diff --git a/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts b/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts
index 0ae57bc9b11..27728f5ed84 100644
--- a/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/activation-planner.test.ts
@@ -167,4 +167,16 @@ describe("resolveManifestActivationPluginIds", () => {
       }),
     ).toEqual(["demo-channel"]);
   });
+
+  it("treats explicit empty plugin scopes as scoped-empty", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveManifestActivationPluginIds({
+        trigger: {
+          kind: "provider",
+          provider: "openai",
+        },
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/plugins/activation-planner.ts b/src/plugins/activation-planner.ts
index 567dcef61b0..930fee12c57 100644
--- a/src/plugins/activation-planner.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/activation-planner.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { normalizeOptionalLowercaseString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import { loadPluginManifestRegistry, type PluginManifestRecord } from "./manifest-registry.js";
 import type { PluginManifestActivationCapability } from "./manifest.js";
 import type { PluginOrigin } from "./plugin-origin.types.js";
+import { createPluginIdScopeSet, normalizePluginIdScope } from "./plugin-scope.js";
 
 export type PluginActivationPlannerTrigger =
   | { kind: "command"; command: string }
@@ -20,10 +21,7 @@ export function resolveManifestActivationPluginIds(params: {
   origin?: PluginOrigin;
   onlyPluginIds?: readonly string[];
 }): string[] {
-  const onlyPluginIds =
-    params.onlyPluginIds && params.onlyPluginIds.length > 0
-      ? new Set(params.onlyPluginIds.map((pluginId) => pluginId.trim()).filter(Boolean))
-      : null;
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(normalizePluginIdScope(params.onlyPluginIds));
 
   return [
     ...new Set(
@@ -35,7 +33,7 @@ export function resolveManifestActivationPluginIds(params: {
         .plugins.filter(
           (plugin) =>
             (!params.origin || plugin.origin === params.origin) &&
-            (!onlyPluginIds || onlyPluginIds.has(plugin.id)) &&
+            (!onlyPluginIdSet || onlyPluginIdSet.has(plugin.id)) &&
             matchesManifestActivationTrigger(plugin, params.trigger),
         )
         .map((plugin) => plugin.id),
diff --git a/src/plugins/loader.ts b/src/plugins/loader.ts
index e172f265e46..72b348e124e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/loader.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/loader.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,12 @@ import {
 } from "./memory-state.js";
 import { unwrapDefaultModuleExport } from "./module-export.js";
 import { isPathInside, safeStatSync } from "./path-safety.js";
+import {
+  createPluginIdScopeSet,
+  hasExplicitPluginIdScope,
+  normalizePluginIdScope,
+  serializePluginIdScope,
+} from "./plugin-scope.js";
 import { createPluginRegistry, type PluginRecord, type PluginRegistry } from "./registry.js";
 import { resolvePluginCacheInputs } from "./roots.js";
 import {
@@ -360,8 +366,7 @@ function buildCacheKey(params: {
       },
     ]),
   );
-  const scopeKey =
-    params.onlyPluginIds === undefined ? "__unscoped__" : JSON.stringify(params.onlyPluginIds);
+  const scopeKey = serializePluginIdScope(params.onlyPluginIds);
   const setupOnlyKey = params.includeSetupOnlyChannelPlugins === true ? "setup-only" : "runtime";
   const startupChannelMode =
     params.preferSetupRuntimeForChannelPlugins === true ? "prefer-setup" : "full";
@@ -376,14 +381,6 @@ function buildCacheKey(params: {
   })}::${scopeKey}::${setupOnlyKey}::${startupChannelMode}::${moduleLoadMode}::${runtimeSubagentMode}::${params.pluginSdkResolution ?? "auto"}::${gatewayMethodsKey}`;
 }
 
-function normalizeScopedPluginIds(ids?: string[]): string[] | undefined {
-  if (!ids) {
-    return undefined;
-  }
-  const normalized = Array.from(new Set(ids.map((id) => id.trim()).filter(Boolean))).toSorted();
-  return normalized;
-}
-
 function matchesScopedPluginRequest(params: {
   onlyPluginIdSet: ReadonlySet<string> | null;
   pluginId: string;
@@ -451,7 +448,7 @@ function hasExplicitCompatibilityInputs(options: PluginLoadOptions): boolean {
     options.autoEnabledReasons !== undefined ||
     options.workspaceDir !== undefined ||
     options.env !== undefined ||
-    options.onlyPluginIds !== undefined ||
+    hasExplicitPluginIdScope(options.onlyPluginIds) ||
     options.runtimeOptions !== undefined ||
     options.pluginSdkResolution !== undefined ||
     options.coreGatewayHandlers !== undefined ||
@@ -469,7 +466,7 @@ function resolvePluginLoadCacheContext(options: PluginLoadOptions = {}) {
   const activationSource = createPluginActivationSource({
     config: activationSourceConfig,
   });
-  const onlyPluginIds = normalizeScopedPluginIds(options.onlyPluginIds);
+  const onlyPluginIds = normalizePluginIdScope(options.onlyPluginIds);
   const includeSetupOnlyChannelPlugins = options.includeSetupOnlyChannelPlugins === true;
   const preferSetupRuntimeForChannelPlugins = options.preferSetupRuntimeForChannelPlugins === true;
   const runtimeSubagentMode = resolveRuntimeSubagentMode(options.runtimeOptions);
@@ -1097,7 +1094,7 @@ export function loadOpenClawPlugins(options: PluginLoadOptions = {}): PluginRegi
   } = resolvePluginLoadCacheContext(options);
   const logger = options.logger ?? defaultLogger();
   const validateOnly = options.mode === "validate";
-  const onlyPluginIdSet = onlyPluginIds ? new Set(onlyPluginIds) : null;
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(onlyPluginIds);
   const cacheEnabled = options.cache !== false;
   if (cacheEnabled) {
     const cached = getCachedPluginRegistry(cacheKey);
@@ -1833,7 +1830,7 @@ export async function loadOpenClawPluginCliRegistry(
       cache: false,
     });
   const logger = options.logger ?? defaultLogger();
-  const onlyPluginIdSet = onlyPluginIds ? new Set(onlyPluginIds) : null;
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(onlyPluginIds);
   const getJiti = createPluginJitiLoader(options);
   const { registry, registerCli } = createPluginRegistry({
     logger,
diff --git a/src/plugins/plugin-scope.test.ts b/src/plugins/plugin-scope.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5e03c0970c0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/plugin-scope.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { normalizePluginIdScope } from "./plugin-scope.js";
+
+describe("normalizePluginIdScope", () => {
+  it("normalizes logical duplicates into a stable scope", () => {
+    expect(normalizePluginIdScope([" beta ", "alpha", "beta", ""])).toEqual(["alpha", "beta"]);
+  });
+
+  it("ignores non-string scope values instead of throwing", () => {
+    expect(
+      normalizePluginIdScope(["alpha", null, 42, { id: "beta" }, " beta "] as unknown[]),
+    ).toEqual(["alpha", "beta"]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/plugins/plugin-scope.ts b/src/plugins/plugin-scope.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3053ebc1dfd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/plugin-scope.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+export type PluginIdScope = readonly string[] | undefined;
+
+export function normalizePluginIdScope(ids?: readonly unknown[]): string[] | undefined {
+  if (ids === undefined) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  return Array.from(
+    new Set(
+      ids
+        .filter((id): id is string => typeof id === "string")
+        .map((id) => id.trim())
+        .filter(Boolean),
+    ),
+  ).toSorted();
+}
+
+export function hasExplicitPluginIdScope(ids?: readonly string[]): boolean {
+  return ids !== undefined;
+}
+
+export function hasNonEmptyPluginIdScope(ids?: readonly string[]): boolean {
+  return ids !== undefined && ids.length > 0;
+}
+
+export function createPluginIdScopeSet(ids?: readonly string[]): ReadonlySet<string> | null {
+  if (ids === undefined) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  return new Set(ids);
+}
+
+export function serializePluginIdScope(ids?: readonly string[]): string {
+  return ids === undefined ? "__unscoped__" : JSON.stringify(ids);
+}
diff --git a/src/plugins/provider-runtime.test.ts b/src/plugins/provider-runtime.test.ts
index a650bec3b02..ffa846f39a3 100644
--- a/src/plugins/provider-runtime.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/provider-runtime.test.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ let prepareProviderRuntimeAuth: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").preparePr
 let resetProviderRuntimeHookCacheForTest: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").resetProviderRuntimeHookCacheForTest;
 let refreshProviderOAuthCredentialWithPlugin: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").refreshProviderOAuthCredentialWithPlugin;
 let resolveProviderRuntimePlugin: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").resolveProviderRuntimePlugin;
+let providerRuntimeTesting: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").__testing;
 let runProviderDynamicModel: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").runProviderDynamicModel;
 let validateProviderReplayTurnsWithPlugin: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").validateProviderReplayTurnsWithPlugin;
 let wrapProviderStreamFn: typeof import("./provider-runtime.js").wrapProviderStreamFn;
@@ -282,6 +283,7 @@ describe("provider-runtime", () => {
       resetProviderRuntimeHookCacheForTest,
       refreshProviderOAuthCredentialWithPlugin,
       resolveProviderRuntimePlugin,
+      __testing: providerRuntimeTesting,
       runProviderDynamicModel,
       validateProviderReplayTurnsWithPlugin,
       wrapProviderStreamFn,
@@ -330,6 +332,26 @@ describe("provider-runtime", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("normalizes plugin scopes in provider hook cache keys", () => {
+    const base = {
+      workspaceDir: "/tmp/workspace",
+      env: { OPENCLAW_HOME: "/tmp/openclaw-home" } as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+      providerRefs: ["demo"],
+    };
+
+    expect(
+      providerRuntimeTesting.buildHookProviderCacheKey({
+        ...base,
+        onlyPluginIds: [" beta ", "alpha", "beta"],
+      }),
+    ).toBe(
+      providerRuntimeTesting.buildHookProviderCacheKey({
+        ...base,
+        onlyPluginIds: ["alpha", "beta"],
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("returns provider-prepared runtime auth for the matched provider", async () => {
     const prepareRuntimeAuth = vi.fn(async () => ({
       apiKey: "runtime-token",
diff --git a/src/plugins/provider-runtime.ts b/src/plugins/provider-runtime.ts
index 3d234384e4a..99ae3b96efb 100644
--- a/src/plugins/provider-runtime.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/provider-runtime.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import type { ProviderSystemPromptContribution } from "../agents/system-prompt-c
 import type { ModelProviderConfig } from "../config/types.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
+import { normalizePluginIdScope, serializePluginIdScope } from "./plugin-scope.js";
 import { resolveBundledProviderPolicySurface } from "./provider-public-artifacts.js";
 import type { ProviderRuntimeModel } from "./provider-runtime-model.types.js";
 import { resolveCatalogHookProviderPluginIds } from "./providers.js";
@@ -123,7 +124,8 @@ function buildHookProviderCacheKey(params: {
     workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
     env: params.env,
   });
-  return `${roots.workspace ?? ""}::${roots.global}::${roots.stock ?? ""}::${JSON.stringify(params.config ?? null)}::${JSON.stringify(params.onlyPluginIds ?? [])}::${JSON.stringify(params.providerRefs ?? [])}`;
+  const onlyPluginIds = normalizePluginIdScope(params.onlyPluginIds);
+  return `${roots.workspace ?? ""}::${roots.global}::${roots.stock ?? ""}::${JSON.stringify(params.config ?? null)}::${serializePluginIdScope(onlyPluginIds)}::${JSON.stringify(params.providerRefs ?? [])}`;
 }
 
 export function clearProviderRuntimeHookCache(): void {
@@ -141,6 +143,10 @@ export function resetProviderRuntimeHookCacheForTest(): void {
   clearProviderRuntimeHookCache();
 }
 
+export const __testing = {
+  buildHookProviderCacheKey,
+} as const;
+
 function resolveProviderPluginsForHooks(params: {
   config?: OpenClawConfig;
   workspaceDir?: string;
diff --git a/src/plugins/providers.runtime.ts b/src/plugins/providers.runtime.ts
index e2f9909277d..fbbdbc4b794 100644
--- a/src/plugins/providers.runtime.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/providers.runtime.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
   resolveRuntimePluginRegistry,
   type PluginLoadOptions,
 } from "./loader.js";
+import { hasExplicitPluginIdScope } from "./plugin-scope.js";
 import {
   resolveActivatableProviderOwnerPluginIds,
   resolveDiscoverableProviderOwnerPluginIds,
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ function resolvePluginProviderLoadBase(params: {
       })
     : [];
   const requestedPluginIds =
-    params.onlyPluginIds ||
+    hasExplicitPluginIdScope(params.onlyPluginIds) ||
     params.providerRefs?.length ||
     params.modelRefs?.length ||
     providerOwnedPluginIds.length > 0 ||
diff --git a/src/plugins/providers.test.ts b/src/plugins/providers.test.ts
index fa74dabf0f3..72f94bf5704 100644
--- a/src/plugins/providers.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/providers.test.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ let resolveOwningPluginIdsForProvider: typeof import("./providers.js").resolveOw
 let resolveOwningPluginIdsForModelRef: typeof import("./providers.js").resolveOwningPluginIdsForModelRef;
 let resolveActivatableProviderOwnerPluginIds: typeof import("./providers.js").resolveActivatableProviderOwnerPluginIds;
 let resolveEnabledProviderPluginIds: typeof import("./providers.js").resolveEnabledProviderPluginIds;
+let resolveDiscoveredProviderPluginIds: typeof import("./providers.js").resolveDiscoveredProviderPluginIds;
 let resolveDiscoverableProviderOwnerPluginIds: typeof import("./providers.js").resolveDiscoverableProviderOwnerPluginIds;
 let resolvePluginProviders: typeof import("./providers.runtime.js").resolvePluginProviders;
 let setActivePluginRegistry: SetActivePluginRegistry;
@@ -143,7 +144,7 @@ function expectLastRuntimeRegistryLoad(params?: {
       cache: false,
       activate: false,
       ...(params?.env ? { env: params.env } : {}),
-      ...(params?.onlyPluginIds ? { onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds } : {}),
+      ...(params?.onlyPluginIds !== undefined ? { onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds } : {}),
     }),
   );
 }
@@ -157,7 +158,7 @@ function expectLastSetupRegistryLoad(params?: {
       cache: false,
       activate: false,
       ...(params?.env ? { env: params.env } : {}),
-      ...(params?.onlyPluginIds ? { onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds } : {}),
+      ...(params?.onlyPluginIds !== undefined ? { onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds } : {}),
     }),
   );
 }
@@ -194,7 +195,7 @@ function createBundledProviderCompatOptions(params?: { onlyPluginIds?: readonly
       },
     },
     bundledProviderAllowlistCompat: true,
-    ...(params?.onlyPluginIds ? { onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds } : {}),
+    ...(params?.onlyPluginIds !== undefined ? { onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds } : {}),
   };
 }
 
@@ -290,6 +291,7 @@ describe("resolvePluginProviders", () => {
       resolveOwningPluginIdsForProvider,
       resolveOwningPluginIdsForModelRef,
       resolveEnabledProviderPluginIds,
+      resolveDiscoveredProviderPluginIds,
       resolveDiscoverableProviderOwnerPluginIds,
     } = await import("./providers.js"));
     ({ resolvePluginProviders } = await import("./providers.runtime.js"));
@@ -385,6 +387,23 @@ describe("resolvePluginProviders", () => {
     ]);
   });
 
+  it("treats explicit empty provider scopes as scoped-empty in provider helpers", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveEnabledProviderPluginIds({
+        config: {},
+        env: {} as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+    expect(
+      resolveDiscoveredProviderPluginIds({
+        config: {},
+        env: {} as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   it.each([
     {
       name: "can augment restrictive allowlists for bundled provider compatibility",
diff --git a/src/plugins/providers.ts b/src/plugins/providers.ts
index 7ad3e9ea75b..71b408b480e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/providers.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/providers.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import {
   type PluginManifestRecord,
   type PluginManifestRegistry,
 } from "./manifest-registry.js";
+import { createPluginIdScopeSet } from "./plugin-scope.js";
 
 export function withBundledProviderVitestCompat(params: {
   config: PluginLoadOptions["config"];
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ export function resolveBundledProviderCompatPluginIds(params: {
   env?: PluginLoadOptions["env"];
   onlyPluginIds?: readonly string[];
 }): string[] {
-  const onlyPluginIdSet = params.onlyPluginIds ? new Set(params.onlyPluginIds) : null;
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(params.onlyPluginIds);
   const registry = loadPluginManifestRegistry({
     config: params.config,
     workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ export function resolveEnabledProviderPluginIds(params: {
   env?: PluginLoadOptions["env"];
   onlyPluginIds?: readonly string[];
 }): string[] {
-  const onlyPluginIdSet = params.onlyPluginIds ? new Set(params.onlyPluginIds) : null;
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(params.onlyPluginIds);
   const registry = loadPluginManifestRegistry({
     config: params.config,
     workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ export function resolveDiscoveredProviderPluginIds(params: {
   onlyPluginIds?: readonly string[];
   includeUntrustedWorkspacePlugins?: boolean;
 }): string[] {
-  const onlyPluginIdSet = params.onlyPluginIds ? new Set(params.onlyPluginIds) : null;
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(params.onlyPluginIds);
   const registry = loadPluginManifestRegistry({
     config: params.config,
     workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
diff --git a/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.test.ts b/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.test.ts
index d4e3a0a2a28..260346fdda0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.test.ts
@@ -78,4 +78,18 @@ describe("loadPluginMetadataRegistrySnapshot", () => {
       }),
     );
   });
+
+  it("preserves explicit empty plugin scopes on metadata snapshots", () => {
+    loadPluginMetadataRegistrySnapshot({
+      config: { plugins: {} },
+      onlyPluginIds: [],
+    });
+
+    expect(loadOpenClawPluginsMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+        mode: "validate",
+      }),
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.ts b/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.ts
index a88f915b47e..5883fe55bf0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/runtime/metadata-registry-loader.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import { loadOpenClawPlugins } from "../loader.js";
+import { hasExplicitPluginIdScope } from "../plugin-scope.js";
 import type { PluginRegistry } from "../registry.js";
 import { buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptions, resolvePluginRuntimeLoadContext } from "./load-context.js";
 
@@ -20,7 +21,9 @@ export function loadPluginMetadataRegistrySnapshot(options?: {
       activate: false,
       mode: "validate",
       loadModules: options?.loadModules,
-      ...(options?.onlyPluginIds !== undefined ? { onlyPluginIds: options.onlyPluginIds } : {}),
+      ...(hasExplicitPluginIdScope(options?.onlyPluginIds)
+        ? { onlyPluginIds: options?.onlyPluginIds }
+        : {}),
     }),
   );
 }
diff --git a/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.test.ts b/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.test.ts
index 536da37b9f1..aa1c9c1ba96 100644
--- a/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.test.ts
@@ -156,4 +156,20 @@ describe("ensurePluginRegistryLoaded", () => {
       expect.objectContaining({ onlyPluginIds: ["demo-b"] }),
     );
   });
+
+  it("forwards explicit empty scopes without widening to channel resolution", () => {
+    ensurePluginRegistryLoaded({
+      scope: "configured-channels",
+      config: {} as never,
+      onlyPluginIds: [],
+    });
+
+    expect(mocks.resolveConfiguredChannelPluginIds).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mocks.resolveChannelPluginIds).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mocks.loadOpenClawPlugins).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.ts b/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.ts
index 2594700627f..7e87f6654dd 100644
--- a/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/runtime/runtime-registry-loader.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@ import {
   resolveConfiguredChannelPluginIds,
 } from "../channel-plugin-ids.js";
 import { loadOpenClawPlugins } from "../loader.js";
+import {
+  hasExplicitPluginIdScope,
+  hasNonEmptyPluginIdScope,
+  normalizePluginIdScope,
+} from "../plugin-scope.js";
 import { getActivePluginRegistry } from "../runtime.js";
 import { buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptions, resolvePluginRuntimeLoadContext } from "./load-context.js";
 
@@ -29,12 +34,15 @@ function activeRegistrySatisfiesScope(
   scope: PluginRegistryScope,
   active: ReturnType<typeof getActivePluginRegistry>,
   expectedChannelPluginIds: readonly string[],
-  requestedPluginIds: readonly string[],
+  requestedPluginIds: readonly string[] | undefined,
 ): boolean {
   if (!active) {
     return false;
   }
-  if (requestedPluginIds.length > 0) {
+  if (requestedPluginIds !== undefined) {
+    if (requestedPluginIds.length === 0) {
+      return false;
+    }
     const activePluginIds = new Set(
       active.plugins.filter((plugin) => plugin.status === "loaded").map((plugin) => plugin.id),
     );
@@ -62,12 +70,11 @@ export function ensurePluginRegistryLoaded(options?: {
   onlyPluginIds?: string[];
 }): void {
   const scope = options?.scope ?? "all";
-  const requestedPluginIds =
-    options?.onlyPluginIds?.map((pluginId) => pluginId.trim()).filter(Boolean) ?? [];
-  const scopedLoad = requestedPluginIds.length > 0;
+  const requestedPluginIds = normalizePluginIdScope(options?.onlyPluginIds);
+  const scopedLoad = hasExplicitPluginIdScope(requestedPluginIds);
   const context = resolvePluginRuntimeLoadContext(options);
   const expectedChannelPluginIds = scopedLoad
-    ? requestedPluginIds
+    ? (requestedPluginIds ?? [])
     : scope === "configured-channels"
       ? resolveConfiguredChannelPluginIds({
           config: context.config,
@@ -85,13 +92,13 @@ export function ensurePluginRegistryLoaded(options?: {
   if (
     !scopedLoad &&
     scopeRank(pluginRegistryLoaded) >= scopeRank(scope) &&
-    activeRegistrySatisfiesScope(scope, active, expectedChannelPluginIds, expectedChannelPluginIds)
+    activeRegistrySatisfiesScope(scope, active, expectedChannelPluginIds, undefined)
   ) {
     return;
   }
   if (
     (pluginRegistryLoaded === "none" || scopedLoad) &&
-    activeRegistrySatisfiesScope(scope, active, expectedChannelPluginIds, expectedChannelPluginIds)
+    activeRegistrySatisfiesScope(scope, active, expectedChannelPluginIds, requestedPluginIds)
   ) {
     if (!scopedLoad) {
       pluginRegistryLoaded = scope;
@@ -101,7 +108,10 @@ export function ensurePluginRegistryLoaded(options?: {
   loadOpenClawPlugins(
     buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptions(context, {
       throwOnLoadError: true,
-      ...(expectedChannelPluginIds.length > 0 ? { onlyPluginIds: expectedChannelPluginIds } : {}),
+      ...(hasExplicitPluginIdScope(requestedPluginIds) ||
+      hasNonEmptyPluginIdScope(expectedChannelPluginIds)
+        ? { onlyPluginIds: expectedChannelPluginIds }
+        : {}),
     }),
   );
   if (!scopedLoad) {
diff --git a/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-candidates.test.ts b/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-candidates.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f7d38c737a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-candidates.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import { beforeAll, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  loadPluginManifestRegistry: vi.fn(),
+  resolveManifestContractPluginIds: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./manifest-registry.js", () => ({
+  loadPluginManifestRegistry: (...args: unknown[]) => mocks.loadPluginManifestRegistry(...args),
+  resolveManifestContractPluginIds: (...args: unknown[]) =>
+    mocks.resolveManifestContractPluginIds(...args),
+}));
+
+let resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds: typeof import("./web-provider-resolution-shared.js").resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds;
+
+describe("resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds", () => {
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    ({ resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds } =
+      await import("./web-provider-resolution-shared.js"));
+  });
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    mocks.resolveManifestContractPluginIds.mockReset();
+    mocks.resolveManifestContractPluginIds.mockReturnValue(["alpha"]);
+    mocks.loadPluginManifestRegistry.mockReset();
+    mocks.loadPluginManifestRegistry.mockReturnValue({
+      plugins: [
+        {
+          id: "alpha",
+          origin: "bundled",
+          configSchema: {
+            properties: {
+              webSearch: {},
+            },
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          id: "beta",
+          origin: "bundled",
+          contracts: {
+            webSearchProviders: ["beta-search"],
+          },
+        },
+      ],
+      diagnostics: [],
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("treats explicit empty plugin scopes as scoped-empty", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds({
+        contract: "webSearchProviders",
+        configKey: "webSearch",
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    ).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps runtime fallback for scoped plugins with no declared web candidates", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds({
+        contract: "webSearchProviders",
+        configKey: "webSearch",
+        onlyPluginIds: ["missing-plugin"],
+      }),
+    ).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-shared.test.ts b/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-shared.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..38e658fbbc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-shared.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import {
+  buildWebProviderSnapshotCacheKey,
+  mapRegistryProviders,
+} from "./web-provider-resolution-shared.js";
+
+describe("web-provider-resolution-shared", () => {
+  it("distinguishes explicit empty plugin scopes in cache keys", () => {
+    const unscoped = buildWebProviderSnapshotCacheKey({
+      envKey: "demo",
+    });
+    const scopedEmpty = buildWebProviderSnapshotCacheKey({
+      envKey: "demo",
+      onlyPluginIds: [],
+    });
+
+    expect(scopedEmpty).not.toBe(unscoped);
+  });
+
+  it("treats explicit empty plugin scopes as scoped-empty when mapping providers", () => {
+    const providers = mapRegistryProviders({
+      entries: [
+        {
+          pluginId: "alpha",
+          provider: { id: "alpha-provider" },
+        },
+        {
+          pluginId: "beta",
+          provider: { id: "beta-provider" },
+        },
+      ],
+      onlyPluginIds: [],
+      sortProviders: (values) => values,
+    });
+
+    expect(providers).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-shared.ts b/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-shared.ts
index ed423145856..f295a79e2fc 100644
--- a/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-shared.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/web-provider-resolution-shared.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ import {
   resolveManifestContractPluginIds,
   type PluginManifestRecord,
 } from "./manifest-registry.js";
+import {
+  createPluginIdScopeSet,
+  normalizePluginIdScope,
+  serializePluginIdScope,
+} from "./plugin-scope.js";
 
 export type WebProviderContract = "webSearchProviders" | "webFetchProviders";
 export type WebProviderConfigKey = "webSearch" | "webFetch";
@@ -77,8 +82,8 @@ export function resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds(params: {
       onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds,
     }),
   );
-  const onlyPluginIdSet =
-    params.onlyPluginIds && params.onlyPluginIds.length > 0 ? new Set(params.onlyPluginIds) : null;
+  const scopedPluginIds = normalizePluginIdScope(params.onlyPluginIds);
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(scopedPluginIds);
   const ids = loadPluginManifestRegistry({
     config: params.config,
     workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir,
@@ -93,7 +98,10 @@ export function resolveManifestDeclaredWebProviderCandidatePluginIds(params: {
     )
     .map((plugin) => plugin.id)
     .toSorted((left, right) => left.localeCompare(right));
-  return ids.length > 0 ? ids : undefined;
+  if (ids.length > 0) {
+    return ids;
+  }
+  return scopedPluginIds?.length === 0 ? [] : undefined;
 }
 
 function resolveBundledWebProviderCompatPluginIds(params: {
@@ -160,13 +168,12 @@ export function buildWebProviderSnapshotCacheKey(params: {
     typeof params.envKey === "string"
       ? params.envKey
       : Object.entries(params.envKey).toSorted(([left], [right]) => left.localeCompare(right));
+  const onlyPluginIds = normalizePluginIdScope(params.onlyPluginIds);
   return JSON.stringify({
     workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir ?? "",
     bundledAllowlistCompat: params.bundledAllowlistCompat === true,
     origin: params.origin ?? "",
-    onlyPluginIds: [...new Set(params.onlyPluginIds ?? [])].toSorted((left, right) =>
-      left.localeCompare(right),
-    ),
+    onlyPluginIds: serializePluginIdScope(onlyPluginIds),
     env: envKey,
   });
 }
@@ -181,8 +188,7 @@ export function mapRegistryProviders<
     providers: Array<TProvider & { pluginId: string }>,
   ) => Array<TProvider & { pluginId: string }>;
 }): Array<TProvider & { pluginId: string }> {
-  const onlyPluginIdSet =
-    params.onlyPluginIds && params.onlyPluginIds.length > 0 ? new Set(params.onlyPluginIds) : null;
+  const onlyPluginIdSet = createPluginIdScopeSet(normalizePluginIdScope(params.onlyPluginIds));
   return params.sortProviders(
     params.entries
       .filter((entry) => !onlyPluginIdSet || onlyPluginIdSet.has(entry.pluginId))
diff --git a/src/plugins/web-provider-runtime-shared.test.ts b/src/plugins/web-provider-runtime-shared.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9b53e4a0ecd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/plugins/web-provider-runtime-shared.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+import { beforeAll, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  isPluginRegistryLoadInFlight: vi.fn(() => false),
+  loadOpenClawPlugins: vi.fn(),
+  resolveCompatibleRuntimePluginRegistry: vi.fn(),
+  resolveRuntimePluginRegistry: vi.fn(),
+  getActivePluginRegistryWorkspaceDir: vi.fn(() => undefined),
+  buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptionsFromValues: vi.fn(
+    (_values: unknown, overrides?: Record<string, unknown>) => ({
+      ...overrides,
+    }),
+  ),
+  createPluginRuntimeLoaderLogger: vi.fn(() => ({
+    info: vi.fn(),
+    warn: vi.fn(),
+    error: vi.fn(),
+    debug: vi.fn(),
+  })),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./loader.js", () => ({
+  isPluginRegistryLoadInFlight: mocks.isPluginRegistryLoadInFlight,
+  loadOpenClawPlugins: mocks.loadOpenClawPlugins,
+  resolveCompatibleRuntimePluginRegistry: mocks.resolveCompatibleRuntimePluginRegistry,
+  resolveRuntimePluginRegistry: mocks.resolveRuntimePluginRegistry,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./runtime.js", () => ({
+  getActivePluginRegistryWorkspaceDir: mocks.getActivePluginRegistryWorkspaceDir,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./runtime/load-context.js", () => ({
+  buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptionsFromValues: mocks.buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptionsFromValues,
+  createPluginRuntimeLoaderLogger: mocks.createPluginRuntimeLoaderLogger,
+}));
+
+let createWebProviderSnapshotCache: typeof import("./web-provider-runtime-shared.js").createWebProviderSnapshotCache;
+let resolvePluginWebProviders: typeof import("./web-provider-runtime-shared.js").resolvePluginWebProviders;
+let resolveRuntimeWebProviders: typeof import("./web-provider-runtime-shared.js").resolveRuntimeWebProviders;
+
+describe("web-provider-runtime-shared", () => {
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    ({ createWebProviderSnapshotCache, resolvePluginWebProviders, resolveRuntimeWebProviders } =
+      await import("./web-provider-runtime-shared.js"));
+  });
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    mocks.isPluginRegistryLoadInFlight.mockReset();
+    mocks.isPluginRegistryLoadInFlight.mockReturnValue(false);
+    mocks.loadOpenClawPlugins.mockReset();
+    mocks.resolveCompatibleRuntimePluginRegistry.mockReset();
+    mocks.resolveRuntimePluginRegistry.mockReset();
+    mocks.getActivePluginRegistryWorkspaceDir.mockReset();
+    mocks.getActivePluginRegistryWorkspaceDir.mockReturnValue(undefined);
+    mocks.buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptionsFromValues.mockReset();
+    mocks.buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptionsFromValues.mockImplementation(
+      (_values: unknown, overrides?: Record<string, unknown>) => ({
+        ...overrides,
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("preserves explicit empty scopes in runtime-compatible web provider loads", () => {
+    const mapRegistryProviders = vi.fn(() => []);
+    mocks.resolveCompatibleRuntimePluginRegistry.mockReturnValue({} as never);
+
+    resolvePluginWebProviders(
+      {
+        config: {},
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      },
+      {
+        snapshotCache: createWebProviderSnapshotCache(),
+        resolveBundledResolutionConfig: () => ({
+          config: {},
+          activationSourceConfig: {},
+          autoEnabledReasons: {},
+        }),
+        resolveCandidatePluginIds: () => [],
+        mapRegistryProviders,
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(mocks.resolveCompatibleRuntimePluginRegistry).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(mapRegistryProviders).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("preserves explicit empty scopes in direct runtime web provider resolution", () => {
+    const mapRegistryProviders = vi.fn(() => []);
+    mocks.resolveRuntimePluginRegistry.mockReturnValue({} as never);
+
+    resolveRuntimeWebProviders(
+      {
+        config: {},
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      },
+      {
+        snapshotCache: createWebProviderSnapshotCache(),
+        resolveBundledResolutionConfig: () => ({
+          config: {},
+          activationSourceConfig: {},
+          autoEnabledReasons: {},
+        }),
+        resolveCandidatePluginIds: () => [],
+        mapRegistryProviders,
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(mocks.resolveRuntimePluginRegistry).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(mapRegistryProviders).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        onlyPluginIds: [],
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("preserves explicit scopes when config is omitted in direct runtime resolution", () => {
+    const mapRegistryProviders = vi.fn(() => []);
+    mocks.resolveRuntimePluginRegistry.mockReturnValue({} as never);
+
+    resolveRuntimeWebProviders(
+      {
+        onlyPluginIds: ["alpha"],
+      },
+      {
+        snapshotCache: createWebProviderSnapshotCache(),
+        resolveBundledResolutionConfig: () => ({
+          config: {},
+          activationSourceConfig: {},
+          autoEnabledReasons: {},
+        }),
+        resolveCandidatePluginIds: () => ["alpha"],
+        mapRegistryProviders,
+      },
+    );
+
+    expect(mocks.resolveRuntimePluginRegistry).toHaveBeenCalledWith(undefined);
+    expect(mapRegistryProviders).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        onlyPluginIds: ["alpha"],
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/plugins/web-provider-runtime-shared.ts b/src/plugins/web-provider-runtime-shared.ts
index aa29dd788d0..2f108d9dbc0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/web-provider-runtime-shared.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/web-provider-runtime-shared.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
 } from "./loader.js";
 import type { PluginLoadOptions } from "./loader.js";
 import type { PluginManifestRecord } from "./manifest-registry.js";
+import { hasExplicitPluginIdScope, normalizePluginIdScope } from "./plugin-scope.js";
 import type { PluginRegistry } from "./registry.js";
 import { getActivePluginRegistryWorkspaceDir } from "./runtime.js";
 import {
@@ -87,13 +88,15 @@ function resolveWebProviderLoadOptions<TEntry>(
       workspaceDir,
       env,
     });
-  const onlyPluginIds = deps.resolveCandidatePluginIds({
-    config,
-    workspaceDir,
-    env,
-    onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds,
-    origin: params.origin,
-  });
+  const onlyPluginIds = normalizePluginIdScope(
+    deps.resolveCandidatePluginIds({
+      config,
+      workspaceDir,
+      env,
+      onlyPluginIds: params.onlyPluginIds,
+      origin: params.origin,
+    }),
+  );
   return buildPluginRuntimeLoadOptionsFromValues(
     {
       env,
@@ -106,7 +109,7 @@ function resolveWebProviderLoadOptions<TEntry>(
     {
       cache: params.cache ?? false,
       activate: params.activate ?? false,
-      ...(onlyPluginIds ? { onlyPluginIds } : {}),
+      ...(hasExplicitPluginIdScope(onlyPluginIds) ? { onlyPluginIds } : {}),
     },
   );
 }
@@ -220,9 +223,9 @@ export function resolveRuntimeWebProviders<TEntry>(
   params: Omit<ResolvePluginWebProvidersParams, "activate" | "cache" | "mode">,
   deps: ResolveWebProviderRuntimeDeps<TEntry>,
 ): TEntry[] {
-  const runtimeRegistry = resolveRuntimePluginRegistry(
-    params.config === undefined ? undefined : resolveWebProviderLoadOptions(params, deps),
-  );
+  const loadOptions =
+    params.config === undefined ? undefined : resolveWebProviderLoadOptions(params, deps);
+  const runtimeRegistry = resolveRuntimePluginRegistry(loadOptions);
   if (runtimeRegistry) {
     return deps.mapRegistryProviders({
       registry: runtimeRegistry,