Plugin SDK Migration

Plugin SDK Migration

OpenClaw has moved from a broad backwards-compatibility layer to a modern plugin architecture with focused, documented imports. If your plugin was built before the new architecture, this guide helps you migrate.

What is changing

The old plugin system provided two wide-open surfaces that let plugins import anything they needed from a single entry point:

• openclaw/plugin-sdk/compat — a single import that re-exported dozens of helpers. It was introduced to keep older hook-based plugins working while the new plugin architecture was being built.
• openclaw/extension-api — a bridge that gave plugins direct access to host-side helpers like the embedded agent runner.

Both surfaces are now deprecated. They still work at runtime, but new plugins must not use them, and existing plugins should migrate before the next major release removes them.

The backwards-compatibility layer will be removed in a future major release. Plugins that still import from these surfaces will break when that happens.

Why this changed

The old approach caused problems:

• Slow startup — importing one helper loaded dozens of unrelated modules
• Circular dependencies — broad re-exports made it easy to create import cycles
• Unclear API surface — no way to tell which exports were stable vs internal

The modern plugin SDK fixes this: each import path (openclaw/plugin-sdk/\<subpath\>) is a small, self-contained module with a clear purpose and documented contract.

How to migrate

1. Audit Windows wrapper fallback behavior

If your plugin uses openclaw/plugin-sdk/windows-spawn, unresolved Windows .cmd/.bat wrappers now fail closed unless you explicitly pass allowShellFallback: true.

// Before
const program = applyWindowsSpawnProgramPolicy({ candidate });

// After
const program = applyWindowsSpawnProgramPolicy({
  candidate,
  // Only set this for trusted compatibility callers that intentionally
  // accept shell-mediated fallback.
  allowShellFallback: true,
});

If your caller does not intentionally rely on shell fallback, do not set allowShellFallback and handle the thrown error instead.

2. Find deprecated imports

Search your plugin for imports from either deprecated surface:

grep -r "plugin-sdk/compat" my-plugin/
grep -r "openclaw/extension-api" my-plugin/

3. Replace with focused imports

Each export from the old surface maps to a specific modern import path:

// Before (deprecated backwards-compatibility layer)
import {
  createChannelReplyPipeline,
  createPluginRuntimeStore,
  resolveControlCommandGate,
} from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/compat";

// After (modern focused imports)
import { createChannelReplyPipeline } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-reply-pipeline";
import { createPluginRuntimeStore } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-store";
import { resolveControlCommandGate } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/command-auth";

For host-side helpers, use the injected plugin runtime instead of importing directly:

// Before (deprecated extension-api bridge)
import { runEmbeddedPiAgent } from "openclaw/extension-api";
const result = await runEmbeddedPiAgent({ sessionId, prompt });

// After (injected runtime)
const result = await api.runtime.agent.runEmbeddedPiAgent({ sessionId, prompt });

The same pattern applies to other legacy bridge helpers:

4. Build and test

pnpm build
pnpm test -- my-plugin/

Import path reference

Use the narrowest import that matches the job. If you cannot find an export, check the source at src/plugin-sdk/ or ask in Discord.

Removal timeline

All core plugins have already been migrated. External plugins should migrate before the next major release.

Suppressing the warnings temporarily

Set these environment variables while you work on migrating:

OPENCLAW_SUPPRESS_PLUGIN_SDK_COMPAT_WARNING=1 openclaw gateway run
OPENCLAW_SUPPRESS_EXTENSION_API_WARNING=1 openclaw gateway run

This is a temporary escape hatch, not a permanent solution.

Related

• Getting Started — build your first plugin
• SDK Overview — full subpath import reference
• Channel Plugins — building channel plugins
• Provider Plugins — building provider plugins
• Plugin Internals — architecture deep dive
• Plugin Manifest — manifest schema reference