diff --git a/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.provider-auth.test.ts b/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.provider-auth.test.ts
index 390d19b0154..d72de28a61d 100644
--- a/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.provider-auth.test.ts
+++ b/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.provider-auth.test.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ let upsertAuthProfile: typeof import("../agents/auth-profiles.js").upsertAuthPro
 type ProviderAuthConfigSnapshot = {
   auth?: { profiles?: Record<string, { provider?: string; mode?: string }> };
   agents?: { defaults?: { model?: { primary?: string } } };
+  talk?: {
+    provider?: string;
+    apiKey?: string | { source?: string; id?: string };
+    providers?: Record<string, { apiKey?: string | { source?: string; id?: string } }>;
+  };
   models?: {
     providers?: Record<
       string,
@@ -357,6 +362,38 @@ describe("onboard (non-interactive): provider auth", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("does not persist talk fallback secrets when OpenAI ref onboarding starts from an empty config", async () => {
+    await withOnboardEnv("openclaw-onboard-openai-ref-no-talk-leak-", async (env) => {
+      await withEnvAsync(
+        {
+          OPENAI_API_KEY: "sk-openai-env-key", // pragma: allowlist secret
+          ELEVENLABS_API_KEY: "elevenlabs-env-key", // pragma: allowlist secret
+        },
+        async () => {
+          const cfg = await runOnboardingAndReadConfig(env, {
+            authChoice: "openai-api-key",
+            secretInputMode: "ref", // pragma: allowlist secret
+          });
+
+          expect(cfg.agents?.defaults?.model?.primary).toBe(OPENAI_DEFAULT_MODEL);
+          expect(cfg.talk).toBeUndefined();
+
+          const store = ensureAuthProfileStore();
+          const profile = store.profiles["openai:default"];
+          expect(profile?.type).toBe("api_key");
+          if (profile?.type === "api_key") {
+            expect(profile.key).toBeUndefined();
+            expect(profile.keyRef).toEqual({
+              source: "env",
+              provider: "default",
+              id: "OPENAI_API_KEY",
+            });
+          }
+        },
+      );
+    });
+  });
+
   it.each([
     {
       name: "anthropic",
diff --git a/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.ts b/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.ts
index 4b4d1223226..ee2b3498180 100644
--- a/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.ts
+++ b/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export async function runNonInteractiveOnboarding(
     return;
   }
 
-  const baseConfig: OpenClawConfig = snapshot.valid ? snapshot.config : {};
+  const baseConfig: OpenClawConfig = snapshot.valid ? (snapshot.exists ? snapshot.config : {}) : {};
   const mode = opts.mode ?? "local";
   if (mode !== "local" && mode !== "remote") {
     runtime.error(`Invalid --mode "${String(mode)}" (use local|remote).`);
diff --git a/src/wizard/onboarding.ts b/src/wizard/onboarding.ts
index e2a81537eb7..47825eeae52 100644
--- a/src/wizard/onboarding.ts
+++ b/src/wizard/onboarding.ts
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ export async function runOnboardingWizard(
   await requireRiskAcknowledgement({ opts, prompter });
 
   const snapshot = await readConfigFileSnapshot();
-  let baseConfig: OpenClawConfig = snapshot.valid ? snapshot.config : {};
+  let baseConfig: OpenClawConfig = snapshot.valid ? (snapshot.exists ? snapshot.config : {}) : {};
 
   if (snapshot.exists && !snapshot.valid) {
     await prompter.note(onboardHelpers.summarizeExistingConfig(baseConfig), "Invalid config");