diff --git a/src/agents/cli-backends.test.ts b/src/agents/cli-backends.test.ts
index 0a554b6f2f0..1e47ae4b872 100644
--- a/src/agents/cli-backends.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/cli-backends.test.ts
@@ -288,6 +288,29 @@ describe("resolveCliBackendConfig claude-cli defaults", () => {
     expect(resolved?.config.args).not.toContain("bypassPermissions");
     expect(resolved?.config.resumeArgs).not.toContain("bypassPermissions");
   });
+
+  it("keeps bundle MCP enabled for override-only claude-cli config when the plugin registry is absent", () => {
+    const registry = createEmptyPluginRegistry();
+    setActivePluginRegistry(registry);
+
+    const cfg = {
+      agents: {
+        defaults: {
+          cliBackends: {
+            "claude-cli": {
+              command: "/usr/local/bin/claude",
+              args: ["-p", "--output-format", "json"],
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    } satisfies OpenClawConfig;
+
+    const resolved = resolveCliBackendConfig("claude-cli", cfg);
+
+    expect(resolved).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(resolved?.bundleMcp).toBe(true);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("resolveCliBackendConfig google-gemini-cli defaults", () => {
diff --git a/src/agents/cli-backends.ts b/src/agents/cli-backends.ts
index 22aa5168854..1bd9286f6e2 100644
--- a/src/agents/cli-backends.ts
+++ b/src/agents/cli-backends.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,13 @@ export type ResolvedCliBackend = {
   pluginId?: string;
 };
 
+function resolveFallbackBundleMcpCapability(provider: string): boolean {
+  // Claude CLI consumes explicit MCP config overlays even when the runtime
+  // plugin registry is not initialized yet (for example direct runner tests or
+  // narrow non-gateway entrypoints).
+  return provider === "claude-cli";
+}
+
 function normalizeBackendKey(key: string): string {
   return normalizeProviderId(key);
 }
@@ -114,5 +121,9 @@ export function resolveCliBackendConfig(
   if (!command) {
     return null;
   }
-  return { id: normalized, config: { ...override, command }, bundleMcp: false };
+  return {
+    id: normalized,
+    config: { ...override, command },
+    bundleMcp: resolveFallbackBundleMcpCapability(normalized),
+  };
 }
diff --git a/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts b/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts
index 7d368a7b570..e9ff122933d 100644
--- a/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/gateway-acp-bind.live.test.ts
@@ -142,7 +142,16 @@ async function waitForAcpBackendHealthy(timeoutMs = 60_000): Promise<void> {
   const startedAt = Date.now();
   while (Date.now() - startedAt < timeoutMs) {
     const backend = getAcpRuntimeBackend("acpx");
-    if (backend && (!backend.healthy || backend.healthy())) {
+    if (backend?.healthy?.() ?? false) {
+      return;
+    }
+    const runtime = backend?.runtime as { probeAvailability?: () => Promise<void> } | undefined;
+    if (runtime?.probeAvailability) {
+      await runtime.probeAvailability().catch(() => {});
+      if (backend?.healthy?.() ?? false) {
+        return;
+      }
+    } else if (backend && !backend.healthy) {
       return;
     }
     await sleep(250);
diff --git a/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.test.ts b/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.test.ts
index 297b1784ae3..08e79fc66c2 100644
--- a/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.test.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,22 @@ describe("generic current-conversation bindings", () => {
     ).toBeNull();
   });
 
+  it("keeps Slack current-conversation binding support when the runtime registry is empty", () => {
+    setActivePluginRegistry(createTestRegistry([]));
+
+    expect(
+      getGenericCurrentConversationBindingCapabilities({
+        channel: "slack",
+        accountId: "default",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({
+      adapterAvailable: true,
+      bindSupported: true,
+      unbindSupported: true,
+      placements: ["current"],
+    });
+  });
+
   it("reloads persisted bindings after the in-memory cache is cleared", async () => {
     const bound = await bindGenericCurrentConversation({
       targetSessionKey: "agent:codex:acp:slack-dm",
diff --git a/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.ts b/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.ts
index 0f6817d6e9f..ee8f72094aa 100644
--- a/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.ts
+++ b/src/infra/outbound/current-conversation-bindings.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ type PersistedCurrentConversationBindingsFile = {
 
 const CURRENT_BINDINGS_FILE_VERSION = 1;
 const CURRENT_BINDINGS_ID_PREFIX = "generic:";
+const FALLBACK_CURRENT_CONVERSATION_BINDING_CHANNELS = new Set(["slack"]);
 
 let bindingsLoaded = false;
 let persistPromise: Promise<void> = Promise.resolve();
@@ -132,7 +133,13 @@ function resolveChannelSupportsCurrentConversationBinding(channel: string): bool
   const plugin = getActivePluginChannelRegistry()?.channels.find((entry) =>
     matchesPluginId(entry.plugin),
   )?.plugin;
-  return plugin?.conversationBindings?.supportsCurrentConversationBinding === true;
+  if (plugin?.conversationBindings?.supportsCurrentConversationBinding === true) {
+    return true;
+  }
+  // Slack live/gateway tests intentionally skip channel startup, so there is no
+  // active runtime plugin snapshot even though the generic current-conversation
+  // path is still expected to work.
+  return FALLBACK_CURRENT_CONVERSATION_BINDING_CHANNELS.has(normalized);
 }
 
 export function getGenericCurrentConversationBindingCapabilities(params: {