diff --git a/src/config/io.ts b/src/config/io.ts
index 1876d74dbb3..5c7fbe66890 100644
--- a/src/config/io.ts
+++ b/src/config/io.ts
@@ -1240,11 +1240,54 @@ export function createConfigIO(
           err,
         )}`,
       );
+      return configRaw;
     }
 
     return stripped;
   }
 
+  function ensureShippedPluginInstallConfigRecordsMigratedForWrite(
+    snapshot: ConfigFileSnapshot,
+  ): void {
+    const installRecords = {
+      ...extractShippedPluginInstallConfigRecords(snapshot.sourceConfig),
+      ...extractShippedPluginInstallConfigRecords(snapshot.parsed),
+    };
+    if (Object.keys(installRecords).length === 0) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const stateDir = resolveStateDir(deps.env, deps.homedir);
+    const existingRecords = loadInstalledPluginIndexInstallRecordsSync({
+      env: deps.env,
+      stateDir,
+    });
+    if (Object.keys(installRecords).every((pluginId) => pluginId in existingRecords)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    try {
+      writePersistedInstalledPluginIndexInstallRecordsSync(
+        {
+          ...installRecords,
+          ...existingRecords,
+        },
+        {
+          config: coerceConfig(stripShippedPluginInstallConfigRecords(snapshot.sourceConfig)),
+          env: deps.env,
+          stateDir,
+        },
+      );
+    } catch (err) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Config write blocked: shipped plugins.installs records in ${configPath} could not be migrated into the plugin index. Fix state directory permissions or run openclaw plugins registry --refresh, then retry. ${formatErrorMessage(
+          err,
+        )}`,
+        { cause: err },
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
   function loadConfig(): OpenClawConfig {
     try {
       maybeLoadDotEnvForConfig(deps.env);
@@ -1677,6 +1720,7 @@ export function createConfigIO(
     const unsetPaths = resolveManagedUnsetPathsForWrite(options.unsetPaths);
     let persistCandidate: unknown = cfg;
     const snapshot = options.baseSnapshot ?? (await readConfigFileSnapshotInternal()).snapshot;
+    ensureShippedPluginInstallConfigRecordsMigratedForWrite(snapshot);
     let envRefMap: Map<string, string> | null = null;
     let changedPaths: Set<string> | null = null;
     if (snapshot.valid && snapshot.exists) {
diff --git a/src/config/io.write-config.test.ts b/src/config/io.write-config.test.ts
index 35aaee5a74c..31963adf9af 100644
--- a/src/config/io.write-config.test.ts
+++ b/src/config/io.write-config.test.ts
@@ -185,6 +185,51 @@ describe("config io write", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("keeps shipped plugin install config records when index migration fails", async () => {
+    await withSuiteHome(async (home) => {
+      const configPath = path.join(home, ".openclaw", "openclaw.json");
+      const unwritableStatePath = path.join(home, ".openclaw");
+      const pluginDir = path.join(unwritableStatePath, "plugins", "demo");
+      const original = {
+        plugins: {
+          entries: { demo: { enabled: true } },
+          installs: {
+            demo: {
+              source: "npm",
+              spec: "demo@1.0.0",
+              installPath: pluginDir,
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      };
+      await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(configPath), { recursive: true });
+      await fs.writeFile(configPath, `${JSON.stringify(original, null, 2)}\n`, "utf-8");
+      const warn = vi.fn();
+      const io = createConfigIO({
+        env: { OPENCLAW_TEST_FAST: "1" } as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+        homedir: () => home,
+        logger: { warn, error: vi.fn() },
+      });
+      await fs.writeFile(path.join(unwritableStatePath, "plugins"), "not a directory", "utf-8");
+
+      expect(() => io.loadConfig()).toThrow('Unrecognized key: "installs"');
+      expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.stringContaining("could not migrate shipped plugins.installs records"),
+      );
+
+      await expect(io.writeConfigFile({ gateway: { mode: "local" } })).rejects.toThrow(
+        "Config write blocked: shipped plugins.installs records",
+      );
+
+      const persisted = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(configPath, "utf-8")) as typeof original;
+      expect(persisted.plugins.installs.demo).toMatchObject({
+        source: "npm",
+        spec: "demo@1.0.0",
+        installPath: pluginDir,
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
   const writeGatewayPortAndReadConfig = async (home: string, configPath: string) => {
     const io = createFastConfigIO(home);