fix(cli): keep status usage on fast path

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 ### Fixes
 
 - CLI/models: restore provider-filtered `models list --all --provider <id>` rows for providers without manifest/static catalog coverage, including Anthropic and Amazon Bedrock, while keeping the compatibility fallback off expensive availability and resolver paths. Thanks @shakkernerd.
+- CLI/status: keep default text `openclaw status --usage` on metadata-only channel scans unless `--deep` or `--all` is set, and send stray `openclaw tools --help` through the precomputed root-help fast path so latency-triage commands avoid plugin/runtime cold loads before printing. Refs #73477 and #74220. Thanks @oromeis and @NianJiuZst.
 - Plugins/runtime-deps: memoize packaged bundled runtime dist-mirror preparation after the first successful pass while keeping source-checkout mirrors refreshable, so constrained Docker/VPS installs avoid repeated root scans before chat turns. Refs #73428, #73421, #73532, and #73477. Thanks @Dimaoggg, @oromeis, @oadiazp, @jmfraga, @bstanbury, @antoniusfelix, and @jkobject.
 - Channels/Discord: treat bare numeric outbound targets that match the effective Discord DM allowlist as user DMs while preserving account-specific legacy `dm.allowFrom` precedence over inherited root `allowFrom`. (#74303) Thanks @Squirbie.
 - Control UI: make the chat sidebar split divider focusable, keyboard-resizable, ARIA-described, and pointer-event based so sidebar resizing works without a mouse. Thanks @BunsDev.

src/cli/run-main-policy.ts

@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ import {
   resolveCliNetworkProxyPolicy,
 } from "./command-path-policy.js";
 
+const ROOT_HELP_ALIASES = new Set(["tools"]);
+
 export function rewriteUpdateFlagArgv(argv: string[]): string[] {
   const index = argv.indexOf("--update");
   if (index === -1) {
@@ -41,6 +43,9 @@ export function shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(
   return (
     env.OPENCLAW_DISABLE_CLI_STARTUP_HELP_FAST_PATH !== "1" &&
     (invocation.isRootHelpInvocation ||
+      (invocation.commandPath.length === 1 &&
+        ROOT_HELP_ALIASES.has(invocation.commandPath[0] ?? "") &&
+        invocation.hasHelpOrVersion) ||
       (invocation.commandPath.length === 1 &&
         invocation.commandPath[0] === "help" &&
         invocation.hasHelpOrVersion))

src/cli/run-main.test.ts

@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ describe("shouldUseRootHelpFastPath", () => {
     expect(shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(["node", "openclaw", "--help"])).toBe(true);
     expect(shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(["node", "openclaw", "--profile", "work", "-h"])).toBe(true);
     expect(shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(["node", "openclaw", "help", "--help"])).toBe(true);
+    expect(shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(["node", "openclaw", "tools", "--help"])).toBe(true);
     expect(shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(["node", "openclaw", "status", "--help"])).toBe(false);
     expect(shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(["node", "openclaw", "--help", "status"])).toBe(false);
     expect(shouldUseRootHelpFastPath(["node", "openclaw", "help", "gateway"])).toBe(false);

src/commands/configure.gateway-auth.prompt-auth-config.test.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.js";
 import type { NormalizedModelCatalogRow } from "../model-catalog/index.js";
 import type { RuntimeEnv } from "../runtime.js";
 import type { WizardPrompter } from "../wizard/prompts.js";
@@ -85,6 +86,18 @@ function createKilocodeProvider() {
   };
 }
 
+function createTestModel(id: string, name = id) {
+  return {
+    id,
+    name,
+    reasoning: false,
+    input: ["text"] as Array<"text" | "image" | "video" | "audio">,
+    cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
+    contextWindow: 128_000,
+    maxTokens: 4096,
+  };
+}
+
 function createApplyAuthChoiceConfig(includeMinimaxProvider = false) {
   return {
     config: {
@@ -101,7 +114,7 @@ function createApplyAuthChoiceConfig(includeMinimaxProvider = false) {
                 minimax: {
                   baseUrl: "https://api.minimax.io/anthropic",
                   api: "anthropic-messages",
-                  models: [{ id: "MiniMax-M2.7", name: "MiniMax M2.7" }],
+                  models: [createTestModel("MiniMax-M2.7", "MiniMax M2.7")],
                 },
               }
             : {}),
@@ -303,11 +316,11 @@ describe("promptAuthConfig", () => {
           ollama: {
             baseUrl: "https://ollama.com",
             api: "ollama",
-            models: [{ id: "deepseek-v4-pro", name: "deepseek-v4-pro" }],
+            models: [createTestModel("deepseek-v4-pro")],
           },
         },
       },
-    };
+    } satisfies OpenClawConfig;
     mocks.applyAuthChoice.mockResolvedValue({ config: existingConfig });
     mocks.promptModelAllowlist.mockResolvedValue({ models: undefined });
     mocks.resolveProviderPluginChoice.mockReturnValue(null);
@@ -332,11 +345,11 @@ describe("promptAuthConfig", () => {
           ollama: {
             baseUrl: "https://ollama.com",
             api: "ollama",
-            models: [{ id: "deepseek-v4-pro", name: "deepseek-v4-pro" }],
+            models: [createTestModel("deepseek-v4-pro")],
           },
         },
       },
-    };
+    } satisfies OpenClawConfig;
     mocks.applyAuthChoice.mockResolvedValue({
       config: {
         ...existingConfig,
@@ -348,7 +361,12 @@ describe("promptAuthConfig", () => {
         ref: "github-copilot/claude-opus-4.7",
         provider: "github-copilot",
         id: "claude-opus-4.7",
+        mergeKey: "github-copilot/claude-opus-4.7",
         name: "Claude Opus 4.7",
+        source: "manifest",
+        input: ["text"],
+        reasoning: false,
+        status: "available",
       },
     ]);
     mocks.promptModelAllowlist.mockResolvedValue({ models: undefined });

src/commands/status-all/channels.ts

@@ -188,7 +188,11 @@ function collectMissingPaths(accounts: ChannelAccountRow[]): string[] {
 // Keep this generic: channel-specific rules belong in the channel plugin.
 export async function buildChannelsTable(
   cfg: OpenClawConfig,
-  opts?: { showSecrets?: boolean; sourceConfig?: OpenClawConfig },
+  opts?: {
+    showSecrets?: boolean;
+    sourceConfig?: OpenClawConfig;
+    includeSetupRuntimeFallback?: boolean;
+  },
 ): Promise<{
   rows: ChannelRow[];
   details: Array<{
@@ -206,9 +210,10 @@ export async function buildChannelsTable(
   }> = [];
 
   const sourceConfig = opts?.sourceConfig ?? cfg;
+  const includeSetupRuntimeFallback = opts?.includeSetupRuntimeFallback ?? true;
   for (const plugin of listReadOnlyChannelPluginsForConfig(cfg, {
     activationSourceConfig: sourceConfig,
-    includeSetupRuntimeFallback: true,
+    includeSetupRuntimeFallback,
   })) {
     const accountIds = plugin.config.listAccountIds(cfg);
     const defaultAccountId = resolveChannelDefaultAccountId({

src/commands/status.command.ts

@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ export async function statusCommand(
   }
 
   const scan = await loadStatusScanModule().then(({ scanStatus }) =>
-    scanStatus({ json: false, timeoutMs: opts.timeoutMs, all: opts.all }, runtime),
+    scanStatus({ json: false, timeoutMs: opts.timeoutMs, all: opts.all, deep: opts.deep }, runtime),
   );
 
   const {

src/commands/status.scan-overview.test.ts

@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ describe("collectStatusScanOverview", () => {
     expect(mocks.buildChannelsTable).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.any(Object),
       expect.objectContaining({
+        includeSetupRuntimeFallback: true,
         showSecrets: false,
         sourceConfig: { session: {} },
       }),
@@ -120,6 +121,27 @@ describe("collectStatusScanOverview", () => {
     expect(result.channelIssues).toEqual([{ channel: "quietchat", message: "boom" }]);
   });
 
+  it("can keep channel overview on metadata-only status paths", async () => {
+    const result = await collectStatusScanOverview({
+      commandName: "status",
+      opts: { timeoutMs: 1234 },
+      showSecrets: false,
+      includeLiveChannelStatus: false,
+      includeChannelSetupRuntimeFallback: false,
+    });
+
+    expect(mocks.callGateway).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mocks.buildChannelsTable).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.any(Object),
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        includeSetupRuntimeFallback: false,
+        showSecrets: false,
+        sourceConfig: { session: {} },
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(result.channelIssues).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
   it("skips channels.status when the gateway is unreachable", async () => {
     mocks.createStatusScanCoreBootstrap.mockResolvedValueOnce({
       tailscaleMode: "off",

src/commands/status.scan-overview.ts

@@ -135,6 +135,8 @@ export async function collectStatusScanOverview(params: {
   allowMissingConfigFastPath?: boolean;
   resolveHasConfiguredChannels?: (cfg: OpenClawConfig, sourceConfig: OpenClawConfig) => boolean;
   includeChannelsData?: boolean;
+  includeLiveChannelStatus?: boolean;
+  includeChannelSetupRuntimeFallback?: boolean;
   useGatewayCallOverridesForChannelsStatus?: boolean;
   progress?: {
     setLabel(label: string): void;
@@ -227,18 +229,21 @@ export async function collectStatusScanOverview(params: {
 
   const tailscaleHttpsUrl = await bootstrap.resolveTailscaleHttpsUrl();
   const includeChannelsData = params.includeChannelsData !== false;
+  const includeLiveChannelStatus = params.includeLiveChannelStatus !== false;
   const { channelsStatus, channelIssues, channels } = includeChannelsData
     ? await (async () => {
         if (params.labels?.queryingChannelStatus) {
           params.progress?.setLabel(params.labels.queryingChannelStatus);
         }
-        const channelsStatus = await resolveStatusChannelsStatus({
-          cfg,
-          gatewayReachable: gatewaySnapshot.gatewayReachable,
-          opts: params.opts,
-          gatewayCallOverrides: gatewaySnapshot.gatewayCallOverrides,
-          useGatewayCallOverrides: params.useGatewayCallOverridesForChannelsStatus,
-        });
+        const channelsStatus = includeLiveChannelStatus
+          ? await resolveStatusChannelsStatus({
+              cfg,
+              gatewayReachable: gatewaySnapshot.gatewayReachable,
+              opts: params.opts,
+              gatewayCallOverrides: gatewaySnapshot.gatewayCallOverrides,
+              useGatewayCallOverrides: params.useGatewayCallOverridesForChannelsStatus,
+            })
+          : null;
         params.progress?.tick();
         const { collectChannelStatusIssues, buildChannelsTable } =
           await loadStatusScanRuntimeModule().then(({ statusScanRuntime }) => statusScanRuntime);
@@ -249,6 +254,7 @@ export async function collectStatusScanOverview(params: {
         const channels = await buildChannelsTable(cfg, {
           showSecrets: params.showSecrets,
           sourceConfig,
+          includeSetupRuntimeFallback: params.includeChannelSetupRuntimeFallback !== false,
         });
         params.progress?.tick();
         return { channelsStatus, channelIssues, channels };

src/commands/status.scan.test.ts

@@ -90,11 +90,65 @@ describe("scanStatus", () => {
     expect(mocks.buildChannelsTable).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({ marker: "resolved" }),
       expect.objectContaining({
+        includeSetupRuntimeFallback: false,
         sourceConfig: expect.objectContaining({ marker: "source" }),
       }),
     );
   });
 
+  it("keeps default text status off live channel status and setup runtime fallback", async () => {
+    configureScanStatus({ hasConfiguredChannels: true });
+    mocks.probeGateway.mockResolvedValue({
+      ok: true,
+      url: "ws://127.0.0.1:18789",
+      connectLatencyMs: 12,
+      error: null,
+      close: null,
+      health: null,
+      status: null,
+      presence: null,
+      configSnapshot: null,
+    });
+
+    await scanStatus({ json: false }, {} as never);
+
+    expect(mocks.callGateway).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ method: "channels.status" }),
+    );
+    expect(mocks.buildChannelsTable).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.any(Object),
+      expect.objectContaining({ includeSetupRuntimeFallback: false }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("uses live channel status and setup fallback for deep text status", async () => {
+    configureScanStatus({ hasConfiguredChannels: true });
+    mocks.probeGateway.mockResolvedValue({
+      ok: true,
+      url: "ws://127.0.0.1:18789",
+      connectLatencyMs: 12,
+      error: null,
+      close: null,
+      health: null,
+      status: null,
+      presence: null,
+      configSnapshot: null,
+    });
+
+    await scanStatus({ json: false, deep: true, timeoutMs: 5000 }, {} as never);
+
+    expect(mocks.callGateway).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        method: "channels.status",
+        timeoutMs: 2500,
+      }),
+    );
+    expect(mocks.buildChannelsTable).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.any(Object),
+      expect.objectContaining({ includeSetupRuntimeFallback: true }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("skips channel plugin preload for status --json with no channel config", async () => {
     configureScanStatus({
       sourceConfig: createStatusScanConfig({

src/commands/status.scan.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ export async function scanStatus(
     json?: boolean;
     timeoutMs?: number;
     all?: boolean;
+    deep?: boolean;
   },
   _runtime: RuntimeEnv,
 ): Promise<StatusScanResult> {
@@ -46,10 +47,13 @@ export async function scanStatus(
       enabled: true,
     },
     async (progress) => {
+      const includeLiveChannelChecks = opts.all === true || opts.deep === true;
       const overview = await collectStatusScanOverview({
         commandName: "status",
         opts,
         showSecrets: process.env.OPENCLAW_SHOW_SECRETS?.trim() !== "0",
+        includeLiveChannelStatus: includeLiveChannelChecks,
+        includeChannelSetupRuntimeFallback: includeLiveChannelChecks,
         progress,
         labels: {
           loadingConfig: "Loading config…",

src/commands/status.test.ts

@@ -1018,6 +1018,18 @@ describe("statusCommand", () => {
     expect(mocks.runSecurityAudit).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("passes deep mode through to the text status scan", async () => {
+    const { scanStatus } = await import("./status.scan.js");
+    vi.mocked(scanStatus).mockClear();
+
+    await statusCommand({ deep: true, timeoutMs: 5000 }, runtime as never);
+
+    expect(scanStatus).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      { json: false, timeoutMs: 5000, all: undefined, deep: true },
+      runtime,
+    );
+  });
+
   it("surfaces unknown usage when totalTokens is missing", async () => {
     await withUnknownUsageStore(async () => {
       runtimeLogMock.mockClear();