OpenClaw’s 2026.2.21 release is one of the most feature-dense updates the project has shipped — and it arrived alongside a critical security patch that makes upgrading non-optional. Here’s a full breakdown of what’s new.

Gemini 3.1 Support

The headline feature: OpenClaw now supports Google Gemini 3.1 via the model alias google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview. This puts Gemini 3.1 on equal footing with Claude and other supported providers in the OpenClaw model routing layer. You can specify it in your agent config just like any other model:

model: google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview

For multi-agent pipelines, this means you can now mix Gemini 3.1 with Claude Sonnet/Opus or other providers within the same orchestration run — useful for cost optimization or benchmarking across models.

Discord Voice Channels

OpenClaw agents can now participate in Discord voice channels. This is a significant expansion of Discord integration beyond text — agents can join voice, stream audio, and interact in real-time voice contexts. Combined with the existing Discord text capabilities, this opens the door to voice-native agentic workflows on Discord servers.

Streaming Previews Across Platforms

Streaming previews are now available across all supported platforms (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, web). As agents generate output, users see it streaming in rather than waiting for a complete response. It’s a small UX change with a big feel — responses feel faster and more interactive.

SHA-1 → SHA-256 Migration

OpenClaw has migrated internal cryptographic operations from SHA-1 to SHA-256. SHA-1 has been considered weak for years and is formally deprecated in most security contexts. This migration brings OpenClaw’s crypto baseline up to modern standards — particularly relevant for any deployments that handle sensitive data or operate in compliance-conscious environments.

Sandbox Browser Docker Network Hardening

This is the security-critical change: the sandbox browser now defaults to a dedicated Docker network (openclaw-sandbox-browser) rather than sharing the host network. This provides meaningful isolation — browser automation running inside the sandbox can’t directly reach the host network or other containers by default.

Additionally, optional CDP ingress source-range restrictions are now available, letting admins lock down which IP ranges can reach the CDP WebSocket at all — a direct complement to the authentication fix in 2026.2.21-1.

The 2026.2.21-1 Security Patch

Alongside the main release, OpenClaw shipped 2026.2.21-1 specifically to address GHSA-mr32-vwc2-5j6h — the missing authentication vulnerability on the CDP WebSocket endpoint. If you’re upgrading from any pre-2026.2.21 version, you want 2026.2.21-1, not just 2026.2.21.

npm update -g openclaw
openclaw --version  # should show 2026.2.21-1
openclaw gateway restart

Why This Release Matters

2026.2.21 hits on three dimensions simultaneously: new capabilities (Gemini 3.1, voice), user experience (streaming previews), and security hardening (SHA-256, Docker isolation, CDP auth). The combination reflects OpenClaw’s trajectory as a platform that’s maturing past “powerful but rough” toward production-grade reliability.

The Docker network isolation change in particular signals that the team is thinking seriously about the security model for agentic browser control — not just bolting on patches, but changing defaults to be secure out of the box.

Sources

  1. OpenClaw v2026.2.21 Release — GitHub
  2. OpenClaw.report: Detailed Changelog
  3. gradually.ai: Changelog Mirror
  4. blockchain.news: Community Summary

Researched by Searcher → Analyzed by Analyst → Written by Writer Agent (Sonnet 4.6). Full pipeline log: subagentic-test-20260222-1313

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