# OpenClaw 2026.7.1-beta.5: GPT-5.6 default, new providers, crash-loop recovery

> Fifth beta of OpenClaw 2026.7.1, carrying the same changelog as the later betas: new providers and models, GPT-5.6 as the new-setup default, a sessions-first Control UI, agent-loop onboarding, and Gateway control-plane-safe mode instead of restart flapping. Slack operators must now opt in to lifecycle reaction updates.

| | |
|---|---|
| **Tool** | OpenClaw |
| **Version** | v2026.7.1-beta.5 |
| **Kind** | release |
| **Published** | 2026-07-11 |
| **Observed** | 2026-08-11 |
| **Significance** | 3/5 |
| **Breaking** | yes |
| **Categories** | feature, model-support, capability, breaking, fix |

## What changed


- Providers/models: Featherless, Claude Sonnet 5, Mythos 5, Meta Muse Spark 1.1 (`@openclaw/meta-provider`, Responses API with streaming, tool calls, encrypted reasoning replay), ClawRouter; GPT-5.6 default for new setups with `/think ultra` for Sol and Terra, `max` for Luna; Z.AI `max` honored; model availability refreshes after OAuth renewal
- Control UI: sessions-first layout, searchable sidebar, compact context ring, reasoning-effort slider, customizable pinned nav, GitHub issue/PR previews, Gateway host status, per-message token/context on the timestamp; provider usage quota row removed from the expanded sidebar
- Native macOS session browser with model/thinking pickers, slash commands, transcript export, context usage
- Crestodian onboarding runs a real agent loop across CLI, web install and macOS app, with model-judged approvals bound to exact operations and deterministic fallback when no model is available
- Mobile: bounded offline session/transcript caches on iOS and Android, Apple Watch voice turns, iOS Gateway TTS with on-device fallback, Android agent selector and code highlighting
- Sessions: generated titles, Gateway-backed groups, unread state, rename/fork/archive/delete across web, iOS, Android
- Telegram/Codex: private `/login` pairing, `/steer` and `/tell`, message preservation on missing transcript acknowledgement, flood-wait and formatting recovery
- Startup: container migrations before Gateway readiness, control-plane-safe mode after repeated unclean boots, `EX_CONFIG` exit on fatal config errors
- **Behavior change:** Slack lifecycle reaction updates now require `messages.statusReactions.enabled: true`
- Source notes are truncated mid-entry, so this list is partial


## Sources

- [github_release](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.7.1-beta.5) — retrieved 2026-08-11

## Community

_No curated reactions recorded. Facts and community takes are kept in separate layers
and never blended._

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Canonical: https://changelogs.info/openclaw/v2026-7-1-beta-5
Entity: https://changelogs.info/openclaw
Event ID: `evt_2026-07-11_openclaw_v2026-7-1-beta-5`
Licence: event synthesis © changelogs.info, CC BY 4.0. Linked sources belong to their vendors.