fix: resolve channel-config overwrite bug by implementing reentrant config mutex (#462)

electron/utils/agent-config.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { access, copyFile, mkdir, readdir, rm } from 'fs/promises';
 import { constants } from 'fs';
 import { join, normalize } from 'path';
 import { deleteAgentChannelAccounts, listConfiguredChannels, readOpenClawConfig, writeOpenClawConfig } from './channel-config';
+import { withConfigLock } from './config-mutex';
 import { expandPath, getOpenClawConfigDir } from './paths';
 import * as logger from './logger';
 
@@ -501,6 +502,7 @@ export async function listConfiguredAgentIds(): Promise<string[]> {
 }
 
 export async function createAgent(name: string): Promise<AgentsSnapshot> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawConfig() as AgentConfigDocument;
     const { agentsConfig, entries, syntheticMain } = normalizeAgentsConfig(config);
     const normalizedName = normalizeAgentName(name);
@@ -536,9 +538,11 @@ export async function createAgent(name: string): Promise<AgentsSnapshot> {
     await writeOpenClawConfig(config);
     logger.info('Created agent config entry', { agentId: nextId });
     return buildSnapshotFromConfig(config);
+  });
 }
 
 export async function updateAgentName(agentId: string, name: string): Promise<AgentsSnapshot> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawConfig() as AgentConfigDocument;
     const { agentsConfig, entries } = normalizeAgentsConfig(config);
     const normalizedName = normalizeAgentName(name);
@@ -560,9 +564,11 @@ export async function updateAgentName(agentId: string, name: string): Promise<Ag
     await writeOpenClawConfig(config);
     logger.info('Updated agent name', { agentId, name: normalizedName });
     return buildSnapshotFromConfig(config);
+  });
 }
 
 export async function deleteAgentConfig(agentId: string): Promise<AgentsSnapshot> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     if (agentId === MAIN_AGENT_ID) {
       throw new Error('The main agent cannot be deleted');
     }
@@ -596,9 +602,11 @@ export async function deleteAgentConfig(agentId: string): Promise<AgentsSnapshot
     await removeAgentWorkspaceDirectory(removedEntry);
     logger.info('Deleted agent config entry', { agentId });
     return buildSnapshotFromConfig(config);
+  });
 }
 
 export async function assignChannelToAgent(agentId: string, channelType: string): Promise<AgentsSnapshot> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawConfig() as AgentConfigDocument;
     const { entries } = normalizeAgentsConfig(config);
     if (!entries.some((entry) => entry.id === agentId)) {
@@ -610,17 +618,21 @@ export async function assignChannelToAgent(agentId: string, channelType: string)
     await writeOpenClawConfig(config);
     logger.info('Assigned channel to agent', { agentId, channelType, accountId });
     return buildSnapshotFromConfig(config);
+  });
 }
 
 export async function clearChannelBinding(channelType: string, accountId?: string): Promise<AgentsSnapshot> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawConfig() as AgentConfigDocument;
     config.bindings = upsertBindingsForChannel(config.bindings, channelType, null, accountId);
     await writeOpenClawConfig(config);
     logger.info('Cleared channel binding', { channelType, accountId });
     return buildSnapshotFromConfig(config);
+  });
 }
 
 export async function clearAllBindingsForChannel(channelType: string): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawConfig() as AgentConfigDocument;
     if (!Array.isArray(config.bindings)) return;
 
@@ -632,4 +644,5 @@ export async function clearAllBindingsForChannel(channelType: string): Promise<v
     config.bindings = nextBindings.length > 0 ? nextBindings : undefined;
     await writeOpenClawConfig(config);
     logger.info('Cleared all bindings for channel', { channelType });
+  });
 }

electron/utils/channel-config.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { homedir } from 'os';
 import { getOpenClawResolvedDir } from './paths';
 import * as logger from './logger';
 import { proxyAwareFetch } from './proxy-fetch';
+import { withConfigLock } from './config-mutex';
 
 const OPENCLAW_DIR = join(homedir(), '.openclaw');
 const CONFIG_FILE = join(OPENCLAW_DIR, 'openclaw.json');
@@ -317,6 +318,7 @@ export async function saveChannelConfig(
     config: ChannelConfigData,
     accountId?: string,
 ): Promise<void> {
+    return withConfigLock(async () => {
         const currentConfig = await readOpenClawConfig();
         const resolvedAccountId = accountId || DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID;
 
@@ -391,6 +393,7 @@ export async function saveChannelConfig(
             transformedKeys: Object.keys(transformedConfig),
         });
         console.log(`Saved channel config for ${channelType} account ${resolvedAccountId}`);
+    });
 }
 
 export async function getChannelConfig(channelType: string, accountId?: string): Promise<ChannelConfigData | undefined> {
@@ -463,6 +466,7 @@ export async function getChannelFormValues(channelType: string, accountId?: stri
 }
 
 export async function deleteChannelAccountConfig(channelType: string, accountId: string): Promise<void> {
+    return withConfigLock(async () => {
         const currentConfig = await readOpenClawConfig();
         const channelSection = currentConfig.channels?.[channelType];
         if (!channelSection) return;
@@ -480,9 +484,11 @@ export async function deleteChannelAccountConfig(channelType: string, accountId:
         await writeOpenClawConfig(currentConfig);
         logger.info('Deleted channel account config', { channelType, accountId });
         console.log(`Deleted channel account config for ${channelType}/${accountId}`);
+    });
 }
 
 export async function deleteChannelConfig(channelType: string): Promise<void> {
+    return withConfigLock(async () => {
         const currentConfig = await readOpenClawConfig();
 
         if (currentConfig.channels?.[channelType]) {
@@ -514,6 +520,7 @@ export async function deleteChannelConfig(channelType: string): Promise<void> {
                 console.error('Failed to delete WhatsApp credentials:', error);
             }
         }
+    });
 }
 
 function channelHasAnyAccount(channelSection: ChannelConfigData): boolean {
@@ -564,6 +571,7 @@ export async function listConfiguredChannels(): Promise<string[]> {
 }
 
 export async function deleteAgentChannelAccounts(agentId: string): Promise<void> {
+    return withConfigLock(async () => {
         const currentConfig = await readOpenClawConfig();
         if (!currentConfig.channels) return;
 
@@ -587,9 +595,11 @@ export async function deleteAgentChannelAccounts(agentId: string): Promise<void>
             await writeOpenClawConfig(currentConfig);
             logger.info('Deleted all channel accounts for agent', { agentId, accountId });
         }
+    });
 }
 
 export async function setChannelEnabled(channelType: string, enabled: boolean): Promise<void> {
+    return withConfigLock(async () => {
         const currentConfig = await readOpenClawConfig();
 
         if (PLUGIN_CHANNELS.includes(channelType)) {
@@ -607,6 +617,7 @@ export async function setChannelEnabled(channelType: string, enabled: boolean):
         currentConfig.channels[channelType].enabled = enabled;
         await writeOpenClawConfig(currentConfig);
         console.log(`Set channel ${channelType} enabled: ${enabled}`);
+    });
 }
 
 // ── Validation ───────────────────────────────────────────────────

electron/utils/config-mutex.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/**
+ * Async mutex for serializing read-modify-write operations on
+ * ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
+ *
+ * Multiple code paths (channel-config, openclaw-auth, openclaw-proxy,
+ * skill-config, agent-config) perform async read → modify → write against
+ * the same JSON file.  Without coordination, Node's event-loop can
+ * interleave two I/O sequences so that the second writer reads stale data
+ * and overwrites the first writer's changes (classic TOCTOU race).
+ *
+ * The mutex is **reentrant**: if a function already holding the lock calls
+ * another function that also calls `withConfigLock`, the inner call will
+ * pass through without blocking.  This prevents deadlocks when e.g.
+ * `deleteAgentConfig` (locked) calls `deleteAgentChannelAccounts` (also locked).
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   import { withConfigLock } from './config-mutex';
+ *
+ *   await withConfigLock(async () => {
+ *       const cfg = await readConfig();
+ *       cfg.foo = 'bar';
+ *       await writeConfig(cfg);
+ *   });
+ */
+
+import { AsyncLocalStorage } from 'async_hooks';
+
+/** Tracks whether the current async context already holds the config lock. */
+const lockContext = new AsyncLocalStorage<boolean>();
+
+class ConfigMutex {
+    private queue: Array<() => void> = [];
+    private locked = false;
+
+    async acquire(): Promise<() => void> {
+        if (!this.locked) {
+            this.locked = true;
+            return this.createRelease();
+        }
+        return new Promise<() => void>((resolve) => {
+            this.queue.push(() => resolve(this.createRelease()));
+        });
+    }
+
+    private createRelease(): () => void {
+        let released = false;
+        return () => {
+            if (released) return;
+            released = true;
+            const next = this.queue.shift();
+            if (next) {
+                next();
+            } else {
+                this.locked = false;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+}
+
+/** Singleton mutex shared across all openclaw.json writers. */
+const configMutex = new ConfigMutex();
+
+/**
+ * Execute `fn` while holding the config mutex.
+ * Ensures only one read-modify-write cycle on openclaw.json runs at a time.
+ *
+ * **Reentrant**: if the current async context already holds the lock
+ * (i.e. an outer `withConfigLock` is on the call stack), `fn` runs
+ * immediately without re-acquiring the lock.
+ */
+export async function withConfigLock<T>(fn: () => Promise<T>): Promise<T> {
+    // If we're already inside a withConfigLock call, skip re-acquiring
+    if (lockContext.getStore()) {
+        return fn();
+    }
+
+    const release = await configMutex.acquire();
+    try {
+        return await lockContext.run(true, fn);
+    } finally {
+        release();
+    }
+}

electron/utils/openclaw-auth.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   isOAuthProviderType,
   isOpenClawOAuthPluginProviderKey,
 } from './provider-keys';
+import { withConfigLock } from './config-mutex';
 
 const AUTH_STORE_VERSION = 1;
 const AUTH_PROFILE_FILENAME = 'auth-profiles.json';
@@ -348,6 +349,7 @@ export async function removeProviderFromOpenClaw(provider: string): Promise<void
 
   // 3. Remove from openclaw.json
   try {
+    await withConfigLock(async () => {
       const config = await readOpenClawJson();
       let modified = false;
 
@@ -373,6 +375,7 @@ export async function removeProviderFromOpenClaw(provider: string): Promise<void
       if (modified) {
         await writeOpenClawJson(config);
       }
+    });
   } catch (err) {
     console.warn(`Failed to remove provider ${provider} from openclaw.json:`, err);
   }
@@ -402,6 +405,7 @@ export async function setOpenClawDefaultModel(
   modelOverride?: string,
   fallbackModels: string[] = []
 ): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawJson();
     ensureMoonshotKimiWebSearchCnBaseUrl(config, provider);
 
@@ -456,6 +460,7 @@ export async function setOpenClawDefaultModel(
 
     await writeOpenClawJson(config);
     console.log(`Set OpenClaw default model to "${model}" for provider "${provider}"`);
+  });
 }
 
 interface RuntimeProviderConfigOverride {
@@ -594,6 +599,7 @@ export async function syncProviderConfigToOpenClaw(
   modelId: string | undefined,
   override: RuntimeProviderConfigOverride
 ): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawJson();
     ensureMoonshotKimiWebSearchCnBaseUrl(config, provider);
 
@@ -623,6 +629,7 @@ export async function syncProviderConfigToOpenClaw(
     }
 
     await writeOpenClawJson(config);
+  });
 }
 
 /**
@@ -634,6 +641,7 @@ export async function setOpenClawDefaultModelWithOverride(
   override: RuntimeProviderConfigOverride,
   fallbackModels: string[] = []
 ): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawJson();
     ensureMoonshotKimiWebSearchCnBaseUrl(config, provider);
 
@@ -689,6 +697,7 @@ export async function setOpenClawDefaultModelWithOverride(
     console.log(
       `Set OpenClaw default model to "${model}" for provider "${provider}" (runtime override)`
     );
+  });
 }
 
 /**
@@ -729,6 +738,7 @@ export async function getActiveOpenClawProviders(): Promise<Set<string>> {
  * Write the ClawX gateway token into ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
  */
 export async function syncGatewayTokenToConfig(token: string): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawJson();
 
     const gateway = (
@@ -767,12 +777,14 @@ export async function syncGatewayTokenToConfig(token: string): Promise<void> {
 
     await writeOpenClawJson(config);
     console.log('Synced gateway token to openclaw.json');
+  });
 }
 
 /**
  * Ensure browser automation is enabled in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
  */
 export async function syncBrowserConfigToOpenClaw(): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawJson();
 
     const browser = (
@@ -798,6 +810,7 @@ export async function syncBrowserConfigToOpenClaw(): Promise<void> {
     config.browser = browser;
     await writeOpenClawJson(config);
     console.log('Synced browser config to openclaw.json');
+  });
 }
 
 /**
@@ -879,6 +892,7 @@ export async function updateAgentModelProvider(
  * (`runOpenClawDoctorRepair`) runs `openclaw doctor --fix` as a fallback.
  */
 export async function sanitizeOpenClawConfig(): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawJson();
     let modified = false;
 
@@ -1048,6 +1062,7 @@ export async function sanitizeOpenClawConfig(): Promise<void> {
       await writeOpenClawJson(config);
       console.log('[sanitize] openclaw.json sanitized successfully');
     }
+  });
 }
 
 export { getProviderEnvVar } from './provider-registry';

electron/utils/openclaw-proxy.ts

@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
 import { readOpenClawConfig, writeOpenClawConfig } from './channel-config';
 import { resolveProxySettings, type ProxySettings } from './proxy';
 import { logger } from './logger';
+import { withConfigLock } from './config-mutex';
 
 /**
  * Sync ClawX global proxy settings into OpenClaw channel config where the
  * upstream runtime expects an explicit per-channel proxy knob.
  */
 export async function syncProxyConfigToOpenClaw(settings: ProxySettings): Promise<void> {
+  return withConfigLock(async () => {
     const config = await readOpenClawConfig();
     const telegramConfig = config.channels?.telegram;
 
@@ -40,4 +42,5 @@ export async function syncProxyConfigToOpenClaw(settings: ProxySettings): Promis
 
     await writeOpenClawConfig(config);
     logger.info(`Synced Telegram proxy to OpenClaw config (${nextProxy || 'disabled'})`);
+  });
 }

electron/utils/skill-config.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { join } from 'path';
 import { homedir } from 'os';
 import { getOpenClawDir, getResourcesDir } from './paths';
 import { logger } from './logger';
+import { withConfigLock } from './config-mutex';
 
 const OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH = join(homedir(), '.openclaw', 'openclaw.json');
 
@@ -87,6 +88,7 @@ async function setSkillsEnabled(skillKeys: string[], enabled: boolean): Promise<
     if (skillKeys.length === 0) {
         return;
     }
+    return withConfigLock(async () => {
         const config = await readConfig();
         if (!config.skills) {
             config.skills = {};
@@ -100,6 +102,7 @@ async function setSkillsEnabled(skillKeys: string[], enabled: boolean): Promise<
             config.skills.entries[skillKey] = entry;
         }
         await writeConfig(config);
+    });
 }
 
 /**
@@ -118,6 +121,7 @@ export async function updateSkillConfig(
     updates: { apiKey?: string; env?: Record<string, string> }
 ): Promise<{ success: boolean; error?: string }> {
     try {
+        return await withConfigLock(async () => {
             const config = await readConfig();
 
             // Ensure skills.entries exists
@@ -167,6 +171,7 @@ export async function updateSkillConfig(
 
             await writeConfig(config);
             return { success: true };
+        });
     } catch (err) {
         console.error('Failed to update skill config:', err);
         return { success: false, error: String(err) };

src/components/channels/ChannelConfigModal.tsx

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import { Card, CardContent, CardDescription, CardHeader, CardTitle } from '@/com
 import { Separator } from '@/components/ui/separator';
 import { Badge } from '@/components/ui/badge';
 import { useChannelsStore } from '@/stores/channels';
-import { useGatewayStore } from '@/stores/gateway';
+
 import { hostApiFetch } from '@/lib/host-api';
 import { subscribeHostEvent } from '@/lib/host-events';
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ export function ChannelConfigModal({
       setValidationResult(null);
       setQrCode(null);
       setConnecting(false);
-      hostApiFetch('/api/channels/whatsapp/cancel', { method: 'POST' }).catch(() => {});
+      hostApiFetch('/api/channels/whatsapp/cancel', { method: 'POST' }).catch(() => { });
       return;
     }
 
@@ -193,7 +193,10 @@ export function ChannelConfigModal({
         }
 
         await finishSave('whatsapp');
-        useGatewayStore.getState().restart().catch(console.error);
+        // Gateway restart is already triggered by scheduleGatewayChannelRestart
+        // in the POST /api/channels/config route handler (debounced).  Calling
+        // restart() here directly races with that debounced restart and the
+        // config write, which can cause openclaw.json overwrites.
         onClose();
       } catch (error) {
         toast.error(t('toast.configFailed', { error: String(error) }));
@@ -216,7 +219,7 @@ export function ChannelConfigModal({
       removeQrListener();
       removeSuccessListener();
       removeErrorListener();
-      hostApiFetch('/api/channels/whatsapp/cancel', { method: 'POST' }).catch(() => {});
+      hostApiFetch('/api/channels/whatsapp/cancel', { method: 'POST' }).catch(() => { });
     };
   }, [selectedType, finishSave, onClose, t]);