fix(config): exempt known channel ids from plugins.allow stale warning (#76872)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -249,6 +249,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Channels/Telegram: require an observed Telegram send, edit, or fallback before treating a forum-topic final as delivered, so final replies generated in transcript no longer disappear from Telegram topics. Fixes #76554. (#76764) Thanks @bubucilo and @obviyus.
 - Plugins/update: keep externalized bundled npm bridge updates on the normal plugin security scanner path instead of granting source-linked official trust without artifact provenance. (#76765) Thanks @Lucenx9.
 - Agents/reply context: label replied-to messages as the current user message target in model-visible metadata, so short replies are grounded to their explicit reply target instead of nearby chat history. (#76817) Thanks @obviyus.
+- Config/validation: skip the `plugin not found` warning for `plugins.allow` entries that match a known channel id, so packaged installs where the gateway auto-enables a channel id (e.g. `discord`) without a corresponding plugin manifest no longer emit an unfixable doctor warning. Fixes #76872. Thanks @jack-stormentswe.
 
 ## 2026.5.2
 

src/config/config.plugin-validation.test.ts

@@ -467,6 +467,25 @@ describe("config plugin validation", () => {
     expect(res.warnings).not.toContainEqual(expect.objectContaining({ path: "channels.telegarm" }));
   });
 
+  it("does not warn when plugins.allow contains a known channel id without a plugin manifest (#76872)", async () => {
+    const res = validateInSuite({
+      agents: { list: [{ id: "pi" }] },
+      channels: {
+        discord: { token: "xxx" },
+      },
+      plugins: {
+        allow: ["discord"],
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(res.ok).toBe(true);
+    expect(res.warnings ?? []).not.toContainEqual({
+      path: "plugins.allow",
+      message:
+        "plugin not found: discord (stale config entry ignored; remove it from plugins config)",
+    });
+  });
+
   it("uses persisted installed-plugin records as stale channel evidence", async () => {
     const installedPluginIndexPath = path.join(suiteHome, ".openclaw", "plugins", "installs.json");
     await mkdirSafe(path.dirname(installedPluginIndexPath));

src/config/validation.ts

@@ -794,6 +794,7 @@ function validateConfigObjectWithPluginsBase(
   type RegistryInfo = {
     registry: PluginManifestRegistry;
     knownIds?: Set<string>;
+    knownChannelIds?: Set<string>;
     overriddenPluginIds?: Set<string>;
     normalizedPlugins?: ReturnType<typeof normalizePluginsConfig>;
     channelSchemas?: Map<
@@ -908,6 +909,29 @@ function validateConfigObjectWithPluginsBase(
     return info.knownIds;
   };
 
+  const ensureKnownChannelIds = (): Set<string> => {
+    const info = ensureRegistry();
+    if (!info.knownChannelIds) {
+      const ids = new Set<string>();
+      for (const channelId of CHANNEL_IDS) {
+        const normalized = normalizePluginId(channelId);
+        if (normalized) {
+          ids.add(normalized);
+        }
+      }
+      for (const plugin of info.registry.plugins) {
+        for (const channelId of plugin.channels) {
+          const normalized = normalizePluginId(channelId);
+          if (normalized) {
+            ids.add(normalized);
+          }
+        }
+      }
+      info.knownChannelIds = ids;
+    }
+    return info.knownChannelIds;
+  };
+
   const ensureOverriddenPluginIds = (): Set<string> => {
     const info = ensureRegistry();
     if (!info.overriddenPluginIds) {
@@ -1522,11 +1546,15 @@ function validateConfigObjectWithPluginsBase(
   }
 
   const allow = pluginsConfig?.allow ?? [];
+  const knownChannelIds = ensureKnownChannelIds();
   for (const pluginId of allow) {
     if (typeof pluginId !== "string" || !pluginId.trim()) {
       continue;
     }
     if (!knownIds.has(pluginId)) {
+      if (knownChannelIds.has(normalizePluginId(pluginId))) {
+        continue;
+      }
       const commandAlias = resolveManifestCommandAliasOwnerInRegistry({
         command: pluginId,
         registry,