fix: separate gateway setup mode to prevent crash when config.json missing

When config.json doesn't exist, gateway now starts in minimal setup mode
(HTTP + WebSocket only) instead of crashing on CreateProvider with empty
LLM.Model. Step1 (init) no longer triggers restart — only Step5 (complete)
does. handleSetupComplete now reads config from disk instead of in-memory
to preserve gateway settings written by handleSetupInit.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

cmd/clawdroid/main.go

@@ -451,6 +451,12 @@ func gatewayCmd() {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
+	// If config.json does not exist, start in setup mode (minimal gateway)
+	if _, err := os.Stat(configPath); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		gatewaySetupMode(cfg, configPath)
+		return
+	}
+
 	provider, err := providers.CreateProvider(cfg)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("Error creating provider: %v\n", err)
@@ -585,6 +591,11 @@ func gatewayCmd() {
 	fmt.Println("✓ Gateway stopped")
 
 	if restart {
+		execRestart()
+	}
+}
+
+func execRestart() {
 	exe, err := os.Executable()
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("Error finding executable: %v\n", err)
@@ -594,6 +605,70 @@ func gatewayCmd() {
 		fmt.Printf("Error restarting: %v\n", err)
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
+}
+
+// gatewaySetupMode starts a minimal gateway with only HTTP + WebSocket.
+// Provider, AgentLoop, CronService, and HeartbeatService are not started.
+func gatewaySetupMode(cfg *config.Config, configPath string) {
+	fmt.Println("\n⚙ Starting in setup mode (config.json not found)")
+
+	restartCh := make(chan struct{}, 1)
+
+	gwServer := gateway.NewServer(cfg, configPath, func() {
+		select {
+		case restartCh <- struct{}{}:
+		default:
+		}
+	})
+	if err := gwServer.Start(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("Error starting gateway HTTP server: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("✓ Config API started on 127.0.0.1:%d\n", cfg.Gateway.Port)
+
+	msgBus := bus.NewMessageBus()
+	channelManager, err := channels.NewManager(cfg, msgBus, configPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("Error creating channel manager: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+
+	if err := channelManager.StartAll(ctx); err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("Error starting channels: %v\n", err)
+	}
+
+	enabledChannels := channelManager.GetEnabledChannels()
+	if len(enabledChannels) > 0 {
+		fmt.Printf("✓ Channels enabled: %s\n", enabledChannels)
+	}
+
+	fmt.Println("✓ Setup mode ready — waiting for setup wizard")
+	fmt.Println("Press Ctrl+C to stop")
+
+	sigChan := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
+	signal.Notify(sigChan, os.Interrupt)
+
+	restart := false
+	select {
+	case <-sigChan:
+	case <-restartCh:
+		restart = true
+		fmt.Println("\nRestarting after setup complete...")
+	}
+
+	fmt.Println("\nShutting down...")
+	cancel()
+	shutdownCtx, shutdownCancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 5*time.Second)
+	defer shutdownCancel()
+	gwServer.Stop(shutdownCtx)
+	channelManager.StopAll(shutdownCtx)
+	fmt.Println("✓ Gateway stopped")
+
+	if restart {
+		execRestart()
 	}
 }
 

pkg/gateway/setup.go

@@ -51,23 +51,16 @@ func (s *Server) handleSetupInit(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 	logger.InfoC("gateway", "Initial config created via setup wizard")
 	writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]string{"status": "ok"})
-
-	if s.onRestart != nil {
-		go func() {
-			time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
-			s.onRestart()
-		}()
-	}
 }
 
 // handleSetupComplete merges additional settings into an existing config.json.
 // PUT /api/setup/complete — authentication required.
 func (s *Server) handleSetupComplete(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-	s.cfg.RLock()
+	// Read current config from disk (includes init step's gateway settings)
-	currentData, err := json.Marshal(s.cfg)
+	// rather than s.cfg which may still be DefaultConfig in setup mode.
-	s.cfg.RUnlock()
+	currentData, err := os.ReadFile(s.configPath)
 	if err != nil {
-		writeJSONError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to read current config")
+		writeJSONError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "failed to read config file")
 		return
 	}