fix(plugins): update external plugins in recorded root

src/plugins/clawhub.ts

@@ -746,6 +746,7 @@ export async function installPluginFromClawHub(
     token?: string;
     logger?: PluginInstallLogger;
     mode?: "install" | "update";
+    extensionsDir?: string;
     dryRun?: boolean;
     expectedPluginId?: string;
   },
@@ -862,6 +863,7 @@ export async function installPluginFromClawHub(
       dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall: params.dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall,
       logger: params.logger,
       mode: params.mode,
+      extensionsDir: params.extensionsDir,
       dryRun: params.dryRun,
       expectedPluginId: params.expectedPluginId,
     });

src/plugins/marketplace.ts

@@ -1109,6 +1109,7 @@ export async function installPluginFromMarketplace(
     logger?: MarketplaceLogger;
     timeoutMs?: number;
     mode?: "install" | "update";
+    extensionsDir?: string;
     dryRun?: boolean;
     expectedPluginId?: string;
   },
@@ -1154,6 +1155,7 @@ export async function installPluginFromMarketplace(
       path: resolved.path,
       logger: params.logger,
       mode: params.mode,
+      extensionsDir: params.extensionsDir,
       dryRun: params.dryRun,
       expectedPluginId: params.expectedPluginId,
     });

src/plugins/update.test.ts

@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ const tempDirs: string[] = [];
 
 vi.mock("./install.js", () => ({
   installPluginFromNpmSpec: (...args: unknown[]) => installPluginFromNpmSpecMock(...args),
-  resolvePluginInstallDir: (pluginId: string) => `/tmp/${pluginId}`,
+  resolvePluginInstallDir: (pluginId: string, extensionsDir = "/tmp") =>
+    `${extensionsDir}/${pluginId}`,
   PLUGIN_INSTALL_ERROR_CODE: {
     NPM_PACKAGE_NOT_FOUND: "npm_package_not_found",
   },
@@ -920,6 +921,82 @@ describe("updateNpmInstalledPlugins", () => {
       }),
     );
   });
+
+  it("reuses the recorded managed extensions root when updating external plugins", async () => {
+    const installPath = "/var/openclaw/extensions/demo";
+    const extensionsDir = "/var/openclaw/extensions";
+    installPluginFromNpmSpecMock.mockResolvedValue(
+      createSuccessfulNpmUpdateResult({
+        pluginId: "demo",
+        targetDir: installPath,
+        version: "1.2.0",
+      }),
+    );
+    installPluginFromClawHubMock.mockResolvedValue({
+      ok: true,
+      pluginId: "demo",
+      targetDir: installPath,
+      version: "1.2.0",
+      extensions: ["index.ts"],
+      clawhub: {
+        source: "clawhub",
+        clawhubUrl: "https://clawhub.ai",
+        clawhubPackage: "demo",
+        clawhubFamily: "code-plugin",
+        clawhubChannel: "official",
+        integrity: "sha256-next",
+        resolvedAt: "2026-03-22T00:00:00.000Z",
+      },
+    });
+    installPluginFromMarketplaceMock.mockResolvedValue({
+      ok: true,
+      pluginId: "demo",
+      targetDir: installPath,
+      version: "1.2.0",
+      extensions: ["index.ts"],
+      marketplaceSource: "acme/plugins",
+      marketplacePlugin: "demo",
+    });
+
+    await updateNpmInstalledPlugins({
+      config: createNpmInstallConfig({
+        pluginId: "demo",
+        spec: "@acme/demo",
+        installPath,
+      }),
+      pluginIds: ["demo"],
+    });
+    await updateNpmInstalledPlugins({
+      config: createClawHubInstallConfig({
+        pluginId: "demo",
+        installPath,
+        clawhubUrl: "https://clawhub.ai",
+        clawhubPackage: "demo",
+        clawhubFamily: "code-plugin",
+        clawhubChannel: "official",
+      }),
+      pluginIds: ["demo"],
+    });
+    await updateNpmInstalledPlugins({
+      config: createMarketplaceInstallConfig({
+        pluginId: "demo",
+        installPath,
+        marketplaceSource: "acme/plugins",
+        marketplacePlugin: "demo",
+      }),
+      pluginIds: ["demo"],
+    });
+
+    expect(installPluginFromNpmSpecMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ extensionsDir }),
+    );
+    expect(installPluginFromClawHubMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ extensionsDir }),
+    );
+    expect(installPluginFromMarketplaceMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ extensionsDir }),
+    );
+  });
 });
 
 describe("syncPluginsForUpdateChannel", () => {

src/plugins/update.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import path from "node:path";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import type { PluginInstallRecord } from "../config/types.plugins.js";
 import type { NpmSpecResolution } from "../infra/install-source-utils.js";
@@ -155,6 +156,19 @@ function pathsEqual(
   return resolveUserPath(left, env) === resolveUserPath(right, env);
 }
 
+function resolveRecordedExtensionsDir(params: {
+  pluginId: string;
+  installPath: string;
+}): string | undefined {
+  const parentDir = path.dirname(params.installPath);
+  try {
+    const canonicalInstallPath = resolvePluginInstallDir(params.pluginId, parentDir);
+    return canonicalInstallPath === params.installPath ? parentDir : undefined;
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}
+
 function buildLoadPathHelpers(existing: string[], env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env) {
   let paths = [...existing];
   const resolveSet = () => new Set(paths.map((entry) => resolveUserPath(entry, env)));
@@ -535,6 +549,10 @@ export async function updateNpmInstalledPlugins(params: {
       continue;
     }
     const currentVersion = await readInstalledPackageVersion(installPath);
+    const extensionsDir = resolveRecordedExtensionsDir({
+      pluginId,
+      installPath,
+    });
 
     if (!params.dryRun && record.source === "npm" && currentVersion) {
       const metadataResult = await resolveNpmSpecMetadata({ spec: effectiveSpec! });
@@ -573,6 +591,7 @@ export async function updateNpmInstalledPlugins(params: {
             ? await installPluginFromNpmSpec({
                 spec: effectiveSpec!,
                 mode: "update",
+                extensionsDir,
                 dryRun: true,
                 dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall: params.dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall,
                 expectedPluginId: pluginId,
@@ -590,6 +609,7 @@ export async function updateNpmInstalledPlugins(params: {
                   spec: effectiveSpec ?? `clawhub:${record.clawhubPackage!}`,
                   baseUrl: record.clawhubUrl,
                   mode: "update",
+                  extensionsDir,
                   dryRun: true,
                   dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall: params.dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall,
                   expectedPluginId: pluginId,
@@ -599,6 +619,7 @@ export async function updateNpmInstalledPlugins(params: {
                   marketplace: record.marketplaceSource!,
                   plugin: record.marketplacePlugin!,
                   mode: "update",
+                  extensionsDir,
                   dryRun: true,
                   dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall: params.dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall,
                   expectedPluginId: pluginId,
@@ -674,6 +695,7 @@ export async function updateNpmInstalledPlugins(params: {
           ? await installPluginFromNpmSpec({
               spec: effectiveSpec!,
               mode: "update",
+              extensionsDir,
               dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall: params.dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall,
               expectedPluginId: pluginId,
               expectedIntegrity,
@@ -690,6 +712,7 @@ export async function updateNpmInstalledPlugins(params: {
                 spec: effectiveSpec ?? `clawhub:${record.clawhubPackage!}`,
                 baseUrl: record.clawhubUrl,
                 mode: "update",
+                extensionsDir,
                 dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall: params.dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall,
                 expectedPluginId: pluginId,
                 logger,
@@ -698,6 +721,7 @@ export async function updateNpmInstalledPlugins(params: {
                 marketplace: record.marketplaceSource!,
                 plugin: record.marketplacePlugin!,
                 mode: "update",
+                extensionsDir,
                 dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall: params.dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall,
                 expectedPluginId: pluginId,
                 logger,