bug: session key doesn't include sessionId, causing infinite sessions across /new resets

[ajspig]

Problem

buildSessionKey() in helpers.ts constructs the Honcho session key from ctx.sessionKey + ctx.messageProvider:

const baseKey = ctx?.sessionKey ?? "default";
const provider = ctx?.messageProvider ?? "unknown";
return `${baseKey}-${provider}`;

Two issues have been reported:

1. Infinite session accumulation across /new and /reset

If OpenClaw's sessionKey is a stable chat/room identifier that persists across /new or /reset, Honcho maps all messages into one ever-growing session. The before_reset hook flushes unsaved messages but doesn't signal session boundaries — subsequent messages continue appending to the same Honcho session key.

The plugin hook context includes sessionId (ephemeral UUID that changes per conversation), but buildSessionKey doesn't use it.

2. -unknown suffix from missing messageProvider

Reports indicate OpenClaw 2026.4.5 may not populate ctx.messageProvider, causing all session keys to end in -unknown instead of the correct platform tag (e.g., -telegram, -discord).

Reported workaround

Users have patched buildSessionKey in dist/helpers.js to:

• Extract the provider from ctx.sessionKey string splitting instead of ctx.messageProvider
• Append ctx.sessionId to force session separation on /new

Proposed fix

Update buildSessionKey to incorporate ctx.sessionId when available:

export function buildSessionKey(ctx?: {
  sessionKey?: string;
  sessionId?: string;
  messageProvider?: string;
}): string {
  const baseKey = ctx?.sessionKey ?? "default";
  const sessionId = ctx?.sessionId;
  const provider = ctx?.messageProvider;

  const parts = [baseKey];
  if (sessionId) parts.push(sessionId);
  if (provider && provider !== "unknown") parts.push(provider);

  return parts.join("-").replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9-]/g, "-");
}

Note: This changes the session key format, which means existing sessions won't carry over. The before_reset flush should handle saving any in-flight data, but this is a breaking change to session continuity that should be documented in the changelog.

Needs verification

• Confirm ctx.messageProvider is not populated on OpenClaw 2026.4.5
• Confirm ctx.sessionKey is stable across /new / /reset
• Confirm ctx.sessionId changes on /new / /reset
• Test the fix doesn't break subagent session key derivation (isSubagentSession checks for :subagent: in sessionKey)

Files affected

File	Change
helpers.ts	Update buildSessionKey signature and logic
All callers of buildSessionKey	Pass ctx.sessionId through