openclaw - ✅(Solved) Fix Browser plugin not loaded at gateway startup despite enabledByDefault: true (v2026.3.28 regression) [2 pull requests, 1 comments, 2 participants]

Q: Expected behavior

The browser plugin should load at gateway startup when `enabledByDefault: true`, without requiring explicit config. The final filter in `resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds` should respect `enabledByDefault` for bundled non-channel/non-provider plugins.

openclaw2026-03-29 05:35:34

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openclaw/openclaw#56820•Fetched 2026-04-08 01:47:26

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nkondratyk93

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jingchang0623-crypto

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After updating to v2026.3.28, all openclaw browser CLI commands and agent browser tool calls fail with GatewayClientRequestError: unknown method: browser.request. The browser subsystem was refactored from core into a plugin in this release, but the gateway startup plugin loader excludes it unless explicitly configured.

Root Cause

In resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds() (src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.ts), the filter for bundled non-channel, non-provider plugins requires explicit config even when enabledByDefault: true:

// After passing resolveEffectiveEnableState (which respects enabledByDefault):
return pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
       pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
       pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id;

The browser plugin is:

Bundled, with enabledByDefault: true in openclaw.plugin.json
Has no channels, no providers, no CLI backends
Passes resolveEffectiveEnableState check
Fails the final explicit-config filter (not in allow, not in entries, not a memory slot)

The CLI process loads all plugins via a different path (so openclaw plugins inspect browser shows it as loaded with browser.request registered), but the gateway's stricter startup filter excludes it. This means browser.request is never registered as a gateway RPC method.

Fix Action

Workaround

Add explicit browser plugin config to openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "browser": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Then restart the gateway (openclaw gateway stop && openclaw gateway start).

PR fix notes

PR #57545: fix(plugins): load bundled plugins with enabledByDefault at gateway startup

Repository: openclaw/openclaw
Author: dinakars777
State: closed | merged: False
Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/57545

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

Fixes regression in v2026.3.28 where browser plugin and other bundled plugins with enabledByDefault: true were not loaded at gateway startup.

Root Cause

The resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds function in src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.ts was:

Checking enabledByDefault via resolveEffectiveEnableState ✅
But then requiring explicit config (allowlist, entries, or memory slot) for bundled plugins ❌

This caused the browser plugin (which has enabledByDefault: true in its manifest) to be excluded from gateway startup, making browser.request and other RPC methods unavailable.

Fix

Added plugin.enabledByDefault === true to the final return condition for bundled plugins:

return (
  pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
  pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
  pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id ||
  plugin.enabledByDefault === true  // Added
);

Testing

Added test coverage for bundled plugins with enabledByDefault: true
All existing tests pass

Impact

High: All v2026.3.28 users affected by broken browser functionality
Users can now use openclaw browser commands without manual config

Workaround (for users)

Add to openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "browser": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Fixes #56820

Changed files

src/infra/matrix-legacy-crypto.ts (modified, +3/-2)
src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.test.ts (modified, +10/-4)
src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.ts (modified, +2/-1)

PR #57929: fix(plugins): load bundled plugins with enabledByDefault at gateway startup

Repository: openclaw/openclaw
Author: dinakars777
State: open | merged: False
Link: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/pull/57929

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

Fixes regression in v2026.3.28 where browser plugin and other bundled plugins with enabledByDefault: true were not loaded at gateway startup.

Root Cause

The resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds function in src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.ts was:

Checking enabledByDefault via resolveEffectiveEnableState ✅
But then requiring explicit config (allowlist, entries, or memory slot) for bundled plugins ❌

This caused the browser plugin (which has enabledByDefault: true in its manifest) to be excluded from gateway startup, making browser.request and other RPC methods unavailable.

Fix

Added plugin.enabledByDefault === true to the final return condition for bundled plugins:

return (
  pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
  pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
  pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id ||
  plugin.enabledByDefault === true  // Added
);

Testing

Added test coverage for bundled plugins with enabledByDefault: true
All existing tests pass

Impact

High: All v2026.3.28 users affected by broken browser functionality
Users can now use openclaw browser commands without manual config

Workaround (for users)

Add to openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "browser": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Fixes #56820

Changed files

src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.test.ts (modified, +10/-4)
src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.ts (modified, +2/-1)

Code Example

// After passing resolveEffectiveEnableState (which respects enabledByDefault):
return pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
       pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
       pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id;

---

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "browser": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

---

return pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
       pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
       pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id ||
       (plugin.origin === "bundled" && plugin.enabledByDefault);

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Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Summary

Root cause

In resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds() (src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.ts), the filter for bundled non-channel, non-provider plugins requires explicit config even when enabledByDefault: true:

// After passing resolveEffectiveEnableState (which respects enabledByDefault):
return pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
       pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
       pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id;

The browser plugin is:

Bundled, with enabledByDefault: true in openclaw.plugin.json
Has no channels, no providers, no CLI backends
Passes resolveEffectiveEnableState check
Fails the final explicit-config filter (not in allow, not in entries, not a memory slot)

Steps to reproduce

Update to v2026.3.28 (clean install or upgrade from v2026.3.24)
Have no plugins.entries.browser or plugins.allow containing "browser" in openclaw.json
Restart gateway
Run: openclaw browser status → GatewayClientRequestError: unknown method: browser.request
All browser CLI commands and agent browser tool calls fail identically

Workaround

Add explicit browser plugin config to openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "browser": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Then restart the gateway (openclaw gateway stop && openclaw gateway start).

Expected behavior

The browser plugin should load at gateway startup when enabledByDefault: true, without requiring explicit config. The final filter in resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds should respect enabledByDefault for bundled non-channel/non-provider plugins.

Suggested fix

In resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds, add a condition for enabledByDefault bundled plugins:

return pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
       pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
       pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id ||
       (plugin.origin === "bundled" && plugin.enabledByDefault);

OpenClaw version

2026.3.28 (f9b1079)

Operating system

macOS 26.4 (arm64)

Install method

pnpm (homebrew node)

Impact

Severity: High — blocks all browser automation for every user upgrading to v2026.3.28 who doesn't have explicit browser plugin config. Affected: All install methods (likely also Docker, npm, etc.) Frequency: 100% reproducible on clean upgrades.

extent analysis

Fix Plan

To resolve the issue, you need to update the resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds function to respect enabledByDefault for bundled non-channel/non-provider plugins.

Here are the steps:

Update the resolveGatewayStartupPluginIds function in src/plugins/channel-plugin-ids.ts to include the following condition:

return pluginsConfig.allow.includes(plugin.id) ||
       pluginsConfig.entries[plugin.id]?.enabled === true ||
       pluginsConfig.slots.memory === plugin.id ||
       (plugin.origin === "bundled" && plugin.enabledByDefault);

Alternatively, you can add explicit browser plugin config to openclaw.json as a temporary workaround:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "browser": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Then restart the gateway.

Verification

To verify that the fix worked, run the following command:

openclaw browser status

If the fix is successful, this command should no longer return a GatewayClientRequestError.

Extra Tips

Make sure to test the fix on a clean install or upgrade from v2026.3.24 to ensure it works as expected.
If you're using a different install method (e.g., Docker, npm), test the fix on those environments as well to ensure it's not specific to pnpm or homebrew node.

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openclaw - ✅(Solved) Fix Browser plugin not loaded at gateway startup despite enabledByDefault: true (v2026.3.28 regression) [2 pull requests, 1 comments, 2 participants]

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Root Cause

Fix Action

Workaround

PR fix notes

PR #57545: fix(plugins): load bundled plugins with enabledByDefault at gateway startup

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

Root Cause

Fix

Testing

Impact

Workaround (for users)

Changed files

PR #57929: fix(plugins): load bundled plugins with enabledByDefault at gateway startup

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

Root Cause

Fix

Testing

Impact

Workaround (for users)

Changed files

Code Example

Bug type

Summary

Root cause

Steps to reproduce

Workaround

Expected behavior

Suggested fix

OpenClaw version

Operating system

Install method

Impact

extent analysis

Fix Plan

Verification

Extra Tips

FAQ

Expected behavior

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