fix(anthropic): enable Claude CLI session-expired history reseed

[bitloi]

Summary

• Problem: Claude CLI session_expired recovery could retry fresh without OpenClaw transcript history.
• Why it matters: users could see conversation amnesia after Claude CLI rotation even though OpenClaw transcript history was still available.
• What changed: enabled the existing bounded raw transcript reseed opt-in for the bundled Claude CLI backend.
• What did NOT change (scope boundary): native Claude resume, custom CLI backend defaults, and auth-boundary no-reseed protections.

Change Type

• Bug fix
• Feature
• Refactor required for the fix
• Docs
• Security hardening
• Chore/infra

Scope

• Gateway / orchestration
• Skills / tool execution
• Auth / tokens
• Memory / storage
• Integrations
• API / contracts
• UI / DX
• CI/CD / infra

Linked Issue/PR

• Closes Session context lost on Claude CLI rotation — conversation amnesia between messages #80905
• Related fix(cli-runner): add opt-in raw transcript reseed for invalidated CLI sessions #79764
• This PR fixes a bug or regression

Real behavior proof

• Behavior or issue addressed: Claude CLI session_expired fresh-session recovery can now use bounded OpenClaw transcript reseed because the bundled Claude backend opts into the existing reseed contract.
• Real environment tested: Local OpenClaw source checkout on Linux, branch fix/issue-80905-claude-cli-reseed, built from upstream/main abb4f96b81df4f91ab2b593d0aea2ebc9698e445.
• Exact steps or command run after this patch:
  • node scripts/run-node.mjs --help
  • CI=true corepack pnpm test:extension anthropic
  • CI=true corepack pnpm test extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
  • CI=true corepack pnpm test src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner.reliability.test.ts extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
  • CI=true corepack pnpm test extensions/anthropic
  • CI=true corepack pnpm check:changed
• Evidence after fix (terminal capture):

$ node scripts/run-node.mjs --help
[openclaw] Building TypeScript (dist is stale: missing_build_stamp - build stamp missing).
[openclaw] Building bundled plugin assets.
OpenClaw 2026.5.12-beta.1 (abb4f96) -- All your chats, one OpenClaw.
Usage: openclaw [options] [command]
Commands:
  agent                Run one agent turn via the Gateway
  gateway *            Run, inspect, and query the OpenClaw Gateway
  models *             List, scan, and set model providers
  sessions *           List stored conversation sessions

$ CI=true corepack pnpm test:extension anthropic
[test-extension] Running 6 test files for anthropic
Test Files  6 passed (6)
Tests       69 passed (69)

$ CI=true corepack pnpm test extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
Test Files  1 passed (1)
Tests       17 passed (17)

$ CI=true corepack pnpm test src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner.reliability.test.ts extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
Test Files  3 passed (3)
Tests       50 passed (50)
Test Files  1 passed (1)
Tests       17 passed (17)

$ CI=true corepack pnpm test extensions/anthropic
Test Files  6 passed (6)
Tests       69 passed (69)

$ CI=true corepack pnpm check:changed
runtime-sidecar-loaders: local runtime sidecar loaders look OK.
Import cycle check: 0 runtime value cycle(s).

• Observed result after fix: source-built OpenClaw starts locally, and the bundled Claude CLI backend now reports reseedFromRawTranscriptWhenUncompacted: true while preserving native resume args. The regression test failed before the fix with expected undefined to be true, then passed after the backend opt-in was added.
• What was not tested: live authenticated Claude CLI rotation. This environment does not have a claude binary installed (command -v claude returned exit code 1), so live provider rotation proof needs a Claude-authenticated environment or maintainer proof: override.
• Before evidence (optional but encouraged):

$ CI=true corepack pnpm test extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
FAIL extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts > normalizeClaudeBackendConfig > opts bundled Claude CLI into bounded raw transcript reseed without disabling native resume
AssertionError: expected undefined to be true

Root Cause

• Root cause: bundled Claude CLI had native resume configured but did not opt into the existing bounded raw transcript reseed contract, so session_expired fresh retries could be prepared without OpenClaw history.
• Missing detection / guardrail: no extension-level regression test asserted that the bundled Claude backend enabled the reseed contract while preserving native resume.
• Contributing context (if known): fix(cli-runner): add opt-in raw transcript reseed for invalidated CLI sessions #79764 added the generic opt-in reseed machinery, but left backend participation explicit and disabled by default.

Regression Test Plan

• Coverage level that should have caught this:
  • Unit test
  • Seam / integration test
  • End-to-end test
  • Existing coverage already sufficient
• Target test or file: extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
• Scenario the test should lock in: bundled Claude CLI opts into bounded raw transcript reseed without disabling native resume.
• Why this is the smallest reliable guardrail: the bug was a missing bundled-backend config opt-in; generic runner reseed behavior was already covered.
• Existing test that already covers this (if any): src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.test.ts, src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.test.ts, and src/agents/cli-runner.reliability.test.ts cover the safe reseed, session_expired, and preserved auth-boundary behavior.
• If no new test is added, why not: N/A.

User-visible / Behavior Changes

Claude CLI fresh-session recovery after safe invalidations can include bounded OpenClaw transcript history instead of retrying with only the current prompt.

Diagram

Before:
Claude resume -> session_expired -> fresh retry -> current prompt only

After:
Claude resume -> session_expired -> fresh retry -> bounded OpenClaw history + current prompt

Security Impact

• New permissions/capabilities? (No)
• Secrets/tokens handling changed? (No)
• New/changed network calls? (No)
• Command/tool execution surface changed? (No)
• Data access scope changed? (No)
• If any Yes, explain risk + mitigation: N/A.

Repro + Verification

Environment

• OS: Linux
• Runtime/container: local source checkout
• Model/provider: claude-cli backend config; no live Claude binary available in this environment
• Integration/channel (if any): Anthropic bundled CLI backend
• Relevant config (redacted): default bundled backend config

Steps

1. Add an extension-level regression assertion that buildAnthropicCliBackend().config.reseedFromRawTranscriptWhenUncompacted is true and native resume args remain present.
2. Run the regression before the fix and observe it fail with expected undefined to be true.
3. Enable reseedFromRawTranscriptWhenUncompacted: true in the bundled Claude backend config.
4. Run the targeted regression, issue acceptance tests, Anthropic extension tests, formatting check, and changed-file check.

Expected

• Bundled Claude CLI opts into bounded raw transcript reseed.
• Native Claude resume remains configured with sessionMode: "always" and --resume {sessionId}.
• Existing raw-reseed safety behavior remains governed by generic CLI runner/session-history tests.

Actual

• All targeted tests and checks passed after the one-field backend config fix.

Evidence

• Failing test/log before + passing after
• Trace/log snippets
• Screenshot/recording
• Perf numbers (if relevant)

Human Verification

What you personally verified (not just CI), and how:

• Verified scenarios: new regression failed before and passed after; Anthropic extension lane passed; issue acceptance test slice passed; local OpenClaw CLI built and printed help from this checkout.
• Edge cases checked: native resume args are preserved; generic tests cover safe invalidation reasons and auth-boundary no-reseed behavior.
• What you did not verify: live authenticated Claude CLI rotation or an actual provider-side session_expired event in a Claude-authenticated runtime.

Review Conversations

• I replied to or resolved every bot review conversation I addressed in this PR.
• I left unresolved only the conversations that still need reviewer or maintainer judgment.

If a bot review conversation is addressed by this PR, resolve that conversation yourself. Do not leave bot review conversation cleanup for maintainers.

Compatibility / Migration

• Backward compatible? (Yes)
• Config/env changes? (No)
• Migration needed? (No)
• If yes, exact upgrade steps: N/A.

Risks and Mitigations

• Risk: live Claude rotation was not reproduced locally because the environment lacks the claude binary.
  • Mitigation: the patch uses existing bounded reseed machinery, adds a regression for the exact bundled-backend opt-in, and runs the issue's requested acceptance tests. Maintainers can either apply proof: override or rerun the same branch in a Claude-authenticated environment for live proof.
• Risk: raw transcript reseed could be too broad.
  • Mitigation: this PR only opts the bundled Claude backend into the existing bounded contract; generic session-history tests preserve auth-profile and credential-epoch no-reseed protections.

[clawsweeper]

Codex review: needs real behavior proof before merge.

Summary
The PR adds reseedFromRawTranscriptWhenUncompacted: true to the bundled Anthropic Claude CLI backend and adds a focused regression asserting native resume args remain configured.

Reproducibility: yes. from source: current main's Anthropic backend lacks the opt-in while prepareCliRunContext() only prepares raw transcript reseed for session-expired recovery when that boolean is true. I did not reproduce a live authenticated Claude CLI rotation.

Real behavior proof
Needs stronger real behavior proof before merge: The PR body includes terminal output for tests and CLI help, but not live or redacted runtime output showing Claude CLI session-expired recovery preserving history after the fix; the contributor should add logs/output/recording or get maintainer proof override, then update the PR body for re-review.

Next step before merge
The remaining blocker is contributor live proof or maintainer proof override, not a narrow code defect that ClawSweeper can repair automatically.

Security
Cleared: Cleared: the diff does not add dependencies, workflows, permissions, secret handling, or new execution machinery; it opts one bundled backend into an existing bounded same-session reseed contract with auth-boundary exclusions.

Review details

Best possible solution:

Land the narrow Anthropic backend opt-in after redacted live Claude CLI session-expired proof or maintainer proof override, while keeping the shared reseed safety boundaries unchanged.

Do we have a high-confidence way to reproduce the issue?

Yes, from source: current main's Anthropic backend lacks the opt-in while prepareCliRunContext() only prepares raw transcript reseed for session-expired recovery when that boolean is true. I did not reproduce a live authenticated Claude CLI rotation.

Is this the best way to solve the issue?

Yes, the proposed path is the narrow maintainable fix: the owner plugin opts into an existing generic contract and adds a regression for that backend. A broader core default change would weaken the explicit opt-in boundary added by the earlier reseed work.

Acceptance criteria:

• CI=true corepack pnpm test extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
• CI=true corepack pnpm test src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner.reliability.test.ts extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts
• CI=true corepack pnpm test:extension anthropic
• CI=true corepack pnpm check:changed
• Live or redacted Claude-authenticated session-expired recovery output showing bounded OpenClaw history is included on the fresh retry.

What I checked:

• PR diff is narrowly scoped: The live PR diff adds one backend config boolean and one focused assertion that the bundled Claude CLI backend opts into raw transcript reseed while preserving sessionMode: "always" and --resume {sessionId}. (extensions/anthropic/cli-backend.ts:66, 62d8f4778774)
• Current main lacks the Anthropic opt-in: On checkout HEAD, the bundled Anthropic backend has resumeArgs, sessionArg, and sessionMode: "always", but no reseedFromRawTranscriptWhenUncompacted field. (extensions/anthropic/cli-backend.ts:65, 7121791735fa)
• Shared runner requires the opt-in: prepareCliRunContext() sets allowRawTranscriptReseed only when the backend config boolean is true, and treats reusable session retry prep as session-expired; without the boolean, session-expired recovery cannot prepare raw OpenClaw history. (src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.ts:414, 7121791735fa)
• Existing reseed boundary remains bounded: loadCliSessionReseedMessages() only loads raw transcript tail when the opt-in is true and the invalidation reason is one of the allowed safe reasons; auth-profile and auth-epoch are not in the allowed set. (src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.ts:202, 7121791735fa)
• Generic behavior already has focused coverage: Current tests cover opted-in session-expired raw-tail history preparation and auth-boundary no-reseed behavior, so the PR's added extension test is the missing owner-backend guardrail rather than a new core policy. (src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.test.ts:662, 7121791735fa)
• Related issue remains the canonical user problem: The linked user report is still open and describes Claude CLI conversation amnesia after rotation; this PR uses closing syntax for that issue, so the right path is to review/land or reject this PR rather than close the report early.

Likely related people:

• hclsys: The related merged PR and commit aeb7d0736446388055f4ac71f2f4713374acdfd6 added the opt-in raw transcript reseed contract, safety boundaries, docs, schema, and tests now used by this backend opt-in. (role: introduced generic reseed contract; confidence: high; commits: aeb7d0736446; files: src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.ts, src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.ts, src/config/types.agent-defaults.ts)
• stainlu: GitHub path history for extensions/anthropic/cli-backend.ts shows recent Claude CLI backend work in commit 74ab62c6a297e2f92607c7f165a82598516f7fbb, making this a useful routing signal for the owner-plugin surface. (role: recent Anthropic backend contributor; confidence: medium; commits: 74ab62c6a297; files: extensions/anthropic/cli-backend.ts)
• steipete: Recent path history for the CLI runner files shows multiple adjacent changes around prompt preparation and session history, including f28a987442374e53dc2dd17af7b4cabd8c045690 on prepare.ts and 15cf49222f92e7ff68ec9af049d0295b4a45e194 on session-history.ts. (role: recent adjacent area contributor; confidence: medium; commits: f28a98744237, 15cf49222f92; files: src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.ts, src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.ts)

Remaining risk / open question:

• Live authenticated Claude CLI session-expired rotation has not been demonstrated after this patch; the current proof is test and CLI-startup output only.

Codex review notes: model gpt-5.5, reasoning high; reviewed against 7121791735fa.

Re-review progress:

• State: Failed
• Detail: The targeted re-review did not finish cleanly. Check the workflow run for details.
• Run: https://github.com/openclaw/clawsweeper/actions/runs/25797233746
• Updated: 2026-05-13T11:51:33.776Z

[bitloi]

@clawsweeper re-test

[kris-miller0705]

hi. @clawsweeper bitloi sometimes forked other's pr.

[kris-miller0705]

@clawsweeper i think it would be better to close this PR as soon as quickly. @bitloi has bad habit.

[bitloi]

@clawsweeper re-review

[clawsweeper]

🦞🧹
ClawSweeper re-review requested.

I asked ClawSweeper to review this item again.
Action: item re-review queued (workflow sweep.yml, event repository_dispatch).
Result: the existing ClawSweeper review comment will be edited in place when the review finishes.

Re-review progress:

• State: Complete
• Detail: The targeted re-review finished, the durable review comment was updated, and the synced verdict was routed.
• Run: https://github.com/openclaw/clawsweeper/actions/runs/25742838947
• Updated: 2026-05-12T15:06:22.232Z

[steipete]

Maintainer proof before landing:

• Rebased onto current main ce31fc91e15d3ec6bc48700f12400d728a8ca808.
• Added maintainer changelog entry in CHANGELOG.md.
• Targeted regression/runner slice passed locally:
  • pnpm test extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner/session-history.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner/prepare.test.ts src/agents/cli-runner.reliability.test.ts -- --reporter=verbose
  • 2 Vitest shards passed: agents 50 tests, extension-providers 17 tests.
• Anthropic plugin lane passed locally:
  • pnpm test extensions/anthropic -- --reporter=verbose
  • 6 files, 69 tests passed.
• Changed gate passed on Blacksmith Testbox:
  • pnpm check:changed
  • Testbox tbx_01krgjh44qqxxc8ydbty818bt4, run https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/actions/runs/25797072362
• Live Claude CLI proof run from PR worktree:
  • real Claude CLI 2.1.114 + first-party Claude.ai Max auth
  • forced stale Claude --resume <uuid> path, OpenClaw retried fresh with historyPrompt=present
  • result success: true, spawnedAttempts: 2, seeded marker RIVERGLASS-80934 returned by the model
  • caveat: synthetic backend id with bundled MCP/liveSession disabled to avoid preflight noise; it proves the Claude CLI session-expired reseed contract and retry path, not the full bundled MCP path.

GitHub CI note: pushed head 86e729b1d5cbb0be1806576d449a2e9c4b931b94 ran CI https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/actions/runs/25797223575. The red lanes are unrelated to this PR surface and already fail on current main CI at ce31fc91e15d3ec6bc48700f12400d728a8ca808: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/actions/runs/25796317891 (check-dependencies, check-lint, checks-fast-contracts-plugins-c). This PR changes only CHANGELOG.md, extensions/anthropic/cli-backend.ts, and extensions/anthropic/cli-shared.test.ts.

Thanks @bitloi.

[steipete]

Landed via rebase onto main.

• Source head: 86e729b1d5cbb0be1806576d449a2e9c4b931b94
• Landed commits:
  • dd8aa1dcced
  • c796b96d346
• Linked issue Session context lost on Claude CLI rotation — conversation amnesia between messages #80905 closed by this PR.

Thanks @bitloi.