> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs2.openclaw.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to migrate a plugin The ordered migration steps. Work through them in order; each step is self-contained. Part of the [Plugin SDK migration](/plugins/sdk-migration) guide. ## How to migrate Bundled plugins should stop calling `api.runtime.config.loadConfig()` and `api.runtime.config.writeConfigFile(...)` directly. Prefer config already passed into the active call path. Long-lived handlers that need the current process snapshot can use `api.runtime.config.current()`. Long-lived agent tools should read `ctx.getRuntimeConfig()` inside `execute` so a tool created before a config write still sees the refreshed config. Config writes go through the transactional helper with an explicit after-write policy: ```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} await api.runtime.config.mutateConfigFile({ afterWrite: { mode: "auto" }, mutate(draft) { draft.plugins ??= {}; }, }); ``` Use `afterWrite: { mode: "restart", reason: "..." }` when the change needs a clean gateway restart, and `afterWrite: { mode: "none", reason: "..." }` only when the caller owns the follow-up and deliberately suppresses the reload planner. Mutation results include a typed `followUp` summary for tests and logging; the gateway remains responsible for applying or scheduling the restart. `loadConfig` and `writeConfigFile` have been removed from the plugin runtime. Bundled plugins and repo runtime code are guarded by `pnpm check:deprecated-api-usage` and `pnpm check:no-runtime-action-load-config`: new production plugin usage fails outright, direct config writes fail, gateway server methods must use the request runtime snapshot, runtime channel send/action/client helpers must receive config from their boundary, and long-lived runtime modules allow zero ambient `loadConfig()` calls. New plugin code should avoid the broad `openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-runtime` barrel. Use the narrow subpath for the job: | Need | Import | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------- | | Config types such as `OpenClawConfig` | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-contracts` | | Plugin-entry config lookup | `api.pluginConfig` | | Config merging | Plugin-local logic at the config boundary | | Current runtime snapshot reads | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-config-snapshot` | | Config writes | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-mutation` | | Session store helpers | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/session-store-runtime` | | Markdown table config | `api.runtime.channel.text.resolveMarkdownTableMode` | | Channel group policy, mention requirements, and sender tool policy | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-policy` | | Provider-default group-policy fallback helpers | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-group-policy` | | Secret input resolution | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/secret-input-runtime` | | Model/session overrides | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/model-session-runtime` | `api.pluginConfig` is registration-scoped, not a live getter. Replacing `resolveLivePluginConfigObject(...)` requires preserving freshness through the current config supplied by the runtime boundary. The injected markdown resolver preserves channel/account precedence and channel defaults; `markdown-table-runtime` is a private, JavaScript-only host export. Check named types separately. `config-contracts` does not export `TtsMode`, `TtsPersonaConfig`, `TtsPersonaFallbackPolicy`, or `SessionResetMode`; `session-store-runtime` does not export `SessionResetMode` either. Existing callers needing those names must keep retained type imports or explicitly adapt their types. Talk config, cron-store operations, context-visibility config resolution, and dangerous-name checks also lack a complete modern typed-public mapping. Missing public contracts require an SDK-owner decision, not an import of the private focused implementation. Bundled plugins and their tests are scanner-guarded against the broad barrel so imports and mocks stay local to the behavior they need. The barrel still exists for external compatibility, but new code should not depend on it. Bundled plugins must replace embedded-runner-only `api.registerEmbeddedExtensionFactory(...)` tool-result handlers with runtime-neutral middleware: ```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} // OpenClaw runtime tools and Codex runtime dynamic tools (result may be // transformed). Codex-native tool results are also relayed for observation, // but their transformed output never reaches the model: the Codex // PostToolUse hook contract cannot replace a native tool response. api.registerAgentToolResultMiddleware(async (event) => { return compactToolResult(event); }, { runtimes: ["openclaw", "codex"], }); ``` Update the plugin manifest at the same time: ```json theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} { "contracts": { "agentToolResultMiddleware": ["openclaw", "codex"] } } ``` Installed plugins can also register tool-result middleware when explicitly enabled and every targeted runtime is declared in `contracts.agentToolResultMiddleware`. Undeclared installed middleware registrations are rejected. Approval-capable channel plugins expose native approval behavior through `approvalCapability.nativeRuntime` plus the shared runtime-context registry: * Replace `approvalCapability.handler.loadRuntime(...)` with `approvalCapability.nativeRuntime`. * Move approval-specific auth/delivery off legacy `plugin.auth` / `plugin.approvals` wiring and onto `approvalCapability`. * `ChannelPlugin.approvals` has been removed from the public channel-plugin contract; move delivery/native/render fields onto `approvalCapability`. * `plugin.auth` remains for channel login/logout flows only; core no longer reads approval auth hooks there. * Register channel-owned runtime objects (clients, tokens, Bolt apps) through `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-runtime-context`. * Do not send plugin-owned reroute notices from native approval handlers; core owns routed-elsewhere notices from actual delivery results. * When passing `channelRuntime` into `createChannelManager(...)`, provide a real `createPluginRuntime().channel` surface - partial stubs are rejected. See [Channel Plugins](/plugins/sdk-channel-plugins) for the current approval capability layout. If your plugin uses `openclaw/plugin-sdk/windows-spawn`, unresolved Windows `.cmd`/`.bat` wrappers now fail closed unless you explicitly pass `allowShellFallback: true`: ```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} // 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. ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} grep -r "plugin-sdk/compat" my-plugin/ grep -r "plugin-sdk/infra-runtime" my-plugin/ grep -r "plugin-sdk/config-runtime" my-plugin/ grep -r "openclaw/extension-api" my-plugin/ ``` Check the exported name and typed-public contract as well as the import path. Some functions are renamed; not every retained helper or named type has a modern public replacement: ```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} // Before (deprecated backwards-compatibility layer) import { createChannelReplyPipeline, createPluginRuntimeStore, } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/compat"; // After (modern focused imports) import { createChannelMessageReplyPipeline as createChannelReplyPipeline, } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-outbound"; import { createPluginRuntimeStore } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-store"; ``` The explicit alias preserves existing `createChannelReplyPipeline(...)` call sites. The modern export is `createChannelMessageReplyPipeline`; see [Retained channel facade mappings](/plugins/sdk-migration/import-paths#retained-channel-facade-mappings) for the remaining functions and named types. For host-side helpers, use the injected plugin runtime instead of importing directly: ```typescript theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} // Before (deprecated extension-api bridge) import { runEmbeddedAgent } from "openclaw/extension-api"; const result = await runEmbeddedAgent({ sessionId, prompt }); // After (injected runtime) const result = await api.runtime.agent.runEmbeddedAgent({ sessionId, prompt }); ``` Same pattern for other legacy bridge helpers: | Old import | Modern equivalent | | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | `resolveAgentDir` | `api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentDir` | | `resolveAgentWorkspaceDir` | `api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentWorkspaceDir` | | `resolveAgentIdentity` | `api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentIdentity` | | `resolveThinkingDefault` | `api.runtime.agent.resolveThinkingDefault` | | `resolveAgentTimeoutMs` | `api.runtime.agent.resolveAgentTimeoutMs` | | `ensureAgentWorkspace` | `api.runtime.agent.ensureAgentWorkspace` | | session store helpers | `api.runtime.agent.session.*` | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/infra-runtime` still exists for external compatibility, but new code should use the supported surface it actually needs: | Need | Typed-public import or injected API | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | New system event producers | `api.runtime.system.enqueueSystemEvent` | | Heartbeat wake requests | `api.runtime.system.requestHeartbeat` | | Channel activity telemetry | `api.runtime.channel.activity.record` and `.get` | | `createDedupeCache`, `resolveGlobalDedupeCache` | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/dedupe-runtime` | | Safe local-file/media paths, regular-file checks, and symlink-parent checks | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/security-runtime` (itself a deprecated broad barrel) | | `fetchWithSsrFGuard`, pinned-dispatcher helpers, `LookupFn`, `SsrFPolicy` | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/ssrf-runtime` | | Approval request/resolution types | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/approval-runtime` | | Approval reply payload and command helpers | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/approval-reply-runtime` | | `collectErrorGraphCandidates`, `extractErrorCode`, `formatErrorMessage`, `formatUncaughtError`, `readErrorName`, `toErrorObject` | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/error-runtime` | | `generateSecureToken`, `generateSecureUuid` | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/core` | | `parseFiniteNumber`, `parseStrictFiniteNumber`, `parseStrictInteger`, `parseStrictNonNegativeInteger`, `parseStrictPositiveInteger` | `openclaw/plugin-sdk/string-coerce-runtime` | These are symbol-specific mappings, not replacements for the whole barrel. Private-local entries such as `heartbeat-runtime`, `delivery-queue-runtime`, `fetch-runtime`, `runtime-fetch`, and `file-lock` are JavaScript-only host exports, not typed third-party APIs. Heartbeat event/summary/visibility helpers, pending-delivery drain, transport readiness, concurrency, and file locking do not have equivalent modern typed-public mappings here. Retain existing compatibility imports for those operations pending an SDK-owner decision. `fetchWithSsrFGuard` is not a drop-in replacement for dispatcher-aware fetch: it takes an options object and returns `{ response, finalUrl, release, ... }`, not a bare `Response`; callers must release its resources. The named types `PinnedDispatcherPolicy`, `GuardedFetchOptions`, and `GuardedFetchResult` are not exported by `ssrf-runtime`. Similarly, `dedupe-runtime` does not export the legacy `DedupeCache` or `DedupeCacheOptions` names. Migrate type usage explicitly rather than assuming a function move also moves its types. The error mapping does not cover `hasErrnoCode`, `isErrno`, `stringifyNonErrorCause`, `ErrorKind`, or `detectErrorKind`; the last helper preserves legacy substring classification. The numeric and random mappings likewise do not cover every timer, expiry, hex, fraction, or integer helper. Keep unsupported retained imports until their public contract is resolved. System event snapshot inspection and consume helpers remain available only through the deprecated `openclaw/plugin-sdk/infra-runtime` compatibility surface; there is no modern public replacement. Current snapshots carry an opaque `id` for one queued occurrence. Preserve it through copies and serialization when returning a snapshot to consume. Legacy ID-less callers retain structural matching, which can be ambiguous after queue churn. Do not treat the ID as persistent or valid across restarts. File-lock nesting is owner-scoped. Pass the same `reentrantOwner` only for nested acquisitions in one logical operation; omit it for ordinary locking. Never use a process-wide constant, because unrelated work would incorrectly share the critical section. Bundled plugins are scanner-guarded against `infra-runtime`, so repo code cannot regress to the broad barrel. New channel route code uses `openclaw/plugin-sdk/channel-route`. The older route-key names remain as compatibility aliases: | Old helper | Modern helper | | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------- | | `channelRouteIdentityKey(...)` | `channelRouteDedupeKey(...)` | | `channelRouteKey(...)` | `channelRouteCompactKey(...)` | The modern route helpers normalize `{ channel, to, accountId, threadId }` consistently across native approvals, reply suppression, inbound dedupe, cron delivery, and session routing. Channel plugins use `messaging.targetResolver.resolveTarget(...)` for target-id normalization and directory-miss fallback, `messaging.inferTargetChatType(...)` when core needs an early peer kind, and `messaging.resolveOutboundSessionRoute(...)` for provider-native session and thread identity. ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}} pnpm build pnpm test my-plugin/ ```