diff --git a/src/infra/approval-native-target-key.ts b/src/infra/approval-native-target-key.ts
index 9013787ba08..46f9804b663 100644
--- a/src/infra/approval-native-target-key.ts
+++ b/src/infra/approval-native-target-key.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import type { ChannelApprovalNativeTarget } from "../channels/plugins/types.adapters.js";
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 
 export function buildChannelApprovalNativeTargetKey(target: ChannelApprovalNativeTarget): string {
-  return `${target.to.trim()}\u0000${
-    target.threadId == null ? "" : String(target.threadId).trim()
+  return `${normalizeOptionalString(target.to) ?? ""}\u0000${
+    target.threadId == null ? "" : (normalizeOptionalString(String(target.threadId)) ?? "")
   }`;
 }
diff --git a/src/infra/bonjour-errors.ts b/src/infra/bonjour-errors.ts
index 1703f2696bf..5db4d89451e 100644
--- a/src/infra/bonjour-errors.ts
+++ b/src/infra/bonjour-errors.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
+
 export function formatBonjourError(err: unknown): string {
   if (err instanceof Error) {
     const trimmedMessage = err.message.trim();
-    const msg = trimmedMessage || err.name || String(err).trim();
+    const msg = trimmedMessage || err.name || (normalizeOptionalString(String(err)) ?? "");
     if (err.name && err.name !== "Error") {
       return msg === err.name ? err.name : `${err.name}: ${msg}`;
     }
diff --git a/src/infra/gateway-discovery-targets.ts b/src/infra/gateway-discovery-targets.ts
index 169eed62a07..dbc374e765a 100644
--- a/src/infra/gateway-discovery-targets.ts
+++ b/src/infra/gateway-discovery-targets.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import {
   resolveGatewayDiscoveryEndpoint,
   type GatewayBonjourBeacon,
@@ -25,13 +26,14 @@ export function buildGatewayDiscoveryTarget(
 ): GatewayDiscoveryTarget {
   const endpoint = resolveGatewayDiscoveryEndpoint(beacon);
   const sshPort = pickSshPort(beacon);
-  const sshUser = opts?.sshUser?.trim() ?? "";
+  const sshUser = normalizeOptionalString(opts?.sshUser) ?? "";
   const baseSshTarget = endpoint ? (sshUser ? `${sshUser}@${endpoint.host}` : endpoint.host) : null;
   const sshTarget =
     baseSshTarget && sshPort && sshPort !== 22 ? `${baseSshTarget}:${sshPort}` : baseSshTarget;
   return {
-    title: (beacon.displayName || beacon.instanceName || "Gateway").trim(),
-    domain: (beacon.domain || "local.").trim(),
+    title:
+      normalizeOptionalString(beacon.displayName || beacon.instanceName || "Gateway") ?? "Gateway",
+    domain: normalizeOptionalString(beacon.domain || "local.") ?? "local.",
     endpoint,
     wsUrl: endpoint?.wsUrl ?? null,
     sshPort,
diff --git a/src/infra/heartbeat-reason.ts b/src/infra/heartbeat-reason.ts
index 447ca733e53..b6d4bde67c4 100644
--- a/src/infra/heartbeat-reason.ts
+++ b/src/infra/heartbeat-reason.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
+
 export type HeartbeatReasonKind =
   | "retry"
   | "interval"
@@ -9,7 +11,7 @@ export type HeartbeatReasonKind =
   | "other";
 
 function trimReason(reason?: string): string {
-  return typeof reason === "string" ? reason.trim() : "";
+  return normalizeOptionalString(reason) ?? "";
 }
 
 export function normalizeHeartbeatWakeReason(reason?: string): string {
diff --git a/src/infra/heartbeat-summary.ts b/src/infra/heartbeat-summary.ts
index 89650de44a6..e26bafb73ce 100644
--- a/src/infra/heartbeat-summary.ts
+++ b/src/infra/heartbeat-summary.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { parseDurationMs } from "../cli/parse-duration.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import type { AgentDefaultsConfig } from "../config/types.agent-defaults.js";
 import { normalizeAgentId } from "../routing/session-key.js";
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 
 type HeartbeatConfig = AgentDefaultsConfig["heartbeat"];
 
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ export function resolveHeartbeatIntervalMs(
   if (!raw) {
     return null;
   }
-  const trimmed = String(raw).trim();
+  const trimmed = normalizeOptionalString(String(raw)) ?? "";
   if (!trimmed) {
     return null;
   }
diff --git a/src/infra/heartbeat-wake.ts b/src/infra/heartbeat-wake.ts
index 3aaaca5ed96..08affbd4947 100644
--- a/src/infra/heartbeat-wake.ts
+++ b/src/infra/heartbeat-wake.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import {
   isHeartbeatActionWakeReason,
   normalizeHeartbeatWakeReason,
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ function normalizeWakeReason(reason?: string): string {
 }
 
 function normalizeWakeTarget(value?: string): string | undefined {
-  const trimmed = typeof value === "string" ? value.trim() : "";
+  const trimmed = normalizeOptionalString(value) ?? "";
   return trimmed || undefined;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/infra/machine-name.ts b/src/infra/machine-name.ts
index 51b4a66e8bd..4c3a50b9ac0 100644
--- a/src/infra/machine-name.ts
+++ b/src/infra/machine-name.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { execFile } from "node:child_process";
 import os from "node:os";
 import { promisify } from "node:util";
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 
 const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
 
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@ async function tryScutil(key: "ComputerName" | "LocalHostName") {
       timeout: 1000,
       windowsHide: true,
     });
-    const value = String(stdout ?? "").trim();
+    const value = normalizeOptionalString(String(stdout ?? "")) ?? "";
     return value.length > 0 ? value : null;
   } catch {
     return null;
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ async function tryScutil(key: "ComputerName" | "LocalHostName") {
 }
 
 function fallbackHostName() {
-  const trimmed = os.hostname().trim();
+  const trimmed = normalizeOptionalString(os.hostname()) ?? "";
   return trimmed.replace(/\.local$/i, "") || "openclaw";
 }
 
diff --git a/src/infra/outbound/agent-delivery.ts b/src/infra/outbound/agent-delivery.ts
index 1eedcb69568..ee79b27afe3 100644
--- a/src/infra/outbound/agent-delivery.ts
+++ b/src/infra/outbound/agent-delivery.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { ChannelOutboundTargetMode } from "../../channels/plugins/types.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 import type { SessionEntry } from "../../config/sessions.js";
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import { normalizeAccountId } from "../../utils/account-id.js";
 import {
   INTERNAL_MESSAGE_CHANNEL,
@@ -47,15 +48,11 @@ export function resolveAgentDeliveryPlan(params: {
   /** Turn-source `threadId` — paired with `turnSourceChannel`. */
   turnSourceThreadId?: string | number;
 }): AgentDeliveryPlan {
-  const requestedRaw =
-    typeof params.requestedChannel === "string" ? params.requestedChannel.trim() : "";
+  const requestedRaw = normalizeOptionalString(params.requestedChannel) ?? "";
   const normalizedRequested = requestedRaw ? normalizeMessageChannel(requestedRaw) : undefined;
   const requestedChannel = normalizedRequested || "last";
 
-  const explicitTo =
-    typeof params.explicitTo === "string" && params.explicitTo.trim()
-      ? params.explicitTo.trim()
-      : undefined;
+  const explicitTo = normalizeOptionalString(params.explicitTo) ?? undefined;
 
   // Resolve turn-source channel for cross-channel safety.
   const normalizedTurnSource = params.turnSourceChannel
@@ -65,10 +62,7 @@ export function resolveAgentDeliveryPlan(params: {
     normalizedTurnSource && isDeliverableMessageChannel(normalizedTurnSource)
       ? normalizedTurnSource
       : undefined;
-  const turnSourceTo =
-    typeof params.turnSourceTo === "string" && params.turnSourceTo.trim()
-      ? params.turnSourceTo.trim()
-      : undefined;
+  const turnSourceTo = normalizeOptionalString(params.turnSourceTo) ?? undefined;
   const turnSourceAccountId = normalizeAccountId(params.turnSourceAccountId);
   const turnSourceThreadId =
     params.turnSourceThreadId != null && params.turnSourceThreadId !== ""
diff --git a/src/infra/outbound/channel-target.ts b/src/infra/outbound/channel-target.ts
index f87f2b8f1b0..9de5deeb2ad 100644
--- a/src/infra/outbound/channel-target.ts
+++ b/src/infra/outbound/channel-target.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-import { hasNonEmptyString as sharedHasNonEmptyString } from "../../shared/string-coerce.js";
+import {
+  hasNonEmptyString as sharedHasNonEmptyString,
+  normalizeOptionalString,
+} from "../../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import { MESSAGE_ACTION_TARGET_MODE } from "./message-action-spec.js";
 
 export const hasNonEmptyString = sharedHasNonEmptyString;
@@ -13,7 +16,7 @@ export function applyTargetToParams(params: {
   action: string;
   args: Record<string, unknown>;
 }): void {
-  const target = typeof params.args.target === "string" ? params.args.target.trim() : "";
+  const target = normalizeOptionalString(params.args.target) ?? "";
   const hasLegacyTo = hasNonEmptyString(params.args.to);
   const hasLegacyChannelId = hasNonEmptyString(params.args.channelId);
   const mode =
diff --git a/src/infra/outbound/message-action-normalization.ts b/src/infra/outbound/message-action-normalization.ts
index ff40ca45e6a..8e031336bef 100644
--- a/src/infra/outbound/message-action-normalization.ts
+++ b/src/infra/outbound/message-action-normalization.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type {
   ChannelMessageActionName,
   ChannelThreadingToolContext,
 } from "../../channels/plugins/types.js";
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import {
   isDeliverableMessageChannel,
   normalizeMessageChannel,
@@ -16,18 +17,16 @@ export function normalizeMessageActionInput(params: {
 }): Record<string, unknown> {
   const normalizedArgs = { ...params.args };
   const { action, toolContext } = params;
-  const explicitChannel =
-    typeof normalizedArgs.channel === "string" ? normalizedArgs.channel.trim() : "";
+  const explicitChannel = normalizeOptionalString(normalizedArgs.channel) ?? "";
   const inferredChannel =
     explicitChannel || normalizeMessageChannel(toolContext?.currentChannelProvider) || "";
 
-  const explicitTarget =
-    typeof normalizedArgs.target === "string" ? normalizedArgs.target.trim() : "";
+  const explicitTarget = normalizeOptionalString(normalizedArgs.target) ?? "";
   const hasLegacyTargetFields =
     typeof normalizedArgs.to === "string" || typeof normalizedArgs.channelId === "string";
   const hasLegacyTarget =
-    (typeof normalizedArgs.to === "string" && normalizedArgs.to.trim().length > 0) ||
-    (typeof normalizedArgs.channelId === "string" && normalizedArgs.channelId.trim().length > 0);
+    (normalizeOptionalString(normalizedArgs.to) ?? "").length > 0 ||
+    (normalizeOptionalString(normalizedArgs.channelId) ?? "").length > 0;
 
   if (explicitTarget && hasLegacyTargetFields) {
     delete normalizedArgs.to;
@@ -40,16 +39,15 @@ export function normalizeMessageActionInput(params: {
     actionRequiresTarget(action) &&
     !actionHasTarget(action, normalizedArgs, { channel: inferredChannel })
   ) {
-    const inferredTarget = toolContext?.currentChannelId?.trim();
+    const inferredTarget = normalizeOptionalString(toolContext?.currentChannelId);
     if (inferredTarget) {
       normalizedArgs.target = inferredTarget;
     }
   }
 
   if (!explicitTarget && actionRequiresTarget(action) && hasLegacyTarget) {
-    const legacyTo = typeof normalizedArgs.to === "string" ? normalizedArgs.to.trim() : "";
-    const legacyChannelId =
-      typeof normalizedArgs.channelId === "string" ? normalizedArgs.channelId.trim() : "";
+    const legacyTo = normalizeOptionalString(normalizedArgs.to) ?? "";
+    const legacyChannelId = normalizeOptionalString(normalizedArgs.channelId) ?? "";
     const legacyTarget = legacyTo || legacyChannelId;
     if (legacyTarget) {
       normalizedArgs.target = legacyTarget;
diff --git a/src/infra/outbound/message-action-runner.ts b/src/infra/outbound/message-action-runner.ts
index 5a75268b7a6..0f462a92bd3 100644
--- a/src/infra/outbound/message-action-runner.ts
+++ b/src/infra/outbound/message-action-runner.ts
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ async function resolveActionTarget(params: {
   accountId?: string | null;
 }): Promise<ResolvedMessagingTarget | undefined> {
   let resolvedTarget: ResolvedMessagingTarget | undefined;
-  const toRaw = typeof params.args.to === "string" ? params.args.to.trim() : "";
+  const toRaw = normalizeOptionalString(params.args.to) ?? "";
   if (toRaw) {
     const resolved = await resolveResolvedTargetOrThrow({
       cfg: params.cfg,
@@ -247,8 +247,7 @@ async function resolveActionTarget(params: {
     params.args.to = resolved.to;
     resolvedTarget = resolved;
   }
-  const channelIdRaw =
-    typeof params.args.channelId === "string" ? params.args.channelId.trim() : "";
+  const channelIdRaw = normalizeOptionalString(params.args.channelId) ?? "";
   if (channelIdRaw) {
     const resolved = await resolveResolvedTargetOrThrow({
       cfg: params.cfg,
diff --git a/src/infra/outbound/message-action-spec.ts b/src/infra/outbound/message-action-spec.ts
index 4d320dad020..c6b7d5a0f6a 100644
--- a/src/infra/outbound/message-action-spec.ts
+++ b/src/infra/outbound/message-action-spec.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import { getBootstrapChannelPlugin } from "../../channels/plugins/bootstrap-registry.js";
 import type { ChannelMessageActionName } from "../../channels/plugins/types.js";
-import { normalizeOptionalLowercaseString } from "../../shared/string-coerce.js";
+import {
+  normalizeOptionalLowercaseString,
+  normalizeOptionalString,
+} from "../../shared/string-coerce.js";
 
 export type MessageActionTargetMode = "to" | "channelId" | "none";
 
@@ -109,11 +112,11 @@ export function actionHasTarget(
   params: Record<string, unknown>,
   options?: { channel?: string },
 ): boolean {
-  const to = typeof params.to === "string" ? params.to.trim() : "";
+  const to = normalizeOptionalString(params.to) ?? "";
   if (to) {
     return true;
   }
-  const channelId = typeof params.channelId === "string" ? params.channelId.trim() : "";
+  const channelId = normalizeOptionalString(params.channelId) ?? "";
   if (channelId) {
     return true;
   }
@@ -125,7 +128,7 @@ export function actionHasTarget(
     spec.aliases.some((alias) => {
       const value = params[alias];
       if (typeof value === "string") {
-        return value.trim().length > 0;
+        return Boolean(normalizeOptionalString(value));
       }
       if (typeof value === "number") {
         return Number.isFinite(value);
diff --git a/src/infra/plugin-install-path-warnings.ts b/src/infra/plugin-install-path-warnings.ts
index 43cae1f36e4..0a6db81501f 100644
--- a/src/infra/plugin-install-path-warnings.ts
+++ b/src/infra/plugin-install-path-warnings.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import type { PluginInstallRecord } from "../config/types.plugins.js";
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 
 export type PluginInstallPathIssue = {
   kind: "custom-path" | "missing-path";
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ function resolvePluginInstallCandidatePaths(
   }
 
   return [install.sourcePath, install.installPath]
-    .map((value) => (typeof value === "string" ? value.trim() : ""))
+    .map((value) => normalizeOptionalString(value) ?? "")
     .filter(Boolean);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/infra/skills-remote.ts b/src/infra/skills-remote.ts
index 8b0c95bcd13..26f12402f67 100644
--- a/src/infra/skills-remote.ts
+++ b/src/infra/skills-remote.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ import { listAgentWorkspaceDirs } from "../agents/workspace-dirs.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import type { NodeRegistry } from "../gateway/node-registry.js";
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../logging/subsystem.js";
-import { normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
+import {
+  normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty,
+  normalizeOptionalString,
+} from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import { listNodePairing, updatePairedNodeMetadata } from "./node-pairing.js";
 
 type RemoteNodeRecord = {
@@ -214,12 +217,12 @@ function parseBinProbePayload(payloadJSON: string | null | undefined, payload?:
       ? (JSON.parse(payloadJSON) as { stdout?: unknown; bins?: unknown })
       : (payload as { stdout?: unknown; bins?: unknown });
     if (Array.isArray(parsed.bins)) {
-      return parsed.bins.map((bin) => String(bin).trim()).filter(Boolean);
+      return parsed.bins.map((bin) => normalizeOptionalString(String(bin)) ?? "").filter(Boolean);
     }
     if (typeof parsed.stdout === "string") {
       return parsed.stdout
         .split(/\r?\n/)
-        .map((line) => line.trim())
+        .map((line) => normalizeOptionalString(line) ?? "")
         .filter(Boolean);
     }
   } catch {
diff --git a/src/infra/system-events.ts b/src/infra/system-events.ts
index 28411e42f1e..6bb55cb1f43 100644
--- a/src/infra/system-events.ts
+++ b/src/infra/system-events.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 // events ephemeral. Events are session-scoped and require an explicit key.
 
 import { resolveGlobalMap } from "../shared/global-singleton.js";
-import { normalizeOptionalLowercaseString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
+import {
+  normalizeOptionalLowercaseString,
+  normalizeOptionalString,
+} from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import {
   mergeDeliveryContext,
   normalizeDeliveryContext,
@@ -38,7 +41,7 @@ type SystemEventOptions = {
 };
 
 function requireSessionKey(key?: string | null): string {
-  const trimmed = typeof key === "string" ? key.trim() : "";
+  const trimmed = normalizeOptionalString(key) ?? "";
   if (!trimmed) {
     throw new Error("system events require a sessionKey");
   }
diff --git a/src/infra/system-presence.ts b/src/infra/system-presence.ts
index 7cd7d40de94..70642c33fea 100644
--- a/src/infra/system-presence.ts
+++ b/src/infra/system-presence.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import os from "node:os";
 import {
   normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty,
   normalizeOptionalLowercaseString,
+  normalizeOptionalString,
 } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import { resolveRuntimeServiceVersion } from "../version.js";
 import { pickBestEffortPrimaryLanIPv4 } from "./network-discovery-display.js";
@@ -55,7 +56,7 @@ function initSelfPresence() {
       const res = spawnSync("sysctl", ["-n", "hw.model"], {
         encoding: "utf-8",
       });
-      const out = typeof res.stdout === "string" ? res.stdout.trim() : "";
+      const out = normalizeOptionalString(res.stdout) ?? "";
       return out.length > 0 ? out : undefined;
     }
     return os.arch();
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ function initSelfPresence() {
     const res = spawnSync("sw_vers", ["-productVersion"], {
       encoding: "utf-8",
     });
-    const out = typeof res.stdout === "string" ? res.stdout.trim() : "";
+    const out = normalizeOptionalString(res.stdout) ?? "";
     return out.length > 0 ? out : os.release();
   };
   const platform = (() => {
@@ -178,7 +179,7 @@ function mergeStringList(...values: Array<string[] | undefined>): string[] | und
       continue;
     }
     for (const item of list) {
-      const trimmed = String(item).trim();
+      const trimmed = normalizeOptionalString(String(item)) ?? "";
       if (trimmed) {
         out.add(trimmed);
       }
diff --git a/src/infra/voicewake.ts b/src/infra/voicewake.ts
index ee73c8e40a4..1362417789f 100644
--- a/src/infra/voicewake.ts
+++ b/src/infra/voicewake.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import path from "node:path";
 import { resolveStateDir } from "../config/paths.js";
+import { normalizeOptionalString } from "../shared/string-coerce.js";
 import { createAsyncLock, readJsonFile, writeJsonAtomic } from "./json-files.js";
 
 export type VoiceWakeConfig = {
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ function resolvePath(baseDir?: string) {
 
 function sanitizeTriggers(triggers: string[] | undefined | null): string[] {
   const cleaned = (triggers ?? [])
-    .map((w) => (typeof w === "string" ? w.trim() : ""))
+    .map((w) => normalizeOptionalString(w) ?? "")
     .filter((w) => w.length > 0);
   return cleaned.length > 0 ? cleaned : DEFAULT_TRIGGERS;
 }