OpenClaw v2026.3.8 shipped on March 9, 2026, with a focus on operational resilience, voice interaction, and broader Linux distribution support.
Backup CLI
The release introduces openclaw backup create and openclaw backup verify commands for local state archives. Users can selectively back up configurations with --only-config, exclude workspace data with --no-include-workspace, and validate existing backups with manifest/payload verification. Destructive flows now surface backup guidance to prevent accidental data loss.
Configurable Talk Mode Silence
A new top-level talk.silenceTimeoutMs config option lets users control how long Talk mode waits in silence before auto-sending the current transcript. Each platform retains its default pause window when the value is unset, giving power users fine-grained control over voice interaction pacing.
Podman & SELinux Support
OpenClaw now auto-detects SELinux enforcing/permissive mode and adds :Z relabel flags to bind mounts in both run-openclaw-podman.sh and the Quadlet template. This fixes EACCES permission errors on Fedora and RHEL hosts. A new OPENCLAW_BIND_MOUNT_OPTIONS environment variable allows custom override.
Other Highlights
- macOS remote gateway — New token field for remote mode with shape validation warnings
- Context Engine Plugins — Runtime plugins now bootstrap at embedded-run, compaction, and subagent boundaries
- Telegram media — Stalled body reads now time out independently so polling recovers from hung downloads
- Docker image — Dev dependencies pruned and build metadata stripped for smaller runtime images
Upgrade with openclaw update or pull the latest Docker image. OpenClaw Launch instances are updated automatically.