Issue Station
Sign In
Tools hereToolbox

openclaw - ✅(Solved) Fix plugins install: --trust flag undocumented / dangerous code blocks community plugins that use child_process [1 pull requests, 2 comments, 2 participants]

Official PRs (…)
ON THIS PAGE

Recommended Tools

×6

Utilities matched from this issue’s tags and category — try them while you read without losing context.

GitHub issue graph ai analysis

Paste a GitHub issue URL. We fetch that issue, discover linked issues from bodies/comments/timeline, collect linked pull requests, and produce a structured English report.

The report is written in English Markdown for sharing and archival.

Helpful · Quick feedback

Loading…
GitHub stats
openclaw/openclaw#59241•Fetched 2026-04-08 02:27:00
View on GitHub
Comments
2
Participants
2
Timeline
8
Reactions
0
Author
zeolenonzeolenon
Participants
huntharohuntharozeolenonzeolenon
Timeline (top)
cross-referenced ×3commented ×2closed ×1locked ×1

When trying to install a community plugin (openclaw-codex-app-server) that legitimately uses child_process (to spawn the Codex CLI), installation is blocked with no way to proceed:

``` WARNING: Plugin "openclaw-codex-app-server" contains dangerous code patterns: Shell command execution detected (child_process) (src/client.ts:660) Plugin "openclaw-codex-app-server" installation blocked: dangerous code patterns detected ```

Error Message

Both commands result in the same blocked error. --dangerously-force-unsafe-install should bypass the block (as its name implies), or there should be a --trust flag (which the error message and community docs suggest exists, but does not).

Root Cause

When trying to install a community plugin (openclaw-codex-app-server) that legitimately uses child_process (to spawn the Codex CLI), installation is blocked with no way to proceed:

``` WARNING: Plugin "openclaw-codex-app-server" contains dangerous code patterns: Shell command execution detected (child_process) (src/client.ts:660) Plugin "openclaw-codex-app-server" installation blocked: dangerous code patterns detected ```

Fix Action

Workaround

Manually add the plugin ID to plugins.allow in openclaw.json after the plugin is already present in ~/.openclaw/extensions/:

```bash openclaw config set plugins.allow '["openclaw-codex-app-server", ...]' openclaw gateway restart ```

This is not documented and is hard to discover.

PR fix notes

PR #60140: fix: thread dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall through plugins update command

Description (problem / solution / changelog)

Summary

Add --dangerously-force-unsafe-install flag to plugins update command and thread it through the entire update flow.

Currently, plugins update has no way to bypass the dangerous code scanner, causing all plugins using child_process to fail updating. This affects plugins that legitimately need process management: feishu, codex, clawarena, clawnetwork, etc.

Changes

3 files, 15 insertions:

  • src/cli/plugins-cli.ts: Add dangerouslyForceUnsafeInstall to PluginUpdateOptions type + add --dangerously-force-unsafe-install option to the update command definition
  • src/cli/plugins-update-command.ts: Accept the flag and pass it to updateNpmInstalledPlugins
  • src/plugins/update.ts: Add parameter to function signature, thread it to all 6 installPluginFrom* calls (npm/clawhub/marketplace × dryRun/actual)

Test plan

# Before: blocked
openclaw plugins update clawnetwork
# → Failed to update clawnetwork: Plugin "clawnetwork" installation blocked: dangerous code patterns detected

# After: works with flag
openclaw plugins update clawnetwork --dangerously-force-unsafe-install
# → Updated clawnetwork 0.1.3 → 0.1.4

Fixes #60138 Related: #59241 #59171 #59508 #59521 #40162

Changed files

  • src/cli/plugins-cli.ts (modified, +6/-0)
  • src/cli/plugins-update-command.ts (modified, +2/-1)
  • src/plugins/update.ts (modified, +7/-0)
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Summary

When trying to install a community plugin (openclaw-codex-app-server) that legitimately uses child_process (to spawn the Codex CLI), installation is blocked with no way to proceed:

``` WARNING: Plugin "openclaw-codex-app-server" contains dangerous code patterns: Shell command execution detected (child_process) (src/client.ts:660) Plugin "openclaw-codex-app-server" installation blocked: dangerous code patterns detected ```

Steps to reproduce

```bash openclaw plugins install openclaw-codex-app-server

or

openclaw plugins install openclaw-codex-app-server --dangerously-force-unsafe-install ```

Both commands result in the same blocked error.

Expected behavior

--dangerously-force-unsafe-install should bypass the block (as its name implies), or there should be a --trust flag (which the error message and community docs suggest exists, but does not).

Workaround

Manually add the plugin ID to plugins.allow in openclaw.json after the plugin is already present in ~/.openclaw/extensions/:

```bash openclaw config set plugins.allow '["openclaw-codex-app-server", ...]' openclaw gateway restart ```

This is not documented and is hard to discover.

Context

  • OpenClaw version: 2026.3.31 (213a704)
  • macOS (darwin)
  • Plugin: [email protected] (community, source-linked on ClawHub)

extent analysis

TL;DR

Manually adding the plugin ID to plugins.allow in openclaw.json and restarting the gateway allows installation of the blocked plugin.

Guidance

  • The --dangerously-force-unsafe-install flag is not functioning as expected, and the suggested --trust flag is not available.
  • To bypass the block, manually add the plugin ID to plugins.allow in openclaw.json after the plugin is already present in ~/.openclaw/extensions/.
  • Use the command openclaw config set plugins.allow '["openclaw-codex-app-server", ...]' to update the plugins.allow list.
  • Restart the gateway with openclaw gateway restart to apply the changes.

Example

openclaw config set plugins.allow '["openclaw-codex-app-server", ...]'
openclaw gateway restart

Notes

The provided workaround is not documented and may not be a permanent solution. The issue may be related to the OpenClaw version or the plugin itself.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by manually adding the plugin ID to plugins.allow in openclaw.json and restarting the gateway, as it allows installation of the blocked plugin.

Vote matrix · Quick signals

Works
Did the solution work? Tap to confirm.
Easy Fix
Was it a quick fix?
Time Saver
Did it save you time?
Blocking
Was it severely blocking?
Common Issue
Are others likely hitting this too?
Flaky / Intermittent
Is it intermittent?
Verified / Reproducible
Can you reproduce it reliably?
Loading…

FAQ

Expected behavior

--dangerously-force-unsafe-install should bypass the block (as its name implies), or there should be a --trust flag (which the error message and community docs suggest exists, but does not).

#installation#prompt formatting#chain error#conversation history#tool integration

Still need to ship something?

×6

Another batch ranked right after the header list — different links, same matching logic.

Back to top recommendations

TRENDING