What broke in OpenClaw v2026.4.5?

Five major regressions: CPU saturation from 87+ worker processes each loading all plugins, npm install breaking CLI with missing deps, 10 gateway restarts in 8 hours, gpt-5.1-codex-mini model failures, and agent crashes on message send. Memory also grew to 1.5GB within hours.

How to fix OpenClaw v2026.4.5 CPU saturation?

The workaround is to roll back to v2026.4.2. The root cause is that every worker child process independently loads and registers all plugins instead of inheriting from the gateway process. A fix should gate plugin registration to the gateway process only.

Should I upgrade to OpenClaw v2026.4.5?

Given 5+ regressions filed within 48 hours of release (CPU saturation, npm breakage, gateway instability, model failures, agent crashes), waiting for a patch release is advisable. Rolling back to v2026.4.2 resolves most issues.

How to downgrade from OpenClaw v2026.4.5?

Roll back to v2026.4.2 using your package manager. Multiple users confirmed that rolling back to v2026.4.2 immediately resolves the CPU saturation, model inference failures, and gateway instability issues.

Why does OpenClaw v2026.4.5 use so much CPU?

A bug causes every worker child process (openclaw, openclaw-cron, openclaw-approvals) to independently register all plugins. On a Mac Mini with 8-10 cores, the gateway spawns 87+ child processes each consuming 20-50% CPU, saturating all cores.

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clawsmith.com/signal/openclaw-v2026-4-5-five-regressions-cpu-npm-gateway

⚠ IssueUnknownOpenClaw CoreLive

OpenClaw v2026.4.5 triggers 5+ regressions: CPU saturation, npm breakage, gateway crashes, model failures

OpenClaw v2026.4.5 (April 6, 2026) shipped with multiple critical regressions. 87+ worker processes each load all plugins saturating CPU. npm install breaks CLI with missing deps. Gateway restarts 10 times in 8 hours. gpt-5.1-codex-mini fails until rollback. Agent crashes on message send. Memory grows to 1.5GB within hours. 5 separate GitHub issues filed within 48 hours of release.

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