OpenClaw Main Restores Plugin Memory and OAuth Tools in CLI Agents

OpenClaw has merged three plugin-lifecycle fixes for commands and agents running outside the long-lived Gateway preparation path. A fresh openclaw memory search can now use the same configured plugin-owned embedding provider that built the index; authenticated CLI-agent grants retain prepared OAuth context for eligible plugin tools; and models status cleanup can no longer overwrite newer plugin metadata published while the command was waiting.

All three changes are on main. The supplied evidence does not identify a containing package. Until one is deployed, treat “no matches,” “tool unavailable” and stale model status as possible process-preparation failures rather than proof that the underlying capability or data is absent.

Memory search could query with the wrong provider identity

PR #119186 fixes fresh CLI memory commands ignoring configured plugin-owned embedding providers. The Gateway could index successfully with one provider, while a later CLI process fell back to another provider identity and returned no matches.

Upstream’s reproduction indexed a unique marker through the Gateway, then observed the CLI initialize a different compatible provider and miss it. The fix loads a narrow registry containing the selected memory backend and manifest owners for configured embedding providers.

Plugin policy remains authoritative: allowlists, denials and explicit disablement still apply. The command does not activate every installed plugin merely to make search work.

Interpretation: a clean empty result is meaningful only when query-time provider identity matches index-time provider identity. Search output without that provenance can be a false negative.

OAuth context now reaches authenticated CLI-agent tool grants

PR #119166 repairs OAuth-backed plugin tools missing from CLI agents. These agents obtain Gateway tools through an authenticated loopback bridge; the grant did not previously carry enough prepared OAuth, agent-directory and model context for eligible tool auth callbacks.

The merged design keeps that state inside an authenticated, revocable grant and revalidates ownership before exposing tools. Revocation must evict credential-capturing cached closures so old grants cannot keep a tool alive after authority ends.

Do not solve the older symptom by adding a second static API key when OAuth is the intended policy. That creates another credential and billing path rather than repairing preparation parity.

Temporary status work no longer restores stale metadata

PR #119183 fixes openclaw models status unconditionally restoring a process-global plugin metadata snapshot after asynchronous catalog work. If config reload, plugin install, Doctor repair or lifecycle clear published newer metadata while the command waited, cleanup could overwrite it with stale state.

The lifecycle owner now uses an opaque revision token and restores the prior composite state only while the temporary publication remains current. Newer authoritative publication wins, and nested temporary leases can unwind safely.

This is the same ownership rule seen in database rollback: cleanup is not harmless if global state changed while an operation was asleep.

Operator checks

After identifying a containing build:

1. index a harmless unique memory marker through the Gateway using the configured embedding provider;
2. start a fresh CLI process and search for it;
3. record backend and provider identity without logging credentials;
4. prove a restrictive plugin allowlist still prevents an unapproved provider from activating;
5. run a CLI-backed agent with one OAuth-only test tool and confirm the authenticated grant exposes it;
6. revoke the test grant or OAuth authority and prove cached tool access disappears;
7. pause models status during catalog work, publish newer metadata through a controlled reload, then release the command; and
8. prove the newer publication remains authoritative.

Use synthetic memories and a read-only OAuth tool. Do not validate discovery by granting a CLI agent broad production credentials.

Incident response

If an older CLI returned no memory matches, do not reindex immediately. First compare the configured memory backend, embedding provider identity and plugin policy between Gateway indexing and CLI query. Reindexing with a different provider can create a second incompatible corpus or obscure the original evidence.

If an OAuth tool disappeared, inspect grant creation, revocation and tool-catalog evidence before minting another credential. Absence may be a projection failure rather than failed provider authorization.

Evidence and limits

Official merged PR and commit records establish the preparation gaps and fixes. The memory PR includes an upstream before/after provider-identity reproduction and restrictive-allowlist tests; the OAuth PR includes authenticated grant and revocation evidence; the metadata PR reports focused lifecycle lease coverage. OpenClaw Academy did not query a private memory index or use live OAuth credentials.

Relevant collector IDs are 38006/37977, 37879/37834 and 37880/37835.

Bottom line

A CLI process should not silently lose capabilities the Gateway already prepared. Confirm a containing build, then prove memory provider identity, OAuth grant scope and plugin metadata revisions survive fresh processes, revocation and overlapping lifecycle work without broadening plugin policy.