diff --git a/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.test.ts b/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.test.ts
index 9a7a67cf652..b82625dd0c2 100644
--- a/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.test.ts
+++ b/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.test.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,35 @@ describe("createAccountListHelpers", () => {
     it("returns sorted ids", () => {
       expect(listAccountIds(cfg({ z: {}, a: {}, m: {} }))).toEqual(["a", "m", "z"]);
     });
+
+    it("includes default when base config has botToken and named accounts exist", () => {
+      const config = {
+        channels: {
+          testchannel: {
+            botToken: "xoxb-base",
+            appToken: "xapp-base",
+            accounts: { tank: {} },
+          },
+        },
+      } as unknown as OpenClawConfig;
+      expect(listAccountIds(config)).toEqual(["default", "tank"]);
+    });
+
+    it("does not duplicate default when already in accounts", () => {
+      const config = {
+        channels: {
+          testchannel: {
+            botToken: "xoxb-base",
+            accounts: { default: {}, tank: {} },
+          },
+        },
+      } as unknown as OpenClawConfig;
+      expect(listAccountIds(config)).toEqual(["default", "tank"]);
+    });
+
+    it("does not include default when base has no tokens", () => {
+      expect(listAccountIds(cfg({ tank: {} }))).toEqual(["tank"]);
+    });
   });
 
   describe("resolveDefaultAccountId", () => {
diff --git a/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.ts b/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.ts
index 7f72b5e3c55..03fbf9a9725 100644
--- a/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.ts
+++ b/src/channels/plugins/account-helpers.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,16 @@ export function createAccountListHelpers(
     if (ids.length === 0) {
       return [DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID];
     }
+    // If the base channel config has its own tokens (botToken/appToken/token),
+    // include the default account alongside named accounts so both providers start.
+    if (!ids.includes(DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID)) {
+      const channel = cfg.channels?.[channelKey];
+      const base = channel as Record<string, unknown> | undefined;
+      const hasBaseTokens = Boolean(base?.botToken || base?.appToken || base?.token);
+      if (hasBaseTokens) {
+        return [DEFAULT_ACCOUNT_ID, ...ids].toSorted((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b));
+      }
+    }
     return ids.toSorted((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b));
   }