OpenClaw v2026.4.1 Introduces Background Task Board and Major Fixes

TLDR:

• New /tasks command brings chat-native background task board to current session
• WhatsApp now passes inbound message timestamps to AI context
• SearXNG provider plugin added for configurable web search
• MiniMax plugin auto-enables image generation without manual config
• Multiple critical fixes: gateway hanging, LINE runtime, session crashes

The Big Addition: /tasks Command

OpenClaw v2026.4.1 adds a chat-native background task board accessible via the new /tasks command. The feature works within the current session, displaying recent task details and agent-local fallback counts when no linked tasks are visible.

This addresses a real workflow gap: previously, tracking background task status required leaving the chat interface or checking external dashboards. Now, agents and users can monitor ongoing work without switching context.

WhatsApp Gets Smarter with Timestamps

A small but meaningful quality-of-life improvement: WhatsApp now passes inbound message timestamps directly to the AI model context. Previously, OpenClaw agents couldn’t see when WhatsApp messages were sent — only when they arrived at the gateway.

Why this matters: conversation context depends heavily on timing. “Let me check that” followed three hours later by “any update?” reads very differently than the same exchange happening in three minutes. Now the AI has the full picture.

New Web Search Option: SearXNG

The bundled provider catalog gains SearXNG support — a self-hostable metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple sources without relying on a single provider’s API. For organizations with data privacy requirements or custom search infrastructure, this adds deployment flexibility.

Configuration is adjustable, letting users point SearXNG at their own instances or trusted third-party deployments.

MiniMax Image Generation Auto-Enabled

MiniMax plugin capabilities now load automatically without manual plugin allowlisting. If you’re running MiniMax with API key authentication, image generation and other plugin-owned features activate on startup — no extra configuration steps required.

This removes friction for MiniMax users who want image generation but don’t want to dig into plugin documentation.

Other Notable Changes

• Amazon Bedrock Guardrails — The bundled Bedrock provider gains native Guardrails support, adding content safety filtering for AWS-hosted models.
• macOS Voice Wake — Voice Wake option for triggering Talk Mode on macOS, giving hands-free interaction a new activation method.
• Chat history configuration — Gateway webchat gains configurable text truncation via `gateway.webchat.chatHistoryMaxChars` and per-request `maxChars`, giving operators fine-grained control over conversation context storage.
• Per-job tool allowlists — Cron jobs can now specify dedicated tool permission sets via `openclaw cron –tools`, enabling more restrictive automation without broad tool access.

Critical Fixes

• Gateway hanging resolved — Task registry maintenance sweeps no longer stall the gateway event loop under synchronous SQLite pressure. Upgraded gateways stop hanging approximately a minute after startup.
• LINE runtime restored — LINE channels start correctly after global npm installs on systems that previously broke after the 2026.3.31 runtime externalization change.
• Exec approval consistency — Multiple fixes improve how allow-always and same-command trust persist across sessions, reducing false approval timeouts for trusted automation.
• Session crash prevention — Subagent completion and cleanup no longer crash the gateway when task registry writes fail, preventing corrupt or missing task rows from taking down the entire system.
• Anthropic thinking blocks — Thinking blocks and signatures now preserve correctly across replay, cache-control patching, and context pruning in Anthropic sessions.

Our Take

v2026.4.1 is a refinement release that tightens loose ends rather than adding headline features. The /tasks command is genuinely useful for anyone running background agents — it brings task visibility into the primary interface rather than requiring external tooling.

The WhatsApp timestamp fix is the kind of detail that improves AI conversation quality in measurable ways. Small change, meaningful impact.

The critical fixes — gateway hanging, LINE runtime, session crashes — suggest the team is paying down technical debt accumulated across recent feature additions. A stable gateway is the foundation everything else runs on, so these fixes matter more than flashy new features.

If you’re running OpenClaw, this release is recommended. The /tasks addition alone justifies the upgrade for power users, and the stability improvements benefit everyone.

Source:
– OpenClaw Releases on GitHub