fix(plugins): bound prompt memory recall latency

extensions/memory-lancedb/index.test.ts

@@ -602,6 +602,102 @@ describe("memory plugin e2e", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test("bounds auto-recall latency during prompt build", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const post = vi.fn(() => new Promise(() => undefined));
+    const ensureGlobalUndiciEnvProxyDispatcher = vi.fn();
+    const loadLanceDbModule = vi.fn(async () => ({
+      connect: vi.fn(async () => ({
+        tableNames: vi.fn(async () => ["memories"]),
+        openTable: vi.fn(async () => ({
+          vectorSearch: vi.fn(() => ({ limit: vi.fn(() => ({ toArray: vi.fn(async () => []) })) })),
+          countRows: vi.fn(async () => 0),
+          add: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+          delete: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+        })),
+      })),
+    }));
+
+    vi.resetModules();
+    vi.doMock("openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-env", () => ({
+      ensureGlobalUndiciEnvProxyDispatcher,
+    }));
+    vi.doMock("openai", () => ({
+      default: class MockOpenAI {
+        post = post;
+      },
+    }));
+    vi.doMock("./lancedb-runtime.js", () => ({
+      loadLanceDbModule,
+    }));
+
+    try {
+      const { default: dynamicMemoryPlugin } = await import("./index.js");
+      const on = vi.fn();
+      const logger = {
+        info: vi.fn(),
+        warn: vi.fn(),
+        error: vi.fn(),
+        debug: vi.fn(),
+      };
+      const mockApi = {
+        id: "memory-lancedb",
+        name: "Memory (LanceDB)",
+        source: "test",
+        config: {},
+        pluginConfig: {
+          embedding: {
+            apiKey: OPENAI_API_KEY,
+            model: "text-embedding-3-small",
+          },
+          dbPath: getDbPath(),
+          autoCapture: false,
+          autoRecall: true,
+        },
+        runtime: {},
+        logger,
+        registerTool: vi.fn(),
+        registerCli: vi.fn(),
+        registerService: vi.fn(),
+        on,
+        resolvePath: (p: string) => p,
+      };
+
+      dynamicMemoryPlugin.register(mockApi as any);
+
+      const beforePromptBuild = on.mock.calls.find(
+        ([hookName]) => hookName === "before_prompt_build",
+      )?.[1];
+      expect(beforePromptBuild).toBeTypeOf("function");
+
+      const resultPromise = beforePromptBuild?.(
+        { prompt: "what editor should i use?", messages: [] },
+        {},
+      );
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(15_000);
+
+      await expect(resultPromise).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+      expect(ensureGlobalUndiciEnvProxyDispatcher).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+      expect(post).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        "/embeddings",
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          maxRetries: 0,
+          timeout: 15_000,
+        }),
+      );
+      expect(loadLanceDbModule).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      expect(logger.warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        "memory-lancedb: auto-recall timed out after 15000ms; skipping memory injection to avoid stalling agent startup",
+      );
+    } finally {
+      vi.doUnmock("openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-env");
+      vi.doUnmock("openai");
+      vi.doUnmock("./lancedb-runtime.js");
+      vi.resetModules();
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+
   test("uses live runtime config to enable auto-recall after startup disable", async () => {
     const embeddingsCreate = vi.fn(async () => ({
       data: [{ embedding: [0.1, 0.2, 0.3] }],

extensions/memory-lancedb/index.ts

@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ function resolveAutoCaptureStartIndex(
 // ============================================================================
 
 const TABLE_NAME = "memories";
+const DEFAULT_AUTO_RECALL_TIMEOUT_MS = 15_000;
 
 class MemoryDB {
   private db: LanceDB.Connection | null = null;
@@ -262,7 +263,7 @@ class MemoryDB {
 // ============================================================================
 
 type Embeddings = {
-  embed(text: string): Promise<number[]>;
+  embed(text: string, options?: { timeoutMs?: number }): Promise<number[]>;
 };
 
 class OpenAiCompatibleEmbeddings implements Embeddings {
@@ -277,7 +278,7 @@ class OpenAiCompatibleEmbeddings implements Embeddings {
     this.client = new OpenAI({ apiKey, baseURL: baseUrl });
   }
 
-  async embed(text: string): Promise<number[]> {
+  async embed(text: string, options?: { timeoutMs?: number }): Promise<number[]> {
     const params: OpenAI.EmbeddingCreateParams = {
       model: this.model,
       input: text,
@@ -292,6 +293,7 @@ class OpenAiCompatibleEmbeddings implements Embeddings {
     // transport and normalize the response ourselves.
     const response = await this.client.post<EmbeddingCreateResponse>("/embeddings", {
       body: params,
+      ...(options?.timeoutMs ? { timeout: options.timeoutMs, maxRetries: 0 } : {}),
     });
     return normalizeEmbeddingVector(response.data?.[0]?.embedding);
   }
@@ -353,6 +355,32 @@ class ProviderAdapterEmbeddings implements Embeddings {
   }
 }
 
+async function runWithTimeout<T>(params: {
+  timeoutMs: number;
+  task: () => Promise<T>;
+}): Promise<{ status: "ok"; value: T } | { status: "timeout" }> {
+  let timeout: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+  const TIMEOUT = Symbol("timeout");
+  const timeoutPromise = new Promise<typeof TIMEOUT>((resolve) => {
+    timeout = setTimeout(() => resolve(TIMEOUT), params.timeoutMs);
+    timeout.unref?.();
+  });
+  const taskPromise = params.task();
+  taskPromise.catch(() => undefined);
+
+  try {
+    const result = await Promise.race([taskPromise, timeoutPromise]);
+    if (result === TIMEOUT) {
+      return { status: "timeout" };
+    }
+    return { status: "ok", value: result };
+  } finally {
+    if (timeout) {
+      clearTimeout(timeout);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 function createEmbeddings(api: OpenClawPluginApi, cfg: MemoryConfig): Embeddings {
   const { provider, model, dimensions, apiKey, baseUrl } = cfg.embedding;
   if (provider === "openai" && apiKey) {
@@ -818,8 +846,22 @@ export default definePluginEntry({
             event.prompt,
           currentCfg.recallMaxChars,
         );
-        const vector = await embeddings.embed(recallQuery);
+        const recall = await runWithTimeout({
-        const results = await db.search(vector, 3, 0.3);
+          timeoutMs: DEFAULT_AUTO_RECALL_TIMEOUT_MS,
+          task: async () => {
+            const vector = await embeddings.embed(recallQuery, {
+              timeoutMs: DEFAULT_AUTO_RECALL_TIMEOUT_MS,
+            });
+            return await db.search(vector, 3, 0.3);
+          },
+        });
+        if (recall.status === "timeout") {
+          api.logger.warn?.(
+            `memory-lancedb: auto-recall timed out after ${DEFAULT_AUTO_RECALL_TIMEOUT_MS}ms; skipping memory injection to avoid stalling agent startup`,
+          );
+          return undefined;
+        }
+        const results = recall.value;
 
         if (results.length === 0) {
           return undefined;

src/plugins/hooks.model-override-wiring.test.ts

@@ -226,6 +226,44 @@ describe("model override pipeline wiring", () => {
         expectedPrependContext,
       });
     });
+
+    it("skips timed-out handlers and continues", async () => {
+      vi.useFakeTimers();
+      try {
+        addBeforePromptBuildHook(
+          registry,
+          "slow-plugin",
+          () => new Promise<PluginHookBeforePromptBuildResult>(() => undefined),
+          10,
+        );
+        addBeforePromptBuildHook(registry, "fast-plugin", () => ({ prependContext: "fast" }), 1);
+        const logger = {
+          error: vi.fn(),
+          warn: vi.fn(),
+          info: vi.fn(),
+          debug: vi.fn(),
+        };
+        const runner = createHookRunner(registry, {
+          logger,
+          modifyingHookTimeoutMsByHook: { before_prompt_build: 5 },
+        });
+
+        const resultPromise = runner.runBeforePromptBuild(
+          { prompt: "test", messages: [] },
+          stubCtx,
+        );
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5);
+
+        await expect(resultPromise).resolves.toEqual({ prependContext: "fast" });
+        expect(logger.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+          expect.stringContaining(
+            "[hooks] before_prompt_build handler from slow-plugin failed: timed out after 5ms",
+          ),
+        );
+      } finally {
+        vi.useRealTimers();
+      }
+    });
   });
 
   describe("graceful degradation + hook detection", () => {

src/plugins/hooks.ts

@@ -160,11 +160,19 @@ export type HookRunnerOptions = {
    * the runner continues, but the plugin's underlying work is not cancelled.
    */
   voidHookTimeoutMsByHook?: Partial<Record<PluginHookName, number>>;
+  /**
+   * Optional timeout for modifying hooks. A timed-out hook is logged and skipped,
+   * but the plugin's underlying work is not cancelled.
+   */
+  modifyingHookTimeoutMsByHook?: Partial<Record<PluginHookName, number>>;
 };
 
 const DEFAULT_VOID_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS_BY_HOOK: Partial<Record<PluginHookName, number>> = {
   agent_end: 30_000,
 };
+const DEFAULT_MODIFYING_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS_BY_HOOK: Partial<Record<PluginHookName, number>> = {
+  before_prompt_build: 15_000,
+};
 
 type ModifyingHookPolicy<K extends PluginHookName, TResult> = {
   mergeResults?: (
@@ -236,6 +244,10 @@ export function createHookRunner(
     ...DEFAULT_VOID_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS_BY_HOOK,
     ...options.voidHookTimeoutMsByHook,
   };
+  const modifyingHookTimeoutMsByHook = {
+    ...DEFAULT_MODIFYING_HOOK_TIMEOUT_MS_BY_HOOK,
+    ...options.modifyingHookTimeoutMsByHook,
+  };
 
   const shouldCatchHookErrors = (hookName: PluginHookName): boolean =>
     catchErrors && (failurePolicyByHook[hookName] ?? "fail-open") === "fail-open";
@@ -385,13 +397,27 @@ export function createHookRunner(
     return Math.floor(timeoutMs);
   };
 
-  const withVoidHookTimeout = async <T>(promise: Promise<T>, timeoutMs: number): Promise<T> => {
+  const getModifyingHookTimeoutMs = (hookName: PluginHookName): number | undefined => {
+    const timeoutMs = modifyingHookTimeoutMsByHook[hookName];
+    if (typeof timeoutMs !== "number" || !Number.isFinite(timeoutMs) || timeoutMs <= 0) {
+      return undefined;
+    }
+    return Math.floor(timeoutMs);
+  };
+
+  const withHookTimeout = async <T>(
+    promise: Promise<T>,
+    timeoutMs: number,
+    options: { unref?: boolean } = {},
+  ): Promise<T> => {
     let timer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
     const timeout = new Promise<never>((_, reject) => {
       timer = setTimeout(() => {
         reject(new Error(`timed out after ${timeoutMs}ms`));
       }, timeoutMs);
+      if (options.unref) {
         timer.unref?.();
+      }
     });
 
     try {
@@ -435,7 +461,7 @@ export function createHookRunner(
         );
         const timeoutMs = getVoidHookTimeoutMs(hookName);
         if (timeoutMs) {
-          await withVoidHookTimeout(promise, timeoutMs);
+          await withHookTimeout(promise, timeoutMs, { unref: true });
         } else {
           await promise;
         }
@@ -468,9 +494,10 @@ export function createHookRunner(
 
     for (const hook of hooks) {
       try {
-        const handlerResult = await (
+        const handler = hook.handler as (event: unknown, ctx: unknown) => Promise<TResult>;
-          hook.handler as (event: unknown, ctx: unknown) => Promise<TResult>
+        const promise = Promise.resolve(handler(event, ctx));
-        )(event, ctx);
+        const timeoutMs = getModifyingHookTimeoutMs(hookName);
+        const handlerResult = timeoutMs ? await withHookTimeout(promise, timeoutMs) : await promise;
 
         if (handlerResult !== undefined && handlerResult !== null) {
           if (policy.mergeResults) {