fix: distinguish read-only plugin options

src/channels/plugins/read-only.test.ts

@@ -366,6 +366,33 @@ describe("listReadOnlyChannelPluginsForConfig", () => {
     expect(fs.existsSync(fullMarker)).toBe(false);
   });
 
+  it("treats process env maps with option-like keys as env maps", () => {
+    const { pluginDir, fullMarker, setupMarker } = writeExternalSetupChannelPlugin({
+      pluginId: "external-chat-plugin",
+      channelId: "external-chat",
+    });
+    const plugins = listReadOnlyChannelPluginsForConfig(
+      {
+        plugins: {
+          load: { paths: [pluginDir] },
+          allow: ["external-chat-plugin"],
+        },
+      } as never,
+      {
+        ...process.env,
+        cache: "true",
+        env: "prod",
+        EXTERNAL_CHAT_TOKEN: "configured",
+        workspaceDir: "workspace-env-value",
+      } as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+    );
+
+    const plugin = plugins.find((entry) => entry.id === "external-chat");
+    expect(plugin?.meta.blurb).toBe("setup entry");
+    expect(fs.existsSync(setupMarker)).toBe(true);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(fullMarker)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
   it("discovers trusted external channel plugins from the default agent workspace", () => {
     const workspaceDir = makeTempDir();
     const pluginDir = path.join(workspaceDir, ".openclaw", "extensions", "external-chat-plugin");

src/channels/plugins/read-only.ts

@@ -27,22 +27,59 @@ type ReadOnlyChannelPluginResolution = {
   missingConfiguredChannelIds: string[];
 };
 
+const READ_ONLY_CHANNEL_PLUGIN_OPTION_KEYS = new Set([
+  "env",
+  "workspaceDir",
+  "activationSourceConfig",
+  "includePersistedAuthState",
+  "cache",
+]);
+
+function hasOwnRecordKey(record: Record<string, unknown>, key: string): boolean {
+  return Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(record, key);
+}
+
+function isRecordLike(value: unknown): value is Record<string, unknown> {
+  return typeof value === "object" && value !== null;
+}
+
+function isReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions(
+  value: NodeJS.ProcessEnv | ReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions,
+): value is ReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions {
+  const record = value as Record<string, unknown>;
+  if (hasOwnRecordKey(record, "env")) {
+    return record.env === undefined || isRecordLike(record.env);
+  }
+  if (hasOwnRecordKey(record, "activationSourceConfig")) {
+    return (
+      record.activationSourceConfig === undefined || isRecordLike(record.activationSourceConfig)
+    );
+  }
+  if (hasOwnRecordKey(record, "includePersistedAuthState")) {
+    return (
+      record.includePersistedAuthState === undefined ||
+      typeof record.includePersistedAuthState === "boolean"
+    );
+  }
+  if (hasOwnRecordKey(record, "cache")) {
+    return record.cache === undefined || typeof record.cache === "boolean";
+  }
+  if (hasOwnRecordKey(record, "workspaceDir")) {
+    return Object.keys(record).every((key) => READ_ONLY_CHANNEL_PLUGIN_OPTION_KEYS.has(key));
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 function resolveReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions(
   envOrOptions?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv | ReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions,
 ): ReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions {
   if (!envOrOptions) {
     return {};
   }
-  if (
-    "env" in envOrOptions ||
-    "workspaceDir" in envOrOptions ||
-    "activationSourceConfig" in envOrOptions ||
-    "includePersistedAuthState" in envOrOptions ||
-    "cache" in envOrOptions
-  ) {
-    return envOrOptions as ReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions;
+  if (isReadOnlyChannelPluginOptions(envOrOptions)) {
+    return envOrOptions;
   }
-  return { env: envOrOptions as NodeJS.ProcessEnv };
+  return { env: envOrOptions };
 }
 
 function addChannelPlugins(