fix(plugins): reduce startup provider registry reloads

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 - iMessage: normalize known leading attributedBody corruption markers on sent-message echo text keys so delayed reflected echoes with U+FFFD/U+FFFE/U+FFFF/FEFF prefixes are dropped without collapsing interior text. Fixes #59973; carries forward #59980 and #62191. Thanks @neeravmakwana and @maguilar631697.
 - Security/audit: recognize dangerous node command IDs as valid `gateway.nodes.denyCommands` entries, so audit only warns on real typos or unsupported patterns. (#56923) Thanks @chziyue.
 - Telegram/exec approvals: stop treating general Telegram chat allowlists and `defaultTo` routes as native exec approvers; Telegram now uses explicit `execApprovals.approvers` or owner identity from `commands.ownerAllowFrom`, matching the first-pairing owner bootstrap path. Thanks @pashpashpash.
+- Plugins/providers: keep Gateway startup primary-model discovery on metadata-only provider entries and reuse active non-speech capability providers even with explicit plugin entries, avoiding unnecessary provider registry loads during startup and media capability checks. Fixes #73729, #73835, and #73793; carries forward #73853 and #73794. Thanks @sg1416-zg, @brokemac79, and @poolside-ventures.
 - Chat commands: route sensitive group `/diagnostics` and `/export-trajectory` approvals and results to a private owner route, preferring same-surface DMs before falling back to the first configured owner route, so Discord group invocations can land in Telegram when that is the primary owner interface. Thanks @pashpashpash.
 - Plugin SDK/Discord: restore a deprecated `openclaw/plugin-sdk/discord` compatibility facade and the legacy compat group-policy warning export for the published `@openclaw/discord@2026.3.13` package, covering its config, account, directory, status, and thread-binding imports while keeping new plugins on generic SDK subpaths. Fixes #73685; supersedes #73703. Thanks @rderickson9 and @SymbolStar.
 - Channels/Discord: suppress duplicate gateway monitors when multiple enabled accounts resolve to the same bot token, preferring config tokens over default env fallback and reporting skipped duplicates as disabled. Supersedes #73608. Thanks @kagura-agent.

src/agents/models-config.plan.ts

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ export type ResolveImplicitProvidersForModelsJson = (params: {
   pluginMetadataSnapshot?: Pick<PluginMetadataSnapshot, "index" | "manifestRegistry" | "owners">;
   providerDiscoveryProviderIds?: readonly string[];
   providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs?: number;
+  providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly?: boolean;
 }) => Promise<Record<string, ProviderConfig>>;
 
 export type ModelsJsonPlan =
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ export async function resolveProvidersForModelsJsonWithDeps(
     pluginMetadataSnapshot?: Pick<PluginMetadataSnapshot, "index" | "manifestRegistry" | "owners">;
     providerDiscoveryProviderIds?: readonly string[];
     providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs?: number;
+    providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly?: boolean;
   },
   deps?: {
     resolveImplicitProviders?: ResolveImplicitProvidersForModelsJson;
@@ -70,6 +72,7 @@ export async function resolveProvidersForModelsJsonWithDeps(
     ...(params.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs !== undefined
       ? { providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: params.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs }
       : {}),
+    ...(params.providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly === true ? { providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true } : {}),
   });
   return mergeProviders({
     implicit: implicitProviders,
@@ -113,6 +116,7 @@ export async function planOpenClawModelsJsonWithDeps(
     pluginMetadataSnapshot?: Pick<PluginMetadataSnapshot, "index" | "manifestRegistry" | "owners">;
     providerDiscoveryProviderIds?: readonly string[];
     providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs?: number;
+    providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly?: boolean;
   },
   deps?: {
     resolveImplicitProviders?: ResolveImplicitProvidersForModelsJson;
@@ -134,6 +138,9 @@ export async function planOpenClawModelsJsonWithDeps(
       ...(params.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs !== undefined
         ? { providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: params.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs }
         : {}),
+      ...(params.providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly === true
+        ? { providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true }
+        : {}),
     },
     deps,
   );

src/agents/models-config.providers.implicit.discovery-scope.test.ts

@@ -98,4 +98,20 @@ describe("resolveImplicitProviders startup discovery scope", () => {
       }),
     );
   });
+
+  it("can keep startup discovery on provider discovery entries only", async () => {
+    await resolveImplicitProviders({
+      agentDir: "/tmp/openclaw-agent",
+      config: {},
+      env: {} as NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+      explicitProviders: {},
+      providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true,
+    });
+
+    expect(mocks.resolveRuntimePluginDiscoveryProviders).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        discoveryEntriesOnly: true,
+      }),
+    );
+  });
 });

src/agents/models-config.providers.implicit.ts

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ type ImplicitProviderParams = {
   pluginMetadataSnapshot?: Pick<PluginMetadataSnapshot, "index" | "manifestRegistry" | "owners">;
   providerDiscoveryProviderIds?: readonly string[];
   providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs?: number;
+  providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly?: boolean;
 };
 
 type ImplicitProviderContext = ImplicitProviderParams & {
@@ -482,6 +483,7 @@ export async function resolveImplicitProviders(
     ...(params.pluginMetadataSnapshot
       ? { pluginMetadataSnapshot: params.pluginMetadataSnapshot }
       : {}),
+    ...(params.providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly === true ? { discoveryEntriesOnly: true } : {}),
   });
 
   for (const order of PLUGIN_DISCOVERY_ORDERS) {

src/agents/models-config.ts

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ async function buildModelsJsonFingerprint(params: {
   pluginMetadataSnapshot?: Pick<PluginMetadataSnapshot, "index">;
   providerDiscoveryProviderIds?: readonly string[];
   providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs?: number;
+  providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly?: boolean;
 }): Promise<string> {
   const authProfilesMtimeMs = await readFileMtimeMs(
     path.join(params.agentDir, "auth-profiles.json"),
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ async function buildModelsJsonFingerprint(params: {
     pluginMetadataSnapshotIndexFingerprint,
     providerDiscoveryProviderIds: params.providerDiscoveryProviderIds,
     providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: params.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs,
+    providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: params.providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly === true,
   });
 }
 
@@ -162,6 +164,7 @@ export async function ensureOpenClawModelsJson(
     workspaceDir?: string;
     providerDiscoveryProviderIds?: readonly string[];
     providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs?: number;
+    providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly?: boolean;
   } = {},
 ): Promise<{ agentDir: string; wrote: boolean }> {
   const resolved = resolveModelsConfigInput(config);
@@ -191,6 +194,7 @@ export async function ensureOpenClawModelsJson(
     ...(options.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs !== undefined
       ? { providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: options.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs }
       : {}),
+    ...(options.providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly === true ? { providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true } : {}),
   });
   const cacheKey = modelsJsonReadyCacheKey(targetPath, fingerprint);
   const cached = MODELS_JSON_STATE.readyCache.get(cacheKey);
@@ -220,6 +224,9 @@ export async function ensureOpenClawModelsJson(
       ...(options.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs !== undefined
         ? { providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: options.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs }
         : {}),
+      ...(options.providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly === true
+        ? { providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true }
+        : {}),
     });
 
     if (plan.action === "skip") {
@@ -251,6 +258,9 @@ export async function ensureOpenClawModelsJson(
       ...(options.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs !== undefined
         ? { providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: options.providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs }
         : {}),
+      ...(options.providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly === true
+        ? { providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true }
+        : {}),
     });
     const refreshedCacheKey = modelsJsonReadyCacheKey(targetPath, refreshedFingerprint);
     if (refreshedCacheKey !== cacheKey) {

src/gateway/server-startup-post-attach.test.ts

@@ -153,6 +153,11 @@ vi.mock("../agents/agent-paths.js", () => ({
   resolveOpenClawAgentDir: hoisted.resolveOpenClawAgentDir,
 }));
 
+vi.mock("../agents/agent-scope.js", () => ({
+  resolveAgentWorkspaceDir: vi.fn(() => "/tmp/openclaw-workspace"),
+  resolveDefaultAgentId: vi.fn(() => "default"),
+}));
+
 vi.mock("../agents/defaults.js", () => ({
   DEFAULT_MODEL: "gpt-5.4",
   DEFAULT_PROVIDER: "openai",
@@ -357,6 +362,11 @@ describe("startGatewayPostAttachRuntime", () => {
         await vi.waitFor(
           () => {
             expect(prewarmPrimaryModel).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(prewarmPrimaryModel).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+              expect.objectContaining({
+                workspaceDir: "/tmp/openclaw-workspace",
+              }),
+            );
             expect(startChannels).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
           },
           { timeout: 2_000 },

src/gateway/server-startup-post-attach.ts

@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ async function waitForAcpRuntimeBackendReady(params: {
 
 async function prewarmConfiguredPrimaryModel(params: {
   cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+  workspaceDir?: string;
   log: { warn: (msg: string) => void };
 }): Promise<void> {
   const { resolveAgentModelPrimaryValue } = await import("../config/model-input.js");
@@ -125,11 +126,13 @@ async function prewarmConfiguredPrimaryModel(params: {
   }
   const [
     { resolveOpenClawAgentDir },
+    { resolveAgentWorkspaceDir, resolveDefaultAgentId },
     { DEFAULT_MODEL, DEFAULT_PROVIDER },
     { isCliProvider, resolveConfiguredModelRef },
     { resolveEmbeddedAgentRuntime },
   ] = await Promise.all([
     import("../agents/agent-paths.js"),
+    import("../agents/agent-scope.js"),
     import("../agents/defaults.js"),
     import("../agents/model-selection.js"),
     import("../agents/pi-embedded-runner/runtime.js"),
@@ -149,10 +152,14 @@ async function prewarmConfiguredPrimaryModel(params: {
   // Keep startup prewarm metadata-only; resolving models can import provider runtimes and block readiness.
   const { ensureOpenClawModelsJson } = await import("../agents/models-config.js");
   const agentDir = resolveOpenClawAgentDir();
+  const workspaceDir =
+    params.workspaceDir ?? resolveAgentWorkspaceDir(params.cfg, resolveDefaultAgentId(params.cfg));
   try {
     await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(params.cfg, agentDir, {
+      workspaceDir,
       providerDiscoveryProviderIds: [provider],
       providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: STARTUP_PROVIDER_DISCOVERY_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true,
     });
   } catch (err) {
     params.log.warn(`startup model warmup failed for ${provider}/${model}: ${String(err)}`);
@@ -162,6 +169,7 @@ async function prewarmConfiguredPrimaryModel(params: {
 async function prewarmConfiguredPrimaryModelWithTimeout(
   params: {
     cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+    workspaceDir?: string;
     log: { warn: (msg: string) => void };
     timeoutMs?: number;
   },
@@ -190,6 +198,7 @@ async function prewarmConfiguredPrimaryModelWithTimeout(
 function schedulePrimaryModelPrewarm(
   params: {
     cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+    workspaceDir?: string;
     log: { warn: (msg: string) => void };
     startupTrace?: GatewayStartupTrace;
   },
@@ -202,6 +211,7 @@ function schedulePrimaryModelPrewarm(
     prewarmConfiguredPrimaryModelWithTimeout(
       {
         cfg: params.cfg,
+        ...(params.workspaceDir ? { workspaceDir: params.workspaceDir } : {}),
         log: params.log,
       },
       prewarm,
@@ -342,6 +352,7 @@ export async function startGatewaySidecars(params: {
         schedulePrimaryModelPrewarm(
           {
             cfg: params.cfg,
+            workspaceDir: params.defaultWorkspaceDir,
             log: params.log,
             startupTrace: params.startupTrace,
           },

src/gateway/server-startup.test.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ vi.mock("../agents/agent-paths.js", () => ({
   resolveOpenClawAgentDir: () => "/tmp/agent",
 }));
 
+vi.mock("../agents/agent-scope.js", () => ({
+  resolveAgentWorkspaceDir: () => "/tmp/workspace",
+  resolveDefaultAgentId: () => "default",
+}));
+
 vi.mock("../agents/models-config.js", () => ({
   ensureOpenClawModelsJson: (config: unknown, agentDir: unknown, options?: unknown) =>
     ensureOpenClawModelsJsonMock(config, agentDir, options),
@@ -68,8 +73,10 @@ describe("gateway startup primary model warmup", () => {
       cfg,
       "/tmp/agent",
       expect.objectContaining({
+        workspaceDir: "/tmp/workspace",
         providerDiscoveryProviderIds: ["openai-codex"],
         providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: 5000,
+        providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true,
       }),
     );
     expect(piModelModuleLoadedMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -163,8 +170,10 @@ describe("gateway startup primary model warmup", () => {
       cfg,
       "/tmp/agent",
       expect.objectContaining({
+        workspaceDir: "/tmp/workspace",
         providerDiscoveryProviderIds: ["openai-codex"],
         providerDiscoveryTimeoutMs: 5000,
+        providerDiscoveryEntriesOnly: true,
       }),
     );
     expect(piModelModuleLoadedMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();

src/plugins/capability-provider-runtime.test.ts

@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ function expectBundledCompatLoadPath(params: {
     config: params.enablementCompat,
     onlyPluginIds: ["openai"],
     activate: false,
+    onlyPluginIds: ["openai"],
   });
 }
 
@@ -403,6 +404,7 @@ describe("resolvePluginCapabilityProviders", () => {
       }),
       onlyPluginIds: ["microsoft"],
       activate: false,
+      onlyPluginIds: ["microsoft"],
     });
   });
 
@@ -630,9 +632,52 @@ describe("resolvePluginCapabilityProviders", () => {
       config: compatConfig,
       onlyPluginIds: ["google"],
       activate: false,
+      onlyPluginIds: ["openai"],
     });
   });
 
+  it("scopes media capability snapshot loads to manifest-derived bundled owners", () => {
+    const cfg = { plugins: { allow: ["openai", "minimax"] } } as OpenClawConfig;
+    mocks.loadPluginManifestRegistry.mockReturnValue({
+      plugins: [
+        {
+          id: "openai",
+          origin: "bundled",
+          contracts: {
+            imageGenerationProviders: ["openai"],
+            videoGenerationProviders: ["openai"],
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          id: "minimax",
+          origin: "bundled",
+          contracts: {
+            imageGenerationProviders: ["minimax"],
+            videoGenerationProviders: ["minimax"],
+            musicGenerationProviders: ["minimax"],
+          },
+        },
+      ] as never,
+      diagnostics: [],
+    });
+
+    resolvePluginCapabilityProviders({ key: "imageGenerationProviders", cfg });
+    resolvePluginCapabilityProviders({ key: "videoGenerationProviders", cfg });
+    resolvePluginCapabilityProviders({ key: "musicGenerationProviders", cfg });
+
+    const snapshotLoadOptions = mocks.resolveRuntimePluginRegistry.mock.calls
+      .map(([options]) => options)
+      .filter(
+        (options): options is { activate: boolean; onlyPluginIds?: string[] } =>
+          Boolean(options && typeof options === "object" && "activate" in options),
+      );
+    expect(snapshotLoadOptions.map((options) => options.onlyPluginIds)).toEqual([
+      ["minimax", "openai"],
+      ["minimax", "openai"],
+      ["minimax"],
+    ]);
+  });
+
   it("loads only the bundled owner plugin for a targeted provider lookup", () => {
     const cfg = { plugins: { allow: ["custom-plugin"] } } as OpenClawConfig;
     const allowlistCompat = {
@@ -696,6 +741,7 @@ describe("resolvePluginCapabilityProviders", () => {
       config: enablementCompat,
       onlyPluginIds: ["google"],
       activate: false,
+      onlyPluginIds: ["google"],
     });
   });
 });

src/plugins/capability-provider-runtime.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import {
   withBundledPluginEnablementCompat,
   withBundledPluginVitestCompat,
 } from "./bundled-compat.js";
-import { hasExplicitPluginConfig } from "./config-policy.js";
 import { resolveRuntimePluginRegistry } from "./loader.js";
 import { loadPluginManifestRegistryForPluginRegistry } from "./plugin-registry.js";
 import type { PluginRegistry } from "./registry-types.js";
@@ -242,8 +241,7 @@ export function resolvePluginCapabilityProviders<K extends CapabilityProviderReg
   if (
     activeProviders.length > 0 &&
     params.key !== "memoryEmbeddingProviders" &&
-    params.key !== "speechProviders" &&
-    !hasExplicitPluginConfig(params.cfg?.plugins)
+    params.key !== "speechProviders"
   ) {
     return activeProviders.map((entry) => entry.provider) as CapabilityProviderForKey<K>[];
   }

src/plugins/provider-discovery.runtime.test.ts

@@ -226,4 +226,15 @@ describe("resolvePluginDiscoveryProvidersRuntime", () => {
     ]);
     expect(mocks.resolvePluginProviders).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
+
+  it("does not fall back to full plugin loading when discovery entries are requested only", () => {
+    mocks.loadPluginManifestRegistryForInstalledIndex.mockReturnValue({
+      plugins: [createManifestPluginWithoutDiscovery({ id: "deepseek" })],
+      diagnostics: [],
+    });
+
+    expect(resolvePluginDiscoveryProvidersRuntime({ discoveryEntriesOnly: true })).toEqual([]);
+    expect(resolvePluginDiscoveryProvidersRuntime({ discoveryEntriesOnly: true })).toEqual([]);
+    expect(mocks.resolvePluginProviders).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
 });