diff --git a/src/commands/doctor-config-flow.ts b/src/commands/doctor-config-flow.ts
index 2b02cf45b5d..84d2f9e4307 100644
--- a/src/commands/doctor-config-flow.ts
+++ b/src/commands/doctor-config-flow.ts
@@ -9,15 +9,11 @@ import {
 import { fetchTelegramChatId } from "../channels/telegram/api.js";
 import { formatCliCommand } from "../cli/command-format.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
-import {
-  OpenClawSchema,
-  CONFIG_PATH,
-  migrateLegacyConfig,
-  readConfigFileSnapshot,
-} from "../config/config.js";
+import { CONFIG_PATH, migrateLegacyConfig, readConfigFileSnapshot } from "../config/config.js";
 import { collectProviderDangerousNameMatchingScopes } from "../config/dangerous-name-matching.js";
 import { applyPluginAutoEnable } from "../config/plugin-auto-enable.js";
 import { parseToolsBySenderTypedKey } from "../config/types.tools.js";
+import { OpenClawSchema } from "../config/zod-schema.js";
 import { resolveCommandResolutionFromArgv } from "../infra/exec-command-resolution.js";
 import {
   listInterpreterLikeSafeBins,
diff --git a/src/config/config.ts b/src/config/config.ts
index df667d498b1..dfe47d82f87 100644
--- a/src/config/config.ts
+++ b/src/config/config.ts
@@ -21,4 +21,3 @@ export {
   validateConfigObjectRawWithPlugins,
   validateConfigObjectWithPlugins,
 } from "./validation.js";
-export { OpenClawSchema } from "./zod-schema.js";
diff --git a/src/config/paths.ts b/src/config/paths.ts
index b60f41f3362..5f9afc85a46 100644
--- a/src/config/paths.ts
+++ b/src/config/paths.ts
@@ -67,6 +67,9 @@ export function resolveStateDir(
     return resolveUserPath(override, env, effectiveHomedir);
   }
   const newDir = newStateDir(effectiveHomedir);
+  if (env.OPENCLAW_TEST_FAST === "1") {
+    return newDir;
+  }
   const legacyDirs = legacyStateDirs(effectiveHomedir);
   const hasNew = fs.existsSync(newDir);
   if (hasNew) {
@@ -131,6 +134,9 @@ export function resolveConfigPathCandidate(
   env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env,
   homedir: () => string = envHomedir(env),
 ): string {
+  if (env.OPENCLAW_TEST_FAST === "1") {
+    return resolveCanonicalConfigPath(env, resolveStateDir(env, homedir));
+  }
   const candidates = resolveDefaultConfigCandidates(env, homedir);
   const existing = candidates.find((candidate) => {
     try {
@@ -157,6 +163,9 @@ export function resolveConfigPath(
   if (override) {
     return resolveUserPath(override, env, homedir);
   }
+  if (env.OPENCLAW_TEST_FAST === "1") {
+    return path.join(stateDir, CONFIG_FILENAME);
+  }
   const stateOverride = env.OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR?.trim();
   const candidates = [
     path.join(stateDir, CONFIG_FILENAME),
diff --git a/test/setup.ts b/test/setup.ts
index 4e008ff1881..03b46c2d75b 100644
--- a/test/setup.ts
+++ b/test/setup.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { afterAll, afterEach, beforeEach, vi } from "vitest";
+import { afterAll, afterEach, beforeAll, vi } from "vitest";
 
 // Ensure Vitest environment is properly set
 process.env.VITEST = "true";
@@ -25,12 +25,15 @@ import { withIsolatedTestHome } from "./test-env.js";
 const testEnv = withIsolatedTestHome();
 afterAll(() => testEnv.cleanup());
 
-const [{ installProcessWarningFilter }, { setActivePluginRegistry }, { createTestRegistry }] =
-  await Promise.all([
-    import("../src/infra/warning-filter.js"),
-    import("../src/plugins/runtime.js"),
-    import("../src/test-utils/channel-plugins.js"),
-  ]);
+const [
+  { installProcessWarningFilter },
+  { getActivePluginRegistry, setActivePluginRegistry },
+  { createTestRegistry },
+] = await Promise.all([
+  import("../src/infra/warning-filter.js"),
+  import("../src/plugins/runtime.js"),
+  import("../src/test-utils/channel-plugins.js"),
+]);
 
 installProcessWarningFilter();
 
@@ -172,16 +175,18 @@ const createDefaultRegistry = () =>
     },
   ]);
 
-// Creating a fresh registry before every single test was measurable overhead.
-// The registry is treated as immutable by production code; tests that need a
-// custom registry set it explicitly.
+// Creating a fresh registry before every test is measurable overhead.
+// The registry is immutable by default; tests that override it are restored in afterEach.
 const DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY = createDefaultRegistry();
 
-beforeEach(() => {
+beforeAll(() => {
   setActivePluginRegistry(DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY);
 });
 
 afterEach(() => {
+  if (getActivePluginRegistry() !== DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY) {
+    setActivePluginRegistry(DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY);
+  }
   // Guard against leaked fake timers across test files/workers.
   if (vi.isFakeTimers()) {
     vi.useRealTimers();