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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix 5.4 file-transfer plugin installs to empty directory — plugin never loads [1 comments, 2 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#78150•Fetched 2026-05-06 06:16:31
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MoonRay305MoonRay305
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clawsweeper[bot]clawsweeper[bot]MoonRay305MoonRay305
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Error Message

  • openclaw plugins install file-transfer completes without error

Root Cause

  • Critical: file-transfer is a new bundled plugin — its tools are unavailable
  • Security regression can't be validated because the plugin never loads
  • Other bundled plugins being migrated to npm-external form may have the same issue

Code Example

openclaw plugins install file-transfer
openclaw plugins list
openclaw tools list | grep file-transfer

---

ls -la ~/.openclaw/plugins/file-transfer/
# Result: total 0 — directory exists but nothing in it

cat ~/.openclaw/plugins/file-transfer/package.json
# Result: No such file or directory
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug Description

Version: OpenClaw 2026.5.4 (fresh install) Environment: Staging server, Ubuntu or similar Linux, PM2-managed gateway

Steps to Reproduce

openclaw plugins install file-transfer
openclaw plugins list
openclaw tools list | grep file-transfer

Expected Behavior

  • file-transfer appears in plugin list with status loaded
  • Tools file_fetch, dir_list, dir_fetch, file_write are registered and available

Actual Behavior

  • openclaw plugins install file-transfer completes without error
  • The target directory ~/.openclaw/plugins/file-transfer/ is created
  • The directory is empty — no package.json, no dist/, no files whatsoever
  • Plugin never loads; no tools registered
  • Gateway continues running without complaint (silent failure)

Diagnosis

ls -la ~/.openclaw/plugins/file-transfer/
# Result: total 0 — directory exists but nothing in it

cat ~/.openclaw/plugins/file-transfer/package.json
# Result: No such file or directory

The install command creates the directory but writes no files into it. Likely causes:

  1. npm/pnpm download succeeds but filesystem write fails silently
  2. Plugin manifest resolution fails after install, leaving an empty directory
  3. The migration logic that moves bundled plugin artifacts to the external install path is failing

Impact

  • Critical: file-transfer is a new bundled plugin — its tools are unavailable
  • Security regression can't be validated because the plugin never loads
  • Other bundled plugins being migrated to npm-external form may have the same issue

Gateway Log Snippets

(To be filled in — check ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log for any file-transfer or plugin load errors around the install timestamp)

System Info

  • Node.js version:
  • OS:
  • Install method: npm / global / Docker
  • PM2: yes/no

extent analysis

TL;DR

The file-transfer plugin installation issue may be resolved by investigating and fixing the silent failure in writing files to the ~/.openclaw/plugins/file-transfer/ directory.

Guidance

  • Verify the file system permissions and disk space available for the ~/.openclaw/plugins/ directory to ensure writes are not being blocked.
  • Check the gateway log (~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log) for any errors related to plugin installation or loading around the install timestamp to identify potential issues.
  • Test the installation of other plugins to see if the issue is specific to file-transfer or a more general problem with the plugin installation process.
  • Consider manually downloading the file-transfer plugin package and attempting to install it to isolate if the issue is with the package itself or the installation process.

Example

No code snippet is provided as the issue seems to be related to the installation process rather than code execution.

Notes

The exact cause of the issue is not clear without more information from the gateway logs or system diagnostics. The suggestions provided are aimed at gathering more information and isolating the problem.

Recommendation

Apply workaround: Manually investigate and fix the file system issues or plugin installation process errors, as the root cause is not clearly identified and may require specific fixes based on the system configuration and logs.

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