diff --git a/src/agents/models-config.providers.auth-provenance.test.ts b/src/agents/models-config.providers.auth-provenance.test.ts
index dcfd9a10056..0ed37048836 100644
--- a/src/agents/models-config.providers.auth-provenance.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/models-config.providers.auth-provenance.test.ts
@@ -93,4 +93,34 @@ describe("models-config provider auth provenance", () => {
       profileId: "openai:default",
     });
   });
+
+  it("resolves plugin-owned synthetic auth through the provider hook", () => {
+    const auth = createProviderAuthResolver(
+      {} as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+      {
+        version: 1,
+        profiles: {},
+      },
+      {
+        plugins: {
+          entries: {
+            xai: {
+              config: {
+                webSearch: {
+                  apiKey: "xai-plugin-key",
+                },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(auth("xai")).toEqual({
+      apiKey: NON_ENV_SECRETREF_MARKER,
+      discoveryApiKey: "xai-plugin-key",
+      mode: "api_key",
+      source: "none",
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/agents/models-config.providers.secrets.ts b/src/agents/models-config.providers.secrets.ts
index c3a179fffd1..a1ed6c2e5b7 100644
--- a/src/agents/models-config.providers.secrets.ts
+++ b/src/agents/models-config.providers.secrets.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { coerceSecretRef, resolveSecretInputRef } from "../config/types.secrets.js";
-import { resolveProviderWebSearchPluginConfig } from "../plugin-sdk/provider-web-search.js";
 import { resolveProviderSyntheticAuthWithPlugin } from "../plugins/provider-runtime.js";
 import { normalizeOptionalSecretInput } from "../utils/normalize-secret-input.js";
 import { listProfilesForProvider } from "./auth-profiles/profiles.js";
@@ -439,16 +438,15 @@ function resolveConfigBackedProviderAuth(params: { provider: string; config?: Op
   // Providers own any provider-specific fallback auth logic via
   // resolveSyntheticAuth(...). Discovery/bootstrap callers may consume
   // non-secret markers from source config, but must never persist plaintext.
-  const synthetic =
-    resolveProviderSyntheticAuthWithPlugin({
-      provider: params.provider,
+  const synthetic = resolveProviderSyntheticAuthWithPlugin({
+    provider: params.provider,
+    config: params.config,
+    context: {
       config: params.config,
-      context: {
-        config: params.config,
-        provider: params.provider,
-        providerConfig: params.config?.models?.providers?.[params.provider],
-      },
-    }) ?? resolveXaiConfigFallbackAuth(params);
+      provider: params.provider,
+      providerConfig: params.config?.models?.providers?.[params.provider],
+    },
+  });
   const apiKey = synthetic?.apiKey?.trim();
   if (!apiKey) {
     return undefined;
@@ -467,74 +465,3 @@ function resolveConfigBackedProviderAuth(params: { provider: string; config?: Op
         source: "config",
       };
 }
-
-function resolveXaiConfigFallbackAuth(params: { provider: string; config?: OpenClawConfig }):
-  | {
-      apiKey: string;
-      source: string;
-      mode: "api-key";
-    }
-  | undefined {
-  if (params.provider.trim().toLowerCase() !== "xai") {
-    return undefined;
-  }
-  const xaiPluginEntry = params.config?.plugins?.entries?.xai;
-  if (xaiPluginEntry?.enabled === false) {
-    return undefined;
-  }
-  const pluginApiKey = normalizeOptionalSecretInput(
-    resolveProviderWebSearchPluginConfig(
-      params.config as Record<string, unknown> | undefined,
-      "xai",
-    )?.apiKey,
-  );
-  if (pluginApiKey) {
-    return {
-      apiKey: pluginApiKey,
-      source: "plugins.entries.xai.config.webSearch.apiKey",
-      mode: "api-key",
-    };
-  }
-  const pluginApiKeyRef = coerceSecretRef(
-    resolveProviderWebSearchPluginConfig(
-      params.config as Record<string, unknown> | undefined,
-      "xai",
-    )?.apiKey,
-  );
-  if (pluginApiKeyRef) {
-    return {
-      apiKey:
-        pluginApiKeyRef.source === "env"
-          ? pluginApiKeyRef.id.trim()
-          : resolveNonEnvSecretRefApiKeyMarker(pluginApiKeyRef.source),
-      source: "plugins.entries.xai.config.webSearch.apiKey",
-      mode: "api-key",
-    };
-  }
-  const legacyGrokApiKey = normalizeOptionalSecretInput(
-    (params.config?.tools?.web?.search as { grok?: { apiKey?: unknown } } | undefined | null)?.grok
-      ?.apiKey,
-  );
-  if (legacyGrokApiKey) {
-    return {
-      apiKey: legacyGrokApiKey,
-      source: "tools.web.search.grok.apiKey",
-      mode: "api-key",
-    };
-  }
-  const legacyGrokApiKeyRef = coerceSecretRef(
-    (params.config?.tools?.web?.search as { grok?: { apiKey?: unknown } } | undefined | null)?.grok
-      ?.apiKey,
-  );
-  if (legacyGrokApiKeyRef) {
-    return {
-      apiKey:
-        legacyGrokApiKeyRef.source === "env"
-          ? legacyGrokApiKeyRef.id.trim()
-          : resolveNonEnvSecretRefApiKeyMarker(legacyGrokApiKeyRef.source),
-      source: "tools.web.search.grok.apiKey",
-      mode: "api-key",
-    };
-  }
-  return undefined;
-}
diff --git a/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.providers.test.ts b/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.providers.test.ts
index fe92a6e9780..f4208a9a787 100644
--- a/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.providers.test.ts
+++ b/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.providers.test.ts
@@ -209,6 +209,44 @@ describe("applyPluginAutoEnable providers", () => {
     expect(result.changes).toContain("acme web search configured, enabled automatically.");
   });
 
+  it("auto-enables third-party plugins when manifest-owned tool config exists", () => {
+    const result = applyPluginAutoEnable({
+      config: {
+        plugins: {
+          entries: {
+            acme: {
+              config: {
+                acmeTool: {
+                  enabled: true,
+                },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+      env: makeIsolatedEnv(),
+      manifestRegistry: makeRegistry([
+        {
+          id: "acme",
+          channels: [],
+          contracts: {
+            tools: ["acme_tool"],
+          },
+          configSchema: {
+            type: "object",
+            properties: {
+              webSearch: { type: "object" },
+              acmeTool: { type: "object" },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      ]),
+    });
+
+    expect(result.config.plugins?.entries?.acme?.enabled).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.changes).toContain("acme tool configured, enabled automatically.");
+  });
+
   it("auto-enables acpx plugin when ACP is configured", () => {
     const result = applyPluginAutoEnable({
       config: {
diff --git a/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.shared.ts b/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.shared.ts
index add9addf594..d6ef4079cd6 100644
--- a/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.shared.ts
+++ b/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.shared.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { getChatChannelMeta, normalizeChatChannelId } from "../channels/registry
 import {
   loadPluginManifestRegistry,
   resolveManifestContractOwnerPluginId,
+  type PluginManifestRecord,
   type PluginManifestRegistry,
 } from "../plugins/manifest-registry.js";
 import { resolveOwningPluginIdsForModelRef } from "../plugins/providers.js";
@@ -178,40 +179,47 @@ function hasPluginOwnedWebFetchConfig(cfg: OpenClawConfig, pluginId: string): bo
   return isRecord(pluginConfig) && isRecord(pluginConfig.webFetch);
 }
 
-function hasPluginOwnedToolConfig(cfg: OpenClawConfig, pluginId: string): boolean {
-  const pluginConfig = cfg.plugins?.entries?.xai?.config;
-  const web = cfg.tools?.web as Record<string, unknown> | undefined;
-  return (
-    pluginId === "xai" &&
-    Boolean(
-      isRecord(web?.x_search) ||
-      (isRecord(pluginConfig) &&
-        (isRecord(pluginConfig.xSearch) || isRecord(pluginConfig.codeExecution))),
-    )
-  );
+function resolvePluginOwnedToolConfigKeys(plugin: PluginManifestRecord): string[] {
+  if ((plugin.contracts?.tools?.length ?? 0) === 0) {
+    return [];
+  }
+  const properties = isRecord(plugin.configSchema) ? plugin.configSchema.properties : undefined;
+  if (!isRecord(properties)) {
+    return [];
+  }
+  return Object.keys(properties).filter((key) => key !== "webSearch" && key !== "webFetch");
+}
+
+function hasPluginOwnedToolConfig(cfg: OpenClawConfig, plugin: PluginManifestRecord): boolean {
+  const pluginConfig = cfg.plugins?.entries?.[plugin.id]?.config;
+  if (!isRecord(pluginConfig)) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  return resolvePluginOwnedToolConfigKeys(plugin).some((key) => pluginConfig[key] !== undefined);
 }
 
 function resolveProviderPluginsWithOwnedWebSearch(
   registry: PluginManifestRegistry,
-): ReadonlySet<string> {
-  return new Set(
-    registry.plugins
-      .filter((plugin) => plugin.providers.length > 0)
-      .filter((plugin) => (plugin.contracts?.webSearchProviders?.length ?? 0) > 0)
-      .map((plugin) => plugin.id),
-  );
+): PluginManifestRecord[] {
+  return registry.plugins
+    .filter((plugin) => plugin.providers.length > 0)
+    .filter((plugin) => (plugin.contracts?.webSearchProviders?.length ?? 0) > 0);
 }
 
 function resolveProviderPluginsWithOwnedWebFetch(
   registry: PluginManifestRegistry,
-): ReadonlySet<string> {
-  return new Set(
-    registry.plugins
-      .filter((plugin) => (plugin.contracts?.webFetchProviders?.length ?? 0) > 0)
-      .map((plugin) => plugin.id),
+): PluginManifestRecord[] {
+  return registry.plugins.filter(
+    (plugin) => (plugin.contracts?.webFetchProviders?.length ?? 0) > 0,
   );
 }
 
+function resolvePluginsWithOwnedToolConfig(
+  registry: PluginManifestRegistry,
+): PluginManifestRecord[] {
+  return registry.plugins.filter((plugin) => (plugin.contracts?.tools?.length ?? 0) > 0);
+}
+
 function resolvePluginIdForConfiguredWebFetchProvider(
   providerId: string | undefined,
   env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
@@ -275,6 +283,15 @@ function hasConfiguredWebFetchPluginEntry(cfg: OpenClawConfig): boolean {
   );
 }
 
+function hasConfiguredPluginConfigEntry(cfg: OpenClawConfig): boolean {
+  const entries = cfg.plugins?.entries;
+  return (
+    !!entries &&
+    typeof entries === "object" &&
+    Object.values(entries).some((entry) => isRecord(entry) && isRecord(entry.config))
+  );
+}
+
 function configMayNeedPluginManifestRegistry(cfg: OpenClawConfig): boolean {
   const pluginEntries = cfg.plugins?.entries;
   if (
@@ -311,6 +328,9 @@ export function configMayNeedPluginAutoEnable(
   cfg: OpenClawConfig,
   env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
 ): boolean {
+  if (hasConfiguredPluginConfigEntry(cfg)) {
+    return true;
+  }
   if (hasPotentialConfiguredChannels(cfg, env)) {
     return true;
   }
@@ -323,12 +343,7 @@ export function configMayNeedPluginAutoEnable(
   if (collectModelRefs(cfg).length > 0) {
     return true;
   }
-  const web = cfg.tools?.web as Record<string, unknown> | undefined;
-  if (
-    isRecord(web?.x_search) ||
-    hasConfiguredWebSearchPluginEntry(cfg) ||
-    hasConfiguredWebFetchPluginEntry(cfg)
-  ) {
+  if (hasConfiguredWebSearchPluginEntry(cfg) || hasConfiguredWebFetchPluginEntry(cfg)) {
     return true;
   }
   return (
@@ -416,16 +431,22 @@ export function resolveConfiguredPluginAutoEnableCandidates(params: {
     });
   }
 
-  for (const pluginId of resolveProviderPluginsWithOwnedWebSearch(params.registry)) {
+  for (const plugin of resolveProviderPluginsWithOwnedWebSearch(params.registry)) {
+    const pluginId = plugin.id;
     if (hasPluginOwnedWebSearchConfig(params.config, pluginId)) {
       changes.push({ pluginId, kind: "plugin-web-search-configured" });
     }
-    if (hasPluginOwnedToolConfig(params.config, pluginId)) {
+  }
+
+  for (const plugin of resolvePluginsWithOwnedToolConfig(params.registry)) {
+    const pluginId = plugin.id;
+    if (hasPluginOwnedToolConfig(params.config, plugin)) {
       changes.push({ pluginId, kind: "plugin-tool-configured" });
     }
   }
 
-  for (const pluginId of resolveProviderPluginsWithOwnedWebFetch(params.registry)) {
+  for (const plugin of resolveProviderPluginsWithOwnedWebFetch(params.registry)) {
+    const pluginId = plugin.id;
     if (hasPluginOwnedWebFetchConfig(params.config, pluginId)) {
       changes.push({ pluginId, kind: "plugin-web-fetch-configured" });
     }
diff --git a/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.test-helpers.ts b/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.test-helpers.ts
index fe88f3292b3..f3e13ab1257 100644
--- a/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.test-helpers.ts
+++ b/src/config/plugin-auto-enable.test-helpers.ts
@@ -61,8 +61,9 @@ export function makeRegistry(
     channels: string[];
     autoEnableWhenConfiguredProviders?: string[];
     modelSupport?: { modelPrefixes?: string[]; modelPatterns?: string[] };
-    contracts?: { webSearchProviders?: string[]; webFetchProviders?: string[] };
+    contracts?: { webSearchProviders?: string[]; webFetchProviders?: string[]; tools?: string[] };
     providers?: string[];
+    configSchema?: Record<string, unknown>;
     channelConfigs?: Record<string, { schema: Record<string, unknown>; preferOver?: string[] }>;
   }>,
 ): PluginManifestRegistry {
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ export function makeRegistry(
       autoEnableWhenConfiguredProviders: plugin.autoEnableWhenConfiguredProviders,
       modelSupport: plugin.modelSupport,
       contracts: plugin.contracts,
+      configSchema: plugin.configSchema,
       channelConfigs: plugin.channelConfigs,
       providers: plugin.providers ?? [],
       skills: [],
diff --git a/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.test.ts b/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.test.ts
index 7f79beebbe0..bfac65315c8 100644
--- a/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.test.ts
@@ -88,6 +88,24 @@ describe("model-pricing-cache", () => {
     expect(new Set(refs).size).toBe(refs.length);
   });
 
+  it("collects manifest-owned web search plugin model refs without a hardcoded plugin list", () => {
+    const refs = collectConfiguredModelPricingRefs({
+      plugins: {
+        entries: {
+          tavily: {
+            config: {
+              webSearch: {
+                model: "tavily/search-preview",
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    } as OpenClawConfig).map((ref) => modelKey(ref.provider, ref.model));
+
+    expect(refs).toContain("tavily/search-preview");
+  });
+
   it("loads openrouter pricing and maps provider aliases, wrappers, and anthropic dotted ids", async () => {
     const config = {
       agents: {
diff --git a/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.ts b/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.ts
index 0bcd725abc6..22009c1114a 100644
--- a/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/model-pricing-cache.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import {
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { resolvePluginWebSearchConfig } from "../config/plugin-web-search-config.js";
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../logging/subsystem.js";
+import { resolveManifestContractPluginIds } from "../plugins/manifest-registry.js";
 import { normalizeProviderModelIdWithPlugin } from "../plugins/provider-runtime.js";
 import {
   clearGatewayModelPricingCacheState,
@@ -250,6 +251,23 @@ function addProviderModelPair(params: {
   params.refs.set(modelKey(normalized.provider, normalized.model), normalized);
 }
 
+function addConfiguredWebSearchPluginModels(params: {
+  config: OpenClawConfig;
+  aliasIndex: ReturnType<typeof buildModelAliasIndex>;
+  refs: Map<string, ModelRef>;
+}): void {
+  for (const pluginId of resolveManifestContractPluginIds({
+    contract: "webSearchProviders",
+    config: params.config,
+  })) {
+    addResolvedModelRef({
+      raw: resolvePluginWebSearchConfig(params.config, pluginId)?.model as string | undefined,
+      aliasIndex: params.aliasIndex,
+      refs: params.refs,
+    });
+  }
+}
+
 export function collectConfiguredModelPricingRefs(config: OpenClawConfig): ModelRef[] {
   const refs = new Map<string, ModelRef>();
   const aliasIndex = buildModelAliasIndex({
@@ -289,26 +307,7 @@ export function collectConfiguredModelPricingRefs(config: OpenClawConfig): Model
     }
   }
 
-  addResolvedModelRef({
-    raw: resolvePluginWebSearchConfig(config, "google")?.model as string | undefined,
-    aliasIndex,
-    refs,
-  });
-  addResolvedModelRef({
-    raw: resolvePluginWebSearchConfig(config, "xai")?.model as string | undefined,
-    aliasIndex,
-    refs,
-  });
-  addResolvedModelRef({
-    raw: resolvePluginWebSearchConfig(config, "moonshot")?.model as string | undefined,
-    aliasIndex,
-    refs,
-  });
-  addResolvedModelRef({
-    raw: resolvePluginWebSearchConfig(config, "perplexity")?.model as string | undefined,
-    aliasIndex,
-    refs,
-  });
+  addConfiguredWebSearchPluginModels({ config, aliasIndex, refs });
 
   for (const entry of config.tools?.media?.models ?? []) {
     addProviderModelPair({ provider: entry.provider, model: entry.model, refs });