Summary

Plugin CLI commands registered via api.registerCli() are not available when running clawdbot <plugin-command> directly. The command fails with the main help output as if the command doesn't exist.

Regression introduced between v2026.1.16-2 (working) and v2026.1.23-1 (broken).

Steps to reproduce

1. Create a minimal plugin at ~/.clawdbot/extensions/test-plugin/index.ts:

                                                                                                                        
  export default {                                                                                                                     
    id: "test-plugin",                                                                                                                 
    name: "Test Plugin",                                                                                                               
    configSchema: { parse: () => ({}) },                                                                                               
    register(api) {                                                                                                                    
      console.log("REGISTER CALLED");                                                                                                  
      api.registerCli(({ program }) => {                                                                                               
        console.log("CLI REGISTRAR CALLED");                                                                                           
        program.command("testcmd").action(() => console.log("works!"));                                                                
      }, { commands: ["testcmd"] });                                                                                                   
    },                                                                                                                                 
  };

2. Create manifest at ~/.clawdbot/extensions/test-plugin/clawdbot.plugin.json:

   "id": "test-plugin",                                                                                                               
   "kind": "utility",                                                                                                                 
   "configSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": {} }                                                                             
 }

3. Enable the plugin:
   clawdbot plugins enable test-plugin

4. Verify CLI command is registered:
   clawdbot plugins info test-plugin

Shows: CLI commands: testcmd

5. Try to run the command:
   clawdbot testcmd --help

Expected behavior

Running clawdbot testcmd --help should show help for the testcmd command, and the console should print "REGISTER CALLED" and "CLI REGISTRAR CALLED".

Actual behavior

Running clawdbot testcmd --help shows the main clawdbot help (as if "testcmd" doesn't exist). No console output appears - the plugin's register() function is never called.

However, running clawdbot plugins list DOES print both console messages, proving the registration code works when plugins are loaded.

Environment

• Clawdbot version: 2026.1.24-3 (also tested 2026.1.23-1)
• Last working version: 2026.1.16-2
• OS: Linux 6.1.0-42-amd64 (Debian 12)
• Install method: npm global

Logs or screenshots

$ clawdbot plugins info test-plugin
REGISTER CALLED
CLI REGISTRAR CALLED
...
CLI commands: testcmd # ← Command IS registered in the plugin

$ clawdbot testcmd --help
🦞 Clawdbot 2026.1.24-3 (885167d)

Usage: clawdbot [options] [command]
...

No "REGISTER CALLED" output, shows main help instead of testcmd help

Analysis

registerPluginCliCommands() is only called inside the plugins subcommand's lazy register function at
src/cli/program/register.subclis.ts:181-182. Plugin CLI commands are never added to Commander for direct invocation.

The bundled voice-call plugin has the same issue - clawdbot voicecall --help also fails.