openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix 2026.3.31 package layout regression: shared dist chunks import plugin-local deps that are incomplete at top-level node_modules [3 comments, 3 participants]

Summary

OpenClaw 2026.3.31 appears to have a packaging/layout regression.

Some top-level shared dist/*.js chunks import dependencies such as:

• @buape/carbon
• @aws-sdk/client-bedrock

But in the published 2026.3.31 package, those dependencies are only complete inside extension-local paths such as:

• dist/extensions/discord/node_modules/@buape/carbon
• dist/extensions/amazon-bedrock/node_modules/@aws-sdk/client-bedrock

At the package top level, the corresponding directories exist but are incomplete and missing package.json, so Node cannot resolve them when they are imported from top-level shared chunks.

This breaks plugin loading. In my case:

• Discord fails with Cannot find module '@buape/carbon'
• amazon-bedrock fails with Cannot find module '@aws-sdk/client-bedrock'

I first hit this in a custom pinned-vendor Discord deployment, but I was able to reproduce it from a plain fresh npm install [email protected], so this does not appear to be caused by my local promote/deploy script.

Affected version

• OpenClaw 2026.3.31 (213a704)

Last known good version

• OpenClaw 2026.3.24 (cff6dc9)

Environment

• OS: Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS
• Kernel: Linux 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64
• Node: v24.13.0

Minimal reproduction

rm -rf /tmp/openclaw331-inspect
mkdir -p /tmp/openclaw331-inspect
npm install --prefix /tmp/openclaw331-inspect [email protected]

HOME=/tmp/openclaw331-empty-home \
/usr/bin/node /tmp/openclaw331-inspect/node_modules/openclaw/openclaw.mjs channels status --probe --json

Actual result

The command fails during plugin loading with:

[plugins] amazon-bedrock failed to load from /tmp/openclaw331-inspect/node_modules/openclaw/dist/extensions/amazon-bedrock/index.js: Error: Cannot find module '@aws-sdk/client-bedrock'
Require stack:
- /tmp/openclaw331-inspect/node_modules/openclaw/dist/discovery-Bwev8dJL.js

[openclaw] Failed to start CLI: PluginLoadFailureError: plugin load failed: amazon-bedrock: Error: Cannot find module '@aws-sdk/client-bedrock'

In my production deployment I also saw:

discord failed to load ... Cannot find module '@buape/carbon'

Expected result

channels status --probe --json should start normally and not fail due to plugin packaging/layout issues.

Additional evidence

1. Top-level shared chunks import these packages

In 2026.3.31:

dist/ui-DKBKDxGo.js
7: import { Container } from "@buape/carbon";

dist/discovery-Bwev8dJL.js
5: import { BedrockClient, ListFoundationModelsCommand } from "@aws-sdk/client-bedrock";

And extension entrypoints import those shared chunks:

dist/extensions/discord/index.js
20: import { ... } from "../../ui-DKBKDxGo.js";
29: import { Separator, TextDisplay } from "@buape/carbon";

dist/extensions/amazon-bedrock/index.js
4: import { ... } from "../../discovery-Bwev8dJL.js";

2. The extension-local copies are complete, but the top-level copies are incomplete

From the installed 2026.3.31 package:

top_aws=no
top_carbon=no
ext_aws=yes
ext_carbon=yes

Meaning:

• node_modules/@aws-sdk/client-bedrock/package.json => missing
• node_modules/@buape/carbon/package.json => missing
• dist/extensions/amazon-bedrock/node_modules/@aws-sdk/client-bedrock/package.json => present
• dist/extensions/discord/node_modules/@buape/carbon/package.json => present

I also inspected the top-level directories directly:

• node_modules/@aws-sdk/client-bedrock/ exists but is missing package.json
• node_modules/@buape/carbon/ exists but is missing package.json

So this is not just "dependency absent"; it looks like the published package contains incomplete top-level dependency directories.

3. This does not appear to be caused by a custom promote/copy script

I first saw the bug in a custom pinned-vendor deployment, but I reproduced the same structure and the same crash from a fresh:

npm install [email protected]

So the issue appears to be in the published package or packaging pipeline itself, not in local deployment logic.

Likely root cause

My current hypothesis is:

1. 2026.3.31 introduced shared top-level chunks that directly import extension-related dependencies.
2. Those dependencies are only fully packaged under extension-local dist/extensions/*/node_modules.
3. The top-level node_modules contains incomplete directories for the same packages.
4. When Node resolves imports from top-level dist/*.js, it fails because the top-level package metadata is incomplete or missing.

Temporary workaround

I rolled production back to 2026.3.24, which immediately restored normal behavior.

Impact

This blocks upgrading a working Discord/OpenClaw deployment from 2026.3.24 to 2026.3.31.

Because the failure is reproducible from a plain fresh install, it may affect other Linux/WSL users even without custom deployment tooling.