Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Summary

Brave Search plugin loads successfully and registers web-search: brave capability, but the web_search tool does not appear in the agent's available tools list.

Steps to reproduce

Start openclaw with the following config for web_search tool. API key properly configured (but redacted below):

{
  "tools": {
    "web": {
      "search": {
        "enabled": true,
        "provider": "brave"
      }
    }
  },
  "plugins": {
    "enabled": true,
    "allow": ["", "imessage", "bluebubbles", "brave"],
    "entries": {
      "brave": {
        "enabled": true,
        "config": {
          "webSearch": {
            "apiKey": "<redacted>"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Expected behavior

web_search should appear in the agent's tool list and be callable.

Actual behavior

Tool is not available. Agent reports:

"The web_search tool isn't showing up in my available tools yet. I can see web_fetch (for extracting content from known URLs) and browser (for automation), but no search capability."

OpenClaw version

2026.3.14 (which is newer than npm latest (2026.3.13) -- possible edge/dev build?

Operating system

macOS 26.3

Install method

docker via OrbStack

Model

anthropic/claude-sonnet 4.5

Provider / routing chain

openclaw via dashboard chat; on dedicated local machine via SSH tunnel

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

# Plugin Status:
$ docker exec openclaw-gateway node openclaw.mjs plugins list | grep -i brave
│ Brave Plugin │ brave │ openclaw │ loaded │ stock:brave/index.ts │ 2026.3.14 │
│              │       │          │        │ Bundled Brave plugin │           │

# One potentially suspicious log entry (but unknown to me if this mode in fact prevents tool exposure):  

$ openclaw logs 2>&1 | grep -B 5 "Capabilities:"
Version: 2026.3.14
Shape: plain-capability
Capability mode: plain
Legacy before_agent_start: no

Capabilities:
web-search: brave

# Config Reload Confirmation:
2026-03-21T17:13:47.046Z info gateway/reload {"subsystem":"gateway/reload"} 
  config change detected; evaluating reload (meta.lastTouchedAt, wizard.lastRunAt, 
  wizard.lastRunVersion, wizard.lastRunCommand, tools.web.search.apiKey, tools.web.fetch)

2026-03-21T17:13:47.062Z info gateway/reload {"subsystem":"gateway/reload"} 
  config change applied (dynamic reads: meta.lastTouchedAt, wizard.lastRunAt, 
  wizard.lastRunVersion, wizard.lastRunCommand, tools.web.search.apiKey, tools.web.fetch)

# No Tool Registration Errors
$ openclaw logs 2>&1 | grep -i "error.*tool\|tool.*error\|failed.*tool" | grep -v "google\|zai"
[Only unrelated memory file read errors; no web_search errors]

# No Agent Tool Policy Restrictions
$ cat /home/node/.openclaw/openclaw.json | jq '.agents.defaults.tools // empty'
No agent tool policy found

Impact and severity

Unknown, but for me the impact is great because the agent cannot utilize web search.

Additional information

Diagnosis

1. ✅ Brave plugin loads successfully
2. ✅ Plugin registers capability: web-search: brave
3. ✅ Config has correct settings
4. ✅ API key is configured
5. ✅ No error logs related to web_search
6. ❌ Tool does not appear in agent runtime's available tools

Gap: The capability is registered at the plugin level but not making it through to the agent tool list.

Suspicious log entry: "Shape: plain-capability" / "Capability mode: plain" — unclear if this mode prevents tool exposure.

Additional Context

• Gateway restarted multiple times (issue persists)
• Logs show unrelated plugin SDK errors for google and zai extensions (missing ../../src/plugin-sdk/*.js modules), but Brave plugin loads cleanly
• Running on version 2026.3.14, which is newer than npm latest (2026.3.13) — possibly edge/dev build

Workaround Attempted

None found. Config appears correct per documentation at /app/docs/brave-search.md.

Recommended Investigation

1. Check if web_search tool requires additional agent-level opt-in beyond tools.web.search.enabled
2. Verify plugin SDK build is complete for v2026.3.14
3. Check if "plain-capability" mode affects tool availability
4. Consider if downgrade to stable 2026.3.13 resolves the issue