install writes MCP config to wrong key path for OpenClaw (mcpServers vs mcp.servers) — server never loads

[DerekEXS]

Summary

codebase-memory-mcp install writes the MCP server config to the wrong JSON key path for OpenClaw, so OpenClaw never loads the server. The config lands at the top-level mcpServers key, but OpenClaw's config schema expects it nested under mcp.servers.

Environment

• codebase-memory-mcp: installed via install (standard build, stdio transport)
• OpenClaw: 2026.6.10 (config schema McpConfigSchema expects mcp.servers)
• OS: Linux

Root cause

In src/cli/cli.c:

• install_editor_agent_configs (around line 3233) routes OpenClaw through install_generic_agent_config(..., cbm_install_editor_mcp).
• cbm_install_editor_mcp (line 789) writes the server entry under the top-level mcpServers key (lines 815-818):

/* Get or create mcpServers object */
yyjson_mut_val *servers = yyjson_mut_obj_get(root, "mcpServers");
...
yyjson_mut_obj_add_val(mdoc, root, "mcpServers", servers);

This mcpServers (camelCase, top-level) shape is correct for Cursor / Windsurf / Gemini / VS Code / Zed / KiloCode, which is why cbm_install_editor_mcp is shared across them. But OpenClaw's schema reads mcp.servers (dotted/nested), not top-level mcpServers. So the written entry is silently ignored.

Observed behavior

After running install with OpenClaw detected:

• Install reports: OpenClaw: mcp: ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
• But ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json only gains a top-level mcpServers object.
• openclaw mcp list does NOT list codebase-memory-mcp.
• openclaw mcp probe reports 0 tools from the server.
• The MCP server is effectively not installed for OpenClaw.

Expected behavior

For OpenClaw, the install should write the nested form:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "codebase-memory-mcp": {
        "enabled": true,
        "command": "<binary_path>",
        "args": []
      }
    }
  }
}

OpenClaw's mcp.servers entries use command + args (stdio) or url + transport (http), with an optional enabled flag — not the flat mcpServers map.

Suggested fix

Give OpenClaw its own install path (similar to how Codex/Aider get section-based configs) instead of reusing cbm_install_editor_mcp. Either:

1. Add a dedicated cbm_install_openclaw_mcp that writes the nested mcp.servers shape, and route OpenClaw to it in install_editor_agent_configs; or
2. Make cbm_install_editor_mcp schema-aware per agent (pass the target key path as a parameter).

The uninstall path (uninstall_agent_mcp_instr for OpenClaw, around line 3711) likely has the mirror issue and should be checked together.

Workaround

Manually inject the nested entry (e.g. with jq) and restart the OpenClaw gateway:

jq '.mcp.servers["codebase-memory-mcp"] = {
  "enabled": true,
  "command": "<binary_path>",
  "args": []
}' ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json > /tmp/oc.json.new && mv /tmp/oc.json.new ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

After restart, openclaw mcp probe correctly reports codebase-memory-mcp: 14 tools.

Additional context

• OpenClaw and the editor agents (Cursor et al.) genuinely use different config schemas, so sharing cbm_install_editor_mcp across all of them is the underlying mismatch.
• The same top-level mcpServers write is fine for the other editors; only OpenClaw is affected.