diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index df5a997b8a8..00c755f0b09 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Sessions: honor configured `session.maintenance` settings during load-time maintenance instead of falling back to default entry caps. Fixes #71356. Thanks @comolago.
 - Browser/sandbox: pass the resolved `browser.ssrfPolicy` into sandbox browser bridges and refresh cached bridges when the effective policy changes, so sandboxed browser navigation honors private-network opt-ins. Fixes #45153 and #57055. Thanks @jzakirov, @zuoanCo, and @kybrcore.
 - Browser/proxy: keep Gateway/provider proxy environment variables from proxying the OpenClaw-managed browser, so `HTTP_PROXY` and `HTTPS_PROXY` no longer block ordinary browser navigation. Fixes #71358. Thanks @Sanjays2402.
 - Dashboard/Windows: open Control UI and OAuth URLs through the system URL handler without `cmd.exe` parsing or PATH-based `rundll32` lookup, and reject non-HTTP browser-open inputs. Fixes #71098. Thanks @Sanjays2402.
diff --git a/src/config/sessions/store-load.ts b/src/config/sessions/store-load.ts
index 2543467c5c9..f4db2c41210 100644
--- a/src/config/sessions/store-load.ts
+++ b/src/config/sessions/store-load.ts
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ import {
   setSerializedSessionStore,
   writeSessionStoreCache,
 } from "./store-cache.js";
+import { resolveMaintenanceConfig } from "./store-maintenance-runtime.js";
 import {
   capEntryCount,
   pruneStaleEntries,
-  resolveMaintenanceConfigFromInput,
   type ResolvedSessionMaintenanceConfig,
 } from "./store-maintenance.js";
 import { applySessionStoreMigrations } from "./store-migrations.js";
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ export function loadSessionStore(
 
   applySessionStoreMigrations(store);
   normalizeSessionStore(store);
-  const maintenance = opts.maintenanceConfig ?? resolveMaintenanceConfigFromInput();
+  const maintenance = opts.maintenanceConfig ?? resolveMaintenanceConfig();
   if (maintenance.mode === "enforce" && Object.keys(store).length > maintenance.maxEntries) {
     const beforeCount = Object.keys(store).length;
     const pruned = pruneStaleEntries(store, maintenance.pruneAfterMs, { log: false });
diff --git a/src/config/sessions/store.pruning.integration.test.ts b/src/config/sessions/store.pruning.integration.test.ts
index e3714098aef..3cee16a963c 100644
--- a/src/config/sessions/store.pruning.integration.test.ts
+++ b/src/config/sessions/store.pruning.integration.test.ts
@@ -287,6 +287,55 @@ describe("Integration: saveSessionStore with pruning", () => {
     expect(loaded.newest).toBeDefined();
   });
 
+  it("loadSessionStore honors configured maxEntries without an explicit override", async () => {
+    mockLoadConfig.mockReturnValue({
+      session: {
+        maintenance: {
+          mode: "enforce",
+          pruneAfter: "365d",
+          maxEntries: 1000,
+          rotateBytes: 10_485_760,
+        },
+      },
+    });
+
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const store = Object.fromEntries(
+      Array.from({ length: 501 }, (_, index) => [`session-${index}`, makeEntry(now - index)]),
+    );
+    await fs.writeFile(storePath, JSON.stringify(store), "utf-8");
+
+    const loaded = loadSessionStore(storePath, { skipCache: true });
+
+    expect(Object.keys(loaded)).toHaveLength(501);
+  });
+
+  it("loadSessionStore honors configured warn mode without an explicit override", async () => {
+    mockLoadConfig.mockReturnValue({
+      session: {
+        maintenance: {
+          mode: "warn",
+          pruneAfter: "365d",
+          maxEntries: 1,
+          rotateBytes: 10_485_760,
+        },
+      },
+    });
+
+    const now = Date.now();
+    const store: Record<string, SessionEntry> = {
+      oldest: makeEntry(now - DAY_MS),
+      newest: makeEntry(now),
+    };
+    await fs.writeFile(storePath, JSON.stringify(store), "utf-8");
+
+    const loaded = loadSessionStore(storePath, { skipCache: true });
+
+    expect(Object.keys(loaded)).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(loaded.oldest).toBeDefined();
+    expect(loaded.newest).toBeDefined();
+  });
+
   it("archives transcript files for entries evicted by maxEntries capping", async () => {
     applyCappedMaintenanceConfig(mockLoadConfig);