Skip to content

[Bug]: plugins update --all redundantly downloads and reinstalls plugins that are already up-to-date #40912

Description

@gmvp3

Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Summary

When running openclaw plugins update --all, the CLI currently downloads the package, extracts it, runs the security audit, and reinstalls dependencies before checking the local version. It only reports that the plugin is "already at [version]" at the very end of the process.

This results in a highly inefficient update cycle, especially for users with multiple or heavy plugins.

Steps to reproduce

Install any plugin (e.g., qqbot at 1.5.3).

Run openclaw plugins update --all.

Observe the CLI behavior.

Expected behavior

OpenClaw should fetch the remote version number and compare it against the locally installed version first. If remote_version == local_version, the CLI should immediately skip the process and output something like Plugin is already up to date, bypassing the download, extraction, and security audit steps completely.

Actual behavior

The CLI blindly downloads the @latest tarball to a /tmp directory, extracts it, runs the entire security audit (triggering warnings again), and reinstalls dependencies, only to finally report: [plugin] already at [version].

OpenClaw version

2026.3.8

Operating system

ubuntu

Install method

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Impact and severity

No response

Additional information

No response

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    bugSomething isn't workingbug:behaviorIncorrect behavior without a crash

    Type

    No type

    Fields

    Priority

    None yet

    Projects

    No projects

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions