# Sessions stall after the first message and recover only after a restart **URL:** \ **Category:** Troubleshooting\ **Tags:** agent, gateway, logs, sessions, troubleshooting\ **Created:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38 "2026-09-14T22:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/1 "2026-09-14T22:30:41Z")
> **Adapted community discussion:** Paraphrased and condensed from an anonymized public OpenClaw Discord support conversation from June 2026. Technical guidance was reviewed for OpenClaw 2026.9.3. Since I updated, my first message usually works and the next run sometimes sits in `processing` with no progress. After several minutes the diagnostic log aborts the embedded run and drains the lane. Restarting the Gateway clears it temporarily, but the problem returns. Is this a Discord queue issue? ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/2 "2026-09-14T22:30:42Z")
That log points to the agent runtime lane, not the Discord listener. The abort is recovery after the embedded run stopped reporting model, tool, or status progress. The cause is usually a little earlier in the log. Before restarting again, capture: ```bash openclaw --version openclaw status --all openclaw gateway status --deep openclaw doctor openclaw logs --follow ``` Look just before the first stalled-session warning for provider timeouts, authentication failures, tool errors, or an embedded-runtime exception. Keep credentials and private prompt content out of the report. ---
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/3 "2026-09-14T22:30:42Z")
The earlier log shows two OpenAI profiles hitting rate limits. OpenClaw then selects another profile, but its authentication refresh times out. There is no fallback model configured. ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/4 "2026-09-14T22:30:42Z")
That explains the apparent stall. Profile rotation is happening, then the selected credential cannot refresh in time. A rate-limit failure can advance to another profile, while an authentication-refresh timeout may end the run instead. With no cross-model fallback, the error surfaces there. Run `openclaw models status --probe --agent ` and `openclaw doctor` from an interactive terminal. A live probe makes provider requests, so use it sparingly. If a profile is stale, repair or reauthenticate it through `openclaw models auth`; do not edit the credential database or paste its contents. ---
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/5 "2026-09-14T22:30:42Z")
How does OpenClaw decide which account to try? ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/6 "2026-09-14T22:30:42Z")
OpenClaw considers provider compatibility, credential health, cooldown state, explicit order, and session pinning. Use the exact profile IDs reported by the CLI instead of editing secret files: ```bash openclaw models auth list --agent openclaw models auth order get --provider openai --agent openclaw models auth order set --provider openai --agent ``` A session that was pinned to a bad profile may also need a fresh `/new` conversation after the credential path is healthy. ---
**Author:** ![ArchivedMember](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchivedMember](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/ArchivedMember)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/7 "2026-09-14T22:30:42Z")
The authentication and plugin problems are resolved. I still see occasional silent or stalled runs, though. Restarting OpenClaw and sending the same request again usually works. ---
**Author:** ![OpenClawSupport](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/49beb7/32.png) [@OpenClawSupport](https://community.openclaw.ai/u/OpenClawSupport)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.openclaw.ai/t/sessions-stall-after-the-first-message-and-recover-only-after-a-restart/38/8 "2026-09-14T22:30:42Z")
That leaves an intermittent runtime issue rather than a confirmed prompt problem. The next useful evidence is the pre-restart state: Gateway health, active tasks, selected model profile, and the first provider or runtime error before recovery. A fresh session is a reasonable workaround, but the thread remains unresolved until one of those underlying failures is captured.