diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 6a6bc78..a096827 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ http-body-util = "0.1"
 # OpenTelemetry — OTLP trace + metrics export
 opentelemetry = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics"] }
 opentelemetry_sdk = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics"] }
-opentelemetry-otlp = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics", "http-proto", "reqwest-blocking-client"] }
+opentelemetry-otlp = { version = "0.31", default-features = false, features = ["trace", "metrics", "http-proto", "reqwest-client", "reqwest-rustls-webpki-roots"] }
 
 [features]
 default = []
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 40dfc6a..1faf4eb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@ ls -lh target/release/zeroclaw
 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw.git
 cd zeroclaw
-cargo build --release
-cargo install --path . --force
+cargo build --release --locked
+cargo install --path . --force --locked
 
 # Quick setup (no prompts)
 zeroclaw onboard --api-key sk-... --provider openrouter
@@ -474,6 +474,18 @@ A git hook runs `cargo fmt --check`, `cargo clippy -- -D warnings`, and `cargo t
 git config core.hooksPath .githooks
 ```
 
+### Build troubleshooting (Linux OpenSSL errors)
+
+If you see an `openssl-sys` build error, sync dependencies and rebuild with the repository lockfile:
+
+```bash
+git pull
+cargo build --release --locked
+cargo install --path . --force --locked
+```
+
+ZeroClaw is configured to use `rustls` for HTTP/TLS dependencies; `--locked` keeps the transitive graph deterministic on fresh environments.
+
 To skip the hook when you need a quick push during development:
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/src/channels/mod.rs b/src/channels/mod.rs
index be012fc..5e8dbcd 100644
--- a/src/channels/mod.rs
+++ b/src/channels/mod.rs
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ const CHANNEL_MAX_IN_FLIGHT_MESSAGES: usize = 64;
 struct ChannelRuntimeContext {
     channels_by_name: Arc<HashMap<String, Arc<dyn Channel>>>,
     provider: Arc<dyn Provider>,
-    provider_name: Arc<String>,
     memory: Arc<dyn Memory>,
     tools_registry: Arc<Vec<Box<dyn Tool>>>,
     observer: Arc<dyn Observer>,
@@ -188,7 +187,7 @@ async fn process_channel_message(ctx: Arc<ChannelRuntimeContext>, msg: traits::C
             &mut history,
             ctx.tools_registry.as_ref(),
             ctx.observer.as_ref(),
-            "channels",
+            "channel-runtime",
             ctx.model.as_str(),
             ctx.temperature,
         ),
@@ -969,7 +968,6 @@ pub async fn start_channels(config: Config) -> Result<()> {
     let runtime_ctx = Arc::new(ChannelRuntimeContext {
         channels_by_name,
         provider: Arc::clone(&provider),
-        provider_name: Arc::new(provider_name),
         memory: Arc::clone(&mem),
         tools_registry: Arc::clone(&tools_registry),
         observer,
@@ -1162,7 +1160,6 @@ mod tests {
         let runtime_ctx = Arc::new(ChannelRuntimeContext {
             channels_by_name: Arc::new(channels_by_name),
             provider: Arc::new(ToolCallingProvider),
-            provider_name: Arc::new("openrouter".to_string()),
             memory: Arc::new(NoopMemory),
             tools_registry: Arc::new(vec![Box::new(MockPriceTool)]),
             observer: Arc::new(NoopObserver),
@@ -1253,7 +1250,6 @@ mod tests {
             provider: Arc::new(SlowProvider {
                 delay: Duration::from_millis(250),
             }),
-            provider_name: Arc::new("openrouter".to_string()),
             memory: Arc::new(NoopMemory),
             tools_registry: Arc::new(vec![]),
             observer: Arc::new(NoopObserver),