GitHub

The bundled GitHub plugin adds public-repository link previews and a read-only reader to the Control UI. It is separate from the GitHub Copilot model provider.

Upgrading with an existing plugin allowlist

GitHub previews that previously lived in core now belong to the bundled github plugin. A nonempty plugins.allow list remains authoritative: if it omits github, both hovercards and the reader stay unavailable, and links open externally. OpenClaw does not add a plugin to an existing allowlist during an upgrade or Doctor repair.

To restore previews, append github to your existing plugins.allow list without removing its other entries, then enable GitHub in Plugins. Keep plugins.deny and explicit disabled entries consistent with your choice. Doctor explains this recovery when an implicit allowlist exclusion blocks the feature. To intentionally keep it off and silence that notice, set plugins.entries.github.enabled: false.

Read an item beside chat

The plugin is enabled by default. Connect to the Gateway, then click a public GitHub issue, pull request, or commit link in chat. The reader opens beside the conversation with a GitHub icon and an Open on GitHub link. Hover or focus an issue or pull request link to see its preview.

Each reader tab has its own Back and Forward history. Opening the same URL selects its existing tab. Links inside the reader navigate the current tab; the + button starts another tab. Up to ten tabs stay in memory. Closing the page discards the documents and history. The reader follows the session panel’s responsive layout; on a phone it can sit below chat or expand with the panel.

The reader includes descriptions, discussion comments, published inline PR review comments with file and diff context, commit comments, and expandable file diffs. Markdown images and standalone HTML image attachments can display inline. The Gateway image policy permits GitHub user-attachment URLs and its user-images.githubusercontent.com and private-user-images.githubusercontent.com attachment hosts. They must support anonymous CORS; requests send no credentials or referrer. Other or unavailable images retain a full-size external link. Script and connection policies are unchanged; remote content cannot run scripts or app widgets.

Enable or disable the plugin

Open Plugins in the Control UI to manage the GitHub plugin. The corresponding configuration is:

{  plugins: {    entries: {      github: { enabled: false },    },  },}

Apply the configuration through the normal Gateway configuration flow. Capability updates remove disabled readers without requiring a browser reconnect. When disabled, the plugin contributes no reader or hovercard, and GitHub links open externally.

Limits and unavailable content

• The reader is public-only and read-only. Use Open on GitHub for private repositories, posting comments, or merging pull requests.
• Detail requests do not use ambient GitHub credentials. Preview metadata preserves the selected agent’s managed GitHub identity or the existing service/environment fallback when no managed identity is selected. Identity changes abort stale requests.
• Each comment collection is limited to 20 entries; PR discussion and inline review comments have separate limits. Up to 30 changed files are shown.
• Long text and patches are bounded. Incomplete content is labeled rather than presented as a complete conversation or diff.
• Refresh requests the current item again. Rate limits, deleted items, and unavailable services show a retry action and the external source link.

Plugin author integration

GitHub uses the generic docked link-reader contribution in the Plugin SDK. The plugin owns URL matching, GitHub API requests, caching, and mapping source data into the passive reader model. The Control UI owns tabs, layout, safe rendering, and keyboard interaction.