What is new in OpenClaw v2026.5.26?

v2026.5.26 ships faster gateway startup, replaces Sharp with Rastermill for image processing, and brings Telegram/iMessage/WhatsApp/Discord channels to production-ready status.

Why did OpenClaw replace Sharp with Rastermill?

Rastermill handles metadata, resizing, EXIF orientation, and PNG alpha-preserving optimization without requiring Sharp or the WhatsApp Jimp fallback, reducing dependency complexity.

How does OpenClaw v2026.5.26 improve gateway performance?

It avoids repeated plugin, channel, session, usage-cost, and filesystem scans at startup, and caches plugin metadata snapshots and model cost indexes across hot paths.

Which messaging channels are production-ready in v2026.5.26?

Telegram, iMessage, WhatsApp, and Discord with improved typing context, attachment handling, group/media behavior, and voice playback.

Does OpenClaw v2026.5.26 work on Windows?

Yes, it uses a cross-platform launcher for Node package scripts with env overrides, so gateway, TUI, and Docker entrypoints work on native Windows.

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OpenClaw v2026.5.26: Gateway Startup Optimization, Sharp→Rastermill Image Backend, Channel Production-Readiness

OpenClaw v2026.5.26 ships faster gateway startup by eliminating repeated plugin/channel/session/filesystem scans, replaces the Sharp image backend with Rastermill for metadata and resizing, and brings Telegram, iMessage, WhatsApp, and Discord channels to production-ready status.

Product Idea from this Signal

A CLI wrapper that lazy-loads OpenClaw modules on demand and cuts config/completion commands from 6-9 seconds to under 1 second

451.3k ▲

Every OpenClaw CLI command loads the full Node.js module tree on startup, even for simple operations like reading a config value or generating shell completions. The openclaw config command takes 6-9 seconds while openclaw --version takes 0.05 seconds. Zsh completions add 4.6 seconds to every new terminal session. Windows startup hits 39 seconds. Six separate GitHub issues spanning January to May 2026 all trace back to the same root cause: ESM module loading (syncLink, wrapModuleLoad, readFileSync). This tool wraps the OpenClaw CLI with a lazy-loading shim that only imports the modules needed for the specific subcommand, plus caches the module graph after first run.

CLIOPEN-SOURCEPERFORMANCEDEVTOOL

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