Plugin SDK defineChannelPluginEntry helper

The entry helper that wraps definePluginEntry with channel-specific wiring and mode-gated callbacks. Part of the Plugin entry points reference.

defineChannelPluginEntry

Import: openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-core

Wraps definePluginEntry with channel-specific wiring: it automatically calls api.registerChannel({ plugin }), exposes an optional root-help CLI metadata seam, and gates capability and full-runtime callbacks on registration mode.

import { defineChannelPluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-core"; export default defineChannelPluginEntry({  id: "my-channel",  name: "My Channel",  description: "Short summary",  plugin: myChannelPlugin,  setRuntime: setMyRuntime,  registerCliMetadata(api) {    api.registerCli(/* ... */);  },  registerFull(api) {    api.registerGatewayMethod(/* ... */);  },  registerCapabilities(api) {    api.registerTranscriptSourceProvider(/* ... */);  },});

Callbacks run per registration mode (full table under Registration mode):

• setRuntime runs in every mode except "cli-metadata" and "tool-discovery". Store the runtime reference here, typically via createPluginRuntimeStore.
• registerCliMetadata runs for "cli-metadata", "discovery", and "full". Use it as the canonical place for channel-owned CLI descriptors so root help stays non-activating, discovery snapshots include static command metadata, and normal CLI registration stays compatible with full plugin loads.
• registerFull runs only for "full" and "tool-discovery". For "tool-discovery" it runs instead of channel registration: OpenClaw skips registerChannel/setRuntime entirely and calls the full-runtime callback followed by the capability callback. Keep tool registration in registerFull and capability providers in registerCapabilities.
• registerCapabilities runs for "discovery", "full", and "tool-discovery". Register inert advertised providers here so read-only capability discovery can find them without starting sockets, clients, workers, or services.
• Discovery registration is non-activating, not import-free: OpenClaw may evaluate the trusted plugin entry and channel plugin module to build the snapshot. Keep top-level imports side-effect-free and put sockets, clients, workers, and services behind "full"-only paths.
• Like definePluginEntry, configSchema can be a lazy factory; OpenClaw memoizes the resolved schema on first access.

CLI registration:

• Use api.registerCli(..., { descriptors: [...] }) for plugin-owned root CLI commands you want lazy-loaded without disappearing from the root CLI parse tree. Descriptor names must match letters, numbers, hyphen, and underscore, starting with a letter or number; OpenClaw rejects other shapes and strips terminal control sequences from descriptions before rendering help. Cover every top-level command root the registrar exposes, and declare the same name, description, and subcommand marker in the plugin manifest's cliCommands field so root help does not import plugin code. commands alone stays on the eager compatibility path.
• Root descriptors may define a synchronous, pure machineOutput({ argv, stdoutIsTTY }) resolver for JSON, JSONL, or other machine-readable stdout modes that are not selected solely by --json. Parse command tokens with getRootOptionAwareCommandPath from openclaw/plugin-sdk/cli-argv. Keep the descriptor in a lightweight plugin-local module and reuse it from both cli-metadata.ts and full registration; do not import runtime barrels to construct metadata. Meeting runtime shells accept that descriptor through cli.descriptor. Nested descriptors do not expose machineOutput.
• Use api.registerNodeCliFeature(...) for paired-node feature commands so they land under openclaw nodes (equivalent to registerCli(registrar, { parentPath: ["nodes"], ... })).
• For other nested plugin commands, add parentPath and register commands on the program object passed to the registrar; OpenClaw resolves it to the parent command before calling the plugin.
• For channel plugins, register CLI descriptors from registerCliMetadata and keep registerFull focused on runtime-only work.
• If registerFull also registers gateway RPC methods, keep them on a plugin-specific prefix. Reserved core admin namespaces (config.*, exec.approvals.*, wizard.*, update.*) always coerce to operator.admin.