docs: improve music generation docs

Author: steipete

docs/help/testing.md

@@ -422,6 +422,19 @@ If you want to rely on env keys (e.g. exported in your `~/.profile`), run local
 - Optional auth behavior:
   - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_REQUIRE_PROFILE_KEYS=1` to force profile-store auth and ignore env-only overrides
 
+## Music generation live
+
+- Test: `extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.ts`
+- Enable: `OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 pnpm test:live -- extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.ts`
+- Scope:
+  - Exercises the shared bundled music-generation provider path
+  - Currently covers Google and MiniMax
+  - Loads provider env vars from your login shell (`~/.profile`) before probing
+  - Skips providers with no usable auth/profile/model
+- Optional narrowing:
+  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MUSIC_GENERATION_PROVIDERS="google,minimax"`
+  - `OPENCLAW_LIVE_MUSIC_GENERATION_MODELS="google/lyria-3-clip-preview,minimax/music-2.5+"`
+
 ## Docker runners (optional "works in Linux" checks)
 
 These Docker runners split into two buckets:

docs/tools/index.md

@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ Plugins can register additional tools. Some examples:
 
 - [Lobster](/tools/lobster) — typed workflow runtime with resumable approvals
 - [LLM Task](/tools/llm-task) — JSON-only LLM step for structured output
-- [Music Generation](/tools/music-generation) — plugin-provided `music_generate` tool surfaces
+- [Music Generation](/tools/music-generation) — shared `music_generate` tool plus plugin-provided workflow variants
 - [Diffs](/tools/diffs) — diff viewer and renderer
 - [OpenProse](/prose) — markdown-first workflow orchestration
 

docs/tools/music-generation.md

@@ -56,6 +56,16 @@ For direct synchronous contexts without a session-backed agent run, the built-in
 tool still falls back to inline generation and returns the final media path in
 the tool result.
 
+Example prompts:
+
+```text
+Generate a cinematic piano track with soft strings and no vocals.
+```
+
+```text
+Generate an energetic chiptune loop about launching a rocket at sunrise.
+```
+
 ### Workflow-driven plugin generation
 
 The bundled `comfy` plugin can also provide `music_generate` using a
@@ -92,13 +102,25 @@ runtime:
 /tool music_generate action=list
 ```
 
+Use `action: "status"` to inspect the active session-backed music task:
+
+```text
+/tool music_generate action=status
+```
+
+Direct generation example:
+
+```text
+/tool music_generate prompt="Dreamy lo-fi hip hop with vinyl texture and gentle rain" instrumental=true
+```
+
 ## Built-in tool parameters
 
 | Parameter         | Type     | Description                                                                                       |
 | ----------------- | -------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | `prompt`          | string   | Music generation prompt (required for `action: "generate"`)                                       |
 | `action`          | string   | `"generate"` (default), `"status"` for the current session task, or `"list"` to inspect providers |
-| `model`           | string   | Provider/model override, e.g. `google/lyria-3-pro-preview` or `comfy/workflow`                   |
+| `model`           | string   | Provider/model override, e.g. `google/lyria-3-pro-preview` or `comfy/workflow`                    |
 | `lyrics`          | string   | Optional lyrics when the provider supports explicit lyric input                                   |
 | `instrumental`    | boolean  | Request instrumental-only output when the provider supports it                                    |
 | `image`           | string   | Single reference image path or URL                                                                |
@@ -161,6 +183,12 @@ error includes details from each attempt.
 - ComfyUI support is workflow-driven and depends on the configured graph plus
   node mapping for prompt/output fields.
 
+## Choosing the right path
+
+- Use the shared provider-backed path when you want model selection, provider failover, and the built-in async task/status flow.
+- Use a plugin path such as ComfyUI when you need a custom workflow graph or a provider that is not part of the shared bundled music capability.
+- If you are debugging ComfyUI-specific behavior, see [ComfyUI](/providers/comfy). If you are debugging shared provider behavior, start with [Google (Gemini)](/providers/google) or [MiniMax](/providers/minimax).
+
 ## Live tests
 
 Opt-in live coverage for the shared bundled providers: