Node + tsx crash

Node + tsx "__name is not a function" crash

Summary

Running OpenClaw via Node with

fails at startup with:

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[openclaw] Failed to start CLI: TypeError: __name is not a function
    at createSubsystemLogger (.../src/logging/subsystem.ts:203:25)
    at .../src/agents/auth-profiles/constants.ts:25:20

This began after switching dev scripts from Bun to

(commit , 2026-01-06). The same runtime path worked with Bun.

Environment

• Node: v25.x (observed on v25.3.0)
• tsx: 4.21.0
• OS: macOS (repro also likely on other platforms that run Node 25)

Repro (Node-only)

bash
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# in repo root
node --version
pnpm install
node --import tsx src/entry.ts status

Minimal repro in repo

bash
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node --import tsx scripts/repro/tsx-name-repro.ts

Node version check

• Node 25.3.0: fails
• Node 22.22.0 (Homebrew
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  node@22
  ): fails
• Node 24: not installed here yet; needs verification

Notes / hypothesis

• text

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  tsx
  uses esbuild to transform TS/ESM. esbuild’s
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  keepNames
  emits a
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  __name
  helper and wraps function definitions with
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  __name(...)
  .
• The crash indicates
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  __name
  exists but is not a function at runtime, which implies the helper is missing or overwritten for this module in the Node 25 loader path.
• Similar
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  __name
  helper issues have been reported in other esbuild consumers when the helper is missing or rewritten.

Regression history

• text

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  2871657e
  (2026-01-06): scripts changed from Bun to tsx to make Bun optional.
• Before that (Bun path),
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  openclaw status
  and
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  gateway:watch
  worked.

Workarounds

• Use Bun for dev scripts (current temporary revert).

• Use

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  tsgo
  for repo type checking, then run the built output:

  bash
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  pnpm tsgo
  node openclaw.mjs status
  

• Historical note:

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  tsc
  was used here while debugging this Node/tsx issue, but repo type-check lanes now use
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  tsgo
  .

• Disable esbuild keepNames in the TS loader if possible (prevents

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  __name
  helper insertion); tsx does not currently expose this.

• Test Node LTS (22/24) with

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  tsx
  to see if the issue is Node 25–specific.

References

• https://opennext.js.org/cloudflare/howtos/keep_names
• https://esbuild.github.io/api/#keep-names
• https://github.com/evanw/esbuild/issues/1031

Next steps

• Repro on Node 22/24 to confirm Node 25 regression.
• Test
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  tsx
  nightly or pin to earlier version if a known regression exists.
• If reproduces on Node LTS, file a minimal repro upstream with the
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  __name
  stack trace.

Related

• Node.js install
• Gateway troubleshooting