feat(plugins): warn on ignored setup runtime (#71253)

* feat(plugins): warn on ignored setup runtime

* fix(plugins): avoid fallback setup runtime diagnostics

* refactor(plugins): clarify setup runtime lookup

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Plugin hooks: expose first-class run, message, sender, session, and trace correlation fields on message hook contexts and run lifecycle events. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Plugins/setup: include `setup.providers[].envVars` in generic provider auth/env lookups and warn non-bundled plugins that still rely on deprecated `providerAuthEnvVars` compatibility metadata. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Plugins/setup: surface manifest provider auth choices directly in provider setup flow before falling back to setup runtime or install-catalog choices. Thanks @vincentkoc.
+- Plugins/setup: warn when descriptor-only setup plugins still ship ignored setup runtime entries, keeping `setup.requiresRuntime: false` semantics explicit without breaking existing metadata. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - TUI/dependencies: remove direct `cli-highlight` usage from the OpenClaw TUI code-block renderer, keeping themed code coloring without the extra root dependency. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Diagnostics/OTEL: export run, model-call, and tool-execution diagnostic lifecycle events as OTEL spans without retaining live span state. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Providers/Anthropic Vertex: move the Vertex SDK runtime behind the bundled provider plugin so core no longer owns that provider-specific dependency. Thanks @vincentkoc.

docs/plugins/manifest.md

@@ -337,9 +337,11 @@ on `setup.providers[].envVars`.
 
 Set `requiresRuntime: false` only when those descriptors are sufficient for the
 setup surface. OpenClaw treats explicit `false` as a descriptor-only contract
-and will not execute `setup-api` for setup lookup. Omitted `requiresRuntime`
-keeps legacy fallback behavior so existing plugins that added descriptors
-without the flag do not break.
+and will not execute `setup-api` or `openclaw.setupEntry` for setup lookup. If
+a descriptor-only plugin still ships one of those setup runtime entries,
+OpenClaw reports an additive diagnostic and continues ignoring it. Omitted
+`requiresRuntime` keeps legacy fallback behavior so existing plugins that added
+descriptors without the flag do not break.
 
 Because setup lookup can execute plugin-owned `setup-api` code, normalized
 `setup.providers[].id` and `setup.cliBackends[]` values must stay unique across

src/plugins/setup-registry.test.ts

@@ -373,6 +373,42 @@ describe("setup-registry getJiti", () => {
 
     expect(resolvePluginSetupProvider({ provider: "openai", env: {} })).toBeUndefined();
     expect(resolvePluginSetupCliBackend({ backend: "codex-cli", env: {} })).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(resolvePluginSetupRegistry({ env: {} })).toEqual({
+      providers: [],
+      cliBackends: [],
+      configMigrations: [],
+      autoEnableProbes: [],
+      diagnostics: [
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          pluginId: "openai",
+          code: "setup-descriptor-runtime-disabled",
+        }),
+      ],
+    });
+    expect(mocks.createJiti).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("does not report descriptor-only diagnostics for bundled setup-api fallback paths", () => {
+    const parentDir = makeTempDir();
+    const pluginRoot = path.join(parentDir, "openai");
+    fs.mkdirSync(pluginRoot);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(path.join(process.cwd(), "extensions", "openai", "setup-api.ts"))).toBe(
+      true,
+    );
+    mocks.loadPluginManifestRegistry.mockReturnValue({
+      plugins: [
+        {
+          id: "workspace-openai",
+          rootDir: pluginRoot,
+          setup: {
+            providers: [{ id: "workspace-openai" }],
+            requiresRuntime: false,
+          },
+        },
+      ],
+      diagnostics: [],
+    });
+
     expect(resolvePluginSetupRegistry({ env: {} })).toEqual({
       providers: [],
       cliBackends: [],

src/plugins/setup-registry.ts

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ type SetupAutoEnableProbeEntry = {
 };
 
 export type PluginSetupRegistryDiagnosticCode =
+  | "setup-descriptor-runtime-disabled"
   | "setup-descriptor-provider-missing-runtime"
   | "setup-descriptor-provider-runtime-undeclared"
   | "setup-descriptor-cli-backend-missing-runtime"
@@ -189,7 +190,10 @@ function buildSetupCliBackendCacheKey(params: {
   });
 }
 
-function resolveSetupApiPath(rootDir: string): string | null {
+function resolveSetupApiPath(
+  rootDir: string,
+  options?: { includeBundledSourceFallback?: boolean },
+): string | null {
   const orderedExtensions = RUNNING_FROM_BUILT_ARTIFACT
     ? SETUP_API_EXTENSIONS
     : ([...SETUP_API_EXTENSIONS.slice(3), ...SETUP_API_EXTENSIONS.slice(0, 3)] as const);
@@ -209,6 +213,10 @@ function resolveSetupApiPath(rootDir: string): string | null {
     return direct;
   }
 
+  if (options?.includeBundledSourceFallback === false) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
   const bundledExtensionDir = path.basename(rootDir);
   const repoRootCandidates = [path.resolve(path.dirname(CURRENT_MODULE_PATH), "..", "..")];
   for (const repoRoot of repoRootCandidates) {
@@ -283,6 +291,19 @@ function resolveRegister(mod: OpenClawPluginModule): {
   return {};
 }
 
+function resolveLoadableSetupRuntimeSource(record: PluginManifestRecord): string | null {
+  return record.setupSource ?? resolveSetupApiPath(record.rootDir);
+}
+
+function resolveDeclaredSetupRuntimeSource(record: PluginManifestRecord): string | null {
+  return (
+    record.setupSource ??
+    resolveSetupApiPath(record.rootDir, {
+      includeBundledSourceFallback: false,
+    })
+  );
+}
+
 function resolveSetupRegistration(record: PluginManifestRecord): {
   setupSource: string;
   register: (api: ReturnType<typeof buildPluginApi>) => void | Promise<void>;
@@ -290,7 +311,7 @@ function resolveSetupRegistration(record: PluginManifestRecord): {
   if (record.setup?.requiresRuntime === false) {
     return null;
   }
-  const setupSource = record.setupSource ?? resolveSetupApiPath(record.rootDir);
+  const setupSource = resolveLoadableSetupRuntimeSource(record);
   if (!setupSource) {
     return null;
   }
@@ -399,6 +420,21 @@ function mapNormalizedIds(ids: readonly string[]): Map<string, string> {
   return mapped;
 }
 
+function pushDescriptorRuntimeDisabledDiagnostic(params: {
+  record: PluginManifestRecord;
+  diagnostics: PluginSetupRegistryDiagnostic[];
+}): void {
+  if (!resolveDeclaredSetupRuntimeSource(params.record)) {
+    return;
+  }
+  params.diagnostics.push({
+    pluginId: params.record.id,
+    code: "setup-descriptor-runtime-disabled",
+    message:
+      "setup.requiresRuntime is false, so OpenClaw ignored the plugin setup runtime entry. Remove setup-api/openclaw.setupEntry or set requiresRuntime true if setup lookup still needs plugin code.",
+  });
+}
+
 function pushSetupDescriptorDriftDiagnostics(params: {
   record: PluginManifestRecord;
   providers: readonly ProviderPlugin[];
@@ -504,6 +540,13 @@ export function resolvePluginSetupRegistry(params?: {
     if (selectedPluginIds && !selectedPluginIds.has(record.id)) {
       continue;
     }
+    if (record.setup?.requiresRuntime === false) {
+      pushDescriptorRuntimeDisabledDiagnostic({
+        record,
+        diagnostics,
+      });
+      continue;
+    }
     const setupRegistration = resolveSetupRegistration(record);
     if (!setupRegistration) {
       continue;