openclaw/docs/plugins/sdk-entrypoints.md

title, sidebarTitle, summary, read_when

title	sidebarTitle	summary	read_when
Plugin Entry Points	Entry Points	Reference for definePluginEntry, defineChannelPluginEntry, and defineSetupPluginEntry	You need the exact type signature of definePluginEntry or defineChannelPluginEntry You want to understand registration mode (full vs setup vs CLI metadata) You are looking up entry point options

Plugin Entry Points

Every plugin exports a default entry object. The SDK provides three helpers for creating them.

**Looking for a walkthrough?** See [Channel Plugins](/plugins/sdk-channel-plugins) or [Provider Plugins](/plugins/sdk-provider-plugins) for step-by-step guides.

definePluginEntry

Import: openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry

For provider plugins, tool plugins, hook plugins, and anything that is not a messaging channel.

import { definePluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry";

export default definePluginEntry({
  id: "my-plugin",
  name: "My Plugin",
  description: "Short summary",
  register(api) {
    api.registerProvider({
      /* ... */
    });
    api.registerTool({
      /* ... */
    });
  },
});

Field	Type	Required	Default
id	string	Yes	—
name	string	Yes	—
description	string	Yes	—
kind	string	No	—
configSchema	OpenClawPluginConfigSchema | () => OpenClawPluginConfigSchema	No	Empty object schema
register	(api: OpenClawPluginApi) => void	Yes	—

• id must match your openclaw.plugin.json manifest.
• kind is for exclusive slots: "memory" or "context-engine".
• configSchema can be a function for lazy evaluation.

defineChannelPluginEntry

Import: openclaw/plugin-sdk/core

Wraps definePluginEntry with channel-specific wiring. Automatically calls api.registerChannel({ plugin }), exposes an optional root-help CLI metadata seam, and gates registerFull on registration mode.

import { defineChannelPluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/core";

export default defineChannelPluginEntry({
  id: "my-channel",
  name: "My Channel",
  description: "Short summary",
  plugin: myChannelPlugin,
  setRuntime: setMyRuntime,
  registerCliMetadata(api) {
    api.registerCli(/* ... */);
  },
  registerFull(api) {
    api.registerGatewayMethod(/* ... */);
  },
});

Field	Type	Required	Default
id	string	Yes	—
name	string	Yes	—
description	string	Yes	—
plugin	ChannelPlugin	Yes	—
configSchema	OpenClawPluginConfigSchema | () => OpenClawPluginConfigSchema	No	Empty object schema
setRuntime	(runtime: PluginRuntime) => void	No	—
registerCliMetadata	(api: OpenClawPluginApi) => void	No	—
registerFull	(api: OpenClawPluginApi) => void	No	—

• setRuntime is called during registration so you can store the runtime reference (typically via createPluginRuntimeStore). It is skipped during CLI metadata capture.
• registerCliMetadata runs during both api.registrationMode === "cli-metadata" and api.registrationMode === "full". Use it as the canonical place for channel-owned CLI descriptors so root help stays non-activating while normal CLI command registration remains compatible with full plugin loads.
• registerFull only runs when api.registrationMode === "full". It is skipped during setup-only loading.
• For plugin-owned root CLI commands, prefer api.registerCli(..., { descriptors: [...] }) when you want the command to stay lazy-loaded without disappearing from the root CLI parse tree. For channel plugins, prefer registering those descriptors from registerCliMetadata(...) and keep registerFull(...) focused on runtime-only work.

defineSetupPluginEntry

Import: openclaw/plugin-sdk/core

For the lightweight setup-entry.ts file. Returns just { plugin } with no runtime or CLI wiring.

import { defineSetupPluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/core";

export default defineSetupPluginEntry(myChannelPlugin);

OpenClaw loads this instead of the full entry when a channel is disabled, unconfigured, or when deferred loading is enabled. See Setup and Config for when this matters.

Registration mode

api.registrationMode tells your plugin how it was loaded:

Mode	When	What to register
"full"	Normal gateway startup	Everything
"setup-only"	Disabled/unconfigured channel	Channel registration only
"setup-runtime"	Setup flow with runtime available	Channel + lightweight runtime
"cli-metadata"	Root help / CLI metadata capture	CLI descriptors only

defineChannelPluginEntry handles this split automatically. If you use definePluginEntry directly for a channel, check mode yourself:

register(api) {
  if (api.registrationMode === "cli-metadata" || api.registrationMode === "full") {
    api.registerCli(/* ... */);
    if (api.registrationMode === "cli-metadata") return;
  }

  api.registerChannel({ plugin: myPlugin });
  if (api.registrationMode !== "full") return;

  // Heavy runtime-only registrations
  api.registerService(/* ... */);
}

For CLI registrars specifically:

• use descriptors when the registrar owns one or more root commands and you want OpenClaw to lazy-load the real CLI module on first invocation
• make sure those descriptors cover every top-level command root exposed by the registrar
• use commands alone only for eager compatibility paths

Plugin shapes

OpenClaw classifies loaded plugins by their registration behavior:

Shape	Description
plain-capability	One capability type (e.g. provider-only)
hybrid-capability	Multiple capability types (e.g. provider + speech)
hook-only	Only hooks, no capabilities
non-capability	Tools/commands/services but no capabilities

Use openclaw plugins inspect <id> to see a plugin's shape.

Related

• SDK Overview — registration API and subpath reference
• Runtime Helpers — api.runtime and createPluginRuntimeStore
• Setup and Config — manifest, setup entry, deferred loading
• Channel Plugins — building the ChannelPlugin object
• Provider Plugins — provider registration and hooks