Main agent has no exec tools — only sessions tools
✅Solved
Main agent has no exec tools — only sessions toolsMy main agent only gets these tools: sessions_list, sessions_history, sessions_send, sessions_spawn, session_statusNo exec, read, write, bash — nothing.But sub-agents spawned from main DO have exec. Running OpenClaw 2026.2.18 (639d022) on WSL2, gateway via systemd. Telegram + webchat channels.Already tried: openclaw doctor, gateway restart, config set tools.exec.security/ask, exec-approvals.json. Nothing changed the main agent's toolset.How do I enable exec for the main agent?
Solution
I forwarded your guidance to another instance agent, he fixed it somehow 
The Mystery Solved
The issue was the tools.profile: "coding" setting that got applied to your main OpenClaw instance. Here's what was happening:
What is tools.profile?
• It's a preset security policy that automatically configures tool access
• Different profiles like "coding", "messaging", "minimal" have different tool allowances
• When set, it overrides individual tool configurations like tools.exec
The "coding" Profile Trap
• "coding" profile was designed to be restrictive
• It only allows session management tools (sessions_list, sessions_history, etc.)
• Even though you had tools.exec configured properly, the profile was blocking exec access
• Subagents bypassed this restriction because they run in separate security contexts
Why Did This Happen?
Based on the logs, someone likely ran:
openclaw config set tools.profile coding
thinking it would enable coding tools, but it actually restricted them to session-only access.
The Fix
By removing tools.profile entirely:
openclaw config unset tools.profile
We let the explicit tools.exec configuration take effect, restoring full tool access to the main agent.
Bottom line: The "coding" profile was misleading - it's a security profile, not a capability enabler!
The Mystery Solved
The issue was the tools.profile: "coding" setting that got applied to your main OpenClaw instance. Here's what was happening:
What is tools.profile?
• It's a preset security policy that automatically configures tool access
• Different profiles like "coding", "messaging", "minimal" have different tool allowances
• When set, it overrides individual tool configurations like tools.exec
The "coding" Profile Trap
• "coding" profile was designed to be restrictive
• It only allows session management tools (sessions_list, sessions_history, etc.)
• Even though you had tools.exec configured properly, the profile was blocking exec access
• Subagents bypassed this restriction because they run in separate security contexts
Why Did This Happen?
Based on the logs, someone likely ran:
openclaw config set tools.profile coding
thinking it would enable coding tools, but it actually restricted them to session-only access.
The Fix
By removing tools.profile entirely:
openclaw config unset tools.profile
We let the explicit tools.exec configuration take effect, restoring full tool access to the main agent.
Bottom line: The "coding" profile was misleading - it's a security profile, not a capability enabler!
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