Track OpenClaw 2026.5 plugin ecosystem compatibility updates

[groksrc]

Summary

OpenClaw's 2026.5.x plugin ecosystem moved further toward manifest-first discovery, descriptor-first tools, compiled runtime package entrypoints, and ClawHub-first distribution. openclaw-basic-memory has already started adapting with openclaw.plugin.json + contracts.tools (see #40), but we should do a broader compatibility pass before the next release.

Upstream changes to account for

Verified against the OpenClaw docs/releases on 2026-05-05:

• Native plugins are openclaw.plugin.json + a runtime module; Codex/Claude/Cursor bundles are a separate compatibility format with narrower feature mapping: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/bundles
• Native manifests are required for local and packaged native plugins, and configSchema is required even for empty config: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/manifest
• kind: "memory" is selected via plugins.slots.memory; kind: "context-engine" is selected via plugins.slots.contextEngine: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/manifest
• Tool ownership should be declared in contracts.tools; OpenClaw now caches tool descriptors from api.registerTool(...) so prompt-time planning can skip plugin runtime loading: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/manifest and https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.5.4
• New plugin docs prefer definePluginEntry and focused openclaw/plugin-sdk/<subpath> imports. The root openclaw/plugin-sdk import is deprecated: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/building-plugins
• 2026.5.3/2026.5.4 release notes call out stricter install/discovery behavior around source-only plugin packages, package runtime chunks, and managed npm/ClawHub plugin updates: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases/tag/v2026.5.4
• ClawHub is now the preferred publishing/install route, with bare package specs checking ClawHub before npm during the cutover: https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/building-plugins

Current repo state

From the local checkout at ~/code/openclaw-basic-memory:

• openclaw.plugin.json already declares id: "openclaw-basic-memory", kind: "memory", contracts.tools, skill roots, UI hints, and config schema.
• package.json still advertises openclaw.extensions: ["./index.ts"], has no build script, ships TypeScript source files, and has no openclaw.runtimeExtensions/dist runtime entry.
• index.ts imports OpenClawPluginApi from the deprecated root openclaw/plugin-sdk path and exports a plain object rather than using definePluginEntry.
• peerDependencies.openclaw is >=2026.5.2, but devDependencies.openclaw is still ^2026.3.8, so local type/testing coverage may miss 2026.5.x behavior.
• Runtime config parsing accepts keys that the manifest schema does not currently validate: memory_dir, memory_file, captureMinChars, capture_min_chars, autoRecall, auto_recall, recallPrompt, and recall_prompt.

Proposed work

• Add a compiled runtime packaging path: build TS to dist, include the runtime output in published files, and add openclaw.runtimeExtensions while keeping source entries useful for local linked development.
• Wrap the entry with definePluginEntry from openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry.
• Replace root openclaw/plugin-sdk imports with focused subpath imports.
• Align openclaw.plugin.json config schema with parseConfig(...), including supported camelCase/snake_case aliases, auto-recall/capture fields, and strict nested cloud validation.
• Re-audit contracts.tools against every api.registerTool(...) call and decide whether any side-effecting tools should be optional with matching toolMetadata.
• Update package openclaw.compat / build metadata and align peer/dev OpenClaw versions with the minimum ecosystem version we actually support.
• Test against latest stable OpenClaw (2026.5.4 as of 2026-05-05): openclaw plugins install, openclaw plugins enable openclaw-basic-memory --slot memory, openclaw plugins inspect openclaw-basic-memory --json, and openclaw plugins doctor.
• Update README/DEVELOPMENT docs for current install paths, plugins.slots.memory, and any ClawHub publishing flow.

Acceptance criteria

• A packed/published artifact installs on current OpenClaw without source-only package warnings/errors.
• openclaw plugins inspect openclaw-basic-memory --json reports a native plugin with memory kind, clean diagnostics, and the expected 14 tools.
• openclaw plugins doctor is clean after enabling the plugin in plugins.slots.memory.
• Existing documented config examples validate under the manifest schema and still parse at runtime.
• CI runs typecheck/tests against a 2026.5.x OpenClaw dependency.