OpenClaw 2026.3.28 Update: Plugin approval mechanism launched, integration of XAI Grok search, released on the eve of Tokyo ClawCon.

OpenClaw releases the 2026.3.28 version, rolling out several key features on the eve of the ClawCon in Tokyo. These include a plug-in mechanism that gives users approval control over AI tool calls, integration with the xAI Responses API, and stability fixes across multiple messaging platforms.

Four major highlights

Plugin Approval Hooks

This is the most community-discussed feature in this update. By adding requireApproval to

before_tool_call

hooks, any plug-in can pause before the AI executes a tool call to ask for user confirmation—supporting approvals via exec approval layers, Telegram buttons, Discord interactions, or the /approve command. This enables a manual review checkpoint for every step of an AI agent’s actions, significantly improving the safety of important operations.

xAI Responses API and x_search integration

OpenClaw moves the xAI provider to the Responses API and adds first-class

x_search

(X platform search) support, while automatically enabling the xAI plug-ins—so Grok’s authentication and search workflow can be used directly without manually configuring a plug-in toggle switch.

Discord, iMessage ACP binding

Add current-conversation ACP bindings for Discord, BlueBubbles, and iMessage, so that

/acp spawn codex --bind here

can directly turn the ongoing chat into a Codex workspace without needing to open another subprocess thread.

Stability fixes

Fixes the WhatsApp echo loop (message echo) issue

Fixes abnormal Telegram message splitting (message splitting)

Fixes Discord disconnect-and-reconnect issues

On the eve of Tokyo ClawCon

This update is marked as “Tokyo pre-ClawCon drop,” indicating that the OpenClaw team has specially released this version before traveling to Tokyo to attend a community meetup. At present, OpenClaw has accumulated 339K stars on GitHub and 71 contributors.

This article OpenClaw 2026.3.28 update: plug-in approval mechanism goes live, integrates xAI Grok search, released on the eve of Tokyo ClawCon first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.