solution integration high macos linux windows

Email OAuth keeps requiring re-auth (tokens disappear or refresh fails)

Fix repeated email OAuth logins by persisting the OpenClaw state directory, eliminating config/runtime drift, and diagnosing refresh failures from logs.

By CoClaw Team •

Symptoms

  • Email integration works once, then repeatedly asks you to authenticate again.
  • After redeploy/reboot, OpenClaw behaves like it never had email credentials.

Cause

Most cases reduce to one of:

  1. The OpenClaw state directory is not persisted (Docker layer reset, ephemeral disk, image resets).
  2. The gateway service is running with a different home/state than your shell (multiple installs, different user, different env vars).
  3. OAuth refresh fails (provider invalidated the refresh token or account policy blocks it).

Fix

1) Confirm state persistence first (do not skip)

Follow:

2) Capture logs around refresh/auth

openclaw status --deep
openclaw logs --follow

3) Eliminate runtime drift

If updates were installed in one environment but the service uses another:

Verify

  • Reboot/restart the gateway and confirm email auth persists.
  • Cron/email runs keep working for multiple cycles without manual login.

Verification & references

  • Reviewed by:CoClaw Code Team
  • Last reviewed:March 14, 2026
  • Verified on: macOS · Linux · Windows

References

Official docs

  1. OpenClaw docs: /concepts/oauth
Want to explore more? Browse all solutions or ask in the Community Forum .
Report a problem

Related Resources

OAuth token refresh failed (Anthropic Claude subscription)
Fix
Fix expired Anthropic subscription auth by switching to a Claude Code setup-token and pasting it on the gateway host.
OpenClaw config becomes invalid after you remove a provider but keep its auth profile
Fix
Fix config validation failures caused by orphaned `auth.profiles` entries that still reference a provider removed from `models.providers`.
Google Gemini CLI OAuth: SSRF blocked because Google resolves to fake-ip/private addresses
Fix
Fix `google-gemini-cli` login failures where OAuth domains resolve to special-use addresses by verifying DNS on the gateway host and disabling fake-ip/proxy rewriting for Google OAuth hosts.
Model/auth failures: rate limit, billing, or 'all models failed'
Fix
Debug OpenClaw model failures by checking provider auth status, probing profiles, switching models/fallbacks, and verifying provider/model refs.
OpenClaw Email (Gmail/IMAP) Setup: OAuth Reliability, Re-Auth Loops, and Safer Alternatives
Guide
Set up OpenClaw email with a path you can actually keep stable: choose the right auth model, reduce Gmail re-auth loops, contain blast radius, and verify reliability before the inbox becomes business-critical.
OpenClaw Safe Mode Recovery After OAuth Renewal: auth-profiles.json vs provisioned copy
Guide
Understand why OpenClaw recovery can keep looping after a successful OAuth renewal, and how to resync the live auth file, the provisioned copy, and safe-mode markers.