What Node.js version does OpenClaw v2026.5.18 require?

OpenClaw v2026.5.18 bumps the minimum Node.js version to 22.19.

What CLI commands does the new plugin SDK add?

Three new CLI commands: openclaw plugins build (compiles the plugin), openclaw plugins validate (checks manifest/schema), and openclaw plugins init (scaffolds a new plugin project).

Does v2026.5.18 improve gateway performance?

Yes, it adds overlapped startup logging and plugin-service startup with channel sidecars to reduce restart ready latency.

What is the Docker build arg change in v2026.5.18?

OPENCLAW_IMAGE_APT_PACKAGES replaces OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES as the runtime-neutral image build arg for extra apt packages. The old name works as a legacy fallback.

← Back to dashboard

clawsmith.com/signal/openclaw-v2026-5-18-defineToolPlugin-typed-plugins

📈 TrendsWide OpenLive

OpenClaw v2026.5.18: defineToolPlugin Ships Typed Plugin SDK with Build/Validate/Init CLI

Q: What is defineToolPlugin in OpenClaw v2026.5.18?

defineToolPlugin is a new API for creating typed simple tool plugins with generated manifest metadata, optional tool declarations, and context factories — reducing plugin boilerplate significantly.

OpenClaw v2026.5.18 adds defineToolPlugin for typed simple tool plugins with generated manifest metadata, optional tool declarations, and context factories. New CLI: openclaw plugins build, validate, init. Ships gateway cost attribution, overlapped startup logging, Docker build arg, minimum Node.js 22.19.

Product Idea from this Signal

A CLI tool that validates, tests, and dry-runs OpenClaw plugins in an isolated sandbox before publishing to ClawHub

372.1k ▲

OpenClaw's plugin ecosystem ships broken packages to production. The Brave plugin v2026.5.2 went live with only TypeScript source and no compiled dist/, crashing every gateway that installed it into an unrecoverable 1.2-second restart loop. Four separate GitHub issues filed for the same root cause. The new defineToolPlugin SDK (v2026.5.18) gives plugin authors a typed API, but there is no validation step between writing a plugin and publishing it to ClawHub where 44,000+ skills live. This tool runs a full lifecycle check in an isolated container: schema validation, build verification, dependency audit, gateway integration test, and provider registration smoke test. It catches the exact class of bugs that took down Brave search users.

CLIOPEN-SOURCEDEVTOOLPLUGINSTESTING

UnderservedView Opportunity →