openclaw-openclaw/docs/plugins/dependency-resolution.md

summary, read_when, title, sidebarTitle

summary	read_when	title	sidebarTitle
How OpenClaw installs plugin packages and resolves plugin dependencies	You are debugging plugin package installs You are changing plugin startup, doctor, or package-manager install behavior You are maintaining packaged OpenClaw installs or bundled plugin manifests	Plugin dependency resolution	Dependencies

OpenClaw handles plugin dependencies at install/update time only. Runtime loading never runs a package manager, repairs a dependency tree, or mutates the OpenClaw package directory.

Responsibility split

Plugin packages own their dependency graph:

• Runtime dependencies live in the plugin package's dependencies or optionalDependencies.
• SDK/core imports are peer or supplied OpenClaw imports.
• Local development plugins bring their own already-installed dependencies.
• npm and git plugins install into OpenClaw-owned package roots.

OpenClaw owns only the plugin lifecycle:

• Discover the plugin source.
• Install or update the package when explicitly requested.
• Record install metadata.
• Load the plugin entrypoint.
• Fail with an actionable error when dependencies are missing.

Install roots

OpenClaw uses stable per-source roots:

• npm packages install into per-plugin projects under ~/.openclaw/npm/projects/<encoded-package>.
• git packages clone under ~/.openclaw/git.
• Local/path/archive installs are copied or referenced without dependency repair.

npm installs run in that per-plugin project root with:

cd ~/.openclaw/npm/projects/<encoded-package>
npm install --omit=dev --omit=peer --legacy-peer-deps --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund

openclaw plugins install npm-pack:<path.tgz> uses the same per-plugin npm project root for a local npm-pack tarball: OpenClaw reads the tarball's npm metadata, adds it to the managed project as a copied file: dependency, runs the normal npm install above, then verifies the installed lockfile metadata before trusting the plugin. This path exists for package-acceptance and release-candidate proof, where a local pack artifact should behave like the registry artifact it simulates.

Use npm-pack: when testing official or external plugin packages before publish. A raw archive or path install is useful for local debugging, but it does not prove the same dependency path as an installed npm or ClawHub package. npm-pack: proves the managed package install shape; it is not, by itself, proof that the plugin is catalog-linked official content.

When behavior depends on bundled-plugin or trusted official plugin status, pair the local package proof with a catalog-backed official install or a published package path that records official trust. Privileged helper access and trusted-official scope handling should be validated on that trusted install path, not inferred from a local tarball install.

If a plugin fails at runtime with a missing import, fix the package manifest instead of repairing the managed project by hand. Runtime imports belong in the plugin package dependencies or optionalDependencies; devDependencies are not installed for managed runtime projects. A local npm install inside ~/.openclaw/npm/projects/<encoded-package> can unblock a temporary diagnostic, but it is not package-acceptance proof because the next install or update recreates the project from package metadata.

npm may hoist transitive dependencies to the per-plugin project's node_modules beside the plugin package. OpenClaw scans the managed project root before trusting the install, and removes that project on uninstall, so hoisted runtime dependencies stay inside that plugin's cleanup boundary.

Published npm plugin packages can ship npm-shrinkwrap.json; npm uses that publishable lockfile during install, and OpenClaw's managed npm project root supports it through the normal install path. OpenClaw-owned publishable plugin packages must include a package-local shrinkwrap generated from that package's published dependency graph:

pnpm deps:shrinkwrap:generate
pnpm deps:shrinkwrap:check

The generator strips plugin devDependencies, applies the workspace override policy, and writes extensions/<id>/npm-shrinkwrap.json for each plugin with openclaw.release.publishToNpm: true. Third-party plugin packages may also ship a shrinkwrap; OpenClaw does not require one for community packages, but npm respects it when present.

Before treating a local package as release-candidate proof, inspect the tarball that will be installed:

npm pack --pack-destination /tmp
tar -xOf /tmp/<plugin-package>.tgz package/package.json
tar -tf /tmp/<plugin-package>.tgz | grep '^package/dist/'

For dependency changes, also verify a production install can resolve the runtime packages without dev dependencies:

tmpdir=$(mktemp -d)
(
  cd "$tmpdir"
  npm init -y >/dev/null
  npm install --package-lock-only --omit=dev --omit=peer --legacy-peer-deps --ignore-scripts /tmp/<plugin-package>.tgz
)
rm -rf "$tmpdir"

OpenClaw-owned npm plugin packages can also publish with explicit bundledDependencies. The npm publish path overlays the runtime dependency name list, strips dev-only workspace metadata from the published manifest, runs a script-free npm install for the package-local runtime dependencies, then packs or publishes the plugin tarball with those dependency files included. Native-heavy packages (Codex, ACPX, Copilot, llama.cpp, memory-lancedb, Tlon) opt out with openclaw.release.bundleRuntimeDependencies: false; they still ship a shrinkwrap, but npm resolves runtime dependencies during install instead of embedding every platform binary in the plugin tarball. The root openclaw package does not bundle its full dependency tree.

Plugins that import openclaw/plugin-sdk/* declare openclaw as a peer dependency. OpenClaw does not let npm install a separate registry copy of the host package into a managed project, because a stale host package can affect npm's peer resolution inside that plugin. Managed npm installs skip npm peer resolution/materialization, and OpenClaw reasserts plugin-local node_modules/openclaw links for installed packages that declare the host peer, after install or update.

git installs clone or refresh the repository, then run:

npm install --omit=dev --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund

The installed plugin then loads from that package directory, so package-local and parent node_modules resolution work the same way they do for a normal Node package.

Local plugins

Local plugins are developer-controlled directories. OpenClaw never runs npm install, pnpm install, or dependency repair for them; if a local plugin has dependencies, install them in that plugin before loading it.

Third-party TypeScript local plugins load through Jiti as an emergency path. Packaged JavaScript plugins and bundled internal plugins load through native import/require instead.

Startup and reload

Gateway startup and config reload never install plugin dependencies. They read the plugin install records, compute the entrypoint, and load it.

A missing dependency at runtime fails plugin load with an error that points the operator to an explicit fix:

openclaw plugins update <id>
openclaw plugins install <source>
openclaw doctor --fix

doctor --fix cleans legacy OpenClaw-generated dependency state and can recover downloadable plugins that are missing from local install records when config still references them. Doctor does not repair dependencies for an already-installed local plugin.

Bundled plugins

Lightweight and core-critical bundled plugins ship as part of OpenClaw. They should either carry no heavy runtime dependency tree, or move out to a downloadable package on ClawHub/npm.

For the current generated list of plugins that ship in the core package, install externally, or stay source-only, see Plugin inventory.

Bundled plugin manifests must not request dependency staging. Large or optional plugin functionality should be packaged as a normal plugin and installed through the same npm/git/ClawHub path as third-party plugins.

In source checkouts, OpenClaw treats the repository as a pnpm monorepo. After pnpm install, bundled plugins load from extensions/<id> so package-local workspace dependencies are available and edits are picked up directly. Source checkout development is pnpm-only; plain npm install at the repository root does not prepare bundled plugin dependencies.

Install shape	Bundled plugin location	Dependency owner
npm install -g openclaw	Built runtime tree inside the package	OpenClaw package and explicit plugin install/update/doctor flows
Git checkout plus pnpm install	extensions/<id> workspace packages	The pnpm workspace, including each plugin package's own dependencies
openclaw plugins install ...	Managed npm project/git/ClawHub root	The plugin install/update flow

Legacy cleanup

Older OpenClaw versions generated bundled-plugin dependency roots at startup or during doctor repair. Current doctor cleanup removes those stale directories and symlinks with --fix, including old plugin-runtime-deps roots, global Node-prefix package symlinks pointing at pruned plugin-runtime-deps targets, .openclaw-runtime-deps* manifests, generated plugin node_modules, install stage directories, and package-local pnpm stores. Packaged postinstall also removes those global symlinks before pruning the legacy target roots, so upgrades do not leave dangling ESM package imports.

Older npm installs also used a shared ~/.openclaw/npm/node_modules root. Current install, update, uninstall, and doctor flows still recognize that legacy flat root for recovery and cleanup only. New npm installs create per-plugin project roots instead.