diff --git a/test/setup.ts b/test/setup.ts
index f0e1bdc4549..1d4429d48d7 100644
--- a/test/setup.ts
+++ b/test/setup.ts
@@ -29,24 +29,48 @@ import type {
 } from "../src/channels/plugins/types.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../src/config/config.js";
 import type { OutboundSendDeps } from "../src/infra/outbound/deliver.js";
+import { installProcessWarningFilter } from "../src/infra/warning-filter.js";
+import type { PluginRegistry } from "../src/plugins/registry.js";
 import { withIsolatedTestHome } from "./test-env.js";
 
 // Set HOME/state isolation before importing any runtime OpenClaw modules.
 const testEnv = withIsolatedTestHome();
 afterAll(() => testEnv.cleanup());
 
-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();
 
+const REGISTRY_STATE = Symbol.for("openclaw.pluginRegistryState");
+
+type RegistryState = {
+  registry: PluginRegistry | null;
+  httpRouteRegistry: PluginRegistry | null;
+  httpRouteRegistryPinned: boolean;
+  key: string | null;
+  version: number;
+};
+
+type TestChannelRegistration = {
+  pluginId: string;
+  plugin: unknown;
+  source: string;
+};
+
+const globalRegistryState = (() => {
+  const globalState = globalThis as typeof globalThis & {
+    [REGISTRY_STATE]?: RegistryState;
+  };
+  if (!globalState[REGISTRY_STATE]) {
+    globalState[REGISTRY_STATE] = {
+      registry: null,
+      httpRouteRegistry: null,
+      httpRouteRegistryPinned: false,
+      key: null,
+      version: 0,
+    };
+  }
+  return globalState[REGISTRY_STATE];
+})();
+
 const pickSendFn = (id: ChannelId, deps?: OutboundSendDeps) => {
   return deps?.[id] as ((...args: unknown[]) => Promise<unknown>) | undefined;
 };
@@ -127,6 +151,32 @@ const createStubPlugin = (params: {
   outbound: createStubOutbound(params.id, params.deliveryMode),
 });
 
+const createTestRegistry = (channels: TestChannelRegistration[] = []): PluginRegistry => ({
+  plugins: [],
+  tools: [],
+  hooks: [],
+  typedHooks: [],
+  channels: channels as unknown as PluginRegistry["channels"],
+  channelSetups: channels.map((entry) => ({
+    pluginId: entry.pluginId,
+    plugin: entry.plugin as PluginRegistry["channelSetups"][number]["plugin"],
+    source: entry.source,
+    enabled: true,
+  })),
+  providers: [],
+  speechProviders: [],
+  mediaUnderstandingProviders: [],
+  imageGenerationProviders: [],
+  webSearchProviders: [],
+  gatewayHandlers: {},
+  httpRoutes: [],
+  cliRegistrars: [],
+  services: [],
+  commands: [],
+  conversationBindingResolvedHandlers: [],
+  diagnostics: [],
+});
+
 const createDefaultRegistry = () =>
   createTestRegistry([
     {
@@ -174,17 +224,55 @@ const createDefaultRegistry = () =>
     },
   ]);
 
-// 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();
+let materializedDefaultPluginRegistry: PluginRegistry | null = null;
+
+function getDefaultPluginRegistry(): PluginRegistry {
+  materializedDefaultPluginRegistry ??= createDefaultRegistry();
+  return materializedDefaultPluginRegistry;
+}
+
+// Most unit suites never touch the plugin registry. Keep the default test registry
+// behind a lazy proxy so those files avoid allocating channel fixtures up front.
+const DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY = new Proxy({} as PluginRegistry, {
+  defineProperty(_target, property, attributes) {
+    return Reflect.defineProperty(getDefaultPluginRegistry() as object, property, attributes);
+  },
+  deleteProperty(_target, property) {
+    return Reflect.deleteProperty(getDefaultPluginRegistry() as object, property);
+  },
+  get(_target, property, receiver) {
+    return Reflect.get(getDefaultPluginRegistry() as object, property, receiver);
+  },
+  getOwnPropertyDescriptor(_target, property) {
+    return Reflect.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(getDefaultPluginRegistry() as object, property);
+  },
+  has(_target, property) {
+    return Reflect.has(getDefaultPluginRegistry() as object, property);
+  },
+  ownKeys() {
+    return Reflect.ownKeys(getDefaultPluginRegistry() as object);
+  },
+  set(_target, property, value, receiver) {
+    return Reflect.set(getDefaultPluginRegistry() as object, property, value, receiver);
+  },
+});
+
+function installDefaultPluginRegistry(): void {
+  globalRegistryState.registry = DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY;
+  if (!globalRegistryState.httpRouteRegistryPinned) {
+    globalRegistryState.httpRouteRegistry = DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY;
+  }
+}
 
 beforeAll(() => {
-  setActivePluginRegistry(DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY);
+  installDefaultPluginRegistry();
 });
 
 afterEach(() => {
-  if (getActivePluginRegistry() !== DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY) {
-    setActivePluginRegistry(DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY);
+  if (globalRegistryState.registry !== DEFAULT_PLUGIN_REGISTRY) {
+    installDefaultPluginRegistry();
+    globalRegistryState.key = null;
+    globalRegistryState.version += 1;
   }
   // Guard against leaked fake timers across test files/workers.
   if (vi.isFakeTimers()) {