Bug Report: memory-lancedb-pro and memory-openviking plugin config rejected by gateway validator

Summary

The memory-lancedb-pro and memory-openviking plugins' config fields are rejected by OpenClaw's gateway-level config validator with "must NOT have additional properties" error, preventing the gateway from starting when these configs are present in openclaw.json.

Impact

• Gateway fails to start when memory plugin configs are present in plugins.entries.*
• Users must choose between:
  • Running gateway without memory plugin configuration (losing custom embedding settings, scopes, retrieval modes, etc.)
  • Running openclaw doctor --fix which silently deletes the config sections
• No workaround exists via environment variables or alternative config methods
• This affects both memory plugins that users rely on for persistent agent memory

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.3.13 (61d171a)
• Platform: macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
• Node.js: v22.x
• Installation method: npm global install

Steps to Reproduce

1. Fresh OpenClaw install with memory plugins enabled
2. Add configuration to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "memory-lancedb-pro": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "embedding": {
            "apiKey": "${EMBEDDING_API_KEY}",
            "baseURL": "https://example.com/v1"
          },
          "dbPath": "~/.openclaw/memory/lancedb-pro",
          "autoCapture": true,
          "autoRecall": true,
          "retrieval": {
            "mode": "hybrid",
            "rerank": "lightweight"
          }
        }
      },
      "memory-openviking": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "mode": "remote",
          "baseUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:1933",
          "targetUri": "viking://user/memories",
          "autoCapture": true,
          "autoRecall": true,
          "recallLimit": 3
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

1. Attempt to start gateway: openclaw gateway restart

Expected Behavior

The gateway should accept plugin config fields that are declared in each plugin's own configSchema (in their openclaw.plugin.json or equivalent), delegating validation to the plugin's schema validator.

Actual Behavior

Gateway validation fails with:

Invalid config at /Users/jackmac/.openclaw/openclaw.json:
- plugins.entries.memory-lancedb-pro.config: invalid config: must NOT have additional properties
- plugins.entries.memory-openviking.config: invalid config: must NOT have additional properties

Gateway refuses to start and suggests running openclaw doctor --fix, which silently deletes the entire config sections without user confirmation.

Root Cause Analysis

Based on similar issues (#39535, #43551), the problem is:

1. OpenClaw's gateway config validator does not delegate to plugin configSchema validators
2. It validates the top-level schema and rejects any keys it doesn't recognize under plugins.entries.*
3. Even though plugins correctly declare their config schemas, the gateway validator doesn't consult them
4. The validator treats all plugin-specific config fields as "additional properties"

Evidence from Related Issues

• Issue #39535: acpx plugin's permissionMode config rejected
• Issue #43551: openclaw-mem0 plugin crashes gateway — schema rejects all config keys except "enabled"
• PR #43769: Proposed fix to "allow apiKey, env, and plugin-specific keys in plugin entry schema"

This appears to be a systemic issue affecting multiple plugins, not just memory plugins.

Proposed Fix

The gateway config validator should delegate validation of plugins.entries.<pluginId>.config to each plugin's registered configSchema.safeParse() instead of rejecting unknown keys at the top level.

Conceptual Implementation

// In gateway config validation:
for (const [pluginId, pluginEntry] of Object.entries(config.plugins?.entries ?? {})) {
  const plugin = loadedPlugins.get(pluginId);

  if (pluginEntry.config && plugin?.configSchema) {
    const result = plugin.configSchema.safeParse(pluginEntry.config);
    if (!result.success) {
      throw new ConfigValidationError(
        `Plugin ${pluginId} config validation failed`,
        result.error
      );
    }
  }
}

Test Cases

describe("plugin config delegation", () => {
  it("accepts config fields declared in plugin configSchema", () => {
    const config = {
      plugins: {
        entries: {
          "memory-lancedb-pro": {
            enabled: true,
            config: {
              embedding: { apiKey: "test", baseURL: "https://example.com" },
              dbPath: "~/.openclaw/memory",
              autoCapture: true
            }
          }
        }
      }
    };

    expect(() => validateConfig(config)).not.toThrow();
  });

  it("rejects config fields that fail plugin schema validation", () => {
    const config = {
      plugins: {
        entries: {
          "memory-lancedb-pro": {
            enabled: true,
            config: {
              invalidField: "should fail"
            }
          }
        }
      }
    };

    expect(() => validateConfig(config)).toThrow(/invalidField/);
  });
});

Workaround

Current workaround (loses all custom configuration):

1. Backup plugin configs to a separate file
2. Remove config fields from plugins.entries.* in openclaw.json
3. Keep only enabled: true
4. Restart gateway

This allows the gateway to start but memory plugins run with default settings only, losing:

• Custom embedding providers and API endpoints
• Database paths
• Auto-capture/recall settings
• Retrieval modes and reranking
• Memory scopes and agent access controls

Additional Context

Affected Plugins (Known)

• memory-lancedb-pro
• memory-openviking
• acpx (issue #39535)
• openclaw-mem0 (issue #43551)

User Impact

This bug significantly degrades the memory plugin experience:

• Users cannot configure custom embedding providers (critical for non-OpenAI users)
• Cannot set up memory scopes for multi-agent systems
• Cannot tune retrieval parameters for their use case
• Cannot specify custom database paths (important for external storage)

Backup of Working Config

For reference, here's a working memory plugin configuration that should be supported:

{
  "memory-lancedb-pro": {
    "config": {
      "embedding": {
        "apiKey": "${EMBEDDING_API_KEY}",
        "baseURL": "https://custom-provider.com/v1"
      },
      "dbPath": "~/.openclaw/memory/lancedb-pro",
      "autoCapture": true,
      "autoCaptureExclude": ["raw_json", "raw_log", "health_check"],
      "autoRecall": true,
      "retrieval": {
        "mode": "hybrid",
        "rerank": "lightweight"
      },
      "scopes": {
        "default": "global",
        "definitions": {
          "global": { "description": "Shared memory" },
          "agent1": { "description": "Agent 1 memory" }
        },
        "agentAccess": {
          "main": ["global"],
          "agent1": ["global", "agent1"]
        }
      },
      "enableManagementTools": true
    }
  },
  "memory-openviking": {
    "config": {
      "mode": "remote",
      "baseUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:1933",
      "targetUri": "viking://user/memories",
      "autoCapture": true,
      "autoCaptureExclude": ["raw_json", "raw_log"],
      "autoRecall": true,
      "recallLimit": 3,
      "recallScoreThreshold": 0.3,
      "ingestReplyAssist": false
    }
  }
}

Related Issues

• #39535 - acpx plugin permissionMode config rejected by gateway validator
• #43551 - [Bug]: openclaw-mem0 plugin crashes gateway — schema rejects all config keys except "enabled"
• #33541 - feat: SecretRef support for plugins.entries..config. (plugin config secrets)
• #43769 - fix: allow apiKey, env, and plugin-specific keys in plugin entry schema

Request

Please prioritize this fix as it affects core memory functionality that many users depend on for persistent agent context and multi-agent systems.

Thank you for your work on OpenClaw! 🦞