diff --git a/extensions/baseten/api.ts b/extensions/baseten/api.ts
index 0327a4cc3c64..9270c2210c10 100644
--- a/extensions/baseten/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/baseten/api.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ export {
   BASETEN_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF,
   BASETEN_MODEL_CATALOG,
   buildBasetenModelCompat,
-  buildBasetenModelDefinition,
   buildStaticBasetenModels,
   discoverBasetenModels,
   projectBasetenLiveModels,
diff --git a/extensions/baseten/models.ts b/extensions/baseten/models.ts
index 61319c3b5546..1a7654c27e08 100644
--- a/extensions/baseten/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/baseten/models.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@ import {
   getCachedLiveProviderModelRows,
   type LiveModelCatalogFetchGuard,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-live-runtime";
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import {
+  buildManifestModelDefinition,
+  readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef,
+} from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type {
   ModelCompatConfig,
   ModelDefinitionConfig,
@@ -49,9 +52,9 @@ const BASE_COMPAT: ModelCompatConfig = {
 /** Base URL for Baseten's OpenAI-compatible Model APIs. */
 export const BASETEN_BASE_URL = BASETEN_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
 /** Default Baseten model id used for onboarding. */
-export const BASETEN_DEFAULT_MODEL_ID = "thinkingmachines/inkling";
+export const BASETEN_DEFAULT_MODEL_ID = BASETEN_MANIFEST_CATALOG.defaultModel;
 /** Default Baseten model ref used for onboarding. */
-export const BASETEN_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = `baseten/${BASETEN_DEFAULT_MODEL_ID}`;
+export const BASETEN_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(manifest, "baseten")!;
 /** Bundled fallback rows for all Baseten Model APIs available at release time. */
 export const BASETEN_MODEL_CATALOG = BASETEN_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models;
 
@@ -110,27 +113,18 @@ export function buildBasetenModelCompat(modelId: string): ModelCompatConfig {
   };
 }
 
-/** Builds one normalized Baseten model definition from a manifest entry. */
-export function buildBasetenModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof BASETEN_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  const provider = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-    providerId: "baseten",
-    catalog: { ...BASETEN_MANIFEST_CATALOG, models: [model] },
-  });
-  const normalized = provider.models[0];
-  if (!normalized) {
-    throw new Error(`Missing normalized Baseten model ${model.id}`);
-  }
-  return {
-    ...normalized,
-    compat: buildBasetenModelCompat(normalized.id),
-  };
-}
-
 /** Builds the network-free fallback catalog. */
 export function buildStaticBasetenModels(): ModelDefinitionConfig[] {
-  return BASETEN_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildBasetenModelDefinition);
+  return BASETEN_MODEL_CATALOG.map(
+    buildManifestModelDefinition({
+      providerId: "baseten",
+      catalog: BASETEN_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+      decorate: (normalized) => ({
+        ...normalized,
+        compat: buildBasetenModelCompat(normalized.id),
+      }),
+    }),
+  );
 }
 
 type BasetenLiveModelRow = {
diff --git a/extensions/baseten/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/baseten/openclaw.plugin.json
index a9be576d81e5..9d1c2b62244d 100644
--- a/extensions/baseten/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/baseten/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
       "baseten": {
         "baseUrl": "https://inference.baseten.co/v1",
         "api": "openai-completions",
+        "defaultModel": "thinkingmachines/inkling",
         "models": [
           {
             "id": "deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4-Pro",
diff --git a/extensions/byteplus/api.ts b/extensions/byteplus/api.ts
index d0444988e456..89def689c125 100644
--- a/extensions/byteplus/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/byteplus/api.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
  */
 export { buildBytePlusCodingProvider, buildBytePlusProvider } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 export {
-  buildBytePlusModelDefinition,
   BYTEPLUS_BASE_URL,
   BYTEPLUS_CODING_BASE_URL,
   BYTEPLUS_CODING_MODEL_CATALOG,
diff --git a/extensions/byteplus/index.test.ts b/extensions/byteplus/index.test.ts
index df2f7882026e..8fb7fc8a8f2c 100644
--- a/extensions/byteplus/index.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/byteplus/index.test.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { BYTEPLUS_CODING_MODEL_CATALOG, BYTEPLUS_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.
 describe("byteplus plugin", () => {
   it("augments the catalog with bundled standard and plan models", async () => {
     const provider = await registerSingleProviderPlugin(plugin);
+    expect(provider.auth?.[0]?.starterModel).toBe("byteplus-plan/ark-code-latest");
     const standardModel = expectDefined(BYTEPLUS_MODEL_CATALOG[0], "BytePlus standard model");
     const codingModel = expectDefined(BYTEPLUS_CODING_MODEL_CATALOG[0], "BytePlus coding model");
     const entries = await provider.augmentModelCatalog?.({
diff --git a/extensions/byteplus/index.ts b/extensions/byteplus/index.ts
index 58c3d08405bf..9d34b4b43aab 100644
--- a/extensions/byteplus/index.ts
+++ b/extensions/byteplus/index.ts
@@ -4,12 +4,14 @@
 import { definePluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry";
 import { createProviderApiKeyAuthMethod } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-auth-api-key";
 import { buildOpenAICompatibleLiveModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-live-runtime";
+import { readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import { ensureModelAllowlistEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
+import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 import { BYTEPLUS_PROVIDER_CATALOG_ENTRIES } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 import { buildBytePlusVideoGenerationProvider } from "./video-generation-provider.js";
 
 const PROVIDER_ID = "byteplus";
-const BYTEPLUS_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = "byteplus-plan/ark-code-latest";
+const BYTEPLUS_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(manifest, "byteplus-plan")!;
 
 export default definePluginEntry({
   id: PROVIDER_ID,
diff --git a/extensions/byteplus/models.ts b/extensions/byteplus/models.ts
index d380d42c6d70..a5012ea0b214 100644
--- a/extensions/byteplus/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/byteplus/models.ts
@@ -25,12 +25,3 @@ export const BYTEPLUS_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = BYTEPLUS_MANIFEST
 /** BytePlus coding/planning model catalog entries. */
 export const BYTEPLUS_CODING_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] =
   BYTEPLUS_CODING_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-/** Clones one manifest model definition so callers can mutate safely. */
-export function buildBytePlusModelDefinition(entry: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...entry,
-    input: [...entry.input],
-    cost: { ...entry.cost },
-  };
-}
diff --git a/extensions/byteplus/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/byteplus/openclaw.plugin.json
index 95e7530003f1..c71e1f1707c2 100644
--- a/extensions/byteplus/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/byteplus/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@
       "byteplus-plan": {
         "baseUrl": "https://ark.ap-southeast.bytepluses.com/api/coding/v3",
         "api": "openai-completions",
+        "defaultModel": "ark-code-latest",
         "models": [
           {
             "id": "ark-code-latest",
diff --git a/extensions/cerebras/api.ts b/extensions/cerebras/api.ts
index e53a96f762ce..216114314280 100644
--- a/extensions/cerebras/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/cerebras/api.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 /**
  * Public Cerebras provider plugin API exports.
  */
-export {
-  buildCerebrasModelDefinition,
-  CEREBRAS_BASE_URL,
-  CEREBRAS_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+export { buildCerebrasCatalogModels, CEREBRAS_BASE_URL, CEREBRAS_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 export { buildCerebrasProvider } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 export { applyCerebrasConfig, CEREBRAS_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF } from "./onboard.js";
diff --git a/extensions/cerebras/models.ts b/extensions/cerebras/models.ts
index 2784304058b8..28fb3cca2e08 100644
--- a/extensions/cerebras/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/cerebras/models.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 /**
  * Cerebras model catalog helpers derived from the plugin manifest.
  */
-import { expectDefined } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/expect-runtime";
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import { buildManifestModelDefinition } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
@@ -15,19 +14,7 @@ export const CEREBRAS_MODEL_CATALOG = CEREBRAS_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models;
 
 /** Builds normalized Cerebras catalog model definitions. */
 export function buildCerebrasCatalogModels(): ModelDefinitionConfig[] {
-  return buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-    providerId: "cerebras",
-    catalog: CEREBRAS_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
-  }).models;
-}
-
-/** Builds one normalized Cerebras model definition from a manifest entry. */
-export function buildCerebrasModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof CEREBRAS_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  const providerConfig = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-    providerId: "cerebras",
-    catalog: { ...CEREBRAS_MANIFEST_CATALOG, models: [model] },
-  });
-  return expectDefined(providerConfig.models.at(0), "normalized Cerebras manifest model");
+  return CEREBRAS_MODEL_CATALOG.map(
+    buildManifestModelDefinition({ providerId: "cerebras", catalog: CEREBRAS_MANIFEST_CATALOG }),
+  );
 }
diff --git a/extensions/cerebras/onboard.ts b/extensions/cerebras/onboard.ts
index 978528ecd675..01a17cdf7e7b 100644
--- a/extensions/cerebras/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/cerebras/onboard.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ import {
   createModelCatalogPresetAppliers,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
-import {
-  buildCerebrasModelDefinition,
-  CEREBRAS_BASE_URL,
-  CEREBRAS_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+import { buildCerebrasCatalogModels, CEREBRAS_BASE_URL } from "./models.js";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 export const CEREBRAS_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(
@@ -21,7 +17,7 @@ const cerebrasPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: "cerebras",
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: CEREBRAS_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: CEREBRAS_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildCerebrasModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: buildCerebrasCatalogModels(),
     aliases: [{ modelRef: CEREBRAS_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "Cerebras GPT OSS 120B" }],
   }),
 });
diff --git a/extensions/chutes/api.ts b/extensions/chutes/api.ts
index ba9b624e0293..33fb3e6eb1fb 100644
--- a/extensions/chutes/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/chutes/api.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,4 @@
-export {
-  buildChutesModelDefinition,
-  CHUTES_BASE_URL,
-  CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG,
-  discoverChutesModels,
-} from "./models.js";
+export { CHUTES_BASE_URL, CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG, discoverChutesModels } from "./models.js";
 export { buildChutesProvider } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 export {
   applyChutesApiKeyConfig,
diff --git a/extensions/chutes/models.test.ts b/extensions/chutes/models.test.ts
index 5baaf0e9282a..2c4d86d92276 100644
--- a/extensions/chutes/models.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/chutes/models.test.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ import { expectDefined } from "@openclaw/normalization-core";
 import { clearLiveCatalogCacheForTests } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-live-runtime";
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { CHUTES_DEFAULT_MODEL_ID } from "./api.js";
-import {
-  buildChutesModelDefinition,
-  CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG,
-  discoverChutesModels,
-} from "./models.js";
+import { CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG, discoverChutesModels } from "./models.js";
 import { applyChutesConfig, CHUTES_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF } from "./onboard.js";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
@@ -102,9 +98,9 @@ describe("chutes-models", () => {
     clearLiveCatalogCacheForTests();
   });
 
-  it("buildChutesModelDefinition returns config with required fields", () => {
+  it("builds static definitions with required fields", () => {
     const entry = expectDefined(CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG[0], "first Chutes catalog model");
-    const def = buildChutesModelDefinition(entry);
+    const def = entry;
     expect(def.id).toBe(entry.id);
     expect(def.name).toBe(entry.name);
     expect(def.reasoning).toBe(entry.reasoning);
@@ -126,7 +122,7 @@ describe("chutes-models", () => {
       if (!model) {
         throw new Error(`expected ${id}`);
       }
-      expect(buildChutesModelDefinition(model).input).toContain("image");
+      expect(model.input).toContain("image");
     }
   });
 
diff --git a/extensions/chutes/models.ts b/extensions/chutes/models.ts
index 19228acae20e..7b8ebf66f233 100644
--- a/extensions/chutes/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/chutes/models.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import {
   getCachedLiveProviderModelRows,
   LiveModelCatalogHttpError,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-live-runtime";
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import { buildManifestModelDefinition } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/runtime-env";
 import {
@@ -23,22 +23,15 @@ import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 const log = createSubsystemLogger("chutes-models");
 
-const CHUTES_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: "chutes",
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers.chutes,
-});
+const CHUTES_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.chutes;
 
 /** Base URL for Chutes OpenAI-compatible inference. */
-export const CHUTES_BASE_URL = CHUTES_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
+export const CHUTES_BASE_URL = CHUTES_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
 
 const CHUTES_DEFAULT_CONTEXT_WINDOW = 128000;
 const CHUTES_DEFAULT_MAX_TOKENS = 4096;
 
-/** Bundled fallback Chutes model catalog, normalized from the plugin manifest. */
-export const CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG = CHUTES_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-/** Adds Chutes provider compat metadata to one model catalog entry. */
-export function buildChutesModelDefinition(model: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelDefinitionConfig {
+function decorateChutesModelDefinition(model: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelDefinitionConfig {
   return {
     ...model,
     compat: {
@@ -48,6 +41,15 @@ export function buildChutesModelDefinition(model: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelD
   };
 }
 
+/** Bundled fallback Chutes model catalog, normalized from the plugin manifest. */
+export const CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = CHUTES_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+  buildManifestModelDefinition({
+    providerId: "chutes",
+    catalog: CHUTES_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+    decorate: decorateChutesModelDefinition,
+  }),
+);
+
 interface ChutesModelEntry {
   id: string;
   name?: string;
@@ -87,10 +89,10 @@ export async function discoverChutesModels(accessToken?: string): Promise<ModelD
   const trimmedKey = normalizeOptionalString(accessToken) ?? "";
 
   if (isChutesModelDiscoveryTestEnvironment()) {
-    return CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildChutesModelDefinition);
+    return structuredClone(CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG);
   }
 
-  const staticCatalog = () => CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildChutesModelDefinition);
+  const staticCatalog = () => structuredClone(CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG);
 
   try {
     const data = await fetchChutesModelRows(trimmedKey || undefined);
diff --git a/extensions/chutes/onboard.ts b/extensions/chutes/onboard.ts
index 11bca10d1a72..2cb539446664 100644
--- a/extensions/chutes/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/chutes/onboard.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import {
   createModelCatalogPresetAppliers,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
-import { CHUTES_BASE_URL, CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG, buildChutesModelDefinition } from "./models.js";
+import { CHUTES_BASE_URL, CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 export const CHUTES_DEFAULT_MODEL_ID = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.chutes.defaultModel;
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ const chutesPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: "chutes",
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: CHUTES_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildChutesModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: structuredClone(CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG),
     aliases: [
       ...CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG.map((model) => `chutes/${model.id}`),
       {
diff --git a/extensions/chutes/provider-catalog.ts b/extensions/chutes/provider-catalog.ts
index 5ad33d89d78e..d491d91b9ec9 100644
--- a/extensions/chutes/provider-catalog.ts
+++ b/extensions/chutes/provider-catalog.ts
@@ -2,19 +2,14 @@
  * Chutes provider builders for static and dynamically discovered catalogs.
  */
 import type { ModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
-import {
-  CHUTES_BASE_URL,
-  CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG,
-  buildChutesModelDefinition,
-  discoverChutesModels,
-} from "./models.js";
+import { CHUTES_BASE_URL, CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG, discoverChutesModels } from "./models.js";
 
 /** Builds the static Chutes provider catalog from bundled model metadata. */
 export function buildStaticChutesProvider(): ModelProviderConfig {
   return {
     baseUrl: CHUTES_BASE_URL,
     api: "openai-completions",
-    models: CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildChutesModelDefinition),
+    models: structuredClone(CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG),
   };
 }
 
@@ -28,6 +23,6 @@ export async function buildChutesProvider(accessToken?: string): Promise<ModelPr
   return {
     baseUrl: CHUTES_BASE_URL,
     api: "openai-completions",
-    models: models.length > 0 ? models : CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildChutesModelDefinition),
+    models: models.length > 0 ? models : structuredClone(CHUTES_MODEL_CATALOG),
   };
 }
diff --git a/extensions/cohere/models.ts b/extensions/cohere/models.ts
index dbfd420a4ebe..30e539153535 100644
--- a/extensions/cohere/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/cohere/models.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,14 @@
 /**
  * Cohere model catalog helpers derived from the plugin manifest.
  */
-import { expectDefined } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/expect-runtime";
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import { buildManifestModelDefinition } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 const COHERE_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.cohere;
 
 export const COHERE_BASE_URL = COHERE_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
-export const COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG = COHERE_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models;
+const COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG = COHERE_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models;
 const COHERE_COMMAND_A_PLUS_MODEL_ID = "command-a-plus-05-2026";
 const COHERE_COMMAND_A_REASONING_MODEL_ID = "command-a-reasoning-08-2025";
 const COHERE_NORTH_MINI_CODE_MODEL_ID = "north-mini-code-1-0";
@@ -26,18 +25,7 @@ export function isModernCohereModelId(modelId: string): boolean {
 }
 
 export function buildCohereCatalogModels(): ModelDefinitionConfig[] {
-  return buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-    providerId: "cohere",
-    catalog: COHERE_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
-  }).models;
-}
-
-export function buildCohereModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  const providerConfig = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-    providerId: "cohere",
-    catalog: { ...COHERE_MANIFEST_CATALOG, models: [model] },
-  });
-  return expectDefined(providerConfig.models.at(0), "normalized Cohere manifest model");
+  return COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG.map(
+    buildManifestModelDefinition({ providerId: "cohere", catalog: COHERE_MANIFEST_CATALOG }),
+  );
 }
diff --git a/extensions/cohere/onboard.test.ts b/extensions/cohere/onboard.test.ts
index 0f7883abcdee..28413c2143e3 100644
--- a/extensions/cohere/onboard.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/cohere/onboard.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/config-contracts";
 import { resolveAgentModelPrimaryValue } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { buildCohereCatalogModels, COHERE_BASE_URL, COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
+import { buildCohereCatalogModels, COHERE_BASE_URL } from "./models.js";
 import { applyCohereConfig, COHERE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF } from "./onboard.js";
+import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 const COHERE_DEFAULT_MODEL_ID = "command-a-plus-05-2026";
 const COHERE_COMMAND_A_REASONING_MODEL_ID = "command-a-reasoning-08-2025";
@@ -25,7 +26,9 @@ describe("Cohere onboarding", () => {
       COHERE_COMMAND_A_VISION_MODEL_ID,
       COHERE_NORTH_MINI_CODE_MODEL_ID,
     ]);
-    expect(buildCohereCatalogModels()).toHaveLength(COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG.length);
+    expect(buildCohereCatalogModels()).toHaveLength(
+      manifest.modelCatalog.providers.cohere.models.length,
+    );
   });
 
   it("sets Cohere only when there is no primary model", () => {
diff --git a/extensions/cohere/onboard.ts b/extensions/cohere/onboard.ts
index 5f2a7263c6f1..5936b894d0dc 100644
--- a/extensions/cohere/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/cohere/onboard.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import {
   createModelCatalogPresetAppliers,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
-import { buildCohereModelDefinition, COHERE_BASE_URL, COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
+import { buildCohereCatalogModels, COHERE_BASE_URL } from "./models.js";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 export const COHERE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(manifest, "cohere")!;
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ const coherePresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: "cohere",
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: COHERE_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: COHERE_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildCohereModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: buildCohereCatalogModels(),
     aliases: [{ modelRef: COHERE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "Cohere Command A+" }],
   }),
 });
diff --git a/extensions/deepseek/api.ts b/extensions/deepseek/api.ts
index 6154b8f3e7b7..fe99cff4b54d 100644
--- a/extensions/deepseek/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/deepseek/api.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,4 @@
 // Deepseek API module exposes the plugin public contract.
-export {
-  buildDeepSeekModelDefinition,
-  DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL,
-  DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+export { DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL, DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 export { buildDeepSeekProvider } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 export { createDeepSeekV4ThinkingWrapper } from "./stream.js";
diff --git a/extensions/deepseek/models.ts b/extensions/deepseek/models.ts
index ed987fa71048..1c5831b21604 100644
--- a/extensions/deepseek/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/deepseek/models.ts
@@ -1,25 +1,18 @@
 // Deepseek plugin module implements models behavior.
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import { buildManifestModelDefinition } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
-const DEEPSEEK_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: "deepseek",
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers.deepseek,
-});
+const DEEPSEEK_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.deepseek;
+export const DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL = DEEPSEEK_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
 
-export const DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL = DEEPSEEK_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
-
-export const DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = DEEPSEEK_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-export function buildDeepSeekModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...model,
-    api: "openai-completions",
-  };
-}
+export const DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = DEEPSEEK_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+  buildManifestModelDefinition({
+    providerId: "deepseek",
+    catalog: DEEPSEEK_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+    decorate: (model) => ({ ...model, api: "openai-completions" }),
+  }),
+);
 
 const DEEPSEEK_V4_MODEL_IDS = new Set(["deepseek-v4-flash", "deepseek-v4-pro"]);
 
diff --git a/extensions/deepseek/onboard.ts b/extensions/deepseek/onboard.ts
index 3e3e363588c6..eebfd356c0d7 100644
--- a/extensions/deepseek/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/deepseek/onboard.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ import {
   createModelCatalogPresetAppliers,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
-import {
-  buildDeepSeekModelDefinition,
-  DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL,
-  DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+import { DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL, DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 export const DEEPSEEK_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(
@@ -21,7 +17,7 @@ const deepSeekPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: "deepseek",
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildDeepSeekModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: structuredClone(DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG),
     aliases: [{ modelRef: DEEPSEEK_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "DeepSeek" }],
   }),
 });
diff --git a/extensions/deepseek/provider-catalog.ts b/extensions/deepseek/provider-catalog.ts
index afdff7887fbc..9d4f1d9258a2 100644
--- a/extensions/deepseek/provider-catalog.ts
+++ b/extensions/deepseek/provider-catalog.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,11 @@
 // Deepseek provider module implements model/runtime integration.
 import type { ModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
-import {
-  buildDeepSeekModelDefinition,
-  DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL,
-  DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+import { DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL, DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 
 export function buildDeepSeekProvider(): ModelProviderConfig {
   return {
     baseUrl: DEEPSEEK_BASE_URL,
     api: "openai-completions",
-    models: DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildDeepSeekModelDefinition),
+    models: structuredClone(DEEPSEEK_MODEL_CATALOG),
   };
 }
diff --git a/extensions/gmi/models.ts b/extensions/gmi/models.ts
index a2c86eaf0434..6069498e4302 100644
--- a/extensions/gmi/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/gmi/models.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,18 @@
 // Gmi plugin module implements models behavior.
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import {
+  buildManifestModelDefinition,
+  readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef,
+} from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
-const GMI_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: "gmi",
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers.gmi,
-});
-
-export const GMI_BASE_URL = GMI_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
-export const GMI_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = GMI_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-export const GMI_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = "gmi/openai/gpt-5.6-sol";
-
-export function buildGmiModelDefinition(model: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...model,
-    api: "openai-completions",
-  };
-}
+const GMI_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.gmi;
+export const GMI_BASE_URL = GMI_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
+export const GMI_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = GMI_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+  buildManifestModelDefinition({
+    providerId: "gmi",
+    catalog: GMI_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+    decorate: (model) => ({ ...model, api: "openai-completions" }),
+  }),
+);
+export const GMI_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(manifest, "gmi")!;
diff --git a/extensions/gmi/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/gmi/openclaw.plugin.json
index ccb813f11274..679b67666cbd 100644
--- a/extensions/gmi/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/gmi/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@
       "gmi": {
         "baseUrl": "https://api.gmi-serving.com/v1",
         "api": "openai-completions",
+        "defaultModel": "openai/gpt-5.6-sol",
         "models": [
           {
             "id": "zai-org/GLM-5.2-FP8",
diff --git a/extensions/gmi/provider-catalog.ts b/extensions/gmi/provider-catalog.ts
index f2f7492291db..267a8af6445b 100644
--- a/extensions/gmi/provider-catalog.ts
+++ b/extensions/gmi/provider-catalog.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 // Gmi provider module implements model/runtime integration.
 import type { ModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
-import { GMI_BASE_URL, GMI_MODEL_CATALOG, buildGmiModelDefinition } from "./models.js";
+import { GMI_BASE_URL, GMI_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 
 export function buildGmiProvider(): ModelProviderConfig {
   return {
     baseUrl: GMI_BASE_URL,
     api: "openai-completions",
-    models: GMI_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildGmiModelDefinition),
+    models: structuredClone(GMI_MODEL_CATALOG),
   };
 }
diff --git a/extensions/meta/api.ts b/extensions/meta/api.ts
index 99a639a53b9f..853f4cbafbe4 100644
--- a/extensions/meta/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/meta/api.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,6 @@
 /**
  * Public Meta provider plugin API exports.
  */
-export {
-  buildMetaCatalogModels,
-  buildMetaModelDefinition,
-  META_BASE_URL,
-  META_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+export { buildMetaCatalogModels, META_BASE_URL, META_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 export { buildMetaProvider } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 export { applyMetaConfig, META_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF } from "./onboard.js";
diff --git a/extensions/meta/index.test.ts b/extensions/meta/index.test.ts
index bcd6da778e1d..1dbb65f9d74a 100644
--- a/extensions/meta/index.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/meta/index.test.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ describe("meta provider", () => {
       id: "api-key",
       kind: "api_key",
       label: "Meta API key",
+      starterModel: "meta/muse-spark-1.1",
     });
   });
 
diff --git a/extensions/meta/models.ts b/extensions/meta/models.ts
index f4981183b534..8a7cd9e14618 100644
--- a/extensions/meta/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/meta/models.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 /**
  * Meta model catalog helpers derived from the plugin manifest.
  */
-import { expectDefined } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/expect-runtime";
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import { buildManifestModelDefinition } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
@@ -15,19 +14,7 @@ export const META_MODEL_CATALOG = META_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models;
 
 /** Builds normalized Meta catalog model definitions. */
 export function buildMetaCatalogModels(): ModelDefinitionConfig[] {
-  return buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-    providerId: "meta",
-    catalog: META_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
-  }).models;
-}
-
-/** Builds one normalized Meta model definition from a manifest entry. */
-export function buildMetaModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof META_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  const providerConfig = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-    providerId: "meta",
-    catalog: { ...META_MANIFEST_CATALOG, models: [model] },
-  });
-  return expectDefined(providerConfig.models.at(0), "normalized Meta manifest model");
+  return META_MODEL_CATALOG.map(
+    buildManifestModelDefinition({ providerId: "meta", catalog: META_MANIFEST_CATALOG }),
+  );
 }
diff --git a/extensions/meta/onboard.ts b/extensions/meta/onboard.ts
index 78184fed149d..ac9b96586611 100644
--- a/extensions/meta/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/meta/onboard.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
 /**
  * Meta onboarding config helpers.
  */
+import { readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import {
   createModelCatalogPresetAppliers,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
-import { buildMetaModelDefinition, META_BASE_URL, META_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
+import { buildMetaCatalogModels, META_BASE_URL } from "./models.js";
+import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 /** Default Meta model reference used after onboarding. */
-export const META_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = "meta/muse-spark-1.1";
+export const META_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(manifest, "meta")!;
 
 const metaPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
   primaryModelRef: META_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF,
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ const metaPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: "meta",
     api: "openai-responses",
     baseUrl: META_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: META_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildMetaModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: buildMetaCatalogModels(),
     aliases: [{ modelRef: META_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "Muse Spark 1.1" }],
   }),
 });
diff --git a/extensions/meta/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/meta/openclaw.plugin.json
index 437039f24ef3..bd4c7a18dd34 100644
--- a/extensions/meta/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/meta/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
       "meta": {
         "baseUrl": "https://api.meta.ai/v1",
         "api": "openai-responses",
+        "defaultModel": "muse-spark-1.1",
         "models": [
           {
             "id": "muse-spark-1.1",
diff --git a/extensions/novita/models.ts b/extensions/novita/models.ts
index 91de111c774c..48810282cf4b 100644
--- a/extensions/novita/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/novita/models.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,19 @@
 // Novita plugin module implements models behavior.
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import {
+  buildManifestModelDefinition,
+  readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef,
+} from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
-const NOVITA_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: "novita",
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers.novita,
-});
+const NOVITA_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.novita;
 
-export const NOVITA_BASE_URL = NOVITA_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
-export const NOVITA_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = NOVITA_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-export const NOVITA_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = "novita/deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro";
-
-export function buildNovitaModelDefinition(model: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...model,
-    api: "openai-completions",
-  };
-}
+export const NOVITA_BASE_URL = NOVITA_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
+export const NOVITA_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = NOVITA_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+  buildManifestModelDefinition({
+    providerId: "novita",
+    catalog: NOVITA_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+    decorate: (model) => ({ ...model, api: "openai-completions" }),
+  }),
+);
+export const NOVITA_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(manifest, "novita")!;
diff --git a/extensions/novita/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/novita/openclaw.plugin.json
index 4347c60a0d5d..ee0fcc0386c3 100644
--- a/extensions/novita/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/novita/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@
       "novita": {
         "baseUrl": "https://api.novita.ai/openai/v1",
         "api": "openai-completions",
+        "defaultModel": "deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro",
         "models": [
           {
             "id": "moonshotai/kimi-k3",
diff --git a/extensions/novita/provider-catalog.ts b/extensions/novita/provider-catalog.ts
index 2f1997efc710..010e664b7724 100644
--- a/extensions/novita/provider-catalog.ts
+++ b/extensions/novita/provider-catalog.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 // Novita provider module implements model/runtime integration.
 import type { ModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
-import { NOVITA_BASE_URL, NOVITA_MODEL_CATALOG, buildNovitaModelDefinition } from "./models.js";
+import { NOVITA_BASE_URL, NOVITA_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 
 export function buildNovitaProvider(): ModelProviderConfig {
   return {
     baseUrl: NOVITA_BASE_URL,
     api: "openai-completions",
-    models: NOVITA_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildNovitaModelDefinition),
+    models: structuredClone(NOVITA_MODEL_CATALOG),
   };
 }
diff --git a/extensions/tencent/api.ts b/extensions/tencent/api.ts
index 36711a352298..8bad2d998bb4 100644
--- a/extensions/tencent/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/tencent/api.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 // Tencent API module exposes the plugin public contract.
 export {
-  buildTokenHubModelDefinition,
-  buildTokenPlanModelDefinition,
   TOKENHUB_BASE_URL,
   TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG,
   TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID,
diff --git a/extensions/tencent/models.ts b/extensions/tencent/models.ts
index b94b59dfd46a..0e737d0bc02c 100644
--- a/extensions/tencent/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/tencent/models.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 // Tencent plugin module implements models behavior.
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import { buildManifestModelDefinition } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
@@ -7,42 +7,29 @@ import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 export const TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID = "tencent-tokenhub";
 
-const TOKENHUB_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID,
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers[TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID],
-});
+export const TOKENHUB_BASE_URL = manifest.modelCatalog.providers[TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID].baseUrl;
 
-export const TOKENHUB_BASE_URL = TOKENHUB_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
-
-export const TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = TOKENHUB_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-export function buildTokenHubModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...model,
-    api: "openai-completions",
-  };
-}
+const TOKENHUB_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers[TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID];
+export const TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = TOKENHUB_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+  buildManifestModelDefinition({
+    providerId: TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID,
+    catalog: TOKENHUB_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+    decorate: (model) => ({ ...model, api: "openai-completions" }),
+  }),
+);
 
 // ---------- TokenPlan provider ----------
 
 export const TOKENPLAN_PROVIDER_ID = "tencent-tokenplan";
 
-const TOKENPLAN_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: TOKENPLAN_PROVIDER_ID,
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers[TOKENPLAN_PROVIDER_ID],
-});
+export const TOKENPLAN_BASE_URL = manifest.modelCatalog.providers[TOKENPLAN_PROVIDER_ID].baseUrl;
 
-export const TOKENPLAN_BASE_URL = TOKENPLAN_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
-
-export const TOKENPLAN_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = TOKENPLAN_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-export function buildTokenPlanModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof TOKENPLAN_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...model,
-    api: "openai-completions",
-  };
-}
+const TOKENPLAN_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers[TOKENPLAN_PROVIDER_ID];
+export const TOKENPLAN_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] =
+  TOKENPLAN_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+    buildManifestModelDefinition({
+      providerId: TOKENPLAN_PROVIDER_ID,
+      catalog: TOKENPLAN_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+      decorate: (model) => ({ ...model, api: "openai-completions" }),
+    }),
+  );
diff --git a/extensions/tencent/onboard.ts b/extensions/tencent/onboard.ts
index f9f3e5881d87..517c202629b1 100644
--- a/extensions/tencent/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/tencent/onboard.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@ import {
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
 import {
-  buildTokenHubModelDefinition,
-  buildTokenPlanModelDefinition,
   TOKENHUB_BASE_URL,
   TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG,
   TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID,
@@ -27,7 +25,7 @@ const tokenHubPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: TOKENHUB_PROVIDER_ID,
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: TOKENHUB_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildTokenHubModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: structuredClone(TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG),
     aliases: [
       { modelRef: TOKENHUB_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "Hy3 (TokenHub)" },
       { modelRef: TOKENHUB_PREVIEW_MODEL_REF, alias: "Hy3 preview (TokenHub)" },
@@ -50,7 +48,7 @@ const tokenPlanPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: TOKENPLAN_PROVIDER_ID,
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: TOKENPLAN_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: TOKENPLAN_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildTokenPlanModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: structuredClone(TOKENPLAN_MODEL_CATALOG),
     aliases: [{ modelRef: TOKENPLAN_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "Hy3 (TokenPlan)" }],
   }),
 });
diff --git a/extensions/tencent/provider-catalog.ts b/extensions/tencent/provider-catalog.ts
index afc1a02baa04..9396887e4c02 100644
--- a/extensions/tencent/provider-catalog.ts
+++ b/extensions/tencent/provider-catalog.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 // Tencent provider module implements model/runtime integration.
 import type { ModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import {
-  buildTokenHubModelDefinition,
-  buildTokenPlanModelDefinition,
   TOKENHUB_BASE_URL,
   TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG,
   TOKENPLAN_BASE_URL,
@@ -13,7 +11,7 @@ export function buildTokenHubProvider(): ModelProviderConfig {
   return {
     baseUrl: TOKENHUB_BASE_URL,
     api: "openai-completions",
-    models: TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildTokenHubModelDefinition),
+    models: structuredClone(TOKENHUB_MODEL_CATALOG),
   };
 }
 
@@ -21,6 +19,6 @@ export function buildTokenPlanProvider(): ModelProviderConfig {
   return {
     baseUrl: TOKENPLAN_BASE_URL,
     api: "openai-completions",
-    models: TOKENPLAN_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildTokenPlanModelDefinition),
+    models: structuredClone(TOKENPLAN_MODEL_CATALOG),
   };
 }
diff --git a/extensions/together/api.ts b/extensions/together/api.ts
index 547bb02d0c83..81822296ae8e 100644
--- a/extensions/together/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/together/api.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,4 @@
 // Together API module exposes the plugin public contract.
-export {
-  buildTogetherModelDefinition,
-  TOGETHER_BASE_URL,
-  TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+export { TOGETHER_BASE_URL, TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 export { buildTogetherProvider } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 export { applyTogetherConfig, TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF } from "./onboard.js";
diff --git a/extensions/together/models.ts b/extensions/together/models.ts
index c9c014b6f019..b8c934a461f9 100644
--- a/extensions/together/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/together/models.ts
@@ -1,24 +1,15 @@
 // Together plugin module implements models behavior.
-import { buildManifestModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
+import { buildManifestModelDefinition } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
-const TOGETHER_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: "together",
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers.together,
-});
+const TOGETHER_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.together;
+export const TOGETHER_BASE_URL = TOGETHER_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
 
-export const TOGETHER_BASE_URL = TOGETHER_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
-
-export const TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = TOGETHER_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-export function buildTogetherModelDefinition(
-  model: (typeof TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG)[number],
-): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...model,
-    api: "openai-completions",
-    input: [...model.input],
-    cost: { ...model.cost },
-  };
-}
+export const TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = TOGETHER_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+  buildManifestModelDefinition({
+    providerId: "together",
+    catalog: TOGETHER_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+    decorate: (model) => ({ ...model, api: "openai-completions" }),
+  }),
+);
diff --git a/extensions/together/onboard.test.ts b/extensions/together/onboard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..30c7b6e6cb95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extensions/together/onboard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { resolveAgentModelPrimaryValue } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
+import { applyTogetherConfig, TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF } from "./onboard.js";
+import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
+
+describe("Together onboarding", () => {
+  it("applies the manifest catalog, default, and alias", () => {
+    const config = applyTogetherConfig({});
+
+    expect(config.models?.providers?.together?.models.map((model) => model.id)).toEqual(
+      TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG.map((model) => model.id),
+    );
+    expect(resolveAgentModelPrimaryValue(config.agents?.defaults?.model)).toBe(
+      TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF,
+    );
+    expect(TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF).toBe(
+      `together/${manifest.modelCatalog.providers.together.defaultModel}`,
+    );
+    expect(config.agents?.defaults?.models?.[TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF]).toEqual({
+      alias: "Together AI",
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/extensions/together/onboard.ts b/extensions/together/onboard.ts
index 83c558ad186d..6f57a4a1d8d4 100644
--- a/extensions/together/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/together/onboard.ts
@@ -1,15 +1,16 @@
 // Together setup module handles plugin onboarding behavior.
+import { readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import {
   createModelCatalogPresetAppliers,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
-import {
-  buildTogetherModelDefinition,
-  TOGETHER_BASE_URL,
-  TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+import { TOGETHER_BASE_URL, TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
+import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
-export const TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = "together/meta-llama/Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct-Turbo";
+export const TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(
+  manifest,
+  "together",
+)!;
 
 const togetherPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
   primaryModelRef: TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF,
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@ const togetherPresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: "together",
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: TOGETHER_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildTogetherModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: structuredClone(TOGETHER_MODEL_CATALOG),
     aliases: [{ modelRef: TOGETHER_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "Together AI" }],
   }),
 });
diff --git a/extensions/together/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/together/openclaw.plugin.json
index 53e81857e117..854cc1dc0320 100644
--- a/extensions/together/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/together/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
       "together": {
         "baseUrl": "https://api.together.xyz/v1",
         "api": "openai-completions",
+        "defaultModel": "meta-llama/Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct-Turbo",
         "models": [
           {
             "id": "moonshotai/Kimi-K2.6",
diff --git a/extensions/venice/api.ts b/extensions/venice/api.ts
index 2633206e725c..06e3ff028697 100644
--- a/extensions/venice/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/venice/api.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 // Venice API module exposes the plugin public contract.
 export {
-  buildVeniceModelDefinition,
   discoverVeniceModels,
   VENICE_BASE_URL,
   VENICE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF,
diff --git a/extensions/venice/models.test.ts b/extensions/venice/models.test.ts
index c76f63a603e1..e48fbfb098e8 100644
--- a/extensions/venice/models.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/venice/models.test.ts
@@ -2,11 +2,7 @@
 import { expectDefined } from "@openclaw/normalization-core";
 import { clearLiveCatalogCacheForTests } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-live-runtime";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
-import {
-  buildVeniceModelDefinition,
-  discoverVeniceModels,
-  VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./models.js";
+import { discoverVeniceModels, VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 const ORIGINAL_NODE_ENV = process.env.NODE_ENV;
@@ -119,9 +115,9 @@ describe("venice-models", () => {
     restoreDiscoveryEnv();
   });
 
-  it("buildVeniceModelDefinition returns config with required fields", () => {
+  it("builds static definitions with required fields", () => {
     const entry = expectDefined(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG[0], "first Venice catalog model");
-    const def = buildVeniceModelDefinition(entry);
+    const def = entry;
     expect(def.id).toBe(entry.id);
     expect(def.name).toBe(entry.name);
     expect(def.reasoning).toBe(entry.reasoning);
@@ -241,9 +237,7 @@ describe("venice-models", () => {
   });
 
   it("keeps tools enabled for DeepSeek V3.2", () => {
-    const model = buildVeniceModelDefinition(
-      VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG.find((entry) => entry.id === "deepseek-v3.2")!,
-    );
+    const model = VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG.find((entry) => entry.id === "deepseek-v3.2")!;
     expect(model.compat?.supportsTools).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
diff --git a/extensions/venice/models.ts b/extensions/venice/models.ts
index 4ec92bb6932b..b5fad01a719b 100644
--- a/extensions/venice/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/venice/models.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import {
   LiveModelCatalogHttpError,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-live-runtime";
 import {
-  buildManifestModelProviderConfig,
+  buildManifestModelDefinition,
   readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import type { ModelDefinitionConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-model-shared";
@@ -12,13 +12,9 @@ import { normalizeLowercaseStringOrEmpty } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/string-coer
 import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 
 const log = createSubsystemLogger("venice-models");
+const VENICE_MANIFEST_CATALOG = manifest.modelCatalog.providers.venice;
 
-const VENICE_MANIFEST_PROVIDER = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
-  providerId: "venice",
-  catalog: manifest.modelCatalog.providers.venice,
-});
-
-export const VENICE_BASE_URL = VENICE_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
+export const VENICE_BASE_URL = VENICE_MANIFEST_CATALOG.baseUrl;
 export const VENICE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(manifest, "venice")!;
 const VENICE_ALLOWED_HOSTNAMES = ["api.venice.ai"];
 
@@ -51,11 +47,7 @@ const VENICE_DISCOVERY_RETRYABLE_NETWORK_CODES = new Set([
   "UND_ERR_SOCKET",
 ]);
 
-export const VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = VENICE_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-type VeniceCatalogEntry = ModelDefinitionConfig;
-
-export function buildVeniceModelDefinition(entry: VeniceCatalogEntry): ModelDefinitionConfig {
+function decorateVeniceModelDefinition(entry: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelDefinitionConfig {
   return {
     id: entry.id,
     name: entry.name,
@@ -71,6 +63,15 @@ export function buildVeniceModelDefinition(entry: VeniceCatalogEntry): ModelDefi
   };
 }
 
+/** Venice's decorated network-free fallback catalog. */
+export const VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = VENICE_MANIFEST_CATALOG.models.map(
+  buildManifestModelDefinition({
+    providerId: "venice",
+    catalog: VENICE_MANIFEST_CATALOG,
+    decorate: decorateVeniceModelDefinition,
+  }),
+);
+
 interface VeniceModelSpec {
   name: string;
   privacy: "private" | "anonymized";
@@ -88,10 +89,6 @@ interface VeniceModel {
   model_spec?: VeniceModelSpec;
 }
 
-function staticVeniceModelDefinitions(): ModelDefinitionConfig[] {
-  return VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildVeniceModelDefinition);
-}
-
 function hasRetryableNetworkCode(err: unknown): boolean {
   const queue: unknown[] = [err];
   const seen = new Set<unknown>();
@@ -177,7 +174,7 @@ export async function discoverVeniceModels(
   options: VeniceModelDiscoveryOptions = {},
 ): Promise<ModelDefinitionConfig[]> {
   if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "test" || process.env.VITEST) {
-    return staticVeniceModelDefinitions();
+    return structuredClone(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG);
   }
 
   try {
@@ -203,11 +200,11 @@ export async function discoverVeniceModels(
 
     if (data.length === 0) {
       log.warn("No models found from API, using static catalog");
-      return staticVeniceModelDefinitions();
+      return structuredClone(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG);
     }
 
-    const catalogById = new Map<string, VeniceCatalogEntry>(
-      VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG.map((m) => [m.id, m]),
+    const catalogById = new Map<string, ModelDefinitionConfig>(
+      structuredClone(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG).map((model) => [model.id, model]),
     );
     const models: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = [];
 
@@ -219,7 +216,12 @@ export async function discoverVeniceModels(
       });
       const apiSupportsTools = resolveApiSupportsTools(apiModel);
       if (catalogEntry) {
-        const definition = buildVeniceModelDefinition(catalogEntry);
+        const definition: ModelDefinitionConfig = {
+          ...catalogEntry,
+          input: [...catalogEntry.input],
+          cost: { ...catalogEntry.cost },
+          ...(catalogEntry.compat ? { compat: { ...catalogEntry.compat } } : {}),
+        };
         if (apiMaxTokens !== undefined) {
           definition.maxTokens = apiMaxTokens;
         }
@@ -258,13 +260,13 @@ export async function discoverVeniceModels(
       }
     }
 
-    return models.length > 0 ? models : staticVeniceModelDefinitions();
+    return models.length > 0 ? models : structuredClone(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG);
   } catch (error) {
     if (error instanceof LiveModelCatalogHttpError) {
       log.warn(`Failed to discover models: HTTP ${error.status}, using static catalog`);
-      return staticVeniceModelDefinitions();
+      return structuredClone(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG);
     }
     log.warn(`Discovery failed: ${String(error)}, using static catalog`);
-    return staticVeniceModelDefinitions();
+    return structuredClone(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG);
   }
 }
diff --git a/extensions/venice/onboard.ts b/extensions/venice/onboard.ts
index 290b058a85b4..277224b8328b 100644
--- a/extensions/venice/onboard.ts
+++ b/extensions/venice/onboard.ts
@@ -3,12 +3,7 @@ import {
   createModelCatalogPresetAppliers,
   type OpenClawConfig,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
-import {
-  buildVeniceModelDefinition,
-  VENICE_BASE_URL,
-  VENICE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF,
-  VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG,
-} from "./api.js";
+import { VENICE_BASE_URL, VENICE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./api.js";
 
 const venicePresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
   primaryModelRef: VENICE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF,
@@ -16,7 +11,7 @@ const venicePresetAppliers = createModelCatalogPresetAppliers({
     providerId: "venice",
     api: "openai-completions",
     baseUrl: VENICE_BASE_URL,
-    catalogModels: VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG.map(buildVeniceModelDefinition),
+    catalogModels: structuredClone(VENICE_MODEL_CATALOG),
     aliases: [{ modelRef: VENICE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF, alias: "Kimi K2.6" }],
   }),
 });
diff --git a/extensions/volcengine/api.ts b/extensions/volcengine/api.ts
index ede48c6d8018..255ebee5f2b5 100644
--- a/extensions/volcengine/api.ts
+++ b/extensions/volcengine/api.ts
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ export function applyVolcengineToolSchemaCompat<T extends { compat?: ModelCompat
 
 export { buildDoubaoCodingProvider, buildDoubaoProvider } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 export {
-  buildDoubaoModelDefinition,
   DOUBAO_BASE_URL,
   DOUBAO_CODING_BASE_URL,
   DOUBAO_CODING_MODEL_CATALOG,
diff --git a/extensions/volcengine/index.test.ts b/extensions/volcengine/index.test.ts
index d09f3a577f02..6ea9cfc847a8 100644
--- a/extensions/volcengine/index.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/volcengine/index.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { DOUBAO_CODING_MODEL_CATALOG, DOUBAO_MODEL_CATALOG } from "./models.js";
 describe("volcengine plugin", () => {
   it("augments the catalog with bundled standard and plan models", async () => {
     const provider = await registerSingleProviderPlugin(plugin);
+    expect(provider.auth?.[0]?.starterModel).toBe("volcengine-plan/ark-code-latest");
     const entries = await provider.augmentModelCatalog?.({
       env: process.env,
       entries: [],
diff --git a/extensions/volcengine/index.ts b/extensions/volcengine/index.ts
index f9a2c435b785..af169638398f 100644
--- a/extensions/volcengine/index.ts
+++ b/extensions/volcengine/index.ts
@@ -2,13 +2,18 @@
 import { definePluginEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/plugin-entry";
 import { createProviderApiKeyAuthMethod } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-auth-api-key";
 import { buildOpenAICompatibleLiveModelProviderConfig } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-live-runtime";
+import { readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared";
 import { ensureModelAllowlistEntry } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/provider-onboard";
 import { applyVolcengineToolSchemaCompat } from "./api.js";
+import manifest from "./openclaw.plugin.json" with { type: "json" };
 import { VOLCENGINE_PROVIDER_CATALOG_ENTRIES } from "./provider-catalog.js";
 import { buildVolcengineSpeechProvider } from "./speech-provider.js";
 
 const PROVIDER_ID = "volcengine";
-const VOLCENGINE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = "volcengine-plan/ark-code-latest";
+const VOLCENGINE_DEFAULT_MODEL_REF = readManifestProviderDefaultModelRef(
+  manifest,
+  "volcengine-plan",
+)!;
 
 export default definePluginEntry({
   id: PROVIDER_ID,
diff --git a/extensions/volcengine/models.ts b/extensions/volcengine/models.ts
index b79f8b8c2930..82c4ffc17384 100644
--- a/extensions/volcengine/models.ts
+++ b/extensions/volcengine/models.ts
@@ -19,11 +19,3 @@ export const DOUBAO_CODING_BASE_URL = DOUBAO_CODING_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.baseUrl;
 export const DOUBAO_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] = DOUBAO_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
 export const DOUBAO_CODING_MODEL_CATALOG: ModelDefinitionConfig[] =
   DOUBAO_CODING_MANIFEST_PROVIDER.models;
-
-export function buildDoubaoModelDefinition(entry: ModelDefinitionConfig): ModelDefinitionConfig {
-  return {
-    ...entry,
-    input: [...entry.input],
-    cost: { ...entry.cost },
-  };
-}
diff --git a/extensions/volcengine/openclaw.plugin.json b/extensions/volcengine/openclaw.plugin.json
index bc19f0928a36..1379262130b2 100644
--- a/extensions/volcengine/openclaw.plugin.json
+++ b/extensions/volcengine/openclaw.plugin.json
@@ -230,6 +230,7 @@
       "volcengine-plan": {
         "baseUrl": "https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/coding/v3",
         "api": "openai-completions",
+        "defaultModel": "ark-code-latest",
         "models": [
           {
             "id": "ark-code-latest",
diff --git a/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.test.ts b/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.test.ts
index 72251ffabf17..3f4acc4997fc 100644
--- a/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.test.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import type { ModelCatalogProvider } from "@openclaw/model-catalog-core/model-ca
 import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import {
   applyProviderNativeStreamingUsageCompat,
+  buildManifestModelDefinition,
   buildManifestModelProviderConfig,
   clearLiveCatalogCacheForTests,
   getCachedLiveCatalogValue,
@@ -376,6 +377,20 @@ describe("provider-catalog-shared manifest provider configs", () => {
         "example",
       ),
     ).toBe("example/example-model");
+
+    expect(
+      buildManifestModelDefinition({
+        providerId: "example",
+        catalog,
+        decorate: (model) => ({
+          ...model,
+          compat: { ...model.compat, supportsUsageInStreaming: false },
+        }),
+      })(catalog.models[0]),
+    ).toEqual({
+      ...buildManifestModelProviderConfig({ providerId: "example", catalog }).models[0],
+      compat: { supportsUsageInStreaming: false },
+    });
   });
 
   it("normalizes retired nested Gemini ids before emitting manifest provider config", () => {
diff --git a/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.ts b/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.ts
index 026212d5f616..521bdab75ccc 100644
--- a/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.ts
+++ b/src/plugin-sdk/provider-catalog-shared.ts
@@ -246,6 +246,32 @@ export function buildManifestModelProviderConfig(params: {
   };
 }
 
+/** Builds one normalized runtime model row from a provider manifest catalog entry. */
+export function buildManifestModelDefinition(params: {
+  /** Provider id that owns the manifest catalog row. */
+  providerId: string;
+  /** Raw manifest modelCatalog provider block that contains the row. */
+  catalog: unknown;
+  /** Optional provider policy applied after manifest normalization. */
+  decorate?: (model: ModelDefinitionConfig) => ModelDefinitionConfig;
+}): (model: unknown) => ModelDefinitionConfig {
+  if (!params.catalog || typeof params.catalog !== "object" || Array.isArray(params.catalog)) {
+    throw new Error(`Missing modelCatalog.providers.${params.providerId}`);
+  }
+  const catalog = params.catalog;
+  return (rawModel) => {
+    const provider = buildManifestModelProviderConfig({
+      providerId: params.providerId,
+      catalog: { ...catalog, models: [rawModel] },
+    });
+    const model = provider.models[0];
+    if (!model) {
+      throw new Error(`Missing modelCatalog.providers.${params.providerId}.models[0]`);
+    }
+    return params.decorate?.(model) ?? model;
+  };
+}
+
 function normalizeConfiguredCatalogModelInput(
   input: unknown,
 ): ConfiguredProviderCatalogEntry["input"] | undefined {