OpenClaw v2026.5.19-beta.2 Released — SDK Cleanup, Node.js 22 Minimum, Docker Build Args

OpenClaw shipped v2026.5.19-beta.2 on May 19, 2026, and this pre-release build brings several meaningful infrastructure changes that existing operators will want to review before updating. This is a beta release — not production-stable — so test carefully in a staging environment before deploying to production nodes.

The Node.js Floor Moves Up

The most impactful change for most users: Node.js 22.19 is now the minimum required version. If you’re running anything older than 22.19, OpenClaw will not start after this update.

Node 24 remains the recommended default for new installations, but 22.19 is the hard floor for this release. OpenClaw’s install documentation at docs.openclaw.ai/install/node has been updated to reflect this — check it for the latest Node.js guidance before updating.

Before updating, run:

node --version

If you’re below 22.19, update Node.js first. Prefer the official Node.js distribution or use a version manager (nvm, fnm) to pin the correct version.

Docker and Podman: New Build Argument

OpenClaw’s Docker and Podman support gains a new, runtime-neutral build argument in this release:

  • OPENCLAW_IMAGE_APT_PACKAGES — the new recommended build arg for installing additional apt packages into your OpenClaw container image.
  • OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES — retained as a legacy alias for backward compatibility.

The rename is intentional: OPENCLAW_IMAGE_APT_PACKAGES works correctly for both Docker and Podman builds, whereas the old name implied Docker-only. If you’re using the legacy arg in your Dockerfile or compose.yml, it will continue to work, but migrate to the new name when convenient.

For confirmed Docker/Podman build configuration, refer to the official OpenClaw Docker documentation rather than relying on community examples that may lag behind the new arg name.

SDK and Plugin Cleanup

This release advances several housekeeping changes that plugin and skill developers should be aware of:

  • Explicit deprecation paths for the Plugin SDK and API — If you’ve built custom plugins or skills, check the release notes for which APIs are now on the deprecation track. Deprecated APIs will continue to work for now but will be removed in a future release.
  • Agents default to clean bounded refactors — Internal behavior change: agents now default to clean, bounded refactoring passes rather than open-ended edits. This affects default behavior for coding agents in particular.
  • Lean internals — General reduction in internal complexity, improving maintainability for downstream contributors.

Dependency Updates

  • @openclaw/proxyline updated to 0.3.3
  • Pi packages updated to 0.75.1

These are internal dependency bumps. If you’re building OpenClaw from source or extending it with custom packages, ensure your build environment picks up the new lockfile.

Memory/Search Performance Fix

The vector search fallback on the JS side now scans in bounded batches instead of scanning unbounded sets. In practice, this prevents main-thread pinning that could cause the gateway process to become unresponsive on large memory corpora. If you’ve seen occasional hangs during memory search on larger deployments, this should resolve them.

Gateway Startup Probes

Improved gateway attribute startup probes are included, making it more reliable to detect a healthy gateway on startup across different deployment configurations (especially relevant for Docker/Podman deployments with custom networking).

Should You Update Now?

This is a beta release. For most production deployments, we’d recommend waiting for the next stable release unless you need one of the specific bug fixes above (memory search hanging, startup probe reliability).

If you’re updating:

  1. Verify your Node.js version is 22.19 or higher
  2. Review plugin/skill SDK deprecation notices in the full release notes
  3. Update your Dockerfile to use OPENCLAW_IMAGE_APT_PACKAGES if applicable
  4. Test on a staging node before rolling to production

Full release notes: github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.5.19-beta.2

Sources

  1. OpenClaw Releases — GitHub
  2. OpenClaw v2026.5.19-beta.2 Release Notes — GitHub
  3. OpenClaw Node.js Install Docs — docs.openclaw.ai

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