Plugin Internals

This page is for plugin developers and contributors. If you just want to
install and use plugins, see Plugins. If you want to build
a plugin, see Building Plugins.

This page covers the internal architecture of the OpenClaw plugin system.

Public capability model

Capabilities are the public native plugin model inside OpenClaw. Every
native OpenClaw plugin registers against one or more capability types:

Capability	Registration method	Example plugins
Text inference	api.registerProvider(...)	openai, anthropic
Speech	api.registerSpeechProvider(...)	elevenlabs, microsoft
Media understanding	api.registerMediaUnderstandingProvider(...)	openai, google
Image generation	api.registerImageGenerationProvider(...)	openai, google
Web search	api.registerWebSearchProvider(...)	google
Channel / messaging	api.registerChannel(...)	msteams, matrix

A plugin that registers zero capabilities but provides hooks, tools, or
services is a legacy hook-only plugin. That pattern is still fully supported.

External compatibility stance

The capability model is landed in core and used by bundled/native plugins
today, but external plugin compatibility still needs a tighter bar than “it is
exported, therefore it is frozen.”

Current guidance:

• existing external plugins: keep hook-based integrations working; treat
  this as the compatibility baseline
• new bundled/native plugins: prefer explicit capability registration over
  vendor-specific reach-ins or new hook-only designs
• external plugins adopting capability registration: allowed, but treat the
  capability-specific helper surfaces as evolving unless docs explicitly mark a
  contract as stable

Practical rule:

• capability registration APIs are the intended direction
• legacy hooks remain the safest no-breakage path for external plugins during
  the transition
• exported helper subpaths are not all equal; prefer the narrow documented
  contract, not incidental helper exports

Plugin shapes

OpenClaw classifies every loaded plugin into a shape based on its actual
registration behavior (not just static metadata):

• plain-capability — registers exactly one capability type (for example a
  provider-only plugin like mistral)
• hybrid-capability — registers multiple capability types (for example
  openai owns text inference, speech, media understanding, and image
  generation)
• hook-only — registers only hooks (typed or custom), no capabilities,
  tools, commands, or services
• non-capability — registers tools, commands, services, or routes but no
  capabilities

Use openclaw plugins inspect <id> to see a plugin’s shape and capability
breakdown. See CLI reference for details.

Legacy hooks

The before_agent_start hook remains supported as a compatibility path for
hook-only plugins. Legacy real-world plugins still depend on it.

Direction:

• keep it working
• document it as legacy
• prefer before_model_resolve for model/provider override work
• prefer before_prompt_build for prompt mutation work
• remove only after real usage drops and fixture coverage proves migration safety

Compatibility signals

When you run openclaw doctor or openclaw plugins inspect <id>, you may see
one of these labels:

Signal	Meaning
config valid	Config parses fine and plugins resolve
compatibility advisory	Plugin uses a supported-but-older pattern (e.g. hook-only)
legacy warning	Plugin uses before_agent_start, which is deprecated
hard error	Config is invalid or plugin failed to load

Neither hook-only nor before_agent_start will break your plugin today —
hook-only is advisory, and before_agent_start only triggers a warning. These
signals also appear in openclaw status --all and openclaw plugins doctor.

Architecture overview

OpenClaw’s plugin system has four layers:

1. Manifest + discovery
   OpenClaw finds candidate plugins from configured paths, workspace roots,
   global extension roots, and bundled extensions. Discovery reads native
   openclaw.plugin.json manifests plus supported bundle manifests first.
2. Enablement + validation
   Core decides whether a discovered plugin is enabled, disabled, blocked, or
   selected for an exclusive slot such as memory.
3. Runtime loading
   Native OpenClaw plugins are loaded in-process via jiti and register
   capabilities into a central registry. Compatible bundles are normalized into
   registry records without importing runtime code.
4. Surface consumption
   The rest of OpenClaw reads the registry to expose tools, channels, provider
   setup, hooks, HTTP routes, CLI commands, and services.

The important design boundary:

• discovery + config validation should work from manifest/schema metadata
  without executing plugin code
• native runtime behavior comes from the plugin module’s register(api) path

That split lets OpenClaw validate config, explain missing/disabled plugins, and
build UI/schema hints before the full runtime is active.

Channel plugins and the shared message tool

Channel plugins do not need to register a separate send/edit/react tool for
normal chat actions. OpenClaw keeps one shared message tool in core, and
channel plugins own the channel-specific discovery and execution behind it.

The current boundary is:

• core owns the shared message tool host, prompt wiring, session/thread
  bookkeeping, and execution dispatch
• channel plugins own scoped action discovery, capability discovery, and any
  channel-specific schema fragments
• channel plugins execute the final action through their action adapter

For channel plugins, the SDK surface is
ChannelMessageActionAdapter.describeMessageTool(...). That unified discovery
call lets a plugin return its visible actions, capabilities, and schema
contributions together so those pieces do not drift apart.

Core passes runtime scope into that discovery step. Important fields include:

• accountId
• currentChannelId
• currentThreadTs
• currentMessageId
• sessionKey
• sessionId
• agentId
• trusted inbound requesterSenderId

That matters for context-sensitive plugins. A channel can hide or expose
message actions based on the active account, current room/thread/message, or
trusted requester identity without hardcoding channel-specific branches in the
core message tool.

This is why embedded-runner routing changes are still plugin work: the runner is
responsible for forwarding the current chat/session identity into the plugin
discovery boundary so the shared message tool exposes the right channel-owned
surface for the current turn.

For channel-owned execution helpers, bundled plugins should keep the execution
runtime inside their own extension modules. Core no longer owns the Discord,
Slack, Telegram, or WhatsApp message-action runtimes under src/agents/tools.
We do not publish separate plugin-sdk/*-action-runtime subpaths, and bundled
plugins should import their own local runtime code directly from their
extension-owned modules.

For polls specifically, there are two execution paths:

• outbound.sendPoll is the shared baseline for channels that fit the common
  poll model
• actions.handleAction("poll") is the preferred path for channel-specific
  poll semantics or extra poll parameters

Core now defers shared poll parsing until after plugin poll dispatch declines
the action, so plugin-owned poll handlers can accept channel-specific poll
fields without being blocked by the generic poll parser first.

See Load pipeline for the full startup sequence.

Capability ownership model

OpenClaw treats a native plugin as the ownership boundary for a company or a
feature, not as a grab bag of unrelated integrations.

That means:

• a company plugin should usually own all of that company’s OpenClaw-facing
  surfaces
• a feature plugin should usually own the full feature surface it introduces
• channels should consume shared core capabilities instead of re-implementing
  provider behavior ad hoc

Examples:

• the bundled openai plugin owns OpenAI model-provider behavior and OpenAI
  speech + media-understanding + image-generation behavior
• the bundled elevenlabs plugin owns ElevenLabs speech behavior
• the bundled microsoft plugin owns Microsoft speech behavior
• the bundled google plugin owns Google model-provider behavior plus Google
  media-understanding + image-generation + web-search behavior
• the bundled minimax, mistral, moonshot, and zai plugins own their
  media-understanding backends
• the voice-call plugin is a feature plugin: it owns call transport, tools,
  CLI, routes, and runtime, but it consumes core TTS/STT capability instead of
  inventing a second speech stack

The intended end state is:

• OpenAI lives in one plugin even if it spans text models, speech, images, and
  future video
• another vendor can do the same for its own surface area
• channels do not care which vendor plugin owns the provider; they consume the
  shared capability contract exposed by core

This is the key distinction:

• plugin = ownership boundary
• capability = core contract that multiple plugins can implement or consume

So if OpenClaw adds a new domain such as video, the first question is not
“which provider should hardcode video handling?” The first question is “what is
the core video capability contract?” Once that contract exists, vendor plugins
can register against it and channel/feature plugins can consume it.

If the capability does not exist yet, the right move is usually:

1. define the missing capability in core
2. expose it through the plugin API/runtime in a typed way
3. wire channels/features against that capability
4. let vendor plugins register implementations

This keeps ownership explicit while avoiding core behavior that depends on a
single vendor or a one-off plugin-specific code path.

Capability layering

Use this mental model when deciding where code belongs:

• core capability layer: shared orchestration, policy, fallback, config
  merge rules, delivery semantics, and typed contracts
• vendor plugin layer: vendor-specific APIs, auth, model catalogs, speech
  synthesis, image generation, future video backends, usage endpoints
• channel/feature plugin layer: Slack/Discord/voice-call/etc. integration
  that consumes core capabilities and presents them on a surface

For example, TTS follows this shape:

• core owns reply-time TTS policy, fallback order, prefs, and channel delivery
• openai, elevenlabs, and microsoft own synthesis implementations
• voice-call consumes the telephony TTS runtime helper

That same pattern should be preferred for future capabilities.

Multi-capability company plugin example

A company plugin should feel cohesive from the outside. If OpenClaw has shared
contracts for models, speech, media understanding, and web search, a vendor can
own all of its surfaces in one place:

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
import type { OpenClawPluginDefinition } from “openclaw/plugin-sdk”;
import {
buildOpenAISpeechProvider,
createPluginBackedWebSearchProvider,
describeImageWithModel,
transcribeOpenAiCompatibleAudio,
} from “openclaw/plugin-sdk”;

const plugin: OpenClawPluginDefinition = {
id: “exampleai”,
name: “ExampleAI”,
register(api) {
api.registerProvider({
id: “exampleai”,
// auth/model catalog/runtime hooks
});

api.registerSpeechProvider(
  buildOpenAISpeechProvider({
    id: "exampleai",
    // vendor speech config
  }),
);

api.registerMediaUnderstandingProvider({
  id: "exampleai",
  capabilities: ["image", "audio", "video"],
  async describeImage(req) {
    return describeImageWithModel({
      provider: "exampleai",
      model: req.model,
      input: req.input,
    });
  },
  async transcribeAudio(req) {
    return transcribeOpenAiCompatibleAudio({
      provider: "exampleai",
      model: req.model,
      input: req.input,
    });
  },
});

api.registerWebSearchProvider(
  createPluginBackedWebSearchProvider({
    id: "exampleai-search",
    // credential + fetch logic
  }),
);

},
};

export default plugin;

What matters is not the exact helper names. The shape matters:

* one plugin owns the vendor surface
* core still owns the capability contracts
* channels and feature plugins consume `api.runtime.*` helpers, not vendor code
* contract tests can assert that the plugin registered the capabilities it
  claims to own

### Capability example: video understanding

OpenClaw already treats image/audio/video understanding as one shared
capability. The same ownership model applies there:

1. core defines the media-understanding contract
2. vendor plugins register `describeImage`, `transcribeAudio`, and
   `describeVideo` as applicable
3. channels and feature plugins consume the shared core behavior instead of
   wiring directly to vendor code

That avoids baking one provider's video assumptions into core. The plugin owns
the vendor surface; core owns the capability contract and fallback behavior.

If OpenClaw adds a new domain later, such as video generation, use the same
sequence again: define the core capability first, then let vendor plugins
register implementations against it.

Need a concrete rollout checklist? See
[Capability Cookbook](/tools/capability-cookbook).

## Contracts and enforcement

The plugin API surface is intentionally typed and centralized in
`OpenClawPluginApi`. That contract defines the supported registration points and
the runtime helpers a plugin may rely on.

Why this matters:

* plugin authors get one stable internal standard
* core can reject duplicate ownership such as two plugins registering the same
  provider id
* startup can surface actionable diagnostics for malformed registration
* contract tests can enforce bundled-plugin ownership and prevent silent drift

There are two layers of enforcement:

1. **runtime registration enforcement**
   The plugin registry validates registrations as plugins load. Examples:
   duplicate provider ids, duplicate speech provider ids, and malformed
   registrations produce plugin diagnostics instead of undefined behavior.
2. **contract tests**
   Bundled plugins are captured in contract registries during test runs so
   OpenClaw can assert ownership explicitly. Today this is used for model
   providers, speech providers, web search providers, and bundled registration
   ownership.

The practical effect is that OpenClaw knows, up front, which plugin owns which
surface. That lets core and channels compose seamlessly because ownership is
declared, typed, and testable rather than implicit.

### What belongs in a contract

Good plugin contracts are:

* typed
* small
* capability-specific
* owned by core
* reusable by multiple plugins
* consumable by channels/features without vendor knowledge

Bad plugin contracts are:

* vendor-specific policy hidden in core
* one-off plugin escape hatches that bypass the registry
* channel code reaching straight into a vendor implementation
* ad hoc runtime objects that are not part of `OpenClawPluginApi` or
  `api.runtime`

When in doubt, raise the abstraction level: define the capability first, then
let plugins plug into it.

## Execution model

Native OpenClaw plugins run **in-process** with the Gateway. They are not
sandboxed. A loaded native plugin has the same process-level trust boundary as
core code.

Implications:

* a native plugin can register tools, network handlers, hooks, and services
* a native plugin bug can crash or destabilize the gateway
* a malicious native plugin is equivalent to arbitrary code execution inside
  the OpenClaw process

Compatible bundles are safer by default because OpenClaw currently treats them
as metadata/content packs. In current releases, that mostly means bundled
skills.

Use allowlists and explicit install/load paths for non-bundled plugins. Treat
workspace plugins as development-time code, not production defaults.

Important trust note:

* `plugins.allow` trusts **plugin ids**, not source provenance.
* A workspace plugin with the same id as a bundled plugin intentionally shadows
  the bundled copy when that workspace plugin is enabled/allowlisted.
* This is normal and useful for local development, patch testing, and hotfixes.

## Export boundary

OpenClaw exports capabilities, not implementation convenience.

Keep capability registration public. Trim non-contract helper exports:

* bundled-plugin-specific helper subpaths
* runtime plumbing subpaths not intended as public API
* vendor-specific convenience helpers
* setup/onboarding helpers that are implementation details

## Load pipeline

At startup, OpenClaw does roughly this:

1. discover candidate plugin roots
2. read native or compatible bundle manifests and package metadata
3. reject unsafe candidates
4. normalize plugin config (`plugins.enabled`, `allow`, `deny`, `entries`,
   `slots`, `load.paths`)
5. decide enablement for each candidate
6. load enabled native modules via jiti
7. call native `register(api)` hooks and collect registrations into the plugin registry
8. expose the registry to commands/runtime surfaces

The safety gates happen **before** runtime execution. Candidates are blocked
when the entry escapes the plugin root, the path is world-writable, or path
ownership looks suspicious for non-bundled plugins.

### Manifest-first behavior

The manifest is the control-plane source of truth. OpenClaw uses it to:

* identify the plugin
* discover declared channels/skills/config schema or bundle capabilities
* validate `plugins.entries.<id>.config`
* augment Control UI labels/placeholders
* show install/catalog metadata

For native plugins, the runtime module is the data-plane part. It registers
actual behavior such as hooks, tools, commands, or provider flows.

### What the loader caches

OpenClaw keeps short in-process caches for:

* discovery results
* manifest registry data
* loaded plugin registries

These caches reduce bursty startup and repeated command overhead. They are safe
to think of as short-lived performance caches, not persistence.

Performance note:

* Set `OPENCLAW_DISABLE_PLUGIN_DISCOVERY_CACHE=1` or
  `OPENCLAW_DISABLE_PLUGIN_MANIFEST_CACHE=1` to disable these caches.
* Tune cache windows with `OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_DISCOVERY_CACHE_MS` and
  `OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_MANIFEST_CACHE_MS`.

## Registry model

Loaded plugins do not directly mutate random core globals. They register into a
central plugin registry.

The registry tracks:

* plugin records (identity, source, origin, status, diagnostics)
* tools
* legacy hooks and typed hooks
* channels
* providers
* gateway RPC handlers
* HTTP routes
* CLI registrars
* background services
* plugin-owned commands

Core features then read from that registry instead of talking to plugin modules
directly. This keeps loading one-way:

* plugin module -> registry registration
* core runtime -> registry consumption

That separation matters for maintainability. It means most core surfaces only
need one integration point: "read the registry", not "special-case every plugin
module".

## Conversation binding callbacks

Plugins that bind a conversation can react when an approval is resolved.

Use `api.onConversationBindingResolved(...)` to receive a callback after a bind
request is approved or denied:

```ts  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
export default {
  id: "my-plugin",
  register(api) {
    api.onConversationBindingResolved(async (event) => {
      if (event.status === "approved") {
        // A binding now exists for this plugin + conversation.
        console.log(event.binding?.conversationId);
        return;
      }

      // The request was denied; clear any local pending state.
      console.log(event.request.conversation.conversationId);
    });
  },
};

Callback payload fields:

• status: "approved" or "denied"
• decision: "allow-once", "allow-always", or "deny"
• binding: the resolved binding for approved requests
• request: the original request summary, detach hint, sender id, and
  conversation metadata

This callback is notification-only. It does not change who is allowed to bind a
conversation, and it runs after core approval handling finishes.

Provider runtime hooks

Provider plugins now have two layers:

• manifest metadata: providerAuthEnvVars for cheap env-auth lookup before
  runtime load, plus providerAuthChoices for cheap onboarding/auth-choice
  labels and CLI flag metadata before runtime load
• config-time hooks: catalog / legacy discovery
• runtime hooks: resolveDynamicModel, prepareDynamicModel, normalizeResolvedModel, capabilities, prepareExtraParams, wrapStreamFn, formatApiKey, refreshOAuth, buildAuthDoctorHint, isCacheTtlEligible, buildMissingAuthMessage, suppressBuiltInModel, augmentModelCatalog, isBinaryThinking, supportsXHighThinking, resolveDefaultThinkingLevel, isModernModelRef, prepareRuntimeAuth, resolveUsageAuth, fetchUsageSnapshot

OpenClaw still owns the generic agent loop, failover, transcript handling, and
tool policy. These hooks are the extension surface for provider-specific behavior without
needing a whole custom inference transport.

Use manifest providerAuthEnvVars when the provider has env-based credentials
that generic auth/status/model-picker paths should see without loading plugin
runtime. Use manifest providerAuthChoices when onboarding/auth-choice CLI
surfaces should know the provider’s choice id, group labels, and simple
one-flag auth wiring without loading provider runtime. Keep provider runtime
envVars for operator-facing hints such as onboarding labels or OAuth
client-id/client-secret setup vars.

Hook order and usage

For model/provider plugins, OpenClaw calls hooks in this rough order.
The “When to use” column is the quick decision guide.

#	Hook	What it does	When to use
1	catalog	Publish provider config into models.providers during models.json generation	Provider owns a catalog or base URL defaults
—	(built-in model lookup)	OpenClaw tries the normal registry/catalog path first	(not a plugin hook)
2	resolveDynamicModel	Sync fallback for provider-owned model ids not in the local registry yet	Provider accepts arbitrary upstream model ids
3	prepareDynamicModel	Async warm-up, then resolveDynamicModel runs again	Provider needs network metadata before resolving unknown ids
4	normalizeResolvedModel	Final rewrite before the embedded runner uses the resolved model	Provider needs transport rewrites but still uses a core transport
5	capabilities	Provider-owned transcript/tooling metadata used by shared core logic	Provider needs transcript/provider-family quirks
6	prepareExtraParams	Request-param normalization before generic stream option wrappers	Provider needs default request params or per-provider param cleanup
7	wrapStreamFn	Stream wrapper after generic wrappers are applied	Provider needs request headers/body/model compat wrappers without a custom transport
8	formatApiKey	Auth-profile formatter: stored profile becomes the runtime apiKey string	Provider stores extra auth metadata and needs a custom runtime token shape
9	refreshOAuth	OAuth refresh override for custom refresh endpoints or refresh-failure policy	Provider does not fit the shared pi-ai refreshers
10	buildAuthDoctorHint	Repair hint appended when OAuth refresh fails	Provider needs provider-owned auth repair guidance after refresh failure
11	isCacheTtlEligible	Prompt-cache policy for proxy/backhaul providers	Provider needs proxy-specific cache TTL gating
12	buildMissingAuthMessage	Replacement for the generic missing-auth recovery message	Provider needs a provider-specific missing-auth recovery hint
13	suppressBuiltInModel	Stale upstream model suppression plus optional user-facing error hint	Provider needs to hide stale upstream rows or replace them with a vendor hint
14	augmentModelCatalog	Synthetic/final catalog rows appended after discovery	Provider needs synthetic forward-compat rows in models list and pickers
15	isBinaryThinking	On/off reasoning toggle for binary-thinking providers	Provider exposes only binary thinking on/off
16	supportsXHighThinking	xhigh reasoning support for selected models	Provider wants xhigh on only a subset of models
17	resolveDefaultThinkingLevel	Default /think level for a specific model family	Provider owns default /think policy for a model family
18	isModernModelRef	Modern-model matcher for live profile filters and smoke selection	Provider owns live/smoke preferred-model matching
19	prepareRuntimeAuth	Exchange a configured credential into the actual runtime token/key just before inference	Provider needs a token exchange or short-lived request credential
20	resolveUsageAuth	Resolve usage/billing credentials for /usage and related status surfaces	Provider needs custom usage/quota token parsing or a different usage credential
21	fetchUsageSnapshot	Fetch and normalize provider-specific usage/quota snapshots after auth is resolved	Provider needs a provider-specific usage endpoint or payload parser

If the provider needs a fully custom wire protocol or custom request executor,
that is a different class of extension. These hooks are for provider behavior
that still runs on OpenClaw’s normal inference loop.

Provider example

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
api.registerProvider({
id: “example-proxy”,
label: “Example Proxy”,
auth: [],
catalog: {
order: “simple”,
run: async (ctx) => {
const apiKey = ctx.resolveProviderApiKey(“example-proxy”).apiKey;
if (!apiKey) {
return null;
}
return {
provider: {
baseUrl: “https://proxy.example.com/v1”,
apiKey,
api: “openai-completions”,
models: [{ id: “auto”, name: “Auto” }],
},
};
},
},
resolveDynamicModel: (ctx) => ({
id: ctx.modelId,
name: ctx.modelId,
provider: “example-proxy”,
api: “openai-completions”,
baseUrl: “https://proxy.example.com/v1”,
reasoning: false,
input: [“text”],
cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
contextWindow: 128000,
maxTokens: 8192,
}),
prepareRuntimeAuth: async (ctx) => {
const exchanged = await exchangeToken(ctx.apiKey);
return {
apiKey: exchanged.token,
baseUrl: exchanged.baseUrl,
expiresAt: exchanged.expiresAt,
};
},
resolveUsageAuth: async (ctx) => {
const auth = await ctx.resolveOAuthToken();
return auth ? { token: auth.token } : null;
},
fetchUsageSnapshot: async (ctx) => {
return await fetchExampleProxyUsage(ctx.token, ctx.timeoutMs, ctx.fetchFn);
},
});

### Built-in examples

* Anthropic uses `resolveDynamicModel`, `capabilities`, `buildAuthDoctorHint`,
  `resolveUsageAuth`, `fetchUsageSnapshot`, `isCacheTtlEligible`,
  `resolveDefaultThinkingLevel`, and `isModernModelRef` because it owns Claude
  4.6 forward-compat, provider-family hints, auth repair guidance, usage
  endpoint integration, prompt-cache eligibility, and Claude default/adaptive
  thinking policy.
* OpenAI uses `resolveDynamicModel`, `normalizeResolvedModel`, and
  `capabilities` plus `buildMissingAuthMessage`, `suppressBuiltInModel`,
  `augmentModelCatalog`, `supportsXHighThinking`, and `isModernModelRef`
  because it owns GPT-5.4 forward-compat, the direct OpenAI
  `openai-completions` -> `openai-responses` normalization, Codex-aware auth
  hints, Spark suppression, synthetic OpenAI list rows, and GPT-5 thinking /
  live-model policy.
* OpenRouter uses `catalog` plus `resolveDynamicModel` and
  `prepareDynamicModel` because the provider is pass-through and may expose new
  model ids before OpenClaw's static catalog updates; it also uses
  `capabilities`, `wrapStreamFn`, and `isCacheTtlEligible` to keep
  provider-specific request headers, routing metadata, reasoning patches, and
  prompt-cache policy out of core.
* GitHub Copilot uses `catalog`, `auth`, `resolveDynamicModel`, and
  `capabilities` plus `prepareRuntimeAuth` and `fetchUsageSnapshot` because it
  needs provider-owned device login, model fallback behavior, Claude transcript
  quirks, a GitHub token -> Copilot token exchange, and a provider-owned usage
  endpoint.
* OpenAI Codex uses `catalog`, `resolveDynamicModel`,
  `normalizeResolvedModel`, `refreshOAuth`, and `augmentModelCatalog` plus
  `prepareExtraParams`, `resolveUsageAuth`, and `fetchUsageSnapshot` because it
  still runs on core OpenAI transports but owns its transport/base URL
  normalization, OAuth refresh fallback policy, default transport choice,
  synthetic Codex catalog rows, and ChatGPT usage endpoint integration.
* Google AI Studio and Gemini CLI OAuth use `resolveDynamicModel` and
  `isModernModelRef` because they own Gemini 3.1 forward-compat fallback and
  modern-model matching; Gemini CLI OAuth also uses `formatApiKey`,
  `resolveUsageAuth`, and `fetchUsageSnapshot` for token formatting, token
  parsing, and quota endpoint wiring.
* Moonshot uses `catalog` plus `wrapStreamFn` because it still uses the shared
  OpenAI transport but needs provider-owned thinking payload normalization.
* Kilocode uses `catalog`, `capabilities`, `wrapStreamFn`, and
  `isCacheTtlEligible` because it needs provider-owned request headers,
  reasoning payload normalization, Gemini transcript hints, and Anthropic
  cache-TTL gating.
* Z.AI uses `resolveDynamicModel`, `prepareExtraParams`, `wrapStreamFn`,
  `isCacheTtlEligible`, `isBinaryThinking`, `isModernModelRef`,
  `resolveUsageAuth`, and `fetchUsageSnapshot` because it owns GLM-5 fallback,
  `tool_stream` defaults, binary thinking UX, modern-model matching, and both
  usage auth + quota fetching.
* Mistral, OpenCode Zen, and OpenCode Go use `capabilities` only to keep
  transcript/tooling quirks out of core.
* Catalog-only bundled providers such as `byteplus`, `cloudflare-ai-gateway`,
  `huggingface`, `kimi-coding`, `modelstudio`, `nvidia`, `qianfan`,
  `synthetic`, `together`, `venice`, `vercel-ai-gateway`, and `volcengine` use
  `catalog` only.
* Qwen portal uses `catalog`, `auth`, and `refreshOAuth`.
* MiniMax and Xiaomi use `catalog` plus usage hooks because their `/usage`
  behavior is plugin-owned even though inference still runs through the shared
  transports.

## Runtime helpers

Plugins can access selected core helpers via `api.runtime`. For TTS:

```ts  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
const clip = await api.runtime.tts.textToSpeech({
  text: "Hello from OpenClaw",
  cfg: api.config,
});

const result = await api.runtime.tts.textToSpeechTelephony({
  text: "Hello from OpenClaw",
  cfg: api.config,
});

const voices = await api.runtime.tts.listVoices({
  provider: "elevenlabs",
  cfg: api.config,
});

Notes:

• textToSpeech returns the normal core TTS output payload for file/voice-note surfaces.
• Uses core messages.tts configuration and provider selection.
• Returns PCM audio buffer + sample rate. Plugins must resample/encode for providers.
• listVoices is optional per provider. Use it for vendor-owned voice pickers or setup flows.
• Voice listings can include richer metadata such as locale, gender, and personality tags for provider-aware pickers.
• OpenAI and ElevenLabs support telephony today. Microsoft does not.

Plugins can also register speech providers via api.registerSpeechProvider(...).

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
api.registerSpeechProvider({
id: “acme-speech”,
label: “Acme Speech”,
isConfigured: ({ config }) => Boolean(config.messages?.tts),
synthesize: async (req) => {
return {
audioBuffer: Buffer.from([]),
outputFormat: “mp3”,
fileExtension: “.mp3”,
voiceCompatible: false,
};
},
});

Notes:

* Keep TTS policy, fallback, and reply delivery in core.
* Use speech providers for vendor-owned synthesis behavior.
* Legacy Microsoft `edge` input is normalized to the `microsoft` provider id.
* The preferred ownership model is company-oriented: one vendor plugin can own
  text, speech, image, and future media providers as OpenClaw adds those
  capability contracts.

For image/audio/video understanding, plugins register one typed
media-understanding provider instead of a generic key/value bag:

```ts  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
api.registerMediaUnderstandingProvider({
  id: "google",
  capabilities: ["image", "audio", "video"],
  describeImage: async (req) => ({ text: "..." }),
  transcribeAudio: async (req) => ({ text: "..." }),
  describeVideo: async (req) => ({ text: "..." }),
});

Notes:

• Keep orchestration, fallback, config, and channel wiring in core.
• Keep vendor behavior in the provider plugin.
• Additive expansion should stay typed: new optional methods, new optional
  result fields, new optional capabilities.
• If OpenClaw adds a new capability such as video generation later, define the
  core capability contract first, then let vendor plugins register against it.

For media-understanding runtime helpers, plugins can call:

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
const image = await api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.describeImageFile({
filePath: “/tmp/inbound-photo.jpg”,
cfg: api.config,
agentDir: “/tmp/agent”,
});

const video = await api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.describeVideoFile({
filePath: “/tmp/inbound-video.mp4”,
cfg: api.config,
});

For audio transcription, plugins can use either the media-understanding runtime
or the older STT alias:

```ts  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
const { text } = await api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.transcribeAudioFile({
  filePath: "/tmp/inbound-audio.ogg",
  cfg: api.config,
  // Optional when MIME cannot be inferred reliably:
  mime: "audio/ogg",
});

Notes:

• api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.* is the preferred shared surface for
  image/audio/video understanding.
• Uses core media-understanding audio configuration (tools.media.audio) and provider fallback order.
• Returns { text: undefined } when no transcription output is produced (for example skipped/unsupported input).
• api.runtime.stt.transcribeAudioFile(...) remains as a compatibility alias.

Plugins can also launch background subagent runs through api.runtime.subagent:

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
const result = await api.runtime.subagent.run({
sessionKey: “agent:main:subagent:search-helper”,
message: “Expand this query into focused follow-up searches.”,
provider: “openai”,
model: “gpt-4.1-mini”,
deliver: false,
});

Notes:

* `provider` and `model` are optional per-run overrides, not persistent session changes.
* OpenClaw only honors those override fields for trusted callers.
* For plugin-owned fallback runs, operators must opt in with `plugins.entries.<id>.subagent.allowModelOverride: true`.
* Use `plugins.entries.<id>.subagent.allowedModels` to restrict trusted plugins to specific canonical `provider/model` targets, or `"*"` to allow any target explicitly.
* Untrusted plugin subagent runs still work, but override requests are rejected instead of silently falling back.

For web search, plugins can consume the shared runtime helper instead of
reaching into the agent tool wiring:

```ts  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
const providers = api.runtime.webSearch.listProviders({
  config: api.config,
});

const result = await api.runtime.webSearch.search({
  config: api.config,
  args: {
    query: "OpenClaw plugin runtime helpers",
    count: 5,
  },
});

Plugins can also register web-search providers via
api.registerWebSearchProvider(...).

Notes:

• Keep provider selection, credential resolution, and shared request semantics in core.
• Use web-search providers for vendor-specific search transports.
• api.runtime.webSearch.* is the preferred shared surface for feature/channel plugins that need search behavior without depending on the agent tool wrapper.

Gateway HTTP routes

Plugins can expose HTTP endpoints with api.registerHttpRoute(...).

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
api.registerHttpRoute({
path: “/acme/webhook”,
auth: “plugin”,
match: “exact”,
handler: async (_req, res) => {
res.statusCode = 200;
res.end(“ok”);
return true;
},
});

Route fields:

* `path`: route path under the gateway HTTP server.
* `auth`: required. Use `"gateway"` to require normal gateway auth, or `"plugin"` for plugin-managed auth/webhook verification.
* `match`: optional. `"exact"` (default) or `"prefix"`.
* `replaceExisting`: optional. Allows the same plugin to replace its own existing route registration.
* `handler`: return `true` when the route handled the request.

Notes:

* `api.registerHttpHandler(...)` is obsolete. Use `api.registerHttpRoute(...)`.
* Plugin routes must declare `auth` explicitly.
* Exact `path + match` conflicts are rejected unless `replaceExisting: true`, and one plugin cannot replace another plugin's route.
* Overlapping routes with different `auth` levels are rejected. Keep `exact`/`prefix` fallthrough chains on the same auth level only.

## Plugin SDK import paths

Use SDK subpaths instead of the monolithic `openclaw/plugin-sdk` import when
authoring plugins:

* `openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry` for plugin registration primitives.
* `openclaw/plugin-sdk/core` for the generic shared plugin-facing contract.
* Stable channel primitives such as `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-setup`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-pairing`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-contract`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-feedback`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-inbound`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-lifecycle`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-reply-pipeline`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/command-auth`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/secret-input`, and
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/webhook-ingress` for shared setup/auth/reply/webhook
  wiring. `channel-inbound` is the shared home for debounce, mention matching,
  envelope formatting, and inbound envelope context helpers.
* Domain subpaths such as `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-config-helpers`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/allow-from`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-config-schema`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-policy`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-runtime`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/infra-runtime`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/agent-runtime`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/lazy-runtime`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/reply-history`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/routing`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/status-helpers`,
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-store`, and
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/directory-runtime` for shared runtime/config helpers.
* `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-runtime` remains only as a compatibility shim.
  New code should import the narrower primitives instead.
* Bundled extension internals remain private. External plugins should use only
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/*` subpaths. OpenClaw core/test code may use the repo
  public entry points under `extensions/<id>/index.js`, `api.js`, `runtime-api.js`,
  `setup-entry.js`, and narrowly scoped files such as `login-qr-api.js`. Never
  import `extensions/<id>/src/*` from core or from another extension.
* Repo entry point split:
  `extensions/<id>/api.js` is the helper/types barrel,
  `extensions/<id>/runtime-api.js` is the runtime-only barrel,
  `extensions/<id>/index.js` is the bundled plugin entry,
  and `extensions/<id>/setup-entry.js` is the setup plugin entry.
* No bundled channel-branded public subpaths remain. Channel-specific helper and
  runtime seams live under `extensions/<id>/api.js` and `extensions/<id>/runtime-api.js`;
  the public SDK contract is the generic shared primitives instead.

Compatibility note:

* Avoid the root `openclaw/plugin-sdk` barrel for new code.
* Prefer the narrow stable primitives first. The newer setup/pairing/reply/
  feedback/contract/inbound/threading/command/secret-input/webhook/infra/
  allowlist/status/message-tool subpaths are the intended contract for new
  bundled and external plugin work.
  Target parsing/matching belongs on `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-targets`.
  Message action gates and reaction message-id helpers belong on
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-actions`.
* Bundled extension-specific helper barrels are not stable by default. If a
  helper is only needed by a bundled extension, keep it behind the extension's
  local `api.js` or `runtime-api.js` seam instead of promoting it into
  `openclaw/plugin-sdk/<extension>`.
* Channel-branded bundled bars stay private unless they are explicitly added
  back to the public contract.
* Capability-specific subpaths such as `image-generation`,
  `media-understanding`, and `speech` exist because bundled/native plugins use
  them today. Their presence does not by itself mean every exported helper is a
  long-term frozen external contract.

## Message tool schemas

Plugins should own channel-specific `describeMessageTool(...)` schema
contributions. Keep provider-specific fields in the plugin, not in shared core.

For shared portable schema fragments, reuse the generic helpers exported through
`openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-actions`:

* `createMessageToolButtonsSchema()` for button-grid style payloads
* `createMessageToolCardSchema()` for structured card payloads

If a schema shape only makes sense for one provider, define it in that plugin's
own source instead of promoting it into the shared SDK.

## Channel target resolution

Channel plugins should own channel-specific target semantics. Keep the shared
outbound host generic and use the messaging adapter surface for provider rules:

* `messaging.inferTargetChatType({ to })` decides whether a normalized target
  should be treated as `direct`, `group`, or `channel` before directory lookup.
* `messaging.targetResolver.looksLikeId(raw, normalized)` tells core whether an
  input should skip straight to id-like resolution instead of directory search.
* `messaging.targetResolver.resolveTarget(...)` is the plugin fallback when
  core needs a final provider-owned resolution after normalization or after a
  directory miss.
* `messaging.resolveOutboundSessionRoute(...)` owns provider-specific session
  route construction once a target is resolved.

Recommended split:

* Use `inferTargetChatType` for category decisions that should happen before
  searching peers/groups.
* Use `looksLikeId` for "treat this as an explicit/native target id" checks.
* Use `resolveTarget` for provider-specific normalization fallback, not for
  broad directory search.
* Keep provider-native ids like chat ids, thread ids, JIDs, handles, and room
  ids inside `target` values or provider-specific params, not in generic SDK
  fields.

## Config-backed directories

Plugins that derive directory entries from config should keep that logic in the
plugin and reuse the shared helpers from
`openclaw/plugin-sdk/directory-runtime`.

Use this when a channel needs config-backed peers/groups such as:

* allowlist-driven DM peers
* configured channel/group maps
* account-scoped static directory fallbacks

The shared helpers in `directory-runtime` only handle generic operations:

* query filtering
* limit application
* deduping/normalization helpers
* building `ChannelDirectoryEntry[]`

Channel-specific account inspection and id normalization should stay in the
plugin implementation.

## Provider catalogs

Provider plugins can define model catalogs for inference with
`registerProvider({ catalog: { run(...) { ... } } })`.

`catalog.run(...)` returns the same shape OpenClaw writes into
`models.providers`:

* `{ provider }` for one provider entry
* `{ providers }` for multiple provider entries

Use `catalog` when the plugin owns provider-specific model ids, base URL
defaults, or auth-gated model metadata.

`catalog.order` controls when a plugin's catalog merges relative to OpenClaw's
built-in implicit providers:

* `simple`: plain API-key or env-driven providers
* `profile`: providers that appear when auth profiles exist
* `paired`: providers that synthesize multiple related provider entries
* `late`: last pass, after other implicit providers

Later providers win on key collision, so plugins can intentionally override a
built-in provider entry with the same provider id.

Compatibility:

* `discovery` still works as a legacy alias
* if both `catalog` and `discovery` are registered, OpenClaw uses `catalog`

## Read-only channel inspection

If your plugin registers a channel, prefer implementing
`plugin.config.inspectAccount(cfg, accountId)` alongside `resolveAccount(...)`.

Why:

* `resolveAccount(...)` is the runtime path. It is allowed to assume credentials
  are fully materialized and can fail fast when required secrets are missing.
* Read-only command paths such as `openclaw status`, `openclaw status --all`,
  `openclaw channels status`, `openclaw channels resolve`, and doctor/config
  repair flows should not need to materialize runtime credentials just to
  describe configuration.

Recommended `inspectAccount(...)` behavior:

* Return descriptive account state only.
* Preserve `enabled` and `configured`.
* Include credential source/status fields when relevant, such as:
  * `tokenSource`, `tokenStatus`
  * `botTokenSource`, `botTokenStatus`
  * `appTokenSource`, `appTokenStatus`
  * `signingSecretSource`, `signingSecretStatus`
* You do not need to return raw token values just to report read-only
  availability. Returning `tokenStatus: "available"` (and the matching source
  field) is enough for status-style commands.
* Use `configured_unavailable` when a credential is configured via SecretRef but
  unavailable in the current command path.

This lets read-only commands report "configured but unavailable in this command
path" instead of crashing or misreporting the account as not configured.

## Package packs

A plugin directory may include a `package.json` with `openclaw.extensions`:

```json  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
{
  "name": "my-pack",
  "openclaw": {
    "extensions": ["./src/safety.ts", "./src/tools.ts"],
    "setupEntry": "./src/setup-entry.ts"
  }
}

Each entry becomes a plugin. If the pack lists multiple extensions, the plugin id
becomes name/<fileBase>.

If your plugin imports npm deps, install them in that directory so
node_modules is available (npm install / pnpm install).

Security guardrail: every openclaw.extensions entry must stay inside the plugin
directory after symlink resolution. Entries that escape the package directory are
rejected.

Security note: openclaw plugins install installs plugin dependencies with
npm install --ignore-scripts (no lifecycle scripts). Keep plugin dependency
trees “pure JS/TS” and avoid packages that require postinstall builds.

Optional: openclaw.setupEntry can point at a lightweight setup-only module.
When OpenClaw needs setup surfaces for a disabled channel plugin, or
when a channel plugin is enabled but still unconfigured, it loads setupEntry
instead of the full plugin entry. This keeps startup and setup lighter
when your main plugin entry also wires tools, hooks, or other runtime-only
code.

Optional: openclaw.startup.deferConfiguredChannelFullLoadUntilAfterListen
can opt a channel plugin into the same setupEntry path during the gateway’s
pre-listen startup phase, even when the channel is already configured.

Use this only when setupEntry fully covers the startup surface that must exist
before the gateway starts listening. In practice, that means the setup entry
must register every channel-owned capability that startup depends on, such as:

• channel registration itself
• any HTTP routes that must be available before the gateway starts listening
• any gateway methods, tools, or services that must exist during that same window

If your full entry still owns any required startup capability, do not enable
this flag. Keep the plugin on the default behavior and let OpenClaw load the
full entry during startup.

Example:

“`json theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
{
“name”: “@scope/my-channel”,
“openclaw”: {
“extensions”: [“./index.ts”],
“setupEntry”: “./setup-entry.ts”,
“startup”: {
“deferConfiguredChannelFullLoadUntilAfterListen”: true
}
}
}

### Channel catalog metadata

Channel plugins can advertise setup/discovery metadata via `openclaw.channel` and
install hints via `openclaw.install`. This keeps the core catalog data-free.

Example:

```json  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
{
  "name": "@openclaw/nextcloud-talk",
  "openclaw": {
    "extensions": ["./index.ts"],
    "channel": {
      "id": "nextcloud-talk",
      "label": "Nextcloud Talk",
      "selectionLabel": "Nextcloud Talk (self-hosted)",
      "docsPath": "/channels/nextcloud-talk",
      "docsLabel": "nextcloud-talk",
      "blurb": "Self-hosted chat via Nextcloud Talk webhook bots.",
      "order": 65,
      "aliases": ["nc-talk", "nc"]
    },
    "install": {
      "npmSpec": "@openclaw/nextcloud-talk",
      "localPath": "extensions/nextcloud-talk",
      "defaultChoice": "npm"
    }
  }
}

OpenClaw can also merge external channel catalogs (for example, an MPM
registry export). Drop a JSON file at one of:

• ~/.openclaw/mpm/plugins.json
• ~/.openclaw/mpm/catalog.json
• ~/.openclaw/plugins/catalog.json

Or point OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_CATALOG_PATHS (or OPENCLAW_MPM_CATALOG_PATHS) at
one or more JSON files (comma/semicolon/PATH-delimited). Each file should
contain { "entries": [ { "name": "@scope/pkg", "openclaw": { "channel": {...}, "install": {...} } } ] }.

Context engine plugins

Context engine plugins own session context orchestration for ingest, assembly,
and compaction. Register them from your plugin with
api.registerContextEngine(id, factory), then select the active engine with
plugins.slots.contextEngine.

Use this when your plugin needs to replace or extend the default context
pipeline rather than just add memory search or hooks.

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
export default function (api) {
api.registerContextEngine(“lossless-claw”, () => ({
info: { id: “lossless-claw”, name: “Lossless Claw”, ownsCompaction: true },
async ingest() {
return { ingested: true };
},
async assemble({ messages }) {
return { messages, estimatedTokens: 0 };
},
async compact() {
return { ok: true, compacted: false };
},
}));
}

If your engine does **not** own the compaction algorithm, keep `compact()`
implemented and delegate it explicitly:

```ts  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
import { delegateCompactionToRuntime } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/core";

export default function (api) {
  api.registerContextEngine("my-memory-engine", () => ({
    info: {
      id: "my-memory-engine",
      name: "My Memory Engine",
      ownsCompaction: false,
    },
    async ingest() {
      return { ingested: true };
    },
    async assemble({ messages }) {
      return { messages, estimatedTokens: 0 };
    },
    async compact(params) {
      return await delegateCompactionToRuntime(params);
    },
  }));
}

Adding a new capability

When a plugin needs behavior that does not fit the current API, do not bypass
the plugin system with a private reach-in. Add the missing capability.

Recommended sequence:

1. define the core contract
   Decide what shared behavior core should own: policy, fallback, config merge,
   lifecycle, channel-facing semantics, and runtime helper shape.
2. add typed plugin registration/runtime surfaces
   Extend OpenClawPluginApi and/or api.runtime with the smallest useful
   typed capability surface.
3. wire core + channel/feature consumers
   Channels and feature plugins should consume the new capability through core,
   not by importing a vendor implementation directly.
4. register vendor implementations
   Vendor plugins then register their backends against the capability.
5. add contract coverage
   Add tests so ownership and registration shape stay explicit over time.

This is how OpenClaw stays opinionated without becoming hardcoded to one
provider’s worldview. See the Capability Cookbook
for a concrete file checklist and worked example.

Capability checklist

When you add a new capability, the implementation should usually touch these
surfaces together:

• core contract types in src/<capability>/types.ts
• core runner/runtime helper in src/<capability>/runtime.ts
• plugin API registration surface in src/plugins/types.ts
• plugin registry wiring in src/plugins/registry.ts
• plugin runtime exposure in src/plugins/runtime/* when feature/channel
  plugins need to consume it
• capture/test helpers in src/test-utils/plugin-registration.ts
• ownership/contract assertions in src/plugins/contracts/registry.ts
• operator/plugin docs in docs/

If one of those surfaces is missing, that is usually a sign the capability is
not fully integrated yet.

Capability template

Minimal pattern:

“`ts theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
// core contract
export type VideoGenerationProviderPlugin = {
id: string;
label: string;
generateVideo: (req: VideoGenerationRequest) => Promise;
};

// plugin API
api.registerVideoGenerationProvider({
id: “openai”,
label: “OpenAI”,
async generateVideo(req) {
return await generateOpenAiVideo(req);
},
});

// shared runtime helper for feature/channel plugins
const clip = await api.runtime.videoGeneration.generateFile({
prompt: “Show the robot walking through the lab.”,
cfg,
});

Contract test pattern:

```ts  theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
expect(findVideoGenerationProviderIdsForPlugin("openai")).toEqual(["openai"]);

That keeps the rule simple:

• core owns the capability contract + orchestration
• vendor plugins own vendor implementations
• feature/channel plugins consume runtime helpers
• contract tests keep ownership explicit