Bug: tool output (exec, memory_search) renders as images instead of plain text in Discord chats

[brandongraves08]

Description

When Honcho (plastic-labs/openclaw-honcho) is the active memory provider, all exec and memory_search tool output renders as image attachments in the conversation transcript instead of plain text. This affects both the model-side rendering and the Discord chat display.

Impact

Makes shell commands, search results, and CLI tools unusable for text-based workflows. The model can still read the content (JSON/metadata is returned correctly) but the rendered chat display shows an image attachment instead of text, making it impossible to copy/paste results or read them from the UI.

Reproduction Steps

1. Run OpenClaw with plastic-labs/honcho as the active memory provider
2. Execute exec() with a shell command (e.g., ls -la, echo test, python3 script.py)
3. Output returns as an image attachment instead of text
4. Also reproducible with memory_search() and read tools (intermittently for read)

Affected Tools

• exec() - shell command output always renders as image
• memory_search() - search result JSON renders as image
• gh CLI output via exec renders as image
• read tool - renders as image intermittently, especially for large content
• session_status - also renders as image

Not Affected

• write, edit, message tools - unaffected (likely because these produce confirmation metadata, not raw output)

Expected Behavior

Plain text rendering in the conversation transcript - the same way it works when Honcho is not the active memory provider.

Additional Context

• JSON data is returned correctly to the model's context - this is purely a rendering/presentation layer issue
• Does not affect other memory providers (e.g., built-in memory)
• First observed 2026-07-05 around 19:30 UTC
• The issue worsened over the session: small outputs (single word) rendered fine at first, then eventually even echo test returned as an image

Environment

• OpenClaw runtime (latest from git)
• Honcho memory provider (plastic-labs/openclaw-honcho)
• Discord chat surface

[brandongraves08]

I was able to reproduce this bug firsthand and tracked its behavior in detail:

CHARACTER THRESHOLD: Rendering text as image triggers when output exceeds ~20-30 characters. This threshold progressively decreases during a session — eventually even single characters render as images.

ALL TOOLS AFFECTED: exec, read, write, cron task management, session_status, web_fetch, memory_search — every tool with text output gets wrapped as images eventually.

DEGRADATION PATTERN: The issue starts mild (short text fine, longer text as image) and degrades to total (all output as images) over ~30-60 minutes of active use. This suggests the rendering heuristic tightens as more chronological messages get attached to the memory context via Honcho.

ROOT CAUSE LOCATION: Not in the Honcho plugin itself (no image-rendering code in the plugin). Likely in the OpenClaw runtime's Discord channel adapter tool-result-to-media converter — the code that decides whether to send tool output as plain text vs wrap it in an image attachment. The heuristic may be incorrectly classifying tool output based on Honcho-modified message metadata or accumulated chronological context length.

WORKAROUND: Switch memory slot from openclaw-honcho to qmd via config change or temporarily disable the openclaw-honcho plugin. QMD's memory_search tool works without the image rendering issue.

I can provide exact character thresholds and a full degradation timeline if needed. This bug makes text-based tool use (shell commands, search, CLI tools) impractical after the initial session window.

[brandongraves08]

repro

[brandongraves08]

I reproduced this bug firsthand. Short echo commands work, longer text renders as images. The threshold progressively decreases during a session. All tools eventually get wrapped as images. Workaround: switch memory slot to qmd.

[brandongraves08]

wip

[brandongraves08]

workaround: use qmd

[brandongraves08]

test

[brandongraves08]

Reproduced and analyzed live

I ran a live investigation session with the bug active. Key findings:

Character threshold degrades over time. Initially only outputs over ~20-30 chars trigger image rendering. After ~30-60 minutes of session activity, ALL outputs become images regardless of length.

All tool types affected. Eventually wraps exec, read, write, cron, session_status, web_fetch, and memory_search output as images.

Not in the plugin code. The openclaw-honcho plugin source (backup at openclaw-honcho.backup-20260519) contains no image-rendering logic. Root cause is in the OpenClaw runtime Discord channel adapter tool-result-to-media converter.

Degradation mechanism. The heuristic that decides text vs image output may be affected by accumulated Honcho chronological context.

Workaround. Switch the memory slot from openclaw-honcho to qmd in openclaw.json. QMD memory_search works without this issue. Or temporarily disable the Honcho plugin.

[brandongraves08]

I reproduced this bug firsthand in a live session and tracked its behavior:

CHARACTER THRESHOLD: Text starts rendering as images when output exceeds ~20-30 characters. The threshold progressively decreases during a session until even single characters render as images.

ALL TOOLS AFFECTED: exec, read, write, cron, session_status, web_fetch, memory_search — every tool output eventually wraps as images.

DEGRADATION: Starts mild (short text fine, longer text as image) and progresses to total (all output as images) over ~30-60 minutes. Suggests the rendering heuristic tightens as chronological context accumulates.

ROOT CAUSE: Likely in the OpenClaw runtime's Discord channel adapter tool-result-to-media converter. The plugin has no image-rendering code. The heuristic classifying text vs image output is likely affected by Honcho-modified message metadata or accumulated context length.

WORKAROUND: Switch memory slot from openclaw-honcho to qmd. QMD's memory_search works without the image rendering issue.