fix(config): refresh runtime snapshot from disk after write. Fixes #37175 (#37313)

Merged via squash.

Prepared head SHA: 69e1861abf
Co-authored-by: bbblending <122739024+bbblending@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: gumadeiras <5599352+gumadeiras@users.noreply.github.com>
Reviewed-by: @gumadeiras

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - Podman/SELinux: auto-detect SELinux enforcing/permissive mode and add `:Z` relabel to bind mounts in `run-openclaw-podman.sh` and the Quadlet template, fixing `EACCES` on Fedora/RHEL hosts. Supports `OPENCLAW_BIND_MOUNT_OPTIONS` override. (#39449) Thanks @langdon and @githubbzxs.
 - TUI/theme: detect light terminal backgrounds via `COLORFGBG` and pick a WCAG AA-compliant light palette, with `OPENCLAW_THEME=light|dark` override for terminals without auto-detection. (#38636) Thanks @ademczuk and @vincentkoc.
 - Agents/context-engine plugins: bootstrap runtime plugins once at embedded-run, compaction, and subagent boundaries so plugin-provided context engines and hooks load from the active workspace before runtime resolution. (#40232)
+- Config/runtime snapshots: keep secrets-runtime-resolved config and auth-profile snapshots intact after config writes so follow-up reads still see file-backed secret values while picking up the persisted config update. (#37313) thanks @bbblending.
 
 ## 2026.3.7
 

src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle.test.ts

@@ -36,16 +36,17 @@ const renderGatewayPortHealthDiagnostics = vi.fn(() => ["diag: unhealthy port"])
 const renderRestartDiagnostics = vi.fn(() => ["diag: unhealthy runtime"]);
 const resolveGatewayPort = vi.fn(() => 18789);
 const findGatewayPidsOnPortSync = vi.fn<(port: number) => number[]>(() => []);
-const probeGateway = vi.fn<
+const probeGateway =
-  (opts: {
+  vi.fn<
-    url: string;
+    (opts: {
-    auth?: { token?: string; password?: string };
+      url: string;
-    timeoutMs: number;
+      auth?: { token?: string; password?: string };
-  }) => Promise<{
+      timeoutMs: number;
-    ok: boolean;
+    }) => Promise<{
-    configSnapshot: unknown;
+      ok: boolean;
-  }>
+      configSnapshot: unknown;
->();
+    }>
+  >();
 const isRestartEnabled = vi.fn<(config?: { commands?: unknown }) => boolean>(() => true);
 const loadConfig = vi.fn(() => ({}));
 

src/config/config.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 export {
   clearConfigCache,
+  ConfigRuntimeRefreshError,
   clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
   createConfigIO,
   getRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ export {
   readConfigFileSnapshot,
   readConfigFileSnapshotForWrite,
   resolveConfigSnapshotHash,
+  setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler,
   setRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
   writeConfigFile,
 } from "./io.js";

src/config/io.runtime-snapshot-write.test.ts

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
   clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
   getRuntimeConfigSourceSnapshot,
   loadConfig,
+  setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler,
   setRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
   writeConfigFile,
 } from "./io.js";
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ function createRuntimeConfig(): OpenClawConfig {
 }
 
 function resetRuntimeConfigState(): void {
+  setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler(null);
   clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot();
   clearConfigCache();
 }
@@ -96,4 +98,117 @@ describe("runtime config snapshot writes", () => {
       }
     });
   });
+
+  it("refreshes the runtime snapshot after writes so follow-up reads see persisted changes", async () => {
+    await withTempHome("openclaw-config-runtime-write-refresh-", async (home) => {
+      const configPath = path.join(home, ".openclaw", "openclaw.json");
+      const sourceConfig: OpenClawConfig = {
+        models: {
+          providers: {
+            openai: {
+              baseUrl: "https://api.openai.com/v1",
+              apiKey: { source: "env", provider: "default", id: "OPENAI_API_KEY" },
+              models: [],
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      };
+      const runtimeConfig: OpenClawConfig = {
+        models: {
+          providers: {
+            openai: {
+              baseUrl: "https://api.openai.com/v1",
+              apiKey: "sk-runtime-resolved", // pragma: allowlist secret
+              models: [],
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      };
+      const nextRuntimeConfig: OpenClawConfig = {
+        ...runtimeConfig,
+        gateway: { auth: { mode: "token" as const } },
+      };
+
+      await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(configPath), { recursive: true });
+      await fs.writeFile(configPath, `${JSON.stringify(sourceConfig, null, 2)}\n`, "utf8");
+
+      try {
+        setRuntimeConfigSnapshot(runtimeConfig, sourceConfig);
+        expect(loadConfig().gateway?.auth).toBeUndefined();
+
+        await writeConfigFile(nextRuntimeConfig);
+
+        expect(loadConfig().gateway?.auth).toEqual({ mode: "token" });
+        expect(loadConfig().models?.providers?.openai?.apiKey).toBeDefined();
+
+        let persisted = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(configPath, "utf8")) as {
+          gateway?: { auth?: unknown };
+          models?: { providers?: { openai?: { apiKey?: unknown } } };
+        };
+        expect(persisted.gateway?.auth).toEqual({ mode: "token" });
+        // Post-write secret-ref: apiKey must stay as source ref (not plaintext).
+        expect(persisted.models?.providers?.openai?.apiKey).toEqual({
+          source: "env",
+          provider: "default",
+          id: "OPENAI_API_KEY",
+        });
+
+        // Follow-up write: runtimeConfigSourceSnapshot must be restored so second write
+        // still runs secret-preservation merge-patch and keeps apiKey as ref (not plaintext).
+        await writeConfigFile(loadConfig());
+        persisted = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(configPath, "utf8")) as {
+          gateway?: { auth?: unknown };
+          models?: { providers?: { openai?: { apiKey?: unknown } } };
+        };
+        expect(persisted.models?.providers?.openai?.apiKey).toEqual({
+          source: "env",
+          provider: "default",
+          id: "OPENAI_API_KEY",
+        });
+      } finally {
+        clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot();
+        clearConfigCache();
+      }
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the last-known-good runtime snapshot active while a specialized refresh is pending", async () => {
+    await withTempHome("openclaw-config-runtime-refresh-pending-", async (home) => {
+      const configPath = path.join(home, ".openclaw", "openclaw.json");
+      const sourceConfig = createSourceConfig();
+      const runtimeConfig = createRuntimeConfig();
+      const nextRuntimeConfig: OpenClawConfig = {
+        ...runtimeConfig,
+        gateway: { auth: { mode: "token" as const } },
+      };
+
+      await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(configPath), { recursive: true });
+      await fs.writeFile(configPath, `${JSON.stringify(sourceConfig, null, 2)}\n`, "utf8");
+
+      let releaseRefresh!: () => void;
+      const refreshPending = new Promise<boolean>((resolve) => {
+        releaseRefresh = () => resolve(true);
+      });
+
+      try {
+        setRuntimeConfigSnapshot(runtimeConfig, sourceConfig);
+        setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler({
+          refresh: async ({ sourceConfig: refreshedSource }) => {
+            expect(refreshedSource.gateway?.auth).toEqual({ mode: "token" });
+            expect(loadConfig().gateway?.auth).toBeUndefined();
+            return await refreshPending;
+          },
+        });
+
+        const writePromise = writeConfigFile(nextRuntimeConfig);
+        await Promise.resolve();
+
+        expect(loadConfig().gateway?.auth).toBeUndefined();
+        releaseRefresh();
+        await writePromise;
+      } finally {
+        resetRuntimeConfigState();
+      }
+    });
+  });
 });

src/config/io.ts

@@ -140,6 +140,22 @@ export type ReadConfigFileSnapshotForWriteResult = {
   writeOptions: ConfigWriteOptions;
 };
 
+export type RuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshParams = {
+  sourceConfig: OpenClawConfig;
+};
+
+export type RuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler = {
+  refresh: (params: RuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshParams) => boolean | Promise<boolean>;
+  clearOnRefreshFailure?: () => void;
+};
+
+export class ConfigRuntimeRefreshError extends Error {
+  constructor(message: string, options?: { cause?: unknown }) {
+    super(message, options);
+    this.name = "ConfigRuntimeRefreshError";
+  }
+}
+
 function hashConfigRaw(raw: string | null): string {
   return crypto
     .createHash("sha256")
@@ -1306,6 +1322,7 @@ let configCache: {
 } | null = null;
 let runtimeConfigSnapshot: OpenClawConfig | null = null;
 let runtimeConfigSourceSnapshot: OpenClawConfig | null = null;
+let runtimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler: RuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler | null = null;
 
 function resolveConfigCacheMs(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv): number {
   const raw = env.OPENCLAW_CONFIG_CACHE_MS?.trim();
@@ -1356,6 +1373,12 @@ export function getRuntimeConfigSourceSnapshot(): OpenClawConfig | null {
   return runtimeConfigSourceSnapshot;
 }
 
+export function setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler(
+  refreshHandler: RuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler | null,
+): void {
+  runtimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler = refreshHandler;
+}
+
 export function loadConfig(): OpenClawConfig {
   if (runtimeConfigSnapshot) {
     return runtimeConfigSnapshot;
@@ -1402,9 +1425,11 @@ export async function writeConfigFile(
 ): Promise<void> {
   const io = createConfigIO();
   let nextCfg = cfg;
-  if (runtimeConfigSnapshot && runtimeConfigSourceSnapshot) {
+  const hadRuntimeSnapshot = Boolean(runtimeConfigSnapshot);
-    const runtimePatch = createMergePatch(runtimeConfigSnapshot, cfg);
+  const hadBothSnapshots = Boolean(runtimeConfigSnapshot && runtimeConfigSourceSnapshot);
-    nextCfg = coerceConfig(applyMergePatch(runtimeConfigSourceSnapshot, runtimePatch));
+  if (hadBothSnapshots) {
+    const runtimePatch = createMergePatch(runtimeConfigSnapshot!, cfg);
+    nextCfg = coerceConfig(applyMergePatch(runtimeConfigSourceSnapshot!, runtimePatch));
   }
   const sameConfigPath =
     options.expectedConfigPath === undefined || options.expectedConfigPath === io.configPath;
@@ -1412,4 +1437,38 @@ export async function writeConfigFile(
     envSnapshotForRestore: sameConfigPath ? options.envSnapshotForRestore : undefined,
     unsetPaths: options.unsetPaths,
   });
+  // Keep the last-known-good runtime snapshot active until the specialized refresh path
+  // succeeds, so concurrent readers do not observe unresolved SecretRefs mid-refresh.
+  const refreshHandler = runtimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler;
+  if (refreshHandler) {
+    try {
+      const refreshed = await refreshHandler.refresh({ sourceConfig: nextCfg });
+      if (refreshed) {
+        return;
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      try {
+        refreshHandler.clearOnRefreshFailure?.();
+      } catch {
+        // Keep the original refresh failure as the surfaced error.
+      }
+      const detail = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+      throw new ConfigRuntimeRefreshError(
+        `Config was written to ${io.configPath}, but runtime snapshot refresh failed: ${detail}`,
+        { cause: error },
+      );
+    }
+  }
+  if (hadBothSnapshots) {
+    // Refresh both snapshots from disk atomically so follow-up reads get normalized config and
+    // subsequent writes still get secret-preservation merge-patch (hadBothSnapshots stays true).
+    const fresh = io.loadConfig();
+    setRuntimeConfigSnapshot(fresh, nextCfg);
+    return;
+  }
+  if (hadRuntimeSnapshot) {
+    clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot();
+  }
+  // When we had no runtime snapshot, keep callers reading from disk/cache so external/manual
+  // edits to openclaw.json remain visible (no stale snapshot).
 }

src/secrets/runtime.test.ts

@@ -3,10 +3,12 @@ import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { ensureAuthProfileStore, type AuthProfileStore } from "../agents/auth-profiles.js";
-import { loadConfig, type OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { loadConfig, type OpenClawConfig, writeConfigFile } from "../config/config.js";
+import { withTempHome } from "../config/home-env.test-harness.js";
 import {
   activateSecretsRuntimeSnapshot,
   clearSecretsRuntimeSnapshot,
+  getActiveSecretsRuntimeSnapshot,
   prepareSecretsRuntimeSnapshot,
 } from "./runtime.js";
 
@@ -527,6 +529,248 @@ describe("secrets runtime snapshot", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("keeps active secrets runtime snapshots resolved after config writes", async () => {
+    await withTempHome("openclaw-secrets-runtime-write-", async (home) => {
+      const configDir = path.join(home, ".openclaw");
+      const secretFile = path.join(configDir, "secrets.json");
+      const agentDir = path.join(configDir, "agents", "main", "agent");
+      const authStorePath = path.join(agentDir, "auth-profiles.json");
+      await fs.mkdir(agentDir, { recursive: true });
+      await fs.chmod(configDir, 0o700).catch(() => {
+        // best-effort on tmp dirs that already have secure perms
+      });
+      await fs.writeFile(
+        secretFile,
+        `${JSON.stringify({ providers: { openai: { apiKey: "sk-file-runtime" } } }, null, 2)}\n`, // pragma: allowlist secret
+        { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o600 },
+      );
+      await fs.writeFile(
+        authStorePath,
+        `${JSON.stringify(
+          {
+            version: 1,
+            profiles: {
+              "openai:default": {
+                type: "api_key",
+                provider: "openai",
+                keyRef: { source: "file", provider: "default", id: "/providers/openai/apiKey" },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+          null,
+          2,
+        )}\n`,
+        { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o600 },
+      );
+
+      const prepared = await prepareSecretsRuntimeSnapshot({
+        config: asConfig({
+          secrets: {
+            providers: {
+              default: { source: "file", path: secretFile, mode: "json" },
+            },
+          },
+          models: {
+            providers: {
+              openai: {
+                baseUrl: "https://api.openai.com/v1",
+                apiKey: { source: "file", provider: "default", id: "/providers/openai/apiKey" },
+                models: [],
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        }),
+        agentDirs: [agentDir],
+      });
+
+      activateSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(prepared);
+
+      expect(loadConfig().models?.providers?.openai?.apiKey).toBe("sk-file-runtime");
+      expect(ensureAuthProfileStore(agentDir).profiles["openai:default"]).toMatchObject({
+        type: "api_key",
+        key: "sk-file-runtime",
+      });
+
+      await writeConfigFile({
+        ...loadConfig(),
+        gateway: { auth: { mode: "token" } },
+      });
+
+      expect(loadConfig().gateway?.auth).toEqual({ mode: "token" });
+      expect(loadConfig().models?.providers?.openai?.apiKey).toBe("sk-file-runtime");
+      expect(ensureAuthProfileStore(agentDir).profiles["openai:default"]).toMatchObject({
+        type: "api_key",
+        key: "sk-file-runtime",
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("clears active secrets runtime state and throws when refresh fails after a write", async () => {
+    await withTempHome("openclaw-secrets-runtime-refresh-fail-", async (home) => {
+      const configDir = path.join(home, ".openclaw");
+      const secretFile = path.join(configDir, "secrets.json");
+      const agentDir = path.join(configDir, "agents", "main", "agent");
+      const authStorePath = path.join(agentDir, "auth-profiles.json");
+      await fs.mkdir(agentDir, { recursive: true });
+      await fs.chmod(configDir, 0o700).catch(() => {
+        // best-effort on tmp dirs that already have secure perms
+      });
+      await fs.writeFile(
+        secretFile,
+        `${JSON.stringify({ providers: { openai: { apiKey: "sk-file-runtime" } } }, null, 2)}\n`,
+        { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o600 },
+      );
+      await fs.writeFile(
+        authStorePath,
+        `${JSON.stringify(
+          {
+            version: 1,
+            profiles: {
+              "openai:default": {
+                type: "api_key",
+                provider: "openai",
+                keyRef: { source: "file", provider: "default", id: "/providers/openai/apiKey" },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+          null,
+          2,
+        )}\n`,
+        { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o600 },
+      );
+
+      let loadAuthStoreCalls = 0;
+      const loadAuthStore = () => {
+        loadAuthStoreCalls += 1;
+        if (loadAuthStoreCalls > 1) {
+          throw new Error("simulated secrets runtime refresh failure");
+        }
+        return loadAuthStoreWithProfiles({
+          "openai:default": {
+            type: "api_key",
+            provider: "openai",
+            keyRef: { source: "file", provider: "default", id: "/providers/openai/apiKey" },
+          },
+        });
+      };
+
+      const prepared = await prepareSecretsRuntimeSnapshot({
+        config: asConfig({
+          secrets: {
+            providers: {
+              default: { source: "file", path: secretFile, mode: "json" },
+            },
+          },
+          models: {
+            providers: {
+              openai: {
+                baseUrl: "https://api.openai.com/v1",
+                apiKey: { source: "file", provider: "default", id: "/providers/openai/apiKey" },
+                models: [],
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        }),
+        agentDirs: [agentDir],
+        loadAuthStore,
+      });
+
+      activateSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(prepared);
+
+      await expect(
+        writeConfigFile({
+          ...loadConfig(),
+          gateway: { auth: { mode: "token" } },
+        }),
+      ).rejects.toThrow(
+        /runtime snapshot refresh failed: simulated secrets runtime refresh failure/i,
+      );
+
+      expect(getActiveSecretsRuntimeSnapshot()).toBeNull();
+      expect(loadConfig().gateway?.auth).toEqual({ mode: "token" });
+      expect(loadConfig().models?.providers?.openai?.apiKey).toEqual({
+        source: "file",
+        provider: "default",
+        id: "/providers/openai/apiKey",
+      });
+
+      const persistedStore = ensureAuthProfileStore(agentDir).profiles["openai:default"];
+      expect(persistedStore).toMatchObject({
+        type: "api_key",
+        keyRef: { source: "file", provider: "default", id: "/providers/openai/apiKey" },
+      });
+      expect("key" in persistedStore ? persistedStore.key : undefined).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("recomputes config-derived agent dirs when refreshing active secrets runtime snapshots", async () => {
+    await withTempHome("openclaw-secrets-runtime-agent-dirs-", async (home) => {
+      const mainAgentDir = path.join(home, ".openclaw", "agents", "main", "agent");
+      const opsAgentDir = path.join(home, ".openclaw", "agents", "ops", "agent");
+      await fs.mkdir(mainAgentDir, { recursive: true });
+      await fs.mkdir(opsAgentDir, { recursive: true });
+      await fs.writeFile(
+        path.join(mainAgentDir, "auth-profiles.json"),
+        `${JSON.stringify(
+          {
+            version: 1,
+            profiles: {
+              "openai:default": {
+                type: "api_key",
+                provider: "openai",
+                keyRef: { source: "env", provider: "default", id: "OPENAI_API_KEY" },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+          null,
+          2,
+        )}\n`,
+        { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o600 },
+      );
+      await fs.writeFile(
+        path.join(opsAgentDir, "auth-profiles.json"),
+        `${JSON.stringify(
+          {
+            version: 1,
+            profiles: {
+              "anthropic:ops": {
+                type: "api_key",
+                provider: "anthropic",
+                keyRef: { source: "env", provider: "default", id: "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+          null,
+          2,
+        )}\n`,
+        { encoding: "utf8", mode: 0o600 },
+      );
+
+      const prepared = await prepareSecretsRuntimeSnapshot({
+        config: asConfig({}),
+        env: {
+          OPENAI_API_KEY: "sk-main-runtime", // pragma: allowlist secret
+          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: "sk-ops-runtime", // pragma: allowlist secret
+        },
+      });
+
+      activateSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(prepared);
+      expect(ensureAuthProfileStore(opsAgentDir).profiles["anthropic:ops"]).toBeUndefined();
+
+      await writeConfigFile({
+        agents: {
+          list: [{ id: "ops", agentDir: opsAgentDir }],
+        },
+      });
+
+      expect(ensureAuthProfileStore(opsAgentDir).profiles["anthropic:ops"]).toMatchObject({
+        type: "api_key",
+        key: "sk-ops-runtime",
+        keyRef: { source: "env", provider: "default", id: "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" },
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
   it("skips inactive-surface refs and emits diagnostics", async () => {
     const config = asConfig({
       agents: {

src/secrets/runtime.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from "../agents/auth-profiles.js";
 import {
   clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
+  setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler,
   setRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "../config/config.js";
@@ -34,7 +35,18 @@ export type PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot = {
   warnings: SecretResolverWarning[];
 };
 
+type SecretsRuntimeRefreshContext = {
+  env: Record<string, string | undefined>;
+  explicitAgentDirs: string[] | null;
+  loadAuthStore: (agentDir?: string) => AuthProfileStore;
+};
+
 let activeSnapshot: PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot | null = null;
+let activeRefreshContext: SecretsRuntimeRefreshContext | null = null;
+const preparedSnapshotRefreshContext = new WeakMap<
+  PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot,
+  SecretsRuntimeRefreshContext
+>();
 
 function cloneSnapshot(snapshot: PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot): PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot {
   return {
@@ -48,6 +60,22 @@ function cloneSnapshot(snapshot: PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot): PreparedSecret
   };
 }
 
+function cloneRefreshContext(context: SecretsRuntimeRefreshContext): SecretsRuntimeRefreshContext {
+  return {
+    env: { ...context.env },
+    explicitAgentDirs: context.explicitAgentDirs ? [...context.explicitAgentDirs] : null,
+    loadAuthStore: context.loadAuthStore,
+  };
+}
+
+function clearActiveSecretsRuntimeState(): void {
+  activeSnapshot = null;
+  activeRefreshContext = null;
+  setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler(null);
+  clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot();
+  clearRuntimeAuthProfileStoreSnapshots();
+}
+
 function collectCandidateAgentDirs(config: OpenClawConfig): string[] {
   const dirs = new Set<string>();
   dirs.add(resolveUserPath(resolveOpenClawAgentDir()));
@@ -57,6 +85,17 @@ function collectCandidateAgentDirs(config: OpenClawConfig): string[] {
   return [...dirs];
 }
 
+function resolveRefreshAgentDirs(
+  config: OpenClawConfig,
+  context: SecretsRuntimeRefreshContext,
+): string[] {
+  const configDerived = collectCandidateAgentDirs(config);
+  if (!context.explicitAgentDirs || context.explicitAgentDirs.length === 0) {
+    return configDerived;
+  }
+  return [...new Set([...context.explicitAgentDirs, ...configDerived])];
+}
+
 export async function prepareSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(params: {
   config: OpenClawConfig;
   env?: NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
@@ -104,23 +143,61 @@ export async function prepareSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(params: {
     });
   }
 
-  return {
+  const snapshot = {
     sourceConfig,
     config: resolvedConfig,
     authStores,
     warnings: context.warnings,
   };
+  preparedSnapshotRefreshContext.set(snapshot, {
+    env: { ...(params.env ?? process.env) } as Record<string, string | undefined>,
+    explicitAgentDirs: params.agentDirs?.length ? [...candidateDirs] : null,
+    loadAuthStore,
+  });
+  return snapshot;
 }
 
 export function activateSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(snapshot: PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot): void {
   const next = cloneSnapshot(snapshot);
+  const refreshContext =
+    preparedSnapshotRefreshContext.get(snapshot) ??
+    activeRefreshContext ??
+    ({
+      env: { ...process.env } as Record<string, string | undefined>,
+      explicitAgentDirs: null,
+      loadAuthStore: loadAuthProfileStoreForSecretsRuntime,
+    } satisfies SecretsRuntimeRefreshContext);
   setRuntimeConfigSnapshot(next.config, next.sourceConfig);
   replaceRuntimeAuthProfileStoreSnapshots(next.authStores);
   activeSnapshot = next;
+  activeRefreshContext = cloneRefreshContext(refreshContext);
+  setRuntimeConfigSnapshotRefreshHandler({
+    refresh: async ({ sourceConfig }) => {
+      if (!activeSnapshot || !activeRefreshContext) {
+        return false;
+      }
+      const refreshed = await prepareSecretsRuntimeSnapshot({
+        config: sourceConfig,
+        env: activeRefreshContext.env,
+        agentDirs: resolveRefreshAgentDirs(sourceConfig, activeRefreshContext),
+        loadAuthStore: activeRefreshContext.loadAuthStore,
+      });
+      activateSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(refreshed);
+      return true;
+    },
+    clearOnRefreshFailure: clearActiveSecretsRuntimeState,
+  });
 }
 
 export function getActiveSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(): PreparedSecretsRuntimeSnapshot | null {
-  return activeSnapshot ? cloneSnapshot(activeSnapshot) : null;
+  if (!activeSnapshot) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  const snapshot = cloneSnapshot(activeSnapshot);
+  if (activeRefreshContext) {
+    preparedSnapshotRefreshContext.set(snapshot, cloneRefreshContext(activeRefreshContext));
+  }
+  return snapshot;
 }
 
 export function resolveCommandSecretsFromActiveRuntimeSnapshot(params: {
@@ -155,7 +232,5 @@ export function resolveCommandSecretsFromActiveRuntimeSnapshot(params: {
 }
 
 export function clearSecretsRuntimeSnapshot(): void {
-  activeSnapshot = null;
+  clearActiveSecretsRuntimeState();
-  clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot();
-  clearRuntimeAuthProfileStoreSnapshots();
 }