Feature Request: Managed Hooks Should Receive Plugin Events

Summary

Managed hooks (in ~/.openclaw/hooks/) cannot receive important events like before_dispatch, agent_end, or message_sent because they register via registerInternalHook() but these events only trigger hookRunner.hasHooks() (plugin hook system).

Problem

OpenClaw has two separate hook systems:

1. Internal Hook System — registerInternalHook() + triggerInternalHook()
2. Plugin Hook System — hookRunner.hasHooks() + hookRunner.runXxx()

Managed hooks in ~/.openclaw/hooks/ register via registerInternalHook(), which only fires for internal events like gateway:startup.

But important lifecycle events like before_dispatch, agent_end, message_sent, message_received ONLY check hookRunner.hasHooks() — they never call triggerInternalHook().

Result: Managed hooks are invisible to these events.

Evidence

From dispatch-CYHzwBjK.js:

if (hookRunner?.hasHooks("before_dispatch")) {
    const beforeDispatchResult = await hookRunner.runBeforeDispatch({...});
}

There's no corresponding triggerInternalHook(createInternalHookEvent("before", "dispatch", ...)) call.

Proposed Solution

For each plugin-only event, also trigger the internal hook alongside the plugin hook. Example for before_dispatch:

// In dispatch-CYHzwBjK.js, around line 482:
if (hookRunner?.hasHooks("before_dispatch")) {
    const beforeDispatchResult = await hookRunner.runBeforeDispatch({...});
}
// ADD THIS: Also fire internal hook for managed hooks
if (sessionKey) {
    triggerInternalHook(createInternalHookEvent("before", "dispatch", sessionKey ?? "", {
        content: hookContext.content,
        body: hookContext.bodyForAgent ?? hookContext.body,
        channel: hookContext.channelId,
        sessionKey: sessionStoreEntry.sessionKey ?? sessionKey,
        senderId: hookContext.senderId,
        isGroup: hookContext.isGroup,
        timestamp: hookContext.timestamp,
        messageId: hookContext.messageId
    }));
}

This way:

• Plugin hooks still work as before
• Managed hooks (registered via registerInternalHook("before:dispatch", handler)) also receive the event
• No breaking changes to existing plugin hooks

Affected Events

These events currently only fire plugin hooks and should also fire internal hooks:

Workaround Applied

We've applied this patch locally to enable before:dispatch and agent:end internal hooks for a Kyle-specific reaction hook that sends 👀→✍️→👍 on Kyle's Telegram messages.

Files patched:

• dispatch-CYHzwBjK.js — added triggerInternalHook for before:dispatch
• pi-embedded-DWASRjxE.js — added triggerInternalHook for agent:end

Impact

Minimal. This only adds additional internal hook triggers alongside existing plugin hook calls. Existing plugin hooks behavior is unchanged.

Compatibility

Managed hooks already support registering for events via HOOK.md metadata:

metadata:
  openclaw:
    events:
      - "before:dispatch"  # type:action format for internal hooks

The internal hook naming uses "type:action" format (e.g., "before:dispatch", "agent:end") while plugin hooks use underscore format (e.g., "before_dispatch", "agent_end").