Summary

The memory-core plugin declares kind: "memory" and includes a full dreaming engine (light → REM → deep phases) with output to MEMORY.md and DREAMS.md. However, it cannot coexist with any other memory plugin on the same slot. When plugins.slots.memory is bound to a different plugin (e.g. memory-lancedb-hybrid), the memory-core plugin is silently disabled and its command handler (/dreaming), system event handler, and cron-job registration are never activated. The result is that dreaming cannot be triggered by any means once a slot conflict exists.

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.4.9
• Plugin: memory-core (bundled at openclaw/dist/extensions/memory-core/)
• Competing plugin: memory-lancedb-hybrid 1.2.0 (workspace skills, also kind: "memory")
• Slot owner: memory-lancedb-hybrid bound to plugins.slots.memory

Relevant plugin config:

{
  "plugins": {
    "slots": {
      "memory": "memory-lancedb-hybrid"
    },
    "entries": {
      "memory-core": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "dreaming": {
            "enabled": true,
            "frequency": "",
            "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles",
            "verboseLogging": true,
            "storage": { "mode": "separate", "separateReports": true },
            "phases": {
              "light": { "enabled": true, "lookbackDays": 7, "limit": 20 },
              "rem":    { "enabled": true, "lookbackDays": 14, "limit": 10 },
              "deep":   { "enabled": true, "limit": 15, "minScore": 0.7 }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install or activate memory-lancedb-hybrid as a memory plugin and bind it to plugins.slots.memory.
2. Add a memory-core.config.dreaming block to plugins.entries.memory-core with dreaming.enabled: true (the dreaming config is accepted).
3. Reload the gateway (SIGHUP or restart).
4. Observe: Config warnings: plugins.entries.memory-core: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-lancedb-hybrid") but config is present — this warning fires on every CLI invocation.
5. Attempt to trigger dreaming via any known path (see Evidence below) — all silently no-op.

Expected Behavior

The /dreaming command is registered and accepts status, on, off, help. When dreaming.enabled is true, the plugin also registers a cron job ("Memory Dreaming Promotion") with schedule dreaming.frequency. The cron fires a system event __openclaw_memory_core_short_term_promotion_dream__ which the agent handles by calling runDreamingSweepPhases. This runs light → REM → deep phases and writes output files.

Actual Behavior

memory-core is marked disabled by the slot conflict. Its registerDreamingCommand handler (index.js:97-103) is never called. The /dreaming command is not registered. The cron job is not registered. The system event handler is not registered. All trigger paths silently no-op.

Evidence

Exact warning message

Config warnings:
- plugins.entries.memory-core: plugin disabled (memory slot set to "memory-lancedb-hybrid") but config is present

This warning appears on every openclaw CLI invocation when memory-core entry has a config block but the slot is bound elsewhere.

Attempted trigger paths and outcomes

Source code citations

• Plugin disabled mechanism: openclaw/dist/extensions/memory-core/index.js — registerDreamingCommand called at line 97 only if plugin initializes; plugin initialization is skipped when slot is occupied.
• 3-phase sweep documentation: `index.js:61-63:
  • "implementation detail: each sweep runs light -> REM -> deep."
  • "deep is the only stage that writes durable entries to MEMORY.md."
  • "DREAMS.md is for human-readable dreaming summaries and diary entries."
• Cron job registration: openclaw/dist/dreaming-DKm55QYQ.js — buildManagedDreamingCronJob creates cron with sessionTarget: "main" and payload { kind: "systemEvent", text: "__openclaw_memory_core_short_term_promotion_dream__" } — never called because plugin is disabled.
• System event text constant: DREAMING_SYSTEM_EVENT_TEXT = "__openclaw_memory_core_short_term_promotion_dream__" — defined in openclaw/dist/dreaming-DKm55QYQ.js
• Memory slot binding: openclaw.json plugins.slots.memory = "memory-lancedb-hybrid" — this is what causes memory-core to be marked disabled.
• Slot conflict warning: appears to come from the plugin loader when a plugin is superseded by a slot binding.

Proposed Fix Options

Option A — Sidecar mode for dreaming

Allow memory-core (or a new memory-dreaming plugin) to operate without owning the memory slot. The dreaming feature does not actually need to be the memory provider — it reads memory events and writes durable files. Decouple the dreaming surface from the memory slot by:

1. Declaring memory-core with kind: "dreaming" (new kind) or kind: "memory" + a sidecar: true flag.
2. When sidecar: true, the plugin registers its commands and hooks without claiming the memory slot.
3. The dreaming engine reads from state.db (memory_events) and writes to MEMORY.md/DREAMS.md without needing to be the active memory provider.

Option B — Non-memory plugin kind for memory-core

Ship memory-core as a plugin that declares only kind: "system" or a new kind: "memory-dreaming". Remove the kind: "memory" declaration entirely since the plugin does not actually provide the memory tool interface (recall/store/forget). The slot conflict only occurs between plugins of the same kind.

Option C — Allow multiple plugins on the memory slot with declared compatibility

Allow plugins.slots.memory to bind to a list of plugins instead of a single plugin, with a declared compatibility/priority order. The memory slot becomes a chain: first plugin that claims to own it is used for recall/store/forget, but other plugins can still register their hooks/commands/crons. This is architecturally complex but would allow both memory-lancedb-hybrid (primary recall) and memory-core (dreaming) to coexist.

Impact

Without a fix, users cannot enable memory-core dreaming on any OpenClaw install that uses any other memory plugin (including memory-lancedb-hybrid, which is the recommended memory plugin). This effectively makes the entire memory-core dreaming feature inaccessible in any non-trivial deployment.

Tags

• plugin-system
• memory
• memory-core
• slots
• dreaming