Manifest Setup

Follow these steps in order. Do not skip ahead.

Step 1 — Stop the gateway

Stop the gateway first to avoid hot-reload issues during configuration.

Show the user the command below and ask for confirmation before running it.

openclaw gateway stop

Step 2 — Install the plugin

Show the user the command below and ask for confirmation before running it.

openclaw plugins install manifest

If it fails, check that OpenClaw is installed and the CLI is available in the PATH.

Step 3 — Get an API key

Ask the user:

To connect your agent, you need a Manifest API key. Here's how to get one:

> 1. Go to https://app.manifest.build and create an account (or sign in)

2. Once logged in, click "Connect Agent" to create a new agent

3. Copy the API key that starts with mnfst_

4. Paste it here

Wait for a key starting with mnfst_. If the key doesn't match, tell the user the format looks incorrect and ask them to try again.

Note: Your API key will be stored in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json under plugins.entries.manifest.config.apiKey. It persists on disk until you remove it.

Step 4 — Configure the plugin

Show the user the command below and ask for confirmation before running it.

openclaw config set plugins.entries.manifest.config.apiKey "USER_API_KEY"

Replace USER_API_KEY with the actual key the user provided.

Ask the user if they have a custom endpoint. If not, the default (https://app.manifest.build/api/v1/otlp) is used automatically. If they do:

Show the user the command below and ask for confirmation before running it.

openclaw config set plugins.entries.manifest.config.endpoint "USER_ENDPOINT"

Step 5 — Start the gateway

Show the user the command below and ask for confirmation before running it.

openclaw gateway restart

Step 6 — Verify

Wait 3 seconds for the gateway to fully start, then check the logs:

grep "manifest" ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway.log | tail -5

Look for:

[manifest] Observability pipeline active

If it appears, tell the user setup is complete. If not, check the error messages and troubleshoot.

Troubleshooting

• "Missing apiKey": Re-run step 4.
• "Invalid apiKey format": The key must start with mnfst_.
• Connection refused: The endpoint is unreachable. Check the URL or ask if they self-host.
• Duplicate OTel registration: Disable the conflicting built-in plugin: openclaw plugins disable diagnostics-otel