openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Feature]: official `npm create openclaw-plugin` scaffolder for ClawHub-ready plugins [1 comments, 2 participants]

Summary

A small create-openclaw-plugin CLI so plugin authors can scaffold a ClawHub-ready plugin in one command: npm create openclaw-plugin@latest my-plugin. Generated project includes the openclaw.manifest, openclaw.compat.pluginApi, and openclaw.build.openclawVersion fields ClawHub requires, plus TypeScript + Vitest defaults.

Problem to solve

Plugin authors today hand-copy the required openclaw.manifest, openclaw.compat.pluginApi, and openclaw.build.openclawVersion fields from existing plugins, or skip them entirely. ClawHub submissions then fail validation, or end up with stale/incorrect compat ranges. There is no canonical starting point.

Proposed solution

Publish a create-openclaw-plugin package on npm that scaffolds a complete plugin directory:

• src/index.ts — plugin entry with example exports
• test/index.test.ts — Vitest test suite
• openclaw.plugin.json — ClawHub manifest
• package.json — pre-filled with openclaw.manifest, openclaw.compat.pluginApi: "1.x", openclaw.build.openclawVersion
• tsconfig.json, README.md, .gitignore

Usage: npm create openclaw-plugin@latest my-plugin → interactive prompts for plugin name, author, npm scope, description.

Asking first because create-openclaw-plugin reads as an official package even from a personal account. Three paths I'm open to:

1. Maintainer-owned — transfer to the openclaw npm org once published.
2. Personal but linked — publish under my account, link from OpenClaw docs.
3. Different name — e.g. openclaw-plugin-template-cli, no claim to the official slot.

Whichever you prefer.

Alternatives considered

• A docs page listing required manifest fields (already partially exists, but copy-paste is error-prone and stale).
• A git clone template repo (works but breaks the npm-create discoverability flow most JS scaffolders use today, e.g. create-vite, create-next-app, create-astro).
• A monorepo examples/ plugin (good reference but not a one-command bootstrap).

Impact

Affects every new plugin author targeting ClawHub. Lowers the barrier from "read 3 docs pages and copy-paste 4 metadata fields correctly" to one command. Reduces ClawHub validation failures and inconsistent compat ranges across the ecosystem.

Evidence/examples

The npm create * pattern is standard in the JS ecosystem: create-vite (47M weekly downloads), create-next-app (10M), create-astro, create-remix-app, create-t3-app, etc. Each one bakes framework-specific contract into a one-command bootstrap.

Generated project tested locally — npm install && npm test passes (Vitest 2/2). The package.json template includes the manifest fields ClawHub requires, so a freshly scaffolded plugin can npm publish and submit to ClawHub immediately without manual edits.

Additional information

No response