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Connection Problems

Troubleshoot dashboard disconnects, console and browser views, and dropped chat channels.

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Which pages need a running helper

Some dashboard pages talk live to your helper’s workspace and only work while it is running:

  • Runs, Usage, Console, and Browser need a running helper.
  • Inbox and Work Ledger work even while the helper is stopped or asleep. Your review queue and history live on the platform, not in the helper’s workspace.
  • Browser and Company are OpenClaw-only. If Hermes is the selected runtime, they are unavailable by design, not broken.

If a live page will not connect, check the Helper page first. A Sleeping helper wakes when you open the Helper page (“Waking — usually 10–40 seconds”); a helper you stopped needs a manual Start.

Dashboard disconnects

The dashboard uses WebSocket connections (a persistent two-way link between your browser and the platform) for live views like the console, logs, and activity. If a live view freezes or shows a disconnected state:

  1. Refresh the page. Most disconnects are transient, and a refresh re-establishes the connection.
  2. Check your network. VPNs, corporate firewalls, and proxies sometimes block or drop WebSocket connections. Try another network or temporarily disable the VPN.
  3. Check whether the helper restarted or went to sleep. A restart or sleep drops live connections. The dashboard reconnects automatically in most cases, but a refresh helps.

Console not connecting

The Console page is a live shell into your helper’s workspace. It requires a running helper; a stopped or sleeping helper has nothing to attach to. Start or wake the helper from the Helper page first, then open the Console.

Browser view is blank

The Browser page (OpenClaw only) shows a live view of the helper’s built-in browser. A blank or gray screen usually means the helper simply is not browsing right now; the view only shows content while the helper is doing web-based work. That is normal. If the page will not connect at all, confirm the helper is running and that OpenClaw is the selected runtime.

A chat channel dropped

Channels like Telegram, Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, and Signal are features of the helper runtime itself (OpenClaw or Hermes). You set them up inside the runtime’s own channel screens, using your own bot token or account credentials, and that is also where you fix them:

  • Session expired. Some channels use sessions that lapse. WhatsApp, for example, ties its session to your phone and requires re-linking if it drops or your phone stays offline too long.
  • Credentials revoked or changed. If you rotated a bot token or changed the account, reconnect the channel with the new credentials.
  • After a restart. Channel connections re-establish when the helper boots, but a few channel types need a fresh link or re-authentication afterward.

Open the runtime’s channel settings from the dashboard to see each channel’s status, and check the Work Ledger (Technical activity tab) for channel-related errors.

Helpers with a connected live channel are kept running rather than put to sleep, so if a channel goes quiet the likely cause is the channel session itself, not sleep.