Why does OpenClaw return blank responses with OpenRouter?

A regression in v2026.4.14-4.15 causes OpenClaw to fail parsing OpenRouter API responses. The API returns valid data but OpenClaw shows stopReason=stop payloads=0, producing empty output across all interfaces.

Which OpenClaw versions are affected by the OpenRouter blank response bug?

Versions 2026.4.14 and 2026.4.15 are confirmed affected. The bug was reported across multiple GitHub issues starting April 15, 2026.

How to fix OpenRouter payloads=0 error in OpenClaw?

Verify your OpenRouter API key works with a direct curl test. If the API works but OpenClaw returns empty, the issue is in OpenClaw response parsing. Check GitHub issues #68261 and #69350 for the latest workarounds.

Does the OpenRouter blank response bug affect all models?

Yes, the bug affects multiple OpenRouter models including Gemini 2.5 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Gemma 4 variants. The issue is in OpenClaw response handling, not model-specific.

Is OpenRouter broken or is OpenClaw broken?

OpenClaw is broken. Direct OpenRouter API calls succeed and return valid content. The bug is in OpenClaw response extraction logic that fails to parse payloads from OpenRouter streaming responses.

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clawsmith.com/signal/openclaw-openrouter-blank-responses-payloads-0-regression

⚠ IssueWide OpenLive

OpenRouter Models Return Blank Responses Across All Interfaces After v2026.4.14

Widespread regression where OpenRouter model runs return blank responses with stopReason=stop payloads=0 across Telegram, CLI, TUI, and dashboard. Direct OpenRouter API calls succeed, confirming the bug is in OpenClaw response parsing. Six or more duplicate GitHub issues filed from different users across v2026.4.14 and v2026.4.15.

Product Idea from this Signal

A runtime watchdog that isolates OpenClaw plugins into monitored worker threads and kills any plugin that blocks the gateway event loop for more than 5 seconds

OpenClaw plugins (especially Active Memory, Dreaming, and provider bridges) run in the same Node.js event loop as the gateway. When one plugin blocks, it starves everything: Telegram polling stops receiving messages, API responses go blank, and conversations fail silently. Seven bug reports in April 2026 alone document cascade failures from a single plugin blocking the loop. This watchdog spawns each plugin in its own worker thread with a heartbeat monitor, kills and restarts any plugin that exceeds the event loop latency threshold, and logs the exact stack trace that caused the block.

CLIOPEN-SOURCEDEVTOOLRUNTIMENODE.JS

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