diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 2cf420bf540..8af76b91fb6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - QQBot/cron: guard against undefined `event.content` in `parseFaceTags` and `filterInternalMarkers` so cron-triggered agent turns with no content payload no longer crash with `TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'startsWith')`. (#66302) Thanks @xinmotlanthua.
 - CLI/plugins: stop `--dangerously-force-unsafe-install` plugin installs from falling back to hook-pack installs after security scan failures, while still preserving non-security fallback behavior for real hook packs. (#58909) Thanks @hxy91819.
 - Claude CLI/sessions: classify `No conversation found with session ID` as `session_expired` so expired CLI-backed conversations clear the stale binding and recover on the next turn. (#65028) thanks @Ivan-Fn.
+- Context Engine: gracefully fall back to the legacy engine when a third-party context engine plugin fails at resolution time (unregistered id, factory throw, or contract violation), preventing a full gateway outage on every channel. (#66887) Thanks @openperf.
 
 ## 2026.4.14
 
diff --git a/src/context-engine/context-engine.test.ts b/src/context-engine/context-engine.test.ts
index 2a47755ce84..d99ade872f1 100644
--- a/src/context-engine/context-engine.test.ts
+++ b/src/context-engine/context-engine.test.ts
@@ -725,23 +725,53 @@ describe("Invalid engine fallback", () => {
 
   it("throws when the default engine itself is not registered", async () => {
     // Access the process-global registry via the well-known symbol and clear it
-    // so even the default engine is missing.
+    // so even the default engine is missing. The symbol key must match the
+    // private CONTEXT_ENGINE_REGISTRY_STATE constant in registry.ts — guard
+    // against a silent key mismatch so a rename surfaces loudly.
     const registryState = (globalThis as Record<symbol, unknown>)[
       Symbol.for("openclaw.contextEngineRegistryState")
-    ] as { engines: Map<string, unknown> };
-    const snapshot = new Map(registryState.engines);
-    registryState.engines.clear();
+    ] as { engines: Map<string, unknown> } | undefined;
+    expect(registryState).toBeDefined();
+    const snapshot = new Map(registryState!.engines);
+    registryState!.engines.clear();
 
     try {
       await expect(resolveContextEngine()).rejects.toThrow("not registered");
     } finally {
-      // Restore so other tests are not affected.
       for (const [key, value] of snapshot) {
-        registryState.engines.set(key, value);
+        registryState!.engines.set(key, value);
       }
     }
   });
 
+  it("propagates error when default engine factory throws", async () => {
+    // Override the default "legacy" engine with a throwing factory via the
+    // core-owner path so the registration is accepted.
+    registerContextEngineForOwner(
+      "legacy",
+      () => {
+        throw new Error("default engine init failed");
+      },
+      "core",
+      { allowSameOwnerRefresh: true },
+    );
+
+    await expect(resolveContextEngine()).rejects.toThrow("default engine init failed");
+  });
+
+  it("propagates error when default engine fails contract validation", async () => {
+    registerContextEngineForOwner(
+      "legacy",
+      () => ({ broken: true }) as unknown as ContextEngine,
+      "core",
+      { allowSameOwnerRefresh: true },
+    );
+
+    await expect(resolveContextEngine()).rejects.toThrow(
+      'Context engine "legacy" factory returned an invalid ContextEngine',
+    );
+  });
+
   it("falls back to default engine when factory throws", async () => {
     const engineId = `factory-throw-${Date.now().toString(36)}`;
     registerContextEngine(engineId, () => {
@@ -824,6 +854,20 @@ describe("Invalid engine fallback", () => {
       expect.stringContaining("missing assemble(), missing compact()"),
     );
   });
+
+  it("falls back to default engine when contract validation itself throws", async () => {
+    const engineId = `validation-throw-${Date.now().toString(36)}`;
+    // BigInt cannot be JSON.stringify'd — triggers a throw inside
+    // describeResolvedContextEngineContractError when the factory returns
+    // a non-object value that passes the typeof !== "object" branch.
+    registerContextEngine(engineId, () => 42n as unknown as ContextEngine);
+
+    const engine = await resolveContextEngine(configWithSlot(engineId));
+    expect(engine.info.id).toBe("legacy");
+    expect(console.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining("contract validation threw"),
+    );
+  });
 });
 
 // ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
diff --git a/src/context-engine/registry.ts b/src/context-engine/registry.ts
index 47b2d4074e6..4979dfdfb69 100644
--- a/src/context-engine/registry.ts
+++ b/src/context-engine/registry.ts
@@ -494,13 +494,27 @@ export async function resolveContextEngine(config?: OpenClawConfig): Promise<Con
     return resolveDefaultContextEngine(defaultEngineId);
   }
 
-  const contractError = describeResolvedContextEngineContractError(engineId, engine);
+  let contractError: string | null;
+  try {
+    contractError = describeResolvedContextEngineContractError(engineId, engine);
+  } catch (validationError) {
+    if (isDefaultEngine) {
+      throw validationError;
+    }
+    console.error(
+      `[context-engine] Context engine "${sanitizeForLog(engineId)}" contract validation threw: ` +
+        `${sanitizeForLog(validationError instanceof Error ? validationError.message : String(validationError))}; ` +
+        `falling back to default engine "${defaultEngineId}".`,
+    );
+    return resolveDefaultContextEngine(defaultEngineId);
+  }
   if (contractError) {
     if (isDefaultEngine) {
       throw new Error(contractError);
     }
+    // contractError includes engineId from plugin config; sanitizeForLog covers it
     console.error(
-      `[context-engine] ${sanitizeForLog(contractError)} Falling back to default engine "${defaultEngineId}".`,
+      `[context-engine] ${sanitizeForLog(contractError)}; falling back to default engine "${defaultEngineId}".`,
     );
     return resolveDefaultContextEngine(defaultEngineId);
   }
@@ -518,14 +532,14 @@ async function resolveDefaultContextEngine(defaultEngineId: string): Promise<Con
   const defaultEntry = getContextEngineRegistryState().engines.get(defaultEngineId);
   if (!defaultEntry) {
     throw new Error(
-      `Context engine fallback failed: default engine "${defaultEngineId}" is not registered. ` +
+      `[context-engine] fallback failed: default engine "${defaultEngineId}" is not registered. ` +
         `Available engines: ${listContextEngineIds().join(", ") || "(none)"}`,
     );
   }
   const engine = await defaultEntry.factory();
   const contractError = describeResolvedContextEngineContractError(defaultEngineId, engine);
   if (contractError) {
-    throw new Error(contractError);
+    throw new Error(`[context-engine] ${contractError}`);
   }
   return wrapContextEngineWithSessionKeyCompat(engine);
 }