OpenClaw WeChat Plugin Fix | Generated by AI

Home 2026.04

Good question. Let me break down exactly what happened — the full chain from “broken plugin” to “WeChat connected.”

🔍 How WeChat Got Connected — Full Breakdown

Phase 1: Diagnosis

  1. You asked to check the WeChat plugin
  2. Ran openclaw status — got a clear error: 
    TypeError: (0, _pluginSdk.resolvePreferredOpenClawTmpDir) is not a function
  3. Checked the plugin version: v1.0.3 (installed March 29)
  4. Searched npm for latest version: v2.1.6 exists
  5. Root cause: v1.0.3 called a function from the OpenClaw Plugin SDK that was removed/renamed in newer OpenClaw (2026.4.2)

Phase 2: Failed Attempt

  1. Ran npm install @tencent-weixin/openclaw-weixin@2.1.6 inside the extension directory
  2. Why it didn’t work: OpenClaw extensions are source-first — it loads index.ts and src/ from the extension directory directly, not from node_modules. npm only updated package.json + node_modules/ but the old .ts source files were untouched.

Phase 3: The Fix

  1. Backed up the old extension dir: mv openclaw-weixin openclaw-weixin.bak
  2. Installed to a temp dir using npm to get the v2.1.6 source files: 
    npm install @tencent-weixin/openclaw-weixin@2.1.6 --prefix weixin-tmp
  3. Copied the source from weixin-tmp/node_modules/@tencent-weixin/openclaw-weixin/ → new openclaw-weixin/ directory (this time getting the actual v2.1.6 source files)
  4. Ran npm install inside the new dir to install dependencies (557 packages)
  5. Cleaned up temp dirs
  6. Verified: package.json now shows "version": "2.1.6" and openclaw status no longer throws the SDK error

Phase 4: QR Login

  1. Read the plugin source to find the login command — found it registers via openclaw channels login --channel openclaw-weixin
  2. The login flow:
    • Plugin calls https://ilinkai.weixin.qq.com/ilink/bot/get_bot_qrcode?bot_type=3 to get a QR code
    • Renders it in terminal as ASCII art + provides a direct URL
    • Long-polls get_qrcode_status every 1 second for up to 8 minutes
    • States: wait → scaned → confirmed
    • On confirmed, saves bot_token + ilink_bot_id + baseurl to openclaw.json
  3. You scanned the QR code in WeChat, confirmed in the app
  4. Plugin got back bot_token, wrote config to disk
  5. openclaw gateway restart to reload with the new account

What Each Tool Did

Tool Purpose
exec Ran all shell commands — npm install, openclaw status, grep, file reads
process Monitored long-running commands (mtr, npm, login)
read Read plugin source code to understand the login API
web_search / memory_search Context gathering (didn’t need web search this time)
cron Reviewed existing cron jobs for the comprehensive report

Why It Worked

The key insight was that OpenClaw extensions are not standard npm packages — they’re loaded as source from the extensions directory. A simple npm install wouldn’t replace the .ts files. I had to get the new source via npm in a temp location, then copy it over wholesale. 🦞

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