openclaw/docs/refactor/canvas.md

summary, read_when, title

summary	read_when	title
Plan and audit checklist for moving Canvas out of core and into a bundled experimental plugin.	Moving Canvas host, tools, commands, docs, or protocol ownership Auditing whether Canvas is still core-owned Preparing or reviewing the experimental Canvas plugin PR	Canvas plugin refactor

Canvas plugin refactor

Canvas is low-use and experimental. Treat it as a bundled plugin, not a core feature. Core may keep generic gateway, node, HTTP, auth, config, and native-client plumbing, but Canvas-specific behavior should live under extensions/canvas.

Goal

Move Canvas ownership to extensions/canvas while preserving the current paired-node behavior:

• the agent-facing canvas tool is registered by the Canvas plugin
• Canvas node commands are allowed only when the Canvas plugin registers them
• A2UI host/source files live under the Canvas plugin
• Canvas document materialization lives under the Canvas plugin
• CLI command implementation lives under the Canvas plugin, or delegates through a plugin-owned runtime barrel
• docs and plugin inventory describe Canvas as experimental and plugin-backed

Non-goals

• Do not redesign the native app Canvas UI in this refactor.
• Do not remove Canvas protocol/client support from iOS, Android, or macOS unless a separate product decision says Canvas should be deleted.
• Do not build a broad plugin service framework only for Canvas unless at least one other bundled plugin needs the same seam.

Current branch state

Done:

• Added bundled plugin package in extensions/canvas.
• Added extensions/canvas/openclaw.plugin.json.
• Moved the agent canvas tool from src/agents/tools/canvas-tool.ts to extensions/canvas/src/tool.ts.
• Removed core registration of createCanvasTool from src/agents/openclaw-tools.ts.
• Moved Canvas host implementation from src/canvas-host to extensions/canvas/src/host.
• Kept extensions/canvas/runtime-api.ts as the plugin-owned compatibility barrel for tests, packaging, and external public Canvas helpers.
• Moved Canvas document materialization from src/gateway/canvas-documents.ts to extensions/canvas/src/documents.ts.
• Moved Canvas CLI implementation and A2UI JSONL helpers into extensions/canvas/src/cli.ts.
• Moved Canvas host URL and scoped capability helpers into extensions/canvas/src.
• Moved Canvas node command defaults out of hardcoded core lists and into plugin nodeInvokePolicies.
• Added plugin-owned Canvas host config at plugins.entries.canvas.config.host.
• Moved Canvas and A2UI HTTP serving behind Canvas plugin HTTP route registration.
• Added generic plugin WebSocket upgrade dispatch for plugin-owned HTTP routes.
• Replaced Canvas-specific gateway host URL and node capability auth with generic hosted plugin surface and node capability helpers.
• Added plugin-owned hosted media resolvers so Canvas document URLs resolve through the Canvas plugin instead of core importing Canvas document internals.
• Added api.registerNodeCliFeature(...) so Canvas can declare openclaw nodes canvas as a plugin-owned node feature without manually spelling the parent command path.
• Removed production src/** imports of extensions/canvas/runtime-api.js.
• Moved the A2UI bundle source from apps/shared/OpenClawKit/Tools/CanvasA2UI to extensions/canvas/src/host/a2ui-app.
• Moved A2UI build/copy implementation under extensions/canvas/scripts and replaced root build wiring with generic bundled-plugin asset hooks.
• Removed the runtime legacy top-level canvasHost config alias.
• Kept the Canvas doctor migration so openclaw doctor --fix rewrites old canvasHost configs into plugins.entries.canvas.config.host.
• Removed old-agent Canvas protocol compatibility behind gateway protocol v4. Native clients and gateways now use only pluginSurfaceUrls.canvas plus node.pluginSurface.refresh; the deprecated canvasHostUrl, canvasCapability, and node.canvas.capability.refresh path is intentionally unsupported in this experimental refactor.
• Updated generated plugin inventory to include Canvas.
• Added plugin reference docs at docs/plugins/reference/canvas.md.

Known remaining core-owned Canvas surfaces:

• Native app Canvas handlers under apps/ still intentionally consume the Canvas plugin surface
• native app Canvas protocol/client handlers under apps/
• published artifact output still uses dist/canvas-host/a2ui for backwards-compatible runtime lookup, but the copy step is now plugin-owned

Target shape

extensions/canvas should own:

• plugin manifest and package metadata
• agent tool registration
• node invoke command policy
• Canvas host and A2UI runtime
• Canvas A2UI bundle source and asset build/copy scripts
• Canvas document creation and asset resolution
• Canvas CLI implementation
• Canvas docs page and plugin inventory entry

Core should own only generic seams:

• plugin discovery and registration
• generic agent tool registry
• generic node invoke policy registry
• generic gateway HTTP/auth and WebSocket upgrade dispatch
• generic hosted plugin surface URL resolution
• generic hosted media resolver registration
• generic node capability transport
• generic config plumbing
• generic bundled-plugin asset hook discovery

Native apps may keep Canvas command handlers as clients of the protocol. They are not the plugin runtime owner.

Migration steps

1. Treat plugins.entries.canvas.config.host as the plugin-owned config surface.
2. Update docs so Canvas is described as an experimental bundled plugin.
3. Run focused Canvas tests, plugin inventory checks, plugin SDK API checks, and build/type gates affected by runtime boundaries.

Audit checklist

Before calling the refactor complete:

• rg "src/canvas-host|../canvas-host" returns no live source imports.
• rg "canvas-tool|createCanvasTool" src finds no core-owned Canvas tool implementation.
• rg "canvas.present|canvas.snapshot|canvas.a2ui" src/gateway finds no hardcoded allowlist defaults outside generic plugin policy tests.
• rg "extensions/canvas/runtime-api" src --glob '!**/*.test.ts' is empty.
• rg "canvas-documents" src is empty.
• rg "registerNodesCanvasCommands|nodes-canvas" src is empty; the Canvas plugin registers openclaw nodes canvas through nested plugin CLI metadata.
• rg "createCanvasHostHandler|handleA2uiHttpRequest" src/gateway returns no gateway runtime ownership.
• rg "apps/shared/OpenClawKit/Tools/CanvasA2UI|canvas-a2ui-copy|extensions/canvas/src/host/a2ui" scripts .github package.json finds only compatibility wrappers or plugin-owned paths.
• pnpm plugins:inventory:check passes.
• pnpm plugin-sdk:api:check passes, or generated API baselines are intentionally updated and reviewed.
• Targeted Canvas tests pass.
• Changed-lanes tests pass for Canvas host/A2UI paths.
• PR body explicitly says Canvas is experimental and plugin-backed.

Verification commands

Use targeted local checks while iterating:

pnpm test extensions/canvas/src/host/server.test.ts extensions/canvas/src/host/server.state-dir.test.ts extensions/canvas/src/host/file-resolver.test.ts
pnpm test src/gateway/server.plugin-node-capability-auth.test.ts src/gateway/server-import-boundary.test.ts
pnpm test extensions/canvas/src/config-migration.test.ts src/commands/doctor-legacy-config.migrations.test.ts
pnpm test test/scripts/changed-lanes.test.ts test/scripts/build-all.test.ts extensions/canvas/scripts/bundle-a2ui.test.ts test/scripts/bundled-plugin-assets.test.ts extensions/canvas/scripts/copy-a2ui.test.ts src/infra/run-node.test.ts
pnpm tsgo:extensions
pnpm plugins:inventory:check
pnpm plugin-sdk:api:check

Run pnpm build before push if runtime barrel, lazy import, packaging, or published plugin surfaces change.