Infra: require explicit opt-in for prerelease npm installs (#38117)

* Infra: tighten npm registry spec parsing

* Infra: block implicit prerelease npm installs

* Plugins: cover prerelease install policy

* Infra: add npm registry spec tests

* Hooks: cover prerelease install policy

* Docs: clarify plugin guide version policy

* Docs: clarify plugin install version policy

* Docs: clarify hooks install version policy

* Docs: clarify hook pack version policy

docs/automation/hooks.md

@@ -103,7 +103,12 @@ Hook packs are standard npm packages that export one or more hooks via `openclaw
 openclaw hooks install <path-or-spec>
 ```
 
-Npm specs are registry-only (package name + optional version/tag). Git/URL/file specs are rejected.
+Npm specs are registry-only (package name + optional exact version or dist-tag).
+Git/URL/file specs and semver ranges are rejected.
+
+Bare specs and `@latest` stay on the stable track. If npm resolves either of
+those to a prerelease, OpenClaw stops and asks you to opt in explicitly with a
+prerelease tag such as `@beta`/`@rc` or an exact prerelease version.
 
 Example `package.json`:
 

docs/cli/hooks.md

@@ -193,8 +193,13 @@ openclaw hooks install <npm-spec> --pin
 
 Install a hook pack from a local folder/archive or npm.
 
-Npm specs are **registry-only** (package name + optional version/tag). Git/URL/file
+Npm specs are **registry-only** (package name + optional **exact version** or
-specs are rejected. Dependency installs run with `--ignore-scripts` for safety.
+**dist-tag**). Git/URL/file specs and semver ranges are rejected. Dependency
+installs run with `--ignore-scripts` for safety.
+
+Bare specs and `@latest` stay on the stable track. If npm resolves either of
+those to a prerelease, OpenClaw stops and asks you to opt in explicitly with a
+prerelease tag such as `@beta`/`@rc` or an exact prerelease version.
 
 **What it does:**
 

docs/cli/plugins.md

@@ -45,8 +45,14 @@ openclaw plugins install <npm-spec> --pin
 
 Security note: treat plugin installs like running code. Prefer pinned versions.
 
-Npm specs are **registry-only** (package name + optional version/tag). Git/URL/file
+Npm specs are **registry-only** (package name + optional **exact version** or
-specs are rejected. Dependency installs run with `--ignore-scripts` for safety.
+**dist-tag**). Git/URL/file specs and semver ranges are rejected. Dependency
+installs run with `--ignore-scripts` for safety.
+
+Bare specs and `@latest` stay on the stable track. If npm resolves either of
+those to a prerelease, OpenClaw stops and asks you to opt in explicitly with a
+prerelease tag such as `@beta`/`@rc` or an exact prerelease version such as
+`@1.2.3-beta.4`.
 
 If a bare install spec matches a bundled plugin id (for example `diffs`), OpenClaw
 installs the bundled plugin directly. To install an npm package with the same

docs/tools/plugin.md

@@ -31,8 +31,12 @@ openclaw plugins list
 openclaw plugins install @openclaw/voice-call
 ```
 
-Npm specs are **registry-only** (package name + optional version/tag). Git/URL/file
+Npm specs are **registry-only** (package name + optional **exact version** or
-specs are rejected.
+**dist-tag**). Git/URL/file specs and semver ranges are rejected.
+
+Bare specs and `@latest` stay on the stable track. If npm resolves either of
+those to a prerelease, OpenClaw stops and asks you to opt in explicitly with a
+prerelease tag such as `@beta`/`@rc` or an exact prerelease version.
 
 3. Restart the Gateway, then configure under `plugins.entries.<id>.config`.
 

src/hooks/install.test.ts

@@ -409,6 +409,28 @@ describe("installHooksFromNpmSpec", () => {
       actualIntegrity: "sha512-new",
     });
   });
+
+  it("rejects bare npm specs that resolve to prerelease versions", async () => {
+    const run = vi.mocked(runCommandWithTimeout);
+    mockNpmPackMetadataResult(run, {
+      id: "@openclaw/test-hooks@0.0.2-beta.1",
+      name: "@openclaw/test-hooks",
+      version: "0.0.2-beta.1",
+      filename: "test-hooks-0.0.2-beta.1.tgz",
+      integrity: "sha512-beta",
+      shasum: "betashasum",
+    });
+
+    const result = await installHooksFromNpmSpec({
+      spec: "@openclaw/test-hooks",
+      logger: { info: () => {}, warn: () => {} },
+    });
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!result.ok) {
+      expect(result.error).toContain("prerelease version 0.0.2-beta.1");
+      expect(result.error).toContain('"@openclaw/test-hooks@beta"');
+    }
+  });
 });
 
 describe("gmail watcher", () => {

src/infra/npm-pack-install.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@ import {
   type NpmIntegrityDriftPayload,
   resolveNpmIntegrityDriftWithDefaultMessage,
 } from "./npm-integrity.js";
+import {
+  formatPrereleaseResolutionError,
+  isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed,
+  parseRegistryNpmSpec,
+} from "./npm-registry-spec.js";
 
 export type NpmSpecArchiveInstallFlowResult<TResult extends { ok: boolean }> =
   | {
@@ -94,6 +99,13 @@ export async function installFromNpmSpecArchive<TResult extends { ok: boolean }>
   installFromArchive: (params: { archivePath: string }) => Promise<TResult>;
 }): Promise<NpmSpecArchiveInstallFlowResult<TResult>> {
   return await withTempDir(params.tempDirPrefix, async (tmpDir) => {
+    const parsedSpec = parseRegistryNpmSpec(params.spec);
+    if (!parsedSpec) {
+      return {
+        ok: false,
+        error: "unsupported npm spec",
+      };
+    }
     const packedResult = await packNpmSpecToArchive({
       spec: params.spec,
       timeoutMs: params.timeoutMs,
@@ -107,6 +119,21 @@ export async function installFromNpmSpecArchive<TResult extends { ok: boolean }>
       ...packedResult.metadata,
       resolvedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
     };
+    if (
+      npmResolution.version &&
+      !isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed({
+        spec: parsedSpec,
+        resolvedVersion: npmResolution.version,
+      })
+    ) {
+      return {
+        ok: false,
+        error: formatPrereleaseResolutionError({
+          spec: parsedSpec,
+          resolvedVersion: npmResolution.version,
+        }),
+      };
+    }
 
     const driftResult = await resolveNpmIntegrityDriftWithDefaultMessage({
       spec: params.spec,

src/infra/npm-registry-spec.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed,
+  parseRegistryNpmSpec,
+  validateRegistryNpmSpec,
+} from "./npm-registry-spec.js";
+
+describe("npm registry spec validation", () => {
+  it("accepts bare package names, exact versions, and dist-tags", () => {
+    expect(validateRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call")).toBeNull();
+    expect(validateRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@1.2.3")).toBeNull();
+    expect(validateRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@1.2.3-beta.4")).toBeNull();
+    expect(validateRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@latest")).toBeNull();
+    expect(validateRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@beta")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("rejects semver ranges", () => {
+    expect(validateRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@^1.2.3")).toContain(
+      "exact version or dist-tag",
+    );
+    expect(validateRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@~1.2.3")).toContain(
+      "exact version or dist-tag",
+    );
+  });
+});
+
+describe("npm prerelease resolution policy", () => {
+  it("blocks prerelease resolutions for bare specs", () => {
+    const spec = parseRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call");
+    expect(spec).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(
+      isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed({
+        spec: spec!,
+        resolvedVersion: "1.2.3-beta.1",
+      }),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("blocks prerelease resolutions for latest", () => {
+    const spec = parseRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@latest");
+    expect(spec).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(
+      isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed({
+        spec: spec!,
+        resolvedVersion: "1.2.3-rc.1",
+      }),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("allows prerelease resolutions when the user explicitly opted in", () => {
+    const tagSpec = parseRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@beta");
+    const versionSpec = parseRegistryNpmSpec("@openclaw/voice-call@1.2.3-beta.1");
+
+    expect(tagSpec).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(versionSpec).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(
+      isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed({
+        spec: tagSpec!,
+        resolvedVersion: "1.2.3-beta.4",
+      }),
+    ).toBe(true);
+    expect(
+      isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed({
+        spec: versionSpec!,
+        resolvedVersion: "1.2.3-beta.1",
+      }),
+    ).toBe(true);
+  });
+});

src/infra/npm-registry-spec.ts

@@ -1,41 +1,141 @@
-export function validateRegistryNpmSpec(rawSpec: string): string | null {
+const EXACT_SEMVER_VERSION_RE =
+  /^v?(0|[1-9]\d*)\.(0|[1-9]\d*)\.(0|[1-9]\d*)(?:-([0-9A-Za-z.-]+))?(?:\+([0-9A-Za-z.-]+))?$/;
+const DIST_TAG_RE = /^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9._-]*$/;
+
+export type ParsedRegistryNpmSpec = {
+  name: string;
+  raw: string;
+  selector?: string;
+  selectorKind: "none" | "exact-version" | "tag";
+  selectorIsPrerelease: boolean;
+};
+
+function parseRegistryNpmSpecInternal(
+  rawSpec: string,
+): { ok: true; parsed: ParsedRegistryNpmSpec } | { ok: false; error: string } {
   const spec = rawSpec.trim();
   if (!spec) {
-    return "missing npm spec";
+    return { ok: false, error: "missing npm spec" };
   }
   if (/\s/.test(spec)) {
-    return "unsupported npm spec: whitespace is not allowed";
+    return { ok: false, error: "unsupported npm spec: whitespace is not allowed" };
   }
   // Registry-only: no URLs, git, file, or alias protocols.
   // Keep strict: this runs on the gateway host.
   if (spec.includes("://")) {
-    return "unsupported npm spec: URLs are not allowed";
+    return { ok: false, error: "unsupported npm spec: URLs are not allowed" };
   }
   if (spec.includes("#")) {
-    return "unsupported npm spec: git refs are not allowed";
+    return { ok: false, error: "unsupported npm spec: git refs are not allowed" };
   }
   if (spec.includes(":")) {
-    return "unsupported npm spec: protocol specs are not allowed";
+    return { ok: false, error: "unsupported npm spec: protocol specs are not allowed" };
   }
 
   const at = spec.lastIndexOf("@");
-  const hasVersion = at > 0;
+  const hasSelector = at > 0;
-  const name = hasVersion ? spec.slice(0, at) : spec;
+  const name = hasSelector ? spec.slice(0, at) : spec;
-  const version = hasVersion ? spec.slice(at + 1) : "";
+  const selector = hasSelector ? spec.slice(at + 1) : "";
 
   const unscopedName = /^[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-._~]*$/;
   const scopedName = /^@[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-._~]*\/[a-z0-9][a-z0-9-._~]*$/;
   const isValidName = name.startsWith("@") ? scopedName.test(name) : unscopedName.test(name);
   if (!isValidName) {
-    return "unsupported npm spec: expected <name> or <name>@<version> from the npm registry";
+    return {
+      ok: false,
+      error: "unsupported npm spec: expected <name> or <name>@<version> from the npm registry",
+    };
   }
-  if (hasVersion) {
+  if (!hasSelector) {
-    if (!version) {
+    return {
-      return "unsupported npm spec: missing version/tag after @";
+      ok: true,
+      parsed: {
+        name,
+        raw: spec,
+        selectorKind: "none",
+        selectorIsPrerelease: false,
+      },
+    };
   }
-    if (/[\\/]/.test(version)) {
+  if (!selector) {
-      return "unsupported npm spec: invalid version/tag";
+    return { ok: false, error: "unsupported npm spec: missing version/tag after @" };
   }
+  if (/[\\/]/.test(selector)) {
+    return { ok: false, error: "unsupported npm spec: invalid version/tag" };
   }
-  return null;
+  const exactVersionMatch = EXACT_SEMVER_VERSION_RE.exec(selector);
+  if (exactVersionMatch) {
+    return {
+      ok: true,
+      parsed: {
+        name,
+        raw: spec,
+        selector,
+        selectorKind: "exact-version",
+        selectorIsPrerelease: Boolean(exactVersionMatch[4]),
+      },
+    };
+  }
+  if (!DIST_TAG_RE.test(selector)) {
+    return {
+      ok: false,
+      error: "unsupported npm spec: use an exact version or dist-tag (ranges are not allowed)",
+    };
+  }
+  return {
+    ok: true,
+    parsed: {
+      name,
+      raw: spec,
+      selector,
+      selectorKind: "tag",
+      selectorIsPrerelease: false,
+    },
+  };
+}
+
+export function parseRegistryNpmSpec(rawSpec: string): ParsedRegistryNpmSpec | null {
+  const parsed = parseRegistryNpmSpecInternal(rawSpec);
+  return parsed.ok ? parsed.parsed : null;
+}
+
+export function validateRegistryNpmSpec(rawSpec: string): string | null {
+  const parsed = parseRegistryNpmSpecInternal(rawSpec);
+  return parsed.ok ? null : parsed.error;
+}
+
+export function isExactSemverVersion(value: string): boolean {
+  return EXACT_SEMVER_VERSION_RE.test(value.trim());
+}
+
+export function isPrereleaseSemverVersion(value: string): boolean {
+  const match = EXACT_SEMVER_VERSION_RE.exec(value.trim());
+  return Boolean(match?.[4]);
+}
+
+export function isPrereleaseResolutionAllowed(params: {
+  spec: ParsedRegistryNpmSpec;
+  resolvedVersion?: string;
+}): boolean {
+  if (!params.resolvedVersion || !isPrereleaseSemverVersion(params.resolvedVersion)) {
+    return true;
+  }
+  if (params.spec.selectorKind === "none") {
+    return false;
+  }
+  if (params.spec.selectorKind === "exact-version") {
+    return params.spec.selectorIsPrerelease;
+  }
+  return params.spec.selector?.toLowerCase() !== "latest";
+}
+
+export function formatPrereleaseResolutionError(params: {
+  spec: ParsedRegistryNpmSpec;
+  resolvedVersion: string;
+}): string {
+  const selectorHint =
+    params.spec.selectorKind === "none" || params.spec.selector?.toLowerCase() === "latest"
+      ? `Use "${params.spec.name}@beta" (or another prerelease tag) or an exact prerelease version to opt in explicitly.`
+      : `Use an explicit prerelease tag or exact prerelease version if you want prerelease installs.`;
+  return `Resolved ${params.spec.raw} to prerelease version ${params.resolvedVersion}, but prereleases are only installed when explicitly requested. ${selectorHint}`;
 }

src/plugins/install.test.ts

@@ -858,4 +858,78 @@ describe("installPluginFromNpmSpec", () => {
       expect(result.code).toBe(PLUGIN_INSTALL_ERROR_CODE.NPM_PACKAGE_NOT_FOUND);
     }
   });
+
+  it("rejects bare npm specs that resolve to prerelease versions", async () => {
+    const run = vi.mocked(runCommandWithTimeout);
+    mockNpmPackMetadataResult(run, {
+      id: "@openclaw/voice-call@0.0.2-beta.1",
+      name: "@openclaw/voice-call",
+      version: "0.0.2-beta.1",
+      filename: "voice-call-0.0.2-beta.1.tgz",
+      integrity: "sha512-beta",
+      shasum: "betashasum",
+    });
+
+    const result = await installPluginFromNpmSpec({
+      spec: "@openclaw/voice-call",
+      logger: { info: () => {}, warn: () => {} },
+    });
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(false);
+    if (!result.ok) {
+      expect(result.error).toContain("prerelease version 0.0.2-beta.1");
+      expect(result.error).toContain('"@openclaw/voice-call@beta"');
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("allows explicit prerelease npm tags", async () => {
+    const run = vi.mocked(runCommandWithTimeout);
+    let packTmpDir = "";
+    const packedName = "voice-call-0.0.2-beta.1.tgz";
+    const voiceCallArchiveBuffer = VOICE_CALL_ARCHIVE_V1_BUFFER;
+    run.mockImplementation(async (argv, opts) => {
+      if (argv[0] === "npm" && argv[1] === "pack") {
+        packTmpDir = String(typeof opts === "number" ? "" : (opts.cwd ?? ""));
+        fs.writeFileSync(path.join(packTmpDir, packedName), voiceCallArchiveBuffer);
+        return {
+          code: 0,
+          stdout: JSON.stringify([
+            {
+              id: "@openclaw/voice-call@0.0.2-beta.1",
+              name: "@openclaw/voice-call",
+              version: "0.0.2-beta.1",
+              filename: packedName,
+              integrity: "sha512-beta",
+              shasum: "betashasum",
+            },
+          ]),
+          stderr: "",
+          signal: null,
+          killed: false,
+          termination: "exit",
+        };
+      }
+      throw new Error(`unexpected command: ${argv.join(" ")}`);
+    });
+
+    const { extensionsDir } = await setupVoiceCallArchiveInstall({
+      outName: "voice-call-0.0.2-beta.1.tgz",
+      version: "0.0.1",
+    });
+    const result = await installPluginFromNpmSpec({
+      spec: "@openclaw/voice-call@beta",
+      extensionsDir,
+      logger: { info: () => {}, warn: () => {} },
+    });
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+    if (!result.ok) {
+      return;
+    }
+    expect(result.npmResolution?.version).toBe("0.0.2-beta.1");
+    expect(result.npmResolution?.resolvedSpec).toBe("@openclaw/voice-call@0.0.2-beta.1");
+    expectSingleNpmPackIgnoreScriptsCall({
+      calls: run.mock.calls,
+      expectedSpec: "@openclaw/voice-call@beta",
+    });
+    expect(packTmpDir).not.toBe("");
+  });
 });