OpenClaw 2026.9.4 adds failed-update rollback and a unified plugins workspace

OpenClaw published the 2026.9.4 tag on 11 September 2026 at 03:46 UTC. The operator-facing story is a post-failure restore: when a compatible update fails, OpenClaw can retain the previous package and restore the prior configuration and service.

That restore is conditional. Eligible schema-neutral failures put back the retained package, command shim, service, and pre-activation configuration, then verify the previous Gateway again. Schema and configuration checks have to prove rollback is safe. Changed database schemas, incompatible new databases, or intervening operator configuration edits block automatic rollback. A recovered update remains a failed update, with a recorded rollback outcome. Database migrations still need a verified pre-update backup; the changelog points operators at OpenClaw’s rollback-and-recovery guidance.

The Control UI also gets a unified Plugins workspace. You can discover bundled and ClawHub plugins, install them from the UI, and manage setup, settings, and access in one place. Installed plugins browse by category, and installed and ClawHub skills share a search. Skill learning opens past work in a normal session you can inspect and continue. The docs describe that as turning past conversations into reusable skills through a chat you can steer.

Prepared cloud sessions change day-to-day Gateway ops for eligible Linux workers. Those sessions can start from prepared local projects or public GitHub repositories, and you can build reusable snapshots from the Control UI before a conversation starts. Eligible local Git projects and public GitHub sessions can reuse prepared workers without repeating setup; private repository-only sessions and paired devices stay outside that flow. The default reserve target is one ready worker per project or profile, capped at four Gateway-wide. Ready workers incur provider running-machine charges until you delete them. Set cloudWorkers.profiles.<id>.readyWorkers or cloudWorkers.preparedPool.maxTotal to zero to disable the corresponding reserves. Snapshot build, pin, delete, and rollback live under Settings → Connections → Cloud workers → Snapshots.

The same tag also ships keyboard-driven questions in Gateway-connected and local TUI sessions, GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Sunburst via OpenAI or fal without changing your default model, more dependable conversation history after interrupted streams, Talk that returns subagent results after repeated delegation, and OPENCLAW_CONFIG_READONLY=1 so host-managed configuration stays read-only while diagnostics and ordinary runtime state still work.

Read the 2026.9.4 notes for the rollback caveats, then check the Plugins workspace and cloud-worker reserves before your next upgrade.

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