diff --git a/.github/workflows/plugin-clawhub-release.yml b/.github/workflows/plugin-clawhub-release.yml
index 5b552df8e751..775f1feb40ac 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/plugin-clawhub-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/plugin-clawhub-release.yml
@@ -56,12 +56,6 @@ jobs:
           ref: ${{ github.ref }}
           fetch-depth: 0
 
-      - name: Setup Node environment
-        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-node-env
-        with:
-          node-version: ${{ env.NODE_VERSION }}
-          install-bun: "false"
-
       - name: Resolve checked-out ref
         id: ref
         env:
@@ -107,6 +101,12 @@ jobs:
           echo "Plugin ClawHub publishes must target a commit reachable from main, release/*, or the matching Tideclaw alpha branch." >&2
           exit 1
 
+      - name: Setup Node environment
+        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-node-env
+        with:
+          node-version: ${{ env.NODE_VERSION }}
+          install-bun: "false"
+
       - name: Validate publishable plugin metadata
         env:
           PUBLISH_SCOPE: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.publish_scope || '' }}
diff --git a/test/scripts/package-acceptance-workflow.test.ts b/test/scripts/package-acceptance-workflow.test.ts
index 4854492a460a..c0900d1ba9e9 100644
--- a/test/scripts/package-acceptance-workflow.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/package-acceptance-workflow.test.ts
@@ -1543,6 +1543,14 @@ describe("package artifact reuse", () => {
     const pluginNpmWorkflow = readFileSync(".github/workflows/plugin-npm-release.yml", "utf8");
     const openclawNpmWorkflow = readFileSync(".github/workflows/openclaw-npm-release.yml", "utf8");
     const approvalScript = readFileSync("scripts/validate-release-publish-approval.mjs", "utf8");
+    const clawHubResolveRefIndex = clawHubWorkflow.indexOf("- name: Resolve checked-out ref");
+    const clawHubValidateRefIndex = clawHubWorkflow.indexOf(
+      "- name: Validate ref is on a trusted publish branch",
+    );
+    const clawHubSetupIndex = clawHubWorkflow.indexOf("- name: Setup Node environment");
+    const clawHubMetadataIndex = clawHubWorkflow.indexOf(
+      "- name: Validate publishable plugin metadata",
+    );
 
     expect(packageJson.scripts?.["release:verify-beta"]).toBe(
       "node --import tsx scripts/release-verify-beta.ts",
@@ -1559,6 +1567,10 @@ describe("package artifact reuse", () => {
     expect(clawHubWorkflow).toContain("Verify published ClawHub package");
     expect(clawHubWorkflow).toContain("bun install failed while preparing ClawHub CLI; retrying");
     expect(clawHubWorkflow).toContain("max-parallel: 32");
+    expect(clawHubResolveRefIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(clawHubValidateRefIndex).toBeGreaterThan(clawHubResolveRefIndex);
+    expect(clawHubSetupIndex).toBeGreaterThan(clawHubValidateRefIndex);
+    expect(clawHubMetadataIndex).toBeGreaterThan(clawHubSetupIndex);
     expect(releaseWorkflow).toContain("Plugin npm run ID");
     expect(releaseWorkflow).toContain("Plugin ClawHub run ID");
     expect(releaseWorkflow).toContain("OpenClaw npm run ID");