Gateway Auto-Rollback

Three-layer configuration protection for OpenClaw Gateway — never break your config again.

What It Does

Automatically protects your OpenClaw configuration files with:

1. Pre-modification backup — SHA256 content-addressed snapshots before any change
2. Post-modification validation — JSON syntax check + Gateway health probe
3. Automatic rollback — instant restore if validation fails

When to Use

• Before modifying openclaw.json, exec-approvals.json, or skills.json
• When running automated config changes (cron jobs, scripts)
• As a background safety net during development
• When you want peace of mind that a bad config won't take down your agent

Quick Start

One-shot check (before manual edits)

python3 gateway-auto-rollback.py

This initializes the backup directory, validates current config, and logs status.

Watch mode (background daemon)

python3 gateway-auto-rollback.py --watch &

Monitors critical config files every 3 minutes. Auto-exits after 3 consecutive healthy checks (config is stable).

How It Works

Before Modification        During              After Modification
       ↓                    ↓                        ↓
  Backup + Hash  ───→  Execute Change  ───→  JSON Validate + Health Check
       │                                          │
       └──────────────────────────────────────→ Auto-rollback on failure

Protected Files

Backup Naming

Backups are stored in ~/.openclaw/backup/ with content-addressed names:

openclaw.json.20260301_053612.a1b2c3d4.bak
                 ↑ timestamp    ↑ SHA256 prefix (dedup)

API Reference

Python Functions

from gateway_auto_rollback import (
    pre_modification_check,   # Call before modifying config
    post_modification_verify, # Call after modifying config
    create_backup,            # Manual backup creation
    validate_json,            # JSON syntax validation
    check_gateway_health,     # Gateway health probe
    rollback_to_backup,       # Manual rollback
    watch_config_files,       # Start watch daemon
)

Pre-modification flow

from pathlib import Path

config = Path.home() / ".openclaw" / "openclaw.json"

# Returns backup path on success, False on failure
backup = pre_modification_check(config)

# ... make your changes ...

# Validates and auto-rolls back if needed
success = post_modification_verify(config, backup)

Watch mode details