{"slug": "openclaw-is-getting-faster-smaller-and-easier-to-trust", "title": "OpenClaw Is Getting Faster, Smaller, and Easier to Trust", "summary": "OpenClaw's latest release, version 5.28, achieved a 5.1x speed increase in agent turns and reduced its published tarball size by 59% to 17.9 MB, while also cutting fresh install size by 52.8%. The performance gains came from moving heavy plugin dependencies like Bedrock and Slack out of the core package, reducing npm audit surface and native package surprises. The update marks a strategic shift to keep the core lean by making optional capabilities explicit plugins, with full methodology available in the project's technical report.", "body_md": "OpenClaw has been getting faster and smaller at the same time. The performance work is visible in agent turns. The dependency work is quieter, but it cuts npm size, install size, audit surface, and native package surprises.\n\nThe package grew while OpenClaw gained channels, providers, media, memory, and plugin SDK surface. Then we started moving heavier plugin dependency cones out of core. The full release rows and caveats live in the [technical report](https://docs.openclaw.ai/reference/release-performance-sweep).\n\n**5.1x faster**\n\n`v2026.4.14`\n\n**9.8s**`v2026.5.28`\n\n**1.9s**\n\n**4.0x faster**\n\n`v2026.4.14`\n\n**7.5s**`v2026.5.28`\n\n**1.9s**\n\n**15% lower**\n\n`v2026.4.14`\n\n**686 MB**`v2026.5.28`\n\n**581 MB**\n\n**59% smaller**\n\n`2026.3.31`\n\n**43.3 MB**`2026.5.28`\n\n**17.9 MB**\n\n**300**\n\nLatest release, down 19% from 5.27 in the same fresh-install audit.\n\nDown 53% from the monthly high.\n\n**smaller**\n\n5.28 cuts nested `openclaw/node_modules`\n\nfrom 656.1 MiB to 259.7 MiB in the local audit.\n\nStill not fully gone.\n\n**9,082**\n\nDown 27% from 5.27 because 5.28 no longer ships the internal `dist/plugin-sdk/src/**`\n\ndeclaration mirror.\n\n**More product, larger package**\n\nThe npm package grew from 82.9 MB unpacked to 182.6 MB unpacked while the surface area expanded.\n\n**Plugin extraction becomes visible**\n\nBedrock, Slack, OpenShell, Anthropic Vertex, Matrix, and WhatsApp move out of the core dependency path.\n\n**Shrinkwrap exposed bad package shape**\n\nnpm materialized a large nested tree with every canvas platform package.\n\n**Latest release: faster turns, much smaller installs**\n\n17.9 MB published tarball, 300 installed package roots, and a 361.7 MiB fresh install in the local audit.\n\nCompared with 5.27: cold turns down 14.5%, warm turns down 16.0%, install size down 52.8%.\n\nThe direction is simple: keep core small, move optional capabilities into plugins, make dependency ownership explicit, and measure the user-visible effects. The 5.27 and 5.28 performance rows are repeat-3 mock-provider workflow runs from release branches; the install row is a fresh local npm install with scripts disabled. Useful for spotting large shifts, not for pretending every millisecond is a benchmark law.\n\nFor methodology, caveats, per-release rows, and the shrinkwrap boundary audit, read the [technical report](https://docs.openclaw.ai/reference/release-performance-sweep).\n\nGrowth, here, looks more like molting than adding.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openclaw-is-getting-faster-smaller-and-easier-to-trust", "canonical_source": "https://openclaw.ai/blog/lighter-core-sharper-claws/", "published_at": "2026-05-28 00:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-05 20:18:10.795048+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "ai-tools", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-products"], "entities": ["OpenClaw", "Bedrock", "Slack", "OpenShell", "Anthropic Vertex", "Matrix", "WhatsApp"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openclaw-is-getting-faster-smaller-and-easier-to-trust", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openclaw-is-getting-faster-smaller-and-easier-to-trust.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openclaw-is-getting-faster-smaller-and-easier-to-trust.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openclaw-is-getting-faster-smaller-and-easier-to-trust.jsonld"}}