OpenClaw Signals: Task Queue Sharding, Config Validation, and the Plugin Lifecycle Question

Proposal

Proposal: Task Queue Sharding for Horizontal Scaling

This is a big architectural move. Task queue sharding would let OpenClaw scale horizontally without a single bottleneck, which is table stakes for production workloads. If you're hitting queue limits today, this is the thread to watch.

Tools

Strict Config Validation Added to Catch Errors Early

Nobody likes debugging a silent config typo at runtime. This PR adds schema validation on startup, so you get clear errors before anything breaks. Small change, big leverage for ops sanity.

Analysis

Debate: Managed Plugin Lifecycle Hooks

Plugins need clean startup and shutdown sequences, especially in distributed setups. This proposal explores formal lifecycle hooks to give plugins a predictable way to initialize and tear down. If you've ever had a plugin leak resources on restart, you know why this matters.

News

Fix: Race Condition in Plugin Hot-Reload

A race condition in hot-reload could cause plugins to load twice or not at all during config changes. This PR patches the issue with a proper mutex. If you're running OpenClaw in dev with frequent config updates, grab this fix.