Summary
While trying to recover a WhatsApp relink by reinstalling the WhatsApp plugin, a floating plugin install pulled a newer @openclaw/whatsapp package into an older local OpenClaw source checkout and the plugin failed to load because it expected a newer core/plugin SDK API.
Observed behavior
On a source checkout that reported 2026.5.10-beta.1, running a floating install like this:
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/whatsapp
installed the then-latest package version 2026.5.20. Loading that package failed with an API mismatch:
createSetupTranslator is not a function
Restoring the bundled source plugin made WhatsApp load again.
Expected behavior
One of these would avoid a confusing recovery path:
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/whatsapp chooses a plugin package version compatible with the running OpenClaw core version.- Or the installer refuses the install with a clear compatibility error and suggests either updating OpenClaw core or installing an exact matching plugin version.
- Or bundled channel plugins are preferred unless the operator explicitly opts into an external package override.
Why it matters
When WhatsApp auth is already broken, openclaw plugins install @openclaw/whatsapp looks like a plausible recovery step. If it silently installs a package built against a newer core API, the operator ends up with an additional plugin-load failure that obscures the original WhatsApp auth problem.
Related WhatsApp recovery documentation/issues from the same field run: #85866, #85867, #85868.
Summary
While trying to recover a WhatsApp relink by reinstalling the WhatsApp plugin, a floating plugin install pulled a newer
@openclaw/whatsapppackage into an older local OpenClaw source checkout and the plugin failed to load because it expected a newer core/plugin SDK API.Observed behavior
On a source checkout that reported
2026.5.10-beta.1, running a floating install like this:installed the then-latest package version
2026.5.20. Loading that package failed with an API mismatch:Restoring the bundled source plugin made WhatsApp load again.
Expected behavior
One of these would avoid a confusing recovery path:
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/whatsappchooses a plugin package version compatible with the running OpenClaw core version.Why it matters
When WhatsApp auth is already broken,
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/whatsapplooks like a plausible recovery step. If it silently installs a package built against a newer core API, the operator ends up with an additional plugin-load failure that obscures the original WhatsApp auth problem.Related WhatsApp recovery documentation/issues from the same field run: #85866, #85867, #85868.