diff --git a/src/cli/daemon-cli/install.ts b/src/cli/daemon-cli/install.ts
index 864f0a93ff0..449fd28ab40 100644
--- a/src/cli/daemon-cli/install.ts
+++ b/src/cli/daemon-cli/install.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import {
   isGatewayDaemonRuntime,
 } from "../../commands/daemon-runtime.js";
 import { resolveGatewayInstallToken } from "../../commands/gateway-install-token.js";
-import { loadConfig, resolveGatewayPort } from "../../config/config.js";
+import { readBestEffortConfig, resolveGatewayPort } from "../../config/config.js";
 import { resolveIsNixMode } from "../../config/paths.js";
 import { resolveGatewayService } from "../../daemon/service.js";
 import { defaultRuntime } from "../../runtime.js";
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ export async function runDaemonInstall(opts: DaemonInstallOptions) {
     return;
   }
 
-  const cfg = loadConfig();
+  const cfg = await readBestEffortConfig();
   const portOverride = parsePort(opts.port);
   if (opts.port !== undefined && portOverride === null) {
     fail("Invalid port");
diff --git a/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle-core.ts b/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle-core.ts
index 6b8c7ee684c..2b4250e9c28 100644
--- a/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle-core.ts
+++ b/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle-core.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { Writable } from "node:stream";
-import { loadConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
+import { readBestEffortConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 import { resolveIsNixMode } from "../../config/paths.js";
 import { checkTokenDrift } from "../../daemon/service-audit.js";
 import type { GatewayService } from "../../daemon/service.js";
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ export async function runServiceRestart(params: {
     try {
       const command = await params.service.readCommand(process.env);
       const serviceToken = command?.environment?.OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN;
-      const cfg = loadConfig();
+      const cfg = await readBestEffortConfig();
       const configToken = resolveGatewayCredentialsFromConfig({
         cfg,
         env: process.env,
diff --git a/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle.ts b/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle.ts
index 9c23011d2df..5088316a021 100644
--- a/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle.ts
+++ b/src/cli/daemon-cli/lifecycle.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { loadConfig, resolveGatewayPort } from "../../config/config.js";
+import { readBestEffortConfig, resolveGatewayPort } from "../../config/config.js";
 import { resolveGatewayService } from "../../daemon/service.js";
 import { defaultRuntime } from "../../runtime.js";
 import { theme } from "../../terminal/theme.js";
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ async function resolveGatewayRestartPort() {
   } as NodeJS.ProcessEnv;
 
   const portFromArgs = parsePortFromArgs(command?.programArguments);
-  return portFromArgs ?? resolveGatewayPort(loadConfig(), mergedEnv);
+  return portFromArgs ?? resolveGatewayPort(await readBestEffortConfig(), mergedEnv);
 }
 
 export async function runDaemonUninstall(opts: DaemonLifecycleOptions = {}) {
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ export async function runDaemonStop(opts: DaemonLifecycleOptions = {}) {
 export async function runDaemonRestart(opts: DaemonLifecycleOptions = {}): Promise<boolean> {
   const json = Boolean(opts.json);
   const service = resolveGatewayService();
-  const restartPort = await resolveGatewayRestartPort().catch(() =>
-    resolveGatewayPort(loadConfig(), process.env),
+  const restartPort = await resolveGatewayRestartPort().catch(async () =>
+    resolveGatewayPort(await readBestEffortConfig(), process.env),
   );
   const restartWaitMs = POST_RESTART_HEALTH_ATTEMPTS * POST_RESTART_HEALTH_DELAY_MS;
   const restartWaitSeconds = Math.round(restartWaitMs / 1000);
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/call.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/call.ts
index 704a3ee3c8f..da321a8cd36 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/call.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/call.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 import type { Command } from "commander";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 import { callGateway } from "../../gateway/call.js";
 import { GATEWAY_CLIENT_MODES, GATEWAY_CLIENT_NAMES } from "../../utils/message-channel.js";
 import { withProgress } from "../progress.js";
 
 export type GatewayRpcOpts = {
+  config?: OpenClawConfig;
   url?: string;
   token?: string;
   password?: string;
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@ export const callGatewayCli = async (method: string, opts: GatewayRpcOpts, param
     },
     async () =>
       await callGateway({
+        config: opts.config,
         url: opts.url,
         token: opts.token,
         password: opts.password,
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts
index 29a06a845f1..d19e53d10b9 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import type { Command } from "commander";
 import { gatewayStatusCommand } from "../../commands/gateway-status.js";
 import { formatHealthChannelLines, type HealthSummary } from "../../commands/health.js";
-import { loadConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
+import { readBestEffortConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 import { discoverGatewayBeacons } from "../../infra/bonjour-discovery.js";
 import type { CostUsageSummary } from "../../infra/session-cost-usage.js";
 import { resolveWideAreaDiscoveryDomain } from "../../infra/widearea-dns.js";
@@ -120,8 +120,9 @@ export function registerGatewayCli(program: Command) {
       .action(async (method, opts, command) => {
         await runGatewayCommand(async () => {
           const rpcOpts = resolveGatewayRpcOptions(opts, command);
+          const config = await readBestEffortConfig();
           const params = JSON.parse(String(opts.params ?? "{}"));
-          const result = await callGatewayCli(method, rpcOpts, params);
+          const result = await callGatewayCli(method, { ...rpcOpts, config }, params);
           if (rpcOpts.json) {
             defaultRuntime.log(JSON.stringify(result, null, 2));
             return;
@@ -144,7 +145,8 @@ export function registerGatewayCli(program: Command) {
         await runGatewayCommand(async () => {
           const rpcOpts = resolveGatewayRpcOptions(opts, command);
           const days = parseDaysOption(opts.days);
-          const result = await callGatewayCli("usage.cost", rpcOpts, { days });
+          const config = await readBestEffortConfig();
+          const result = await callGatewayCli("usage.cost", { ...rpcOpts, config }, { days });
           if (rpcOpts.json) {
             defaultRuntime.log(JSON.stringify(result, null, 2));
             return;
@@ -165,7 +167,8 @@ export function registerGatewayCli(program: Command) {
       .action(async (opts, command) => {
         await runGatewayCommand(async () => {
           const rpcOpts = resolveGatewayRpcOptions(opts, command);
-          const result = await callGatewayCli("health", rpcOpts);
+          const config = await readBestEffortConfig();
+          const result = await callGatewayCli("health", { ...rpcOpts, config });
           if (rpcOpts.json) {
             defaultRuntime.log(JSON.stringify(result, null, 2));
             return;
@@ -211,7 +214,7 @@ export function registerGatewayCli(program: Command) {
     .option("--json", "Output JSON", false)
     .action(async (opts: GatewayDiscoverOpts) => {
       await runGatewayCommand(async () => {
-        const cfg = loadConfig();
+        const cfg = await readBestEffortConfig();
         const wideAreaDomain = resolveWideAreaDiscoveryDomain({
           configDomain: cfg.discovery?.wideArea?.domain,
         });
diff --git a/src/cli/program/register.subclis.ts b/src/cli/program/register.subclis.ts
index fc044dbcd92..ac037fa355b 100644
--- a/src/cli/program/register.subclis.ts
+++ b/src/cli/program/register.subclis.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const shouldEagerRegisterSubcommands = (_argv: string[]) => {
 
 const loadConfig = async (): Promise<OpenClawConfig> => {
   const mod = await import("../../config/config.js");
-  return mod.loadConfig();
+  return await mod.readBestEffortConfig();
 };
 
 // Note for humans and agents:
diff --git a/src/cli/run-main.ts b/src/cli/run-main.ts
index b304f213bfb..abf10a2930c 100644
--- a/src/cli/run-main.ts
+++ b/src/cli/run-main.ts
@@ -126,8 +126,8 @@ export async function runCli(argv: string[] = process.argv) {
   if (!shouldSkipPluginRegistration) {
     // Register plugin CLI commands before parsing
     const { registerPluginCliCommands } = await import("../plugins/cli.js");
-    const { loadConfig } = await import("../config/config.js");
-    registerPluginCliCommands(program, loadConfig());
+    const { readBestEffortConfig } = await import("../config/config.js");
+    registerPluginCliCommands(program, await readBestEffortConfig());
   }
 
   await program.parseAsync(parseArgv);
diff --git a/src/commands/gateway-status.ts b/src/commands/gateway-status.ts
index 2b71558202f..4ac54eca0c4 100644
--- a/src/commands/gateway-status.ts
+++ b/src/commands/gateway-status.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { withProgress } from "../cli/progress.js";
-import { loadConfig, resolveGatewayPort } from "../config/config.js";
+import { readBestEffortConfig, resolveGatewayPort } from "../config/config.js";
 import { probeGateway } from "../gateway/probe.js";
 import { discoverGatewayBeacons } from "../infra/bonjour-discovery.js";
 import { resolveSshConfig } from "../infra/ssh-config.js";
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ export async function gatewayStatusCommand(
   runtime: RuntimeEnv,
 ) {
   const startedAt = Date.now();
-  const cfg = loadConfig();
+  const cfg = await readBestEffortConfig();
   const rich = isRich() && opts.json !== true;
   const overallTimeoutMs = parseTimeoutMs(opts.timeout, 3000);
   const wideAreaDomain = resolveWideAreaDiscoveryDomain({
diff --git a/src/commands/health.ts b/src/commands/health.ts
index 0280c5dab67..56705c96270 100644
--- a/src/commands/health.ts
+++ b/src/commands/health.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { getChannelPlugin, listChannelPlugins } from "../channels/plugins/index.
 import type { ChannelAccountSnapshot } from "../channels/plugins/types.js";
 import { withProgress } from "../cli/progress.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
-import { loadConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { loadConfig, readBestEffortConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { loadSessionStore, resolveStorePath } from "../config/sessions.js";
 import { buildGatewayConnectionDetails, callGateway } from "../gateway/call.js";
 import { info } from "../globals.js";
@@ -526,7 +526,7 @@ export async function healthCommand(
   opts: { json?: boolean; timeoutMs?: number; verbose?: boolean; config?: OpenClawConfig },
   runtime: RuntimeEnv,
 ) {
-  const cfg = opts.config ?? loadConfig();
+  const cfg = opts.config ?? (await readBestEffortConfig());
   // Always query the running gateway; do not open a direct Baileys socket here.
   const summary = await withProgress(
     {
diff --git a/src/commands/status-all.ts b/src/commands/status-all.ts
index 285e0884a43..5d9b86a45b5 100644
--- a/src/commands/status-all.ts
+++ b/src/commands/status-all.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@ import { formatCliCommand } from "../cli/command-format.js";
 import { resolveCommandSecretRefsViaGateway } from "../cli/command-secret-gateway.js";
 import { getStatusCommandSecretTargetIds } from "../cli/command-secret-targets.js";
 import { withProgress } from "../cli/progress.js";
-import { loadConfig, readConfigFileSnapshot, resolveGatewayPort } from "../config/config.js";
+import {
+  readBestEffortConfig,
+  readConfigFileSnapshot,
+  resolveGatewayPort,
+} from "../config/config.js";
 import { readLastGatewayErrorLine } from "../daemon/diagnostics.js";
 import { resolveNodeService } from "../daemon/node-service.js";
 import type { GatewayService } from "../daemon/service.js";
@@ -38,7 +42,7 @@ export async function statusAllCommand(
 ): Promise<void> {
   await withProgress({ label: "Scanning status --all…", total: 11 }, async (progress) => {
     progress.setLabel("Loading config…");
-    const loadedRaw = loadConfig();
+    const loadedRaw = await readBestEffortConfig();
     const { resolvedConfig: cfg } = await resolveCommandSecretRefsViaGateway({
       config: loadedRaw,
       commandName: "status --all",
diff --git a/src/commands/status.agent-local.ts b/src/commands/status.agent-local.ts
index b7bb8bdf127..5c57036eb97 100644
--- a/src/commands/status.agent-local.ts
+++ b/src/commands/status.agent-local.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { resolveAgentWorkspaceDir } from "../agents/agent-scope.js";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { loadConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { loadSessionStore, resolveStorePath } from "../config/sessions.js";
 import { listAgentsForGateway } from "../gateway/session-utils.js";
@@ -16,6 +17,13 @@ export type AgentLocalStatus = {
   lastActiveAgeMs: number | null;
 };
 
+type AgentLocalStatusesResult = {
+  defaultId: string;
+  agents: AgentLocalStatus[];
+  totalSessions: number;
+  bootstrapPendingCount: number;
+};
+
 async function fileExists(p: string): Promise<boolean> {
   try {
     await fs.access(p);
@@ -25,13 +33,9 @@ async function fileExists(p: string): Promise<boolean> {
   }
 }
 
-export async function getAgentLocalStatuses(): Promise<{
-  defaultId: string;
-  agents: AgentLocalStatus[];
-  totalSessions: number;
-  bootstrapPendingCount: number;
-}> {
-  const cfg = loadConfig();
+export async function getAgentLocalStatuses(
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig = loadConfig(),
+): Promise<AgentLocalStatusesResult> {
   const agentList = listAgentsForGateway(cfg);
   const now = Date.now();
 
diff --git a/src/commands/status.command.ts b/src/commands/status.command.ts
index 688ddd726dd..b6bdf33d92e 100644
--- a/src/commands/status.command.ts
+++ b/src/commands/status.command.ts
@@ -153,6 +153,7 @@ export async function statusCommand(
             method: "health",
             params: { probe: true },
             timeoutMs: opts.timeoutMs,
+            config: scan.cfg,
           }),
       )
     : undefined;
@@ -162,6 +163,7 @@ export async function statusCommand(
           method: "last-heartbeat",
           params: {},
           timeoutMs: opts.timeoutMs,
+          config: scan.cfg,
         }).catch(() => null)
       : null;
 
@@ -219,7 +221,7 @@ export async function statusCommand(
   const warn = (value: string) => (rich ? theme.warn(value) : value);
 
   if (opts.verbose) {
-    const details = buildGatewayConnectionDetails();
+    const details = buildGatewayConnectionDetails({ config: scan.cfg });
     runtime.log(info("Gateway connection:"));
     for (const line of details.message.split("\n")) {
       runtime.log(`  ${line}`);
diff --git a/src/commands/status.scan.ts b/src/commands/status.scan.ts
index bce208af0cc..38e15e6417b 100644
--- a/src/commands/status.scan.ts
+++ b/src/commands/status.scan.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import { resolveCommandSecretRefsViaGateway } from "../cli/command-secret-gateway.js";
 import { getStatusCommandSecretTargetIds } from "../cli/command-secret-targets.js";
 import { withProgress } from "../cli/progress.js";
-import { loadConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { readBestEffortConfig } from "../config/config.js";
 import { buildGatewayConnectionDetails, callGateway } from "../gateway/call.js";
 import { normalizeControlUiBasePath } from "../gateway/control-ui-shared.js";
 import { probeGateway } from "../gateway/probe.js";
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ function unwrapDeferredResult<T>(result: DeferredResult<T>): T {
   return result.value;
 }
 
-function resolveMemoryPluginStatus(cfg: ReturnType<typeof loadConfig>): MemoryPluginStatus {
+function resolveMemoryPluginStatus(cfg: OpenClawConfig): MemoryPluginStatus {
   const pluginsEnabled = cfg.plugins?.enabled !== false;
   if (!pluginsEnabled) {
     return { enabled: false, slot: null, reason: "plugins disabled" };
@@ -72,10 +73,10 @@ function resolveMemoryPluginStatus(cfg: ReturnType<typeof loadConfig>): MemoryPl
 }
 
 async function resolveGatewayProbeSnapshot(params: {
-  cfg: ReturnType<typeof loadConfig>;
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
   opts: { timeoutMs?: number; all?: boolean };
 }): Promise<GatewayProbeSnapshot> {
-  const gatewayConnection = buildGatewayConnectionDetails();
+  const gatewayConnection = buildGatewayConnectionDetails({ config: params.cfg });
   const isRemoteMode = params.cfg.gateway?.mode === "remote";
   const remoteUrlRaw =
     typeof params.cfg.gateway?.remote?.url === "string" ? params.cfg.gateway.remote.url : "";
@@ -107,6 +108,7 @@ async function resolveGatewayProbeSnapshot(params: {
 }
 
 async function resolveChannelsStatus(params: {
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
   gatewayReachable: boolean;
   opts: { timeoutMs?: number; all?: boolean };
 }) {
@@ -114,6 +116,7 @@ async function resolveChannelsStatus(params: {
     return null;
   }
   return await callGateway({
+    config: params.cfg,
     method: "channels.status",
     params: {
       probe: false,
@@ -124,8 +127,8 @@ async function resolveChannelsStatus(params: {
 }
 
 export type StatusScanResult = {
-  cfg: ReturnType<typeof loadConfig>;
-  sourceConfig: ReturnType<typeof loadConfig>;
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+  sourceConfig: OpenClawConfig;
   secretDiagnostics: string[];
   osSummary: ReturnType<typeof resolveOsSummary>;
   tailscaleMode: string;
@@ -152,7 +155,7 @@ export type StatusScanResult = {
 };
 
 async function resolveMemoryStatusSnapshot(params: {
-  cfg: ReturnType<typeof loadConfig>;
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
   agentStatus: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof getAgentLocalStatuses>>;
   memoryPlugin: MemoryPluginStatus;
 }): Promise<MemoryStatusSnapshot | null> {
@@ -180,7 +183,7 @@ async function scanStatusJsonFast(opts: {
   timeoutMs?: number;
   all?: boolean;
 }): Promise<StatusScanResult> {
-  const loadedRaw = loadConfig();
+  const loadedRaw = await readBestEffortConfig();
   const { resolvedConfig: cfg, diagnostics: secretDiagnostics } =
     await resolveCommandSecretRefsViaGateway({
       config: loadedRaw,
@@ -196,7 +199,7 @@ async function scanStatusJsonFast(opts: {
     fetchGit: true,
     includeRegistry: true,
   });
-  const agentStatusPromise = getAgentLocalStatuses();
+  const agentStatusPromise = getAgentLocalStatuses(cfg);
   const summaryPromise = getStatusSummary({ config: cfg, sourceConfig: loadedRaw });
 
   const tailscaleDnsPromise =
@@ -232,7 +235,7 @@ async function scanStatusJsonFast(opts: {
   const gatewaySelf = gatewayProbe?.presence
     ? pickGatewaySelfPresence(gatewayProbe.presence)
     : null;
-  const channelsStatusPromise = resolveChannelsStatus({ gatewayReachable, opts });
+  const channelsStatusPromise = resolveChannelsStatus({ cfg, gatewayReachable, opts });
   const memoryPlugin = resolveMemoryPluginStatus(cfg);
   const memoryPromise = resolveMemoryStatusSnapshot({ cfg, agentStatus, memoryPlugin });
   const [channelsStatus, memory] = await Promise.all([channelsStatusPromise, memoryPromise]);
@@ -283,7 +286,7 @@ export async function scanStatus(
     },
     async (progress) => {
       progress.setLabel("Loading config…");
-      const loadedRaw = loadConfig();
+      const loadedRaw = await readBestEffortConfig();
       const { resolvedConfig: cfg, diagnostics: secretDiagnostics } =
         await resolveCommandSecretRefsViaGateway({
           config: loadedRaw,
@@ -307,7 +310,7 @@ export async function scanStatus(
           includeRegistry: true,
         }),
       );
-      const agentStatusPromise = deferResult(getAgentLocalStatuses());
+      const agentStatusPromise = deferResult(getAgentLocalStatuses(cfg));
       const summaryPromise = deferResult(
         getStatusSummary({ config: cfg, sourceConfig: loadedRaw }),
       );
@@ -345,7 +348,7 @@ export async function scanStatus(
       progress.tick();
 
       progress.setLabel("Querying channel status…");
-      const channelsStatus = await resolveChannelsStatus({ gatewayReachable, opts });
+      const channelsStatus = await resolveChannelsStatus({ cfg, gatewayReachable, opts });
       const channelIssues = channelsStatus ? collectChannelStatusIssues(channelsStatus) : [];
       progress.tick();