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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix qmd-manager imports chokidar but it's not declared as a dependency in plugin-runtime-deps (2026.4.27) [1 comments, 2 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#74936•Fetched 2026-05-01 05:39:49
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uni-clawdbotuni-clawdbot
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clawsweeper[bot]clawsweeper[bot]uni-clawdbotuni-clawdbot
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Root Cause

Symptom

On gateway start, repeated errors fire because the qmd-manager plugin requires chokidar, but chokidar is not declared in ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.27-<hash>/package.json. The node_modules/chokidar directory is missing on a fresh install of the plugin-runtime-deps tree.

Fix Action

Workaround

cd ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-<version>-<hash>
npm install chokidar@^5.0.0

This persists chokidar until the next plugin-runtime refresh, then it's gone again.

Code Example

cd ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-<version>-<hash>
npm install chokidar@^5.0.0
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Version

2026.4.27

Symptom

On gateway start, repeated errors fire because the qmd-manager plugin requires chokidar, but chokidar is not declared in ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.27-<hash>/package.json. The node_modules/chokidar directory is missing on a fresh install of the plugin-runtime-deps tree.

Observed timeline (today)

  • 06:17–06:25Z: 8 chokidar errors fired during the 4.27 deploy
  • 06:25:47Z: gateway auto-installed chokidar into the plugin-runtime-deps tree
  • 06:26:33Z: qmd memory came online — log: startup boot sync completed

Why it recurs

Auto-mitigation works, but it isn't durable — the plugin-runtime-deps directory keeps being cleaned/regenerated, which strips the auto-installed chokidar and re-triggers the errors on subsequent gateway boots.

Workaround

cd ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-<version>-<hash>
npm install chokidar@^5.0.0

This persists chokidar until the next plugin-runtime refresh, then it's gone again.

Proposed fix

Declare chokidar as a runtime dependency in the plugin-runtime-deps package.json for any release that ships qmd-manager, so it's installed deterministically rather than relying on auto-mitigation each boot.

Repro

  1. Fresh install / refresh of ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.27-<hash>/
  2. Start gateway
  3. Observe repeated chokidar MODULE_NOT_FOUND errors from qmd-manager until auto-install fires

extent analysis

TL;DR

Declare chokidar as a runtime dependency in the plugin-runtime-deps package.json to ensure deterministic installation.

Guidance

  • Verify the package.json file in the ~/.openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps/openclaw-2026.4.27-<hash>/ directory does not include chokidar as a dependency.
  • Run the proposed workaround command npm install chokidar@^5.0.0 in the plugin-runtime-deps directory to temporarily resolve the issue.
  • To permanently fix the issue, update the package.json file to include chokidar as a runtime dependency, ensuring it is installed during the initial setup.
  • Test the gateway startup process after applying the fix to confirm the chokidar errors are resolved.

Example

No code snippet is necessary, as the issue provides a clear workaround command and proposed fix.

Notes

The provided workaround is not durable due to the plugin-runtime-deps directory being cleaned and regenerated, which removes the installed chokidar dependency.

Recommendation

Apply the proposed fix by declaring chokidar as a runtime dependency in the package.json file, as this ensures deterministic installation and resolves the issue permanently.

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#container setup#orchestration issue#cache issue#memory leak#API versioning

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