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Hi,

We found the root cause of your slow CLI. Your OpenClaw config file (~/.openclaw/openclaw.json) has a JSON syntax error at line 170:

ERROR: Config invalid
Problem: JSON5 parse failed: SyntaxError: JSON5: invalid character '"' at 170:3

Every time you run any openclaw command (including openclaw config), the CLI first tries to parse this corrupt config, fails, retries with error handling, and logs the error — this is what causes the ~30 second delay.

To fix this, open the terminal from Dashboard and run:

openclaw doctor --fix

This should automatically repair the config file. If that doesn't work, you can manually fix the JSON by editing the config:

nano /home/node/.openclaw/openclaw.json

The issue is a missing comma between the plugins block and the meta block near line 170. After fixing the syntax, the CLI should respond instantly.

Let us know if you need help with the fix.

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