diff --git a/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.test.ts b/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.test.ts
index 96010437510..221b17fbffe 100644
--- a/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import {
+  __testing as bundledRuntimeDepsTesting,
   createBundledRuntimeDependencyAliasMap,
   createBundledRuntimeDepsInstallArgs,
   createBundledRuntimeDepsInstallEnv,
@@ -656,6 +657,16 @@ describe("ensureBundledPluginRuntimeDeps", () => {
     ]);
   });
 
+  it("does not expire active runtime-deps install locks by age alone", () => {
+    expect(
+      bundledRuntimeDepsTesting.shouldRemoveRuntimeDepsLock(
+        { pid: 123, createdAtMs: 0 },
+        Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER,
+        () => true,
+      ),
+    ).toBe(false);
+  });
+
   it("removes stale runtime-deps install locks before repairing deps", () => {
     const packageRoot = makeTempDir();
     const pluginRoot = path.join(packageRoot, "dist", "extensions", "openai");
@@ -670,10 +681,7 @@ describe("ensureBundledPluginRuntimeDeps", () => {
     );
     const lockDir = path.join(pluginRoot, ".openclaw-runtime-deps.lock");
     fs.mkdirSync(lockDir, { recursive: true });
-    fs.writeFileSync(
-      path.join(lockDir, "owner.json"),
-      JSON.stringify({ pid: process.pid, createdAtMs: 0 }),
-    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(lockDir, "owner.json"), JSON.stringify({ pid: 0, createdAtMs: 0 }));
 
     const calls: BundledRuntimeDepsInstallParams[] = [];
     const result = ensureBundledPluginRuntimeDeps({
diff --git a/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.ts b/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.ts
index 2e20afeb1d1..817c1db18b2 100644
--- a/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/bundled-runtime-deps.ts
@@ -199,15 +199,31 @@ function readRuntimeDepsLockOwner(lockDir: string): { pid?: number; createdAtMs?
   };
 }
 
+function shouldRemoveRuntimeDepsLock(
+  owner: { pid?: number; createdAtMs?: number },
+  nowMs: number,
+  isAlive: (pid: number) => boolean = isProcessAlive,
+): boolean {
+  if (typeof owner.pid === "number") {
+    return !isAlive(owner.pid);
+  }
+
+  return (
+    typeof owner.createdAtMs === "number" &&
+    nowMs - owner.createdAtMs > BUNDLED_RUNTIME_DEPS_LOCK_STALE_MS
+  );
+}
+
+export const __testing = {
+  shouldRemoveRuntimeDepsLock,
+};
+
 function removeRuntimeDepsLockIfStale(lockDir: string, nowMs: number): boolean {
   const owner = readRuntimeDepsLockOwner(lockDir);
-  const createdAtMs = owner.createdAtMs;
-  const staleByTime =
-    typeof createdAtMs === "number" && nowMs - createdAtMs > BUNDLED_RUNTIME_DEPS_LOCK_STALE_MS;
-  const staleByPid = typeof owner.pid === "number" && !isProcessAlive(owner.pid);
-  if (!staleByTime && !staleByPid) {
+  if (!shouldRemoveRuntimeDepsLock(owner, nowMs)) {
     return false;
   }
+
   try {
     fs.rmSync(lockDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
     return true;