---
summary: "How OpenClaw validates update paths, package migrations, and plugin install/update behavior"
read_when:
  - Changing OpenClaw update, doctor, package acceptance, or plugin install behavior
  - Preparing or approving a release candidate
  - Debugging package update, plugin dependency cleanup, or plugin install regressions
title: "Testing: updates and plugins"
sidebarTitle: "Update and plugin tests"
---

Checklist for update and plugin validation: prove the installable package can
update real user state, repair stale legacy state through `doctor`, and still
install, load, update, and uninstall plugins from every supported source.

For the broader test runner map, see [Testing](/help/testing). For live provider
keys and network-touching suites, see [Testing live](/help/testing-live).

## On this page

- [What we protect](#what-we-protect) - the guarantees these lanes exist to defend.
- [Local proof during development](#local-proof-during-development) - the commands to run while you iterate.
- [Docker lanes](#docker-lanes) - lane reference: what each lane runs and when.
- [Package Acceptance](#package-acceptance) - lane reference: the acceptance matrix and its gates.
- [Release default](#release-default) - which lanes a release candidate must clear.
- [Legacy compatibility](#legacy-compatibility) - older package and plugin states still covered.
- [Adding coverage](#adding-coverage) - where a new regression belongs.
- [Failure triage](#failure-triage) - what to do when a lane goes red.

## What we protect

- A package tarball is complete, has a valid `dist/postinstall-inventory.json`,
  and does not depend on unpacked repo files.
- A user can move from an older published package to the candidate package
  without losing config, agents, sessions, workspaces, plugin allowlists, or
  channel config.
- `openclaw doctor --fix --non-interactive` owns legacy migrations and repairs,
  including genuinely dangling plugin-runtime aliases. Package postinstall owns
  package-local dependency debris; both preserve valid shared runtime roots that
  another installation or profile may use. Startup should not grow hidden
  compatibility migrations for stale plugin state.
- Plugin installs work from local directories, git repos, npm packages, and the
  ClawHub registry path.
- Plugin npm dependencies install in one managed npm project per plugin,
  get scanned before trust, and get removed through `npm uninstall` during
  plugin uninstall so hoisted dependencies do not linger.
- Plugin update is a no-op when nothing changed: install records, resolved
  source, installed dependency layout, and enabled state stay intact.

## Local proof during development

Start narrow:

```bash
pnpm changed:lanes --json
pnpm check:changed
pnpm test:changed
```

For plugin install, uninstall, dependency, or package-inventory changes, also
run the focused tests that cover the edited seam:

```bash
pnpm test src/plugins/uninstall.test.ts src/infra/package-dist-inventory.test.ts test/scripts/package-acceptance-workflow.test.ts
```

Before any package Docker lane consumes a tarball, prove the package artifact:

```bash
pnpm release:check
```

`release:check` runs generated config/docs and plugin checks (config schema,
config docs baseline, plugin SDK exports and surface budget, plugin
versions/inventory), writes the package dist inventory, runs
`npm pack --dry-run`, rejects forbidden packed files, installs the tarball into
a temp prefix, runs postinstall, and smokes bundled channel entrypoints.

For a Plugin SDK change, compare the exact commits separately:

```bash
base_sha=$(git merge-base origin/main HEAD)
head_sha=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
pnpm plugin-sdk:api:diff -- --base "$base_sha" --head "$head_sha"
```

Release npm preflight uses the same readable diff against the prior published
dist-tag and prints the 8-character acknowledgement digest required when that
release changes the Plugin SDK API.

## Docker lanes

The Docker lanes are the product-level proof. They install or update a real
package inside Linux containers and assert behavior through CLI commands,
Gateway startup, HTTP probes, RPC status, and filesystem state.

Use focused lanes while iterating:

```bash
pnpm test:docker:plugins
pnpm test:docker:plugin-lifecycle-matrix
pnpm test:docker:plugin-update
pnpm test:docker:upgrade-survivor
pnpm test:docker:published-upgrade-survivor
pnpm test:docker:update-restart-auth
pnpm test:docker:update-migration
```

Important lanes:

- `test:docker:plugins` covers plugin install smoke, local folder installs,
  local folder update skip behavior, local folders with preinstalled
  dependencies, `file:` package installs, git installs with CLI execution, git
  moving-ref updates, npm registry installs with hoisted transitive
  dependencies, npm update no-ops, malformed npm package metadata rejection,
  local ClawHub fixture installs and update no-ops, marketplace update behavior,
  and Claude-bundle enable/inspect. Set `OPENCLAW_PLUGINS_E2E_CLAWHUB=0` to
  keep the ClawHub block hermetic/offline.
- `test:docker:plugin-lifecycle-matrix` installs the candidate package in a bare
  container, runs an npm plugin through install, inspect, disable, enable,
  explicit upgrade, explicit downgrade, and uninstall after deleting the plugin
  code. It logs RSS and CPU metrics per phase.
- `test:docker:plugin-update` validates that an unchanged installed plugin does
  not reinstall or lose install metadata during `openclaw plugins update`.
- `test:docker:upgrade-survivor` installs the candidate tarball over a dirty
  old-user fixture, runs package update plus non-interactive doctor, then starts
  a loopback Gateway and checks state preservation.
- `test:docker:published-upgrade-survivor` first installs the latest stable release,
  configures it through a baked `openclaw config set` recipe, updates it to the
  candidate tarball, runs doctor, checks legacy cleanup, starts the Gateway, and
  probes `/healthz`, `/readyz`, and RPC status.
- `test:docker:update-restart-auth` installs the candidate package, starts a
  managed token-auth Gateway, unsets caller gateway auth env for
  `openclaw update --yes --json`, and requires the candidate update command to
  restart the Gateway before the normal probes.
- `test:docker:update-migration` is the cleanup-heavy published-update lane. It
  installs the latest stable release by default, starts from a configured
  Discord/Telegram-style user state, seeds package-local plugin dependency debris
  and shared runtime sentinels, and updates to the candidate tarball. Package
  postinstall must remove package-local debris while update and Doctor preserve
  the shared runtime roots.

Useful published-upgrade survivor variants:

```bash
OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_BASELINE_SPEC=openclaw@2026.4.23 \
OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_SCENARIO=versioned-runtime-deps \
pnpm test:docker:published-upgrade-survivor

OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_BASELINE_SPEC=openclaw@latest \
OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_SCENARIO=bootstrap-persona \
pnpm test:docker:published-upgrade-survivor

OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_BASELINE_SPEC=openclaw@2026.7.1-2 \
OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_SCENARIO=sqlite-volume \
pnpm test:docker:published-upgrade-survivor

OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_BASELINE_SPEC=openclaw@2026.6.34 \
OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_SCENARIO=legacy-operator-state \
pnpm test:docker:published-upgrade-survivor
```

Available scenarios: `base`, `acpx-openclaw-tools-bridge`, `feishu-channel`,
`bootstrap-persona`, `channel-post-core-restore`, `plugin-deps-cleanup`,
`configured-plugin-installs`, `stale-source-plugin-shadow`, `tilde-log-path`,
`meeting-transcripts-sqlite`, `versioned-runtime-deps`, `cron-scheduled-authority`,
`legacy-operator-state`, and `sqlite-volume`. In aggregate runs,
`OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_SCENARIOS=reported-issues` expands the release-soak
fixtures but excludes the expensive `sqlite-volume` scenario. Use
`OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_SCENARIOS=far-reaching` to include it.

The `legacy-operator-state` scenario uses the published baseline's own CLI to
create a second agent, allowlist exec approvals, and two command cron jobs: one
without an explicit agent and one owned by `ops`. It leaves `systemAgent`
unset, installs one version-matched npm plugin through the local registry, and
preserves a workspace skill. It also configures DuckDuckGo without an install
record: bundled baselines use their own CLI web-search settings; newer baselines
receive the retained configuration of an already-broken upgrade. The local
registry supplies the candidate's official external DuckDuckGo package. Before
standalone Doctor or consent repair, assertions require the npm install record,
candidate package version and integrity, `plugins list` entry, and clean
`config validate --json`. A separate isolated missing-plugin state exercises
`doctor --fix --non-interactive` without an update or capability acceptance.
A mock OpenAI server verifies a real agent turn
before and after the update without provider credentials. After the update,
the lane checks approvals and legacy-file retirement, effective cron owners,
the candidate plugin artifact, the candidate state schema, an idempotent update,
and Gateway health. Assertions run before a standalone Doctor can conceal an
incomplete update migration.

The ownerless cron job is created before adding the second agent because newer
baselines reject ambiguous new jobs. Approval snapshots are written back through
the baseline CLI before comparison: JSON-era reads can assign IDs without
persisting them. The final seeded state still has both agents, both jobs, and no
explicit `systemAgent`.

The PR/main gate uses `OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_UPDATE_RESTART_MODE=auto-auth`.
For this scenario, the baseline updater must replace its running managed Gateway;
the harness checks process replacement and configured authentication. Cron owners
are queried immediately after that first update, before any consent repair can
conceal an incomplete migration. The default local `manual` mode passes
`--no-restart` and starts the candidate for probes, so it does not prove an
updater-owned restart. Both modes require a clean `doctor --lint --json` report.

Schema snapshots record both published `userVersion` and applied `contentVersion`
in `schema-before.json` and `schema-after.json`. The lane compares applied content
with the candidate package's schema constants. Since #141109, shared-state
publication can lag completed migrations by the legacy updater's five-minute
terminal grace period; requiring the published number immediately would reject a
healthy upgrade. Agent schemas still use their published version. The observer
opens databases read-only and never triggers migrations or publication. See
[Schema bumps and older updaters](/reference/database-schemas#schema-bumps-and-older-updaters).

The before snapshot also records the baseline's configured agent roster and
agent-scoped legacy specimens, including session rows, transcript and trajectory
files, trajectory pointers, and skill-prompt blobs. Model catalogs and unrelated
per-agent artifacts are outside this observer's session-migration scope. Before candidate probes or
agent turns, each agent with existing SQLite or legacy session history must have
a store at the candidate agent schema. The observer verifies imported session
identities and transcript events, completed archive receipts and retained source
bytes, and unchanged prompt blobs. An unused agent with no legacy history may
still create its store lazily. These checks follow the [Doctor session SQLite
migration contract](/cli/doctor#session-sqlite-migration); the observer never
imports files or opens a writable database.

Every supported baseline, including `2026.9.2`, must complete the update and
migrate its databases to the candidate schemas. A typed
`update-schema-bump-unfenced` refusal, a rollback, an unmigrated database, or an
unusable Gateway fails the lane. Required plugin capability consent can use the
existing explicit recovery step only after the automatic-migration assertions
pass; it never permits a failed schema repair.

Other scenarios keep their existing success assertions. Their deliberately
injected legacy files can prevent the baseline from starting before an update;
the updater must migrate those fixtures before the candidate probes. The lane
does not pre-repair or skip those older migration specimens.

`auth-profile-v2026-7-2-beta-5` is explicitly selectable outside those aggregate
aliases. It imports the historical JSON credential fixture, verifies credentials
and auth ordering in the current shared store, and checks archived source bytes.
It does not test retention of credentials created in a published SQLite store.

The `sqlite-volume` scenario combines configured Matrix, Discord, and Telegram
plugin/channel state with 4,800 sessions, 23,890 transcript events, and 2,200
cron crawl jobs by default. For baselines that expose the plugin-state SDK, it
uses that installed SDK to create the released shared database and write 512
permanent records across two namespaces, then checks that every stored value
and timestamp survives. Older baselines without that API explicitly report
this part as not applicable. It also seeds account-scoped pairing requests and
allowlists, plus workspace identity, instructions, and memory files. It verifies
exact JSONL-to-SQLite and cron migration, legacy archival, database integrity,
account isolation, and workspace contents immediately after the update, before
any standalone Doctor repair can hide an incomplete migration. It then reads
sampled conversations through Gateway RPC, runs an idempotent Doctor pass, and
repeats the history and preservation checks after a Gateway restart.

This is a package-update test inside Docker. It does not prove container image
replacement or background update campaigns; see [Updating](/install/updating)
for those separate entry points. A required plugin capability consent remains
an explicit recovery step and is recorded in the survivor summary.

The `2026.9.2` to `2026.9.3` survivor transition exercises the installed updater.
Shared-state migration content can be current while the published schema version
remains at 15 until the old updater clears its publication grace period. Schema
proof records both values and requires current content; it does not wait for or
force publication. See [older updater schema handling](/reference/database-schemas#schema-bumps-and-older-updaters).

`test:docker:release-upgrade-user-journey` separately covers the explicit external
package-manager and fresh Doctor procedure, with an owner-stopped Gateway,
verified backup, and retained baseline and new conversations through Gateway
history. Its receipt records `selfUpdatePassed: false` and a `not-run` self-update
status; external installation is not evidence of an internal updater outcome.
Agent-schema and unsupported shared-state migration refusals remain covered by
the Doctor owner tests.

Scale the fixture with `OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_VOLUME_SESSIONS`,
`OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_VOLUME_EVENTS_PER_SESSION`, and
`OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_VOLUME_CRON_JOBS`. The default budget for the
idempotent Doctor pass is 60 seconds; override it with
`OPENCLAW_UPGRADE_SURVIVOR_VOLUME_IDEMPOTENCE_BUDGET_SECONDS` on slower hosts.

The `Update Migration` workflow runs weekly and supports manual dispatch. Its
default `supported-lines` baseline set resolves npm dist-tags and published
versions at run time: `latest`, the previous stable release, `extended-stable`
when that tag exists, and the supported floor `2026.6.34`. Duplicate versions
run once. It updates each baseline to the selected `package_ref` artifact
(`main` by default), exercising plugin cleanup and legacy operator state.
Leave `baselines` blank to use that default. For an explicit historical replay
from every published stable release since 2026.4.23, pass
`baselines=all-since-2026.4.23`:

```bash
gh workflow run update-migration.yml \
  --ref main \
  -f workflow_ref=main \
  -f package_ref=main \
  -f baselines=all-since-2026.4.23 \
  -f scenarios=plugin-deps-cleanup
```

## Package Acceptance

Package Acceptance is the GitHub-native package gate. It resolves one candidate
package into a `package-under-test` tarball, records version and SHA-256, then
runs reusable Docker E2E lanes against that exact tarball. The workflow harness
ref is separate from the package source ref, so current test logic can validate
older trusted releases.

Candidate sources:

- `source=npm`: validate `openclaw@extended-stable`, `openclaw@beta`,
  `openclaw@latest`, or an exact published version.
- `source=ref`: pack a trusted branch, tag, or commit with the selected current
  harness.
- `source=url`: validate a public HTTPS tarball with required `package_sha256`.
  This path rejects URL credentials, non-default HTTPS ports, private/internal
  hostnames or DNS/IP results, special-use IP space, and unsafe redirects.
- `source=trusted-url`: validate an HTTPS tarball with required
  `package_sha256` and `trusted_source_id` against the maintainer-owned policy
  in `.github/package-trusted-sources.json`. Use this for enterprise/private
  mirrors instead of weakening `source=url` with an input-level allow-private
  switch. Bearer auth, when configured by policy, uses the fixed
  `OPENCLAW_TRUSTED_PACKAGE_TOKEN` secret.
- `source=artifact`: reuse a tarball uploaded by another Actions run.

Full Release Validation uses `source=artifact` by default, built from the
resolved release SHA. For post-publish proof, pass
`package_acceptance_package_spec=openclaw@YYYY.M.PATCH` so the same upgrade matrix
targets the shipped npm package instead.

Release checks call Package Acceptance with the package/update/restart/plugin set:

```text
doctor-switch update-channel-switch skill-install update-corrupt-plugin upgrade-survivor published-upgrade-survivor root-managed-vps-upgrade update-restart-auth plugins-offline plugin-update plugin-binding-command-escape
```

When release soak is enabled (forced on for `release_profile=stable` and
`full`), they also pass:

```text
published_upgrade_survivor_scenarios=reported-issues
telegram_mode=mock-openai
```

This keeps package migration, update channel switching, corrupt managed-plugin
tolerance, stale plugin dependency cleanup, offline plugin coverage, plugin
update behavior, and Telegram package QA on the same resolved artifact without
making the default release package gate walk every published release.

Current source release checks use the same `supported-lines` baseline expansion,
resolved once to exact packages before Docker fanout. Candidate source metadata
must expose the new harness, and its `YYYY.M.PATCH` base version must be at least
the trusted workflow package's base version; prerelease suffixes are ignored
for this comparison. The child prepares or reuses the prerelease plugin registry.
The default scenario set includes `base` and `legacy-operator-state`; release
soak runs `reported-issues`.

The standalone `supported-lines` selector expands only `legacy-operator-state`.
Every preexisting synthetic scenario remains on the separately resolved
candidate-relative predecessor, including weekly `plugin-deps-cleanup` proof.
Comma and whitespace delimiters and repeated selectors are accepted. Explicit version lists and mixed
selector/version lists preserve the full Cartesian matrix for manual proof.

Older source targets, extended-stable qualification, published packages, and
separate npm overrides retain the candidate-relative predecessor and previous
scenario set. Published qualification does not prepare the registry required
by the new operator-state scenario. Historical soak keeps every preexisting reported-issue
fixture; it does not automatically enable frozen-target scenario omissions.
See [release qualification](/ci/release-validation#suite-profiles) for the exact
boundary. The candidate remains the selected package-under-test tarball. The per-PR
`docker-seed-e2e` tripwire stays limited to `latest` and `legacy-operator-state`
and also runs on every canonical `main` push that runs CI. Docs-only pushes
matching `**/*.md` and `docs/**` skip CI; mixed docs and code pushes still run it.

For manual historical coverage, `last-stable-4` selects four recent stable
npm-published releases. Exact versions, `all-since-2026.4.23`, and
`release-history` remain available through `published_upgrade_survivor_baselines`.
Use those overrides when replaying migrations outside the bounded supported
baseline set.

When multiple published-upgrade survivor baselines are selected, the reusable
Docker workflow shards each baseline into its own targeted runner job. Each
baseline shard still runs the selected scenario set, but logs and artifacts stay
per-baseline and wall time is bounded by the slowest shard instead of one large
serial job.

Run a package profile manually when validating a candidate before release:

```bash
gh workflow run package-acceptance.yml \
  --ref main \
  -f workflow_ref=main \
  -f source=npm \
  -f package_spec=openclaw@beta \
  -f suite_profile=package \
  -f published_upgrade_survivor_scenarios=reported-issues \
  -f telegram_mode=mock-openai
```

For a published extended-stable canary, set
`package_spec=openclaw@extended-stable`. Package Acceptance resolves that
selector into an exact tarball before the Docker lanes run.

Use `suite_profile=product` when the release question includes MCP channels,
cron/subagent cleanup, OpenAI web search, or OpenWebUI. Use `suite_profile=full`
only when you need full Docker release-path coverage.

## Release default

For release candidates, the default proof stack is:

1. `pnpm check:changed` and `pnpm test:changed` for source-level regressions.
2. `pnpm release:check` for package artifact integrity.
3. Package Acceptance `package` profile or the release-check custom package
   lanes for install/update/restart/plugin contracts.
4. Cross-OS release checks for OS-specific installer, onboarding, and platform
   behavior.
5. Live suites only when the changed surface touches provider or hosted-service
   behavior.

On maintainer machines, broad gates and Docker/package product proof should run
in Testbox unless explicitly doing local proof.

## Legacy compatibility

Compatibility leniency is narrow and time boxed:

- Packages through `2026.4.25`, including `2026.4.25-beta.*`, may tolerate
  already-shipped package metadata gaps in Package Acceptance.
- The published `2026.4.26` package may warn for local build metadata stamp
  files already shipped.
- Later packages must satisfy modern contracts. The same gaps fail instead of
  warning or skipping.

Do not add new startup migrations for these old shapes. Add or extend a doctor
repair, then prove it with `upgrade-survivor`, `published-upgrade-survivor`, or
`update-restart-auth` when the update command owns the restart.

## Adding coverage

When changing update or plugin behavior, add coverage at the lowest layer that
can fail for the right reason:

- Pure path or metadata logic: unit test beside the source.
- Package inventory or packed-file behavior: `package-dist-inventory` or tarball
  checker test.
- CLI install/update behavior: Docker lane assertion or fixture.
- Published-release migration behavior: `published-upgrade-survivor` scenario.
- Update-owned restart behavior: `update-restart-auth`.
- Registry/package source behavior: `test:docker:plugins` fixture or ClawHub
  fixture server.
- Dependency layout or cleanup behavior: assert both runtime execution and the
  filesystem boundary. npm dependencies may be hoisted inside the plugin's
  managed npm project, so tests should prove that project is scanned/cleaned
  instead of assuming only the plugin package-local `node_modules` tree.

Keep new Docker fixtures hermetic by default. Use local fixture registries and
fake packages unless the point of the test is live registry behavior.

## Failure triage

Start with the artifact identity:

- Package Acceptance `resolve_package` summary: source, version, SHA-256, and
  artifact name.
- Docker artifacts: `.artifacts/docker-tests/**/summary.json`,
  `failures.json`, lane logs, and rerun commands.
- Upgrade survivor summary: `.artifacts/upgrade-survivor/summary.json`,
  including baseline version, candidate version, scenario, phase timings, and
  config recipe coverage.

Prefer rerunning the failed exact lane with the same package artifact over
rerunning the whole release umbrella.

## Related

- [Tests](/reference/test) - index of the testing reference, one page per reader job
- [Testing](/help/testing) - the full testing kit: suites, live lanes, and Docker runners
- [Release policy](/reference/RELEASING) - the release process this checklist gates