fix: harden plugin commands (#1558) (thanks @Glucksberg)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 ### Changes
 - Browser: add node-host proxy auto-routing for remote gateways (configurable per gateway/node).
 - Plugins: add optional llm-task JSON-only tool for workflows. (#1498) Thanks @vignesh07.
+- Plugins: add LLM-free plugin slash commands and include them in `/commands`. (#1558) Thanks @Glucksberg.
 - CLI: restart the gateway by default after `clawdbot update`; add `--no-restart` to skip it.
 - CLI: add live auth probes to `clawdbot models status` for per-profile verification.
 - CLI: add `clawdbot system` for system events + heartbeat controls; remove standalone `wake`.

src/auto-reply/reply/commands-plugin.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
+import { clearPluginCommands, registerPluginCommand } from "../../plugins/commands.js";
+import type { HandleCommandsParams } from "./commands-types.js";
+import { handlePluginCommand } from "./commands-plugin.js";
+
+describe("handlePluginCommand", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    clearPluginCommands();
+  });
+
+  it("skips plugin commands when text commands are disabled", async () => {
+    registerPluginCommand("plugin-core", {
+      name: "ping",
+      description: "Ping",
+      handler: () => ({ text: "pong" }),
+    });
+
+    const params = {
+      command: {
+        commandBodyNormalized: "/ping",
+        senderId: "user-1",
+        channel: "test",
+        isAuthorizedSender: true,
+      },
+      cfg: {} as ClawdbotConfig,
+    } as HandleCommandsParams;
+
+    const result = await handlePluginCommand(params, false);
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("executes plugin commands when text commands are enabled", async () => {
+    registerPluginCommand("plugin-core", {
+      name: "ping",
+      description: "Ping",
+      handler: () => ({ text: "pong" }),
+    });
+
+    const params = {
+      command: {
+        commandBodyNormalized: "/ping",
+        senderId: "user-1",
+        channel: "test",
+        isAuthorizedSender: true,
+      },
+      cfg: {} as ClawdbotConfig,
+    } as HandleCommandsParams;
+
+    const result = await handlePluginCommand(params, true);
+    expect(result?.reply?.text).toBe("pong");
+  });
+});

src/auto-reply/reply/commands-plugin.ts

@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@ import type { CommandHandler, CommandHandlerResult } from "./commands-types.js";
  */
 export const handlePluginCommand: CommandHandler = async (
   params,
-  _allowTextCommands,
+  allowTextCommands,
 ): Promise<CommandHandlerResult | null> => {
+  if (!allowTextCommands) return null;
   const { command, cfg } = params;
 
   // Try to match a plugin command

src/auto-reply/status.test.ts

@@ -4,9 +4,11 @@ import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { normalizeTestText } from "../../test/helpers/normalize-text.js";
 import { withTempHome } from "../../test/helpers/temp-home.js";
 import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { clearPluginCommands, registerPluginCommand } from "../plugins/commands.js";
 import { buildCommandsMessage, buildHelpMessage, buildStatusMessage } from "./status.js";
 
 afterEach(() => {
+  clearPluginCommands();
   vi.restoreAllMocks();
 });
 
@@ -423,6 +425,19 @@ describe("buildCommandsMessage", () => {
     );
     expect(text).toContain("/demo_skill - Demo skill");
   });
+
+  it("includes plugin commands when registered", () => {
+    registerPluginCommand("plugin-core", {
+      name: "plugstatus",
+      description: "Plugin status",
+      handler: () => ({ text: "ok" }),
+    });
+    const text = buildCommandsMessage({
+      commands: { config: false, debug: false },
+    } as ClawdbotConfig);
+    expect(text).toContain("🔌 Plugin commands");
+    expect(text).toContain("/plugstatus - Plugin status");
+  });
 });
 
 describe("buildHelpMessage", () => {

src/auto-reply/status.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
 } from "../utils/usage-format.js";
 import { VERSION } from "../version.js";
 import { listChatCommands, listChatCommandsForConfig } from "./commands-registry.js";
+import { listPluginCommands } from "../plugins/commands.js";
 import type { SkillCommandSpec } from "../agents/skills.js";
 import type { ElevatedLevel, ReasoningLevel, ThinkLevel, VerboseLevel } from "./thinking.js";
 import type { MediaUnderstandingDecision } from "../media-understanding/types.js";
@@ -442,5 +443,12 @@ export function buildCommandsMessage(
     const scopeLabel = command.scope === "text" ? " (text-only)" : "";
     lines.push(`${primary}${aliasLabel}${scopeLabel} - ${command.description}`);
   }
+  const pluginCommands = listPluginCommands();
+  if (pluginCommands.length > 0) {
+    lines.push("🔌 Plugin commands");
+    for (const command of pluginCommands) {
+      lines.push(`/${command.name} - ${command.description}`);
+    }
+  }
   return lines.join("\n");
 }

src/plugins/commands.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import {
+  clearPluginCommands,
+  executePluginCommand,
+  matchPluginCommand,
+  registerPluginCommand,
+  validateCommandName,
+} from "./commands.js";
+
+describe("validateCommandName", () => {
+  it("rejects reserved aliases from built-in commands", () => {
+    const error = validateCommandName("id");
+    expect(error).toContain("reserved");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("plugin command registry", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    clearPluginCommands();
+  });
+
+  it("normalizes command names for registration and matching", () => {
+    const result = registerPluginCommand("plugin-core", {
+      name: "  ping  ",
+      description: "Ping",
+      handler: () => ({ text: "pong" }),
+    });
+    expect(result.ok).toBe(true);
+
+    const match = matchPluginCommand("/ping");
+    expect(match?.command.name).toBe("ping");
+  });
+
+  it("blocks registration while a command is executing", async () => {
+    let nestedResult: { ok: boolean; error?: string } | undefined;
+
+    registerPluginCommand("plugin-core", {
+      name: "outer",
+      description: "Outer",
+      handler: () => {
+        nestedResult = registerPluginCommand("plugin-inner", {
+          name: "inner",
+          description: "Inner",
+          handler: () => ({ text: "ok" }),
+        });
+        return { text: "done" };
+      },
+    });
+
+    await executePluginCommand({
+      command: matchPluginCommand("/outer")!.command,
+      senderId: "user-1",
+      channel: "test",
+      isAuthorizedSender: true,
+      commandBody: "/outer",
+      config: {} as ClawdbotConfig,
+    });
+
+    expect(nestedResult?.ok).toBe(false);
+    expect(nestedResult?.error).toContain("processing is in progress");
+  });
+});

src/plugins/commands.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  */
 
 import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { listChatCommands } from "../auto-reply/commands-registry.js";
 import type { ClawdbotPluginCommandDefinition, PluginCommandContext } from "./types.js";
 import { logVerbose } from "../globals.js";
 
@@ -16,53 +17,33 @@ type RegisteredPluginCommand = ClawdbotPluginCommandDefinition & {
 // Registry of plugin commands
 const pluginCommands: Map<string, RegisteredPluginCommand> = new Map();
 
-// Lock to prevent modifications during command execution
-let registryLocked = false;
+// Lock counter to prevent modifications during command execution
+let registryLockCount = 0;
 
 // Maximum allowed length for command arguments (defense in depth)
 const MAX_ARGS_LENGTH = 4096;
 
-/**
- * Reserved command names that plugins cannot override.
- * These are built-in commands from commands-registry.data.ts.
- */
-const RESERVED_COMMANDS = new Set([
-  // Core commands
-  "help",
-  "commands",
-  "status",
-  "whoami",
-  "context",
-  // Session management
-  "stop",
-  "restart",
-  "reset",
-  "new",
-  "compact",
-  // Configuration
-  "config",
-  "debug",
-  "allowlist",
-  "activation",
-  // Agent control
-  "skill",
-  "subagents",
-  "model",
-  "models",
-  "queue",
-  // Messaging
-  "send",
-  // Execution
-  "bash",
-  "exec",
-  // Mode toggles
-  "think",
-  "verbose",
-  "reasoning",
-  "elevated",
-  // Billing
-  "usage",
-]);
+let cachedReservedCommands: Set<string> | null = null;
+
+function getReservedCommands(): Set<string> {
+  if (cachedReservedCommands) return cachedReservedCommands;
+  const reserved = new Set<string>();
+  for (const command of listChatCommands()) {
+    if (command.nativeName) {
+      const normalized = command.nativeName.trim().toLowerCase();
+      if (normalized) reserved.add(normalized);
+    }
+    for (const alias of command.textAliases ?? []) {
+      const trimmed = alias.trim();
+      if (!trimmed) continue;
+      const withoutSlash = trimmed.startsWith("/") ? trimmed.slice(1) : trimmed;
+      const normalized = withoutSlash.trim().toLowerCase();
+      if (normalized) reserved.add(normalized);
+    }
+  }
+  cachedReservedCommands = reserved;
+  return reserved;
+}
 
 /**
  * Validate a command name.
@@ -82,7 +63,7 @@ export function validateCommandName(name: string): string | null {
   }
 
   // Check reserved commands
-  if (RESERVED_COMMANDS.has(trimmed)) {
+  if (getReservedCommands().has(trimmed)) {
     return `Command name "${trimmed}" is reserved by a built-in command`;
   }
 
@@ -103,7 +84,7 @@ export function registerPluginCommand(
   command: ClawdbotPluginCommandDefinition,
 ): CommandRegistrationResult {
   // Prevent registration while commands are being processed
-  if (registryLocked) {
+  if (registryLockCount > 0) {
     return { ok: false, error: "Cannot register commands while processing is in progress" };
   }
 
@@ -117,7 +98,8 @@ export function registerPluginCommand(
     return { ok: false, error: validationError };
   }
 
-  const key = `/${command.name.toLowerCase()}`;
+  const normalizedName = command.name.trim();
+  const key = `/${normalizedName.toLowerCase()}`;
 
   // Check for duplicate registration
   if (pluginCommands.has(key)) {
@@ -128,7 +110,7 @@ export function registerPluginCommand(
     };
   }
 
-  pluginCommands.set(key, { ...command, pluginId });
+  pluginCommands.set(key, { ...command, name: normalizedName, pluginId });
   logVerbose(`Registered plugin command: ${key} (plugin: ${pluginId})`);
   return { ok: true };
 }
@@ -139,6 +121,7 @@ export function registerPluginCommand(
  */
 export function clearPluginCommands(): void {
   pluginCommands.clear();
+  registryLockCount = 0;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -190,12 +173,28 @@ function sanitizeArgs(args: string | undefined): string | undefined {
   if (!args) return undefined;
 
   // Enforce length limit
-  if (args.length > MAX_ARGS_LENGTH) {
-    return args.slice(0, MAX_ARGS_LENGTH);
-  }
+  const trimmed = args.length > MAX_ARGS_LENGTH ? args.slice(0, MAX_ARGS_LENGTH) : args;
 
   // Remove control characters (except newlines and tabs which may be intentional)
-  return args.replace(/[\x00-\x08\x0B\x0C\x0E-\x1F\x7F]/g, "");
+  let needsSanitize = false;
+  for (let i = 0; i < trimmed.length; i += 1) {
+    const code = trimmed.charCodeAt(i);
+    if (code === 0x09 || code === 0x0a) continue;
+    if (code < 0x20 || code === 0x7f) {
+      needsSanitize = true;
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  if (!needsSanitize) return trimmed;
+
+  let sanitized = "";
+  for (let i = 0; i < trimmed.length; i += 1) {
+    const code = trimmed.charCodeAt(i);
+    if (code === 0x09 || code === 0x0a || (code >= 0x20 && code !== 0x7f)) {
+      sanitized += trimmed[i];
+    }
+  }
+  return sanitized;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -237,7 +236,7 @@ export async function executePluginCommand(params: {
   };
 
   // Lock registry during execution to prevent concurrent modifications
-  registryLocked = true;
+  registryLockCount += 1;
   try {
     const result = await command.handler(ctx);
     logVerbose(
@@ -250,7 +249,7 @@ export async function executePluginCommand(params: {
     // Don't leak internal error details - return a safe generic message
     return { text: "⚠️ Command failed. Please try again later." };
   } finally {
-    registryLocked = false;
+    registryLockCount = Math.max(0, registryLockCount - 1);
   }
 }
 

src/plugins/registry.ts

@@ -376,7 +376,8 @@ export function createPluginRegistry(registryParams: PluginRegistryParams) {
     }
 
     // Register with the plugin command system (validates name and checks for duplicates)
-    const result = registerPluginCommand(record.id, command);
+    const normalizedCommand = { ...command, name };
+    const result = registerPluginCommand(record.id, normalizedCommand);
     if (!result.ok) {
       pushDiagnostic({
         level: "error",
@@ -390,7 +391,7 @@ export function createPluginRegistry(registryParams: PluginRegistryParams) {
     record.commands.push(name);
     registry.commands.push({
       pluginId: record.id,
-      command,
+      command: normalizedCommand,
       source: record.source,
     });
   };