Plugin setup and config

Reference for plugin packaging (package.json metadata), manifests (openclaw.plugin.json), setup entries, and config schemas.

Looking for a walkthrough? The how-to guides cover packaging in context: Channel plugins and Provider plugins.

Package metadata

Your package.json needs an openclaw field that tells the plugin system what your plugin provides:

Channel plugin
Provider plugin / ClawHub baseline

{
  "name": "@myorg/openclaw-my-channel",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "openclaw": {
    "extensions": ["./index.ts"],
    "setupEntry": "./setup-entry.ts",
    "channel": {
      "id": "my-channel",
      "label": "My Channel",
      "blurb": "Short description of the channel."
    }
  }
}

openclaw-clawhub-package.json

{
  "name": "@myorg/openclaw-my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "type": "module",
  "openclaw": {
    "extensions": ["./index.ts"],
    "compat": {
      "pluginApi": ">=2026.3.24-beta.2",
      "minGatewayVersion": "2026.3.24-beta.2"
    },
    "build": {
      "openclawVersion": "2026.3.24-beta.2",
      "pluginSdkVersion": "2026.3.24-beta.2"
    }
  }
}

If you publish the plugin externally on ClawHub, those compat and build fields are required. The canonical publish snippets live in docs/snippets/plugin-publish/.

`openclaw` fields

extensions

string[]

Entry point files (relative to package root).

setupEntry

string

Lightweight setup-only entry (optional).

channel

object

Channel catalog metadata for setup, picker, quickstart, and status surfaces.

providers

string[]

Provider ids registered by this plugin.

install

object

Install hints: npmSpec, localPath, defaultChoice, minHostVersion, expectedIntegrity, allowInvalidConfigRecovery.

startup

object

Startup behavior flags.

`openclaw.channel`

openclaw.channel is cheap package metadata for channel discovery and setup surfaces before runtime loads.

Field	Type	What it means
`id`	`string`	Canonical channel id.
`label`	`string`	Primary channel label.
`selectionLabel`	`string`	Picker/setup label when it should differ from `label`.
`detailLabel`	`string`	Secondary detail label for richer channel catalogs and status surfaces.
`docsPath`	`string`	Docs path for setup and selection links.
`docsLabel`	`string`	Override label used for docs links when it should differ from the channel id.
`blurb`	`string`	Short onboarding/catalog description.
`order`	`number`	Sort order in channel catalogs.
`aliases`	`string[]`	Extra lookup aliases for channel selection.
`preferOver`	`string[]`	Lower-priority plugin/channel ids this channel should outrank.
`systemImage`	`string`	Optional icon/system-image name for channel UI catalogs.
`selectionDocsPrefix`	`string`	Prefix text before docs links in selection surfaces.
`selectionDocsOmitLabel`	`boolean`	Show the docs path directly instead of a labeled docs link in selection copy.
`selectionExtras`	`string[]`	Extra short strings appended in selection copy.
`markdownCapable`	`boolean`	Marks the channel as markdown-capable for outbound formatting decisions.
`exposure`	`object`	Channel visibility controls for setup, configured lists, and docs surfaces.
`quickstartAllowFrom`	`boolean`	Opt this channel into the standard quickstart `allowFrom` setup flow.
`forceAccountBinding`	`boolean`	Require explicit account binding even when only one account exists.
`preferSessionLookupForAnnounceTarget`	`boolean`	Prefer session lookup when resolving announce targets for this channel.

Example:

{
  "openclaw": {
    "channel": {
      "id": "my-channel",
      "label": "My Channel",
      "selectionLabel": "My Channel (self-hosted)",
      "detailLabel": "My Channel Bot",
      "docsPath": "/channels/my-channel",
      "docsLabel": "my-channel",
      "blurb": "Webhook-based self-hosted chat integration.",
      "order": 80,
      "aliases": ["mc"],
      "preferOver": ["my-channel-legacy"],
      "selectionDocsPrefix": "Guide:",
      "selectionExtras": ["Markdown"],
      "markdownCapable": true,
      "exposure": {
        "configured": true,
        "setup": true,
        "docs": true
      },
      "quickstartAllowFrom": true
    }
  }
}

exposure supports:

configured: include the channel in configured/status-style listing surfaces
setup: include the channel in interactive setup/configure pickers
docs: mark the channel as public-facing in docs/navigation surfaces

showConfigured and showInSetup remain supported as legacy aliases. Prefer exposure.

`openclaw.install`

openclaw.install is package metadata, not manifest metadata.

Field	Type	What it means
`clawhubSpec`	`string`	Canonical ClawHub spec for install/update and onboarding install-on-demand flows.
`npmSpec`	`string`	Canonical npm spec for install/update fallback flows.
`localPath`	`string`	Local development or bundled install path.
`defaultChoice`	`"clawhub"` \| `"npm"` \| `"local"`	Preferred install source when multiple sources are available.
`minHostVersion`	`string`	Minimum supported OpenClaw version in the form `>=x.y.z` or `>=x.y.z-prerelease`.
`expectedIntegrity`	`string`	Expected npm dist integrity string, usually `sha512-...`, for pinned installs.
`allowInvalidConfigRecovery`	`boolean`	Lets bundled-plugin reinstall flows recover from specific stale-config failures.

Onboarding behavior

Interactive onboarding also uses openclaw.install for install-on-demand surfaces. If your plugin exposes provider auth choices or channel setup/catalog metadata before runtime loads, onboarding can show that choice, prompt for ClawHub, npm, or local install, install or enable the plugin, then continue the selected flow. ClawHub onboarding choices use clawhubSpec and are preferred when present; npm choices require trusted catalog metadata with a registry npmSpec; exact versions and expectedIntegrity are optional npm pins. If expectedIntegrity is present, install/update flows enforce it for npm. Keep the “what to show” metadata in openclaw.plugin.json and the “how to install it” metadata in package.json.

minHostVersion enforcement

If minHostVersion is set, install and non-bundled manifest-registry loading both enforce it. Older hosts skip external plugins; invalid version strings are rejected. Bundled source plugins are assumed to be co-versioned with the host checkout.

Pinned npm installs

For pinned npm installs, keep the exact version in npmSpec and add the expected artifact integrity:

{
  "openclaw": {
    "install": {
      "npmSpec": "@wecom/wecom-openclaw-plugin@1.2.3",
      "expectedIntegrity": "sha512-REPLACE_WITH_NPM_DIST_INTEGRITY",
      "defaultChoice": "npm"
    }
  }
}

allowInvalidConfigRecovery scope

allowInvalidConfigRecovery is not a general bypass for broken configs. It is for narrow bundled-plugin recovery only, so reinstall/setup can repair known upgrade leftovers like a missing bundled plugin path or stale channels.<id> entry for that same plugin. If config is broken for unrelated reasons, install still fails closed and tells the operator to run openclaw doctor --fix.

Deferred full load

Channel plugins can opt into deferred loading with:

{
  "openclaw": {
    "extensions": ["./index.ts"],
    "setupEntry": "./setup-entry.ts",
    "startup": {
      "deferConfiguredChannelFullLoadUntilAfterListen": true
    }
  }
}

When enabled, OpenClaw loads only setupEntry during the pre-listen startup phase, even for already-configured channels. The full entry loads after the gateway starts listening.

Only enable deferred loading when your setupEntry registers everything the gateway needs before it starts listening (channel registration, HTTP routes, gateway methods). If the full entry owns required startup capabilities, keep the default behavior.

If your setup/full entry registers gateway RPC methods, keep them on a plugin-specific prefix. Reserved core admin namespaces (config.*, exec.approvals.*, wizard.*, update.*) stay core-owned and always resolve to operator.admin.

Plugin manifest

Every native plugin must ship an openclaw.plugin.json in the package root. OpenClaw uses this to validate config without executing plugin code.

{
  "id": "my-plugin",
  "name": "My Plugin",
  "description": "Adds My Plugin capabilities to OpenClaw",
  "configSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "additionalProperties": false,
    "properties": {
      "webhookSecret": {
        "type": "string",
        "description": "Webhook verification secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

For channel plugins, add kind and channels:

{
  "id": "my-channel",
  "kind": "channel",
  "channels": ["my-channel"],
  "configSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "additionalProperties": false,
    "properties": {}
  }
}

Even plugins with no config must ship a schema. An empty schema is valid:

{
  "id": "my-plugin",
  "configSchema": {
    "type": "object",
    "additionalProperties": false
  }
}

See Plugin manifest for the full schema reference.

ClawHub publishing

For plugin packages, use the package-specific ClawHub command:

clawhub package publish your-org/your-plugin --dry-run
clawhub package publish your-org/your-plugin

The legacy skill-only publish alias is for skills. Plugin packages should always use clawhub package publish.

Setup entry

The setup-entry.ts file is a lightweight alternative to index.ts that OpenClaw loads when it only needs setup surfaces (onboarding, config repair, disabled channel inspection).

// setup-entry.ts
import { defineSetupPluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-core";
import { myChannelPlugin } from "./src/channel.js";

export default defineSetupPluginEntry(myChannelPlugin);

This avoids loading heavy runtime code (crypto libraries, CLI registrations, background services) during setup flows. Bundled workspace channels that keep setup-safe exports in sidecar modules can use defineBundledChannelSetupEntry(...) from openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-entry-contract instead of defineSetupPluginEntry(...). That bundled contract also supports an optional runtime export so setup-time runtime wiring can stay lightweight and explicit.

When OpenClaw uses setupEntry instead of the full entry

The channel is disabled but needs setup/onboarding surfaces.
The channel is enabled but unconfigured.
Deferred loading is enabled (deferConfiguredChannelFullLoadUntilAfterListen).

What setupEntry must register

The channel plugin object (via defineSetupPluginEntry).
Any HTTP routes required before gateway listen.
Any gateway methods needed during startup.

Those startup gateway methods should still avoid reserved core admin namespaces such as config.* or update.*.

What setupEntry should NOT include

CLI registrations.
Background services.
Heavy runtime imports (crypto, SDKs).
Gateway methods only needed after startup.

Narrow setup helper imports

For hot setup-only paths, prefer the narrow setup helper seams over the broader plugin-sdk/setup umbrella when you only need part of the setup surface:

Import path	Use it for	Key exports
`plugin-sdk/setup-runtime`	setup-time runtime helpers that stay available in `setupEntry` / deferred channel startup	`createPatchedAccountSetupAdapter`, `createEnvPatchedAccountSetupAdapter`, `createSetupInputPresenceValidator`, `noteChannelLookupFailure`, `noteChannelLookupSummary`, `promptResolvedAllowFrom`, `splitSetupEntries`, `createAllowlistSetupWizardProxy`, `createDelegatedSetupWizardProxy`
`plugin-sdk/setup-adapter-runtime`	environment-aware account setup adapters	`createEnvPatchedAccountSetupAdapter`
`plugin-sdk/setup-tools`	setup/install CLI/archive/docs helpers	`formatCliCommand`, `detectBinary`, `extractArchive`, `resolveBrewExecutable`, `formatDocsLink`, `CONFIG_DIR`

Use the broader plugin-sdk/setup seam when you want the full shared setup toolbox, including config-patch helpers such as moveSingleAccountChannelSectionToDefaultAccount(...). The setup patch adapters stay hot-path safe on import. Their bundled single-account promotion contract-surface lookup is lazy, so importing plugin-sdk/setup-runtime does not eagerly load bundled contract-surface discovery before the adapter is actually used.

Channel-owned single-account promotion

When a channel upgrades from a single-account top-level config to channels.<id>.accounts.*, the default shared behavior is to move promoted account-scoped values into accounts.default. Bundled channels can narrow or override that promotion through their setup contract surface:

singleAccountKeysToMove: extra top-level keys that should move into the promoted account
namedAccountPromotionKeys: when named accounts already exist, only these keys move into the promoted account; shared policy/delivery keys stay at the channel root
resolveSingleAccountPromotionTarget(...): choose which existing account receives promoted values

Matrix is the current bundled example. If exactly one named Matrix account already exists, or if defaultAccount points at an existing non-canonical key such as Ops, promotion preserves that account instead of creating a new accounts.default entry.

Config schema

Plugin config is validated against the JSON Schema in your manifest. Users configure plugins via:

{
  plugins: {
    entries: {
      "my-plugin": {
        config: {
          webhookSecret: "abc123",
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

Your plugin receives this config as api.pluginConfig during registration. For channel-specific config, use the channel config section instead:

{
  channels: {
    "my-channel": {
      token: "bot-token",
      allowFrom: ["user1", "user2"],
    },
  },
}

Building channel config schemas

Use buildChannelConfigSchema to convert a Zod schema into the ChannelConfigSchema wrapper used by plugin-owned config artifacts:

import { z } from "zod";
import { buildChannelConfigSchema } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-config-schema";

const accountSchema = z.object({
  token: z.string().optional(),
  allowFrom: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
  accounts: z.object({}).catchall(z.any()).optional(),
  defaultAccount: z.string().optional(),
});

const configSchema = buildChannelConfigSchema(accountSchema);

If you already author the contract as JSON Schema or TypeBox, use the direct helper so OpenClaw can skip Zod-to-JSON-Schema conversion on metadata paths:

import { Type } from "typebox";
import { buildJsonChannelConfigSchema } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-config-schema";

const configSchema = buildJsonChannelConfigSchema(
  Type.Object({
    token: Type.Optional(Type.String()),
    allowFrom: Type.Optional(Type.Array(Type.String())),
  }),
);

For third-party plugins, the cold-path contract is still the plugin manifest: mirror the generated JSON Schema into openclaw.plugin.json#channelConfigs so config schema, setup, and UI surfaces can inspect channels.<id> without loading runtime code.

Setup wizards

Channel plugins can provide interactive setup wizards for openclaw onboard. The wizard is a ChannelSetupWizard object on the ChannelPlugin:

import type { ChannelSetupWizard } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-setup";

const setupWizard: ChannelSetupWizard = {
  channel: "my-channel",
  status: {
    configuredLabel: "Connected",
    unconfiguredLabel: "Not configured",
    resolveConfigured: ({ cfg }) => Boolean((cfg.channels as any)?.["my-channel"]?.token),
  },
  credentials: [
    {
      inputKey: "token",
      providerHint: "my-channel",
      credentialLabel: "Bot token",
      preferredEnvVar: "MY_CHANNEL_BOT_TOKEN",
      envPrompt: "Use MY_CHANNEL_BOT_TOKEN from environment?",
      keepPrompt: "Keep current token?",
      inputPrompt: "Enter your bot token:",
      inspect: ({ cfg, accountId }) => {
        const token = (cfg.channels as any)?.["my-channel"]?.token;
        return {
          accountConfigured: Boolean(token),
          hasConfiguredValue: Boolean(token),
        };
      },
    },
  ],
};

The ChannelSetupWizard type supports credentials, textInputs, dmPolicy, allowFrom, groupAccess, prepare, finalize, and more. See bundled plugin packages (for example the Discord plugin src/channel.setup.ts) for full examples.

Shared allowFrom prompts

For DM allowlist prompts that only need the standard note -> prompt -> parse -> merge -> patch flow, prefer the shared setup helpers from openclaw/plugin-sdk/setup: createPromptParsedAllowFromForAccount(...), createTopLevelChannelParsedAllowFromPrompt(...), and createNestedChannelParsedAllowFromPrompt(...).

Standard channel setup status

For channel setup status blocks that only vary by labels, scores, and optional extra lines, prefer createStandardChannelSetupStatus(...) from openclaw/plugin-sdk/setup instead of hand-rolling the same status object in each plugin.

Optional channel setup surface

For optional setup surfaces that should only appear in certain contexts, use createOptionalChannelSetupSurface from openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-setup:

import { createOptionalChannelSetupSurface } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-setup";

const setupSurface = createOptionalChannelSetupSurface({
  channel: "my-channel",
  label: "My Channel",
  npmSpec: "@myorg/openclaw-my-channel",
  docsPath: "/channels/my-channel",
});
// Returns { setupAdapter, setupWizard }

plugin-sdk/channel-setup also exposes the lower-level createOptionalChannelSetupAdapter(...) and createOptionalChannelSetupWizard(...) builders when you only need one half of that optional-install surface.The generated optional adapter/wizard fail closed on real config writes. They reuse one install-required message across validateInput, applyAccountConfig, and finalize, and append a docs link when docsPath is set.

Binary-backed setup helpers

For binary-backed setup UIs, prefer the shared delegated helpers instead of copying the same binary/status glue into every channel:

createDetectedBinaryStatus(...) for status blocks that vary only by labels, hints, scores, and binary detection
createCliPathTextInput(...) for path-backed text inputs
createDelegatedSetupWizardStatusResolvers(...), createDelegatedPrepare(...), createDelegatedFinalize(...), and createDelegatedResolveConfigured(...) when setupEntry needs to forward to a heavier full wizard lazily
createDelegatedTextInputShouldPrompt(...) when setupEntry only needs to delegate a textInputs[*].shouldPrompt decision

Publishing and installing

External plugins: publish to ClawHub, then install:

npm
ClawHub only
npm package spec

openclaw plugins install @myorg/openclaw-my-plugin

Bare package specs install from npm during the launch cutover.

openclaw plugins install clawhub:@myorg/openclaw-my-plugin

Use npm when a package has not moved to ClawHub yet, or when you need a direct npm install path during migration:

openclaw plugins install npm:@myorg/openclaw-my-plugin

In-repo plugins: place under the bundled plugin workspace tree and they are automatically discovered during build. Users can install:

openclaw plugins install <package-name>

For npm-sourced installs, openclaw plugins install installs the package under ~/.openclaw/npm with lifecycle scripts disabled. Keep plugin dependency trees pure JS/TS and avoid packages that require postinstall builds.

Gateway startup does not install plugin dependencies. npm/git/ClawHub install flows own dependency convergence; local plugins must already have their dependencies installed.

Bundled package metadata is explicit, not inferred from built JavaScript at gateway startup. Runtime dependencies belong in the plugin package that owns them; packaged OpenClaw startup never repairs or mirrors plugin dependencies.

Building plugins — step-by-step getting started guide
Plugin manifest — full manifest schema reference
SDK entry points — definePluginEntry and defineChannelPluginEntry

Overview

Plugins

Skills

Automation and tasks

Tools

Agent coordination

Plugin setup and config

Package metadata

`openclaw` fields

`openclaw.channel`

`openclaw.install`

Deferred full load

Plugin manifest

ClawHub publishing

Setup entry

Narrow setup helper imports

Channel-owned single-account promotion

Config schema

Building channel config schemas

Setup wizards

Publishing and installing

Overview

Plugins

Skills

Automation and tasks

Tools

Agent coordination

Documentation Index

​Package metadata

​openclaw fields

​openclaw.channel

​openclaw.install

​Deferred full load

​Plugin manifest

​ClawHub publishing

​Setup entry

​Narrow setup helper imports

​Channel-owned single-account promotion

​Config schema

​Building channel config schemas

​Setup wizards

​Publishing and installing

​Related

Package metadata

`openclaw` fields

`openclaw.channel`

`openclaw.install`

Deferred full load

Plugin manifest

ClawHub publishing

Setup entry

Narrow setup helper imports

Channel-owned single-account promotion

Config schema

Building channel config schemas

Setup wizards

Publishing and installing

Related