OpenClaw 3.22 Update: Everything New in the March 2026 Release

What Is New in OpenClaw 3.22?

OpenClaw 3.22, released on March 23, 2026, is the most significant update since the project's rename from MoltBot. It introduces native ClawHub integration, a new Matrix messaging plugin, Anthropic Vertex AI support for running Claude through Google Cloud, and bundled web-search providers — all while making breaking changes that finally remove legacy ClawdBot and MoltBot references from the codebase.

For operators running OpenClaw in production, this is a mandatory-awareness update. The breaking changes mean your existing configuration may stop working if you don't update your environment variables before upgrading.

How Does ClawHub Integration Work?

ClawHub is OpenClaw's public skills registry, hosting over 13,000 community-built skills as of March 2026. Previously, installing skills required manually downloading SKILL.md files and placing them in the right directory. With 3.22, you can install skills directly from the command line.

Install a skill:

openclaw skills install steipete/slack

Search for skills:

openclaw skills search "email automation"

The integration also adds marketplace registry support, meaning skills can now declare dependencies, version requirements, and compatibility metadata. This makes it safer to install community skills on production systems.

What Other Features Were Added?

OpenClaw 3.22 ships several significant additions beyond ClawHub:

• Matrix plugin: A new messaging plugin backed by the official matrix-js-sdk, allowing OpenClaw to communicate through the decentralized Matrix protocol. This is significant for privacy-focused operators and self-hosted infrastructure teams.
• Anthropic Vertex AI: You can now run Claude through Google Vertex AI instead of Anthropic's direct API. This is useful for enterprises that route all AI traffic through Google Cloud for compliance and billing reasons.
• Bundled web-search providers: Exa, Tavily, and Firecrawl are now built into OpenClaw. Previously, web search required installing separate skills or plugins. Now you can enable search out of the box.
• Pluggable sandbox backends: SSH-based sandbox support allows OpenClaw to execute code in isolated environments. This is a security improvement for operators who let their agent run code.
• Default model change: The default OpenAI model switched from gpt-4o to gpt-5.4, reflecting the latest available model.

4 AI personas and 7 free skills — browse the marketplace.

What Are the Breaking Changes?

OpenClaw 3.22 includes breaking changes that will affect existing deployments if you don't prepare:

• Legacy environment variables removed: All CLAWDBOT_* and MOLTBOT_* prefixed environment variables are gone. If your .env file still uses these, your agent will fail to start after updating. Replace them with their OPENCLAW_* equivalents.
• Chrome extension relay removed: The legacy Chrome extension relay path that some early users relied on for browser integration has been removed. Use the built-in browser automation instead.
• Plugin SDK restructured: The plugin SDK surface moved from the old import paths to openclaw/plugin-sdk/*. If you've written custom plugins, update your imports.

Before upgrading, check your .env file:

# Check for legacy variables
grep -E "CLAWDBOT_|MOLTBOT_" ~/.clawdbot/.env

# Replace them — for example:
# CLAWDBOT_GATEWAY_TOKEN → OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN
# MOLTBOT_API_KEY → OPENCLAW_API_KEY

How Do You Update to OpenClaw 3.22?

The update process depends on your deployment method:

Docker (most common):

cd ~/openclaw
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

npm global install:

npm update -g openclaw

Hostinger Docker Manager: Go to Docker Manager → Projects → OpenClaw → Options (three dots) → Update.

Remote OpenClaw managed clients: We handle updates for you. Your agent will be updated during the next maintenance window with zero downtime.

Should You Update Immediately?

If you're running a production deployment, test the update on a staging instance first. The breaking changes around legacy environment variables and the plugin SDK restructure mean existing configurations need manual verification before upgrading.

If you're on a Remote OpenClaw managed plan, we test and roll out updates for you. No action needed on your end.

If you're self-hosting and your .env file already uses OPENCLAW_* prefixed variables (which is the case for any install from the last 6 weeks), the update should be straightforward.

What About the 3.23 Patch?

OpenClaw v2026.3.23 was released the same day as 3.22, addressing several issues found immediately after the major release:

• Restored bundled plugin runtime sidecars for WhatsApp and Matrix
• Fixed channel authentication for single-channel setups
• Resolved token reversion issues in Configure and Onboard flows
• Corrected operator scope handling in read-backed pages
• Fixed ClawHub package compatibility checks
• UI consolidation with refined Knot theme
• CSP security improvements with inline script hashing

If you're updating, go directly to 3.23 to get both the new features and the bug fixes.