OpenClaw `doctor --fix` vs `--repair`: Safe Recovery Guide (2026, With Rollback Mindset)

March 7, 2026

When OpenClaw breaks, many users jump straight to:

openclaw doctor --fix --force

That can recover a broken service — but --force may also overwrite custom service config.

This guide focuses on one goal: recover safely first, escalate only when necessary.

Command semantics in this article are verifiable from local CLI help output (openclaw doctor --help, OpenClaw 2026.3.3).

One-line takeaway

--fix and --repair are equivalent (--fix is an alias)
--repair is the default safe recovery path
--force is for confirmed, last-mile service repair only

1) Confirm flag semantics in 30 seconds

openclaw doctor --help

You should see these key lines:

--fix: Apply recommended repairs (alias for —repair)
--repair: Apply recommended repairs without prompting
--force: Apply aggressive repairs (overwrites custom service config)

This is the decision boundary for whether you should use --force.

2) Safe recovery flow (copy/paste)

Step 1: Capture baseline evidence first

openclaw status --all
openclaw gateway status --deep
openclaw logs --follow

Save key error lines before changing anything.

Step 2: Start with conservative repair

openclaw doctor --repair

For non-interactive environments (CI/remote automation):

openclaw doctor --repair --non-interactive --yes

Step 3: Re-validate service + channel health

openclaw gateway status --deep
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw status --deep --timeout 10000

Decision:

Gateway healthy + target channel probe passes: stop here
Still broken: proceed to Step 4 only if justified

Step 4: Use `--force` only when overwrite-level repair is justified

openclaw doctor --repair --force

Before running this, confirm:

you understand overwrite risk
you have a rollback path (service/config snapshot)

3) FAQ

Q1: Is `--fix` stronger than `--repair`?

No. --fix is an alias for --repair.

Q2: Should I include `--force` by default?

No. Use conservative repair first; escalate only when repeated failures indicate service-level config corruption or mismatch.

Q3: How do I know the issue is channel/model layer, not doctor-level?

Channel path: openclaw channels status --probe
Model/API path: openclaw logs --follow (timeouts, quota, auth errors)

4) Verifiable done checklist

openclaw doctor --help confirms --fix = --repair
openclaw doctor --repair completed before any --force
openclaw gateway status --deep reports healthy runtime
openclaw channels status --probe passes for target channel
openclaw logs --follow shows a full inbound → response path for a test message

5) Shareable minimum debug pack

openclaw doctor --help
openclaw doctor --repair --non-interactive --yes
openclaw gateway status --deep
openclaw channels status --probe --json
openclaw status --all

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