Files
openclaw/docs/plugins/sdk-overview.md
Vincent Koc 28838802d4 docs(plugins): add SDK reference and how-to guide pages (#52366)
* docs(plugins): add SDK reference and how-to guide pages

Create 7 new plugin SDK documentation pages:
- sdk-overview: import map, registration API reference
- sdk-entrypoints: definePluginEntry/defineChannelPluginEntry reference
- sdk-runtime: api.runtime namespace reference
- sdk-setup: packaging, manifests, config schemas reference
- sdk-channel-plugins: step-by-step channel plugin how-to
- sdk-provider-plugins: step-by-step provider plugin how-to
- sdk-testing: test utilities and patterns reference

Restructure plugin docs navigation with nested groups:
- Top-level: user-facing pages (Install, Community, Bundles)
- Building Plugins: Getting Started, Channel, Provider
- SDK Reference: Overview, Entry Points, Runtime, Setup, Testing, Migration, Manifest, Internals

Revise existing pages for new IA:
- building-plugins.md: tightened as quick-start, routes to detailed guides
- architecture.md: updated info box with links to new guides
- sdk-migration.md: expanded Related section

* docs(plugins): add Mintlify components (Steps, CodeGroup, Tabs, Accordion, CardGroup)

- Channel plugin guide: wrap walkthrough in Steps, use CodeGroup for
  package.json/manifest, Accordion for createChatChannelPlugin details,
  CardGroup for advanced topics
- Provider plugin guide: wrap walkthrough in Steps, use CodeGroup for
  package files, Tabs for hook examples, Accordion for all-hooks reference
- Getting started: use CardGroup for plugin-type picker and next steps,
  CodeGroup for package/manifest
- SDK Overview: wrap subpath tables in AccordionGroup for scannability

* fix(docs): address PR review feedback on plugin SDK pages

- Remove nonexistent api.runtime.channel.handleInboundMessage call,
  replace with realistic webhook pattern and note about channel-specific
  inbound handling (issue a)
- Fix registrationMode values: 'setup' -> 'setup-only' and 'setup-runtime'
  matching actual PluginRegistrationMode type (issue b)
- Fix createOptionalChannelSetupSurface params: channelId -> channel,
  add required label field (issue c)
- Fix broken anchor links: #multi-capability-providers ->
  #step-5-add-extra-capabilities, #plugin-kinds -> #registration-api (issue d)
- Add missing acmeChatApi import in channel plugin example (issue e)
- Fix undefined provider variable in provider test example (issue f)

* fix(docs): use correct createProviderApiKeyAuthMethod options

Replace incorrect params (provider, validate) with actual required fields
(providerId, methodId, optionKey, flagName, promptMessage) matching
src/plugins/provider-api-key-auth.ts.

* fix(docs): address second round of PR review feedback

- Add required model fields (reasoning, input, cost, contextWindow,
  maxTokens) to catalog example (issue b)
- Fix buildChannelConfigSchema to take a Zod schema argument (issue c)
- Replace fabricated setupWizard steps/run with real ChannelSetupWizard
  contract (channel, status, credentials) (issue d)
- Add required sessionFile/workspaceDir to runEmbeddedPiAgent (issue e)
- Fix wrapStreamFn to return StreamFn from ctx.streamFn (issue f)
2026-03-22 11:35:53 -07:00

197 lines
9.6 KiB
Markdown

---
title: "Plugin SDK Overview"
sidebarTitle: "SDK Overview"
summary: "Import map, registration API reference, and SDK architecture"
read_when:
- You need to know which SDK subpath to import from
- You want a reference for all registration methods on OpenClawPluginApi
- You are looking up a specific SDK export
---
# Plugin SDK Overview
The plugin SDK is the typed contract between plugins and core. This page is the
reference for **what to import** and **what you can register**.
<Tip>
**Looking for a how-to guide?**
- First plugin? Start with [Getting Started](/plugins/building-plugins)
- Channel plugin? See [Channel Plugins](/plugins/sdk-channel-plugins)
- Provider plugin? See [Provider Plugins](/plugins/sdk-provider-plugins)
</Tip>
## Import convention
Always import from a specific subpath:
```typescript
import { definePluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry";
import { defineChannelPluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/core";
// Deprecated — will be removed in the next major release
import { definePluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk";
```
Each subpath is a small, self-contained module. This keeps startup fast and
prevents circular dependency issues.
## Subpath reference
The most commonly used subpaths, grouped by purpose. The full list of 100+
subpaths is in `scripts/lib/plugin-sdk-entrypoints.json`.
### Plugin entry
| Subpath | Key exports |
| ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `plugin-sdk/plugin-entry` | `definePluginEntry` |
| `plugin-sdk/core` | `defineChannelPluginEntry`, `createChatChannelPlugin`, `createChannelPluginBase`, `defineSetupPluginEntry`, `buildChannelConfigSchema` |
<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="Channel subpaths">
| Subpath | Key exports |
| --- | --- |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-setup` | `createOptionalChannelSetupSurface` |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-pairing` | `createChannelPairingController` |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-reply-pipeline` | `createChannelReplyPipeline` |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-config-helpers` | `createHybridChannelConfigAdapter` |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-config-schema` | Channel config schema types |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-policy` | `resolveChannelGroupRequireMention` |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-lifecycle` | `createAccountStatusSink` |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-inbound` | Debounce, mention matching, envelope helpers |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-send-result` | Reply result types |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-actions` | `createMessageToolButtonsSchema`, `createMessageToolCardSchema` |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-targets` | Target parsing/matching helpers |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-contract` | Channel contract types |
| `plugin-sdk/channel-feedback` | Feedback/reaction wiring |
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Provider subpaths">
| Subpath | Key exports |
| --- | --- |
| `plugin-sdk/provider-auth` | `createProviderApiKeyAuthMethod`, `ensureApiKeyFromOptionEnvOrPrompt`, `upsertAuthProfile` |
| `plugin-sdk/provider-models` | `normalizeModelCompat` |
| `plugin-sdk/provider-catalog` | Catalog type re-exports |
| `plugin-sdk/provider-usage` | `fetchClaudeUsage` and similar |
| `plugin-sdk/provider-stream` | Stream wrapper types |
| `plugin-sdk/provider-onboard` | Onboarding config patch helpers |
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Auth and security subpaths">
| Subpath | Key exports |
| --- | --- |
| `plugin-sdk/command-auth` | `resolveControlCommandGate` |
| `plugin-sdk/allow-from` | `formatAllowFromLowercase` |
| `plugin-sdk/secret-input` | Secret input parsing helpers |
| `plugin-sdk/webhook-ingress` | Webhook request/target helpers |
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Runtime and storage subpaths">
| Subpath | Key exports |
| --- | --- |
| `plugin-sdk/runtime-store` | `createPluginRuntimeStore` |
| `plugin-sdk/config-runtime` | Config load/write helpers |
| `plugin-sdk/infra-runtime` | System event/heartbeat helpers |
| `plugin-sdk/agent-runtime` | Agent dir/identity/workspace helpers |
| `plugin-sdk/directory-runtime` | Config-backed directory query/dedup |
| `plugin-sdk/keyed-async-queue` | `KeyedAsyncQueue` |
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Capability and testing subpaths">
| Subpath | Key exports |
| --- | --- |
| `plugin-sdk/image-generation` | Image generation provider types |
| `plugin-sdk/media-understanding` | Media understanding provider types |
| `plugin-sdk/speech` | Speech provider types |
| `plugin-sdk/testing` | `installCommonResolveTargetErrorCases`, `shouldAckReaction` |
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
## Registration API
The `register(api)` callback receives an `OpenClawPluginApi` object with these
methods:
### Capability registration
| Method | What it registers |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| `api.registerProvider(...)` | Text inference (LLM) |
| `api.registerChannel(...)` | Messaging channel |
| `api.registerSpeechProvider(...)` | Text-to-speech / STT synthesis |
| `api.registerMediaUnderstandingProvider(...)` | Image/audio/video analysis |
| `api.registerImageGenerationProvider(...)` | Image generation |
| `api.registerWebSearchProvider(...)` | Web search |
### Tools and commands
| Method | What it registers |
| ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `api.registerTool(tool, opts?)` | Agent tool (required or `{ optional: true }`) |
| `api.registerCommand(def)` | Custom command (bypasses the LLM) |
### Infrastructure
| Method | What it registers |
| ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| `api.registerHook(events, handler, opts?)` | Event hook |
| `api.registerHttpRoute(params)` | Gateway HTTP endpoint |
| `api.registerGatewayMethod(name, handler)` | Gateway RPC method |
| `api.registerCli(registrar, opts?)` | CLI subcommand |
| `api.registerService(service)` | Background service |
| `api.registerInteractiveHandler(registration)` | Interactive handler |
### Exclusive slots
| Method | What it registers |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| `api.registerContextEngine(id, factory)` | Context engine (one active at a time) |
| `api.registerMemoryPromptSection(builder)` | Memory prompt section builder |
### Events and lifecycle
| Method | What it does |
| -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| `api.on(hookName, handler, opts?)` | Typed lifecycle hook |
| `api.onConversationBindingResolved(handler)` | Conversation binding callback |
### API object fields
| Field | Type | Description |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| `api.id` | `string` | Plugin id |
| `api.name` | `string` | Display name |
| `api.config` | `OpenClawConfig` | Current config snapshot |
| `api.pluginConfig` | `Record<string, unknown>` | Plugin-specific config from `plugins.entries.<id>.config` |
| `api.runtime` | `PluginRuntime` | [Runtime helpers](/plugins/sdk-runtime) |
| `api.logger` | `PluginLogger` | Scoped logger (`debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`) |
| `api.registrationMode` | `PluginRegistrationMode` | `"full"`, `"setup-only"`, or `"setup-runtime"` |
| `api.resolvePath(input)` | `(string) => string` | Resolve path relative to plugin root |
## Internal module convention
Within your plugin, use local barrel files for internal imports:
```
my-plugin/
api.ts # Public exports for external consumers
runtime-api.ts # Internal-only runtime exports
index.ts # Plugin entry point
setup-entry.ts # Lightweight setup-only entry (optional)
```
<Warning>
Never import your own plugin through `openclaw/plugin-sdk/<your-plugin>`
from production code. Route internal imports through `./api.ts` or
`./runtime-api.ts`. The SDK path is the external contract only.
</Warning>
## Related
- [Entry Points](/plugins/sdk-entrypoints) — `definePluginEntry` and `defineChannelPluginEntry` options
- [Runtime Helpers](/plugins/sdk-runtime) — full `api.runtime` namespace reference
- [Setup and Config](/plugins/sdk-setup) — packaging, manifests, config schemas
- [Testing](/plugins/sdk-testing) — test utilities and lint rules
- [SDK Migration](/plugins/sdk-migration) — migrating from deprecated surfaces
- [Plugin Internals](/plugins/architecture) — deep architecture and capability model