From 4bc5e183ef76cff6e2783bf62864a50f95530357 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2026 10:40:58 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] fix: avoid CLI startup warmup leaks

---
 extensions/browser/openclaw.plugin.json  |  1 +
 src/agents/context.lookup.test.ts        |  7 +++++++
 src/agents/context.ts                    | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
 src/cli/program/register.subclis-core.ts |  5 +++--
 src/cli/tui-cli.ts                       |  2 +-
 src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts   | 19 +++++++++++++++++++
 6 files changed, 49 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/extensions/browser/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/browser/openclaw.plugin.json
index 629f589b36d..63856a81a2c 100644
--- a/extensions/browser/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/browser/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "browser",
   "enabledByDefault": true,
+  "commandAliases": [{ "name": "browser" }],
   "skills": ["./skills"],
   "configSchema": {
     "type": "object",
diff --git a/src/agents/context.lookup.test.ts b/src/agents/context.lookup.test.ts
index 8402f074fc6..d6668378bcd 100644
--- a/src/agents/context.lookup.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/context.lookup.test.ts
@@ -201,6 +201,10 @@ describe("lookupContextTokens", () => {
     const { shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache } = await importContextModule();
 
     expect(shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache(["node", "openclaw", "chat"])).toBe(true);
+    expect(shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache(["node", "openclaw", "chat", "--help"])).toBe(false);
+    expect(
+      shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache(["node", "openclaw", "browser", "status", "--help"]),
+    ).toBe(false);
     expect(
       shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache([
         "node",
@@ -215,6 +219,9 @@ describe("lookupContextTokens", () => {
       false,
     );
     expect(shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache(["node", "openclaw", "status", "--json"])).toBe(false);
+    expect(shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache(["node", "openclaw", "sessions", "--json"])).toBe(
+      false,
+    );
     expect(
       shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache(["node", "scripts/test-built-plugin-singleton.mjs"]),
     ).toBe(false);
diff --git a/src/agents/context.ts b/src/agents/context.ts
index d7ce75d2cf2..7ffbf92b3f3 100644
--- a/src/agents/context.ts
+++ b/src/agents/context.ts
@@ -130,9 +130,22 @@ function getCommandPathFromArgv(argv: string[]): string[] {
   return tokens;
 }
 
+function hasHelpOrVersionFlag(argv: string[]): boolean {
+  for (const arg of argv.slice(2)) {
+    if (arg === FLAG_TERMINATOR) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    if (arg === "-h" || arg === "--help" || arg === "-V" || arg === "--version") {
+      return true;
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 const SKIP_EAGER_WARMUP_PRIMARY_COMMANDS = new Set([
   "agent",
   "backup",
+  "browser",
   "completion",
   "config",
   "directory",
@@ -142,8 +155,10 @@ const SKIP_EAGER_WARMUP_PRIMARY_COMMANDS = new Set([
   "hooks",
   "logs",
   "models",
+  "pairing",
   "plugins",
   "secrets",
+  "sessions",
   "status",
   "update",
   "webhooks",
@@ -160,6 +175,9 @@ export function shouldEagerWarmContextWindowCache(argv: string[] = process.argv)
   if (!isLikelyOpenClawCliProcess(argv)) {
     return false;
   }
+  if (hasHelpOrVersionFlag(argv)) {
+    return false;
+  }
   const [primary] = getCommandPathFromArgv(argv);
   return Boolean(primary) && !SKIP_EAGER_WARMUP_PRIMARY_COMMANDS.has(primary);
 }
diff --git a/src/cli/program/register.subclis-core.ts b/src/cli/program/register.subclis-core.ts
index 09cfe7e85cb..066b0410c02 100644
--- a/src/cli/program/register.subclis-core.ts
+++ b/src/cli/program/register.subclis-core.ts
@@ -30,12 +30,13 @@ async function registerSubCliWithPluginCommands(
   registerSubCli: () => Promise<void>,
   pluginCliPosition: "before" | "after",
 ) {
+  const isHelpOrVersion = resolveCliArgvInvocation(process.argv).hasHelpOrVersion;
   const { registerPluginCliCommandsFromValidatedConfig } = await import("../../plugins/cli.js");
-  if (pluginCliPosition === "before") {
+  if (pluginCliPosition === "before" && !isHelpOrVersion) {
     await registerPluginCliCommandsFromValidatedConfig(program);
   }
   await registerSubCli();
-  if (pluginCliPosition === "after") {
+  if (pluginCliPosition === "after" && !isHelpOrVersion) {
     await registerPluginCliCommandsFromValidatedConfig(program);
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/cli/tui-cli.ts b/src/cli/tui-cli.ts
index 2f082d6a95a..33603d7e39f 100644
--- a/src/cli/tui-cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/tui-cli.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ import type { Command } from "commander";
 import { defaultRuntime } from "../runtime.js";
 import { formatDocsLink } from "../terminal/links.js";
 import { theme } from "../terminal/theme.js";
-import { runTui } from "../tui/tui.js";
 import { parseTimeoutMs } from "./parse-timeout.js";
 
 export function registerTuiCli(program: Command) {
@@ -43,6 +42,7 @@ export function registerTuiCli(program: Command) {
           );
         }
         const historyLimit = Number.parseInt(String(opts.historyLimit ?? "200"), 10);
+        const { runTui } = await import("../tui/tui.js");
         await runTui({
           local: isLocal,
           url: opts.url as string | undefined,
diff --git a/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts b/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts
index e7f75dcc869..ce72e58ce5c 100644
--- a/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,16 @@ describe("activation planner", () => {
           hooks: [],
           origin: "bundled",
         },
+        {
+          id: "browser",
+          commandAliases: [{ name: "browser" }],
+          providers: [],
+          channels: [],
+          cliBackends: [],
+          skills: [],
+          hooks: [],
+          origin: "bundled",
+        },
         {
           id: "openai",
           providers: ["openai"],
@@ -88,6 +98,15 @@ describe("activation planner", () => {
       }),
     ).toEqual(["memory-core"]);
 
+    expect(
+      resolveManifestActivationPluginIds({
+        trigger: {
+          kind: "command",
+          command: "browser",
+        },
+      }),
+    ).toEqual(["browser"]);
+
     expect(
       resolveManifestActivationPluginIds({
         trigger: {