openclaw/docs/tools/plugin.md

---
summary: "Install, configure, and manage OpenClaw plugins"
read_when:
  - Installing or configuring plugins
  - Understanding plugin discovery and load rules
  - Working with Codex/Claude-compatible plugin bundles
title: "Plugins"
sidebarTitle: "Install and Configure"
---

Plugins extend OpenClaw with new capabilities: channels, model providers,
agent harnesses, tools, skills, speech, realtime transcription, realtime
voice, media-understanding, image generation, video generation, web fetch, web
search, and more. Some plugins are **core** (shipped with OpenClaw), others
are **external** (published on npm by the community).

## Quick start

<Steps>
  <Step title="See what is loaded">
    ```bash
    openclaw plugins list
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install a plugin">
    ```bash
    # From npm
    openclaw plugins install @openclaw/voice-call

    # From a local directory or archive
    openclaw plugins install ./my-plugin
    openclaw plugins install ./my-plugin.tgz
    ```

  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart the Gateway">
    ```bash
    openclaw gateway restart
    ```

    Then configure under `plugins.entries.\<id\>.config` in your config file.

  </Step>
</Steps>

If you prefer chat-native control, enable `commands.plugins: true` and use:

```text
/plugin install clawhub:@openclaw/voice-call
/plugin show voice-call
/plugin enable voice-call
```

The install path uses the same resolver as the CLI: local path/archive, explicit
`clawhub:<pkg>`, explicit `npm:<pkg>`, or bare package spec (ClawHub first, then
npm fallback).

If config is invalid, install normally fails closed and points you at
`openclaw doctor --fix`. The only recovery exception is a narrow bundled-plugin
reinstall path for plugins that opt into
`openclaw.install.allowInvalidConfigRecovery`.
During Gateway startup, invalid config for one plugin is isolated to that plugin:
startup logs the `plugins.entries.<id>.config` issue, skips that plugin during
load, and keeps other plugins and channels online. Run `openclaw doctor --fix`
to quarantine the bad plugin config by disabling that plugin entry and removing
its invalid config payload; the normal config backup keeps the previous values.
When a channel config references a plugin that is no longer discoverable but the
same stale plugin id remains in plugin config or install records, Gateway startup
logs warnings and skips that channel instead of blocking every other channel.
Run `openclaw doctor --fix` to remove the stale channel/plugin entries; unknown
channel keys without stale-plugin evidence still fail validation so typos stay
visible.
If `plugins.enabled: false` is set, stale plugin references are treated as inert:
Gateway startup skips plugin discovery/load work and `openclaw doctor` preserves
the disabled plugin config instead of auto-removing it. Re-enable plugins before
running doctor cleanup if you want stale plugin ids removed.

Packaged OpenClaw installs do not eagerly install every bundled plugin's
runtime dependency tree. When a bundled OpenClaw-owned plugin is active from
plugin config, legacy channel config, or a default-enabled manifest, startup
repairs only that plugin's declared runtime dependencies before importing it.
Persisted channel auth state alone does not activate a bundled channel for
Gateway startup runtime-dependency repair.
Explicit disablement still wins: `plugins.entries.<id>.enabled: false`,
`plugins.deny`, `plugins.enabled: false`, and `channels.<id>.enabled: false`
prevent automatic bundled runtime-dependency repair for that plugin/channel.
A non-empty `plugins.allow` also bounds default-enabled bundled runtime-dependency
repair; explicit bundled channel enablement (`channels.<id>.enabled: true`) can
still repair that channel's plugin dependencies.
External plugins and custom load paths must still be installed through
`openclaw plugins install`.

## Plugin types

OpenClaw recognizes two plugin formats:

| Format     | How it works                                                       | Examples                                               |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Native** | `openclaw.plugin.json` + runtime module; executes in-process       | Official plugins, community npm packages               |
| **Bundle** | Codex/Claude/Cursor-compatible layout; mapped to OpenClaw features | `.codex-plugin/`, `.claude-plugin/`, `.cursor-plugin/` |

Both show up under `openclaw plugins list`. See [Plugin Bundles](/plugins/bundles) for bundle details.

If you are writing a native plugin, start with [Building Plugins](/plugins/building-plugins)
and the [Plugin SDK Overview](/plugins/sdk-overview).

## Package entrypoints

Native plugin npm packages must declare `openclaw.extensions` in `package.json`.
Each entry must stay inside the package directory and resolve to a readable
runtime file, or to a TypeScript source file with an inferred built JavaScript
peer such as `src/index.ts` to `dist/index.js`.

Use `openclaw.runtimeExtensions` when published runtime files do not live at the
same paths as the source entries. When present, `runtimeExtensions` must contain
exactly one entry for every `extensions` entry. Mismatched lists fail install and
plugin discovery rather than silently falling back to source paths.

```json
{
  "name": "@acme/openclaw-plugin",
  "openclaw": {
    "extensions": ["./src/index.ts"],
    "runtimeExtensions": ["./dist/index.js"]
  }
}
```

## Official plugins

### Installable (npm)

| Plugin          | Package                | Docs                                 |
| --------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Matrix          | `@openclaw/matrix`     | [Matrix](/channels/matrix)           |
| Microsoft Teams | `@openclaw/msteams`    | [Microsoft Teams](/channels/msteams) |
| Nostr           | `@openclaw/nostr`      | [Nostr](/channels/nostr)             |
| Voice Call      | `@openclaw/voice-call` | [Voice Call](/plugins/voice-call)    |
| Zalo            | `@openclaw/zalo`       | [Zalo](/channels/zalo)               |
| Zalo Personal   | `@openclaw/zalouser`   | [Zalo Personal](/plugins/zalouser)   |

### Core (shipped with OpenClaw)

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Model providers (enabled by default)">
    `anthropic`, `byteplus`, `cloudflare-ai-gateway`, `github-copilot`, `google`,
    `huggingface`, `kilocode`, `kimi-coding`, `minimax`, `mistral`, `qwen`,
    `moonshot`, `nvidia`, `openai`, `opencode`, `opencode-go`, `openrouter`,
    `qianfan`, `synthetic`, `together`, `venice`,
    `vercel-ai-gateway`, `volcengine`, `xiaomi`, `zai`
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Memory plugins">
    - `memory-core` — bundled memory search (default via `plugins.slots.memory`)
    - `memory-lancedb` — install-on-demand long-term memory with auto-recall/capture (set `plugins.slots.memory = "memory-lancedb"`)

    See [Memory LanceDB](/plugins/memory-lancedb) for OpenAI-compatible
    embedding setup, Ollama examples, recall limits, and troubleshooting.

  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Speech providers (enabled by default)">
    `elevenlabs`, `microsoft`
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Other">
    - `browser` — bundled browser plugin for the browser tool, `openclaw browser` CLI, `browser.request` gateway method, browser runtime, and default browser control service (enabled by default; disable before replacing it)
    - `copilot-proxy` — VS Code Copilot Proxy bridge (disabled by default)
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

Looking for third-party plugins? See [Community Plugins](/plugins/community).

## Configuration

```json5
{
  plugins: {
    enabled: true,
    allow: ["voice-call"],
    deny: ["untrusted-plugin"],
    load: { paths: ["~/Projects/oss/voice-call-plugin"] },
    entries: {
      "voice-call": { enabled: true, config: { provider: "twilio" } },
    },
  },
}
```

| Field            | Description                                               |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| `enabled`        | Master toggle (default: `true`)                           |
| `allow`          | Plugin allowlist (optional)                               |
| `deny`           | Plugin denylist (optional; deny wins)                     |
| `load.paths`     | Extra plugin files/directories                            |
| `slots`          | Exclusive slot selectors (e.g. `memory`, `contextEngine`) |
| `entries.\<id\>` | Per-plugin toggles + config                               |

Config changes **require a gateway restart**. If the Gateway is running with config
watch + in-process restart enabled (the default `openclaw gateway` path), that
restart is usually performed automatically a moment after the config write lands.
There is no supported hot-reload path for native plugin runtime code or lifecycle
hooks; restart the Gateway process that is serving the live channel before
expecting updated `register(api)` code, `api.on(...)` hooks, tools, services, or
provider/runtime hooks to run.

`openclaw plugins list` is a local plugin registry/config snapshot. An
`enabled` plugin there means the persisted registry and current config allow the
plugin to participate. It does not prove that an already-running remote Gateway
child has restarted into the same plugin code. On VPS/container setups with
wrapper processes, send restarts to the actual `openclaw gateway run` process,
or use `openclaw gateway restart` against the running Gateway.

<Accordion title="Plugin states: disabled vs missing vs invalid">
  - **Disabled**: plugin exists but enablement rules turned it off. Config is preserved.
  - **Missing**: config references a plugin id that discovery did not find.
  - **Invalid**: plugin exists but its config does not match the declared schema. Gateway startup skips only that plugin; `openclaw doctor --fix` can quarantine the invalid entry by disabling it and removing its config payload.
</Accordion>

## Discovery and precedence

OpenClaw scans for plugins in this order (first match wins):

<Steps>
  <Step title="Config paths">
    `plugins.load.paths` — explicit file or directory paths. Paths that point
    back at OpenClaw's own packaged bundled plugin directories are ignored;
    run `openclaw doctor --fix` to remove those stale aliases.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Workspace plugins">
    `\<workspace\>/.openclaw/<plugin-root>/*.ts` and `\<workspace\>/.openclaw/<plugin-root>/*/index.ts`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Global plugins">
    `~/.openclaw/<plugin-root>/*.ts` and `~/.openclaw/<plugin-root>/*/index.ts`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bundled plugins">
    Shipped with OpenClaw. Many are enabled by default (model providers, speech).
    Others require explicit enablement.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Packaged installs and Docker images normally resolve bundled plugins from the
compiled `dist/extensions` tree. If a bundled plugin source directory is
bind-mounted over the matching packaged source path, for example
`/app/extensions/synology-chat`, OpenClaw treats that mounted source directory
as a bundled source overlay and discovers it before the packaged
`/app/dist/extensions/synology-chat` bundle. This keeps maintainer container
loops working without switching every bundled plugin back to TypeScript source.
Set `OPENCLAW_DISABLE_BUNDLED_SOURCE_OVERLAYS=1` to force packaged dist bundles
even when source overlay mounts are present.

### Enablement rules

- `plugins.enabled: false` disables all plugins and skips plugin discovery/load work
- `plugins.deny` always wins over allow
- `plugins.entries.\<id\>.enabled: false` disables that plugin
- Workspace-origin plugins are **disabled by default** (must be explicitly enabled)
- Bundled plugins follow the built-in default-on set unless overridden
- Exclusive slots can force-enable the selected plugin for that slot
- Some bundled opt-in plugins are enabled automatically when config names a
  plugin-owned surface, such as a provider model ref, channel config, or harness
  runtime
- Stale plugin config is preserved while `plugins.enabled: false` is active;
  re-enable plugins before running doctor cleanup if you want stale ids removed
- OpenAI-family Codex routes keep separate plugin boundaries:
  `openai-codex/*` belongs to the OpenAI plugin, while the bundled Codex
  app-server plugin is selected by `agentRuntime.id: "codex"` or legacy
  `codex/*` model refs

## Troubleshooting runtime hooks

If a plugin appears in `plugins list` but `register(api)` side effects or hooks
do not run in live chat traffic, check these first:

- Run `openclaw gateway status --deep --require-rpc` and confirm the active
  Gateway URL, profile, config path, and process are the ones you are editing.
- Restart the live Gateway after plugin install/config/code changes. In wrapper
  containers, PID 1 may only be a supervisor; restart or signal the child
  `openclaw gateway run` process.
- Use `openclaw plugins inspect <id> --json` to confirm hook registrations and
  diagnostics. Non-bundled conversation hooks such as `llm_input`,
  `llm_output`, `before_agent_finalize`, and `agent_end` need
  `plugins.entries.<id>.hooks.allowConversationAccess=true`.
- For model switching, prefer `before_model_resolve`. It runs before model
  resolution for agent turns; `llm_output` only runs after a model attempt
  produces assistant output.
- For proof of the effective session model, use `openclaw sessions` or the
  Gateway session/status surfaces and, when debugging provider payloads, start
  the Gateway with `--raw-stream --raw-stream-path <path>`.

### Duplicate channel or tool ownership

Symptoms:

- `channel already registered: <channel-id> (<plugin-id>)`
- `channel setup already registered: <channel-id> (<plugin-id>)`
- `plugin tool name conflict (<plugin-id>): <tool-name>`

These mean more than one enabled plugin is trying to own the same channel,
setup flow, or tool name. The most common cause is an external channel plugin
installed beside a bundled plugin that now provides the same channel id.

Debug steps:

- Run `openclaw plugins list --enabled --verbose` to see every enabled plugin
  and origin.
- Run `openclaw plugins inspect <id> --json` for each suspected plugin and
  compare `channels`, `channelConfigs`, `tools`, and diagnostics.
- Run `openclaw plugins registry --refresh` after installing or removing
  plugin packages so persisted metadata reflects the current install.
- Restart the Gateway after install, registry, or config changes.

Fix options:

- If one plugin intentionally replaces another for the same channel id, the
  preferred plugin should declare `channelConfigs.<channel-id>.preferOver` with
  the lower-priority plugin id. See [/plugins/manifest#replacing-another-channel-plugin](/plugins/manifest#replacing-another-channel-plugin).
- If the duplicate is accidental, disable one side with
  `plugins.entries.<plugin-id>.enabled: false` or remove the stale plugin
  install.
- If you explicitly enabled both plugins, OpenClaw keeps that request and
  reports the conflict. Pick one owner for the channel or rename plugin-owned
  tools so the runtime surface is unambiguous.

## Plugin slots (exclusive categories)

Some categories are exclusive (only one active at a time):

```json5
{
  plugins: {
    slots: {
      memory: "memory-core", // or "none" to disable
      contextEngine: "legacy", // or a plugin id
    },
  },
}
```

| Slot            | What it controls      | Default             |
| --------------- | --------------------- | ------------------- |
| `memory`        | Active memory plugin  | `memory-core`       |
| `contextEngine` | Active context engine | `legacy` (built-in) |

## CLI reference

```bash
openclaw plugins list                       # compact inventory
openclaw plugins list --enabled            # only enabled plugins
openclaw plugins list --verbose            # per-plugin detail lines
openclaw plugins list --json               # machine-readable inventory
openclaw plugins inspect <id>              # deep detail
openclaw plugins inspect <id> --json       # machine-readable
openclaw plugins inspect --all             # fleet-wide table
openclaw plugins info <id>                 # inspect alias
openclaw plugins doctor                    # diagnostics
openclaw plugins registry                  # inspect persisted registry state
openclaw plugins registry --refresh        # rebuild persisted registry
openclaw doctor --fix                      # repair plugin registry state

openclaw plugins install <package>         # install (ClawHub first, then npm)
openclaw plugins install clawhub:<pkg>     # install from ClawHub only
openclaw plugins install npm:<pkg>         # install from npm only
openclaw plugins install <spec> --force    # overwrite existing install
openclaw plugins install <path>            # install from local path
openclaw plugins install -l <path>         # link (no copy) for dev
openclaw plugins install <plugin> --marketplace <source>
openclaw plugins install <plugin> --marketplace https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>
openclaw plugins install <spec> --pin      # record exact resolved npm spec
openclaw plugins install <spec> --dangerously-force-unsafe-install
openclaw plugins update <id-or-npm-spec> # update one plugin
openclaw plugins update <id-or-npm-spec> --dangerously-force-unsafe-install
openclaw plugins update --all            # update all
openclaw plugins uninstall <id>          # remove config and plugin index records
openclaw plugins uninstall <id> --keep-files
openclaw plugins marketplace list <source>
openclaw plugins marketplace list <source> --json

openclaw plugins enable <id>
openclaw plugins disable <id>
```

Bundled plugins ship with OpenClaw. Many are enabled by default (for example
bundled model providers, bundled speech providers, and the bundled browser
plugin). Other bundled plugins still need `openclaw plugins enable <id>`.

`--force` overwrites an existing installed plugin or hook pack in place. Use
`openclaw plugins update <id-or-npm-spec>` for routine upgrades of tracked npm
plugins. It is not supported with `--link`, which reuses the source path instead
of copying over a managed install target.

When `plugins.allow` is already set, `openclaw plugins install` adds the
installed plugin id to that allowlist before enabling it. If the same plugin id
is present in `plugins.deny`, install removes that stale deny entry so the
explicit install is immediately loadable after restart.

OpenClaw keeps a persisted local plugin registry as the cold read model for
plugin inventory, contribution ownership, and startup planning. Install, update,
uninstall, enable, and disable flows refresh that registry after changing plugin
state. The same `plugins/installs.json` file keeps durable install metadata in
top-level `installRecords` and rebuildable manifest metadata in `plugins`. If
the registry is missing, stale, or invalid, `openclaw plugins registry
--refresh` rebuilds its manifest view from install records, config policy, and
manifest/package metadata without loading plugin runtime modules.
`openclaw plugins update <id-or-npm-spec>` applies to tracked installs. Passing
an npm package spec with a dist-tag or exact version resolves the package name
back to the tracked plugin record and records the new spec for future updates.
Passing the package name without a version moves an exact pinned install back to
the registry's default release line. If the installed npm plugin already matches
the resolved version and recorded artifact identity, OpenClaw skips the update
without downloading, reinstalling, or rewriting config.

`--pin` is npm-only. It is not supported with `--marketplace`, because
marketplace installs persist marketplace source metadata instead of an npm spec.

`--dangerously-force-unsafe-install` is a break-glass override for false
positives from the built-in dangerous-code scanner. It allows plugin installs
and plugin updates to continue past built-in `critical` findings, but it still
does not bypass plugin `before_install` policy blocks or scan-failure blocking.
Install scans ignore common test files and directories such as `tests/`,
`__tests__/`, `*.test.*`, and `*.spec.*` to avoid blocking packaged test mocks;
declared plugin runtime entrypoints are still scanned even if they use one of
those names.

This CLI flag applies to plugin install/update flows only. Gateway-backed skill
dependency installs use the matching `dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall` request
override instead, while `openclaw skills install` remains the separate ClawHub
skill download/install flow.

Compatible bundles participate in the same plugin list/inspect/enable/disable
flow. Current runtime support includes bundle skills, Claude command-skills,
Claude `settings.json` defaults, Claude `.lsp.json` and manifest-declared
`lspServers` defaults, Cursor command-skills, and compatible Codex hook
directories.

`openclaw plugins inspect <id>` also reports detected bundle capabilities plus
supported or unsupported MCP and LSP server entries for bundle-backed plugins.

Marketplace sources can be a Claude known-marketplace name from
`~/.claude/plugins/known_marketplaces.json`, a local marketplace root or
`marketplace.json` path, a GitHub shorthand like `owner/repo`, a GitHub repo
URL, or a git URL. For remote marketplaces, plugin entries must stay inside the
cloned marketplace repo and use relative path sources only.

See [`openclaw plugins` CLI reference](/cli/plugins) for full details.

## Plugin API overview

Native plugins export an entry object that exposes `register(api)`. Older
plugins may still use `activate(api)` as a legacy alias, but new plugins should
use `register`.

```typescript
export default definePluginEntry({
  id: "my-plugin",
  name: "My Plugin",
  register(api) {
    api.registerProvider({
      /* ... */
    });
    api.registerTool({
      /* ... */
    });
    api.registerChannel({
      /* ... */
    });
  },
});
```

OpenClaw loads the entry object and calls `register(api)` during plugin
activation. The loader still falls back to `activate(api)` for older plugins,
but bundled plugins and new external plugins should treat `register` as the
public contract.

`api.registrationMode` tells a plugin why its entry is being loaded:

| Mode            | Meaning                                                                                                                          |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `full`          | Runtime activation. Register tools, hooks, services, commands, routes, and other live side effects.                              |
| `discovery`     | Read-only capability discovery. Register providers and metadata; trusted plugin entry code may load, but skip live side effects. |
| `setup-only`    | Channel setup metadata loading through a lightweight setup entry.                                                                |
| `setup-runtime` | Channel setup loading that also needs the runtime entry.                                                                         |
| `cli-metadata`  | CLI command metadata collection only.                                                                                            |

Plugin entries that open sockets, databases, background workers, or long-lived
clients should guard those side effects with `api.registrationMode === "full"`.
Discovery loads are cached separately from activating loads and do not replace
the running Gateway registry. Discovery is non-activating, not import-free:
OpenClaw may evaluate the trusted plugin entry or channel plugin module to build
the snapshot. Keep module top levels lightweight and side-effect-free, and move
network clients, subprocesses, listeners, credential reads, and service startup
behind full-runtime paths.

Common registration methods:

| Method                                  | What it registers           |
| --------------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| `registerProvider`                      | Model provider (LLM)        |
| `registerChannel`                       | Chat channel                |
| `registerTool`                          | Agent tool                  |
| `registerHook` / `on(...)`              | Lifecycle hooks             |
| `registerSpeechProvider`                | Text-to-speech / STT        |
| `registerRealtimeTranscriptionProvider` | Streaming STT               |
| `registerRealtimeVoiceProvider`         | Duplex realtime voice       |
| `registerMediaUnderstandingProvider`    | Image/audio analysis        |
| `registerImageGenerationProvider`       | Image generation            |
| `registerMusicGenerationProvider`       | Music generation            |
| `registerVideoGenerationProvider`       | Video generation            |
| `registerWebFetchProvider`              | Web fetch / scrape provider |
| `registerWebSearchProvider`             | Web search                  |
| `registerHttpRoute`                     | HTTP endpoint               |
| `registerCommand` / `registerCli`       | CLI commands                |
| `registerContextEngine`                 | Context engine              |
| `registerService`                       | Background service          |

Hook guard behavior for typed lifecycle hooks:

- `before_tool_call`: `{ block: true }` is terminal; lower-priority handlers are skipped.
- `before_tool_call`: `{ block: false }` is a no-op and does not clear an earlier block.
- `before_install`: `{ block: true }` is terminal; lower-priority handlers are skipped.
- `before_install`: `{ block: false }` is a no-op and does not clear an earlier block.
- `message_sending`: `{ cancel: true }` is terminal; lower-priority handlers are skipped.
- `message_sending`: `{ cancel: false }` is a no-op and does not clear an earlier cancel.

Native Codex app-server runs bridge Codex-native tool events back into this
hook surface. Plugins can block native Codex tools through `before_tool_call`,
observe results through `after_tool_call`, and participate in Codex
`PermissionRequest` approvals. The bridge does not rewrite Codex-native tool
arguments yet. The exact Codex runtime support boundary lives in the
[Codex harness v1 support contract](/plugins/codex-harness#v1-support-contract).

For full typed hook behavior, see [SDK overview](/plugins/sdk-overview#hook-decision-semantics).

## Related

- [Building plugins](/plugins/building-plugins) — create your own plugin
- [Plugin bundles](/plugins/bundles) — Codex/Claude/Cursor bundle compatibility
- [Plugin manifest](/plugins/manifest) — manifest schema
- [Registering tools](/plugins/building-plugins#registering-agent-tools) — add agent tools in a plugin
- [Plugin internals](/plugins/architecture) — capability model and load pipeline
- [Community plugins](/plugins/community) — third-party listings