OpenClaw v2026.9.5: Atomic Updates, Plugin Hot Reload, Session Sharing

OpenClaw v2026.9.5 is out. The release ships 4,179 pull requests, 64 direct commits, and 502 contributors, and it lands several infrastructure-level changes: update flow, plugin lifecycle, session sharing, browser control, and conversation storage.

Atomic Updates check before they switch

On supported update paths, Atomic Updates validate the next version against a private copy of your setup while the current Gateway keeps running. Only then does it switch over and verify the updated installation. If the update fails, recovery can restore the previous version when your data and configuration remain compatible.

Install and reload plugins without restarting the Gateway

You can now install or reload supported plugins without bouncing the whole Gateway, either through the CLI or an authorized chat command. Existing permissions and consent carry over.

• Managed Codex conversations stay alive with changed tools.
• Switching them stops the current turn and background terminals.
• Some plugin changes still require a restart: rebuilt bundled code, and enabling experimental native plugin UI.

Session Share for conversations

Session Share lets you share selected conversation groups with another paired OpenClaw installation. Both sides must enable sharing, and the recipient gets read-only conversation text, not control of the session. Tool activity, reasoning, and subagent conversations are excluded.

Two operational caveats: pick groups carefully, since conversation text can contain private data, and turning sharing off doesn't recall anything already delivered. The source installation also has to stay connected.

GPT Live in Meet, Teams, Zoom, and phone calls

GPT Live can join supported Meet, Teams, and Zoom meetings and phone calls, where it consults your OpenClaw agent. In supported meetings you can speak while it replies. Select Live explicitly for meetings and calls; unpinned Talk sessions now select it using your configured OpenAI access.

• Keep gpt-realtime-2.1 for camera use — Live is audio-only.
• OpenAI Platform credentials take priority over ChatGPT subscription access and bill via Platform.
• Meeting use requires both the Gateway and paired node updated, plus supported isolated audio capture.

Shared Browser dashboard

A shared Browser dashboard lets you and your agent operate the same page: change a filter or enter a note, then hand off to the agent. It runs on a local OpenClaw-managed browser and that browser's sign-in, not your personal browser cookies. Remote and paired-node browsers aren't supported, and stopping the shared page closes the tab and drops unsaved page state.

Conversation archiving

Archiving compresses older inactive history while keeping it readable; reopening restores it and makes it searchable again. It's off by default, and once enabled it normally archives eligible inactive history after 30 days — the interval is configurable without a restart, and Settings has a Run now control. Keep archive files with the conversation database when backing up. The database schema changes in this release even if archiving stays off.

Guided specialist teams and web chat fixes

Guided setup can stand up a chief of staff, researcher, writer, and reviewer, or start with one specialist. New agent in the web UI offers the same roles through a proposal you approve before creation. Interrupted setup remembers your chosen coordinator; skipping AI setup leaves the team offline until you configure access. In web chat, unsent queued messages stay editable through reconnects.