Summary

Exclude node_modules directories inside extensions/ when creating backup archives to reduce backup size significantly.

Problem to solve

openclaw backup create archives the entire state directory including ~/.openclaw/extensions/*/node_modules/. These dependency trees are large (often hundreds of MB) and can be trivially reinstalled via npm install --omit=dev. Including them inflates backup archives unnecessarily and makes backup/restore slower.

Additionally, native modules in node_modules may not be compatible across platforms, so restoring them as-is can still require reinstallation.

Proposed solution

Add a filter callback to the tar.c() call in src/infra/backup-create.ts that skips node_modules directories within the extensions/ subtree of the state directory. This preserves plugin source code, manifests, and configuration while excluding reinstallable dependencies.

After restoring, users would run npm install --omit=dev in each extension directory to restore dependencies -- the same flow as initial plugin installation.

Alternatives considered

1. Skip entire extensions/ directory -- too aggressive; config references plugins and restore would fail without them.
2. Add --exclude-extensions CLI flag -- more flexible but adds complexity; the default behavior should be smart enough.
3. Wrapper script -- fragile workaround that does not help other users.

Impact

• Affected: all users running openclaw backup create with installed plugins
• Severity: medium (bloated backups, slow transfers)
• Frequency: every backup
• Consequence: unnecessarily large archive files; wasted disk/bandwidth on every backup cycle