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This message means OpenClaw has temporarily rate-limited a client after repeated authentication failures. It usually indicates that the Gateway was reached, not that the Gateway is offline. Stop reconnect loops, wait for the returned retryAfterMs value—or the documented default five-minute lockout—then correct the client’s token, password, device token, authentication mode, URL, origin, or configuration before reconnecting once.
What the error means
OpenClaw identifies this condition with the structured authentication detail code AUTH_RATE_LIMITED. The Gateway has seen too many failed authentication attempts from a client identity and has temporarily blocked further attempts as a brute-force protection measure.
Under the documented defaults, OpenClaw allows 10 failed attempts within 60 seconds, followed by a five-minute lockout. The actual remaining period may be returned in the response as retryAfterMs; use that value instead of assuming that every deployment uses the default.
For example, a response might contain:
{
"code": "INVALID_REQUEST",
"message": "unauthorized: too many failed authentication attempts (retry later)",
"retryable": true,
"retryAfterMs": 297000,
"details": {
"code": "AUTH_RATE_LIMITED",
"authReason": "rate_limited",
"recommendedNextStep": "wait_then_retry"
}
}The example’s 297000 milliseconds means approximately four minutes and 57 seconds remaining. It is not a universal fixed value.
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The error does not necessarily mean that the Gateway process stopped, the port is unreachable, or OpenClaw needs to be reinstalled. It also does not prove that the credential you are holding is currently wrong: an earlier stale token, missing credential, revoked device token, or misconfigured client may already have triggered the lockout.
See OpenClaw’s documentation on Gateway authentication rate limiting and the project’s Gateway troubleshooting guide.
Do this first
- Stop automatic retries. Close the affected Control UI tab, stop reconnecting scripts, and pause agents, integrations, webhooks, or services that may be sending failed handshakes.
- Close duplicate browser sessions. Multiple tabs can continue reconnecting even while the visible page appears idle.
- Record the error and retry time. If the response includes
retryAfterMs, use it. Otherwise, allow the documented five-minute default lockout to expire. - Find the failing client. Check Gateway logs before testing again so that the same bad credential does not immediately recreate the lockout.
- Verify the target and authentication method. Confirm the Gateway URL, local-versus-remote mode, auth mode, shared token or password, and—where relevant—device token and scopes.
- Reconnect once. If the attempt fails again, stop rather than repeatedly refreshing or clicking “ reconnect.”
Waiting alone is only temporary recovery. If a browser or background service is still using an old token, the error will return as soon as the lockout ends.
Inspect the Gateway and logs
Run the basic health and diagnostic commands from the machine where OpenClaw is installed:
openclaw status
openclaw gateway status
openclaw gateway status --deep
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor
openclaw channels status --probeUse the following commands to check which Gateway and authentication settings the CLI is using:
openclaw --version
openclaw config get gateway.mode
openclaw config get gateway.remote.url
openclaw config get gateway.bind
openclaw config get gateway.auth.modeTo inspect the configured shared token, OpenClaw documents:
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openclaw config get gateway.auth.tokenWarning: this command can print a secret in the terminal, shell history, or captured logs. Do not paste the output into a public issue, chat, screenshot, or support request. If you need to share diagnostics, redact tokens, passwords, device identifiers, private URLs, and forwarded headers.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsWhile openclaw logs --follow is running, reproduce the problem only once after the lockout expires. Look for entries identifying the client and authentication reason, such as:
token_missing— the client did not send a required token.token_mismatch— the supplied shared token does not match the Gateway’s configured token.device-token mismatch— the stored or paired device token is stale, revoked, or for a different pairing.scope mismatchorAUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH— the device token is valid but does not authorize the requested scopes.rate_limited— the earlier failures have triggered the temporary limiter.
Distinguish rate limiting from other connection errors
| Message or detail code | What it usually indicates | Next action |
|---|---|---|
AUTH_RATE_LIMITED |
Repeated authentication failures triggered temporary throttling. | Stop retries, wait, then fix the source of the failures. |
AUTH_TOKEN_MISMATCH or token_mismatch |
The shared Gateway token supplied by the client is wrong. | Update the client with the current token and check that it targets the intended Gateway. |
AUTH_TOKEN_MISSING or token_missing |
A required credential was not sent. | Correct the client’s credential injection or reconnect configuration. |
AUTH_DEVICE_TOKEN_MISMATCH |
A stored device token is stale, revoked, or mismatched. | Re-pair or re-approve the device according to the installed version’s procedure. |
AUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH |
The device token is valid but lacks the requested permissions. | Request the required scopes or re-approve the device; rotating the shared token is not the direct fix. |
gateway connect failed: |
The host, port, URL, or network path may be wrong or unreachable. | Check the target and connectivity rather than treating it as an authentication lockout. |
Control UI and browser fixes
The Control UI is a frequent source of repeated failures because a browser can retain an old token or reconnect automatically after a Gateway restart.
- Close the affected Control UI tab and any duplicate tabs.
- Wait for the current lockout to expire.
- Open the UI again using the current Gateway credential through the supported interface for your installed OpenClaw version.
- Test in a private or incognito window. If that works, stale browser storage is a strong suspect.
- Clear site data for the OpenClaw origin if the normal browser profile continues sending an old token.
- Watch the logs while making one fresh connection attempt.
Check for an alternating sequence of token_missing, token_mismatch, and rate_limited. That pattern usually means that the browser is reconnecting without the current credential, not that the Gateway is randomly rejecting a valid login.
Loopback does not make every browser connection exempt. OpenClaw documents stricter handling for browser-origin WebSocket connections from localhost; these may be rate-limited using the normalized browser origin. Ordinary loopback CLI traffic is exempt by default from the pre-auth IP limiter, but that exemption should not be assumed for a browser session.
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Similarly, a dashboard message such as “Fetch failed” can be misleading. A reported dashboard issue showed that the UI could remain reachable while stale browser credentials caused WebSocket authentication failures. Check Gateway health and logs before concluding that the dashboard or Gateway is offline.
When a token or authentication setting changed
Common causes include:
- The Gateway token changed, but the browser or integration still has the old token.
- An environment variable changed, but the running Gateway was not restarted.
- The CLI is targeting a remote Gateway while you believe it is using the local one.
- A client specifies an explicit URL but does not inherit stored credentials for that target.
- The Gateway and client use different authentication modes, such as shared-token authentication versus password or device authentication.
- An old configuration key is being used. The troubleshooting documentation distinguishes the current
gateway.auth.tokenpath from older keys such asgateway.token.
Confirm the active mode and target:
openclaw config get gateway.mode
openclaw config get gateway.remote.url
openclaw config get gateway.auth.mode
openclaw gateway status --deepDo not rotate every credential automatically. First identify the detail code. A shared-token mismatch calls for correcting the shared token; a device-token mismatch may require re-pairing; a scope mismatch requires changing approval or requested permissions. These are different problems.
Device tokens, pairing, and scopes
A device can continue failing after the rate-limit period even when the shared Gateway token is correct. The device may have cached a token that was revoked, paired with another Gateway, or replaced during configuration changes.
If logs show a device-token mismatch, follow the installed release’s device approval or pairing process. Re-pair only after confirming that the failing client is actually the device in question. If the detail is AUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH, a valid device token is being used with insufficient scopes; reissuing the shared Gateway token will not grant those permissions.
When troubleshooting remote devices, also verify that the client is connecting to the intended Gateway. A stale remote URL, old port, or explicit endpoint can make a correct credential appear invalid because it is being presented to a different Gateway instance.
Remote URLs, proxies, Tailscale, and client IPs
For a remote or proxied Gateway, verify all of the following:
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- The client’s URL, hostname, port, and protocol point to the intended Gateway.
- The Gateway’s authentication mode matches what the client sends.
- The reverse proxy forwards WebSocket connections correctly.
- Proxy trust and client-IP handling are configured deliberately.
- The browser’s
Originis expected and authorized for the deployment. - Tailscale or another private-network layer is not causing the client to use a different endpoint than the one being inspected.
Rate-limit keys can vary by authentication surface. Depending on the connection, the limiter may consider client IP, credential scope, and browser origin. A proxy that reports the wrong client IP can complicate both rate-limit behavior and log interpretation. Do not blindly trust forwarded headers merely to make the error disappear.
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Changing browser origins may produce a separate rate-limit bucket in some cases, but it is not a proper fix. Correct the credential, URL, proxy, or client behavior instead.
If the problem started after an upgrade
Check for a split-brain installation: the active openclaw binary may not be the same version that last wrote the configuration.
which openclaw
openclaw --version
openclaw config get meta.lastTouchedVersion
openclaw gateway status --deepAlso check for configuration drift, changed defaults, and a client or integration that was not upgraded along with the Gateway. A version mismatch can produce authentication symptoms even when the visible token has not changed.
Do not assume that an issue report tied to one release applies to all later releases. Record the exact version, installation path, auth mode, target URL, and sanitized log sequence before updating or reporting a regression.
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A GitHub report opened on April 8, 2026 described a rapid authentication retry loop involving Telegram native approvals in reported version 2026.4.8. The loop repeatedly produced authentication failures and could eventually affect the Control UI.
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The issue reported this workaround:
openclaw config set channels.telegram.execApprovals.enabled falseTreat this as a version- and configuration-specific workaround, not a universal OpenClaw fix. Verify your installed version, check the reported issue and relevant release notes, and understand the security and workflow impact before disabling native execution approvals in a production setup. If Telegram is the failing client, stop it temporarily while diagnosing rather than allowing it to continue retrying.
Should you restart the Gateway?
The limiter is stored in memory per Gateway process. Replacing the Gateway process can therefore clear Gateway-owned lockout counters. A restart may be appropriate after you have stopped the offending client and corrected its configuration.
However, restarting is not a credential repair. If the browser, Telegram handler, script, or agent immediately reconnects with the same wrong token, the lockout will return. Restarting can also be ineffective when the failing client is connected to another Gateway process or when the problem is a device-token or scope mismatch.
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A sensible order is:
- Stop bad clients and retry loops.
- Capture relevant, sanitized logs.
- Correct the URL, auth mode, token, device approval, or scope.
- Wait for the advertised lockout period.
- Restart only if needed for configuration changes or to clear in-memory state.
- Reconnect one client once.
Changing the rate-limit settings
OpenClaw documents rate-limit settings under gateway.auth.rateLimit. A documented configuration shape is:
{
"gateway": {
"auth": {
"rateLimit": {
"maxAttempts": 10,
"windowMs": 60000,
"lockoutMs": 300000,
"exemptLoopback": true
}
}
}
}Check the documentation for your installed release before adding or changing these keys.
maxAttempts: raising it reduces false lockouts but gives guessing attacks more opportunities.windowMs: changing it alters how failures are grouped into a burst.lockoutMs: increasing it improves resistance to repeated guessing but slows legitimate recovery.exemptLoopback: disabling the loopback exemption can protect local tooling more aggressively, but may lock out local services and automation.
Do not weaken the limiter simply because one client is misconfigured. Fix the retry loop or credential first, and change security settings only when you understand the deployment’s threat model.
When to update, re-pair, or report a bug
- Update: when the failure began after an upgrade or matches a documented client or integration regression.
- Re-pair: when logs identify a stale, revoked, or mismatched device token.
- Change scopes: when the device token is valid but lacks requested permissions.
- Restart: after stopping the failing client and correcting configuration, especially when an in-memory limiter or changed Gateway configuration must be reloaded.
- Report a bug: when a correctly configured client continues making invalid handshakes or the Gateway misidentifies valid authentication.
A useful report includes the exact OpenClaw version, installation path, Gateway mode, whether the connection is local or remote, the client type, the sanitized error sequence, and the relevant timestamps. Never include shared tokens, passwords, device tokens, private keys, or unredacted proxy headers.
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- Have all browser tabs, scripts, agents, and integrations stopped retrying?
- Has the lockout expired, or have you waited for the returned
retryAfterMs? - Is the client connecting to the correct local or remote Gateway URL?
- Does the client use the Gateway’s current authentication mode?
- Is the shared token or password current?
- Is a stale or revoked device token involved?
- Does the device have the required scopes?
- Could browser storage contain an old token?
- Could a proxy, Tailscale endpoint, origin, or forwarded client IP be changing the connection context?
- Did the problem begin after an upgrade or affect a version-specific integration such as Telegram native approvals?
Once the source of the failed attempts is corrected, the “retry later” message should remain a temporary security response rather than an endless connection failure.
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