Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

Yes

Summary

After brave was externalized to @openclaw/brave-plugin in 2026.5.2, both the stable release and the latest beta ship broken: @2026.5.2 contains only TypeScript source with no compiled output, while @2026.5.3-beta.2 contains only compiled dist/ with no source index.ts. The plugin runtime validator demands both, so the gateway fails to start with Config invalid: plugins: plugin: installed plugin package requires compiled runtime output for TypeScript entry index.ts.

Steps to reproduce

1. openclaw config has tools.web.search.provider: "brave" and plugins.entries.brave.enabled: true (typical setup carried over from when brave was bundled).
2. Upgrade to openclaw 2026.5.2 or 2026.5.3-beta.x via npm install -g.
3. openclaw doctor --fix --non-interactive (auto-installs @openclaw/[email protected]).
4. openclaw gateway restart --force → fails with config invalid.

Expected behavior

Published @openclaw/brave-plugin tarball should contain both the source index.ts (or whatever the manifest declares as the entry) and the compiled dist/index.js so the runtime validator can resolve the entry. This was the case implicitly in 2026.5.1 when brave was bundled.

Actual behavior

Tarball inspection from npm registry:

@openclaw/[email protected] — only .ts source, no compiled output:

package/openclaw.plugin.json
package/package.json
package/tsconfig.json
package/src/brave-web-search-provider.runtime.ts
package/src/brave-web-search-provider.shared.ts
package/src/brave-web-search-provider.test.ts
package/src/brave-web-search-provider.ts
package/index.ts
package/test-api.ts
package/web-search-contract-api.ts
package/web-search-provider.ts

@openclaw/[email protected] — only dist/, no index.ts source:

package/dist/brave-web-search-provider-CGCUaRRN.js
package/dist/brave-web-search-provider.runtime-Zj1jGbhx.js
package/dist/brave-web-search-provider.shared-Dca5ya1G.js
package/dist/index.js
package/dist/test-api.js
package/dist/web-search-contract-api.js
package/dist/web-search-provider.js
package/openclaw.plugin.json
package/package.json

Both fail validation because package.json declares "openclaw": { "extensions": ["./index.ts"] } and the validator wants the index.ts source plus a sibling compiled artifact at one of ./dist/index.js, ./dist/index.mjs, ./dist/index.cjs, index.js, index.mjs, index.cjs.

OpenClaw version

2026.5.3-beta.3 (also reproduced on 2026.5.2)

Operating system

macOS 26.4.1 (arm64)

Install method

npm global

Model

openai-codex/gpt-5.5

Provider / routing chain

openclaw -> openai-codex

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

◇  Plugin diagnostics ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│  - ERROR: installed plugin package requires compiled runtime output for TypeScript entry  │
│    index.ts: expected ./dist/index.js, ./dist/index.mjs, ./dist/index.cjs, index.js,      │
│    index.mjs, index.cjs                                                                   │
│    (~/.openclaw/npm/node_modules/@openclaw/brave-plugin)                                  │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
Error: Config validation failed: plugins: plugin: installed plugin package requires compiled runtime output for TypeScript entry index.ts: expected ./dist/index.js, ./dist/index.mjs, ./dist/index.cjs, index.js, index.mjs, index.cjs

Impact and severity

• Affected: any user who configured brave web search before the externalization (i.e. carried tools.web.search.provider: brave from 2026.5.1 or earlier).
• Severity: blocking — gateway will not start, so all bot channels (Telegram, Discord, etc.) go offline.
• Frequency: 100% deterministic for affected configs.
• Consequence: gateway flapping (auto-restore last-good loop) until user manually disables brave or migrates to a different web-search provider.

Additional information

• Last known good: 2026.5.1 (brave bundled in core)
• First known bad: 2026.5.2 (brave externalized; published tarball missing dist/)
• Workaround used: disable plugins.entries.brave, switch tools.web.search.provider to firecrawl.
• Both failure modes look like the publish workflow stripping the wrong files — 2026.5.2 stripped dist/, beta.2 stripped source. A correct publish should include both, or the plugin manifest should be updated to point extensions directly at the compiled output (e.g. ./dist/index.js) so the source is no longer required.