llm-idle-timeout Fires at 2 Minutes on N100/WSL2 Despite timeoutSeconds Setting

A user on r/openclaw reports that the llm-idle-timeout watchdog fires after exactly 2 minutes on an Intel N100 (16GB RAM) running under WSL2, regardless of the agents.defaults.timeoutSeconds=300 setting. The gateway startup takes over 45 seconds before any LLM call, causing the idle timer to expire prematurely.

Key Details

• Hardware: Intel N100, 16GB RAM, WSL2
• Issue: Gateway startup exceeds 45 seconds; then the 2-minute idle watchdog fires, cutting off the session despite timeoutSeconds=300 being set.
• Requested: A configurable noOutputTimeoutMs parameter to account for slow startup, or a faster startup path optimized for low-power hardware.

The problem stems from the fact that the watchdog counts idle time from the start of the gateway process, not from the first LLM request. On slower hardware like the N100, the prolonged initialization triggers the default 2-minute timeout before a single LLM call can complete.

As a workaround, users could try increasing the system-level idle timeout or adjusting the gateway startup scripts to reduce initialization time. However, the core issue requires a code-level change — either extending the initial idle grace period or exposing a separate noOutputTimeoutMs for the startup phase.

This is a known pain point for developers running OpenClaw on low-power devices (e.g., thin clients, NAS boxes) via WSL2. The GitHub issue is tracked in the OpenClaw repository.