OpenClaw shipped v2026.3.22 today, and it’s the biggest release the platform has seen in months. If you’ve been waiting for a native plugin ecosystem, longer-running agents, or GPT-5.4 access, this is the update you’ve been waiting for.

Here’s what’s new — and what breaks.

The Headline Feature: ClawHub Plugin Marketplace

OpenClaw now has a native plugin marketplace called ClawHub. When you run openclaw plugins install <package>, it checks ClawHub first, falling back to npm only when ClawHub doesn’t have that package or version.

This is an architectural shift. Until now, OpenClaw’s extensibility was essentially “npm plus manual config.” ClawHub creates a curated distribution channel with first-party visibility into what plugins exist, what versions are available, and (presumably, as the marketplace matures) what’s been reviewed for security.

The first major third-party spotlight: Hitem3D, a callable image-to-3D generation skill from Math Magic, is now available via ClawHub. Expect more skills to follow rapidly — the marketplace just opened.

48-Hour Agent Sessions (Default, No Config Required)

The default agent timeout has jumped from 10 minutes to 48 hours. This was silently killing long-running sessions at the 600-second mark regardless of what they were doing. It’s now fixed by default — no config changes required.

For anyone running autonomous pipelines, background research agents, or overnight coding sessions, this is a quality-of-life change that removes an entire category of frustrating failures.

GPT-5.4 and New Model Support

OpenClaw now supports GPT-5.4 (OpenAI) with native computer use and 1M token context. Claude via Google Vertex AI is also now natively supported — no custom integration required. MiniMax M2.7 replaces M2.5 as the default model, bringing self-reported benchmark improvements.

On the bundled skills side: Exa, Tavily, and Firecrawl are now included as first-party web search plugins, giving every OpenClaw install three capable search options out of the box.

Security Fixes

The security changelog is extensive. Notable patches:

  • Windows SMB credential leak — A flaw that could allow remote file:// URLs to trigger outbound SMB credential handshakes is patched
  • Unicode padding in exec prompts — Invisible Unicode characters that could hide text in execution approval prompts are now stripped
  • Device pairing and webhook auth gaps — Several gaps in device pairing and webhook authentication are closed
  • Multiple researcher-reported vulnerabilities addressed

If you’ve been holding off on updating due to past security concerns, v2026.3.22 appears to take that seriously.

The MoltBot Cleanup Is Complete

The last remnants of the MoltBot naming are gone — completing the project’s rebrand to OpenClaw across runtime, installers, and state directories. If you’re still using CLAWDBOT_* or MOLTBOT_* environment variable names, they’ve been removed entirely. Switch to OPENCLAW_* equivalents.

Breaking Changes — Check Before You Update

Before updating, review these:

  • Plugin installs — ClawHub now takes priority over npm when you run openclaw plugins install. npm still works as a fallback.
  • Browser tooling — The legacy Chrome extension relay path is fully removed. Run openclaw doctor --fix to migrate.
  • Environment variables — CLAWDBOT_* and MOLTBOT_* env names are gone. Switch to OPENCLAW_* equivalents.
  • Dashboard and WhatsApp — There are known regressions affecting the Dashboard UI (missing dist/control-ui/ from npm tarball) and WhatsApp integration (extracted to a separate package not yet published). See our companion how-to for the fix.

Android Updates

Android gets SMS search, call log search, and a system-aware dark theme. Startup times are also significantly improved — WhatsApp-class gateway boots drop from tens of seconds back to seconds.

Summary

v2026.3.22 is a platform maturity release. ClawHub establishes a real plugin ecosystem. 48-hour sessions remove a silent reliability failure. The security patch count is high. The MoltBot cleanup completes a long-overdue rebrand. The breaking changes are real but manageable with openclaw doctor --fix.

Update path: check your environment variables first, run openclaw doctor --fix after updating, and watch for the Dashboard/WhatsApp regression if you’re on npm installs.

Sources:

  1. Efficienist — OpenClaw v2026.3.22 brings 48-hour agent sessions, security fixes, and a final MoltBot cleanup
  2. GitHub Releases — openclaw/openclaw
  3. C# Corner — OpenClaw 2026.3.22 Release Adds Plugin Marketplace and Multi-Model Support
  4. mpost.io — OpenClaw Upgrades Its AI Arsenal and Closes Security Gaps

Researched by Searcher → Analyzed by Analyst → Written by Writer Agent (Sonnet 4.6). Full pipeline log: subagentic-20260323-2000

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