Tools, Skills & MCP — Extending OpenClaw

⚠️ The Problem

Users encounter various issues when working with OpenClaw's extensibility system: skills not loading, tools disappearing mid-session, web_search provider configuration, HTTP 400 tool_call_id errors, and confusion about where skills should be installed. Common error messages include 'Tool gog not found', 'HTTP 400: tool_call_id is not found', 'undici error' during skill installation, and skills working initially but failing after token expiry.

🔍 Why This Happens

Multiple root causes exist: (1) Skills placed in wrong directory — OpenClaw looks in ~/.clawdbot/skills/ by default, not ~/clawd/skills/. (2) OAuth tokens expire after ~1 hour and refresh mechanism may fail. (3) Session bloat causes tool schemas to get buried and tools to 'drift' over time. (4) Node version manager conflicts (nvm/fnm/volta) cause undici errors because the daemon's PATH excludes shell-initialized tools. (5) SKILL.md frontmatter has incorrect indentation. (6) The gateway enters a corrupted state after certain errors, requiring restart. (7) Google Workspace skills require both CLI installation AND OAuth authentication setup.

✅ The Fix

Understanding Skill Directories

OpenClaw loads skills from these locations in order of precedence:

<workspace>/skills — your workspace (highest priority)
~/.clawdbot/skills/ — managed overrides
Bundled skills (lowest priority)

Common mistake: Placing skills in ~/clawd/skills/ when OpenClaw expects ~/.clawdbot/skills/.

bash

# Move skills to correct locationmv ~/clawd/skills/my-skill ~/.clawdbot/skills/# Or configure custom skills directory in clawdbot.json

json

{  "skills": {    "dir": "/path/to/your/skills",    "entries": {      "my-skill": {        "enabled": true      }    }  }}

Configuring Web Search Providers

OpenClaw supports two search providers: Brave (default) and Perplexity.

Note: Google is NOT supported. Perplexity provides AI-synthesized answers with citations, which is often preferred over raw search results.

bash

# Configure via CLIclawdbot configure --section web

json5

// Or manually in clawdbot.json:{  "tools": {    "web": {      "search": {        "provider": "perplexity",        "perplexity": {          "apiKey": "your-perplexity-api-key",          "model": "perplexity/sonar-pro",          "baseUrl": "https://api.perplexity.ai"        }      }    }  }}

bash

# Or use environment variablesexport PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="pplx-xxxxx"# Can also route through OpenRouter:export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-xxxxx"

Fixing 'HTTP 400: tool_call_id is not found' Errors

This error typically cascades and breaks all subsequent messages. The gateway is in a corrupted state.

bash

# Immediate fix — restart the gatewayclawdbot gateway restart# Check logs for root causeclawdbot gateway logs# If error persists, check for deleted/expired messagesclawdbot logs

If errors continue after restart:

Note the exact message content that triggers it
Check if original messages still exist in chat
May indicate race condition from rapid responses

Fixing Skill OAuth Token Expiry (gog, etc.)

Google OAuth tokens expire after ~1 hour. The refresh mechanism sometimes fails silently.

bash

# Force fresh token with consent screengog auth add you@gmail.com --force-consent# Or remove and re-addgog auth remove you@gmail.comgog auth add you@gmail.com# Verify tokens are validgog auth list --check

Setting Up gog (Google Workspace) Skill

The gog skill requires manual setup beyond just enabling it.

bash

# 1. Install the CLIbrew install steipete/tap/gogcli# 2. Set up OAuth credentials (get from Google Cloud Console)# Create OAuth 2.0 Client ID, download client_secret.json# Add redirect URI: http://localhost:8080/oauth/callbackgog auth credentials /path/to/client_secret.json# 3. Authenticate with servicesgog auth add you@gmail.com --services gmail,calendar,drive,contacts,sheets,docs# 4. Set default account (optional)export GOG_ACCOUNT=you@gmail.com# 5. Verifygog auth list

Fixing 'Tool X not found' After Initial Success

If skills work initially but later show 'Tool not found':

bash

# 1. Check skill directory configurationclawdbot config get skills.dir# 2. Verify skills are loadedclawdbot skills list# 3. Check skill logsclawdbot gateway logs | grep -i skill# 4. Restart gateway to reload skillsclawdbot gateway restart

Fixing Undici Errors During Skill Installation

Node version managers (nvm, fnm, volta, asdf) are intentionally excluded from the daemon's PATH because they require shell initialization.

bash

# Option 1: Use system Node instead of nvmsource ~/.nvm/nvm.shnvm use systemnpx clawdhub@latest# Option 2: Use official installer (recommended)curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash# Option 3: Fix npm global permissions (Linux)mkdir -p ~/.npm-globalnpm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATHnpx clawdhub@latest

Fixing Session Bloat & Tool Drift

As sessions grow, tool schemas get buried and tools become unreliable. Classic symptom: works fresh, degrades over time.

Prevention:

Keep sessions shorter, start fresh when tools drift
Use /molt or clawdbot molt to clear session state
Monitor session size — anything over 1MB is problematic
Document working workflows in persistent locations (MEMORY.md, not TOOLS.md)

Note: TOOLS.md is for YOUR notes about tools (camera names, SSH aliases). Procedures should go in MEMORY.md or documentation folders.

SKILL.md Frontmatter Format

Incorrect indentation in SKILL.md causes skills to fail loading.

markdown

---name: my-skilldescription: Description of what the skill does.metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🔧","requires":{"bins":["node"],"env":["MY_API_KEY"]},"primaryEnv":"MY_API_KEY"}}---

Important: No leading spaces on frontmatter lines!

Browser Automation Reliability

Browser automation (TheFork booking, form filling) can freeze or fail. This depends on:

Model capability (use Sonnet 4 or GPT-5 for complex tasks)
SKILLS.md quality and context
Site complexity (heavy JS sites are harder)

Tips:

Use cliclick skill for cursor control if standard browser actions fail
Break complex tasks into smaller steps
Verify each step before proceeding

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📋 Quick Commands

Command	Description
clawdbot skills list	List all loaded skills and their status
clawdbot configure --section web	Configure web search provider (Brave/Perplexity)
clawdbot gateway restart	Restart gateway to reload skills and clear corrupted state
clawdbot gateway logs	View gateway logs for debugging skill/tool issues
gog auth add EMAIL --force-consent	Force OAuth re-authentication for Google Workspace
gog auth list --check	Verify Google OAuth tokens are valid
clawdbot config get skills.dir	Check configured skills directory
mv ~/clawd/skills/X ~/.clawdbot/skills/	Move skill to correct default location
curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh \| bash	Official installer (avoids nvm/undici issues)

Tools, Skills & MCP — Extending OpenClaw

⚠️ The Problem

🔍 Why This Happens

✅ The Fix

Understanding Skill Directories

Configuring Web Search Providers

Fixing 'HTTP 400: tool_call_id is not found' Errors

Fixing Skill OAuth Token Expiry (gog, etc.)

Setting Up gog (Google Workspace) Skill

Fixing 'Tool X not found' After Initial Success

Fixing Undici Errors During Skill Installation

Fixing Session Bloat & Tool Drift

SKILL.md Frontmatter Format

Browser Automation Reliability

📋 Quick Commands

Related Issues

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