openclaw/docs/plugins/dependency-resolution.md

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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

Plugin dependency resolution

OpenClaw keeps plugin dependency work at install/update time. Runtime loading does not run package managers, repair dependency trees, or mutate the OpenClaw package directory.

Responsibility split

Plugin packages own their dependency graph:

• runtime dependencies live in the plugin package 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 are installed into OpenClaw-owned package roots

OpenClaw owns only the plugin lifecycle:

• discover the plugin source
• install or update the package when explicitly requested
• record the 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 under ~/.openclaw/npm
• git packages clone under ~/.openclaw/git
• local/path/archive installs are copied or referenced without dependency repair

npm installs run in the npm root with:

npm install --prefix ~/.openclaw/npm <spec> --omit=dev --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund

npm may hoist transitive dependencies to ~/.openclaw/npm/node_modules beside the plugin package. OpenClaw scans the managed npm root before trusting the install and uses npm to remove npm-managed packages during uninstall, so hoisted runtime dependencies stay inside the managed cleanup boundary.

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 works the same way it does for a normal Node package.

Local plugins

Local plugins are treated as developer-controlled directories. OpenClaw does not run 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 can use the emergency Jiti path. Packaged JavaScript plugins and bundled internal plugins load through native import/require instead of Jiti.

Startup and reload

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

If a dependency is missing at runtime, the plugin fails to load and the error should point the operator to an explicit fix:

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

doctor --fix can clean legacy OpenClaw-generated dependency state and install configured downloadable plugins that are missing from the local install records. It does not repair dependencies for an already-installed local plugin.

Bundled plugins

Lightweight and core-critical bundled plugins are shipped as part of OpenClaw. They should either have no heavy runtime dependency tree or be moved 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 is not a supported way to 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/git/ClawHub plugin 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 when --fix is used, including old plugin-runtime-deps roots, global Node-prefix package symlinks that point 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.

These paths are legacy debris only. New installs should not create them.