fix: allow disabled plugin config writes (#63296) (thanks @fuller-stack-dev)

* fix(config): ignore synthesized disabled plugin config on write

* test(config): keep write-prepare regression generic

* test(config): cover explicit disabled plugin config preservation

* fix(config): skip disabled plugin config validation

* fix(config): avoid tdz in plugin validation

* fix: allow disabled plugin config writes (#63296) (thanks @fuller-stack-dev)

---------

Co-authored-by: Ayaan Zaidi <hi@obviy.us>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 ### Fixes
 
 - WhatsApp/auto-reply: keep inbound reply, media, and composing sends on the current socket across reconnects, wait through reconnect gaps, and retry timeout-only send failures without dropping the active socket ref. (#62892) Thanks @mcaxtr.
+- Config/plugins: let config writes keep disabled plugin entries without forcing required plugin config schemas or crashing raw plugin validation, so slot switches and similar plugin-state updates persist cleanly. (#63296) Thanks @fuller-stack-dev.
 
 ## 2026.4.9
 

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

@@ -25,6 +25,15 @@ vi.mock("../plugins/manifest-registry.js", () => ({
   loadPluginManifestRegistry: mockLoadPluginManifestRegistry,
 }));
 
+vi.mock("../plugins/doctor-contract-registry.js", async (importOriginal) => {
+  const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("../plugins/doctor-contract-registry.js")>();
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    listPluginDoctorLegacyConfigRules: () => [],
+    applyPluginDoctorCompatibilityMigrations: () => ({ next: null, changes: [] }),
+  };
+});
+
 vi.mock("./backup-rotation.js", async (importOriginal) => {
   const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("./backup-rotation.js")>();
   return {
@@ -180,4 +189,53 @@ describe("config io write", () => {
       expect(overwriteLogs).toHaveLength(0);
     });
   });
+
+  it("writes disabled plugin entries without requiring plugin config", async () => {
+    mockLoadPluginManifestRegistry.mockReturnValue({
+      diagnostics: [],
+      plugins: [
+        {
+          id: "required-plugin",
+          origin: "bundled",
+          channels: [],
+          providers: [],
+          kind: ["tool"],
+          configSchema: {
+            type: "object",
+            properties: {
+              token: { type: "string" },
+            },
+            required: ["token"],
+            additionalProperties: true,
+          },
+        },
+      ],
+    } satisfies PluginManifestRegistry);
+
+    await withSuiteHome(async (home) => {
+      const io = createConfigIO({
+        env: { VITEST: "true" } as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+        homedir: () => home,
+        logger: silentLogger,
+      });
+
+      await expect(
+        io.writeConfigFile({
+          agents: { list: [{ id: "main", default: true }] },
+          plugins: {
+            entries: {
+              "required-plugin": {
+                enabled: false,
+              },
+            },
+          },
+        }),
+      ).resolves.toEqual({ persistedHash: expect.any(String) });
+    });
+
+    mockLoadPluginManifestRegistry.mockReturnValue({
+      diagnostics: [],
+      plugins: [],
+    } satisfies PluginManifestRegistry);
+  });
 });

src/config/validation.ts

@@ -970,9 +970,6 @@ function validateConfigObjectWithPluginsBase(
     const entry = normalizedPlugins.entries[pluginId];
     const entryExists = entry !== undefined;
     const entryHasConfig = Boolean(entry?.config);
-    const shouldReplacePluginConfig = opts.applyDefaults
-      ? entryExists || entryHasConfig
-      : entryHasConfig;
 
     const activationState = resolveEffectivePluginActivationState({
       id: pluginId,
@@ -999,7 +996,8 @@ function validateConfigObjectWithPluginsBase(
       }
     }
 
-    const shouldValidate = enabled || entryExists || entryHasConfig;
+    const shouldReplacePluginConfig = entryHasConfig || (opts.applyDefaults && enabled);
+    const shouldValidate = enabled || entryHasConfig;
     if (shouldValidate) {
       if (record.configSchema) {
         const res = validateJsonSchemaValue({