Bug Report

Description

The @vectorize-io/hindsight-openclaw plugin (v0.5.0) fails to install on OpenClaw 2026.3.28 due to malformed JSON generation during the config write step.

Error Message

[openclaw] Failed to start CLI: Error: Config validation failed: plugins: plugin: failed to parse plugin manifest: SyntaxError: Expected double-quoted property name in JSON at position 8912 (line 219 column 5)
    at Object.writeConfigFile (file:///opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/auth-profiles-B5ypC5S-.js:337628:10)
    at async writeConfigFile (file:///opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/auth-profiles-B5ypC5S-.js:337894:2)
    at async persistPluginInstall (file:///opt/homebrew/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/plugins-install-persist-BssAFrNh.js:95:2)

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install OpenClaw 2026.3.28 (macOS via Homebrew)
2. Run: openclaw plugins install @vectorize-io/hindsight-openclaw
3. Plugin downloads successfully from ClawHub
4. Security warnings appear (expected):
   • Environment variable access + network send
   • Shell command execution (child_process)
5. Installation fails with JSON syntax error at line 219

Environment

• OpenClaw Version: 2026.3.28
• Hindsight Plugin Version: 0.5.0
• OS: macOS (Homebrew installation)
• Existing config: 176 lines, valid JSON
• Installation method: ClawHub (openclaw plugins install)

Expected Behavior

Plugin should install successfully, adding valid Hindsight entries to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and enabling the memory slot takeover.

Actual Behavior

OpenClaw's config validation rejects the generated config with:

• SyntaxError: Expected double-quoted property name in JSON
• Position 8912 (approximately line 219, column 5 of the proposed config)
• Installation aborts before writing corrupted config

Impact

✅ Good news:

• OpenClaw's validation caught the error before corrupting existing config
• User config remains valid and untouched
• Built-in memory continues working

❌ Bad news:

• Cannot install Hindsight plugin via documented installation method
• Blocks users from upgrading to automated memory system
• Affects the integration documented at https://hindsight.vectorize.io/blog/2026/03/06/adding-memory-to-openclaw-with-hindsight

Possible Root Cause

The plugin's config generation (during OpenClaw install) appears to produce malformed JSON, likely:

• Trailing comma in object/array
• Unquoted property name
• Malformed nested structure around line 219 of the generated config

This could be in:

• The plugin's openclaw.plugin.json manifest
• Dynamic config generation in the plugin's install hooks
• Interaction with OpenClaw's plugin config merger

Related Issues

OpenClaw side: openclaw/openclaw#57734

Similar plugin install issues on OpenClaw:

• plugins install fails for local plugins when plugins.allow already exists openclaw/openclaw#41229 (plugins.allow validation failures)
• [Bug]: Cognee plugin install can leave mismatched plugins.entries key (latent time-bomb) causing gateway shutdown on reload openclaw/openclaw#24429 (plugin config mismatches)

Workaround

None currently available - plugin cannot be installed via standard method.

Additional Context

• The plugin extraction itself succeeds (files written to ~/.openclaw/extensions/)
• The failure occurs specifically during the config write/validation phase
• This suggests the issue is in the config generation, not the plugin code itself

Would be helpful to:

1. Validate the plugin's openclaw.plugin.json manifest with a strict JSON linter
2. Add config generation tests to the plugin's CI/CD
3. Provide manual installation instructions as a temporary workaround

Debug Info Available

If maintainers need additional debugging information:

• Full install log available
• Can provide existing openclaw.json structure
• Can test proposed fixes

Thanks for the excellent integration documentation - looking forward to getting this working! 🚀