Fix "Message Ordering Conflict"
Add preferredRoleType: "user" to your provider config, or switch to a compatible model.
Your Telegram bot shows "Message ordering conflict — please try again" and eventually goes completely dead. The real cause? Your LLM provider rejected an unsupported developer role in the prompt — not a message sync issue.
- 1.
openclaw config set models.providers.<provider>.models.compat '{"supportsDeveloperRole": false}' --json - 2.
openclaw gateway restart - 3. In Telegram:
/newto start a fresh session
Next Step
Fix now, then reduce repeat incidents
If this issue keeps coming back, validate your setup in Doctor first, then harden your config.
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What You See
The error appears in stages:
Intermittent Errors
Bot still responds sometimes, but fails on many messages.
System Dead
The bot goes completely silent. No responses to any messages. The Gateway service may have crashed or the Scheduled Task reports Last Result: 1.
Wipe & Repeat
Deleting the .openclaw folder "fixes" it temporarily, but the error returns after a few days. You lose all chat history and memory each time.
Why It Happens
The error chain works like this:
Auto-Detection
OpenClaw detects your model supports "reasoning" (reasoning: true) and switches the system prompt role from system to developer.
API Rejection
Your LLM provider (e.g., Moonshot/Kimi) does NOT support the developer role. The API returns: 400 invalid request: unsupported role ROLE_UNSPECIFIED
Error Masking
OpenClaw's error handler sees a "role" error and translates it into the friendly "Message ordering conflict" message — hiding the real cause.
Cascade Failure
Every message triggers the same rejection. The session becomes permanently broken. Eventually the Gateway crashes.
400 invalid request: unsupported role ROLE_UNSPECIFIED
The Fix
Tell OpenClaw to not use the developer role for your model's provider:
One Command Fix
# Replace "moonshot" with your provider name
openclaw config set models.providers.moonshot.models.compat \
'{"supportsDeveloperRole": false}' --json
openclaw gateway restartAlternatively, you can disable reasoning detection entirely for the model:
openclaw config set models.providers.moonshot.models.compat \
'{"reasoning": false}' --jsonYou Do NOT Need to Wipe .openclaw
The config fix resolves the issue permanently. No need to delete your folder and lose chat history. If you already have a broken session, use /new in Telegram to start a fresh one.
How to Find the Real Error
The "Message ordering conflict" message hides the actual API error. Here's how to dig it out:
Method 1: Session Transcript (Most Reliable)
# Windows dir "%USERPROFILE%\.openclaw\agents\main\sessions\*.jsonl" # macOS / Linux ls ~/.openclaw/agents/main/sessions/*.jsonl
Open the most recent .jsonl file and search for 400 or error. The raw provider response will show the real rejection reason.
Method 2: Enable Raw Logging
$dir = "$env:TEMP\openclaw-debug" New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $dir | Out-Null $env:OPENCLAW_RAW_STREAM=1 $env:OPENCLAW_RAW_STREAM_PATH="$dir\raw-stream.jsonl" openclaw gateway run --verbose
Method 3: Gateway Logs
# Filter for the actual API error openclaw logs --tail 200 | grep -i "400\|role\|ordering\|unspecified"
Known UX Flaw
OpenClaw sanitizes error messages too aggressively, hiding vital debugging info. The community has recommended appending "Check logs: openclaw logs" to error messages in future versions.
Affected Models
This issue affects any model/provider where OpenClaw auto-detects reasoning: true but the API doesn't support the developer role:
| Provider / Model | Developer Role | Fix Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Moonshot / Kimi-k2.5 | Not supported | supportsDeveloperRole: false |
| Custom OpenAI-compat proxies | Varies | supportsDeveloperRole: false |
| OpenAI (GPT-4o, o1, o3) | Supported | No fix needed |
| Anthropic (Claude) | Supported | No fix needed |
| Ollama (local models) | Model-dependent | Test per model |
Telegram Recovery Steps
If your Telegram bot is completely dead, follow this sequence:
# Step 1: Apply the config fix
openclaw config set models.providers.moonshot.models.compat \
'{"supportsDeveloperRole": false}' --json
# Step 2: Run deep diagnostics
openclaw doctor --deep
# Step 3: Restart the Gateway
openclaw gateway restart
# Step 4: In Telegram, start a fresh session
/newBackup Before Any Drastic Action
Instead of deleting .openclaw, back it up first:
# Windows PowerShell Compress-Archive -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\*" ` -DestinationPath "$env:USERPROFILE\openclaw-backup.zip" -Force
Common Red Herring: "Anthropic API Key Missing"
You might see errors about a missing Anthropic API key in your logs even though you're using Moonshot/Kimi. This is unrelated — it comes from the session-memory hook trying to generate a session name using a fallback model. It does not cause the message ordering error.
Still Stuck?
Run our diagnostic tool to catch issues automatically:
npx clawkit-doctor@latest
Seeing Other Errors Too?
Message ordering issues often come with these related problems:
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