fix: load source bundled plugins from pnpm workspaces

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Changes
 
+- Plugins/source checkout: load bundled plugins from the `extensions/*` pnpm workspace tree in source checkouts, so plugin-local dependencies and edits are used directly while packaged installs keep using the built runtime tree. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Plugins/ClawHub: prefer versioned ClawPack artifacts when ClawHub publishes digest metadata, verifying the ClawPack response header and downloaded bytes before installing. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Plugins/ClawHub: persist ClawPack digest metadata on ClawHub plugin install and update records so registry refreshes and download verification can reuse stored artifact facts. Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Providers/OpenAI: add `extraBody`/`extra_body` passthrough for OpenAI-compatible TTS endpoints, so custom speech servers can receive fields such as `lang` in `/audio/speech` requests. Fixes #39900. Thanks @R3NK0R.

README.md

@@ -210,7 +210,10 @@ Runbook: [iOS connect](https://docs.openclaw.ai/platforms/ios).
 
 ## From source (development)
 
-Prefer `pnpm` for builds from source. Bun is optional for running TypeScript directly.
+Use `pnpm` for source checkouts. The repository is a pnpm workspace, and bundled
+plugins load from `extensions/*` during development so their package-local
+dependencies and your edits are used directly. Plain `npm install` at the repo
+root is not a supported source setup.
 
 For the dev loop:
 

docs/plugins/building-plugins.md

@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@ falls back to npm automatically for packages that still use npm distribution.
 
 - Node >= 22 and a package manager (npm or pnpm)
 - Familiarity with TypeScript (ESM)
-- For in-repo plugins: repository cloned and `pnpm install` done
+- For in-repo plugins: repository cloned and `pnpm install` done. Source
+  checkout plugin development is pnpm-only because OpenClaw loads bundled
+  plugins from the `extensions/*` workspace packages.
 
 ## What kind of plugin?
 

docs/plugins/dependency-resolution.md

@@ -93,6 +93,12 @@ Bundled plugin manifests must not request dependency staging. Large or optional
 plugin functionality should be packaged as a normal plugin and installed through
 the same npm/git/ClawHub path as third-party plugins.
 
+In source checkouts, OpenClaw treats the repository as a pnpm monorepo. After
+`pnpm install`, bundled plugins load from `extensions/<id>` so package-local
+workspace dependencies are available and edits are picked up directly. Source
+checkout development is pnpm-only; plain `npm install` at the repository root is
+not a supported way to prepare bundled plugin dependencies.
+
 ## Legacy cleanup
 
 Older OpenClaw versions generated bundled-plugin dependency roots at startup or

docs/start/setup.md

@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@ Pick a setup workflow based on how often you want updates and whether you want t
 ## Prereqs (from source)
 
 - Node 24 recommended (Node 22 LTS, currently `22.14+`, still supported)
-- `pnpm` preferred (or Bun if you intentionally use the [Bun workflow](/install/bun))
+- `pnpm` required for source checkouts. OpenClaw loads bundled plugins from the
+  `extensions/*` pnpm workspace packages in dev mode, so root `npm install` does
+  not prepare the full source tree.
 - Docker (optional; only for containerized setup/e2e — see [Docker](/install/docker))
 
 ## Tailoring strategy (so updates do not hurt)
@@ -44,7 +46,7 @@ From inside this repo, use the local CLI entry:
 openclaw setup
 ```
 
-If you don’t have a global install yet, run it via `pnpm openclaw setup` (or `bun run openclaw setup` if you are using the Bun workflow).
+If you don’t have a global install yet, run it via `pnpm openclaw setup`.
 
 ## Run the Gateway from this repo
 
@@ -105,15 +107,6 @@ reloads on relevant source, config, and bundled-plugin metadata changes.
 `pnpm openclaw setup` is the one-time local config/workspace initialization step for a fresh checkout.
 `pnpm gateway:watch` does not rebuild `dist/control-ui`, so rerun `pnpm ui:build` after `ui/` changes or use `pnpm ui:dev` while developing the Control UI.
 
-If you are intentionally using the Bun workflow, the equivalent commands are:
-
-```bash
-bun install
-# First run only (or after resetting local OpenClaw config/workspace)
-bun run openclaw setup
-bun run gateway:watch
-```
-
 ### 2) Point the macOS app at your running Gateway
 
 In **OpenClaw.app**:
@@ -158,7 +151,7 @@ Use this when debugging auth or deciding what to back up:
 ## Updating (without wrecking your setup)
 
 - Keep `~/.openclaw/workspace` and `~/.openclaw/` as “your stuff”; don’t put personal prompts/config into the `openclaw` repo.
-- Updating source: `git pull` + your chosen package-manager install step (`pnpm install` by default; `bun install` for Bun workflow) + keep using the matching `gateway:watch` command.
+- Updating source: `git pull` + `pnpm install` + keep using `pnpm gateway:watch`.
 
 ## Linux (systemd user service)
 

docs/tools/plugin.md

@@ -106,6 +106,12 @@ through `openclaw plugins install`.
 See [Plugin dependency resolution](/plugins/dependency-resolution) for the
 install-time lifecycle.
 
+Source checkouts are pnpm workspaces. If you clone OpenClaw to hack on bundled
+plugins, run `pnpm install`; OpenClaw then loads bundled plugins from
+`extensions/<id>` so edits and package-local dependencies are used directly.
+Plain npm root installs are for packaged OpenClaw, not source checkout
+development.
+
 ## Plugin types
 
 OpenClaw recognizes two plugin formats:

src/plugins/bundled-dir.test.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ function createOpenClawRoot(params: {
   hasDistRuntimeExtensions?: boolean;
   hasDistExtensions?: boolean;
   hasGitCheckout?: boolean;
+  hasPnpmWorkspace?: boolean;
 }) {
   const repoRoot = makeRepoRoot(params.prefix);
   if (params.hasExtensions) {
@@ -39,6 +40,13 @@ function createOpenClawRoot(params: {
   if (params.hasGitCheckout) {
     fs.writeFileSync(path.join(repoRoot, ".git"), "gitdir: /tmp/fake.git\n", "utf8");
   }
+  if (params.hasPnpmWorkspace) {
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(repoRoot, "pnpm-workspace.yaml"),
+      "packages:\n  - .\n  - extensions/*\n",
+      "utf8",
+    );
+  }
   fs.writeFileSync(
     path.join(repoRoot, "package.json"),
     `${JSON.stringify({ name: "openclaw" }, null, 2)}\n`,
@@ -188,7 +196,7 @@ describe("resolveBundledPluginsDir", () => {
       },
     ],
     [
-      "prefers built dist/extensions in a git checkout outside vitest",
+      "prefers source extensions in a pnpm git checkout outside vitest",
       {
         prefix: "openclaw-bundled-dir-git-built-",
         hasExtensions: true,
@@ -196,9 +204,10 @@ describe("resolveBundledPluginsDir", () => {
         hasDistRuntimeExtensions: true,
         hasDistExtensions: true,
         hasGitCheckout: true,
+        hasPnpmWorkspace: true,
       },
       {
-        expectedRelativeDir: path.join("dist-runtime", "extensions"),
+        expectedRelativeDir: "extensions",
       },
     ],
     [
@@ -215,7 +224,7 @@ describe("resolveBundledPluginsDir", () => {
       },
     ],
     [
-      "still prefers built bundled plugins during tsx-driven source execution",
+      "still prefers source extensions during tsx-driven pnpm source execution",
       {
         prefix: "openclaw-bundled-dir-tsx-built-",
         hasExtensions: true,
@@ -223,19 +232,21 @@ describe("resolveBundledPluginsDir", () => {
         hasDistRuntimeExtensions: true,
         hasDistExtensions: true,
         hasGitCheckout: true,
+        hasPnpmWorkspace: true,
       },
       {
-        expectedRelativeDir: path.join("dist-runtime", "extensions"),
+        expectedRelativeDir: "extensions",
         execArgv: ["--import", "tsx"],
       },
     ],
     [
-      "falls back to source extensions in a git checkout when built trees are missing",
+      "uses source extensions in a pnpm git checkout when built trees are missing",
       {
         prefix: "openclaw-bundled-dir-git-",
         hasExtensions: true,
         hasSrc: true,
         hasGitCheckout: true,
+        hasPnpmWorkspace: true,
       },
       {
         expectedRelativeDir: "extensions",
@@ -267,6 +278,7 @@ describe("resolveBundledPluginsDir", () => {
       hasDistRuntimeExtensions: true,
       hasDistExtensions: true,
       hasGitCheckout: true,
+      hasPnpmWorkspace: true,
     });
     fs.mkdirSync(path.join(repoRoot, "dist", "extensions", "discord"), { recursive: true });
     fs.mkdirSync(path.join(repoRoot, "dist-runtime", "extensions", "discord"), {
@@ -280,6 +292,25 @@ describe("resolveBundledPluginsDir", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("keeps built bundled plugins for git-looking trees without pnpm workspace metadata", () => {
+    const repoRoot = createOpenClawRoot({
+      prefix: "openclaw-bundled-dir-git-no-pnpm-",
+      hasExtensions: true,
+      hasSrc: true,
+      hasDistRuntimeExtensions: true,
+      hasDistExtensions: true,
+      hasGitCheckout: true,
+    });
+    seedBundledPluginTree(repoRoot, "extensions");
+    seedBundledPluginTree(repoRoot, path.join("dist", "extensions"));
+    seedBundledPluginTree(repoRoot, path.join("dist-runtime", "extensions"));
+
+    expectResolvedBundledDirFromRoot({
+      repoRoot,
+      expectedRelativeDir: path.join("dist-runtime", "extensions"),
+    });
+  });
+
   it("returns a stable empty bundled plugin directory when bundled plugins are disabled", () => {
     const repoRoot = createOpenClawRoot({
       prefix: "openclaw-bundled-dir-disabled-",

src/plugins/bundled-dir.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ function resolveDisabledBundledPluginsDir(): string {
 function isSourceCheckoutRoot(packageRoot: string): boolean {
   return (
     fs.existsSync(path.join(packageRoot, ".git")) &&
+    fs.existsSync(path.join(packageRoot, "pnpm-workspace.yaml")) &&
     fs.existsSync(path.join(packageRoot, "src")) &&
     fs.existsSync(path.join(packageRoot, "extensions"))
   );
@@ -126,12 +127,13 @@ function resolveBundledDirFromPackageRoot(packageRoot: string): string | undefin
   const builtExtensionsDir = path.join(packageRoot, "dist", "extensions");
   const sourceCheckout = isSourceCheckoutRoot(packageRoot);
   const hasUsableSourceTree = sourceCheckout && hasUsableBundledPluginTree(sourceExtensionsDir);
-  // Local source checkouts stage a runtime-complete bundled plugin tree under
+  // In pnpm source checkouts, extensions/* is a workspace package tree with its
-  // dist-runtime/. Prefer that over source extensions only when the paired
+  // own package.json dependencies. Prefer it so git checkouts remain editable
-  // dist/ tree exists; otherwise wrappers can drift ahead of the last build.
+  // and dependency-complete without moving optional plugin deps back into root.
-  // Even when OpenClaw itself runs from TypeScript, bundled plugins should use
+  if (hasUsableSourceTree) {
-  // compiled JavaScript whenever it is available. Source plugin entries force
+    return sourceExtensionsDir;
-  // jiti onto hot runtime paths such as per-run tool construction.
+  }
+
   const runtimeExtensionsDir = path.join(packageRoot, "dist-runtime", "extensions");
   const hasUsableRuntimeTree = sourceCheckout
     ? hasUsableBundledPluginTree(runtimeExtensionsDir)