openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix Google Meet plugin: Linux realtime Chrome join blocked by macOS-only BlackHole audio backend [4 comments, 3 participants]

Summary

We tried to use the Google Meet plugin to join a meeting from a Linux OpenClaw host instead of driving Chromium directly, but the plugin setup currently reports local Chrome realtime join as blocked because the audio backend appears to be macOS/BlackHole-specific.

Environment

• OS: Linux 6.17.0-1010-aws x64
• Host: AWS Ubuntu/Noble environment
• OpenClaw runtime channel: Telegram/direct main agent
• gh was installed separately and is not relevant to the plugin issue

What we ran

openclaw googlemeet setup --json

Actual result

{
  "ok": false,
  "checks": [
    {
      "id": "google-oauth-token",
      "ok": true,
      "message": "Google OAuth token path not configured; Chrome profile auth will be used"
    },
    {
      "id": "chrome-profile",
      "ok": true,
      "message": "Local Chrome uses the OpenClaw browser profile; configure browser.defaultProfile to choose another profile"
    },
    {
      "id": "audio-bridge",
      "ok": true,
      "message": "Chrome command-pair realtime audio bridge configured (pcm16-24khz)"
    },
    {
      "id": "guest-join-defaults",
      "ok": true,
      "message": "Guest auto-join and tab reuse defaults are enabled"
    },
    {
      "id": "chrome-node-target",
      "ok": true,
      "message": "Chrome node not pinned; automatic selection works when exactly one capable node is connected"
    },
    {
      "id": "intro-after-in-call",
      "ok": true,
      "message": "Realtime intro waits up to 20000ms for the Meet tab to be in-call"
    },
    {
      "id": "chrome-local-audio-device",
      "ok": false,
      "message": "Chrome Meet transport with blackhole-2ch audio is currently macOS-only"
    },
    {
      "id": "chrome-local-audio-commands",
      "ok": false,
      "message": "Chrome audio command missing: sox"
    }
  ]
}

Expected / desired behavior

It would be helpful if the Google Meet plugin supported Linux local Chrome realtime joins, or documented a recommended Linux transport/setup path. For example:

• PulseAudio/PipeWire virtual sink/source support on Linux
• Clear Linux setup instructions equivalent to the macOS BlackHole path
• Better setup guidance when running on Linux, explaining whether to use chrome-node, Twilio dial-in, transcribe mode, or another supported path

Why this matters

The plugin is the right abstraction for Meet-specific behavior, tab reuse, in-call status, and realtime bridge health. But on Linux, the setup currently points at a macOS-only audio device path, so it is unclear whether Linux is unsupported, partially supported, or just missing documented audio configuration.

Notes

We understand that Twilio may work when Meet dial-in details are available, and transcribe mode avoids the duplex realtime audio bridge. This issue is specifically about Linux support for Chrome-based realtime Google Meet participation.