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Understand Runtime Changes

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Use this matrix to choose the operation that makes a sandbox change take effect. Some changes apply at runtime, while image and filesystem changes require a rebuild or re-onboard.

OpenClaw Runtime Changes

ItemWhen the change takes effectHow to change it
Inference providerRuntime route and config update; rebuild only if you need to recreate the imageRun nemoclaw inference set
Inference model on the current providerRuntime route and config updateRun nemoclaw inference set
Sub-agentRe-onboard required because the sub-agent and workspace are baked at onboardnemoclaw onboard --recreate-sandbox
Network policy presetRuntime on the next request; rebuild only if the preset adds bind-mounted secretsnemoclaw <name> policy add <preset> or policy remove <preset>
Network allowlistRuntime on the next requestopenshell policy set or the interactive approval prompt at the gateway
Channel tokensRebuild required because the channel configuration and credential attachment are created during onboarding or rebuildnemoclaw <name> channels add <channel>, then accept the rebuild prompt
Channel enable or disableRebuild required because openclaw.json is the runtime source of truthnemoclaw <name> channels stop <channel>, then rebuild
Dashboard forward portRuntime; the port is re-resolved on the next connectNEMOCLAW_DASHBOARD_PORT=<port> nemoclaw <name> connect
Dashboard bind addressBuild and runtime; an existing local-only sandbox must be recreated with the remote-bind opt-inNEMOCLAW_DASHBOARD_BIND=0.0.0.0 nemoclaw onboard --recreate-sandbox, then use the same variable with connect
Gateway process environment or startup-only plugin stateRuntime after gateway restartnemoclaw <name> gateway restart
Default workspace template seedLocked at first sandbox boot; re-onboard required to change the bake-time choiceSet NEMOCLAW_MINIMAL_BOOTSTRAP=1 before nemoclaw onboard to skip default template seeding for new or pristine workspaces; existing files are not deleted
Web search providerRebuild required because onboarding bakes the provider plugin configuration and credential attachment into the imageSet NEMOCLAW_WEB_SEARCH_PROVIDER=brave, tavily, or none, then rerun onboarding and recreate the sandbox
Filesystem layoutLocked at creationRe-onboard with nemoclaw onboard --recreate-sandbox
Sandbox nameLocked at creationRe-onboard with a different --name
GPU passthrough or device selectorLocked at creationRe-onboard with --gpu or --sandbox-gpu-device
agents.listRuntime after gateway restart; generated OpenClaw configuration disables hot reloadUse openclaw configure or openclaw config set, then run nemoclaw <name> gateway restart
openclaw.json keysRuntime according to OpenClaw’s native reload behavior; some changes require a gateway restartUse openclaw configure, openclaw config set, or openclaw config unset inside the sandbox

For a new or pristine OpenClaw workspace, NEMOCLAW_MINIMAL_BOOTSTRAP=1 avoids roughly 3,000 tokens of per-turn project-context overhead by skipping the default template seed. It does not delete existing workspace files.

The runtime source of truth is /sandbox/.openclaw/openclaw.json. NemoClaw writes the initial managed inference route and OpenShell credential placeholders during onboarding. After first launch, OpenClaw owns this file and can add providers, tools, plugins, hooks, cron jobs, and gateway settings through its native interfaces.

The NemoClaw plugin reads the current native inference configuration for the /nemoclaw status and /nemoclaw onboard views. It registers a provider only when the native primary model selects inference and that provider is configured. Other provider registrations remain owned by OpenClaw. Reading onboarding metadata does not change the native provider, model, endpoint, or credential reference.

When you rerun onboarding with the same sandbox name, NemoClaw compares your requested inference provider and model with the recorded onboarding selection, not the native model in openclaw.json. If that selection matches and no other setting requires recreation, onboarding reuses the ready sandbox and preserves native configuration edits. Reuse preserves native web-search settings, including when no web-search provider is selected during onboarding. Choosing a different provider or model follows the existing recreation flow: interactive onboarding asks for confirmation, while non-interactive onboarding recreates automatically when the recorded selection is readable and differs. If the recorded selection is missing or unreadable, NemoClaw does not use native configuration edits as a reason to recreate the sandbox.

For managed OpenClaw sandboxes, NemoClaw records a verified provider or model change before recreation. After restoring the backup, it applies that recorded selection to native inference configuration before restarting the gateway. Resuming the same recreation also applies the selection when its recreation record already authorizes this update. It preserves unrelated native configuration. This update excludes forced recreation and custom images. It does not infer a selection change from a backup or an older recreation record.

Restart and reconnect preserve the current native configuration. Rebuild restores the complete native configuration captured immediately before rebuild. It replaces the complete native file instead of reconstructing selected keys. During rebuild, NemoClaw then reapplies the entries owned by the current host-side messaging plan, so restored native channel values do not replace that plan. Rebuild does not change OpenShell policy, credential bindings, or the host-side inference route. After restoring configuration that depends on different host resources, reconcile those resources with the matching NemoClaw commands and restart the gateway when OpenClaw requires it. The host command nemoclaw <name> config set is not available for OpenClaw. It remains available for Hermes.

OpenClaw configuration cannot widen the OpenShell network policy or create an OpenShell credential binding. Keep provider credentials in OpenShell and use credential placeholders in openclaw.json. If you put a credential directly in the native OpenClaw home, the sandbox can read it and rebuild aborts before replacement when the private archive copy fails credential scanning. Move credentials into supported OpenShell credential storage or bindings, remove them from the native home, and retry.

gateway restart invokes OpenClaw’s native safe restart command in the selected OpenShell sandbox. The native runtime owns restart admission and gateway replacement. NemoClaw does not signal or respawn the gateway.

If the native command rejects the active configuration or the replacement does not become ready, NemoClaw reports the failed command or readiness check instead of success. After the native restart, NemoClaw requires OpenClaw /readyz to return HTTP 200 with JSON {"ready":true} before it repairs host-side forwards.

Mutable Agent State

NemoClaw does not provide post-provisioning immutability for agent configuration or persistent state. OpenShell remains authoritative for sandbox filesystem and network policy enforcement. An agent process can change files that its sandbox identity can write.

For OpenClaw, the native openclaw.json file is authoritative after first launch. Lifecycle commands do not compare it with a NemoClaw hash, seal, recovery anchor, baseline, or selected-key registry. Use host commands only when a change also requires OpenShell policy, credential, or inference-route updates.

For Hermes, direct changes to valid mutable configuration do not block restart. Lifecycle validation can still refuse raw secrets, unsafe paths, raced snapshots, or missing or malformed transaction metadata. Use supported host commands for settings that also require host-side route or OpenShell changes. Hermes-owned native configuration remains authoritative for direct runtime edits.

NemoClaw serializes host-side gateway recovery, config and inference writes, backups, policy updates, channel updates, and sandbox destruction for each sandbox. This mutation lock prevents concurrent host operations from racing on the same registered sandbox.