openclaw/docs/plugins/sdk-runtime.md

title	sidebarTitle	summary	read_when
Plugin Runtime Helpers	Runtime Helpers	api.runtime -- the injected runtime helpers available to plugins	You need to call core helpers from a plugin (TTS, STT, image gen, web search, subagent) You want to understand what api.runtime exposes You are accessing config, agent, or media helpers from plugin code

Plugin Runtime Helpers

Reference for the api.runtime object injected into every plugin during registration. Use these helpers instead of importing host internals directly.

**Looking for a walkthrough?** See [Channel Plugins](/plugins/sdk-channel-plugins) or [Provider Plugins](/plugins/sdk-provider-plugins) for step-by-step guides that show these helpers in context.

register(api) {
  const runtime = api.runtime;
}

Runtime namespaces

api.runtime.agent

Agent identity, directories, and session management.

// Resolve the agent's working directory
const agentDir = api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentDir(cfg);

// Resolve agent workspace
const workspaceDir = api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentWorkspaceDir(cfg);

// Get agent identity
const identity = api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentIdentity(cfg);

// Get default thinking level
const thinking = api.runtime.agent.resolveThinkingDefault(cfg, provider, model);

// Get agent timeout
const timeoutMs = api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentTimeoutMs(cfg);

// Ensure workspace exists
await api.runtime.agent.ensureAgentWorkspace(cfg);

// Run an embedded Pi agent
const agentDir = api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentDir(cfg);
const result = await api.runtime.agent.runEmbeddedPiAgent({
  sessionId: "my-plugin:task-1",
  runId: crypto.randomUUID(),
  sessionFile: path.join(agentDir, "sessions", "my-plugin-task-1.jsonl"),
  workspaceDir: api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentWorkspaceDir(cfg),
  prompt: "Summarize the latest changes",
  timeoutMs: api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentTimeoutMs(cfg),
});

Session store helpers are under api.runtime.agent.session:

const storePath = api.runtime.agent.session.resolveStorePath(cfg);
const store = api.runtime.agent.session.loadSessionStore(cfg);
await api.runtime.agent.session.saveSessionStore(cfg, store);
const filePath = api.runtime.agent.session.resolveSessionFilePath(cfg, sessionId);

api.runtime.agent.defaults

Default model and provider constants:

const model = api.runtime.agent.defaults.model; // e.g. "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6"
const provider = api.runtime.agent.defaults.provider; // e.g. "anthropic"

api.runtime.subagent

Launch and manage background subagent runs.

// Start a subagent run
const { runId } = await api.runtime.subagent.run({
  sessionKey: "agent:main:subagent:search-helper",
  message: "Expand this query into focused follow-up searches.",
  provider: "openai", // optional override
  model: "gpt-4.1-mini", // optional override
  deliver: false,
});

// Wait for completion
const result = await api.runtime.subagent.waitForRun({ runId, timeoutMs: 30000 });

// Read session messages
const { messages } = await api.runtime.subagent.getSessionMessages({
  sessionKey: "agent:main:subagent:search-helper",
  limit: 10,
});

// Delete a session
await api.runtime.subagent.deleteSession({
  sessionKey: "agent:main:subagent:search-helper",
});

Model overrides (`provider`/`model`) require operator opt-in via `plugins.entries..subagent.allowModelOverride: true` in config. Untrusted plugins can still run subagents, but override requests are rejected.

api.runtime.tts

Text-to-speech synthesis.

// Standard TTS
const clip = await api.runtime.tts.textToSpeech({
  text: "Hello from OpenClaw",
  cfg: api.config,
});

// Telephony-optimized TTS
const telephonyClip = await api.runtime.tts.textToSpeechTelephony({
  text: "Hello from OpenClaw",
  cfg: api.config,
});

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

Uses core messages.tts configuration and provider selection. Returns PCM audio buffer + sample rate.

api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding

Image, audio, and video analysis.

// Describe an image
const image = await api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.describeImageFile({
  filePath: "/tmp/inbound-photo.jpg",
  cfg: api.config,
  agentDir: "/tmp/agent",
});

// Transcribe audio
const { text } = await api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.transcribeAudioFile({
  filePath: "/tmp/inbound-audio.ogg",
  cfg: api.config,
  mime: "audio/ogg", // optional, for when MIME cannot be inferred
});

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

// Generic file analysis
const result = await api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.runFile({
  filePath: "/tmp/inbound-file.pdf",
  cfg: api.config,
});

Returns { text: undefined } when no output is produced (e.g. skipped input).

`api.runtime.stt.transcribeAudioFile(...)` remains as a compatibility alias for `api.runtime.mediaUnderstanding.transcribeAudioFile(...)`.

api.runtime.imageGeneration

Image generation.

const result = await api.runtime.imageGeneration.generate({
  prompt: "A robot painting a sunset",
  cfg: api.config,
});

const providers = api.runtime.imageGeneration.listProviders({ cfg: api.config });

api.runtime.webSearch

Web search.

const providers = api.runtime.webSearch.listProviders({ config: api.config });

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

api.runtime.media

Low-level media utilities.

const webMedia = await api.runtime.media.loadWebMedia(url);
const mime = await api.runtime.media.detectMime(buffer);
const kind = api.runtime.media.mediaKindFromMime("image/jpeg"); // "image"
const isVoice = api.runtime.media.isVoiceCompatibleAudio(filePath);
const metadata = await api.runtime.media.getImageMetadata(filePath);
const resized = await api.runtime.media.resizeToJpeg(buffer, { maxWidth: 800 });

api.runtime.config

Config load and write.

const cfg = await api.runtime.config.loadConfig();
await api.runtime.config.writeConfigFile(cfg);

api.runtime.system

System-level utilities.

await api.runtime.system.enqueueSystemEvent(event);
api.runtime.system.requestHeartbeatNow();
const output = await api.runtime.system.runCommandWithTimeout(cmd, args, opts);
const hint = api.runtime.system.formatNativeDependencyHint(pkg);

api.runtime.events

Event subscriptions.

api.runtime.events.onAgentEvent((event) => {
  /* ... */
});
api.runtime.events.onSessionTranscriptUpdate((update) => {
  /* ... */
});

api.runtime.logging

Logging.

const verbose = api.runtime.logging.shouldLogVerbose();
const childLogger = api.runtime.logging.getChildLogger({ plugin: "my-plugin" }, { level: "debug" });

api.runtime.modelAuth

Model and provider auth resolution.

const auth = await api.runtime.modelAuth.getApiKeyForModel({ model, cfg });
const providerAuth = await api.runtime.modelAuth.resolveApiKeyForProvider({
  provider: "openai",
  cfg,
});

api.runtime.state

State directory resolution.

const stateDir = api.runtime.state.resolveStateDir();

api.runtime.tools

Memory tool factories and CLI.

const getTool = api.runtime.tools.createMemoryGetTool(/* ... */);
const searchTool = api.runtime.tools.createMemorySearchTool(/* ... */);
api.runtime.tools.registerMemoryCli(/* ... */);

api.runtime.channel

Channel-specific runtime helpers (available when a channel plugin is loaded).

Storing runtime references

Use createPluginRuntimeStore to store the runtime reference for use outside the register callback:

import { createPluginRuntimeStore } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-store";
import type { PluginRuntime } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-store";

const store = createPluginRuntimeStore<PluginRuntime>("my-plugin runtime not initialized");

// In your entry point
export default defineChannelPluginEntry({
  id: "my-plugin",
  name: "My Plugin",
  description: "Example",
  plugin: myPlugin,
  setRuntime: store.setRuntime,
});

// In other files
export function getRuntime() {
  return store.getRuntime(); // throws if not initialized
}

export function tryGetRuntime() {
  return store.tryGetRuntime(); // returns null if not initialized
}

Other top-level api fields

Beyond api.runtime, the API object also provides:

Field	Type	Description
api.id	string	Plugin id
api.name	string	Plugin display name
api.config	OpenClawConfig	Current config snapshot
api.pluginConfig	Record<string, unknown>	Plugin-specific config from plugins.entries.<id>.config
api.logger	PluginLogger	Scoped logger (debug, info, warn, error)
api.registrationMode	PluginRegistrationMode	"full", "setup-only", or "setup-runtime"
api.resolvePath(input)	(string) => string	Resolve a path relative to the plugin root

Related

• SDK Overview -- subpath reference
• SDK Entry Points -- definePluginEntry options
• Plugin Internals -- capability model and registry