[All Platforms][Agent&Skills] 'channels add whatsapp' updates messagingChannels and succeeds even when whatsapp preset file is missing

[PrachiShevate-nv]

Product / Component

• Product: NemoClaw
• Component: nemoclaw CLI – sandbox messaging channels / policy presets integration

Environment

• OS: Ubuntu 24.04 (x86_64)
• NemoClaw: v0.0.54
• Sandbox type: OpenClaw agent sandbox my-assistant, status Ready before test
• Docker: running, GPU-enabled (NVIDIA GPU present)

Preconditions

1. NemoClaw installed; Docker running.

2. Existing sandbox my-assistant onboarded and Ready (OpenClaw agent).

3. WhatsApp not already configured for my-assistant:

   • my-assistant's messagingChannels does not contain "whatsapp":

     cat ~/.nemoclaw/sandboxes.json | python3 -c \
       "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['sandboxes']['my-assistant']['messagingChannels'])"

   • nemoclaw my-assistant policy-list does not list the whatsapp preset.

4. WhatsApp preset file exists at:

   ~/.nemoclaw/source/nemoclaw-blueprint/policies/presets/whatsapp.yaml
   

Steps to Reproduce

1. Temporarily remove the WhatsApp preset file:

   mv ~/.nemoclaw/source/nemoclaw-blueprint/policies/presets/whatsapp.yaml /tmp/whatsapp.yaml.bak

2. Add the WhatsApp channel to the sandbox:

   nemoclaw my-assistant channels add whatsapp

3. When prompted:

   Rebuild 'my-assistant' now to apply? [Y/n]:
   

   answer Y and wait for the rebuild to complete.

4. After the command returns, check messagingChannels:

   cat ~/.nemoclaw/sandboxes.json | python3 -c \
     "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['sandboxes']['my-assistant']['messagingChannels'])"

5. (Optional, for completeness) Inspect the rebuild log around [8/8] Policy presets and the "Restoring policy presets…" section.

6. Restore the preset file after testing:

   mv /tmp/whatsapp.yaml.bak \
     ~/.nemoclaw/source/nemoclaw-blueprint/policies/presets/whatsapp.yaml

Expected Result

When the whatsapp preset file is missing:

• nemoclaw my-assistant channels add whatsapp should fail cleanly:
  • Exit code: non-zero (e.g., 1).
  • Output should indicate that the WhatsApp preset failed to apply (missing preset file) and that the channel was not fully configured.
  • A hint such as "Re-apply manually after restoring the preset and rebuilding" is shown.
• No rebuild should occur, or if a rebuild is attempted, it should be aborted as failed.
• The sandbox registry should not be updated:
  • messagingChannels for my-assistant should not include "whatsapp".
  • Policy presets section should not list whatsapp as applied.

In other words, registry write and preset application should be atomic: either both succeed or both fail.

Actual Result

With whatsapp.yaml renamed out of the presets directory:

The CLI still prints success text and proceeds:

WhatsApp Web pairs via QR code scanned with your phone — no host-side token.
...
✓ Enabled whatsapp channel.
   Complete QR pairing from inside the sandbox after rebuild.
Rebuild 'my-assistant' now to apply? [Y/n]: Y

NemoClaw performs a full sandbox rebuild:

• Old sandbox image is deleted.

• New image is built and my-assistant sandbox is recreated successfully.

• Final summary reports:

  ✓ Sandbox 'my-assistant' rebuilt successfully
  OpenClaw is ready
  

During [8/8] Policy presets and "Restoring policy presets…":

• Only npm, pypi, huggingface, brew, openclaw-pricing (and later brave) are reapplied:

  [resume] Reapplying policy presets: npm, pypi, huggingface, brew, openclaw-pricing
  ...
  Applied preset: npm
  Applied preset: pypi
  Applied preset: huggingface
  Applied preset: brew
  Applied preset: openclaw-pricing
  ...
  Applied preset: brave
  

• There is no Applied preset: whatsapp line in this run, consistent with the missing preset file.

Despite this, the sandbox registry now shows WhatsApp as configured:

cat ~/.nemoclaw/sandboxes.json | python3 -c \
  "import json,sys; d=json.load(sys.stdin); print(d['sandboxes']['my-assistant']['messagingChannels'])"
# Output: ['whatsapp']

The command behaves as if it succeeded:

• User-facing messaging says ✓ Enabled whatsapp channel.
• No error about missing preset is shown.
• Exit code appears to be success (command proceeds to completion with no error message).

Result: my-assistant ends up in an inconsistent state where:

• messagingChannels includes "whatsapp",
• but the WhatsApp preset is missing and was never applied during rebuild.

Impact

• Users can end up with a sandbox that claims to have a WhatsApp channel configured in the registry, but the underlying policy preset and wiring are absent.
• This breaks the expectation that channels add whatsapp is an atomic configuration change.
• Follow-up operations or tooling that trust messagingChannels may assume WhatsApp is correctly configured when it is not.

Suggested Fix / Notes

Ensure channels add <channel>:

• Validates the presence and loadability of the channel's preset before updating messagingChannels and starting a rebuild.
• If preset loading fails (file missing or invalid), abort the operation:
  • Do not modify messagingChannels.
  • Do not proceed with rebuild.
  • Return a non-zero exit code with a clear error message.
• Alternatively, if rebuild must run first, the registry update should be rolled back on preset failure.