From 45f3074ee68794f7d5ca1143846146b728add4b6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:17:33 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] fix(cli): skip plugin preload for json agent runs

---
 src/cli/command-catalog.ts          |  2 +-
 src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts |  9 +++++++++
 src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts   | 28 +++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 3 files changed, 33 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/cli/command-catalog.ts b/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
index 3407ebf406c..eacfc9fe3c7 100644
--- a/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
+++ b/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ export const cliCommandCatalog: readonly CliCommandCatalogEntry[] = [
   {
     commandPath: ["agent"],
     policy: {
-      loadPlugins: ({ argv, jsonOutputMode }) => hasFlag(argv, "--local") || !jsonOutputMode,
+      loadPlugins: "text-only",
       networkProxy: ({ argv }) => (hasFlag(argv, "--local") ? "default" : "bypass"),
     },
   },
diff --git a/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts b/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts
index 89a2da50ab9..009550b1478 100644
--- a/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,15 @@ describe("command-path-policy", () => {
   });
 
   it("keeps config-only agent commands on config-only startup", () => {
+    expect(resolveCliCommandPathPolicy(["agent"])).toEqual({
+      bypassConfigGuard: false,
+      routeConfigGuard: "never",
+      loadPlugins: "text-only",
+      hideBanner: false,
+      ensureCliPath: true,
+      networkProxy: expect.any(Function),
+    });
+
     for (const commandPath of [
       ["agents", "bind"],
       ["agents", "bindings"],
diff --git a/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts b/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts
index 6be6d9c4840..c398db532e0 100644
--- a/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts
@@ -145,6 +145,10 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     program.command("onboard").action(() => {});
     const channels = program.command("channels");
     channels.command("add").action(() => {});
+    channels
+      .command("send")
+      .option("--json")
+      .action(() => {});
     program
       .command("plugins")
       .command("install")
@@ -229,7 +233,7 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     processTitleSetSpy.mockRestore();
   });
 
-  it("loads plugins for local agent runs", async () => {
+  it("loads plugins for text local agent runs", async () => {
     await runPreAction({
       parseArgv: ["agent"],
       processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "agent", "--local", "--message", "hi"],
@@ -242,6 +246,20 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     expect(ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ scope: "all" });
   });
 
+  it("skips broad plugin preload for json local agent runs", async () => {
+    await runPreAction({
+      parseArgv: ["agent"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "agent", "--local", "--message", "hi", "--json"],
+    });
+
+    expect(ensureConfigReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      runtime: runtimeMock,
+      commandPath: ["agent", "hi"],
+      suppressDoctorStdout: true,
+    });
+    expect(ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("keeps setup alias and channels add manifest-first", async () => {
     await runPreAction({
       parseArgv: ["onboard"],
@@ -394,8 +412,8 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
 
   it("routes logs to stderr in --json mode so stdout stays clean", async () => {
     await runPreAction({
-      parseArgv: ["agent"],
-      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "agent", "--message", "hi", "--json"],
+      parseArgv: ["channels", "send"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "channels", "send", "--json"],
     });
 
     expect(routeLogsToStderrMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
@@ -484,8 +502,8 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     });
 
     await runPreAction({
-      parseArgv: ["agent"],
-      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "agent", "--local", "--message", "hi", "--json"],
+      parseArgv: ["channels", "send"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "channels", "send", "--json"],
     });
 
     expect(ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock).toHaveBeenCalled();