openclaw/docs/plugins/sdk-overview.md

title	sidebarTitle	summary	read_when
Plugin SDK Overview	SDK Overview	Import map, registration API reference, and SDK architecture	You need to know which SDK subpath to import from You want a reference for all registration methods on OpenClawPluginApi You are looking up a specific SDK export

Plugin SDK Overview

The plugin SDK is the typed contract between plugins and core. This page is the reference for what to import and what you can register.

**Looking for a how-to guide?** - First plugin? Start with [Getting Started](/plugins/building-plugins) - Channel plugin? See [Channel Plugins](/plugins/sdk-channel-plugins) - Provider plugin? See [Provider Plugins](/plugins/sdk-provider-plugins)

Import convention

Always import from a specific subpath:

import { definePluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry";
import { defineChannelPluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-core";

Each subpath is a small, self-contained module. This keeps startup fast and prevents circular dependency issues. For channel-specific entry/build helpers, prefer openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-core; keep openclaw/plugin-sdk/core for the broader umbrella surface and shared helpers such as buildChannelConfigSchema.

Do not add or depend on provider-named convenience seams such as openclaw/plugin-sdk/slack, openclaw/plugin-sdk/discord, openclaw/plugin-sdk/signal, or openclaw/plugin-sdk/whatsapp. Bundled plugins should compose generic SDK subpaths inside their own api.ts or runtime-api.ts barrels, and core should either use those plugin-local barrels or add a narrow generic SDK contract when the need is truly cross-channel.

Subpath reference

The most commonly used subpaths, grouped by purpose. The full list of 100+ subpaths is in scripts/lib/plugin-sdk-entrypoints.json.

Plugin entry

Subpath	Key exports
plugin-sdk/plugin-entry	definePluginEntry
plugin-sdk/core	defineChannelPluginEntry, createChatChannelPlugin, createChannelPluginBase, defineSetupPluginEntry, buildChannelConfigSchema

| Subpath | Key exports | | --- | --- | | `plugin-sdk/channel-core` | `defineChannelPluginEntry`, `defineSetupPluginEntry`, `createChatChannelPlugin`, `createChannelPluginBase` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-setup` | `createOptionalChannelSetupSurface` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-pairing` | `createChannelPairingController` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-reply-pipeline` | `createChannelReplyPipeline` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-config-helpers` | `createHybridChannelConfigAdapter` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-config-schema` | Channel config schema types | | `plugin-sdk/channel-policy` | `resolveChannelGroupRequireMention` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-lifecycle` | `createAccountStatusSink` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-inbound` | Debounce, mention matching, envelope helpers | | `plugin-sdk/channel-send-result` | Reply result types | | `plugin-sdk/channel-actions` | `createMessageToolButtonsSchema`, `createMessageToolCardSchema` | | `plugin-sdk/channel-targets` | Target parsing/matching helpers | | `plugin-sdk/channel-contract` | Channel contract types | | `plugin-sdk/channel-feedback` | Feedback/reaction wiring | | Subpath | Key exports | | --- | --- | | `plugin-sdk/cli-backend` | CLI backend defaults + watchdog constants | | `plugin-sdk/provider-auth` | `createProviderApiKeyAuthMethod`, `ensureApiKeyFromOptionEnvOrPrompt`, `upsertAuthProfile` | | `plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared` | `normalizeModelCompat`, `buildProviderReplayFamilyHooks` | | `plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared` | `findCatalogTemplate`, `buildSingleProviderApiKeyCatalog` | | `plugin-sdk/provider-tools` | `buildProviderToolCompatFamilyHooks`, Gemini schema helpers | | `plugin-sdk/provider-usage` | `fetchClaudeUsage` and similar | | `plugin-sdk/provider-stream` | Stream wrapper types + provider stream wrappers | | `plugin-sdk/provider-onboard` | Onboarding config patch helpers | | `plugin-sdk/global-singleton` | Process-local singleton/map/cache helpers | | Subpath | Key exports | | --- | --- | | `plugin-sdk/command-auth` | `resolveControlCommandGate`, command registry helpers, sender-authorization helpers | | `plugin-sdk/allow-from` | `formatAllowFromLowercase` | | `plugin-sdk/secret-input` | Secret input parsing helpers | | `plugin-sdk/webhook-ingress` | Webhook request/target helpers | | `plugin-sdk/webhook-request-guards` | Request body size/timeout helpers | | Subpath | Key exports | | --- | --- | | `plugin-sdk/runtime-store` | `createPluginRuntimeStore` | | `plugin-sdk/config-runtime` | Config load/write helpers | | `plugin-sdk/approval-runtime` | Exec/plugin approval helpers, approval-capability builders, auth/profile helpers, native routing/runtime helpers | | `plugin-sdk/infra-runtime` | System event/heartbeat helpers | | `plugin-sdk/collection-runtime` | Small bounded cache helpers | | `plugin-sdk/diagnostic-runtime` | Diagnostic flag and event helpers | | `plugin-sdk/error-runtime` | Error graph and formatting helpers | | `plugin-sdk/fetch-runtime` | Wrapped fetch, proxy, and pinned lookup helpers | | `plugin-sdk/host-runtime` | Hostname and SCP host normalization helpers | | `plugin-sdk/retry-runtime` | Retry config and retry runner helpers | | `plugin-sdk/agent-runtime` | Agent dir/identity/workspace helpers | | `plugin-sdk/directory-runtime` | Config-backed directory query/dedup | | `plugin-sdk/keyed-async-queue` | `KeyedAsyncQueue` | | Subpath | Key exports | | --- | --- | | `plugin-sdk/image-generation` | Image generation provider types | | `plugin-sdk/media-understanding` | Media understanding provider types | | `plugin-sdk/speech` | Speech provider types | | `plugin-sdk/testing` | `installCommonResolveTargetErrorCases`, `shouldAckReaction` |

Registration API

The register(api) callback receives an OpenClawPluginApi object with these methods:

Capability registration

Method	What it registers
api.registerProvider(...)	Text inference (LLM)
api.registerCliBackend(...)	Local CLI inference backend
api.registerChannel(...)	Messaging channel
api.registerSpeechProvider(...)	Text-to-speech / STT synthesis
api.registerRealtimeTranscriptionProvider(...)	Streaming realtime transcription
api.registerRealtimeVoiceProvider(...)	Duplex realtime voice sessions
api.registerMediaUnderstandingProvider(...)	Image/audio/video analysis
api.registerImageGenerationProvider(...)	Image generation
api.registerWebSearchProvider(...)	Web search

Tools and commands

Method	What it registers
api.registerTool(tool, opts?)	Agent tool (required or { optional: true })
api.registerCommand(def)	Custom command (bypasses the LLM)

Infrastructure

Method	What it registers
api.registerHook(events, handler, opts?)	Event hook
api.registerHttpRoute(params)	Gateway HTTP endpoint
api.registerGatewayMethod(name, handler)	Gateway RPC method
api.registerCli(registrar, opts?)	CLI subcommand
api.registerService(service)	Background service
api.registerInteractiveHandler(registration)	Interactive handler

CLI registration metadata

api.registerCli(registrar, opts?) accepts two kinds of top-level metadata:

• commands: explicit command roots owned by the registrar
• descriptors: parse-time command descriptors used for root CLI help, routing, and lazy plugin CLI registration

If you want a plugin command to stay lazy-loaded in the normal root CLI path, provide descriptors that cover every top-level command root exposed by that registrar.

api.registerCli(
  async ({ program }) => {
    const { registerMatrixCli } = await import("./src/cli.js");
    registerMatrixCli({ program });
  },
  {
    descriptors: [
      {
        name: "matrix",
        description: "Manage Matrix accounts, verification, devices, and profile state",
        hasSubcommands: true,
      },
    ],
  },
);

Use commands by itself only when you do not need lazy root CLI registration. That eager compatibility path remains supported, but it does not install descriptor-backed placeholders for parse-time lazy loading.

CLI backend registration

api.registerCliBackend(...) lets a plugin own the default config for a local AI CLI backend such as claude-cli or codex-cli.

• The backend id becomes the provider prefix in model refs like claude-cli/opus.
• The backend config uses the same shape as agents.defaults.cliBackends.<id>.
• User config still wins. OpenClaw merges agents.defaults.cliBackends.<id> over the plugin default before running the CLI.
• Use normalizeConfig when a backend needs compatibility rewrites after merge (for example normalizing old flag shapes).

Exclusive slots

Method	What it registers
api.registerContextEngine(id, factory)	Context engine (one active at a time)
api.registerMemoryPromptSection(builder)	Memory prompt section builder
api.registerMemoryFlushPlan(resolver)	Memory flush plan resolver
api.registerMemoryRuntime(runtime)	Memory runtime adapter

Memory embedding adapters

Method	What it registers
api.registerMemoryEmbeddingProvider(adapter)	Memory embedding adapter for the active plugin

• registerMemoryPromptSection, registerMemoryFlushPlan, and registerMemoryRuntime are exclusive to memory plugins.
• registerMemoryEmbeddingProvider lets the active memory plugin register one or more embedding adapter ids (for example openai, gemini, or a custom plugin-defined id).
• User config such as agents.defaults.memorySearch.provider and agents.defaults.memorySearch.fallback resolves against those registered adapter ids.

Events and lifecycle

Method	What it does
api.on(hookName, handler, opts?)	Typed lifecycle hook
api.onConversationBindingResolved(handler)	Conversation binding callback

Hook decision semantics

• before_tool_call: returning { block: true } is terminal. Once any handler sets it, lower-priority handlers are skipped.
• before_tool_call: returning { block: false } is treated as no decision (same as omitting block), not as an override.
• before_install: returning { block: true } is terminal. Once any handler sets it, lower-priority handlers are skipped.
• before_install: returning { block: false } is treated as no decision (same as omitting block), not as an override.
• message_sending: returning { cancel: true } is terminal. Once any handler sets it, lower-priority handlers are skipped.
• message_sending: returning { cancel: false } is treated as no decision (same as omitting cancel), not as an override.

API object fields

Field	Type	Description
api.id	string	Plugin id
api.name	string	Display name
api.version	string?	Plugin version (optional)
api.description	string?	Plugin description (optional)
api.source	string	Plugin source path
api.rootDir	string?	Plugin root directory (optional)
api.config	OpenClawConfig	Current config snapshot (active in-memory runtime snapshot when available)
api.pluginConfig	Record<string, unknown>	Plugin-specific config from plugins.entries.<id>.config
api.runtime	PluginRuntime	Runtime helpers
api.logger	PluginLogger	Scoped logger (debug, info, warn, error)
api.registrationMode	PluginRegistrationMode	"full", "setup-only", "setup-runtime", or "cli-metadata"
api.resolvePath(input)	(string) => string	Resolve path relative to plugin root

Internal module convention

Within your plugin, use local barrel files for internal imports:

my-plugin/
  api.ts            # Public exports for external consumers
  runtime-api.ts    # Internal-only runtime exports
  index.ts          # Plugin entry point
  setup-entry.ts    # Lightweight setup-only entry (optional)

Never import your own plugin through `openclaw/plugin-sdk/` from production code. Route internal imports through `./api.ts` or `./runtime-api.ts`. The SDK path is the external contract only.

Facade-loaded bundled plugin public surfaces (api.ts, runtime-api.ts, index.ts, setup-entry.ts, and similar public entry files) now prefer the active runtime config snapshot when OpenClaw is already running. If no runtime snapshot exists yet, they fall back to the resolved config file on disk.

Extension production code should also avoid `openclaw/plugin-sdk/` imports. If a helper is truly shared, promote it to a neutral SDK subpath such as `openclaw/plugin-sdk/speech`, `.../provider-model-shared`, or another capability-oriented surface instead of coupling two plugins together.

Related

• Entry Points — definePluginEntry and defineChannelPluginEntry options
• Runtime Helpers — full api.runtime namespace reference
• Setup and Config — packaging, manifests, config schemas
• Testing — test utilities and lint rules
• SDK Migration — migrating from deprecated surfaces
• Plugin Internals — deep architecture and capability model