1.0.32 stable install fails at runtime with Cannot find module 'apache-arrow'

[whilyAk3sOn]

Hi — I hit a packaging/runtime issue with the stable npm release memory-lancedb-pro@1.0.32 on macOS with OpenClaw 2026.3.12.

Summary

The plugin installs and loads, but LanceDB-backed CLI/runtime operations fail because apache-arrow is not present as a direct installed runtime dependency for the plugin package.

Environment

• OpenClaw: 2026.3.12
• Plugin: memory-lancedb-pro@1.0.32
• OS: macOS arm64
• Local embedding backend: Ollama (nomic-embed-text)

Reproduction

openclaw plugins install memory-lancedb-pro
# configure a valid embedding backend
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw memory-pro stats

Actual result

openclaw memory-pro stats failed with:

Failed to get statistics: Error: memory-lancedb-pro: failed to load LanceDB.
Error: Cannot find module 'apache-arrow'
Require stack:
- .../node_modules/@lancedb/lancedb/dist/arrow.js

Why this looks like a packaging issue

@lancedb/lancedb@0.26.2 expects apache-arrow in the compatible range >=15.0.0 <=18.1.0, but memory-lancedb-pro@1.0.32 does not declare it in its own dependencies. As a result, the plugin can appear loaded while actual LanceDB operations fail at runtime.

Local workaround that fixed it

cd ~/.openclaw/extensions/memory-lancedb-pro
npm install apache-arrow@18.1.0
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw memory-pro stats

After installing apache-arrow@18.1.0, the plugin became functional and memory-pro stats/search/import worked.

Suggested fix

Add a compatible direct dependency, for example:

"dependencies": {
  "@lancedb/lancedb": "^0.26.2",
  "apache-arrow": "18.1.0",
  "@sinclair/typebox": "0.34.48",
  "openai": "^6.21.0"
}

Or otherwise ensure apache-arrow is installed in published packages and validated in a release smoke test.

Suggested regression test

A publish/install smoke test that runs:

openclaw plugins install memory-lancedb-pro
openclaw memory-pro stats

with a mock or local embedding backend would likely catch this.

[AliceLJY]

Hi @whilyAk3sOn — thank you so much for this incredibly thorough bug report! The detailed reproduction steps, environment info, and root cause analysis made it really easy to understand exactly what went wrong. We really appreciate you taking the time to write this up so clearly.

You're absolutely right — this is a packaging oversight on our end. apache-arrow should have been declared as a direct runtime dependency, and we missed it. That's on us, and I'm sorry for the trouble it caused.

The great news is that your PR #301 addresses this directly, and we'll get it reviewed and merged as soon as possible.

For anyone else hitting this in the meantime, the workaround @whilyAk3sOn described works well:

cd ~/.openclaw/extensions/memory-lancedb-pro
npm install apache-arrow@18.1.0
openclaw gateway restart

Your suggestion about adding a publish/install smoke test is also a really good idea — that would help us catch this kind of thing before it reaches users. We'll look into adding that to our release process.

Thanks again for both the report and the fix. This kind of contribution means a lot to us! 🙏