Best possible solution:

Merge the Tavily-owned factory binding fix with its regression coverage and changelog once required checks pass.

Do we have a high-confidence way to reproduce the issue?

Yes. Current main can be source-reproduced by resolving Tavily plugin tools with raw source config containing an exec SecretRef and a runtime snapshot containing the resolved key; the dedicated tools still read api.config, which strict SecretRef normalization rejects.

Is this the best way to solve the issue?

Yes. The patch uses the existing plugin-tool factory context (runtimeConfig/getRuntimeConfig) and keeps the fix inside the Tavily plugin instead of adding new core secret-resolution policy.

What I checked:

• Current-main bug path: Current main registers tavily_search and tavily_extract as already-created tool objects, so their execute closures keep using plugin-load api.config. (extensions/tavily/index.ts:12, a74b459f7a74)
• Current-main config source: Both dedicated Tavily tool implementations pass cfg: api.config into the Tavily client instead of the runtime-resolved config snapshot. (extensions/tavily/src/tavily-search-tool.ts:72, a74b459f7a74)
• SecretRef failure contract: normalizeResolvedSecretInputString uses strict secret resolution, and unresolved SecretRefs throw the same active-runtime-snapshot error described in the PR body. (src/config/types.secrets.ts:151, a74b459f7a74)
• Existing SDK seam: Plugin tool factories receive runtimeConfig and getRuntimeConfig, and registerTool already accepts factories with declared names, so the PR uses an existing extension seam rather than changing core secret semantics. (src/plugins/tool-types.ts:8, a74b459f7a74)
• Runtime context wiring: The agent plugin-tool resolver passes both a resolved runtime config and a getter into resolvePluginTools, which supports the PR's late-binding approach. (src/agents/openclaw-plugin-tools.ts:76, a74b459f7a74)
• PR diff review: The fetched PR diff changes Tavily registration to named factories, adds runtime-config fallback helpers in both dedicated tools, adds a regression test, and includes a changelog entry. (extensions/tavily/index.ts:12, f6ea284003d4)

Likely related people:

• steipete: Local blame points the current Tavily tool files to recent maintainer work, and GitHub path history shows recent plugin SDK/config-runtime maintenance including refactor: tighten plugin sdk entry surface and fix(agents): avoid secrets snapshot clones in plugin tool prep. (role: recent maintainer; confidence: high; commits: 2e10ffe8130d, bfcfc17a8bac, 5be66ca648e1; files: extensions/tavily/index.ts, extensions/tavily/src/tavily-search-tool.ts, src/agents/openclaw-plugin-tools.ts)
• lakshyaag-tavily: GitHub path history shows the bundled Tavily plugin and dedicated tools were introduced in feat: add Tavily as a bundled web search plugin with search and extract tools. (role: introduced behavior; confidence: high; commits: b36e456b0916; files: extensions/tavily/index.ts, extensions/tavily/src/tavily-search-tool.ts, extensions/tavily/src/tavily-extract-tool.ts)
• vincentkoc: GitHub path history shows recent work on plugin tool context and resolution seams touched by this PR's fix path, including delivery context splits and plugin tool denylist handling. (role: adjacent owner; confidence: medium; commits: 2028fd53f077, 543c14a4edd1, 571d75aab351; files: src/plugins/tool-types.ts, src/agents/openclaw-plugin-tools.ts)

Codex review notes: model gpt-5.5, reasoning high; reviewed against a74b459f7a74.