improve: stage session dependencies for local development builds

[paulcam206]

What Problem This Solves

A loose-layout Developer Mode registration was not runnable end to end because local deployment did not stage the MXC runtime or publish the session host that the isolated lifecycle requires.

User Impact

Deploy-LocalPackage.ps1 now stages the MXC runtime and publishes the session host into the loose layout, with fixture coverage. A Developer Mode registration can therefore run the session-enabled package rather than only resemble package content.

Why This Change Was Made

The completed operator path is: run clawctl setup; start or reuse the isolated agent session; route openclaw into it; use clawctl pwsh for an interactive shell; start the gateway with clawctl gateway-service start; recover it after sign-in; collect redacted evidence with clawctl collect-logs; then use clawctl teardown or clawctl setup --fresh when appropriate.

This layer closes the local-development deployment gap by making the loose layout contain the MXC runtime and the published session host needed by that path. Fixture coverage verifies the composition boundary rather than a live installation.

At this point an operator can see setup and recovery state, use owned gateway controls, receive partial-collection warnings, and get explicit cleanup failures. It does not claim a pristine machine after --fresh, nor replace the pinned CLI backfill with the unreleased Microsoft.Mxc.Sdk.

Review fixes addressed

The production MXC staging adapter no longer interprets stale $LASTEXITCODE from an earlier native command as staging failure. A behavioral fixture executes the real adapter against a verified cached runtime while stale native failure state is present.

Current validation

Current layer head: cce2b02f3acd5791654b7a6b1a5a9c27db5ff63b. This layer is included in the final integrated stack tip cce2b02f3acd5791654b7a6b1a5a9c27db5ff63b rebased onto 685ee93b7ebbec1e784205a3544c460bea740e11.

Integrated local gates: exact .NET SDK 10.0.100; Test-DotNetQuality.ps1 with 0 warnings/errors; full solution tests 642/642; NativeAOT x64 and ARM64 publishes for both launcher and session host; NativeAOT CLI, deployment, MXC, signing, runtime-input, release-identity, bundle, isolation-plugin, and packaging-relevance policy suites.

Live x64 MXC evidence: final-tip Developer Mode deployment registered OpenClaw.Gateway_0.1.2451.40134_x64__kaa03rpbbqef6 from workflow payload run 35191206689; openclaw --version returned OpenClaw 2026.9.4 (3a9d69d); clawctl status confirmed the isolated session was running. Earlier final-tip validation also exercised setup, Node.js 24.20.0 reuse, package-qualified activation, detached gateway launch, and redacted diagnostics collection.

Signed package evidence: local NativeAOT x64 and ARM64 packages and a multi-architecture bundle were composed and test-signed. Elevated upgrade validation passed all four proof-release transitions (v0.0.0.0 and v0.0.0.1, standalone and bundle), retained package-family LocalState in every transition, and accepted fresh standalone and bundle installs. The temporary certificate and test package were removed, then the Developer Mode registration was restored.

Layer 12 of 12. Parent: #53 - docs/session-runtime

[clawsweeper]

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Pull request received. I will update this pull request when review starts.

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[clawsweeper]

Codex review: needs changes before merge. Reviewed September 17, 2026, 4:01 PM ET / 20:01 UTC (Revision 27).

ClawSweeper review

What this changes

The PR includes the isolated-session runtime and helper in local development packages, targets setup to the registered package, and aligns launcher runtime preparation.

Merge readiness

⛔ Needs changes before merge - 1 item remains

This remains a useful, distinct layer of the open session-runtime stack. The introduced patch has no blocking correctness findings, and the supplied Windows deployment evidence supports its behavior.

Priority: P2
Reviewed head: cce2b02f3acd5791654b7a6b1a5a9c27db5ff63b

Review scores

Measure	Result	What it means
Overall readiness	🐚 platinum hermit (4/6)	A focused integration with relevant Windows behavior evidence and no blocking introduced defect.
Proof confidence	🐚 platinum hermit (4/6)	Sufficient (live_output): The supplied head-specific Windows observations connect local package assembly and package-qualified setup to a successful x64 registration and running isolated session, with fresh-install and upgrade preservation evidence; these runs were reported by the contributor, not executed during this read-only review.
Patch quality	🐚 platinum hermit (4/6)	No actionable review findings were identified.

Verification

Check	Result	Evidence
Real behavior	Verified	Sufficient (live_output): The supplied head-specific Windows observations connect local package assembly and package-qualified setup to a successful x64 registration and running isolated session, with fresh-install and upgrade preservation evidence; these runs were reported by the contributor, not executed during this read-only review.
Evidence reviewed	8 items	Verified review boundary: The pinned parent-to-head diff changes four files with 297 additions and 22 deletions. The full local source and introduced test changes were inspected; prerequisite stack changes were not attributed to this layer. Default branch and release still lack session staging: The default-branch deployment path publishes only the launcher and fingerprints its existing inputs; it does not stage MXC or publish the session helper. The supplied latest release points to this same revision. Release identity checked: The fetched default-branch revision is tagged v2026.9.4-msix.0; the requested deployment integration is therefore absent from both that revision and this release.
Findings	None	None.
Security	None	None.

How this fits together

The local deployment script combines downloaded OpenClaw content, pinned runtimes, and compiled Windows executables into a Developer Mode registration. Package-qualified setup then prepares that registration for running OpenClaw.

flowchart TD
  A[OpenClaw payload] --> D[Local package assembly]
  B[Pinned Node and MXC runtimes] --> D
  C[Launcher and session helper builds] --> D
  D --> E[Developer Mode registration]
  E --> F[Package-qualified setup]
  F --> G[Runnable isolated session]

Loading

Before merge

• Complete next step (P2) - Land the prerequisites bottom-up and retarget this PR to its parent's base before docs: document the isolated session runtime #53 merges, as CONTRIBUTING.md requires.

Agent review details

Security

None.

Review metrics

Metric	Value	Why it matters
Production and test delta	Production +210/-18 (net +192); tests +84/-2 (net +82); script documentation net +1	Production growth implements runtime composition and package activation, with focused deployment fixtures.

Technical review

Best possible solution:

Keep local development packages consistent with the session-enabled package layout by reusing the pinned runtime verifier and package-qualified setup.

Do we have a high-confidence way to reproduce the issue?

Not applicable as a released-feature regression: this layer integrates the pending isolated-session capability into local deployment, and the parent source visibly lacks its required staging.

Is this the best way to solve the issue?

Yes. Reusing the existing runtime verifier and package layout conventions is a focused solution; the launcher overload also follows the runtime-preparation pattern already used by the stack's production entrypoint.

AGENTS.md: not found in the target repository.

Codex review notes: model internal, reasoning medium; reviewed against 685ee93b7ebb.

Labels

Label justifications:

• P2: This is a bounded improvement to the Windows local-development deployment workflow.
• rating: 🐚 platinum hermit: Overall readiness is 🐚 platinum hermit; proof is 🐚 platinum hermit and patch quality is 🐚 platinum hermit.
• status: 👀 ready for maintainer look: ClawSweeper has no concrete contributor-facing blocker left for this PR. Sufficient (live_output): The supplied head-specific Windows observations connect local package assembly and package-qualified setup to a successful x64 registration and running isolated session, with fresh-install and upgrade preservation evidence; these runs were reported by the contributor, not executed during this read-only review.
• proof: sufficient: Contributor real behavior proof is sufficient. The supplied head-specific Windows observations connect local package assembly and package-qualified setup to a successful x64 registration and running isolated session, with fresh-install and upgrade preservation evidence; these runs were reported by the contributor, not executed during this read-only review.

Evidence

What I checked:

• Verified review boundary: The pinned parent-to-head diff changes four files with 297 additions and 22 deletions. The full local source and introduced test changes were inspected; prerequisite stack changes were not attributed to this layer. (scripts/LocalPackage.psm1:759, cce2b02f3acd)
• Default branch and release still lack session staging: The default-branch deployment path publishes only the launcher and fingerprints its existing inputs; it does not stage MXC or publish the session helper. The supplied latest release points to this same revision. (scripts/LocalPackage.psm1:594, 685ee93b7ebb)
• Release identity checked: The fetched default-branch revision is tagged v2026.9.4-msix.0; the requested deployment integration is therefore absent from both that revision and this release. (685ee93b7ebb)
• Runtime acquisition and activation safeguards: The new adapter calls the existing Get-MxcRuntime.ps1 verifier, which checks archive integrity and allowlisted file hashes without npm lifecycle execution. Setup resolves the current user's matching registered package family and Control application before activation, then holds a process handle through waiting and exit-code retrieval. (scripts/LocalPackage.psm1:14, cce2b02f3acd)
• Real Windows deployment and upgrade evidence: The complete supplied PR body, captured under sourceRevision 40b26273beb014fea262dc1b855244f259bca3a48d29b3d025607be11dd52345, identifies this head and reports a final-tip x64 Developer Mode registration, OpenClaw version output, and an isolated session running. It also reports package-qualified setup, Node reuse, four signed baseline upgrade transitions retaining LocalState, and fresh standalone/bundle installs. These observations cover deployment composition and setup beyond a generic version smoke. (cce2b02f3acd)
• Review continuity: The previous completed review contained no findings. The earlier retained process-handle finding is addressed by OpenProcess, WaitForSingleObject, GetExitCodeProcess, and finally-based handle disposal. Local comparison with the previous reviewed SHA failed because that object could not be retrieved; no unchanged-code or late-finding claim relies on that comparison. (scripts/LocalPackage.psm1:101, cce2b02f3acd)

Likely related people:

• Paul Campbell: Raw commit 814b02a adds scripts/LocalPackage.psm1:304 relative to its recorded parents. This identifies author metadata, not feature responsibility or a PR merger. (role: source-line author; confidence: high; commits: 814b02ac7876; files: scripts/LocalPackage.psm1)

Rating scale

Score	Internal tier	Crab rank	Meaning
6/6	S	🦀 challenger crab	Exceptional readiness
5/6	A	🦞 diamond lobster	Very strong readiness
4/6	B	🐚 platinum hermit	Good normal PR; ordinary maintainer review
3/6	C	🦐 gold shrimp	Useful, but confidence is limited
2/6	D	🦪 silver shellfish	Proof or implementation needs work
1/6	F	🧂 unranked krab	Not merge-ready
N/A	NA	🌊 off-meta tidepool	Rating does not apply

Overall follows the weaker of proof and patch quality.
Shiny media proof means a screenshot, video, or linked artifact directly shows the changed behavior. Runtime, network, CSP, and security claims still need visible diagnostics.

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History

Review history (26 earlier review cycles; latest 8 shown)

• reviewed 2026-09-17T16:11:56.416Z sha 24b444a :: blocked before merge. :: [P2] Retain the activated process handle before reading its exit code
• reviewed 2026-09-17T16:23:29.169Z sha 0fa0c1f :: needs maintainer review before merge. :: none
• reviewed 2026-09-17T16:38:41.017Z sha b47dea4 :: needs maintainer review before merge. :: none
• reviewed 2026-09-17T16:56:29.446Z sha 5944bb8 :: needs maintainer review before merge. :: none
• reviewed 2026-09-17T17:05:05.582Z sha 5944bb8 :: needs maintainer review before merge. :: none
• reviewed 2026-09-17T19:01:43.007Z sha 5a1509c :: needs maintainer review before merge. :: none
• reviewed 2026-09-17T19:22:08.760Z sha 525977b :: needs changes before merge. :: none
• reviewed 2026-09-17T19:40:18.239Z sha fb3e16b :: needs changes before merge. :: none