clawdbot/docs/plugin.md

summary, read_when

summary	read_when
Clawdbot plugins/extensions: discovery, config, and safety	Adding or modifying plugins/extensions Documenting plugin install or load rules

Plugins (Extensions)

Quick start (new to plugins?)

A plugin is just a small code module that extends Clawdbot with extra features (commands, tools, and Gateway RPC).

Most of the time, you’ll use plugins when you want a feature that’s not built into core Clawdbot yet (or you want to keep optional features out of your main install).

Fast path:

1. See what’s already loaded:

clawdbot plugins list

2. Install an official plugin (example: Voice Call):

clawdbot plugins install @clawdbot/voice-call

3. Restart the Gateway, then configure under plugins.entries.<id>.config.

See Voice Call for a concrete example plugin.

Available plugins (official)

• Microsoft Teams is plugin-only as of 2026.1.15; install @clawdbot/msteams if you use Teams.
• Memory (Core) — bundled memory search plugin (enabled by default via plugins.slots.memory)
• Voice Call — @clawdbot/voice-call
• Zalo Personal — @clawdbot/zalouser
• Matrix — @clawdbot/matrix
• Zalo — @clawdbot/zalo
• Microsoft Teams — @clawdbot/msteams
• Google Antigravity OAuth (provider auth) — bundled as google-antigravity-auth (disabled by default)
• Gemini CLI OAuth (provider auth) — bundled as google-gemini-cli-auth (disabled by default)
• Qwen OAuth (provider auth) — bundled as qwen-portal-auth (disabled by default)
• Copilot Proxy (provider auth) — bundled as copilot-proxy (disabled by default)

Clawdbot plugins are TypeScript modules loaded at runtime via jiti. They can register:

• Gateway RPC methods
• Gateway HTTP handlers
• Agent tools
• CLI commands
• Background services
• Optional config validation

Plugins run in‑process with the Gateway, so treat them as trusted code. Tool authoring guide: Plugin agent tools.

Discovery & precedence

Clawdbot scans, in order:

1. Config paths

• plugins.load.paths (file or directory)

2. Workspace extensions

• <workspace>/.clawdbot/extensions/*.ts
• <workspace>/.clawdbot/extensions/*/index.ts

3. Global extensions

• ~/.clawdbot/extensions/*.ts
• ~/.clawdbot/extensions/*/index.ts

4. Bundled extensions (shipped with Clawdbot, disabled by default)

• <clawdbot>/extensions/*

Bundled plugins must be enabled explicitly via plugins.entries.<id>.enabled or clawdbot plugins enable <id>. Installed plugins are enabled by default, but can be disabled the same way.

If multiple plugins resolve to the same id, the first match in the order above wins and lower-precedence copies are ignored.

Package packs

A plugin directory may include a package.json with clawdbot.extensions:

{
  "name": "my-pack",
  "clawdbot": {
    "extensions": ["./src/safety.ts", "./src/tools.ts"]
  }
}

Each entry becomes a plugin. If the pack lists multiple extensions, the plugin id becomes name/<fileBase>.

If your plugin imports npm deps, install them in that directory so node_modules is available (npm install / pnpm install).

Plugin IDs

Default plugin ids:

• Package packs: package.json name
• Standalone file: file base name (~/.../voice-call.ts → voice-call)

If a plugin exports id, Clawdbot uses it but warns when it doesn’t match the configured id.

Config

{
  plugins: {
    enabled: true,
    allow: ["voice-call"],
    deny: ["untrusted-plugin"],
    load: { paths: ["~/Projects/oss/voice-call-extension"] },
    entries: {
      "voice-call": { enabled: true, config: { provider: "twilio" } }
    }
  }
}

Fields:

• enabled: master toggle (default: true)
• allow: allowlist (optional)
• deny: denylist (optional; deny wins)
• load.paths: extra plugin files/dirs
• entries.<id>: per‑plugin toggles + config

Config changes require a gateway restart.

Plugin slots (exclusive categories)

Some plugin categories are exclusive (only one active at a time). Use plugins.slots to select which plugin owns the slot:

{
  plugins: {
    slots: {
      memory: "memory-core" // or "none" to disable memory plugins
    }
  }
}

If multiple plugins declare kind: "memory", only the selected one loads. Others are disabled with diagnostics.

Control UI (schema + labels)

The Control UI uses config.schema (JSON Schema + uiHints) to render better forms.

Clawdbot augments uiHints at runtime based on discovered plugins:

• Adds per-plugin labels for plugins.entries.<id> / .enabled / .config
• Merges optional plugin-provided config field hints under: plugins.entries.<id>.config.<field>

If you want your plugin config fields to show good labels/placeholders (and mark secrets as sensitive), provide configSchema.uiHints.

Example:

export default {
  id: "my-plugin",
  configSchema: {
    parse: (v) => v,
    uiHints: {
      "apiKey": { label: "API Key", sensitive: true },
      "region": { label: "Region", placeholder: "us-east-1" },
    },
  },
  register(api) {},
};

CLI

clawdbot plugins list
clawdbot plugins info <id>
clawdbot plugins install <path>                 # copy a local file/dir into ~/.clawdbot/extensions/<id>
clawdbot plugins install ./extensions/voice-call # relative path ok
clawdbot plugins install ./plugin.tgz           # install from a local tarball
clawdbot plugins install ./plugin.zip           # install from a local zip
clawdbot plugins install -l ./extensions/voice-call # link (no copy) for dev
clawdbot plugins install @clawdbot/voice-call # install from npm
clawdbot plugins update <id>
clawdbot plugins update --all
clawdbot plugins enable <id>
clawdbot plugins disable <id>
clawdbot plugins doctor

plugins update only works for npm installs tracked under plugins.installs.

Plugins may also register their own top‑level commands (example: clawdbot voicecall).

Plugin API (overview)

Plugins export either:

• A function: (api) => { ... }
• An object: { id, name, configSchema, register(api) { ... } }

Plugin hooks

Plugins can ship hooks and register them at runtime. This lets a plugin bundle event-driven automation without a separate hook pack install.

Example

import { registerPluginHooksFromDir } from "clawdbot/plugin-sdk";

export default function register(api) {
  registerPluginHooksFromDir(api, "./hooks");
}

Notes:

• Hook directories follow the normal hook structure (HOOK.md + handler.ts).
• Hook eligibility rules still apply (OS/bins/env/config requirements).
• Plugin-managed hooks show up in clawdbot hooks list with plugin:<id>.
• You cannot enable/disable plugin-managed hooks via clawdbot hooks; enable/disable the plugin instead.

Provider plugins (model auth)

Plugins can register model provider auth flows so users can run OAuth or API-key setup inside Clawdbot (no external scripts needed).

Register a provider via api.registerProvider(...). Each provider exposes one or more auth methods (OAuth, API key, device code, etc.). These methods power:

• clawdbot models auth login --provider <id> [--method <id>]

Example:

api.registerProvider({
  id: "acme",
  label: "AcmeAI",
  auth: [
    {
      id: "oauth",
      label: "OAuth",
      kind: "oauth",
      run: async (ctx) => {
        // Run OAuth flow and return auth profiles.
        return {
          profiles: [
            {
              profileId: "acme:default",
              credential: {
                type: "oauth",
                provider: "acme",
                access: "...",
                refresh: "...",
                expires: Date.now() + 3600 * 1000,
              },
            },
          ],
          defaultModel: "acme/opus-1",
        };
      },
    },
  ],
});

Notes:

• run receives a ProviderAuthContext with prompter, runtime, openUrl, and oauth.createVpsAwareHandlers helpers.
• Return configPatch when you need to add default models or provider config.
• Return defaultModel so --set-default can update agent defaults.

Register a messaging channel

Plugins can register channel plugins that behave like built‑in channels (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.). Channel config lives under channels.<id> and is validated by your channel plugin code.

const myChannel = {
  id: "acmechat",
  meta: {
    id: "acmechat",
    label: "AcmeChat",
    selectionLabel: "AcmeChat (API)",
    docsPath: "/channels/acmechat",
    blurb: "demo channel plugin.",
    aliases: ["acme"],
  },
  capabilities: { chatTypes: ["direct"] },
  config: {
    listAccountIds: (cfg) => Object.keys(cfg.channels?.acmechat?.accounts ?? {}),
    resolveAccount: (cfg, accountId) =>
      (cfg.channels?.acmechat?.accounts?.[accountId ?? "default"] ?? { accountId }),
  },
  outbound: {
    deliveryMode: "direct",
    sendText: async () => ({ ok: true }),
  },
};

export default function (api) {
  api.registerChannel({ plugin: myChannel });
}

Notes:

• Put config under channels.<id> (not plugins.entries).
• meta.label is used for labels in CLI/UI lists.
• meta.aliases adds alternate ids for normalization and CLI inputs.

Write a new messaging channel (step‑by‑step)

Use this when you want a new chat surface (a “messaging channel”), not a model provider. Model provider docs live under /providers/*.

1. Pick an id + config shape

• All channel config lives under channels.<id>.
• Prefer channels.<id>.accounts.<accountId> for multi‑account setups.

2. Define the channel metadata

• meta.label, meta.selectionLabel, meta.docsPath, meta.blurb control CLI/UI lists.
• meta.docsPath should point at a docs page like /channels/<id>.

3. Implement the required adapters

• config.listAccountIds + config.resolveAccount
• capabilities (chat types, media, threads, etc.)
• outbound.deliveryMode + outbound.sendText (for basic send)

4. Add optional adapters as needed

• setup (wizard), security (DM policy), status (health/diagnostics)
• gateway (start/stop/login), mentions, threading, streaming
• actions (message actions), commands (native command behavior)

5. Register the channel in your plugin

• api.registerChannel({ plugin })

Minimal config example:

{
  channels: {
    acmechat: {
      accounts: {
        default: { token: "ACME_TOKEN", enabled: true }
      }
    }
  }
}

Minimal channel plugin (outbound‑only):

const plugin = {
  id: "acmechat",
  meta: {
    id: "acmechat",
    label: "AcmeChat",
    selectionLabel: "AcmeChat (API)",
    docsPath: "/channels/acmechat",
    blurb: "AcmeChat messaging channel.",
    aliases: ["acme"],
  },
  capabilities: { chatTypes: ["direct"] },
  config: {
    listAccountIds: (cfg) => Object.keys(cfg.channels?.acmechat?.accounts ?? {}),
    resolveAccount: (cfg, accountId) =>
      (cfg.channels?.acmechat?.accounts?.[accountId ?? "default"] ?? { accountId }),
  },
  outbound: {
    deliveryMode: "direct",
    sendText: async ({ text }) => {
      // deliver `text` to your channel here
      return { ok: true };
    },
  },
};

export default function (api) {
  api.registerChannel({ plugin });
}

Load the plugin (extensions dir or plugins.load.paths), restart the gateway, then configure channels.<id> in your config.

Agent tools

See the dedicated guide: Plugin agent tools.

Register a gateway RPC method

export default function (api) {
  api.registerGatewayMethod("myplugin.status", ({ respond }) => {
    respond(true, { ok: true });
  });
}

Register CLI commands

export default function (api) {
  api.registerCli(({ program }) => {
    program.command("mycmd").action(() => {
      console.log("Hello");
    });
  }, { commands: ["mycmd"] });
}

Register background services

export default function (api) {
  api.registerService({
    id: "my-service",
    start: () => api.logger.info("ready"),
    stop: () => api.logger.info("bye"),
  });
}

Naming conventions

• Gateway methods: pluginId.action (example: voicecall.status)
• Tools: snake_case (example: voice_call)
• CLI commands: kebab or camel, but avoid clashing with core commands

Skills

Plugins can ship a skill in the repo (skills/<name>/SKILL.md). Enable it with plugins.entries.<id>.enabled (or other config gates) and ensure it’s present in your workspace/managed skills locations.

Distribution (npm)

Recommended packaging:

• Main package: clawdbot (this repo)
• Plugins: separate npm packages under @clawdbot/* (example: @clawdbot/voice-call)

Publishing contract:

• Plugin package.json must include clawdbot.extensions with one or more entry files.
• Entry files can be .js or .ts (jiti loads TS at runtime).
• clawdbot plugins install <npm-spec> uses npm pack, extracts into ~/.clawdbot/extensions/<id>/, and enables it in config.
• Config key stability: scoped packages are normalized to the unscoped id for plugins.entries.*.

Example plugin: Voice Call

This repo includes a voice‑call plugin (Twilio or log fallback):

• Source: extensions/voice-call
• Skill: skills/voice-call
• CLI: clawdbot voicecall start|status
• Tool: voice_call
• RPC: voicecall.start, voicecall.status
• Config (twilio): provider: "twilio" + twilio.accountSid/authToken/from (optional statusCallbackUrl, twimlUrl)
• Config (dev): provider: "log" (no network)

See Voice Call and extensions/voice-call/README.md for setup and usage.

Safety notes

Plugins run in-process with the Gateway. Treat them as trusted code:

• Only install plugins you trust.
• Prefer plugins.allow allowlists.
• Restart the Gateway after changes.

Testing plugins

Plugins can (and should) ship tests:

• In-repo plugins can keep Vitest tests under src/** (example: src/plugins/voice-call.plugin.test.ts).
• Separately published plugins should run their own CI (lint/build/test) and validate clawdbot.extensions points at the built entrypoint (dist/index.js).