Compatibility issue: legacy openclaw/extension-api runtime loading on newer OpenClaw builds

[superfat1988]

Summary

memory-lancedb-pro appears to rely on the legacy OpenClaw embedded runtime API loading path (openclaw/extension-api / dist/extensionAPI.js). On newer OpenClaw builds, reflection execution can fall back because the plugin cannot reliably resolve the host runtime API unless OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_PATH is manually set.

OpenClaw currently emits a deprecation warning:

[OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_DEPRECATED] Warning: openclaw/extension-api is deprecated.
Migrate to api.runtime.agent.* or focused openclaw/plugin-sdk/<subpath> imports.
This compatibility bridge is temporary.

So this looks like a near-term compatibility issue rather than a local misconfiguration.

Environment

• Host OpenClaw installed at:
  • /home/kaitzh/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw
• Confirmed runtime API file exists at:
  • /home/kaitzh/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/extensionAPI.js
• Plugin version:
  • memory-lancedb-pro@1.1.0-beta.10

Observed behavior

During reflection execution, logs showed fallback behavior due to embedded runtime API loading failure:

memory-reflection: command:new reflection generation done for session ...; runner=fallback; usedFallback=yes
memory-reflection: fallback used for session ... (embedded: Error: Unable to load OpenClaw embedded runtime API. Set OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_PATH if runtime layout differs.
Attempts:
openclaw/dist/extensionAPI.js: Cannot find module 'openclaw/dist/extensionAPI.js'
...
cli: empty stdout)

After applying this environment workaround:

OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_PATH=/home/kaitzh/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/extensionAPI.js

OpenClaw then emitted:

[OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_DEPRECATED] Warning: openclaw/extension-api is deprecated. Migrate to api.runtime.agent.* or focused openclaw/plugin-sdk/<subpath> imports.

This strongly suggests the plugin is still using the legacy compatibility bridge.

Expected behavior

memory-lancedb-pro should work on current OpenClaw installs without requiring a manual OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_PATH shim, and should avoid deprecated host-side imports if the new plugin runtime / SDK path is now the supported mechanism.

Why this matters

Right now the failure mode is confusing:

• reflection may "complete" via fallback
• a placeholder/fallback reflection file may still be written
• downstream symptoms can look like a missing-file bug even though the upstream problem is runtime API resolution

Suggested direction

Please migrate the plugin away from legacy openclaw/extension-api / direct dist/extensionAPI.js assumptions and onto the current OpenClaw plugin SDK / injected runtime path described here:

• https://docs.openclaw.ai/plugins/sdk-migration

At minimum, it would help if the plugin:

1. preferred the modern SDK/runtime path
2. treated the legacy bridge only as temporary compatibility
3. surfaced a clearer diagnostic when embedded runtime loading fails and fallback is used

Temporary workaround

Setting:

OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_PATH=/home/kaitzh/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/extensionAPI.js

appears to be the fastest recovery path on this host.

[AliceLJY]

Thanks for the detailed analysis, but this is actually working as intended — let me clarify.

The plugin uses two different OpenClaw APIs for two different purposes:

1. openclaw/plugin-sdk — compile-time TypeScript types only (import type). Zero runtime footprint.
2. openclaw/dist/extensionAPI.js — runtime dynamic import for the embedded PI Runner (used by reflection generation). This is not a "legacy path" — it's the only way to run embedded reflection agents.

The deprecation warning you're seeing is from OpenClaw's side — they plan to replace extensionAPI.js eventually, but no replacement exists yet for the PI Runner use case. So this isn't a migration we can do today.

The multi-path probing (5+ filesystem locations) in getExtensionApiImportSpecifiers() is intentional — it handles different OpenClaw installation methods (npm global, Homebrew, custom paths, etc.), not API version fallback.

For what it's worth, the plugin has already migrated away from actual legacy APIs:

• Hooks: migrated from before_agent_start to before_prompt_build in beta.9
• SDK: commit 9c30773 removed all runtime plugin-sdk imports

Your OPENCLAW_EXTENSION_API_PATH workaround is the correct approach when the auto-detection can't find your OpenClaw install. If runner=fallback is showing up, it means your OpenClaw is installed in a non-standard location that our probing paths don't cover. Setting the env var fixes that.

TL;DR: not a legacy compatibility issue, just a path resolution miss for your specific install layout.

[AliceLJY]

Not a bug — see explanation above. extensionAPI.js is a required runtime dependency, not legacy code. Closing.