Keep a moved OpenClaw gateway on the runtime's own Node

Since 2026.9.6 upstream's installer keeps the Node a gateway service already ran when it rewrites the unit, so moving a gateway the old package installed left it running the runtime's code on /usr/bin/node, from the nodejs package the old openclaw package pulled in and the seed no longer depends on. A moved service now counts as moved only once its program is under ~/.openclaw, and the reinstall pins the runtime's Node with --runtime-path, which gives the same unit a fresh install gets.

bin/omarchy-install-openclaw-cli

@@ -122,21 +122,30 @@ stop_legacy_services() {
   done
 }
 
-# Not moved yet: still on the old copy, or running before and not now.
+# Not moved yet: still on the old copy, run by a Node outside the runtime, or
+# running before and not now. Upstream's installer keeps the Node a service
+# already had, so a moved unit can run the runtime's code on the system Node
+# the old package depended on, which this one no longer does.
 unsettled() {
-  unit_runs "$(unit_path "$1")" "/usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/" ||
+  local unit words
+  unit=$(unit_path "$1")
+  read -ra words <<<"$(sed -n 's/^ExecStart=//p' "$unit" | head -1)"
+  unit_runs "$unit" "/usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/" || [[ ${words[0]:-} != "$prefix/"* ]] ||
     { [[ " ${running[*]} " == *" $1 "* ]] && ! systemctl --user is-active --quiet "openclaw-$1.service"; }
 }
 
 # Upstream's installer rewrites a loaded gateway itself, but only warns when
 # the restart fails, so whatever is still unsettled is installed again from the
-# runtime and then has to have settled.
+# runtime, on the runtime's own Node, and then has to have settled.
 rehome_services() {
-  local role
+  local role node pin=()
+  if node=$(realpath -e -- "$prefix/tools/node/bin/node" 2>/dev/null); then
+    pin=(--runtime-path "$node")
+  fi
   for role in "${moving[@]}"; do
     if unsettled "$role"; then
       echo "Moving the OpenClaw $role service to $prefix..."
-      "$runtime_command" "$role" install --force || true
+      "$runtime_command" "$role" install --force "${pin[@]}" || true
     fi
     if unsettled "$role"; then
       echo "Could not move the OpenClaw $role service to $prefix. Finish with: openclaw $role install --force" >&2

test/shell.d/openclaw-cli-test.sh

@@ -42,18 +42,29 @@ chmod +x "$mock_bin/"*
 # it is asked. OMARCHY_TEST_INSTALL_BROKEN leaves a command that cannot run.
 # Like upstream, `<role> install --force` rewrites the unit onto the runtime
 # and starts it, OMARCHY_TEST_START_FAIL making the start fail, and the
-# installer does that itself for a gateway it finds loaded.
+# installer does that itself for a gateway it finds loaded. As upstream does
+# since 2026.9.6, a rewrite keeps the Node the unit already ran unless
+# --runtime-path pins one.
 cat >"$seed/install-cli.sh" <<'SH'
 printf 'install-cli %s%s\n' "$*" "${OPENCLAW_PROFILE:+ profile=$OPENCLAW_PROFILE}" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_ROOT/events"
 prefix=$HOME/.openclaw
-mkdir -p "$prefix/bin" "$prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0"
+mkdir -p "$prefix/bin" "$prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin"
+touch "$prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin/node"
+ln -sfn "$prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0" "$prefix/tools/node"
 cat >"$prefix/bin/openclaw" <<EOF
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 [[ -z "\${OMARCHY_TEST_INSTALL_BROKEN:-}" ]] || exit 1
 printf 'runtime %s%s\n' "\$*" "\${OPENCLAW_PROFILE:+ profile=\$OPENCLAW_PROFILE}" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_ROOT/events"
 if [[ \${2:-} == "install" ]]; then
-  printf 'ExecStart=$prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin/node $prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js %s\n' "\$1" >"\$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-\$1.service"
+  unit="\$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-\$1.service"
+  node=$prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin/node
+  if [[ \${4:-} == "--runtime-path" ]]; then
+    node=\$5
+  elif [[ -f \$unit ]]; then
+    node=\$(sed -n 's/^ExecStart=\([^ ]*\).*/\1/p' "\$unit")
+  fi
+  printf 'ExecStart=%s $prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js %s\n' "\$node" "\$1" >"\$unit"
   [[ -z "\${OMARCHY_TEST_START_FAIL:-}" ]] || exit 1
   touch "\$HOME/active-openclaw-\$1.service"
 fi
@@ -189,6 +200,10 @@ order=$(grep -n -e '^systemctl --user stop openclaw-gateway.service$' -e '^insta
 ! grep -q "runtime node install\|openclaw-node" "$events" || fail "--now leaves a service running another OpenClaw alone" "$(cat "$events")"
 ! grep -q "profile=work" <(grep -v -e '^runtime --version' "$events") ||
   fail "--now seeds and moves the default unit whatever profile the shell selects" "$(cat "$events")"
+sed -n 's/^ExecStart=\([^ ]*\).*/\1/p' "$units/openclaw-gateway.service" | grep -qx "$test_home/.openclaw/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin/node" ||
+  fail "--now leaves the moved gateway on the runtime's own Node" "$(cat "$units/openclaw-gateway.service")"
+grep -Fxq "runtime gateway install --force --runtime-path $test_home/.openclaw/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin/node" "$events" ||
+  fail "--now pins the runtime's Node when the installer kept the system one" "$(cat "$events")"
 pass "a service the old package installed moves to the runtime, and only that one"
 
 new_home stop-fails
@@ -230,7 +245,7 @@ printf 'ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gat
 touch "$test_home/active-openclaw-gateway.service"
 : >"$events"
 run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now || fail "--now moves a gateway beside a runtime that already runs" "$(cat "$test_tmp/output")"
-! grep -q '^install-cli' "$events" && grep -Fxq "runtime gateway install --force" "$events" && [[ -e $test_home/active-openclaw-gateway.service ]] ||
+! grep -q '^install-cli' "$events" && grep -Fxq "runtime gateway install --force --runtime-path $test_home/.openclaw/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin/node" "$events" && [[ -e $test_home/active-openclaw-gateway.service ]] ||
   fail "--now moves a gateway beside a runtime that already runs" "$(cat "$events")"
 pass "a gateway beside a runtime that already runs is moved without seeding"
 
@@ -255,6 +270,8 @@ run bash -euo pipefail "$test_tmp/migration.sh" || fail "the migration moves Ope
 grep -q "^install-cli " "$events" && grep -Fxq "runtime gateway install --force" "$events" ||
   fail "the migration seeds the runtime and moves the gateway to it" "$(cat "$events")"
 [[ $(readlink -- "$command") == "$runtime" ]] || fail "the migration points the command at the runtime"
+sed -n 's/^ExecStart=\([^ ]*\).*/\1/p' "$test_home/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service" | grep -qx "$test_home/.openclaw/tools/node-v24.19.0/bin/node" ||
+  fail "the migration leaves the gateway on the runtime's own Node, not the old package's system Node" "$(cat "$test_home/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service")"
 
 new_home migration-foreign
 touch "$test_tmp/package-installed"