openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: openclaw-weixin outbound rejects every target (including filehelper) — host resolver requires directory or messagingTarget hook plugin doesn't expose [1 comments, 2 participants]

Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

On 2026.4.29, openclaw message send --channel openclaw-weixin --target <any> rejects every target form with Unknown target "<value>" for openclaw-weixin. The plugin (@tencent-weixin/[email protected]) is loaded and the channel runtime is running; the failure is in the host's outbound target resolver, not the plugin's sendMessage API (which accepts arbitrary to_user_id strings).

Steps to reproduce

1. OpenClaw 2026.4.29 (a448042) with @tencent-weixin/[email protected] installed and channel running (confirmed via channels status).
2. Try any of the following (all --dry-run, all fail at validation before reaching the plugin):

openclaw message send --channel openclaw-weixin --account <id> --target someuser           --message "x" --dry-run
openclaw message send --channel openclaw-weixin --account <id> --target wxid_someuser      --message "x" --dry-run
openclaw message send --channel openclaw-weixin --account <id> --target @someuser          --message "x" --dry-run
openclaw message send --channel openclaw-weixin --account <id> --target user:someuser      --message "x" --dry-run
openclaw message send --channel openclaw-weixin --account <id> --target filehelper         --message "x" --dry-run

1. Observe Error: Unknown target "<value>" for openclaw-weixin. in every case, including filehelper (WeChat's built-in universal self-target which exists on every account by definition).

Expected behavior

Outbound resolution should reach the plugin's sendMessage for at least the universal-target case (filehelper), and ideally pass through arbitrary opaque strings when the channel plugin (a) is loaded, (b) has no cached directory contents yet, and (c) does not register a messagingTarget resolver hook — letting the plugin do its own validation of the to_user_id.

Actual behavior

Resolver fails before invoking the plugin. From dist/target-resolver-DtKf-C6e.js (lines 280–326):

1. Directory lookup (getDirectoryEntries) — empty for this channel; this is also affected by the install-prompt regression filed separately, so populating the directory is currently not possible without clobbering the install.
2. Plugin-side fallback maybeResolvePluginMessagingTarget — returns null because the plugin does not register a messagingTarget hook. From ~/.openclaw/extensions/openclaw-weixin/index.ts the plugin only calls api.registerChannel({ plugin: weixinPlugin }).
3. Throws unknownTargetError.

The plugin's to_user_id field is an opaque string (verified at ~/.openclaw/extensions/openclaw-weixin/src/messaging/send.ts lines 17–39 — to_user_id: to, no validation), so the host's pre-validation is the only blocker.

OpenClaw version

2026.4.29 (a448042)

Operating system

Ubuntu 24.04 (Linux 6.8.0)

Install method

npm global

Model

openai-codex/gpt-5.5 (not relevant to this defect)

Provider / routing chain

openclaw -> openai-codex (not relevant to this defect)

Additional provider/model setup details

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

$ openclaw message send --channel openclaw-weixin --account <id> --target filehelper --message "x" --dry-run
Error: Unknown target "filehelper" for openclaw-weixin.

Same error for vanity, wxid_*, @-prefixed, and user:-prefixed forms.

Impact and severity

Blocks all CLI-driven outbound on this channel (including legitimate self-tests via filehelper). The session-bound reply path used by the inbound→agent-reply flow is unaffected, since it does not traverse this resolver — runtime production traffic continues to work.

Additional information

Related but distinct: #55338 (closed 2026-04-25). That issue addressed unknownTargetError when the requested channel plugin was missing from the active registry (host-side bootstrap fix in channel-resolution.ts + target-resolver.ts). Our case differs — the plugin is in the active registry and the channel is running; the failure is downstream of plugin resolution, in the directory + maybeResolvePluginMessagingTarget fallback layer.

NOT_ENOUGH_INFO on whether earlier 2026.4.x releases passed filehelper through (was not exercised on 2026.4.26 prior to upgrade).