OpenClaw installer doesn't patch plugins.allow → plugin loads to disk but never registers; auto-capture silently no-ops #121

Symptom

User installs @deeplake/hivemind into OpenClaw. Files land at ~/.openclaw/extensions/hivemind/ correctly. But:

• openclaw plugins list does not show [plugins] Hivemind plugin registered
• Auto-capture silently does nothing — no errors, no logs, just empty sessions in Deeplake
• /hivemind_setup is unreachable (the agent can't see the command, because the plugin never registered)

Root cause

OpenClaw gates plugin loading on two allowlists in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

1. plugins.allow — controls whether the plugin is allowed to load at all
2. tools.alsoAllow — controls whether the plugin's tools are exposed to the agent once loaded

If plugins.allow is an explicit non-empty array (the default-restrictive openclaw config), and "hivemind" is not in it, the plugin is never loaded — agent_end never fires for it, so auto-capture is a no-op.

Hivemind's installer + setup helpers only handle tools.alsoAllow:

• hivemind/src/cli/install-openclaw.ts:8-30 (installOpenclaw) drops files on disk and never touches openclaw.json.
• hivemind/openclaw/src/setup-config.ts:33-67 (ensureHivemindAllowlisted) and :129-139 (detectAllowlistMissing) only read/write tools.alsoAllow.

This makes /hivemind_setup chicken-and-egg: the user has to add "hivemind" to plugins.allow manually before the slash command is even reachable.

Manual fix that works (reported by a user 2026-05-11)

Edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

```json
{
"plugins": { "allow": ["...", "hivemind"] },
"tools": { "alsoAllow": ["...", "hivemind"] }
}
```

Then systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service. `openclaw plugins list` now shows the plugin registered. No backfill — capture starts on the next turn.

Fix (proposed for this session)

1. install-openclaw.ts — after copying files on disk, patch ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json using openclaw's own allowlist semantics:

   • If plugins.allow is an explicit non-empty array missing \"hivemind\", append.
   • If absent / empty, leave alone (don't silently flip the user from default-allow to explicit-allowlist).
   • Same for tools.alsoAllow.
   • Atomic write (tmp + rename) with timestamped backup.
   • Print restart hint and "capture starts next turn — no backfill" caveat in installer output.

2. openclaw/src/setup-config.ts — extend ensureHivemindAllowlisted + detectAllowlistMissing to also handle plugins.allow. Same safe semantics: only patch when it's already an explicit array.

3. Tests — cover all edge cases:

   • plugins.allow array missing hivemind → patched
   • plugins.allow array containing hivemind → idempotent
   • plugins.allow absent → untouched
   • plugins.allow empty array [] → untouched (default-allow semantics)
   • Both arrays missing → only patch what exists
   • Restart hint present in installer success message

4. Real-world E2E — install on a real OpenClaw gateway, send a telegram message, verify the captured turn lands in the Deeplake sessions table.

References

• OpenClaw's own allowlist helper (the safe semantics to mirror): `ext/openclaw/src/config/plugins-allowlist.ts:7` `ensurePluginAllowlisted(cfg, pluginId)`.
• Existing setup-config: `hivemind/openclaw/src/setup-config.ts:33-67, 129-139`.
• Existing installer: `hivemind/src/cli/install-openclaw.ts:8-30`.
• Existing setup-command tests: `hivemind/openclaw/tests/setup-command.test.ts` (covers only `tools.alsoAllow` today).

Test plan

• Unit tests for both new branches of `ensureHivemindAllowlisted` and `detectAllowlistMissing` (idempotent, preserves unrelated keys, atomic w/ backup)
• Unit tests for the installer's new openclaw.json patcher (every edge case above)
• Source review: confirm no other code path needs the same patch
• Local E2E: install onto a fixture openclaw config, verify both arrays patched, backup written
• Real-world E2E on the user's openclaw gateway via telegram channel, end-to-end:
  1. Strip the manual fix (or use a fresh config)
  2. Run the new installer
  3. Restart gateway
  4. Confirm `openclaw plugins list` shows Hivemind registered
  5. Send a message through telegram
  6. Confirm the turn lands in the Deeplake sessions table

`Confidence: high` — the root cause is mechanical (missing config patch), and openclaw already exposes the correct semantics for us to mirror.