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 or 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 }) 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,
  registerFull(api) {
    api.registerCli(/* ... */);
    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	—
`registerFull`	`(api: OpenClawPluginApi) => void`	No	—

setRuntime is called during registration so you can store the runtime reference (typically via createPluginRuntimeStore).
registerFull only runs when api.registrationMode === "full". It is skipped during setup-only loading.

`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

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

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

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

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.

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

Overview

Plugins

Skills

Automation

Tools

Agent coordination

Plugin Entry Points

Plugin Entry Points

`definePluginEntry`

`defineChannelPluginEntry`

`defineSetupPluginEntry`

Registration mode

Plugin shapes

​Plugin Entry Points

​definePluginEntry

​defineChannelPluginEntry

​defineSetupPluginEntry

​Registration mode

​Plugin shapes

​Related

Plugin Entry Points

`definePluginEntry`

`defineChannelPluginEntry`

`defineSetupPluginEntry`

Registration mode

Plugin shapes

Related