openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix memory-lancedb-pro plugin fails to load on 5.x: Cannot find module 'openclaw/plugin-sdk'

Description

[email protected] (locally-loaded TypeScript plugin) worked on OpenClaw 4.x but fails to load on 5.x (tested on 5.19-beta.2).

Error

Error: Cannot find module 'openclaw/plugin-sdk'
Require stack:
- /Users/.../.openclaw/node_modules/memory-lancedb-pro/src/tools.ts
- /Users/.../.openclaw/node_modules/memory-lancedb-pro/index.ts

Details

The plugin imports from openclaw/plugin-sdk:

import { stringEnum } from 'openclaw/plugin-sdk';
import type { OpenClawPluginApi } from 'openclaw/plugin-sdk';

The SDK exists at dist/plugin-sdk/ in the openclaw package but isn't resolvable via Node's module resolution from the plugin's location (~/.openclaw/node_modules/memory-lancedb-pro/).

The plugin ships as raw TypeScript (no compiled JS, main: 'index.ts'). On 4.x, OpenClaw's plugin loader handled the TS transpilation and SDK resolution. On 5.x, require() from the plugin path can't find the openclaw/plugin-sdk export.

Questions

1. Are openclaw/plugin-sdk package exports still supported for locally-loaded TypeScript plugins on 5.x?
2. If the import path changed, what's the new pattern?
3. Should local TS plugins be compiled to JS first on 5.x?

Environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.5.19-beta.2
• Node: v24.13.0
• OS: macOS (arm64)
• Plugin: [email protected] (installed at ~/.openclaw/node_modules/)
• Database intact: 4,741 memories in LanceDB with Weibull decay, scope isolation, hybrid retrieval