Why does OpenClaw gateway crash after installing Brave plugin?

The npm package @openclaw/brave-plugin@2026.5.2 ships only TypeScript source without compiled JavaScript. When enabled as web search provider, the gateway tries to load the plugin, fails silently, and enters a 1.2-second restart loop.

How to fix OpenClaw Brave plugin crash loop?

Kill the launchd service manually (launchctl remove ...) then edit openclaw.json to remove the Brave provider setting. The openclaw gateway stop command won't work because it validates config before stopping.

Is the Brave plugin crash fixed in newer OpenClaw versions?

The issue was reported against v2026.5.2. Check GitHub issues #76700, #76416, #76720, and #76373 for patch status in newer releases.

What causes the OpenClaw gateway restart loop?

Three compounding bugs: the plugin package lacks compiled dist/, provider registration fails silently, and the stop command validates config before stopping — preventing recovery via CLI.

Can I use Brave Search with OpenClaw safely?

Wait for a patched version of @openclaw/brave-plugin that includes compiled JavaScript. The web_search provider setting should not be changed to 'brave' until the fix ships.

← Back to dashboard

clawsmith.com/signal/openclaw-brave-plugin-crash-loop-gateway-v2026-5-2

⚠ IssueWide OpenLive

Brave Plugin Install Puts OpenClaw Gateway Into 1.2s Crash Loop With No CLI Escape

After upgrading to v2026.5.2, installing the Brave search plugin and enabling it as web search provider causes the gateway to crash-restart every 1.2 seconds. The openclaw gateway stop command cannot break the loop because it runs config validation before stopping. Recovery requires killing launchd and manually editing config. Root cause: npm package ships TypeScript source with no compiled dist/, and provider registration silently fails. Four related issues filed: #76700, #76416, #76720, #76373.

Product Idea from this Signal

A CLI tool that validates, tests, and dry-runs OpenClaw plugins in an isolated sandbox before publishing to ClawHub

372.1k ▲

OpenClaw's plugin ecosystem ships broken packages to production. The Brave plugin v2026.5.2 went live with only TypeScript source and no compiled dist/, crashing every gateway that installed it into an unrecoverable 1.2-second restart loop. Four separate GitHub issues filed for the same root cause. The new defineToolPlugin SDK (v2026.5.18) gives plugin authors a typed API, but there is no validation step between writing a plugin and publishing it to ClawHub where 44,000+ skills live. This tool runs a full lifecycle check in an isolated container: schema validation, build verification, dependency audit, gateway integration test, and provider registration smoke test. It catches the exact class of bugs that took down Brave search users.

CLIOPEN-SOURCEDEVTOOLPLUGINSTESTING

UnderservedView Opportunity →