diff --git a/src/plugins/loader.test.ts b/src/plugins/loader.test.ts
index a4aea837757..ed053ac395e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/loader.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/loader.test.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 import fs from "node:fs";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
-import { afterAll, afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { afterAll, afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { withEnv } from "../test-utils/env.js";
 import { getGlobalHookRunner, resetGlobalHookRunner } from "./hook-runner-global.js";
 import { createHookRunner } from "./hooks.js";
-import { __testing, loadOpenClawPlugins } from "./loader.js";
+
+vi.unmock("jiti");
+const { __testing, loadOpenClawPlugins } = await import("./loader.js");
 
 type TempPlugin = { dir: string; file: string; id: string };
 
@@ -1335,7 +1337,7 @@ describe("loadOpenClawPlugins", () => {
     });
 
     const record = registry.plugins.find((entry) => entry.id === "legacy-root-import");
-    expect(record?.status).toBe("loaded");
+    expect({ status: record?.status, error: record?.error }).toMatchObject({ status: "loaded" });
   });
 
   it("prefers dist plugin-sdk alias when loader runs from dist", () => {
@@ -1362,6 +1364,20 @@ describe("loadOpenClawPlugins", () => {
     expect(resolved).toBe(srcFile);
   });
 
+  it("falls back to src plugin-sdk alias when dist is missing in production", () => {
+    const { root, srcFile, distFile } = createPluginSdkAliasFixture();
+    fs.rmSync(distFile);
+
+    const resolved = withEnv({ NODE_ENV: "production", VITEST: undefined }, () =>
+      __testing.resolvePluginSdkAliasFile({
+        srcFile: "index.ts",
+        distFile: "index.js",
+        modulePath: path.join(root, "src", "plugins", "loader.ts"),
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(resolved).toBe(srcFile);
+  });
+
   it("prefers dist root-alias shim when loader runs from dist", () => {
     const { root, distFile } = createPluginSdkAliasFixture({
       srcFile: "root-alias.cjs",
diff --git a/src/plugins/loader.ts b/src/plugins/loader.ts
index 15051b25e81..f112fcb815c 100644
--- a/src/plugins/loader.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/loader.ts
@@ -55,19 +55,15 @@ const resolvePluginSdkAliasFile = (params: {
   try {
     const modulePath = params.modulePath ?? fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
     const isProduction = process.env.NODE_ENV === "production";
-    const isTest = process.env.VITEST || process.env.NODE_ENV === "test";
     const normalizedModulePath = modulePath.replace(/\\/g, "/");
     const isDistRuntime = normalizedModulePath.includes("/dist/");
     let cursor = path.dirname(modulePath);
     for (let i = 0; i < 6; i += 1) {
       const srcCandidate = path.join(cursor, "src", "plugin-sdk", params.srcFile);
       const distCandidate = path.join(cursor, "dist", "plugin-sdk", params.distFile);
-      const orderedCandidates = isDistRuntime
-        ? [distCandidate, srcCandidate]
-        : isProduction
-          ? isTest
-            ? [distCandidate, srcCandidate]
-            : [distCandidate]
+      const orderedCandidates =
+        isDistRuntime || isProduction
+          ? [distCandidate, srcCandidate]
           : [srcCandidate, distCandidate];
       for (const candidate of orderedCandidates) {
         if (fs.existsSync(candidate)) {