How to Build OpenClaw Plugins — Custom Integrations and Extensions

Building OpenClaw Plugins: Extend Your Agent's Capabilities

Skills are the primary way to add capabilities to OpenClaw — they're SKILL.md files with instructions and scripts. Plugins go deeper: they integrate at the Gateway level, enabling real-time event processing, persistent connections, and capabilities that SKILL.md files can't provide. Here's how to build both.

Skills vs Plugins

• Skills — SKILL.md files that define tools and workflows. The agent reads them and follows instructions. Best for API integrations and workflow definitions.
• Plugins — Node.js modules that plug into the OpenClaw Gateway. Best for real-time event streams, webhook listeners, and persistent connections.

Building a Skill (Simpler Approach)

Start with a skill for most integrations:

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/my-integration
cat > ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/my-integration/SKILL.md << 'EOF'
# My Integration Skill

## Description
Use when: [describe when your agent should use this skill]

## Tool: do_something
POST https://api.myservice.com/v1/action
Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer $MY_API_KEY
  Content-Type: application/json
Body: {"param": "$VALUE"}
Returns: {"result": "..."}

## Tool: get_data
GET https://api.myservice.com/v1/data?filter=$FILTER
Headers:
  Authorization: Bearer $MY_API_KEY
EOF

Building a Gateway Plugin (Advanced)

For real-time integrations, create a plugin in your OpenClaw config:

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/plugins/my-plugin
cat > ~/.openclaw/plugins/my-plugin/index.mjs << 'EOF'
export default {
  name: 'my-plugin',
  version: '1.0.0',
  
  // Called when the gateway starts
  async onStart(gateway) {
    // Set up persistent connections, webhook listeners, etc.
    this.gateway = gateway
    console.log('my-plugin: started')
  },
  
  // Receive events from external services
  async onWebhook(event, context) {
    // event.body, event.headers available
    // Forward to agent:
    await this.gateway.dispatchToAgent({
      type: 'my-plugin:event',
      payload: event.body
    })
  },
  
  // Called on gateway shutdown
  async onStop() {
    // Clean up connections
  }
}
EOF

Register Your Plugin

# In ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:
{
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "my-plugin": {
        "path": "~/.openclaw/plugins/my-plugin/index.mjs",
        "config": {
          "webhookPath": "/hooks/my-plugin"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Plugin Development Tips

• Use environment variables for all credentials — never hardcode in plugin files
• Implement onStart and onStop for clean lifecycle management
• Log plugin events to /tmp/my-plugin.log during development
• Test webhooks locally using ngrok before deploying
• Keep plugin logic thin — dispatch events to your agent and let the LLM decide what to do

Publish to Claw Mart

Package your skill or plugin and publish it for others to use on Claw Mart. A good plugin solves a specific integration problem cleanly and sells itself through a tight README and clear use case documentation.

Ready to put this into practice? The OpenClaw Playbook has step-by-step walkthroughs, copy-paste configs, and real-world automation recipes. Get it for $9.99 and build your AI-powered setup today.