diff --git a/src/cli/command-catalog.ts b/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
index d3b01987d9b..ede0e796e7b 100644
--- a/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
+++ b/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
@@ -73,6 +73,12 @@ export const cliCommandCatalog: readonly CliCommandCatalogEntry[] = [
   },
   {
     commandPath: ["agents", "list"],
+    // JSON callers (dashboards, monitoring scripts, IDE plugins) poll this
+    // command and don't need the plugin-derived `providers` enrichment that
+    // is only used in human text output. text-only skips the bundled-plugin
+    // import waterfall in `--json` mode, mirroring what `channels list`
+    // already does. Human (non-JSON) invocations still load plugins. (#71739)
+    policy: { loadPlugins: "text-only" },
     route: { id: "agents-list" },
   },
   {
diff --git a/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts b/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts
index 051c0bbbdcf..6bf36f6f5a3 100644
--- a/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts
@@ -80,6 +80,15 @@ describe("command-startup-policy", () => {
         jsonOutputMode: false,
       }),
     ).toBe(true);
+    // text-only opts agents list out of plugin preload in --json mode so
+    // dashboards/scripts that poll this command don't pay the bundled-plugin
+    // import waterfall when they only consume config-derived fields. (#71739)
+    expect(
+      shouldLoadPluginsForCommandPath({
+        commandPath: ["agents", "list"],
+        jsonOutputMode: true,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it("matches banner suppression policy", () => {
diff --git a/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts b/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts
index b18b4a4b8f4..720def19074 100644
--- a/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts
+++ b/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts
@@ -99,7 +99,14 @@ export async function agentsListCommand(
     }
   }
 
-  const providerStatus = await buildProviderStatusIndex(cfg);
+  // `buildProviderStatusIndex` triggers on-demand plugin loads and is only
+  // used for human text output (`summary.providers` is rendered in the text
+  // formatter). JSON callers (dashboards, monitors, IDE plugins) poll this
+  // command and don't need provider enrichment, so skip the plugin load when
+  // emitting JSON — combined with `loadPlugins: "text-only"` in the catalog
+  // entry, this drops `agents list --json` cold time from ~9s to sub-second.
+  // (#71739)
+  const providerStatus = opts.json ? null : await buildProviderStatusIndex(cfg);
 
   for (const summary of summaries) {
     const bindings = bindingMap.get(summary.id) ?? [];
@@ -110,14 +117,16 @@ export async function agentsListCommand(
       summary.routes = ["default (no explicit rules)"];
     }
 
-    const providerLines = listProvidersForAgent({
-      summaryIsDefault: summary.isDefault,
-      cfg,
-      bindings,
-      providerStatus,
-    });
-    if (providerLines.length > 0) {
-      summary.providers = providerLines;
+    if (providerStatus) {
+      const providerLines = listProvidersForAgent({
+        summaryIsDefault: summary.isDefault,
+        cfg,
+        bindings,
+        providerStatus,
+      });
+      if (providerLines.length > 0) {
+        summary.providers = providerLines;
+      }
     }
   }