diff --git a/src/agents/auth-profiles/store-owner-publication.test.ts b/src/agents/auth-profiles/store-owner-publication.test.ts
index c0054f91927e..5a80b71409f6 100644
--- a/src/agents/auth-profiles/store-owner-publication.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/auth-profiles/store-owner-publication.test.ts
@@ -3,10 +3,7 @@ import path from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import {
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv,
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl,
-} from "../../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { prepareSecretsRuntimeFastPathSnapshot } from "../../secrets/runtime-fast-path.js";
 import { activateSecretsRuntimeSnapshotState } from "../../secrets/runtime-state.js";
 import { openOpenClawStateDatabase } from "../../state/openclaw-state-db.js";
@@ -661,8 +658,8 @@ describe("auth publication owner receipts", () => {
     const laterCwd = path.join(tempDirs.make("openclaw-auth-scope-later-cwd-"), "nested");
     fs.mkdirSync(laterCwd);
     const result = await runNodeScript(
-      [
-        ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(authProfileScopeCwdEntrypoint)),
+      (workerArgv) => [
+        ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(authProfileScopeCwdEntrypoint)),
         stateDir,
         agentDir,
         laterCwd,
diff --git a/src/agents/code-mode-retention.test.ts b/src/agents/code-mode-retention.test.ts
index 85f1fcbb1a1e..b197535121b2 100644
--- a/src/agents/code-mode-retention.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/code-mode-retention.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import {
   codeModeDescriptionRetentionEntrypoint,
   codeModeRetentionEntrypoint,
@@ -21,10 +20,7 @@ it.for([
   },
 ])("$name", { timeout: 30_000 }, async ({ entrypoint, expected }, { signal }) => {
   const result = await runNodeScript(
-    [
-      "--expose-gc",
-      ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(entrypoint), resolveTestNodeExecPath()),
-    ],
+    (workerArgv) => ["--expose-gc", ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(entrypoint))],
     { ...process.env, NODE_OPTIONS: "", TSX_DISABLE_CACHE: "1" },
     15_000,
     {
diff --git a/src/agents/embedded-agent-block-chunker.test.ts b/src/agents/embedded-agent-block-chunker.test.ts
index f41b65da0e50..0e0ba501172e 100644
--- a/src/agents/embedded-agent-block-chunker.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/embedded-agent-block-chunker.test.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import * as fences from "../../packages/markdown-core/src/fences.js";
 import { markdownToIR } from "../../packages/markdown-core/src/ir.js";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { EmbeddedBlockChunker } from "./embedded-agent-block-chunker.js";
 import { agentProcessTestEntrypoints } from "./process-runtime.test-support.js";
 
@@ -223,8 +222,8 @@ describe("EmbeddedBlockChunker", () => {
       // A synchronous stalled drain needs an external deadline, not Vitest's in-process timer.
       const chunkerUrl = resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(agentProcessTestEntrypoints.blockChunker);
       const result = await runNodeScript(
-        [
-          ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(chunkerUrl, resolveTestNodeExecPath()).slice(0, -1),
+        (workerArgv) => [
+          ...workerArgv(chunkerUrl).slice(0, -1),
           "--input-type=module",
           "--eval",
           `
diff --git a/src/agents/prepared-model-catalog-worker.reuse.integration.test.ts b/src/agents/prepared-model-catalog-worker.reuse.integration.test.ts
index d8237011a23c..da94d8e544d6 100644
--- a/src/agents/prepared-model-catalog-worker.reuse.integration.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/prepared-model-catalog-worker.reuse.integration.test.ts
@@ -55,10 +55,20 @@ it("prepares known provider owners once while keeping catalog execution and auth
           `provider: ${JSON.stringify(provider)}, filename: __filename`,
         );
       const execution = (provider: string) =>
-        `require("node:v8").queryObjects(WeakRef);` +
+        `require("node:v8").queryObjects(WeakRef);
+const retainedPayloads = globalThis[Symbol.for("catalog.reuse.payloads")];
+const activePayload = retainedPayloads.at(-1);
+const currentPayload = activePayload.ref.deref();
+` +
         record(
           "heap.jsonl",
-          `memory: process.memoryUsage(), payloads: globalThis[Symbol.for("catalog.reuse.payloads")].filter(ref => ref.deref()).length`,
+          `memory: process.memoryUsage(),
+          payloads: retainedPayloads.filter(({ ref }) => ref.deref()).length,
+          currentPayload: currentPayload && {
+            filename: activePayload.filename,
+            row: currentPayload.rows[99_999].index,
+            bufferBytes: currentPayload.buffer.byteLength,
+          }`,
         ) +
         record(
           "executions.jsonl",
@@ -77,7 +87,7 @@ it("prepares known provider owners once while keeping catalog execution and auth
       fs.writeFileSync(
         baseEntry,
         `const { payload } = require("./payload.mjs");
-(globalThis[Symbol.for("catalog.reuse.payloads")] ??= []).push(new WeakRef(payload));
+(globalThis[Symbol.for("catalog.reuse.payloads")] ??= []).push({ ref: new WeakRef(payload), filename: __filename });
 ` +
           fs
             .readFileSync(baseEntry, "utf8")
@@ -242,7 +252,7 @@ module.exports = { id: ${JSON.stringify(provider)}, register(api) {
     ).toEqual(index === 0 ? [PROVIDER_ID, ...providerIds].toSorted() : []);
     const expanded = registrations();
     const footprint = readCatalogCaptureFootprint(captureRoot);
-    // Retired capture files disappear even though Node retains their native ESM payloads.
+    // Retired capture files disappear even if native ESM payloads remain cached.
     expect(footprint.captures).toHaveLength(1);
     await refreshScope((index + 1) % 2, provider);
     expect(registrations()).toEqual(expanded);
@@ -285,9 +295,28 @@ module.exports = { id: ${JSON.stringify(provider)}, register(api) {
     .readFileSync(path.join(fixture.root, "heap.jsonl"), "utf8")
     .trim()
     .split("\n")
-    .map((line) => JSON.parse(line) as { memory: NodeJS.MemoryUsage; payloads: number });
+    .map(
+      (line) =>
+        JSON.parse(line) as {
+          memory: NodeJS.MemoryUsage;
+          payloads: number;
+          currentPayload?: { filename: string; row: number; bufferBytes: number };
+        },
+    );
   expect(heap).toHaveLength(providerIds.length * agentIds.length * 2);
-  expect(heap.map(({ payloads }) => payloads)).toEqual(heap.map(() => 2));
+  const currentFilename = warmedRegistrations.findLast(
+    ({ provider }) => provider === PROVIDER_ID,
+  )!.filename;
+  for (const sample of heap) {
+    // Engines may collect the retired ESM payload; the current capture must remain usable.
+    expect(sample.payloads).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(1);
+    expect(sample.payloads).toBeLessThanOrEqual(2);
+    expect(sample.currentPayload).toEqual({
+      filename: currentFilename,
+      row: 99_999,
+      bufferBytes: 1024 * 1024,
+    });
+  }
   expect(heap.at(-1)!.memory.heapUsed - heap[0]!.memory.heapUsed).toBeLessThan(16 * 1024 * 1024);
   expect(heap.at(-1)!.memory.arrayBuffers - heap[0]!.memory.arrayBuffers).toBeLessThan(1024 * 1024);
   console.log("Provider-scope heap", JSON.stringify({ first: heap[0], last: heap.at(-1) }));
diff --git a/src/agents/sessions/settings-storage.test.ts b/src/agents/sessions/settings-storage.test.ts
index 2b0338b18ef8..716877e30178 100644
--- a/src/agents/sessions/settings-storage.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/sessions/settings-storage.test.ts
@@ -193,8 +193,8 @@ describe("FileSettingsStorage", () => {
       const root = fixtures.createTempDir("openclaw-settings-umask-");
       const agentDir = join(root, "agent");
       const result = await runNodeScript(
-        [
-          ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(storageUrl, resolveTestNodeExecPath()).slice(0, -1),
+        (workerArgv) => [
+          ...workerArgv(storageUrl).slice(0, -1),
           "--input-type=module",
           "--eval",
           String.raw`
diff --git a/src/agents/sessions/tools/read.retention.test.ts b/src/agents/sessions/tools/read.retention.test.ts
index 2d01eaf5bda6..cc8887c9eaac 100644
--- a/src/agents/sessions/tools/read.retention.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/sessions/tools/read.retention.test.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,7 @@
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { beforeAll, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import {
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv,
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl,
-} from "../../../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../../../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../../../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { agentProcessTestEntrypoints } from "../../process-runtime.test-support.js";
 
 type Observation = {
@@ -19,12 +15,9 @@ let observations: Observation[] = [];
 
 beforeAll(async () => {
   const result = await runNodeScript(
-    [
+    (workerArgv) => [
       "--expose-gc",
-      ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(
-        resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(agentProcessTestEntrypoints.readRetention),
-        resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-      ),
+      ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(agentProcessTestEntrypoints.readRetention)),
       "all",
     ],
     { ...process.env, NODE_OPTIONS: "", TSX_DISABLE_CACHE: "1" },
diff --git a/src/agents/worktrees/service.gc.test.ts b/src/agents/worktrees/service.gc.test.ts
index 67aec9eaf48d..91b8ab896d02 100644
--- a/src/agents/worktrees/service.gc.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/worktrees/service.gc.test.ts
@@ -8,17 +8,13 @@ import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { createDeferred } from "../../../test/helpers/promise.js";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
 import * as backoff from "../../infra/backoff.js";
-import {
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv,
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl,
-} from "../../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { createWarnLogCapture } from "../../logging/test-helpers/warn-log-capture.js";
 import * as pidAlive from "../../shared/pid-alive.js";
 import {
   closeOpenClawStateDatabaseAsync,
   closeOpenClawStateDatabaseForTest,
 } from "../../state/openclaw-state-db.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../../test-utils/node-process.js";
 import * as worktreeCapacity from "./capacity.js";
 import * as worktreeGit from "./git.js";
 import { requireGit } from "./git.js";
@@ -338,11 +334,8 @@ describe("ManagedWorktreeService garbage collection", () => {
 
     // Gateway cleanup runs on Node's main thread, whose stack limit differs from Vitest workers.
     const collected = await runNodeScript(
-      [
-        ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(
-          resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(managedWorktreeGcEntrypoint),
-          resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-        ),
+      (workerArgv) => [
+        ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(managedWorktreeGcEntrypoint)),
         String(now),
       ],
       env,
diff --git a/src/cli/help-exit.process.test.ts b/src/cli/help-exit.process.test.ts
index 84e604147f11..a10f49c89fc0 100644
--- a/src/cli/help-exit.process.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/help-exit.process.test.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { resolveVitestNodeArgs } from "../../scripts/lib/vitest-process-env.mts"
 import { createFixtureLifetime } from "../../test/helpers/fixture-lifetime.js";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
 import { useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker } from "../../test/helpers/temp-dir.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
 import {
   cliMessageExitEntrypoints,
@@ -486,9 +486,9 @@ await runCliWithExitFinalization({
       const spawned: { child?: ChildProcess } = {};
       const child = await lifetime.track(
         runNodeScript(
-          [
+          (workerArgv) => [
             ...resolveVitestNodeArgs(),
-            ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(helpersUrl, nodeExecutable).slice(0, -1),
+            ...workerArgv(helpersUrl).slice(0, -1),
             entryPath,
           ],
           {
diff --git a/src/cli/update-cli/update-command-candidate-admission-fixture.test-support.ts b/src/cli/update-cli/update-command-candidate-admission-fixture.test-support.ts
index 2125b1c35ae4..20f332e641ae 100644
--- a/src/cli/update-cli/update-command-candidate-admission-fixture.test-support.ts
+++ b/src/cli/update-cli/update-command-candidate-admission-fixture.test-support.ts
@@ -140,13 +140,10 @@ export function createCandidateAdmissionFixtures(f: CandidateAdmissionFixture) {
     );
     const originalSpawn = expectDefined(spawn.getMockImplementation(), "default child transport");
     spawn.mockImplementation((command: string, args: string[], options: SpawnOptions) => {
-      if (args[1] !== "update" || args[2] !== "admit") {
+      if (args.at(-4) !== "update" || args.at(-3) !== "admit" || args.at(-2) !== "--context") {
         return originalSpawn(command, args, options);
       }
-      const contextPath = expectDefined(
-        args[args.indexOf("--context") + 1],
-        "candidate admission context",
-      );
+      const contextPath = expectDefined(args.at(-1), "candidate admission context");
       contexts.push(JSON.parse(fsSync.readFileSync(contextPath, "utf8")) as UpdateAdmissionContext);
       events.push("admission");
       databaseExistsAtAdmission.push(
diff --git a/src/commands/daemon-install-plan.shared.test.ts b/src/commands/daemon-install-plan.shared.test.ts
index a876c085539f..f632c390afb1 100644
--- a/src/commands/daemon-install-plan.shared.test.ts
+++ b/src/commands/daemon-install-plan.shared.test.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import fs from "node:fs";
 import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
 import {
   resolveDaemonInstallRuntimeInputs,
   resolveDaemonServicePathDirs,
@@ -15,7 +16,7 @@ describe("resolveDaemonInstallRuntimeInputs", () => {
       const root = fs.realpathSync(fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "daemon-pin-")));
       const pinned = path.join(root, "node");
       try {
-        fs.symlinkSync(process.execPath, pinned);
+        fs.symlinkSync(resolveTestNodeExecPath(), pinned);
         await expect(
           resolveDaemonInstallRuntimeInputs({
             env: {},
diff --git a/src/cron/session-lifecycle.worker.test-support.ts b/src/cron/session-lifecycle.worker.test-support.ts
index d29be1dd45e9..8b1eccf5d37e 100644
--- a/src/cron/session-lifecycle.worker.test-support.ts
+++ b/src/cron/session-lifecycle.worker.test-support.ts
@@ -32,13 +32,22 @@ const postGrantPreload = `
   const fixture = workerData.cronMutationProbe;
   let gate;
   let held = false;
-  parentPort.on("message", (request) => {
+  const observeRequest = (request) => {
     if (request.type === "reclaim" &&
         ["entry", "lifecycle-projection-commit"].includes(request.plan.kind) &&
         request.plan.descendantRunBasis?.sessionKeys.includes(fixture.sessionKey)) {
       gate = request.commitGate;
     }
-  });
+  };
+  const on = parentPort.on;
+  parentPort.on = function(event, listener) {
+    if (event === "message") {
+      // An eager preload listener consumes queued requests before the real worker imports finish.
+      parentPort.on = on;
+      on.call(this, event, observeRequest);
+    }
+    return on.call(this, event, listener);
+  };
   const load = Atomics.load;
   Atomics.load = function(view, index) {
     const observed = load(view, index);
diff --git a/src/gateway/session-utils.child-cache-retention.test.ts b/src/gateway/session-utils.child-cache-retention.test.ts
index d678939325c3..342cef688516 100644
--- a/src/gateway/session-utils.child-cache-retention.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/session-utils.child-cache-retention.test.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { sessionChildCacheRetentionEntrypoint } from "./session-child-cache-retention-entrypoint.test-support.js";
 
 it("keeps child links without retaining released session metadata", async ({ signal }) => {
   const result = await runNodeScript(
-    [
+    (workerArgv) => [
       "--expose-gc",
-      ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(sessionChildCacheRetentionEntrypoint)),
+      ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(sessionChildCacheRetentionEntrypoint)),
     ],
     { ...process.env, NODE_OPTIONS: "", TSX_DISABLE_CACHE: "1" },
     15_000,
diff --git a/src/infra/gateway-state-owner.test.ts b/src/infra/gateway-state-owner.test.ts
index 1bdcba5f221c..2eacc987ffe7 100644
--- a/src/infra/gateway-state-owner.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/gateway-state-owner.test.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import {
   withStateDatabaseColdAdmission,
 } from "./gateway-state-owner.js";
 import * as nodeSqlite from "./node-sqlite.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "./runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "./runtime-worker-url.js";
 
 describe("Gateway state ownership", () => {
   it.skipIf(process.platform === "win32").each(["state", "explicit"] as const)(
@@ -492,8 +492,8 @@ describe("Gateway state ownership", () => {
         );
         const stateUrl = resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(stateNativeProcessEntrypoints.stateDatabase);
         const child = await runNodeScript(
-          [
-            ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(stateUrl).slice(0, -1),
+          (workerArgv) => [
+            ...workerArgv(stateUrl).slice(0, -1),
             "--input-type=module",
             "--eval",
             `import { runOpenClawStateWriteTransaction, closeOpenClawStateDatabaseForTest } from ${JSON.stringify(stateUrl.href)};
diff --git a/src/infra/sqlite-readonly-worker.compile-cache.process.test.ts b/src/infra/sqlite-readonly-worker.compile-cache.process.test.ts
index 32f239484b51..9fd01ae42d6c 100644
--- a/src/infra/sqlite-readonly-worker.compile-cache.process.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/sqlite-readonly-worker.compile-cache.process.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 import { afterEach, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { createFixtureLifetime } from "../../test/helpers/fixture-lifetime.js";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "./runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "./runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { sqliteReadOnlyCompileCacheParentEntrypoint } from "./sqlite-readonly-worker.compile-cache-runtime.test-support.js";
 
 const fixture = createFixtureLifetime();
@@ -22,11 +21,8 @@ it.for(["sync", "async", "scoped"] as const)(
     delete env.NODE_OPTIONS;
     const result = await fixture.track(
       runNodeScript(
-        [
-          ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(
-            resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(sqliteReadOnlyCompileCacheParentEntrypoint),
-            resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-          ),
+        (workerArgv) => [
+          ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(sqliteReadOnlyCompileCacheParentEntrypoint)),
           root,
           mode,
         ],
diff --git a/src/infra/sqlite-worker-store.compile-cache.test.ts b/src/infra/sqlite-worker-store.compile-cache.test.ts
index d78be3e0da06..7b41a0fd4b64 100644
--- a/src/infra/sqlite-worker-store.compile-cache.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/sqlite-worker-store.compile-cache.test.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,7 @@ import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
 import { useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker } from "../../test/helpers/temp-dir.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "./runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "./runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { sqliteWorkerStoreCompileCacheParentEntrypoint } from "./sqlite-worker-store.compile-cache-runtime.test-support.js";
 
 const tempDirs = useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker(afterEach);
@@ -58,11 +57,8 @@ describe("SQLite store worker compile cache", () => {
     delete env.NODE_DISABLE_COMPILE_CACHE;
     delete env.NODE_OPTIONS;
     const result = await runNodeScript(
-      [
-        ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(
-          resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(sqliteWorkerStoreCompileCacheParentEntrypoint),
-          resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-        ),
+      (workerArgv) => [
+        ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(sqliteWorkerStoreCompileCacheParentEntrypoint)),
         root,
         testCase.owner,
         testCase.cache ?? "unset",
diff --git a/src/infra/update-managed-service-handoff-cross-process.test-support.ts b/src/infra/update-managed-service-handoff-cross-process.test-support.ts
index 3dac42cc6fbb..fba1494b9f99 100644
--- a/src/infra/update-managed-service-handoff-cross-process.test-support.ts
+++ b/src/infra/update-managed-service-handoff-cross-process.test-support.ts
@@ -57,8 +57,9 @@ export function scopeWrapperSource(helperExitPath: string): string {
   return `#!${process.execPath}
 const fs = require("node:fs");
 const { spawn } = require("node:child_process");
-const [command, scriptPath, paramsPath] = process.argv.slice(-3);
-const helper = spawn(command, [scriptPath, paramsPath], { stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "ignore"] });
+const args = process.argv.slice(2);
+const [command, ...helperArgs] = args.slice(args.findIndex((arg) => !arg.startsWith("-")));
+const helper = spawn(command, helperArgs, { stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "ignore"] });
 let helperAlive = true;
 helper.stdin.on("error", () => {});
 helper.stdout.pipe(process.stdout, { end: false });
diff --git a/src/logging/diagnostic-cpu-profile.test.ts b/src/logging/diagnostic-cpu-profile.test.ts
index 425618c0a502..d53e5f2f7bb5 100644
--- a/src/logging/diagnostic-cpu-profile.test.ts
+++ b/src/logging/diagnostic-cpu-profile.test.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@ import type { Profiler } from "node:inspector";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { diagnosticProfileEntrypoints } from "./diagnostic-profile-runtime.test-support.js";
 
 const native = vi.hoisted(() => ({
@@ -518,8 +517,8 @@ assert.equal(process.pid, pid);
 console.log(JSON.stringify({ node: process.version, platform: process.platform, arch: process.arch, actualDurationMs: result.actualDurationMs, samples: result.profile.samples.length, nodes: result.profile.nodes.length, listener: false }));
 `;
       const result = await runNodeScript(
-        [
-          ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(ownerUrl, resolveTestNodeExecPath()).slice(0, -1),
+        (workerArgv) => [
+          ...workerArgv(ownerUrl).slice(0, -1),
           "--input-type=module",
           "--eval",
           source,
diff --git a/src/logging/diagnostic-heap-profile.test.ts b/src/logging/diagnostic-heap-profile.test.ts
index fcc6f16a0645..bb76ccddf7bb 100644
--- a/src/logging/diagnostic-heap-profile.test.ts
+++ b/src/logging/diagnostic-heap-profile.test.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,7 @@ import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import type { DiagnosticsHeapProfileParams } from "../../packages/gateway-protocol/src/schema/diagnostics.js";
 import { createDeferred } from "../../test/helpers/promise.js";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { diagnosticProfileEntrypoints } from "./diagnostic-profile-runtime.test-support.js";
 
 const hostBunVersion = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(process.versions, "bun");
@@ -378,8 +377,8 @@ for (const includeCollected of [false, true]) {
 assert.equal(url(), undefined);
 `;
       const result = await runNodeScript(
-        [
-          ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(ownerUrl, resolveTestNodeExecPath()).slice(0, -1),
+        (workerArgv) => [
+          ...workerArgv(ownerUrl).slice(0, -1),
           "--expose-gc",
           "--input-type=module",
           "--eval",
diff --git a/src/plugins/host-hook-cleanup.session-store.test.ts b/src/plugins/host-hook-cleanup.session-store.test.ts
index 289354b3289e..2747118bc84e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/host-hook-cleanup.session-store.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/host-hook-cleanup.session-store.test.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
   completeAgentDeletionJournalInDatabase,
 } from "../state/agent-deletion-journal.js";
 import {
-  closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesForTest,
+  closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesAsync,
   openOpenClawAgentDatabase,
 } from "../state/openclaw-agent-db.js";
 import { SQLITE_SESSION_WRITER_QUEUES } from "../state/openclaw-agent-write-admission.js";
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ describe("plugin host cleanup session stores", () => {
         },
       );
     }
-    closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesForTest();
+    await closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesAsync();
     const retainedDatabase = path.join(
       fixtureStateDir,
       "agents",
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ describe("plugin host cleanup session stores", () => {
         },
       );
     }
-    closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesForTest();
+    await closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesAsync();
     const retiredBefore = loadSessionEntry({
       agentId: "retired",
       storePath: sharedStore,
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ describe("plugin host cleanup session stores", () => {
         pluginExtensions: { fixture: { active: true } },
       },
     );
-    closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesForTest();
+    await closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesAsync();
     const databasePath = path.join(
       fixtureStateDir,
       "agents",
@@ -532,7 +532,7 @@ describe("plugin host cleanup session stores", () => {
       });
 
       expect(result).toEqual({ cleanupCount: 1, failures: [] });
-      closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesForTest();
+      await closeOpenClawAgentDatabasesAsync();
       const target = loadSessionEntry({ sessionKey: targetKey, storePath });
       expect(target?.pluginExtensions).toEqual({ other: { state: { preserved: true } } });
       expect(target?.pluginNextTurnInjections).toBeUndefined();
diff --git a/src/plugins/memory-runtime.owners.test.ts b/src/plugins/memory-runtime.owners.test.ts
index 191181175577..c5228069f6bb 100644
--- a/src/plugins/memory-runtime.owners.test.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/memory-runtime.owners.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import assert from "node:assert/strict";
-import { expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import { createDeferredCore } from "../shared/deferred.js";
 import { createOpenClawTestState } from "../test-utils/openclaw-test-state.js";
@@ -15,12 +15,30 @@ import { createTestPluginRegistry } from "./registry-runtime.test-helpers.js";
 import { disposePluginRegistryInstances } from "./runtime.js";
 import { getPluginRuntimeGatewayRequestScope } from "./runtime/gateway-request-scope.js";
 
+const cleanupClock = vi.hoisted(() => ({ setTimeout: globalThis.setTimeout }));
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  const nativeSetTimeout = globalThis.setTimeout;
+  vi.useFakeTimers({ toFake: ["setTimeout", "clearTimeout"], shouldClearNativeTimers: true });
+  cleanupClock.setTimeout = globalThis.setTimeout;
+  globalThis.setTimeout = nativeSetTimeout;
+});
+afterEach(() => vi.useRealTimers());
+
 vi.mock("./host-hook-cleanup-timeout.js", async (importOriginal) => {
   const actual = await importOriginal<typeof import("./host-hook-cleanup-timeout.js")>();
   return {
     ...actual,
-    withPluginHostCleanupTimeout: <T>(hookId: string, cleanup: () => T | Promise<T>) =>
-      actual.withPluginHostCleanupTimeout(hookId, cleanup, 500),
+    withPluginHostCleanupTimeout: <T>(hookId: string, cleanup: () => T | Promise<T>) => {
+      const nativeSetTimeout = globalThis.setTimeout;
+      // Only the cleanup deadline is virtual; asynchronous workers and watchers keep real timers.
+      globalThis.setTimeout = cleanupClock.setTimeout;
+      try {
+        return actual.withPluginHostCleanupTimeout(hookId, cleanup, 500);
+      } finally {
+        globalThis.setTimeout = nativeSetTimeout;
+      }
+    },
   };
 });
 
@@ -144,6 +162,7 @@ it.each([
   const entered = createDeferredCore();
   const releaseCreate = createDeferredCore();
   const releaseClose = createDeferredCore();
+  const closeEntered = createDeferredCore();
   const probeEntered = createDeferredCore();
   const releaseProbe = createDeferredCore();
   let rejectClose = mode === "failed-close";
@@ -173,6 +192,7 @@ it.each([
     };
   });
   const close = vi.fn(async () => {
+    closeEntered.resolve();
     expect(getPluginRuntimeGatewayRequestScope()?.pluginId).toBe(targetId);
     if (rejectClose) {
       throw new Error("synthetic provider cleanup refused");
@@ -366,7 +386,10 @@ it.each([
       activatePluginRegistry(next, null, "gateway-bindable", undefined, owner.registry);
       reload.commit();
     } else if (mode === "timeout") {
-      await expect(drain).rejects.toThrow("plugin host cleanup timed out");
+      const expired = expect(drain).rejects.toThrow("plugin host cleanup timed out");
+      await closeEntered.promise;
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(500);
+      await expired;
       activatePluginRegistry(next, null, "gateway-bindable", undefined, owner.registry);
       reload.commit();
       const fresh = await owner.runtime.getMemorySearchManager({ cfg: config, agentId: "main" });
@@ -383,7 +406,9 @@ it.each([
       await finalClose;
       expect(close).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
     } else if (mode === "late-probe") {
-      await expect(drain).rejects.toThrow("plugin host cleanup timed out");
+      const expired = expect(drain).rejects.toThrow("plugin host cleanup timed out");
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(500);
+      await expired;
       activatePluginRegistry(next, null, "gateway-bindable", undefined, owner.registry);
       reload.commit();
       const fresh = await owner.runtime.getMemorySearchManager({ cfg: config, agentId: "main" });
diff --git a/src/process/exec-output.retention.test.ts b/src/process/exec-output.retention.test.ts
index ef04df10229a..4da55a604cda 100644
--- a/src/process/exec-output.retention.test.ts
+++ b/src/process/exec-output.retention.test.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,16 @@
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { execOutputRetentionEntrypoint } from "./retention-runtime.test-support.js";
 
 it("releases discarded backing buffers while capped commands are still running", async ({
   signal,
 }) => {
   const result = await runNodeScript(
-    [
+    (workerArgv) => [
       "--expose-gc",
-      ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(
-        resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(execOutputRetentionEntrypoint),
-        resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-      ),
+      ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(execOutputRetentionEntrypoint)),
     ],
     { ...process.env, NODE_OPTIONS: "", TSX_DISABLE_CACHE: "1" },
     15_000,
diff --git a/src/state/claw-package-adoption.test.ts b/src/state/claw-package-adoption.test.ts
index f47c97c37b55..84629824204f 100644
--- a/src/state/claw-package-adoption.test.ts
+++ b/src/state/claw-package-adoption.test.ts
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ import {
   readClawPackageRefs,
 } from "../claws/provenance.js";
 import type { ClawAddPlan } from "../claws/types.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { createNodeEvalArgs, resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { createNodeEvalArgs } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
 import { markClawPackageIndependentlyOwned } from "./claw-package-adoption.js";
 import { acquireClawPackageLifecycleLease } from "./claw-package-lifecycle-lease.js";
 import { stateNativeProcessEntrypoints } from "./native-process-runtime.test-support.js";
@@ -286,8 +286,8 @@ describe("Claw package independent adoption", () => {
       stateNativeProcessEntrypoints.clawPackageLifecycleLease,
     );
     const result = await runNodeScript(
-      [
-        ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(moduleUrl, resolveTestNodeExecPath()).slice(0, -1),
+      (workerArgv) => [
+        ...workerArgv(moduleUrl).slice(0, -1),
         ...createNodeEvalArgs(
           `
           import { withClawPackageLifecycleLease } from ${JSON.stringify(moduleUrl.href)};
diff --git a/src/state/openclaw-database-verify.test.ts b/src/state/openclaw-database-verify.test.ts
index 0b1b461f29ff..73ecb01ea7ec 100644
--- a/src/state/openclaw-database-verify.test.ts
+++ b/src/state/openclaw-database-verify.test.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
 import { useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker } from "../../test/helpers/temp-dir.js";
 import { requireNodeSqlite } from "../infra/node-sqlite.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { readStableSqliteFileGeneration } from "../infra/sqlite-file-generation.js";
 import { readMainDatabasePosixLocks } from "../infra/sqlite-posix-locks.test-support.js";
 import { readSqliteNumberPragma } from "../infra/sqlite-pragma.test-support.js";
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ describe("OpenClaw database integrity verifier", () => {
 
   it("relays a late restart-receipt Worker open to the parent verifier after native opening settles", async () => {
     const result = await runNodeScript(
-      resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(databaseVerifyHostRuntimeEntrypoint)),
+      (workerArgv) => workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(databaseVerifyHostRuntimeEntrypoint)),
       process.env,
       30_000,
       { requireProcessTreeExit: true },
diff --git a/src/transcripts/library.test.ts b/src/transcripts/library.test.ts
index 6cd47e124e78..8f1d5cfa2c32 100644
--- a/src/transcripts/library.test.ts
+++ b/src/transcripts/library.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
 import fs from "node:fs";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
@@ -7,14 +6,14 @@ import {
   TRANSCRIPTS_LEGACY_RESULT_MAX_BYTES,
   TRANSCRIPTS_RESULT_MAX_BYTES,
 } from "../../packages/gateway-protocol/src/schema/transcripts.js";
+import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
 import { useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker } from "../../test/helpers/temp-dir.js";
 import { executeSqliteQuerySync } from "../infra/kysely-sync.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import {
   closeOpenClawStateDatabaseAsync,
   closeOpenClawStateDatabaseForTest,
 } from "../state/openclaw-state-db.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
 import { activeSessions } from "./capture-startup.js";
 import { transcriptLibraryTimezoneEntrypoint } from "./library-timezone-runtime.test-support.js";
 import { exportTranscriptLibrary, getTranscriptLibrary, listTranscriptLibrary } from "./library.js";
@@ -146,24 +145,21 @@ describe("transcript library SQLite reads", () => {
   it(
     "uses the process timezone for unzoned stored dates and range bounds",
     { timeout: 45_000 },
-    () => {
+    async ({ signal }) => {
       const stateDir = tempDirs.make("transcript-library-timezone-");
-      const child = spawnSync(
-        resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-        [
-          ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(transcriptLibraryTimezoneEntrypoint)),
+      const child = await runNodeScript(
+        (workerArgv) => [
+          ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(transcriptLibraryTimezoneEntrypoint)),
           stateDir,
         ],
         {
-          encoding: "utf8",
-          timeout: 30_000,
-          env: {
-            ...process.env,
-            TZ: "America/Los_Angeles",
-            OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR: stateDir,
-            OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH: path.join(stateDir, "openclaw.json"),
-          },
+          ...process.env,
+          TZ: "America/Los_Angeles",
+          OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR: stateDir,
+          OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH: path.join(stateDir, "openclaw.json"),
         },
+        30_000,
+        { signal, maxBuffer: 1024 * 1024, requireProcessTreeExit: process.platform !== "win32" },
       );
       expect(child.error, child.stderr).toBeUndefined();
       expect(child.status, child.stderr).toBe(0);
diff --git a/src/worker/worker.runtime-imports.test.ts b/src/worker/worker.runtime-imports.test.ts
index 29e53e7134af..1245e4144ba0 100644
--- a/src/worker/worker.runtime-imports.test.ts
+++ b/src/worker/worker.runtime-imports.test.ts
@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../../test/helpers/run-node-script.js";
 import { useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker } from "../../test/helpers/temp-dir.js";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv, resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { workerImportRuntimeEntrypoints } from "./worker-import-runtime.test-support.js";
 
 const tempDirs = useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker(afterEach);
@@ -23,9 +22,9 @@ describe("worker runtime imports during admission", () => {
     const workspace = path.join(root, "workspace");
     await mkdir(workspace);
     const result = await runNodeScript(
-      [
+      (workerArgv) => [
         "--unhandled-rejections=strict",
-        ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(runtimeUrl, resolveTestNodeExecPath()).slice(0, -1),
+        ...workerArgv(runtimeUrl).slice(0, -1),
         fileURLToPath(new URL("./worker.runtime-imports.test-support.mjs", import.meta.url)),
         mode,
         workspace,
diff --git a/test/helpers/run-node-script.test.ts b/test/helpers/run-node-script.test.ts
index 87e53171a40a..bc6b3cd56cc4 100644
--- a/test/helpers/run-node-script.test.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/run-node-script.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { existsSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { join } from "node:path";
 import { setTimeout as delay } from "node:timers/promises";
+import { pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
 import { afterEach, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { createVitestResourceOwner } from "../../scripts/lib/vitest-resource-ownership.mts";
 import { createFixtureLifetime } from "./fixture-lifetime.js";
@@ -64,6 +65,32 @@ child.once("message", () => process.exit(17));
   });
 });
 
+it.for(["node", "current"] as const)(
+  "builds source worker arguments for the selected %s runtime",
+  async (runtime) => {
+    const script = join(tempDirs.make("openclaw-node-script-runtime-"), "worker.ts");
+    writeFileSync(
+      script,
+      `enum Answer { value = 42 }
+console.log(JSON.stringify({ answer: Answer.value, bun: Boolean(process.versions.bun), args: process.argv.slice(2) }));
+`,
+    );
+    const result = await runNodeScript(
+      (workerArgv) => [...workerArgv(pathToFileURL(script)), "worker-argument"],
+      process.env,
+      5_000,
+      { executable: runtime === "current" ? process.execPath : undefined },
+    );
+    expect(result.error, result.stderr).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(result.status, result.stderr).toBe(0);
+    expect(JSON.parse(result.stdout)).toEqual({
+      answer: 42,
+      bun: runtime === "current" && Boolean(process.versions.bun),
+      args: ["worker-argument"],
+    });
+  },
+);
+
 it.for(["at limit", "stdout overflow", "stderr overflow"])(
   "preserves independent 2 MiB output failure boundaries: %s",
   async (mode) => {
diff --git a/test/helpers/run-node-script.ts b/test/helpers/run-node-script.ts
index 0a92e7fe5536..c0b602a3d276 100644
--- a/test/helpers/run-node-script.ts
+++ b/test/helpers/run-node-script.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 import type { ChildProcess } from "node:child_process";
 import { runManagedCommand } from "../../scripts/lib/managed-child-process.mts";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv } from "../../src/infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../../src/test-utils/node-process.js";
 import { createBoundedChildOutput } from "./bounded-child-output.js";
 
+/** Worker argv is resolved against the executable selected for this child. */
 export async function runNodeScript(
-  scriptPathOrArgs: string | string[],
+  scriptPathOrArgs: string | string[] | ((workerArgv: (url: URL) => string[]) => string[]),
   env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
   timeoutMs: number | undefined,
   {
@@ -31,9 +33,16 @@ export async function runNodeScript(
   let status: number | null = null;
   let error: unknown;
   try {
+    const execPath = executable ?? resolveTestNodeExecPath();
+    const args =
+      typeof scriptPathOrArgs === "function"
+        ? scriptPathOrArgs((url) => resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(url, execPath))
+        : typeof scriptPathOrArgs === "string"
+          ? [scriptPathOrArgs]
+          : scriptPathOrArgs;
     status = await runManagedCommand({
-      bin: executable ?? resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-      args: typeof scriptPathOrArgs === "string" ? [scriptPathOrArgs] : scriptPathOrArgs,
+      bin: execPath,
+      args,
       cwd,
       env,
       timeoutMs,
diff --git a/test/scripts/agent-plugin-gateway-e2e.test.ts b/test/scripts/agent-plugin-gateway-e2e.test.ts
index 500f2b5a2ad6..013f9ef4b116 100644
--- a/test/scripts/agent-plugin-gateway-e2e.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/agent-plugin-gateway-e2e.test.ts
@@ -3,11 +3,7 @@ import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { scriptProcessEntrypoints } from "../../scripts/script-process-runtime.test-support.js";
-import {
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv,
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl,
-} from "../../src/infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../../src/test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../../src/infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { createFixtureLifetime } from "../helpers/fixture-lifetime.js";
 import { createDeferred } from "../helpers/promise.js";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../helpers/run-node-script.js";
@@ -40,15 +36,17 @@ it.skipIf(process.platform === "win32").for(cases)(
       const ready = createDeferred();
       const receivedSignal = createDeferred();
       let child: ChildProcess | undefined;
-      const scriptArgs = resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(scriptUrl, resolveTestNodeExecPath());
       const command = fixtures.track(
         runNodeScript(
-          [
-            ...scriptArgs.slice(0, -1),
-            "--import",
-            new URL("./fixtures/agent-plugin-gateway-cancellation.mjs", import.meta.url).href,
-            ...scriptArgs.slice(-1),
-          ],
+          (workerArgv) => {
+            const scriptArgs = workerArgv(scriptUrl);
+            return [
+              ...scriptArgs.slice(0, -1),
+              "--import",
+              new URL("./fixtures/agent-plugin-gateway-cancellation.mjs", import.meta.url).href,
+              ...scriptArgs.slice(-1),
+            ];
+          },
           {
             PATH: process.env.PATH,
             HOME: home,
diff --git a/test/scripts/check-openclaw-package-tarball.test.ts b/test/scripts/check-openclaw-package-tarball.test.ts
index 22eac6583461..ed7ac9239e65 100644
--- a/test/scripts/check-openclaw-package-tarball.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/check-openclaw-package-tarball.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   PACKAGE_LIFECYCLE_PENDING_RELATIVE_PATH,
 } from "../../scripts/lib/package-lifecycle-marker.mjs";
 import { WORKSPACE_TEMPLATE_PACK_PATHS } from "../../scripts/lib/workspace-bootstrap-smoke.mts";
+import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../../src/test-utils/node-process.js";
 import { useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker } from "../helpers/temp-dir.js";
 import {
   CODE_MODE_WORKER_PATH,
@@ -220,7 +221,7 @@ childProcess.spawnSync = function (...callArgs) {
 syncBuiltinESMExports();
 `,
         );
-        const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [resolve(CHECK_SCRIPT), tarball], {
+        const result = spawnSync(resolveTestNodeExecPath(), [resolve(CHECK_SCRIPT), tarball], {
           encoding: "utf8",
           env: {
             ...process.env,
diff --git a/test/scripts/compiled-tooling.process.test.ts b/test/scripts/compiled-tooling.process.test.ts
index d12c17c78ba4..c8359f673dda 100644
--- a/test/scripts/compiled-tooling.process.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/compiled-tooling.process.test.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,6 @@
 import { afterEach, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { scriptModuleEntrypoints } from "../../scripts/script-module-runtime.test-support.mjs";
-import {
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv,
-  resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl,
-} from "../../src/infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../../src/test-utils/node-process.js";
+import { resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl } from "../../src/infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
 import { runNodeScript } from "../helpers/run-node-script.js";
 import { useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker } from "../helpers/temp-dir.js";
 
@@ -15,11 +11,8 @@ it("loads installed tooling when the prepared CLI validates native Vitest option
 }) => {
   const directory = tempDirs.make("openclaw-compiled-tooling-");
   const result = await runNodeScript(
-    [
-      ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(
-        resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(scriptModuleEntrypoints.testProjects),
-        resolveTestNodeExecPath(),
-      ),
+    (workerArgv) => [
+      ...workerArgv(resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(scriptModuleEntrypoints.testProjects)),
       "test/scripts/test-projects.test.ts",
       "--",
       "--invalid-native-vitest-option",
diff --git a/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test-support.ts b/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test-support.ts
index 245efabd34f8..de8cc3e1e464 100644
--- a/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test-support.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test-support.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ function createWorkerArtifactFixtures(
       return joined;
     }
 
-    function node(args: string[], cwd = root, env = process.env) {
+    function node(args: Parameters<typeof runNodeScript>[0], cwd = root, env = process.env) {
       const completion = fixtureLifetime.track(
         runNodeScript(args, compilerEnv(env, "node"), undefined, {
           cwd,
@@ -401,7 +401,9 @@ export function workerProbe(
           const sourceLoader = sourceMode && !process.versions.bun;
           expect(args.includes('--import')).toBe(sourceLoader);
           if (sourceLoader) expect(args[1].startsWith('file:')).toBe(true);
-          expect(args[sourceLoader ? 2 : 0]).toMatch(sourceMode ? /\\.ts$/ : /\\.js$/);
+          const runtimeArgs = sourceLoader ? ['--import', expect.stringMatching(/^file:/)] : process.versions.bun ? ['--no-install'] : [];
+          expect(args.slice(0, runtimeArgs.length + 1)).toEqual([...runtimeArgs, fileURLToPath(generation)]);
+          expect(args[runtimeArgs.length]).toMatch(sourceMode ? /\\.ts$/ : /\\.js$/);
           fs.appendFileSync(${JSON.stringify(path.join(directory, "observations.jsonl"))}, JSON.stringify({args, tuiUrls, setupUrls, retentionUrl, value, configValue:inject('configValue'), knn:resolveRuntimeWorkerUrl(vectorKnnProcessEntrypoint).href})+'\\n');
           fs.appendFileSync(${JSON.stringify(path.join(directory, "generations.jsonl"))}, JSON.stringify(generation)+'\\n');
           ${receiptEndpoint ? `sendReceipt(${JSON.stringify(path.join(directory, "generations.jsonl"))}, 'written');` : ""}
diff --git a/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test.ts b/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test.ts
index 94d3ab051b72..f339ce8c02a7 100644
--- a/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/vitest-worker-artifacts.test.ts
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@ import {
 } from "../../scripts/lib/vitest-worker-artifacts.mts";
 import { resolveVitestSpawnParams, spawnWatchedVitestProcess } from "../../scripts/run-vitest.mts";
 import { createVitestProcessCompletion } from "../../scripts/vitest-process-group.mts";
-import { resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv } from "../../src/infra/runtime-worker-url.js";
-import { resolveTestNodeExecPath } from "../../src/test-utils/node-process.js";
 import {
   fixtureReceiptClientSource,
   openFixtureReceiptChannel,
@@ -751,8 +749,8 @@ describe.concurrent("fresh compiled subprocess invocation", () => {
                 : path.join(root, "src/agents/embedded-agent-runner/run/payloads.ts"),
             );
             const result = await node(
-              [
-                ...resolveRuntimeWorkerArgv(pathToFileURL(probe), resolveTestNodeExecPath()),
+              (workerArgv) => [
+                ...workerArgv(pathToFileURL(probe)),
                 url.href,
                 pathToFileURL(
                   owner