Bug

The memory-lancedb extension ships with a package.json listing @lancedb/lancedb, @sinclair/typebox, and openai as dependencies, but npm install is never run in the extensions directory during npm install -g openclaw. This means:

1. Fresh installs have a broken memory plugin out of the box
2. Every update (npm install -g openclaw@latest) wipes any manually installed node_modules in extensions/memory-lancedb/, breaking memory again silently

Repro

npm install -g openclaw
# enable memory-lancedb plugin
# send a message to trigger recall

Logs show:

memory-lancedb: recall failed: Error: memory-lancedb: failed to load LanceDB. Error: Cannot find module '@lancedb/lancedb'
Require stack:
- /home/user/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.0/lib/node_modules/openclaw/extensions/memory-lancedb/index.ts

Note: the plugin initializes successfully (memory-lancedb: initialized) and capture works (memories are written to LanceDB), but recall always fails because the module can't be loaded at query time.

Workaround

Manually install after every install/update:

cd $(dirname $(which openclaw))/../lib/node_modules/openclaw/extensions/memory-lancedb && npm install
systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

Expected behavior

Plugin dependencies should be installed as part of the OpenClaw install/update process, or bundled in the published package.

Environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.2.26
• Node: 22.22.0 (via nvm)
• OS: Linux Mint 22.3 (Ubuntu-based)
• Install method: npm install -g openclaw