Typing indicators

Typing indicators are sent to the chat channel while a run is active. Use agents.defaults.typingMode to control when typing starts and typingIntervalSeconds to control how often it refreshes.

Defaults

When agents.defaults.typingMode is unset, OpenClaw keeps the legacy behavior:

• Direct chats: typing starts immediately once the model loop begins.
• Group chats with a mention: typing starts immediately.
• Group chats without a mention: typing starts when the admitted run has user-visible activity, such as harness execution activity or message text.
• Heartbeat runs: typing starts when the heartbeat run begins if the resolved heartbeat target is a typing-capable chat and typing is not disabled.

Modes

Set agents.defaults.typingMode to one of:

• never - no typing indicator, ever.
• instant - start typing as soon as the model loop begins, even if the run later returns only the silent reply token.
• thinking - start typing on the first reasoning delta or on active harness execution after the turn is accepted.
• message - start typing on the first user-visible reply activity, such as active harness execution or a non-silent text delta. Silent reply tokens such as NO_REPLY do not count as text activity.

Order of "how early it fires": never → message/thinking → instant

Configuration

Set the agent-level default:

{  agents: {    defaults: {      typingMode: "thinking",      typingIntervalSeconds: 6,    },  },}

Override mode or cadence per session:

{  session: {    typingMode: "message",    typingIntervalSeconds: 4,  },}

Notes

• message mode does not start from silent reply tokens, but active execution can still show typing before any assistant text is available.
• thinking still reacts to streamed reasoning (reasoningLevel: "stream"), and it can also start from active execution before reasoning deltas arrive.
• Heartbeat typing is a liveness signal for the resolved delivery target. It starts at heartbeat run start instead of following message or thinking stream timing. Set typingMode: "never" to disable it.
• Heartbeats do not show typing when target: "none", when the target cannot be resolved, when chat delivery is disabled for the heartbeat, or when the channel does not support typing.
• typingIntervalSeconds controls the refresh cadence, not the start time. The default is 6 seconds.

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