> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.claw-link.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Why ACPX Isn’t Showing Up in OpenClaw
> Troubleshoot why ACPX is not showing up in OpenClaw, including allowlists, restarts, and stale chat sessions.
*If ACPX is missing, the fix is usually not exotic. It is usually a boring little chain of cause and effect that got interrupted somewhere.*
If you expected **ACPX** to show up in OpenClaw and it does not, the most likely causes are:
* ACPX is not allowed by the current plugin config
* the gateway has not been restarted since config changed
* the current chat started before ACPX became available
* you are mixing up normal OpenClaw agent behavior with ACP-backed behavior
* the version you are running does not match the config you kept
This page is the short, practical version of how to check those in the right order.
> 
>
> **Check in this order:** allowlist, gateway restart, then a fresh chat. That sequence resolves a silly amount of ACPX confusion.
## At a glance
* First confirm you actually need ACPX for the workflow you are debugging.
* Then check: **allowlist → gateway restart → fresh chat**.
* Most ACPX “missing” cases are setup-state problems, not mysterious runtime failures.
## What “ACPX isn’t showing up” usually means
People usually say this when one of the following is true:
* ACP-related tools do not appear
* a guide says ACPX should exist, but the current session cannot use it
* ACP-backed session behavior is missing
* OpenClaw appears to ignore ACP-specific setup work
In other words, users are usually not asking whether the letters A-C-P-X exist.
They are asking why the ACP runtime path does not seem available.
## First: make sure you actually need ACPX
This matters more than it sounds.
If you are using OpenClaw as a normal assistant and not trying to run ACP-backed workflows, ACPX may not be relevant to what you are doing.
ACPX matters when you are trying to use:
* ACP-backed sessions
* external coding/runtime agent paths
* workflows that explicitly depend on ACP support
If your workflow does not depend on ACP, you may be debugging the wrong thing.
## The most common reasons ACPX does not appear
## 1) ACPX is not in the plugin allowlist
If your config uses `plugins.allow`, ACPX has to be included.
A commonly referenced example is:
```bash theme={null}
openclaw config set plugins.allow '["acpx"]' --strict-json
```
If ACPX is not allowed, OpenClaw may never expose it.
## 2) The gateway was not restarted
After changing plugin config, reload the gateway:
```bash theme={null}
openclaw gateway restart
```
If you skip that step, you may just be staring at old runtime state.
## 3) You are testing in a stale chat
This one causes a lot of fake failures.
Even if ACPX is enabled correctly, a chat that started before the change may still have the old tool/runtime catalog.
So after enabling ACPX:
* start a fresh chat
* test there
## 4) You are expecting ACP behavior from a normal agent path
This is probably the biggest source of confusion.
Installing a coding CLI or reading ACP docs does **not** mean every OpenClaw chat is now ACP-backed.
If the workflow is not actually using the ACP path, ACPX may feel absent even when the deeper issue is just expectation mismatch.
## 5) You rolled back or changed versions
If a newer version wrote ACPX-related config and an older version is now running, you can get version/config mismatch behavior.
That can make ACPX appear missing when the real problem is compatibility.
If that happened recently, inspect:
```text theme={null}
~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
```
## Fast troubleshooting checklist
Use this order.
### 1. Confirm the workflow really depends on ACPX
If not, stop here and debug the actual workflow instead.
### 2. Check the allowlist
If you use one, make sure ACPX is included.
### 3. Restart the gateway
```bash theme={null}
openclaw gateway restart
```
### 4. Check gateway status
```bash theme={null}
openclaw gateway status --json
```
You are looking for signs that:
* config validation passed
* the gateway is healthy
* ACPX is not blocked by config
### 5. Start a fresh chat
This is not optional if you just changed plugin/runtime state.
### 6. Retry the ACP-specific task
Now you have a cleaner test.
## How to think about the problem correctly
The easiest useful mental model is:
* **normal chat behavior** does not automatically prove ACPX is loaded
* **missing ACP behavior** does not automatically mean ACPX is broken
* **plugin state + gateway state + session freshness** usually explain the gap
That is why random trial-and-error is less useful than the boring checklist above.
## When the problem is probably configuration
It is probably config-related if:
* ACPX used to appear and suddenly stopped
* you changed plugin config recently
* the gateway was never restarted
* the current chat started before the config change
* the issue appeared after upgrade or rollback
## When the problem is probably expectation mismatch
It is probably expectation mismatch if:
* you installed a CLI and thought ACPX would automatically surface
* you are following ACP-oriented docs for a normal assistant workflow
* you are not actually using an ACP-dependent path
## Common mistakes
### Enabling ACPX and staying in the same old chat
Very common.
### Changing config without restarting the gateway
Also very common.
### Confusing ACPX with normal assistant functionality
Probably the biggest one.
### Assuming “plugin missing” and “plugin not allowed” are the same problem
They are not.
## Final thought
When ACPX is not showing up in OpenClaw, the fix is usually:
1. confirm you actually need ACPX
2. allow it if needed
3. restart the gateway
4. check status
5. start a fresh chat
6. retry the ACP-specific workflow
That is not glamorous, but it is how a lot of these issues actually get resolved.
## Related pages
* `How to enable the ACPX plugin in OpenClaw`
* `How ACP sessions work in OpenClaw`
* `ACP vs normal OpenClaw agents: what’s the difference?`
* `How to fix “acpx plugin not found” after rolling back OpenClaw`