diff --git a/extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.ts b/extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.ts
index 42ab85c85678..dc9ec3d55cd8 100644
--- a/extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/comfy/comfy.live.test.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
 import { resolveDefaultAgentDir } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/agent-runtime";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-contracts";
 import { createTestPluginApi } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-test-api";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-config-snapshot";
-import { isLiveTestEnabled } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/test-live";
+import { isLiveTestEnabled, readLiveTestConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/test-live";
 import { beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import plugin from "./index.js";
 import { getComfyConfigForTesting } from "./test-support.js";
@@ -51,7 +50,7 @@ describeLive("comfy live", () => {
     [];
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    cfg = withPluginsEnabled(getRuntimeConfig());
+    cfg = withPluginsEnabled(await readLiveTestConfig());
     agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg as never);
     plugin.register(
       createTestPluginApi({
diff --git a/extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.ts b/extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.ts
index 40b1b2ddd4bf..48f08dbc18a9 100644
--- a/extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/music-generation-providers.live.test.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import {
   registerProviderPlugin,
   requireRegisteredProvider,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-test-runtime";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-config-snapshot";
 import {
   isAuthErrorMessage,
   isBillingErrorMessage,
@@ -19,6 +18,7 @@ import {
   isServerErrorMessage,
   isTimeoutErrorMessage,
   isTruthyEnvValue,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/test-live";
 import { collectProviderApiKeys, getShellEnvAppliedKeys } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/test-live-auth";
 import {
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ describeLive("music generation provider live", () => {
   it(
     "covers generate plus declared edit paths with shell/profile auth",
     async () => {
-      const cfg = withPluginsEnabled(getRuntimeConfig());
+      const cfg = withPluginsEnabled(await readLiveTestConfig());
       const configuredModels = resolveConfiguredLiveMusicModels(cfg);
       const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg as never);
       const attempted: string[] = [];
diff --git a/extensions/video-generation-providers.live.test.ts b/extensions/video-generation-providers.live.test.ts
index 1e2bbd80f154..37f833906936 100644
--- a/extensions/video-generation-providers.live.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/video-generation-providers.live.test.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import {
   registerProviderPlugin,
   requireRegisteredProvider,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-test-runtime";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-config-snapshot";
 import {
   isAuthErrorMessage,
   isBillingErrorMessage,
@@ -19,6 +18,7 @@ import {
   isServerErrorMessage,
   isTimeoutErrorMessage,
   isTruthyEnvValue,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/test-live";
 import { collectProviderApiKeys, getShellEnvAppliedKeys } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/test-live-auth";
 import {
@@ -401,7 +401,7 @@ function resolveLiveSmokeDurationSeconds(params: {
 }
 
 async function runLiveVideoProviderCase(testCase: LiveProviderCase): Promise<void> {
-  const cfg = withPluginsEnabled(getRuntimeConfig());
+  const cfg = withPluginsEnabled(await readLiveTestConfig());
   const configuredModels = resolveConfiguredLiveVideoModels(cfg);
   const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg as never);
   const attempted: string[] = [];
diff --git a/extensions/xai/xai.live.test.ts b/extensions/xai/xai.live.test.ts
index d0c904a5aff9..fd6c7f490ebc 100644
--- a/extensions/xai/xai.live.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/xai/xai.live.test.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import {
   type RealtimeVoiceBridge,
   type RealtimeVoiceBridgeEvent,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/realtime-voice";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-config-snapshot";
 import { isBillingErrorMessage } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/test-live";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { createCodeExecutionTool } from "./code-execution.js";
@@ -34,21 +33,17 @@ const describeLive = liveEnabled ? describe : describe.skip;
 const EMPTY_AUTH_STORE = { version: 1, profiles: {} } as const;
 
 function createLiveConfig(): OpenClawConfig {
-  const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
   return {
-    ...cfg,
     models: {
-      ...cfg.models,
       providers: {
-        ...cfg.models?.providers,
         xai: {
-          ...cfg.models?.providers?.xai,
           apiKey: XAI_API_KEY,
           baseUrl: "https://api.x.ai/v1",
+          models: [],
         },
       },
     },
-  } as OpenClawConfig;
+  };
 }
 
 function createReferencePng(): Buffer {
diff --git a/src/agents/anthropic.setup-token.live.test.ts b/src/agents/anthropic.setup-token.live.test.ts
index d9ec1ef65f39..f53beebd0a31 100644
--- a/src/agents/anthropic.setup-token.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/anthropic.setup-token.live.test.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ import path from "node:path";
 import { completeSimple, type Model } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/llm";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { validateAnthropicSetupToken } from "../commands/auth-token.js";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { discoverAuthStorage, discoverModels } from "./agent-model-discovery.js";
 import { resolveDefaultAgentDir } from "./agent-scope.js";
 import {
@@ -18,7 +17,7 @@ import {
   ensureAuthProfileStore,
   saveAuthProfileStore,
 } from "./auth-profiles.js";
-import { isLiveTestEnabled } from "./live-test-helpers.js";
+import { isLiveTestEnabled, readLiveTestConfig } from "./live-test-helpers.js";
 import { getApiKeyForModel, requireApiKey } from "./model-auth.js";
 import { normalizeProviderId, parseModelRef } from "./model-selection.js";
 import { ensureOpenClawModelsJson } from "./models-config.js";
@@ -97,7 +96,7 @@ async function resolveTokenSource(): Promise<TokenSource> {
     };
   }
 
-  const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(getRuntimeConfig());
+  const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(await readLiveTestConfig());
   const store = ensureAuthProfileStore(agentDir, {
     allowKeychainPrompt: false,
   });
@@ -186,7 +185,7 @@ describeLive("live anthropic setup-token", () => {
     async () => {
       const tokenSource = await resolveTokenSource();
       try {
-        const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+        const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
         await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(cfg, tokenSource.agentDir);
 
         const authStorage = discoverAuthStorage(tokenSource.agentDir);
diff --git a/src/agents/live-test-config.test.ts b/src/agents/live-test-config.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..3dd12c0859d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/agents/live-test-config.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { withTempHome } from "../config/test-helpers.js";
+import { withEnvAsync } from "../test-utils/env.js";
+import { readLiveTestConfig } from "./live-test-config.js";
+
+function listLiveTestFiles(root: string): string[] {
+  const files: string[] = [];
+  const pending = [root];
+  while (pending.length > 0) {
+    const current = pending.pop();
+    if (!current) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(current, { withFileTypes: true })) {
+      const entryPath = path.join(current, entry.name);
+      if (entry.isDirectory()) {
+        pending.push(entryPath);
+      } else if (entry.name.endsWith(".live.test.ts")) {
+        files.push(entryPath);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return files;
+}
+
+describe("readLiveTestConfig", () => {
+  it("tolerates retired config keys without mutating process env", async () => {
+    await withTempHome(async (home) => {
+      const envKey = "OPENCLAW_LIVE_CONFIG_ISOLATION_TEST";
+      const configDir = path.join(home, ".openclaw");
+      await fs.promises.mkdir(configDir, { recursive: true });
+      await fs.promises.writeFile(
+        path.join(configDir, "openclaw.json"),
+        `${JSON.stringify({
+          meta: { lastTouchedAt: "2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z" },
+          env: { vars: { [envKey]: "from-config" } },
+          gateway: { mode: "local" },
+        })}\n`,
+      );
+
+      await withEnvAsync({ [envKey]: undefined }, async () => {
+        await expect(readLiveTestConfig()).resolves.toMatchObject({
+          gateway: { mode: "local" },
+        });
+        expect(process.env[envKey]).toBeUndefined();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("keeps live tests off the strict runtime config loader", () => {
+    const roots = [path.join(process.cwd(), "extensions"), path.join(process.cwd(), "src")];
+    const offenders = roots
+      .flatMap(listLiveTestFiles)
+      .filter((file) => /\bgetRuntimeConfig\s*\(/u.test(fs.readFileSync(file, "utf8")))
+      .map((file) => path.relative(process.cwd(), file))
+      .toSorted();
+
+    expect(offenders).toStrictEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/agents/live-test-config.ts b/src/agents/live-test-config.ts
index 0c9178c92295..4c73246feadf 100644
--- a/src/agents/live-test-config.ts
+++ b/src/agents/live-test-config.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,17 @@
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.js";
 import { isTruthyEnvValue } from "../infra/env.js";
 
 const LIVE_OK_PROMPT = "Reply with the word ok.";
 
+/**
+ * Read the active host or test config without letting invalid legacy keys or
+ * config-owned env vars mutate the live-test process.
+ */
+export async function readLiveTestConfig(): Promise<OpenClawConfig> {
+  const { readBestEffortConfig } = await import("../config/io.js");
+  return await readBestEffortConfig({ isolateEnv: true, observe: false });
+}
+
 /** Return whether live tests are enabled by standard or caller-specific env flags. */
 export function isLiveTestEnabled(
   extraEnvVars: readonly string[] = [],
diff --git a/src/agents/live-test-helpers.ts b/src/agents/live-test-helpers.ts
index b7335f035b5f..2ed1bcd8f9ff 100644
--- a/src/agents/live-test-helpers.ts
+++ b/src/agents/live-test-helpers.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ export {
   extractNonEmptyAssistantText,
   isLiveProfileKeyModeEnabled,
   isLiveTestEnabled,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
 } from "./live-test-config.js";
 
 export type CompleteSimpleContent<TApi extends Api = Api> = Awaited<
diff --git a/src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts b/src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts
index 5e4dda90a6d6..7c8cf9aa4b60 100644
--- a/src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/models.profiles.live.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import { expectDefined } from "@openclaw/normalization-core";
 import { type Api, completeSimple, type Model } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/llm";
 import { Type } from "typebox";
 import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import { coerceSecretRef, type SecretInput } from "../config/types.secrets.js";
 import { parseLiveCsvFilter } from "../media-generation/live-test-helpers.js";
@@ -57,6 +56,7 @@ import { createLiveTargetMatcher } from "./live-target-matcher.js";
 import {
   isLiveProfileKeyModeEnabled,
   isLiveTestEnabled,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
   requiresLiveProfileCredential,
   resolveLiveCredentialPrecedence,
 } from "./live-test-helpers.js";
@@ -1704,7 +1704,7 @@ describeLive("live models (profile keys)", () => {
     async () => {
       logProgress("[live-models] loading config");
       const loadedCfg = await withLiveStageTimeout(
-        Promise.resolve().then(() => getRuntimeConfig()),
+        readLiveTestConfig(),
         "[live-models] load config",
       );
       const rawModels = process.env.OPENCLAW_LIVE_MODELS?.trim();
diff --git a/src/agents/openai-reasoning-compat.live.test.ts b/src/agents/openai-reasoning-compat.live.test.ts
index 5122ab5563d7..27a8057984fd 100644
--- a/src/agents/openai-reasoning-compat.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/openai-reasoning-compat.live.test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import { SessionManager } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/agent-sessions";
 import type { Model } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/llm";
 import { Type } from "typebox";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { discoverAuthStorage, discoverModels } from "./agent-model-discovery.js";
 import { resolveDefaultAgentDir } from "./agent-scope.js";
 import { sanitizeSessionHistory } from "./embedded-agent-runner/replay-history.js";
@@ -14,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   isLiveTestEnabled,
   logLiveProgress,
   requiresLiveProfileCredential,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
   resolveLiveCredentialPrecedence,
 } from "./live-test-helpers.js";
 import { getApiKeyForModel, requireApiKey } from "./model-auth.js";
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ describeLive("openai reasoning compat live", () => {
     "remaps low reasoning for the configured OpenAI mini target",
     async () => {
       const { provider, modelId } = resolveTargetModelRef();
-      const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+      const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
       await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(cfg);
 
       const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg);
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ describeLive("openai reasoning compat live", () => {
     "accepts repaired OpenAI Codex parallel tool replay with aborted missing results",
     async () => {
       const { provider, modelId } = resolveTargetModelRef();
-      const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+      const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
       await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(cfg);
 
       const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg);
diff --git a/src/agents/sessions/agent-session.live.test.ts b/src/agents/sessions/agent-session.live.test.ts
index 0b327e31c64e..99a7129cb386 100644
--- a/src/agents/sessions/agent-session.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/sessions/agent-session.live.test.ts
@@ -5,9 +5,8 @@ import { join } from "node:path";
 import type { Model } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/llm";
 import { Type } from "typebox";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 import { discoverModels } from "../agent-model-discovery.js";
-import { isLiveTestEnabled } from "../live-test-helpers.js";
+import { isLiveTestEnabled, readLiveTestConfig } from "../live-test-helpers.js";
 import { ensureOpenClawModelsJson } from "../models-config.js";
 import type { AgentMessage } from "../runtime/index.js";
 import { AgentSession } from "./agent-session.js";
@@ -73,7 +72,7 @@ async function resolveLiveModel(
   agentDir: string,
   authStorage: AuthStorage,
 ): Promise<{ model: Model; modelRegistry: ModelRegistry }> {
-  await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(getRuntimeConfig(), agentDir, {
+  await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(await readLiveTestConfig(), agentDir, {
     providerDiscoveryProviderIds: ["anthropic"],
   });
   const modelRegistry = discoverModels(authStorage, agentDir, { providerFilter: "anthropic" });
diff --git a/src/agents/subagent-announce.live.test.ts b/src/agents/subagent-announce.live.test.ts
index 9484b3d18d8d..6b520b589023 100644
--- a/src/agents/subagent-announce.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/subagent-announce.live.test.ts
@@ -4,11 +4,7 @@ import { randomBytes, randomUUID } from "node:crypto";
 import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import {
-  clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
-  getRuntimeConfig,
-  type OpenClawConfig,
-} from "../config/config.js";
+import { clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot, type OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { callGateway as realCallGateway } from "../gateway/call.js";
 import { GatewayClient } from "../gateway/client.js";
 import { dispatchGatewayMethodInProcess as realDispatchGatewayMethodInProcess } from "../gateway/server-plugins.js";
@@ -22,7 +18,7 @@ import {
   type OpenClawTestState,
 } from "../test-utils/openclaw-test-state.js";
 import { GATEWAY_CLIENT_MODES, GATEWAY_CLIENT_NAMES } from "../utils/message-channel.js";
-import { isLiveTestEnabled } from "./live-test-helpers.js";
+import { isLiveTestEnabled, readLiveTestConfig } from "./live-test-helpers.js";
 import { testing as subagentAnnounceDeliveryTesting } from "./subagent-announce-delivery.test-support.js";
 import { testing as subagentAnnounceTesting } from "./subagent-announce.js";
 import { resolveSubagentController, steerControlledSubagentRun } from "./subagent-control.js";
@@ -577,7 +573,7 @@ describeLive("subagent announce live", () => {
       expect(runBeforeSteer.completion?.resultText, runStateBeforeSteer).toBeUndefined();
       console.log(`[subagent-steer] steering active child run; runs=${runStateBeforeSteer}`);
 
-      const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+      const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
       const steerResult = await steerControlledSubagentRun({
         cfg,
         controller: resolveSubagentController({ cfg, agentSessionKey: sessionKey }),
diff --git a/src/agents/tool-replay-repair.live.test.ts b/src/agents/tool-replay-repair.live.test.ts
index 4050226cc6b5..75ce744da845 100644
--- a/src/agents/tool-replay-repair.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/tool-replay-repair.live.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import { SessionManager } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/agent-sessions";
 import type { Context, Model } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/llm";
 import { Type } from "typebox";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { discoverAuthStorage, discoverModels } from "./agent-model-discovery.js";
 import { resolveDefaultAgentDir } from "./agent-scope.js";
 import { sanitizeSessionHistory } from "./embedded-agent-runner/replay-history.js";
@@ -17,6 +16,7 @@ import {
   isLiveTestEnabled,
   logLiveProgress,
   requiresLiveProfileCredential,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
   resolveLiveCredentialPrecedence,
   type CompleteSimpleContent,
 } from "./live-test-helpers.js";
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ describeLive("tool replay repair live", () => {
     it(
       `accepts repaired displaced and missing tool results with ${target.ref}`,
       async () => {
-        const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+        const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
         await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(cfg);
 
         const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg);
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ describeLive("tool replay repair live", () => {
     it(
       `accepts transport replay after dropping aborted assistant tool calls with ${target.ref}`,
       async () => {
-        const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+        const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
         await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(cfg);
 
         const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg);
diff --git a/src/gateway/android-node.capabilities.live.test.ts b/src/gateway/android-node.capabilities.live.test.ts
index d5851fe9b3a3..a1aff1b05a2e 100644
--- a/src/gateway/android-node.capabilities.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/android-node.capabilities.live.test.ts
@@ -8,8 +8,7 @@ import {
   ANDROID_NODE_REQUIRED_NON_INTERACTIVE_COMMANDS,
   findMissingRequiredAndroidNodeCommands,
 } from "../../test/helpers/gateway/android-node-capabilities-required-commands.js";
-import { isLiveTestEnabled } from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
-import { getRuntimeConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { isLiveTestEnabled, readLiveTestConfig } from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { isTruthyEnvValue } from "../infra/env.js";
 import { parseNodeList, parsePairingList } from "../shared/node-list-parse.js";
@@ -323,8 +322,8 @@ const COMMAND_PROFILES: Record<string, CommandProfile> = {
   },
 };
 
-function resolveGatewayConnection() {
-  const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+async function resolveGatewayConnection() {
+  const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
   const urlOverride = readString(process.env.OPENCLAW_ANDROID_GATEWAY_URL);
   const details = buildGatewayConnectionDetails({
     config: cfg,
@@ -350,15 +349,15 @@ function resolveGatewayConnection() {
 async function resolvePolicyConfigForRun(params: {
   client: GatewayClient;
   connectionDetails: ReturnType<typeof buildGatewayConnectionDetails>;
-  loadLocalConfig?: () => OpenClawConfig;
+  loadLocalConfig?: () => OpenClawConfig | Promise<OpenClawConfig>;
 }): Promise<OpenClawConfig> {
   if (shouldFetchRemotePolicyConfig(params.connectionDetails)) {
     const raw = await params.client.request("config.get", {});
     return unwrapRemoteConfigSnapshot(raw);
   }
 
-  const loadLocalConfig = params.loadLocalConfig ?? getRuntimeConfig;
-  return loadLocalConfig();
+  const loadLocalConfig = params.loadLocalConfig ?? readLiveTestConfig;
+  return await loadLocalConfig();
 }
 
 describe("resolvePolicyConfigForRun", () => {
@@ -565,7 +564,7 @@ describeLive("android node capability integration (preconditioned)", () => {
   const results = new Map<string, CommandResult>();
 
   beforeAll(async () => {
-    const { details, url, token, password } = resolveGatewayConnection();
+    const { details, url, token, password } = await resolveGatewayConnection();
     client = await connectGatewayClient({ url, token, password });
 
     const listRaw = await client.request("node.list", {});
diff --git a/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts b/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts
index 8556dfbc15ba..5f7ca20a656c 100644
--- a/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts
@@ -7,12 +7,8 @@ import path from "node:path";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { renderCatFacePngBase64 } from "../../test/helpers/live-image-probe.js";
 import { getAcpRuntimeBackend } from "../acp/runtime/registry.js";
-import { isLiveTestEnabled } from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
-import {
-  clearConfigCache,
-  clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
-  getRuntimeConfig,
-} from "../config/config.js";
+import { isLiveTestEnabled, readLiveTestConfig } from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
+import { clearConfigCache, clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot } from "../config/config.js";
 import { isTruthyEnvValue } from "../infra/env.js";
 import { clearPluginLoaderCache } from "../plugins/loader.test-fixtures.js";
 import {
@@ -611,7 +607,7 @@ describeLive("gateway live (ACP bind)", () => {
         await prepareCodexHomeForLiveBindTest(tempRoot);
       }
 
-      const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+      const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
       const acpxEntry = cfg.plugins?.entries?.acpx;
       const existingAgentOverrides: Record<string, { command?: string }> =
         typeof acpxEntry?.config === "object" &&
diff --git a/src/gateway/gateway-acp-spawn-defaults.live.test.ts b/src/gateway/gateway-acp-spawn-defaults.live.test.ts
index 74b2580d711f..4f2ae4e6e09c 100644
--- a/src/gateway/gateway-acp-spawn-defaults.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/gateway-acp-spawn-defaults.live.test.ts
@@ -11,12 +11,8 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { getAcpSessionManager } from "../acp/control-plane/manager.js";
 import { getAcpRuntimeBackend } from "../acp/runtime/registry.js";
 import { isSpawnAcpAcceptedResult, spawnAcpDirect } from "../agents/acp-spawn.js";
-import { isLiveTestEnabled } from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
-import {
-  clearConfigCache,
-  clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot,
-  getRuntimeConfig,
-} from "../config/config.js";
+import { isLiveTestEnabled, readLiveTestConfig } from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
+import { clearConfigCache, clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot } from "../config/config.js";
 import { resolveStorePath } from "../config/sessions/paths.js";
 import { loadSessionEntry } from "../config/sessions/session-accessor.js";
 import type { SessionEntry } from "../config/sessions/types.js";
@@ -484,7 +480,7 @@ describeLive("gateway live (ACP spawn defaults)", () => {
         });
         await waitForGatewayPort({ host: "127.0.0.1", port, timeoutMs: CONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS });
         await waitForAcpBackendReady();
-        const runtimeCfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+        const runtimeCfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
         if (ACP_THINKING_CONTROLS_LIVE) {
           const runProof =
             acpAgentId === "opencode"
@@ -542,7 +538,7 @@ describeLive("gateway live (ACP spawn defaults)", () => {
         expect(primaryOnlyEntry.acp?.runtimeOptions?.model).not.toBe("anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6");
       } finally {
         try {
-          const runtimeCfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+          const runtimeCfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
           for (const sessionKey of sessionKeys) {
             await getAcpSessionManager()
               .closeSession({
diff --git a/src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts b/src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts
index 00a0f1bc9bc8..9985d2e8fb78 100644
--- a/src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/gateway-models.profiles.live.test.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,11 @@ import {
   shouldExcludeProviderFromDefaultHighSignalLiveSweep,
 } from "../agents/live-model-filter.js";
 import { createLiveTargetMatcher } from "../agents/live-target-matcher.js";
-import { isLiveProfileKeyModeEnabled, isLiveTestEnabled } from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
+import {
+  isLiveProfileKeyModeEnabled,
+  isLiveTestEnabled,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
+} from "../agents/live-test-helpers.js";
 import { shouldSkipLiveProviderDrift } from "../agents/live-test-provider-drift.js";
 import {
   isLiveBillingDrift,
@@ -56,7 +60,7 @@ import { normalizeProviderId } from "../agents/model-selection.js";
 import { shouldSuppressBuiltInModel } from "../agents/model-suppression.js";
 import { ensureOpenClawModelsJson } from "../agents/models-config.js";
 import { STREAM_ERROR_FALLBACK_TEXT } from "../agents/stream-message-shared.js";
-import { clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot, getRuntimeConfig } from "../config/io.js";
+import { clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot } from "../config/io.js";
 import type { ModelsConfig, ModelProviderConfig, OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.js";
 import { isTruthyEnvValue } from "../infra/env.js";
 import type { ModelRegistry } from "../llm/model-registry.js";
@@ -4522,7 +4526,7 @@ async function runGatewayModelSuite(params: GatewayModelSuiteParams) {
     process.env.OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN = token;
     const agentId = GATEWAY_LIVE_AGENT_ID;
 
-    const hostAgentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(getRuntimeConfig());
+    const hostAgentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(await readLiveTestConfig());
     const hostStore = ensureAuthProfileStore(hostAgentDir, {
       allowKeychainPrompt: false,
     });
@@ -5434,7 +5438,7 @@ describeLive("gateway live (dev agent, profile keys)", () => {
         logProgress("[all-models] loading config");
         clearRuntimeConfigSnapshot();
         const cfg = await withGatewayLiveSetupTimeout(
-          Promise.resolve().then(() => getRuntimeConfig()),
+          readLiveTestConfig(),
           "[all-models] load config",
         );
         const workspaceDir = resolveAgentWorkspaceDir(cfg, DEFAULT_AGENT_ID);
@@ -5699,7 +5703,7 @@ describeLive("gateway live (dev agent, profile keys)", () => {
     let tempDir: string | undefined;
     let tempStateDir: string | undefined;
     try {
-      const cfg = getRuntimeConfig();
+      const cfg = await readLiveTestConfig();
       await ensureOpenClawModelsJson(cfg);
 
       const agentDir = resolveDefaultAgentDir(cfg);
diff --git a/src/plugin-sdk/test-live.ts b/src/plugin-sdk/test-live.ts
index bdc509a41154..f6aba8a08ad1 100644
--- a/src/plugin-sdk/test-live.ts
+++ b/src/plugin-sdk/test-live.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ export {
   extractNonEmptyAssistantText,
   isLiveProfileKeyModeEnabled,
   isLiveTestEnabled,
+  readLiveTestConfig,
 } from "../agents/live-test-config.js";
 export { isModelNotFoundErrorMessage } from "../agents/live-model-errors.js";
 export {