fix(web-search): late bind managed runtime config

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Providers/configure: preserve the existing default model when adding or reauthing a provider whose plugin returns a default-model config patch. Fixes #50268. Thanks @rixcorp-oc.
 - Slack/message tool: let `read` fetch an exact Slack message timestamp, including a specific thread reply when paired with `threadId`, instead of returning only the parent thread or recent channel history. Fixes #53943. Thanks @zomars.
 - Web search: point missing-key errors to `web_fetch` for known URLs and the browser tool for interactive pages. Thanks @zhaoyang97.
+- Web search: late-bind managed agent `web_search` calls to the current runtime config snapshot, so existing sessions do not keep stale unresolved SecretRefs after secrets reload. Fixes #75420. Thanks @richardmqq.
 - Heartbeat: strip legacy `[TOOL_CALL]...[/TOOL_CALL]` and `[TOOL_RESULT]...[/TOOL_RESULT]` pseudo-call blocks from heartbeat replies before channel delivery. Fixes #54138. Thanks @Deniable9570.
 - macOS/Voice Wake: send wake-word and Push-to-Talk transcripts through the selected macOS session target instead of always falling back to main WebChat. Fixes #51040. Thanks @carl-jeffrolc.
 - Providers/xAI: give Grok `web_search` a 60s default timeout, harden malformed xAI Responses parsing, and return structured timeout errors instead of aborting the tool call. Fixes #58063 and #58733. Thanks @dnishimura, @marvcasasola-svg, and @Nanako0129.

src/agents/openclaw-tools.ts

@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ export function createOpenClawTools(
     config: options?.config,
     sandboxed: options?.sandboxed,
     runtimeWebSearch: runtimeWebTools?.search,
+    lateBindRuntimeConfig: true,
   });
   const webFetchTool = createWebFetchTool({
     config: options?.config,

src/agents/tools/web-search.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import { resolveManifestContractOwnerPluginId } from "../../plugins/plugin-registry.js";
+import { getActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata } from "../../secrets/runtime-web-tools-state.js";
 import type { RuntimeWebSearchMetadata } from "../../secrets/runtime-web-tools.types.js";
 import { resolveWebSearchProviderId, runWebSearch } from "../../web-search/runtime.js";
 import type { AnyAgentTool } from "./common.js";
@@ -72,20 +73,11 @@ export function createWebSearchTool(options?: {
   config?: OpenClawConfig;
   sandboxed?: boolean;
   runtimeWebSearch?: RuntimeWebSearchMetadata;
+  lateBindRuntimeConfig?: boolean;
 }): AnyAgentTool | null {
   if (isWebSearchDisabled(options?.config)) {
     return null;
   }
-  const runtimeProviderId =
-    options?.runtimeWebSearch?.selectedProvider ?? options?.runtimeWebSearch?.providerConfigured;
-  const preferRuntimeProviders =
-    Boolean(runtimeProviderId) &&
-    !resolveManifestContractOwnerPluginId({
-      contract: "webSearchProviders",
-      value: runtimeProviderId,
-      origin: "bundled",
-      config: options?.config,
-    });
 
   return {
     label: "Web Search",
@@ -94,10 +86,25 @@ export function createWebSearchTool(options?: {
       "Search the web. Returns provider-normalized results for current information lookup.",
     parameters: WebSearchSchema,
     execute: async (_toolCallId, args) => {
+      const runtimeWebSearch =
+        options?.lateBindRuntimeConfig === true
+          ? getActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata()?.search
+          : options?.runtimeWebSearch;
+      const runtimeProviderId =
+        runtimeWebSearch?.selectedProvider ?? runtimeWebSearch?.providerConfigured;
+      const config = options?.lateBindRuntimeConfig === true ? undefined : options?.config;
+      const preferRuntimeProviders =
+        Boolean(runtimeProviderId) &&
+        !resolveManifestContractOwnerPluginId({
+          contract: "webSearchProviders",
+          value: runtimeProviderId,
+          origin: "bundled",
+          config,
+        });
       const result = await runWebSearch({
-        config: options?.config,
+        config,
         sandboxed: options?.sandboxed,
-        runtimeWebSearch: options?.runtimeWebSearch,
+        runtimeWebSearch,
         preferRuntimeProviders,
         args: asToolParamsRecord(args),
       });

src/agents/tools/web-tools.enabled-defaults.test.ts

@@ -1,17 +1,29 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { createEmptyPluginRegistry } from "../../plugins/registry-empty.js";
 import { setActivePluginRegistry } from "../../plugins/runtime.js";
-import { clearActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata } from "../../secrets/runtime-web-tools-state.js";
+import {
+  clearActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata,
+  setActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata,
+} from "../../secrets/runtime-web-tools-state.js";
 import { createWebFetchTool, createWebSearchTool } from "./web-tools.js";
 
+const runWebSearchCalls = vi.hoisted(
+  () => [] as Array<{ config?: unknown; runtimeWebSearch?: unknown }>,
+);
+
 vi.mock("../../web-search/runtime.js", async () => {
   const { getActivePluginRegistry } = await import("../../plugins/runtime.js");
+  const { getActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata } =
+    await import("../../secrets/runtime-web-tools-state.js");
   const resolveRuntimeDefinition = (options?: {
     config?: unknown;
     runtimeWebSearch?: { selectedProvider?: string; providerConfigured?: string };
   }) => {
     const providerId =
-      options?.runtimeWebSearch?.selectedProvider ?? options?.runtimeWebSearch?.providerConfigured;
+      options?.runtimeWebSearch?.selectedProvider ??
+      options?.runtimeWebSearch?.providerConfigured ??
+      getActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata()?.search?.selectedProvider ??
+      getActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata()?.search?.providerConfigured;
     const registration = getActivePluginRegistry()?.webSearchProviders.find(
       (entry) => entry.provider.id === providerId,
     );
@@ -33,9 +45,14 @@ vi.mock("../../web-search/runtime.js", async () => {
     resolveWebSearchDefinition: resolveRuntimeDefinition,
     resolveWebSearchProviderId: () => "",
     runWebSearch: async (options: {
+      config?: unknown;
       args: Record<string, unknown>;
       runtimeWebSearch?: unknown;
     }) => {
+      runWebSearchCalls.push({
+        config: options.config,
+        runtimeWebSearch: options.runtimeWebSearch,
+      });
       const resolved = resolveRuntimeDefinition(options as never);
       if (!resolved) {
         throw new Error("web_search is disabled or no provider is available.");
@@ -51,6 +68,7 @@ vi.mock("../../web-search/runtime.js", async () => {
 beforeEach(() => {
   setActivePluginRegistry(createEmptyPluginRegistry());
   clearActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata();
+  runWebSearchCalls.length = 0;
 });
 
 afterEach(() => {
@@ -114,4 +132,91 @@ describe("web tools defaults", () => {
     expect(tool?.description).toContain("Search the web");
     expect(result?.details).toMatchObject({ ok: true });
   });
+
+  it("late-binds managed web_search execution to the current runtime snapshot", async () => {
+    const registry = createEmptyPluginRegistry();
+    registry.webSearchProviders.push(
+      {
+        pluginId: "stale-search",
+        pluginName: "Stale Search",
+        source: "test",
+        provider: {
+          id: "stale",
+          label: "Stale Search",
+          hint: "Stale runtime provider",
+          envVars: [],
+          placeholder: "stale-...",
+          signupUrl: "https://example.com/stale",
+          autoDetectOrder: 1,
+          credentialPath: "tools.web.search.stale.apiKey",
+          getCredentialValue: () => "configured",
+          setCredentialValue: () => {},
+          createTool: () => ({
+            description: "stale runtime tool",
+            parameters: {},
+            execute: async () => ({ provider: "stale" }),
+          }),
+        },
+      },
+      {
+        pluginId: "fresh-search",
+        pluginName: "Fresh Search",
+        source: "test",
+        provider: {
+          id: "fresh",
+          label: "Fresh Search",
+          hint: "Fresh runtime provider",
+          envVars: [],
+          placeholder: "fresh-...",
+          signupUrl: "https://example.com/fresh",
+          autoDetectOrder: 2,
+          credentialPath: "tools.web.search.fresh.apiKey",
+          getCredentialValue: () => "configured",
+          setCredentialValue: () => {},
+          createTool: () => ({
+            description: "fresh runtime tool",
+            parameters: {},
+            execute: async () => ({ provider: "fresh" }),
+          }),
+        },
+      },
+    );
+    setActivePluginRegistry(registry);
+    setActiveRuntimeWebToolsMetadata({
+      search: {
+        providerConfigured: "fresh",
+        providerSource: "configured",
+        selectedProvider: "fresh",
+        selectedProviderKeySource: "config",
+        diagnostics: [],
+      },
+      fetch: {
+        providerSource: "none",
+        diagnostics: [],
+      },
+      diagnostics: [],
+    });
+
+    const tool = createWebSearchTool({
+      config: { tools: { web: { search: { provider: "stale" } } } },
+      sandboxed: true,
+      runtimeWebSearch: {
+        providerConfigured: "stale",
+        providerSource: "configured",
+        selectedProvider: "stale",
+        selectedProviderKeySource: "config",
+        diagnostics: [],
+      },
+      lateBindRuntimeConfig: true,
+    });
+
+    const result = await tool?.execute?.("call-runtime-provider", {});
+
+    expect(result?.details).toMatchObject({ provider: "fresh" });
+    expect(runWebSearchCalls).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(runWebSearchCalls[0]?.config).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(runWebSearchCalls[0]?.runtimeWebSearch).toMatchObject({
+      selectedProvider: "fresh",
+    });
+  });
 });