CLI: add root --help fast path and lazy channel option resolution (#30975)

* CLI argv: add strict root help invocation guard

* Entry: add root help fast-path bootstrap bypass

* CLI context: lazily resolve channel options

* CLI context tests: cover lazy channel option resolution

* CLI argv tests: cover root help invocation detection

* Changelog: note additional startup path optimizations

* Changelog: split startup follow-up into #30975 entry

* CLI channel options: load precomputed startup metadata

* CLI channel options tests: cover precomputed metadata path

* Build: generate CLI startup metadata during build

* Build script: invoke CLI startup metadata generator

* CLI routes: preload plugins for routed health

* CLI routes tests: assert health plugin preload

* CLI: add experimental bundled entry and snapshot helper

* Tools: compare CLI startup entries in benchmark script

* Docs: add startup tuning notes for Pi and VM hosts

* CLI: drop bundled entry runtime toggle

* Build: remove bundled and snapshot scripts

* Tools: remove bundled-entry benchmark shortcut

* Docs: remove bundled startup bench examples

* Docs: remove Pi bundled entry mention

* Docs: remove VM bundled entry mention

* Changelog: remove bundled startup follow-up claims

* Build: remove snapshot helper script

* Build: remove CLI bundle tsdown config

* Doctor: add low-power startup optimization hints

* Doctor: run startup optimization hint checks

* Doctor tests: cover startup optimization host targeting

* Doctor tests: mock startup optimization note export

* CLI argv: require strict root-only help fast path

* CLI argv tests: cover mixed root-help invocations

* CLI channel options: merge metadata with runtime catalog

* CLI channel options tests: assert dynamic catalog merge

* Changelog: align #30975 startup follow-up scope

* Docs tests: remove secondary-entry startup bench note

* Docs Pi: add systemd recovery reference link

* Docs VPS: add systemd recovery reference link

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 - ACP/Harness thread spawn routing: force ACP harness thread creation through `sessions_spawn` (`runtime: "acp"`, `thread: true`) and explicitly forbid `message action=thread-create` for ACP harness requests, avoiding misrouted `Unknown channel` errors. (#30957) Thanks @dutifulbob.
 - CLI/Startup (Raspberry Pi + small hosts): speed up startup by avoiding unnecessary plugin preload on fast routes, adding root `--version` fast-path bootstrap bypass, parallelizing status JSON/non-JSON scans where safe, and enabling Node compile cache at startup with env override compatibility (`NODE_COMPILE_CACHE`, `NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE`). (#5871) Thanks @BookCatKid and @vincentkoc for raising startup reports, and @lupuletic for related startup work in #27973.
+- CLI/Startup follow-up: add root `--help` fast-path bootstrap bypass with strict root-only matching, lazily resolve CLI channel options only when commands need them, merge build-time startup metadata (`dist/cli-startup-metadata.json`) with runtime catalog discovery so dynamic catalogs are preserved, and add low-power Linux doctor hints for compile-cache placement and respawn tuning. (#30975) Thanks @vincentkoc.
 - Telegram/Outbound API proxy env: keep the Node 22 `autoSelectFamily` global-dispatcher workaround while restoring env-proxy support by using `EnvHttpProxyAgent` so `HTTP_PROXY`/`HTTPS_PROXY` continue to apply to outbound requests. (#26207) Thanks @qsysbio-cjw for reporting and @rylena and @vincentkoc for work.
 - Browser/Security: fail closed on browser-control auth bootstrap errors; if auto-auth setup fails and no explicit token/password exists, browser control server startup now aborts instead of starting unauthenticated. This ships in the next npm release. Thanks @ijxpwastaken.
 - Docs/Slack manifest scopes: add missing DM/group-DM bot scopes (`im:read`, `im:write`, `mpim:read`, `mpim:write`) to the Slack app manifest example so DM setup guidance is complete. (#29999) Thanks @JcMinarro.

docs/platforms/raspberry-pi.md

@@ -212,6 +212,37 @@ Notes:
 - `OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1` avoids extra startup cost from CLI self-respawn.
 - First run warms the cache; later runs benefit most.
 
+### systemd startup tuning (optional)
+
+If this Pi is mostly running OpenClaw, add a service drop-in to reduce restart
+jitter and keep startup env stable:
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl edit openclaw
+```
+
+```ini
+[Service]
+Environment=OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1
+Environment=NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=2
+TimeoutStartSec=90
+```
+
+Then apply:
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl restart openclaw
+```
+
+If possible, keep OpenClaw state/cache on SSD-backed storage to avoid SD-card
+random-I/O bottlenecks during cold starts.
+
+How `Restart=` policies help automated recovery:
+[systemd can automate service recovery](https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/systemd-automate-recovery).
+
 ### Reduce Memory Usage
 
 ```bash

docs/vps.md

@@ -69,3 +69,34 @@ source ~/.bashrc
 - `OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1` avoids extra startup overhead from a self-respawn path.
 - First command run warms cache; subsequent runs are faster.
 - For Raspberry Pi specifics, see [Raspberry Pi](/platforms/raspberry-pi).
+
+### systemd tuning checklist (optional)
+
+For VM hosts using `systemd`, consider:
+
+- Add service env for stable startup path:
+  - `OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1`
+  - `NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache`
+- Keep restart behavior explicit:
+  - `Restart=always`
+  - `RestartSec=2`
+  - `TimeoutStartSec=90`
+- Prefer SSD-backed disks for state/cache paths to reduce random-I/O cold-start penalties.
+
+Example:
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl edit openclaw
+```
+
+```ini
+[Service]
+Environment=OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1
+Environment=NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=2
+TimeoutStartSec=90
+```
+
+How `Restart=` policies help automated recovery:
+[systemd can automate service recovery](https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/systemd-automate-recovery).

package.json

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
     "android:run": "cd apps/android && ./gradlew :app:installDebug && adb shell am start -n ai.openclaw.android/.MainActivity",
     "android:test": "cd apps/android && ./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest",
     "android:test:integration": "OPENCLAW_LIVE_TEST=1 OPENCLAW_LIVE_ANDROID_NODE=1 vitest run --config vitest.live.config.ts src/gateway/android-node.capabilities.live.test.ts",
-    "build": "pnpm canvas:a2ui:bundle && tsdown && pnpm build:plugin-sdk:dts && node --import tsx scripts/write-plugin-sdk-entry-dts.ts && node --import tsx scripts/canvas-a2ui-copy.ts && node --import tsx scripts/copy-hook-metadata.ts && node --import tsx scripts/copy-export-html-templates.ts && node --import tsx scripts/write-build-info.ts && node --import tsx scripts/write-cli-compat.ts",
+    "build": "pnpm canvas:a2ui:bundle && tsdown && pnpm build:plugin-sdk:dts && node --import tsx scripts/write-plugin-sdk-entry-dts.ts && node --import tsx scripts/canvas-a2ui-copy.ts && node --import tsx scripts/copy-hook-metadata.ts && node --import tsx scripts/copy-export-html-templates.ts && node --import tsx scripts/write-build-info.ts && node --import tsx scripts/write-cli-startup-metadata.ts && node --import tsx scripts/write-cli-compat.ts",
     "build:plugin-sdk:dts": "tsc -p tsconfig.plugin-sdk.dts.json",
     "canvas:a2ui:bundle": "bash scripts/bundle-a2ui.sh",
     "check": "pnpm format:check && pnpm tsgo && pnpm lint && pnpm lint:tmp:no-random-messaging && pnpm lint:tmp:channel-agnostic-boundaries && pnpm lint:tmp:no-raw-channel-fetch && pnpm lint:auth:no-pairing-store-group && pnpm lint:auth:pairing-account-scope && pnpm check:host-env-policy:swift",

scripts/bench-cli-startup.ts

@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ type Sample = {
   signal: NodeJS.Signals | null;
 };
 
+type CaseSummary = ReturnType<typeof summarize>;
+
 const DEFAULT_RUNS = 8;
 const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
 const DEFAULT_ENTRY = "dist/entry.js";
@@ -124,30 +126,75 @@ function collectExitSummary(samples: Sample[]): string {
   return [...buckets.entries()].map(([key, count]) => `${key}x${count}`).join(", ");
 }
 
-async function main(): Promise<void> {
-  const entry = parseFlagValue("--entry") ?? DEFAULT_ENTRY;
-  const runs = parsePositiveInt(parseFlagValue("--runs"), DEFAULT_RUNS);
-  const timeoutMs = parsePositiveInt(parseFlagValue("--timeout-ms"), DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS);
-
-  console.log(`Node: ${process.version}`);
-  console.log(`Entry: ${entry}`);
-  console.log(`Runs per command: ${runs}`);
-  console.log(`Timeout: ${timeoutMs}ms`);
-  console.log("");
-
+function printSuite(params: {
+  title: string;
+  entry: string;
+  runs: number;
+  timeoutMs: number;
+}): Map<string, CaseSummary> {
+  console.log(params.title);
+  console.log(`Entry: ${params.entry}`);
+  const suite = new Map<string, CaseSummary>();
   for (const commandCase of DEFAULT_CASES) {
     const samples = runCase({
-      entry,
+      entry: params.entry,
       runCase: commandCase,
-      runs,
-      timeoutMs,
+      runs: params.runs,
+      timeoutMs: params.timeoutMs,
     });
     const stats = summarize(samples);
     const exitSummary = collectExitSummary(samples);
+    suite.set(commandCase.name, stats);
     console.log(
       `${commandCase.name.padEnd(13)} avg=${formatMs(stats.avg)} p50=${formatMs(stats.p50)} p95=${formatMs(stats.p95)} min=${formatMs(stats.min)} max=${formatMs(stats.max)} exits=[${exitSummary}]`,
     );
   }
+  console.log("");
+  return suite;
+}
+
+async function main(): Promise<void> {
+  const entryPrimary =
+    parseFlagValue("--entry-primary") ?? parseFlagValue("--entry") ?? DEFAULT_ENTRY;
+  const entrySecondary = parseFlagValue("--entry-secondary");
+  const runs = parsePositiveInt(parseFlagValue("--runs"), DEFAULT_RUNS);
+  const timeoutMs = parsePositiveInt(parseFlagValue("--timeout-ms"), DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS);
+
+  console.log(`Node: ${process.version}`);
+  console.log(`Runs per command: ${runs}`);
+  console.log(`Timeout: ${timeoutMs}ms`);
+  console.log("");
+
+  const primaryResults = printSuite({
+    title: "Primary entry",
+    entry: entryPrimary,
+    runs,
+    timeoutMs,
+  });
+
+  if (entrySecondary) {
+    const secondaryResults = printSuite({
+      title: "Secondary entry",
+      entry: entrySecondary,
+      runs,
+      timeoutMs,
+    });
+
+    console.log("Delta (secondary - primary, avg)");
+    for (const commandCase of DEFAULT_CASES) {
+      const primary = primaryResults.get(commandCase.name);
+      const secondary = secondaryResults.get(commandCase.name);
+      if (!primary || !secondary) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      const delta = secondary.avg - primary.avg;
+      const pct = primary.avg > 0 ? (delta / primary.avg) * 100 : 0;
+      const sign = delta > 0 ? "+" : "";
+      console.log(
+        `${commandCase.name.padEnd(13)} ${sign}${formatMs(delta)} (${sign}${pct.toFixed(1)}%)`,
+      );
+    }
+  }
 }
 
 await main();

scripts/write-cli-startup-metadata.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import { mkdirSync, readdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+
+function dedupe(values: string[]): string[] {
+  const seen = new Set<string>();
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  for (const value of values) {
+    if (!value || seen.has(value)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    seen.add(value);
+    out.push(value);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+const scriptDir = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const rootDir = path.resolve(scriptDir, "..");
+const distDir = path.join(rootDir, "dist");
+const outputPath = path.join(distDir, "cli-startup-metadata.json");
+const extensionsDir = path.join(rootDir, "extensions");
+const CORE_CHANNEL_ORDER = [
+  "telegram",
+  "whatsapp",
+  "discord",
+  "irc",
+  "googlechat",
+  "slack",
+  "signal",
+  "imessage",
+] as const;
+
+type ExtensionChannelEntry = {
+  id: string;
+  order: number;
+  label: string;
+};
+
+function readBundledChannelCatalogIds(): string[] {
+  const entries: ExtensionChannelEntry[] = [];
+  for (const dirEntry of readdirSync(extensionsDir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
+    if (!dirEntry.isDirectory()) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const packageJsonPath = path.join(extensionsDir, dirEntry.name, "package.json");
+    try {
+      const raw = readFileSync(packageJsonPath, "utf8");
+      const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as {
+        openclaw?: {
+          channel?: {
+            id?: unknown;
+            order?: unknown;
+            label?: unknown;
+          };
+        };
+      };
+      const id = parsed.openclaw?.channel?.id;
+      if (typeof id !== "string" || !id.trim()) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      const orderRaw = parsed.openclaw?.channel?.order;
+      const labelRaw = parsed.openclaw?.channel?.label;
+      entries.push({
+        id: id.trim(),
+        order: typeof orderRaw === "number" ? orderRaw : 999,
+        label: typeof labelRaw === "string" ? labelRaw : id.trim(),
+      });
+    } catch {
+      // Ignore malformed or missing extension package manifests.
+    }
+  }
+  return entries
+    .toSorted((a, b) => (a.order === b.order ? a.label.localeCompare(b.label) : a.order - b.order))
+    .map((entry) => entry.id);
+}
+
+const catalog = readBundledChannelCatalogIds();
+const channelOptions = dedupe([...CORE_CHANNEL_ORDER, ...catalog]);
+
+mkdirSync(distDir, { recursive: true });
+writeFileSync(
+  outputPath,
+  `${JSON.stringify(
+    {
+      generatedBy: "scripts/write-cli-startup-metadata.ts",
+      channelOptions,
+    },
+    null,
+    2,
+  )}\n`,
+  "utf8",
+);

src/cli/argv.test.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   getVerboseFlag,
   hasHelpOrVersion,
   hasFlag,
+  isRootHelpInvocation,
   isRootVersionInvocation,
   shouldMigrateState,
   shouldMigrateStateFromPath,
@@ -94,6 +95,51 @@ describe("argv helpers", () => {
     expect(isRootVersionInvocation(argv)).toBe(expected);
   });
 
+  it.each([
+    {
+      name: "root --help",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "--help"],
+      expected: true,
+    },
+    {
+      name: "root -h",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "-h"],
+      expected: true,
+    },
+    {
+      name: "root --help with profile",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "--profile", "work", "--help"],
+      expected: true,
+    },
+    {
+      name: "subcommand --help",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "status", "--help"],
+      expected: false,
+    },
+    {
+      name: "help before subcommand token",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "--help", "status"],
+      expected: false,
+    },
+    {
+      name: "help after -- terminator",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "nodes", "run", "--", "git", "--help"],
+      expected: false,
+    },
+    {
+      name: "unknown root flag before help",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "--unknown", "--help"],
+      expected: false,
+    },
+    {
+      name: "unknown root flag after help",
+      argv: ["node", "openclaw", "--help", "--unknown"],
+      expected: false,
+    },
+  ])("detects root-only help invocations: $name", ({ argv, expected }) => {
+    expect(isRootHelpInvocation(argv)).toBe(expected);
+  });
+
   it.each([
     {
       name: "single command with trailing flag",

src/cli/argv.ts

@@ -119,6 +119,40 @@ export function isRootVersionInvocation(argv: string[]): boolean {
   return hasVersion;
 }
 
+export function isRootHelpInvocation(argv: string[]): boolean {
+  const args = argv.slice(2);
+  let hasHelp = false;
+  for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i += 1) {
+    const arg = args[i];
+    if (!arg) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (arg === FLAG_TERMINATOR) {
+      break;
+    }
+    if (HELP_FLAGS.has(arg)) {
+      hasHelp = true;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (ROOT_BOOLEAN_FLAGS.has(arg)) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (arg.startsWith("--profile=") || arg.startsWith("--log-level=")) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (ROOT_VALUE_FLAGS.has(arg)) {
+      const next = args[i + 1];
+      if (isValueToken(next)) {
+        i += 1;
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+    // Unknown flags and subcommand-scoped help should fall back to Commander.
+    return false;
+  }
+  return hasHelp;
+}
+
 export function getFlagValue(argv: string[], name: string): string | null | undefined {
   const args = argv.slice(2);
   for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i += 1) {

src/cli/channel-options.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const readFileSyncMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+const listCatalogMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+const listPluginsMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+const ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+
+vi.mock("node:fs", async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual<typeof import("node:fs")>("node:fs");
+  const base = ("default" in actual ? actual.default : actual) as Record<string, unknown>;
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    default: {
+      ...base,
+      readFileSync: readFileSyncMock,
+    },
+    readFileSync: readFileSyncMock,
+  };
+});
+
+vi.mock("../channels/registry.js", () => ({
+  CHAT_CHANNEL_ORDER: ["telegram", "discord"],
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../channels/plugins/catalog.js", () => ({
+  listChannelPluginCatalogEntries: listCatalogMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../channels/plugins/index.js", () => ({
+  listChannelPlugins: listPluginsMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./plugin-registry.js", () => ({
+  ensurePluginRegistryLoaded: ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock,
+}));
+
+async function loadModule() {
+  return await import("./channel-options.js");
+}
+
+describe("resolveCliChannelOptions", () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    delete process.env.OPENCLAW_EAGER_CHANNEL_OPTIONS;
+    vi.resetModules();
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("uses precomputed startup metadata when available", async () => {
+    readFileSyncMock.mockReturnValue(
+      JSON.stringify({ channelOptions: ["cached", "telegram", "cached"] }),
+    );
+    listCatalogMock.mockReturnValue([{ id: "catalog-only" }]);
+
+    const mod = await loadModule();
+    expect(mod.resolveCliChannelOptions()).toEqual(["cached", "telegram", "catalog-only"]);
+    expect(listCatalogMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to dynamic catalog resolution when metadata is missing", async () => {
+    readFileSyncMock.mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw new Error("ENOENT");
+    });
+    listCatalogMock.mockReturnValue([{ id: "feishu" }, { id: "telegram" }]);
+
+    const mod = await loadModule();
+    expect(mod.resolveCliChannelOptions()).toEqual(["telegram", "discord", "feishu"]);
+    expect(listCatalogMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("respects eager mode and includes loaded plugin ids", async () => {
+    process.env.OPENCLAW_EAGER_CHANNEL_OPTIONS = "1";
+    readFileSyncMock.mockReturnValue(JSON.stringify({ channelOptions: ["cached"] }));
+    listCatalogMock.mockReturnValue([{ id: "zalo" }]);
+    listPluginsMock.mockReturnValue([{ id: "custom-a" }, { id: "custom-b" }]);
+
+    const mod = await loadModule();
+    expect(mod.resolveCliChannelOptions()).toEqual([
+      "telegram",
+      "discord",
+      "zalo",
+      "custom-a",
+      "custom-b",
+    ]);
+    expect(ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(listPluginsMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("keeps dynamic catalog resolution when external catalog env is set", async () => {
+    process.env.OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_CATALOG_PATHS = "/tmp/plugins-catalog.json";
+    readFileSyncMock.mockReturnValue(JSON.stringify({ channelOptions: ["cached", "telegram"] }));
+    listCatalogMock.mockReturnValue([{ id: "custom-catalog" }]);
+
+    const mod = await loadModule();
+    expect(mod.resolveCliChannelOptions()).toEqual(["cached", "telegram", "custom-catalog"]);
+    expect(listCatalogMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    delete process.env.OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_CATALOG_PATHS;
+  });
+});

src/cli/channel-options.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { listChannelPluginCatalogEntries } from "../channels/plugins/catalog.js";
 import { listChannelPlugins } from "../channels/plugins/index.js";
 import { CHAT_CHANNEL_ORDER } from "../channels/registry.js";
@@ -17,14 +20,46 @@ function dedupe(values: string[]): string[] {
   return resolved;
 }
 
+let precomputedChannelOptions: string[] | null | undefined;
+
+function loadPrecomputedChannelOptions(): string[] | null {
+  if (precomputedChannelOptions !== undefined) {
+    return precomputedChannelOptions;
+  }
+  try {
+    const metadataPath = path.resolve(
+      path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)),
+      "..",
+      "cli-startup-metadata.json",
+    );
+    const raw = fs.readFileSync(metadataPath, "utf8");
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(raw) as { channelOptions?: unknown };
+    if (Array.isArray(parsed.channelOptions)) {
+      precomputedChannelOptions = dedupe(
+        parsed.channelOptions.filter((value): value is string => typeof value === "string"),
+      );
+      return precomputedChannelOptions;
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // Fall back to dynamic catalog resolution.
+  }
+  precomputedChannelOptions = null;
+  return null;
+}
+
 export function resolveCliChannelOptions(): string[] {
-  const catalog = listChannelPluginCatalogEntries().map((entry) => entry.id);
-  const base = dedupe([...CHAT_CHANNEL_ORDER, ...catalog]);
   if (isTruthyEnvValue(process.env.OPENCLAW_EAGER_CHANNEL_OPTIONS)) {
+    const catalog = listChannelPluginCatalogEntries().map((entry) => entry.id);
+    const base = dedupe([...CHAT_CHANNEL_ORDER, ...catalog]);
     ensurePluginRegistryLoaded();
     const pluginIds = listChannelPlugins().map((plugin) => plugin.id);
     return dedupe([...base, ...pluginIds]);
   }
+  const precomputed = loadPrecomputedChannelOptions();
+  const catalog = listChannelPluginCatalogEntries().map((entry) => entry.id);
+  const base = precomputed
+    ? dedupe([...precomputed, ...catalog])
+    : dedupe([...CHAT_CHANNEL_ORDER, ...catalog]);
   return base;
 }
 

src/cli/program/context.test.ts

@@ -14,24 +14,48 @@ const { createProgramContext } = await import("./context.js");
 
 describe("createProgramContext", () => {
   it("builds program context from version and resolved channel options", () => {
-    resolveCliChannelOptionsMock.mockReturnValue(["telegram", "whatsapp"]);
-
-    expect(createProgramContext()).toEqual({
+    resolveCliChannelOptionsMock.mockClear().mockReturnValue(["telegram", "whatsapp"]);
+    const ctx = createProgramContext();
+    expect(ctx).toEqual({
       programVersion: "9.9.9-test",
       channelOptions: ["telegram", "whatsapp"],
       messageChannelOptions: "telegram|whatsapp",
       agentChannelOptions: "last|telegram|whatsapp",
     });
+    expect(resolveCliChannelOptionsMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
   });
 
   it("handles empty channel options", () => {
-    resolveCliChannelOptionsMock.mockReturnValue([]);
-
-    expect(createProgramContext()).toEqual({
+    resolveCliChannelOptionsMock.mockClear().mockReturnValue([]);
+    const ctx = createProgramContext();
+    expect(ctx).toEqual({
       programVersion: "9.9.9-test",
       channelOptions: [],
       messageChannelOptions: "",
       agentChannelOptions: "last",
     });
+    expect(resolveCliChannelOptionsMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("does not resolve channel options before access", () => {
+    resolveCliChannelOptionsMock.mockClear();
+    createProgramContext();
+    expect(resolveCliChannelOptionsMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("reuses one channel option resolution across all getters", () => {
+    resolveCliChannelOptionsMock.mockClear().mockReturnValue(["telegram"]);
+    const ctx = createProgramContext();
+    expect(ctx.channelOptions).toEqual(["telegram"]);
+    expect(ctx.messageChannelOptions).toBe("telegram");
+    expect(ctx.agentChannelOptions).toBe("last|telegram");
+    expect(resolveCliChannelOptionsMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+  });
+
+  it("reads program version without resolving channel options", () => {
+    resolveCliChannelOptionsMock.mockClear();
+    const ctx = createProgramContext();
+    expect(ctx.programVersion).toBe("9.9.9-test");
+    expect(resolveCliChannelOptionsMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 });

src/cli/program/context.ts

@@ -9,11 +9,24 @@ export type ProgramContext = {
 };
 
 export function createProgramContext(): ProgramContext {
-  const channelOptions = resolveCliChannelOptions();
+  let cachedChannelOptions: string[] | undefined;
+  const getChannelOptions = (): string[] => {
+    if (cachedChannelOptions === undefined) {
+      cachedChannelOptions = resolveCliChannelOptions();
+    }
+    return cachedChannelOptions;
+  };
+
   return {
     programVersion: VERSION,
-    channelOptions,
-    messageChannelOptions: channelOptions.join("|"),
-    agentChannelOptions: ["last", ...channelOptions].join("|"),
+    get channelOptions() {
+      return getChannelOptions();
+    },
+    get messageChannelOptions() {
+      return getChannelOptions().join("|");
+    },
+    get agentChannelOptions() {
+      return ["last", ...getChannelOptions()].join("|");
+    },
   };
 }

src/cli/program/routes.test.ts

@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@ describe("program routes", () => {
     expect(route?.loadPlugins).toBe(true);
   });
 
-  it("matches health route without eager plugin loading", () => {
+  it("matches health route and preloads plugins for channel diagnostics", () => {
     const route = expectRoute(["health"]);
-    expect(route?.loadPlugins).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(route?.loadPlugins).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it("returns false when status timeout flag value is missing", async () => {

src/cli/program/routes.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ export type RouteSpec = {
 
 const routeHealth: RouteSpec = {
   match: (path) => path[0] === "health",
+  // Health output uses channel plugin metadata for account fallback/log details.
+  // Keep routed behavior aligned with non-routed command execution.
+  loadPlugins: true,
   run: async (argv) => {
     const json = hasFlag(argv, "--json");
     const verbose = getVerboseFlag(argv, { includeDebug: true });

src/commands/doctor-platform-notes.startup-optimization.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { noteStartupOptimizationHints } from "./doctor-platform-notes.js";
+
+describe("noteStartupOptimizationHints", () => {
+  it("does not warn when compile cache and no-respawn are configured", () => {
+    const noteFn = vi.fn();
+
+    noteStartupOptimizationHints(
+      {
+        NODE_COMPILE_CACHE: "/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache",
+        OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN: "1",
+      },
+      { platform: "linux", arch: "arm64", totalMemBytes: 4 * 1024 ** 3, noteFn },
+    );
+
+    expect(noteFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("warns when compile cache is under /tmp and no-respawn is not set", () => {
+    const noteFn = vi.fn();
+
+    noteStartupOptimizationHints(
+      {
+        NODE_COMPILE_CACHE: "/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache",
+      },
+      { platform: "linux", arch: "arm64", totalMemBytes: 4 * 1024 ** 3, noteFn },
+    );
+
+    expect(noteFn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const [message, title] = noteFn.mock.calls[0] ?? [];
+    expect(title).toBe("Startup optimization");
+    expect(message).toContain("NODE_COMPILE_CACHE points to /tmp");
+    expect(message).toContain("OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN is not set to 1");
+    expect(message).toContain("export NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache");
+    expect(message).toContain("export OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1");
+  });
+
+  it("warns when compile cache is disabled via env override", () => {
+    const noteFn = vi.fn();
+
+    noteStartupOptimizationHints(
+      {
+        NODE_COMPILE_CACHE: "/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache",
+        OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN: "1",
+        NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE: "1",
+      },
+      { platform: "linux", arch: "arm64", totalMemBytes: 4 * 1024 ** 3, noteFn },
+    );
+
+    expect(noteFn).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    const [message] = noteFn.mock.calls[0] ?? [];
+    expect(message).toContain("NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE is set");
+    expect(message).toContain("unset NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE");
+  });
+
+  it("skips startup optimization note on win32", () => {
+    const noteFn = vi.fn();
+
+    noteStartupOptimizationHints(
+      {
+        NODE_COMPILE_CACHE: "/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache",
+      },
+      { platform: "win32", arch: "arm64", totalMemBytes: 4 * 1024 ** 3, noteFn },
+    );
+
+    expect(noteFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("skips startup optimization note on non-target linux hosts", () => {
+    const noteFn = vi.fn();
+
+    noteStartupOptimizationHints(
+      {
+        NODE_COMPILE_CACHE: "/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache",
+      },
+      { platform: "linux", arch: "x64", totalMemBytes: 32 * 1024 ** 3, noteFn },
+    );
+
+    expect(noteFn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+});

src/commands/doctor-platform-notes.ts

@@ -140,3 +140,81 @@ export function noteDeprecatedLegacyEnvVars(
   ];
   (deps?.noteFn ?? note)(lines.join("\n"), "Environment");
 }
+
+function isTruthyEnvValue(value: string | undefined): boolean {
+  return typeof value === "string" && value.trim().length > 0;
+}
+
+function isTmpCompileCachePath(cachePath: string): boolean {
+  const normalized = cachePath.trim().replace(/\/+$/, "");
+  return (
+    normalized === "/tmp" ||
+    normalized.startsWith("/tmp/") ||
+    normalized === "/private/tmp" ||
+    normalized.startsWith("/private/tmp/")
+  );
+}
+
+export function noteStartupOptimizationHints(
+  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
+  deps?: {
+    platform?: NodeJS.Platform;
+    arch?: string;
+    totalMemBytes?: number;
+    noteFn?: typeof note;
+  },
+) {
+  const platform = deps?.platform ?? process.platform;
+  if (platform === "win32") {
+    return;
+  }
+  const arch = deps?.arch ?? os.arch();
+  const totalMemBytes = deps?.totalMemBytes ?? os.totalmem();
+  const isArmHost = arch === "arm" || arch === "arm64";
+  const isLowMemoryLinux =
+    platform === "linux" && totalMemBytes > 0 && totalMemBytes <= 8 * 1024 ** 3;
+  const isStartupTuneTarget = platform === "linux" && (isArmHost || isLowMemoryLinux);
+  if (!isStartupTuneTarget) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const noteFn = deps?.noteFn ?? note;
+  const compileCache = env.NODE_COMPILE_CACHE?.trim() ?? "";
+  const disableCompileCache = env.NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE?.trim() ?? "";
+  const noRespawn = env.OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN?.trim() ?? "";
+  const lines: string[] = [];
+
+  if (!compileCache) {
+    lines.push(
+      "- NODE_COMPILE_CACHE is not set; repeated CLI runs can be slower on small hosts (Pi/VM).",
+    );
+  } else if (isTmpCompileCachePath(compileCache)) {
+    lines.push(
+      "- NODE_COMPILE_CACHE points to /tmp; use /var/tmp so cache survives reboots and warms startup reliably.",
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (isTruthyEnvValue(disableCompileCache)) {
+    lines.push("- NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE is set; startup compile cache is disabled.");
+  }
+
+  if (noRespawn !== "1") {
+    lines.push(
+      "- OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN is not set to 1; set it to avoid extra startup overhead from self-respawn.",
+    );
+  }
+
+  if (lines.length === 0) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const suggestions = [
+    "- Suggested env for low-power hosts:",
+    "  export NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache",
+    "  mkdir -p /var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache",
+    "  export OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1",
+    isTruthyEnvValue(disableCompileCache) ? "  unset NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE" : undefined,
+  ].filter((line): line is string => Boolean(line));
+
+  noteFn([...lines, ...suggestions].join("\n"), "Startup optimization");
+}

src/commands/doctor.fast-path-mocks.ts

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ vi.mock("./doctor-memory-search.js", () => ({
 
 vi.mock("./doctor-platform-notes.js", () => ({
   noteDeprecatedLegacyEnvVars: vi.fn(),
+  noteStartupOptimizationHints: vi.fn(),
   noteMacLaunchAgentOverrides: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
   noteMacLaunchctlGatewayEnvOverrides: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
 }));

src/commands/doctor.ts

@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ import {
   noteMacLaunchAgentOverrides,
   noteMacLaunchctlGatewayEnvOverrides,
   noteDeprecatedLegacyEnvVars,
+  noteStartupOptimizationHints,
 } from "./doctor-platform-notes.js";
 import { createDoctorPrompter, type DoctorOptions } from "./doctor-prompter.js";
 import { maybeRepairSandboxImages, noteSandboxScopeWarnings } from "./doctor-sandbox.js";
@@ -92,6 +93,7 @@ export async function doctorCommand(
   await maybeRepairUiProtocolFreshness(runtime, prompter);
   noteSourceInstallIssues(root);
   noteDeprecatedLegacyEnvVars();
+  noteStartupOptimizationHints();
 
   const configResult = await loadAndMaybeMigrateDoctorConfig({
     options,

src/entry.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { enableCompileCache } from "node:module";
 import process from "node:process";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
-import { isRootVersionInvocation } from "./cli/argv.js";
+import { isRootHelpInvocation, isRootVersionInvocation } from "./cli/argv.js";
 import { applyCliProfileEnv, parseCliProfileArgs } from "./cli/profile.js";
 import { shouldSkipRespawnForArgv } from "./cli/respawn-policy.js";
 import { normalizeWindowsArgv } from "./cli/windows-argv.js";
@@ -141,6 +141,24 @@ if (
     return true;
   }
 
+  function tryHandleRootHelpFastPath(argv: string[]): boolean {
+    if (!isRootHelpInvocation(argv)) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    import("./cli/program.js")
+      .then(({ buildProgram }) => {
+        buildProgram().outputHelp();
+      })
+      .catch((error) => {
+        console.error(
+          "[openclaw] Failed to display help:",
+          error instanceof Error ? (error.stack ?? error.message) : error,
+        );
+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      });
+    return true;
+  }
+
   process.argv = normalizeWindowsArgv(process.argv);
 
   if (!ensureExperimentalWarningSuppressed()) {
@@ -157,7 +175,7 @@ if (
       process.argv = parsed.argv;
     }
 
-    if (!tryHandleRootVersionFastPath(process.argv)) {
+    if (!tryHandleRootVersionFastPath(process.argv) && !tryHandleRootHelpFastPath(process.argv)) {
       import("./cli/run-main.js")
         .then(({ runCli }) => runCli(process.argv))
         .catch((error) => {