Plugin loads but registers zero tools on OpenClaw >=2026.6.11 — missing `contracts.tools` in `openclaw.plugin.json`

[starpig1981]

Problem

After installing @qverisai/qveris on OpenClaw >=2026.6.11, the plugin loads (status: loaded, enabled: true) but registers zero tools:

$ openclaw plugins inspect qveris --runtime --json | jq '.plugin | {status, toolNames}'
{
  "status": "loaded",
  "toolNames": []
}

diagnostics shows a single error:

{
  "level": "error",
  "pluginId": "qveris",
  "message": "plugin must declare contracts.tools before registering agent tools"
}

Root cause

OpenClaw 2026.6.11 switched to contract-driven tool registration: plugins must declare the tools they expose in the manifest (openclaw.plugin.json) under contracts.tools. Runtime calls to api.registerTool(..., { names: [...] }) are only allowed for names already listed in the manifest.

The plugin's runtime register call is correct (dist/index.js:8-9):

api.registerTool((ctx) => createQverisTools({ api, ctx }), {
  names: ["qveris_discover", "qveris_call", "qveris_inspect"]
});

…but openclaw.plugin.json (peer dependency already declares openclaw: ">=2026.6.11") only ships these top-level keys:

{ "id", "setup", "uiHints", "configSchema" }

There is no "contracts" section, so the Gateway refuses registration.

For comparison, the @openclaw/tavily-plugin manifest (which works fine on the same host) includes:

"contracts": {
  "webSearchProviders": ["tavily"],
  "tools": ["tavily_search", "tavily_extract"]
}

Reproduction

1. Install: openclaw plugins install @qverisai/qveris
2. Enable + restart gateway
3. openclaw plugins inspect qveris --runtime --json → toolNames: [], diagnostics reports the contract error above
4. Same host, install @openclaw/tavily-plugin → works (toolNames: ["tavily_search", "tavily_extract"], diagnostics empty). The only manifest difference is the contracts block.

Suggested fix

Add to packages/openclaw-qveris-plugin/openclaw.plugin.json:

"contracts": {
  "tools": ["qveris_discover", "qveris_call", "qveris_inspect"]
}

(placement: between uiHints and configSchema, matching tavily's layout)

Verified workaround locally

I patched the installed manifest under ~/.openclaw/npm/projects/.../node_modules/@qverisai/qveris/openclaw.plugin.json with the block above, then openclaw plugins disable qveris && openclaw plugins enable qveris. Result:

toolNames: ["qveris_discover", "qveris_call", "qveris_inspect"]
diagnostics: []

Calling qveris_discover / qveris_call then works normally. So the only thing missing in 2026.7.15 is the manifest field — runtime code is already correct.

Happy to send this as a PR against packages/openclaw-qveris-plugin if useful; let me know the preferred branch.

[linfangw]

Confirmed and reproduced against an isolated OpenClaw host: the plugin loaded, but registration was rejected with plugin must declare contracts.tools before registering agent tools.

The fix is in #281. In addition to declaring the three tool contracts, it adds current manifest activation/auth/config/replay metadata and regression checks covering:

• OpenClaw 2026.6.11 (minimum): source and packed install
• OpenClaw 2026.6.33 (extended stable): source runtime
• OpenClaw 2026.7.1-2 (current stable): source and packed install

All three hosts now report qveris_discover, qveris_call, and qveris_inspect as registered and instantiated with no error diagnostics. The checks use a synthetic key and make no QVeris API calls.