent` is actually invoked in the subagent context to see if I have access to the session file or storage path there.


Let me look at the subagent CLI run context to find where we can inject the write:


sed -n '83260,83380p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read the subagent runCliAgent call context


			if (isSilentReplyPrefixText(payload.text, SILENT_REPLY_TOKEN)) return;
			const { text, skip } = normalizeStreamingText(payload);
			if (skip || !text) return;
			await params.typingSignals.signalTextDelta(text);
			return text;
		};
		const blockReplyPipeline = params.blockReplyPipeline;
		const onToolResult = params.opts?.onToolResult;
		const fallbackResult = await runWithModelFallback({
			...resolveModelFallbackOptions(params.followupRun.run),
			run: (provider, model) => {
				params.opts?.onModelSelected?.({
					provider,
					model,
					thinkLevel: params.followupRun.run.thinkLevel
				});
				if (isCliProvider(provider, params.followupRun.run.config)) {
					const startedAt = Date.now();
					notifyAgentRunStart();
					emitAgentEvent({
						runId,
						stream: "lifecycle",
						data: {
							phase: "start",
							startedAt
						}
					});
					const cliSessionId = getCliSessionId(params.getActiveSessionEntry(), provider);
					return (async () => {
						let lifecycleTerminalEmitted = false;
						try {
							const result = await runCliAgent({
								sessionId: params.followupRun.run.sessionId,
								sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
								agentId: params.followupRun.run.agentId,
								sessionFile: params.followupRun.run.sessionFile,
								workspaceDir: params.followupRun.run.workspaceDir,
								config: params.followupRun.run.config,
								prompt: params.commandBody,
								provider,
								model,
								thinkLevel: params.followupRun.run.thinkLevel,
								timeoutMs: params.followupRun.run.timeoutMs,
								runId,
								extraSystemPrompt: params.followupRun.run.extraSystemPrompt,
								ownerNumbers: params.followupRun.run.ownerNumbers,
								cliSessionId,
								images: params.opts?.images
							});
							const cliText = result.payloads?.[0]?.text?.trim();
							if (cliText) emitAgentEvent({
								runId,
								stream: "assistant",
								data: { text: cliText }
							});
							emitAgentEvent({
								runId,
								stream: "lifecycle",
								data: {
									phase: "end",
									startedAt,
									endedAt: Date.now()
								}
							});
							lifecycleTerminalEmitted = true;
							return result;
						} catch (err) {
							emitAgentEvent({
								runId,
								stream: "lifecycle",
								data: {
									phase: "error",
									startedAt,
									endedAt: Date.now(),
									error: String(err)
								}
							});
							lifecycleTerminalEmitted = true;
							throw err;
						} finally {
							if (!lifecycleTerminalEmitted) emitAgentEvent({
								runId,
								stream: "lifecycle",
								data: {
									phase: "error",
									startedAt,
									endedAt: Date.now(),
									error: "CLI run completed without lifecycle terminal event"
								}
							});
						}
					})();
				}
				const { authProfile, embeddedContext, senderContext } = buildEmbeddedRunContexts({
					run: params.followupRun.run,
					sessionCtx: params.sessionCtx,
					hasRepliedRef: params.opts?.hasRepliedRef,
					provider
				});
				const runBaseParams = buildEmbeddedRunBaseParams({
					run: params.followupRun.run,
					provider,
					model,
					runId,
					authProfile
				});
				return runEmbeddedPiAgent({
					...embeddedContext,
					trigger: params.isHeartbeat ? "heartbeat" : "user",
					groupId: resolveGroupSessionKey(params.sessionCtx)?.id,
					groupChannel: params.sessionCtx.GroupChannel?.trim() ?? params.sessionCtx.GroupSubject?.trim(),
					groupSpace: params.sessionCtx.GroupSpace?.trim() ?? void 0,
					...senderContext,
					...runBaseParams,
					prompt: params.commandBody,
					extraSystemPrompt: params.followupRun.run.extraSystemPrompt,
					toolResultFormat: (() => {
						const channel = resolveMessageChannel(params.sessionCtx.Surface, params.sessionCtx.Provider);
						if (!channel) return "markdown";
						return isMarkdownCapableMessageChannel(channel) ? "markdown" : "plain";
					})(),


Now I see the key code. After `runCliAgent` completes at line 83291, the code emits the assistant text via `emitAgentEvent` with `stream: "assistant"` and `data: { text: cliText }`. But it never calls any function to write to the session JSONL transcript.

The `emitAgentEvent` emits the text to listeners, but for the session transcript write to happen, something needs to call `appendAssistantMessageToSessionTranscript` or similar.

Let me look at what `emitAgentEvent` does with the assistant stream data and whether there's any listener that writes to JSONL:


grep -n "stream.*assistant\|assistant.*stream\|onAgentEvent.*assistant\|agentMeta.*sessionId" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -30

Find how assistant stream events are processed


36378:		const cliSessionId = result.meta.agentMeta?.sessionId?.trim();
36566:					if (result.meta.agentMeta?.sessionId && params.sessionKey && params.sessionStore && params.storePath) {
36570:							setCliSessionId(updatedEntry, params.providerOverride, result.meta.agentMeta.sessionId);
36745:							stream: "assistant",
74572:			event: "assistant_thinking_stream",
74594:		event: "assistant_text_stream",
74646:				stream: "assistant",
74654:				stream: "assistant",
74697:	const rawThinking = ctx.state.includeReasoning || ctx.state.streamReasoning ? extractAssistantThinking(assistantMessage) || extractThinkingFromTaggedText(rawText) : "";
74717:			stream: "assistant",
74725:			stream: "assistant",
83312:								stream: "assistant",
84697:		const cliSessionId = isCliProvider(providerUsed, cfg) ? runResult.meta?.agentMeta?.sessionId?.trim() : void 0;


grep -n "writeSessionTranscript\|appendMessage\|sessionManager\|SessionManager" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -30

Find session transcript writes in reply-DhtejUNZ.js


135:import { CURRENT_SESSION_VERSION, DefaultResourceLoader, SessionManager, SettingsManager, codingTools, createAgentSession, createEditTool, createReadTool, createWriteTool, estimateTokens, generateSummary, readTool } from "@mariozechner/pi-coding-agent";
2593:var AcpSessionManager = class {
3488:function getAcpSessionManager() {
3489:	if (!ACP_SESSION_MANAGER_SINGLETON) ACP_SESSION_MANAGER_SINGLETON = new AcpSessionManager();
4952:	const managerSnapshot = getAcpSessionManager().getObservabilitySnapshot(params.cfg);
5071:	await getAcpSessionManager().closeSession({
5408:	const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
5511:	const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
5545:	const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
5573:	const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
5679:		run: async () => await getAcpSessionManager().getSessionStatus({
5719:					options: await getAcpSessionManager().setSessionRuntimeMode({
5746:				const options = await getAcpSessionManager().updateSessionRuntimeOptions({
5754:			const options = await getAcpSessionManager().setSessionConfigOption({
5777:					options: await getAcpSessionManager().updateSessionRuntimeOptions({
5800:					options: await getAcpSessionManager().setSessionConfigOption({
5824:					options: await getAcpSessionManager().setSessionConfigOption({
5848:					options: await getAcpSessionManager().setSessionConfigOption({
5870:		run: async () => await getAcpSessionManager().resetSessionRuntimeOptions({
18251:		const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
22454:	const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
36693:	const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
50450:	const sessionManager = SessionManager.open(sessionFile);
50451:	const entries = sessionManager.getEntries();
50452:	const header = sessionManager.getHeader();
50453:	const leafId = sessionManager.getLeafId();
64817:	const acpManager = getAcpSessionManager();
69839:		const sessionManager = SessionManager.open(sessionFile);
69840:		const branch = sessionManager.getBranch();
69865:		if (!branchFromId) sessionManager.resetLeaf();


Let me look at how `readLatestSubagentOutput` works and what path it uses to read the JSONL. This will help me understand what exactly I need to create for CLI backends.


sed -n '16279,16340p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read readLatestSubagentOutput function


async function readLatestSubagentOutput(sessionKey) {
	try {
		const latestAssistant = await readLatestAssistantReply({
			sessionKey,
			limit: 50
		});
		if (latestAssistant?.trim()) return latestAssistant;
	} catch {}
	const history = await callGateway({
		method: "chat.history",
		params: {
			sessionKey,
			limit: 50
		}
	});
	const messages = Array.isArray(history?.messages) ? history.messages : [];
	for (let i = messages.length - 1; i >= 0; i -= 1) {
		const msg = messages[i];
		const text = extractSubagentOutputText(msg);
		if (text) return text;
	}
}
async function readLatestSubagentOutputWithRetry(params) {
	const RETRY_INTERVAL_MS = FAST_TEST_MODE ? FAST_TEST_RETRY_INTERVAL_MS : 100;
	const deadline = Date.now() + Math.max(0, Math.min(params.maxWaitMs, 15e3));
	let result;
	while (Date.now() < deadline) {
		result = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.sessionKey);
		if (result?.trim()) return result;
		await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, RETRY_INTERVAL_MS));
	}
	return result;
}
async function waitForSubagentOutputChange(params) {
	const baseline = params.baselineReply.trim();
	if (!baseline) return params.baselineReply;
	const RETRY_INTERVAL_MS = FAST_TEST_MODE ? FAST_TEST_RETRY_INTERVAL_MS : 100;
	const deadline = Date.now() + Math.max(0, Math.min(params.maxWaitMs, 5e3));
	let latest = params.baselineReply;
	while (Date.now() < deadline) {
		const next = await readLatestSubagentOutput(params.sessionKey);
		if (next?.trim()) {
			latest = next;
			if (next.trim() !== baseline) return next;
		}
		await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, RETRY_INTERVAL_MS));
	}
	return latest;
}
function formatDurationShort(valueMs) {
	if (!valueMs || !Number.isFinite(valueMs) || valueMs <= 0) return "n/a";
	const totalSeconds = Math.round(valueMs / 1e3);
	const hours = Math.floor(totalSeconds / 3600);
	const minutes = Math.floor(totalSeconds % 3600 / 60);
	const seconds = totalSeconds % 60;
	if (hours > 0) return `${hours}h${minutes}m`;
	if (minutes > 0) return `${minutes}m${seconds}s`;
	return `${seconds}s`;
}
function formatTokenCount$1(value) {
	if (typeof value !== "number" || !Number.isFinite(value) || value <= 0) return "0";
	if (value >= 1e6) return `${(value / 1e6).toFixed(1)}m`;


I see! `readLatestSubagentOutput` first calls `readLatestAssistantReply` (from `sessions-XdimqNx2.js`), then falls back to `chat.history` gateway RPC.

Both approaches require the session JSONL to have been written.Now, there's a key insight: the `chat.inject` gateway RPC writes to the transcript using `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage` with `createIfMissing: false`. This means:
- The session JSONL must already exist
- If it doesn't exist (CLI backend), it fails

The practical fix that doesn't require patching node_modules is:

I could intercept the session metadata after a CLI subagent completes, look up the sessionId in `sessions.json`, create the JSONL file at the expected path with proper formatting, and then call `gateway call chat.inject` with the CLI output. The tricky part is timing this before `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` tries to read the output. Really, the core issue is that either the gateway code or the runner code needs to be patched to handle the case where the JSONL doesn't exist yet.

The simplest approach might be to modify `gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js` so that `chat.inject` uses `createIfMissing: true` instead of `false`, which would automatically create the JSONL when needed. Then I could write a post-run script that triggers after the CLI completes and the `phase: "end"` event fires to write the output to that JSONL file.

But I need to figure out the timing and where exactly the CLI output gets stored after `runCliAgent` completes. The function returns `{payloads: [{text: cliText}], meta}`, and in the subagent flow this becomes `params.roundOneReply`. Let me trace through how `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` uses this result to understand where the data actually lives.


sed -n '17440,17480p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read runSubagentAnnounceFlow call with roundOneReply


		reason: params.reason
	});
	if (!(shouldEmitEndedHook && params.triggerCleanup && entry.expectsCompletionMessage === true && !suppressedForSteerRestart) && shouldEmitEndedHook) await emitSubagentEndedHookForRun({
		entry,
		reason: params.reason,
		sendFarewell: params.sendFarewell,
		accountId: params.accountId
	});
	if (!params.triggerCleanup) return;
	if (suppressedForSteerRestart) return;
	startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow(params.runId, entry);
}
function startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow(runId, entry) {
	if (!beginSubagentCleanup(runId)) return false;
	const requesterOrigin = normalizeDeliveryContext(entry.requesterOrigin);
	runSubagentAnnounceFlow({
		childSessionKey: entry.childSessionKey,
		childRunId: entry.runId,
		requesterSessionKey: entry.requesterSessionKey,
		requesterOrigin,
		requesterDisplayKey: entry.requesterDisplayKey,
		task: entry.task,
		timeoutMs: SUBAGENT_ANNOUNCE_TIMEOUT_MS,
		cleanup: entry.cleanup,
		waitForCompletion: false,
		startedAt: entry.startedAt,
		endedAt: entry.endedAt,
		label: entry.label,
		outcome: entry.outcome,
		spawnMode: entry.spawnMode,
		expectsCompletionMessage: entry.expectsCompletionMessage
	}).then((didAnnounce) => {
		finalizeSubagentCleanup(runId, entry.cleanup, didAnnounce);
	}).catch((error) => {
		defaultRuntime.log(`[warn] Subagent announce flow failed during cleanup for run ${runId}: ${String(error)}`);
		finalizeSubagentCleanup(runId, entry.cleanup, false);
	});
	return true;
}
function resumeSubagentRun(runId) {
	if (!runId || resumedRuns.has(runId)) return;


I see - `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` doesn't receive `roundOneReply` in the cleanup call. It's only there for a special case. So the flow is:
1. CLI run completes → `runCliAgent` returns `{payloads: [{text: cliText}], meta}`
2. The result emits `emitAgentEvent` with the text
3. The run "ends"
4. `startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow` is called
5. `runSubagentAnnounceFlow` is called WITHOUT `roundOneReply`
6. Inside announce flow: `readLatestSubagentOutput` is called → empty → `findings = "(no output)"`The fix location needs to be at step 1: when `runCliAgent` completes successfully, write its output to the session JSONL.Let me find the exact place in the code where the subagent run is marked as ended and see what context is available at that point.

Now I need to track down where the CLI runner signals that a run has completed, specifically looking for the hook that marks subagent runs as ended.


grep -n "emitSubagentEndedHook\|triggerCleanup\|SUBAGENT_ANNOUNCE_TIMEOUT_MS\|startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow\|startedAt.*endedAt" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -30

Find where subagent run cleanup is triggered


16133:const DEFAULT_SUBAGENT_ANNOUNCE_TIMEOUT_MS = 6e4;
16146:	if (typeof configured !== "number" || !Number.isFinite(configured)) return DEFAULT_SUBAGENT_ANNOUNCE_TIMEOUT_MS;
16359:	const parts = [`runtime ${formatDurationShort(typeof params.startedAt === "number" && typeof params.endedAt === "number" ? Math.max(0, params.endedAt - params.startedAt) : void 0)}`, `tokens ${formatTokenCount$1(ioTotal)} (in ${formatTokenCount$1(input)} / out ${formatTokenCount$1(output)})`];
17009:async function emitSubagentEndedHookOnce(params) {
17239:const SUBAGENT_ANNOUNCE_TIMEOUT_MS = 12e4;
17383:			triggerCleanup: true
17403:async function emitSubagentEndedHookForRun(params) {
17407:	await emitSubagentEndedHookOnce({
17442:	if (!(shouldEmitEndedHook && params.triggerCleanup && entry.expectsCompletionMessage === true && !suppressedForSteerRestart) && shouldEmitEndedHook) await emitSubagentEndedHookForRun({
17448:	if (!params.triggerCleanup) return;
17450:	startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow(params.runId, entry);
17452:function startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow(runId, entry) {
17462:		timeoutMs: SUBAGENT_ANNOUNCE_TIMEOUT_MS,
17523:		if (!startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow(runId, entry)) return;
17630:				triggerCleanup: true
17721:	})) await emitSubagentEndedHookForRun({
17909:			triggerCleanup: true
17961:		for (const entry of entriesByChildSessionKey.values()) emitSubagentEndedHookOnce({
79987:	const runtime = run.startedAt && Number.isFinite(run.startedAt) ? formatDurationCompact((run.endedAt ?? Date.now()) - run.startedAt) ?? "n/a" : "n/a";


sed -n '17360,17420p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read the subagent run completion handler


	if (!pending) return;
	clearTimeout(pending.timer);
	pendingLifecycleErrorByRunId.delete(runId);
}
function schedulePendingLifecycleError(params) {
	clearPendingLifecycleError(params.runId);
	const timer = setTimeout(() => {
		const pending = pendingLifecycleErrorByRunId.get(params.runId);
		if (!pending || pending.timer !== timer) return;
		pendingLifecycleErrorByRunId.delete(params.runId);
		const entry = subagentRuns.get(params.runId);
		if (!entry) return;
		if (entry.endedReason === SUBAGENT_ENDED_REASON_COMPLETE || entry.outcome?.status === "ok") return;
		completeSubagentRun({
			runId: params.runId,
			endedAt: pending.endedAt,
			outcome: {
				status: "error",
				error: pending.error
			},
			reason: SUBAGENT_ENDED_REASON_ERROR,
			sendFarewell: true,
			accountId: entry.requesterOrigin?.accountId,
			triggerCleanup: true
		});
	}, LIFECYCLE_ERROR_RETRY_GRACE_MS);
	timer.unref?.();
	pendingLifecycleErrorByRunId.set(params.runId, {
		timer,
		endedAt: params.endedAt,
		error: params.error
	});
}
function suppressAnnounceForSteerRestart(entry) {
	return entry?.suppressAnnounceReason === "steer-restart";
}
function shouldKeepThreadBindingAfterRun(params) {
	if (params.reason === SUBAGENT_ENDED_REASON_KILLED) return false;
	return params.entry.spawnMode === "session";
}
function shouldEmitEndedHookForRun(params) {
	return !shouldKeepThreadBindingAfterRun(params);
}
async function emitSubagentEndedHookForRun(params) {
	const reason = params.reason ?? params.entry.endedReason ?? SUBAGENT_ENDED_REASON_COMPLETE;
	const outcome = resolveLifecycleOutcomeFromRunOutcome(params.entry.outcome);
	const error = params.entry.outcome?.status === "error" ? params.entry.outcome.error : void 0;
	await emitSubagentEndedHookOnce({
		entry: params.entry,
		reason,
		sendFarewell: params.sendFarewell,
		accountId: params.accountId ?? params.entry.requesterOrigin?.accountId,
		outcome,
		error,
		inFlightRunIds: endedHookInFlightRunIds,
		persist: persistSubagentRuns
	});
}
async function completeSubagentRun(params) {
	clearPendingLifecycleError(params.runId);
	const entry = subagentRuns.get(params.runId);


sed -n '17415,17465p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read completeSubagentRun function


		persist: persistSubagentRuns
	});
}
async function completeSubagentRun(params) {
	clearPendingLifecycleError(params.runId);
	const entry = subagentRuns.get(params.runId);
	if (!entry) return;
	let mutated = false;
	const endedAt = typeof params.endedAt === "number" ? params.endedAt : Date.now();
	if (entry.endedAt !== endedAt) {
		entry.endedAt = endedAt;
		mutated = true;
	}
	if (!runOutcomesEqual(entry.outcome, params.outcome)) {
		entry.outcome = params.outcome;
		mutated = true;
	}
	if (entry.endedReason !== params.reason) {
		entry.endedReason = params.reason;
		mutated = true;
	}
	if (mutated) persistSubagentRuns();
	const suppressedForSteerRestart = suppressAnnounceForSteerRestart(entry);
	const shouldEmitEndedHook = !suppressedForSteerRestart && shouldEmitEndedHookForRun({
		entry,
		reason: params.reason
	});
	if (!(shouldEmitEndedHook && params.triggerCleanup && entry.expectsCompletionMessage === true && !suppressedForSteerRestart) && shouldEmitEndedHook) await emitSubagentEndedHookForRun({
		entry,
		reason: params.reason,
		sendFarewell: params.sendFarewell,
		accountId: params.accountId
	});
	if (!params.triggerCleanup) return;
	if (suppressedForSteerRestart) return;
	startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow(params.runId, entry);
}
function startSubagentAnnounceCleanupFlow(runId, entry) {
	if (!beginSubagentCleanup(runId)) return false;
	const requesterOrigin = normalizeDeliveryContext(entry.requesterOrigin);
	runSubagentAnnounceFlow({
		childSessionKey: entry.childSessionKey,
		childRunId: entry.runId,
		requesterSessionKey: entry.requesterSessionKey,
		requesterOrigin,
		requesterDisplayKey: entry.requesterDisplayKey,
		task: entry.task,
		timeoutMs: SUBAGENT_ANNOUNCE_TIMEOUT_MS,
		cleanup: entry.cleanup,
		waitForCompletion: false,
		startedAt: entry.startedAt,


Now I have a complete picture of the flow. Let me think about the best fix strategy.

The key insight is: the CLI backend output (`cliText`) is available immediately after `runCliAgent` completes. But it never gets written to the JSONL session transcript. The announce flow then calls `readLatestSubagentOutput` which reads from the JSONL and finds nothing.

The cleanest fix would be to **patch `reply-DhtejUNZ.js`** to write the CLI output to JSONL after it runs. Specifically, in the subagent path at line 83291 (the `runCliAgent` call in the subagent context), after getting `cliText`, call `appendAssistantTranscriptMessage`.

But this requires knowing the `storePath`, `sessionId`, `sessionFile`, and `agentId` — all of which are available in the subagent context (`params.followupRun.run.*`). The problem is that patching 86k+ lines of minified JS is risky and fragile. I could try modifying `chat.inject` to use `createIfMissing: true` and call it after the CLI run, but I'd still need to know when the run completes and what the output is. Actually, there's a simpler angle I'm noticing here.

The announce flow reads the latest subagent output after `agent.wait` resolves, which means the CLI process has already finished and the output was streamed via `emitAgentEvent`. So the real question is whether I can persist that emitted event data and read it back afterward.


Let me look at how `emitAgentEvent` data is stored and if we can read run output from it:


grep -n "function emitAgentEvent\|agentEventBuffer\|runBuffer\|getAgentEvents\|getRunOutput" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -20

Find emitAgentEvent and run output storage


14612:function emitAgentEvent(event) {


grep -n "readLatestAssistantReply\|function readLatest" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/sessions-XdimqNx2.js 2>/dev/null | head -20 || grep -rn "readLatestAssistantReply" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/ | head -10

Find readLatestAssistantReply implementation


sed -n '14612,14650p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read emitAgentEvent function


function emitAgentEvent(event) {
	const nextSeq = (seqByRun.get(event.runId) ?? 0) + 1;
	seqByRun.set(event.runId, nextSeq);
	const context = runContextById.get(event.runId);
	const sessionKey = typeof event.sessionKey === "string" && event.sessionKey.trim() ? event.sessionKey : context?.sessionKey;
	const enriched = {
		...event,
		sessionKey,
		seq: nextSeq,
		ts: Date.now()
	};
	for (const listener of listeners) try {
		listener(enriched);
	} catch {}
}
function onAgentEvent(listener) {
	listeners.add(listener);
	return () => listeners.delete(listener);
}

//#endregion
//#region src/utils/queue-helpers.ts
function clearQueueSummaryState(state) {
	state.droppedCount = 0;
	state.summaryLines = [];
}
function previewQueueSummaryPrompt(params) {
	return buildQueueSummaryPrompt({
		state: {
			dropPolicy: params.state.dropPolicy,
			droppedCount: params.state.droppedCount,
			summaryLines: [...params.state.summaryLines]
		},
		noun: params.noun,
		title: params.title
	});
}
function applyQueueRuntimeSettings(params) {
	params.target.mode = params.settings.mode;


grep -n "readLatestAssistantReply" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -5

Find readLatestAssistantReply reference


15993:async function readLatestAssistantReply(params) {
16042:	return await readLatestAssistantReply({ sessionKey: params.sessionKey });
16281:		const latestAssistant = await readLatestAssistantReply({
64280:				primaryReply = await readLatestAssistantReply({ sessionKey: params.targetSessionKey });
86676:export { normalizeOptionalText as $, registerAgentRunContext as $n, parseIdentityMarkdown as $t, CHANNEL_MESSAGE_ACTION_NAMES as A, resolveSessionDeliveryTarget as An, enqueueSystemEvent as Ar, resolveSessionKeyForRequest as At, consumeRestartSentinel as B, countActiveDescendantRuns as Bn, getAcpSessionManager as Br, setCliSessionId as Bt, listAgentsForGateway as C, createDedupeCache as Cn, DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_ACK_MAX_CHARS as Cr, handleSlackHttpRequest as Ct, pruneLegacyStoreKeys as D, resolveHeartbeatDeliveryTarget as Dn, stripHeartbeatToken as Dr, resolveDiscordChannelAllowlist as Dt, loadSessionEntry as E, resolveOutboundSessionRoute as En, resolveHeartbeatPrompt as Er, resolveInboundSessionEnvelopeContext as Et, markGatewaySigusr1RestartHandled as F, CHANNEL_TARGET_DESCRIPTION as Fn, setHeartbeatWakeHandler as Fr, parseVerboseOverride as Ft, trimLogTail as G, resolveAnnounceTargetFromKey as Gn, DEFAULT_INPUT_IMAGE_MIMES as Gr, lookupContextTokens as Gt, formatRestartSentinelMessage as H, listDescendantRunsForRequester as Hn, normalizeSendPolicy as Hr, describeFailoverError as Ht, scheduleGatewaySigusr1Restart as I, hasControlCommand as In, resolveHeartbeatReasonKind as Ir, createDefaultDeps as It, normalizeCronJobCreate as J, buildOutboundSessionContext as Jn, extractFileContentFromSource as Jr, sleepWithAbort as Jt, writeRestartSentinel as K, readLatestAssistantReply as Kn, DEFAULT_INPUT_MAX_REDIRECTS as Kr, resolveContextTokensForModel as Kt, setGatewaySigusr1RestartPolicy as L, shouldComputeCommandAuthorized as Ln, resolveSlackUserAllowlist as Lr, createOutboundSendDeps$1 as Lt, deferGatewayRestartUntilIdle as M, formatTargetDisplay as Mn, peekSystemEventEntries as Mr, resolveAgentOutboundTarget as Mt, emitGatewayRestart as N, resetDirectoryCache as Nn, peekSystemEvents as Nr, createOutboundSendDeps as Nt, resolveGatewaySessionStoreTarget as O, resolveHeartbeatSenderContext as On, buildMentionRegexes as Or, agentCommand as Ot, isGatewaySigusr1RestartExternallyAllowed as P, CHANNEL_TARGETS_DESCRIPTION as Pn, requestHeartbeatNow as Pr, applyVerboseOverride as Pt, normalizeOptionalSessionKey as Q, onAgentEvent as Qn, resolveAgentTimeoutMs as Qr, loadAgentIdentityFromWorkspace as Qt, setPreRestartDeferralCheck as R, isAbortRequestText as Rn, resolveDiscordUserAllowlist as Rr, runWithModelFallback as Rt, classifySessionKey as S, getTotalPendingReplies as Sn, CommandLane as Sr, resolveSlackChannelAllowlist as St, loadCombinedSessionStoreForGateway as T, ensureOutboundSessionEntry as Tn, isHeartbeatContentEffectivelyEmpty as Tr, requestBodyErrorToText as Tt, readRestartSentinel as U, subagent_registry_exports as Un, resolveSendPolicy as Ur, maskApiKey as Ut, formatDoctorNonInteractiveHint as V, initSubagentRegistry as Vn, resolveAgentSessionDirs as Vr, runCliAgent as Vt, summarizeRestartSentinel as W, runSubagentAnnounceFlow as Wn, DEFAULT_INPUT_IMAGE_MAX_BYTES as Wr, applyModelOverrideToSessionEntry as Wt, inferLegacyName as X, emitAgentEvent as Xn, normalizeMimeList as Xr, resolveAgentAvatar as Xt, normalizeCronJobPatch as Y, clearAgentRunContext as Yn, extractImageContentFromSource as Yr, resolveSessionAuthProfileOverride as Yt, normalizeOptionalAgentId$1 as Z, getAgentRunContext as Zn, resolveInputFileLimits as Zr, identityHasValues as Zt, applyToolPolicyPipeline as _, resolveInboundDebounceMs as _n, getTotalQueueSize as _r, formatUsageReportLines as _t, DEFAULT_OAUTH_WARN_MS as a, buildPairingReply as an, resolveTtsApiKey as ar, stripLegacyDeliveryFields as at, createOpenClawTools as b, dispatchInboundMessage as bn, setCommandLaneConcurrency as br, resolveCommitHash as bt, buildChannelSummary as c, buildHistoryContextFromEntries as cn, resolveTtsPrefsPath as cr, getPluginToolMeta as ct, resolveChannelAccountConfigured as d, resolveOpenProviderRuntimeGroupPolicy as dn, setTtsProvider as dr, loadOpenClawPlugins as dt, buildSafeExternalPrompt as en, resolveUserTimezone as er, normalizePayloadToSystemText as et, resolveChannelAccountEnabled as f, warnMissingProviderGroupPolicyFallbackOnce as fn, textToSpeech as fr, createPluginRuntime as ft, waitForEmbeddedPiRunEnd as g, createInboundDebouncer as gn, getQueueSize as gr, loadProviderUsageSummary as gt, getActiveEmbeddedRunCount as h, provider_dispatcher_exports as hn, getActiveTaskCount as hr, parseActivationCommand as ht, resolveCronStyleNow as i, unbindThreadBindingsBySessionKey as in, isTtsProviderConfigured as ir, hasLegacyDeliveryHints as it, consumeGatewaySigusr1RestartAuthorization as j, resolveOutboundChannelPlugin as jn, isSystemEventContextChanged as jr, resolveAgentDeliveryPlan as jt, resolveSessionModelRef as k, resolveOutboundTarget as kn, normalizeMentionText as kr, agentCommandFromIngress as kt, buildChannelAccountSnapshot as l, recordPendingHistoryEntryIfEnabled as ln, resolveTtsProviderOrder as lr, resolvePluginTools as lt, abortEmbeddedPiRun as m, dispatchReplyWithBufferedBlockDispatcher as mn, OPENAI_TTS_VOICES as mr, normalizeGroupActivation as mt, BARE_SESSION_RESET_PROMPT as n, getHookType as nn, getTtsProvider as nr, migrateLegacyCronPayload as nt, buildAuthHealthSummary as o, resolveMentionGating as on, resolveTtsAutoMode as or, applyBrowserProxyPaths as ot, runEmbeddedPiAgent as p, shouldAckReactionForWhatsApp as pn, OPENAI_TTS_MODELS as pr, deleteTelegramUpdateOffset as pt, normalizeHttpWebhookUrl as q, clearSessionQueues as qn, DEFAULT_INPUT_TIMEOUT_MS as qr, computeBackoff as qt, appendCronStyleCurrentTimeLine as r, isExternalHookSession as rn, isTtsEnabled as rr, buildDeliveryFromLegacyPayload as rt, formatRemainingShort as s, DEFAULT_GROUP_HISTORY_LIMIT as sn, resolveTtsConfig as sr, persistBrowserProxyFiles as st, getReplyFromConfig as t, detectSuspiciousPatterns as tn, clearBootstrapSnapshot as tr, normalizeRequiredName as tt, formatChannelAllowFrom as u, resolveDefaultGroupPolicy as un, setTtsEnabled as ur, createPluginLoaderLogger as ut, buildDefaultToolPolicyPipelineSteps as v, formatInboundEnvelope as vn, markGatewayDraining as vr, formatUsageWindowSummary as vt, listSessionsFromStore as w, runMessageAction as wn, DEFAULT_HEARTBEAT_EVERY as wr, readJsonBodyWithLimit as wt, canonicalizeSpawnedByForAgent as x, createReplyDispatcher as xn, waitForActiveTasks as xr, resolveAgentOutboundIdentity as xt, sniffMimeFromBase64 as y, formatZonedTimestamp as yn, resetAllLanes as yr, resolveUsageProviderId as yt, triggerOpenClawRestart as z, stopSubagentsForRequester as zn, ACP_SESSION_IDENTITY_RENDERER_VERSION as zr, getCliSessionId as zt };


Now I understand the full picture. Let me look at `readLatestAssistantReply` to understand what it does:


sed -n '15993,16050p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read readLatestAssistantReply function


async function readLatestAssistantReply(params) {
	const history = await callGateway({
		method: "chat.history",
		params: {
			sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
			limit: params.limit ?? 50
		}
	});
	const filtered = stripToolMessages(Array.isArray(history?.messages) ? history.messages : []);
	for (let i = filtered.length - 1; i >= 0; i -= 1) {
		const candidate = filtered[i];
		if (!candidate || typeof candidate !== "object") continue;
		if (candidate.role !== "assistant") continue;
		const text = extractAssistantText(candidate);
		if (!text?.trim()) continue;
		return text;
	}
}
async function runAgentStep(params) {
	const stepIdem = crypto.randomUUID();
	const response = await callGateway({
		method: "agent",
		params: {
			message: params.message,
			sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
			idempotencyKey: stepIdem,
			deliver: false,
			channel: params.channel ?? INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL,
			lane: params.lane ?? AGENT_LANE_NESTED,
			extraSystemPrompt: params.extraSystemPrompt,
			inputProvenance: {
				kind: "inter_session",
				sourceSessionKey: params.sourceSessionKey,
				sourceChannel: params.sourceChannel,
				sourceTool: params.sourceTool ?? "sessions_send"
			}
		},
		timeoutMs: 1e4
	});
	const resolvedRunId = (typeof response?.runId === "string" && response.runId ? response.runId : "") || stepIdem;
	const stepWaitMs = Math.min(params.timeoutMs, 6e4);
	if ((await callGateway({
		method: "agent.wait",
		params: {
			runId: resolvedRunId,
			timeoutMs: stepWaitMs
		},
		timeoutMs: stepWaitMs + 2e3
	}))?.status !== "ok") return;
	return await readLatestAssistantReply({ sessionKey: params.sessionKey });
}

//#endregion
//#region src/agents/tools/sessions-send-helpers.ts
const ANNOUNCE_SKIP_TOKEN = "ANNOUNCE_SKIP";
const REPLY_SKIP_TOKEN = "REPLY_SKIP";
const DEFAULT_PING_PONG_TURNS = 5;
const MAX_PING_PONG_TURNS = 5;


Now I have a complete understanding. Both `readLatestSubagentOutput` and `readLatestAssistantReply` use `chat.history` via gateway, which reads the session JSONL. For CLI backends, no JSONL is written.

The fix plan:

**Two-part fix:**

1. **Fix `claude-sonnet-openclaw`** to add `--output-format json` so it matches `DEFAULT_CLAUDE_BACKEND`'s expected format. This is easy.

2. **Patch `gateway-cli-vk3t7zJU.js`** to make `chat.inject` use `createIfMissing: true`. Then, after each CLI subagent run completes, the system can write to the transcript. But we still need the CALLER to call `chat.inject` after the CLI run...

The real fix needs to happen where `runCliAgent` is called in the subagent context—after the CLI text returns, I need to inject that output into the transcript. But I'm weighing whether to patch node_modules or redesign CLI backends to return proper session JSONL format instead, since the core issue is that `runCliAgent` wasn't designed to work as a subagent.

Looking at this more carefully, there are two separate problems: the `chat.inject` gateway RPC doesn't have the right parameters to persist output, and the agent event system emits the CLI text but nothing writes it to JSONL. The cleanest solution would be to handle this at the architecture level rather than patching node_modules.

I'm wondering if I can leverage the OpenClaw plugin system to intercept agent events and write directly to JSONL instead of trying to patch the gateway RPC call.


Let me check the OpenClaw plugin system and look for the `onAgentEvent` hook:


grep -n "onAgentEvent\|registerPlugin\|loadOpenClawPlugins\|plugin.*path" /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js | head -20

Find plugin system hooks in OpenClaw


14627:function onAgentEvent(listener) {
17595:	listenerStop = onAgentEvent((evt) => {
20332:		loadOpenClawPlugins({
36626:		onAgentEvent: params.onAgentEvent
37025:						onAgentEvent: (evt) => {
41974:function registerPluginHttpRoute(params) {
41981:		params.log?.(`plugin: webhook path missing${suffix}`);
41998:		params.log?.(`plugin: replacing stale webhook path ${normalizedPath} (${routeMatch})${suffix}${pluginHint}`);
43662:	const unregisterHttp = registerPluginHttpRoute({
56943:		onAgentEvent,
57421:function loadOpenClawPlugins(options = {}) {
57567:		const pluginRoot = safeRealpathOrResolve(candidate.rootDir);
57576:			pushPluginLoadError("plugin entry path escapes plugin root or fails alias checks");
57736:	const registry = loadOpenClawPlugins({
74386:	ctx.params.onAgentEvent?.({
74419:	ctx.params.onAgentEvent?.({
74459:	ctx.params.onAgentEvent?.({
74484:		ctx.params.onAgentEvent?.({
74501:		ctx.params.onAgentEvent?.({
74653:			ctx.params.onAgentEvent?.({


grep -rn "plugins\|plugin" ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json | head -10

Check if plugins are configured in openclaw.json


1970:  "plugins": {


grep -A 10 '"plugins"' ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Read plugins config in openclaw.json


  "plugins": {
    "allow": [
      "clawrouter",
      "telegram",
      "acpx"
    ],
    "entries": {
      "qwen-portal-auth": {
        "enabled": true
      },
      "acpx": {


sed -n '57421,57500p' /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/reply-DhtejUNZ.js

Read loadOpenClawPlugins function


function loadOpenClawPlugins(options = {}) {
	const cfg = applyTestPluginDefaults(options.config ?? {}, process.env);
	const logger = options.logger ?? defaultLogger();
	const validateOnly = options.mode === "validate";
	const normalized = normalizePluginsConfig(cfg.plugins);
	const cacheKey = buildCacheKey({
		workspaceDir: options.workspaceDir,
		plugins: normalized
	});
	const cacheEnabled = options.cache !== false;
	if (cacheEnabled) {
		const cached = registryCache.get(cacheKey);
		if (cached) {
			activatePluginRegistry(cached, cacheKey);
			return cached;
		}
	}
	clearPluginCommands();
	const { registry, createApi } = createPluginRegistry({
		logger,
		runtime: createPluginRuntime(),
		coreGatewayHandlers: options.coreGatewayHandlers
	});
	const discovery = discoverOpenClawPlugins({
		workspaceDir: options.workspaceDir,
		extraPaths: normalized.loadPaths
	});
	const manifestRegistry = loadPluginManifestRegistry({
		config: cfg,
		workspaceDir: options.workspaceDir,
		cache: options.cache,
		candidates: discovery.candidates,
		diagnostics: discovery.diagnostics
	});
	pushDiagnostics(registry.diagnostics, manifestRegistry.diagnostics);
	warnWhenAllowlistIsOpen({
		logger,
		pluginsEnabled: normalized.enabled,
		allow: normalized.allow,
		discoverablePlugins: manifestRegistry.plugins.map((plugin) => ({
			id: plugin.id,
			source: plugin.source,
			origin: plugin.origin
		}))
	});
	const provenance = buildProvenanceIndex({
		config: cfg,
		normalizedLoadPaths: normalized.loadPaths
	});
	let jitiLoader = null;
	const getJiti = () => {
		if (jitiLoader) return jitiLoader;
		const pluginSdkAlias = resolvePluginSdkAlias();
		const pluginSdkAccountIdAlias = resolvePluginSdkAccountIdAlias();
		jitiLoader = createJiti(import.meta.url, {
			interopDefault: true,
			extensions: [
				".ts",
				".tsx",
				".mts",
				".cts",
				".mtsx",
				".ctsx",
				".js",
				".mjs",
				".cjs",
				".json"
			],
			...pluginSdkAlias || pluginSdkAccountIdAlias ? { alias: {
				...pluginSdkAlias ? { "openclaw/plugin-sdk": pluginSdkAlias } : {},
				...pluginSdkAccountIdAlias ? { "openclaw/plugin-sdk/account-id": pluginSdkAccountIdAlias } : {}
			} } : {}
		});
		return jitiLoader;
	};
	const manifestByRoot = new Map(manifestRegistry.plugins.map((record) => [record.rootDir, record]));
	const seenIds = /* @__PURE__ */ new Map();
	const memorySlot = normalized.slots.memory;
	let selectedMemoryPluginId = null;
	let memorySlotMatched = false;