diff --git a/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts b/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts
index a57e08f7771..dfb03b333f0 100644
--- a/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts
@@ -393,8 +393,8 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
 
   it("routes logs to stderr in --json mode so stdout stays clean", async () => {
     await runPreAction({
-      parseArgv: ["agents", "list"],
-      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "agents", "list", "--json"],
+      parseArgv: ["message", "send"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "message", "send", "--json"],
     });
 
     expect(routeLogsToStderrMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
@@ -420,6 +420,16 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     expect(routeLogsToStderrMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("does not preload plugins for agents list JSON output", async () => {
+    await runPreAction({
+      parseArgv: ["agents", "list"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "agents", "list", "--json"],
+    });
+
+    expect(routeLogsToStderrMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("bypasses config guard for config validate", async () => {
     await runPreAction({
       parseArgv: ["config", "validate"],
diff --git a/src/commands/agents.commands.list.test.ts b/src/commands/agents.commands.list.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5ca1b330c06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/commands/agents.commands.list.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.openclaw.js";
+import type { OutputRuntimeEnv } from "../runtime.js";
+
+const { buildProviderStatusIndexMock, requireValidConfigMock } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  buildProviderStatusIndexMock: vi.fn(),
+  requireValidConfigMock: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./agents.command-shared.js", () => ({
+  requireValidConfig: requireValidConfigMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./agents.providers.js", () => ({
+  buildProviderStatusIndex: buildProviderStatusIndexMock,
+  listProvidersForAgent: () => ["Telegram default: configured"],
+  summarizeBindings: () => ["Telegram default"],
+}));
+
+const { agentsListCommand } = await import("./agents.commands.list.js");
+
+function createRuntime(): OutputRuntimeEnv & { json: unknown[] } {
+  const json: unknown[] = [];
+  return {
+    json,
+    log: vi.fn(),
+    error: vi.fn(),
+    exit: vi.fn(),
+    writeStdout: vi.fn(),
+    writeJson: vi.fn((value: unknown) => {
+      json.push(value);
+    }),
+  };
+}
+
+function createConfig(): OpenClawConfig {
+  return {
+    agents: {
+      list: [{ id: "main", default: true }],
+    },
+    bindings: [{ agentId: "main", match: { channel: "telegram" } }],
+  };
+}
+
+describe("agentsListCommand", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    requireValidConfigMock.mockResolvedValue(createConfig());
+    buildProviderStatusIndexMock.mockResolvedValue(new Map());
+  });
+
+  it("keeps plain JSON output on the config-only path", async () => {
+    const runtime = createRuntime();
+
+    await agentsListCommand({ json: true }, runtime);
+
+    expect(buildProviderStatusIndexMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    const summary = (runtime.json[0] as Array<Record<string, unknown>>)[0];
+    expect(summary).toMatchObject({ id: "main" });
+    expect(summary).not.toHaveProperty("routes");
+    expect(summary).not.toHaveProperty("providers");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps provider details available for JSON callers that request bindings", async () => {
+    const runtime = createRuntime();
+
+    await agentsListCommand({ json: true, bindings: true }, runtime);
+
+    expect(buildProviderStatusIndexMock).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(runtime.json[0]).toEqual([
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        id: "main",
+        routes: ["Telegram default"],
+        providers: ["Telegram default: configured"],
+      }),
+    ]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts b/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts
index 720def19074..41b8de474cb 100644
--- a/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts
+++ b/src/commands/agents.commands.list.ts
@@ -101,23 +101,24 @@ export async function agentsListCommand(
 
   // `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);
+  // formatter). JSON callers (dashboards, monitors, IDE plugins) poll the
+  // config-derived fields, so skip the plugin load unless they explicitly ask
+  // for binding/provider enrichment with --bindings. Combined with
+  // `loadPlugins: "text-only"` in the catalog entry, this keeps
+  // `agents list --json` on the config-only path. (#71739)
+  const includeProviderDetails = !opts.json || opts.bindings === true;
+  const providerStatus = includeProviderDetails ? await buildProviderStatusIndex(cfg) : null;
 
   for (const summary of summaries) {
     const bindings = bindingMap.get(summary.id) ?? [];
-    const routes = summarizeBindings(cfg, bindings);
-    if (routes.length > 0) {
-      summary.routes = routes;
-    } else if (summary.isDefault) {
-      summary.routes = ["default (no explicit rules)"];
-    }
+    if (includeProviderDetails && providerStatus) {
+      const routes = summarizeBindings(cfg, bindings);
+      if (routes.length > 0) {
+        summary.routes = routes;
+      } else if (summary.isDefault) {
+        summary.routes = ["default (no explicit rules)"];
+      }
 
-    if (providerStatus) {
       const providerLines = listProvidersForAgent({
         summaryIsDefault: summary.isDefault,
         cfg,