fix(FN-2698): load plugins during CLI runtime startup

- Load configured plugins during dashboard startup before launching the UI flow
- Load plugins during serve and daemon startup so runtime hooks are available immediately
- Add targeted CLI command tests for dashboard, serve, and daemon auto-load behavior at startup
- Add a changeset documenting the plugin runtime startup fix for @runfusion/fusion

.changeset/fix-plugin-runtime-startup.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@runfusion/fusion": patch
+---
+
+Load enabled plugins during dashboard, serve, and daemon startup so plugin runtimes are available to agent runtime selection immediately after boot.

packages/cli/src/commands/__tests__/daemon.test.ts

@@ -255,6 +255,7 @@ const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => {
   const pluginLoaderCtor = vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => {
     const pluginLoader = {
       loadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      loadAllPlugins: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ loaded: 0, errors: 0 }),
       stopPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
       reloadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
       getPluginRoutes: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
@@ -647,6 +648,39 @@ describe("runDaemon", () => {
     await triggerSignal("SIGINT");
   });
 
+  it("auto-loads installed plugins during startup", async () => {
+    const { PluginLoader } = await import("@fusion/core");
+
+    await runDaemon({});
+
+    const loaderInstance = (PluginLoader as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.results[0]?.value as
+      | { loadAllPlugins: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> }
+      | undefined;
+    expect(loaderInstance?.loadAllPlugins).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    await triggerSignal("SIGINT");
+  });
+
+  it("continues startup when plugin auto-load fails", async () => {
+    const { PluginLoader } = await import("@fusion/core");
+    (PluginLoader as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockImplementationOnce(() => ({
+      loadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      loadAllPlugins: vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error("plugin load failed")),
+      stopPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      reloadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      getPluginRoutes: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+      getPlugin: vi.fn(),
+      getLoadedPlugins: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+    }));
+
+    await expect(runDaemon({})).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    expect(errorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining("[plugins] Failed to load plugins: plugin load failed")
+    );
+
+    await triggerSignal("SIGINT");
+  });
+
   it("passes provided token to createServer daemon option", async () => {
     const providedToken = "fn_custom_token_1234567890123456";
 

packages/cli/src/commands/__tests__/dashboard.test.ts

@@ -1990,6 +1990,54 @@ describe("runDashboard — --dev mode", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("runDashboard — plugin auto-load", () => {
+  let mockStore: ReturnType<typeof makeMockStore>;
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    resetGitHubMocks();
+    mockStore = makeMockStore();
+    const { TaskStore } = await import("@fusion/core");
+    (TaskStore as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockImplementation(() => mockStore);
+  });
+
+  it("auto-loads installed plugins during startup", async () => {
+    const { PluginLoader } = await import("@fusion/core");
+
+    await runDashboard(0, { open: false });
+
+    const loaderInstance = (PluginLoader as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.results[0]?.value as
+      | { loadAllPlugins: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> }
+      | undefined;
+    expect(loaderInstance?.loadAllPlugins).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("continues startup when plugin auto-load fails", async () => {
+    const { PluginLoader } = await import("@fusion/core");
+    (PluginLoader as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockImplementationOnce(() => {
+      const emitter = new EventEmitter();
+      return {
+        loadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+        loadAllPlugins: vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error("plugin load failed")),
+        stopPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+        reloadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+        getPluginRoutes: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+        getPlugin: vi.fn(),
+        getLoadedPlugins: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+        on: vi.fn((event: string, handler: (...args: unknown[]) => void) => {
+          emitter.on(event, handler);
+        }),
+        off: vi.fn((event: string, handler: (...args: unknown[]) => void) => {
+          emitter.off(event, handler);
+        }),
+        emit: emitter.emit.bind(emitter),
+      };
+    });
+
+    await expect(runDashboard(0, { open: false })).resolves.toBeDefined();
+  });
+});
+
 describe("runDashboard — merge conflict retry logic", () => {
   let mockStore: ReturnType<typeof makeMockStore>;
   let consoleSpy: ReturnType<typeof vi.spyOn>;

packages/cli/src/commands/__tests__/serve.test.ts

@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ const mocks = vi.hoisted(() => {
   const pluginLoaderCtor = vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => {
     const pluginLoader = {
       loadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      loadAllPlugins: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ loaded: 0, errors: 0 }),
       stopPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
       reloadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
       getPluginRoutes: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
@@ -892,6 +893,41 @@ describe("runServe — Plugin wiring", () => {
     await triggerSignal("SIGINT");
   });
 
+  it("auto-loads installed plugins during startup", async () => {
+    const { PluginLoader } = await import("@fusion/core");
+
+    await runServe(4040, {});
+
+    const loaderInstance = (PluginLoader as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mock.results[0]?.value as
+      | { loadAllPlugins: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn> }
+      | undefined;
+    expect(loaderInstance?.loadAllPlugins).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    await triggerSignal("SIGINT");
+  });
+
+  it("continues startup when plugin auto-load fails", async () => {
+    const { PluginLoader } = await import("@fusion/core");
+    const errorSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => {});
+    (PluginLoader as unknown as ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>).mockImplementationOnce(() => ({
+      loadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      loadAllPlugins: vi.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error("plugin load failed")),
+      stopPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      reloadPlugin: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined),
+      getPluginRoutes: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+      getPlugin: vi.fn(),
+      getLoadedPlugins: vi.fn().mockReturnValue([]),
+    }));
+
+    await expect(runServe(4040, {})).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+    expect(errorSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining("[plugins] Failed to load plugins: plugin load failed")
+    );
+
+    await triggerSignal("SIGINT");
+    errorSpy.mockRestore();
+  });
+
   it("includes plugin wiring in headless server", async () => {
     const { createServer } = await import("@fusion/dashboard");
 

packages/cli/src/commands/daemon.ts

@@ -369,6 +369,17 @@ export async function runDaemon(opts: DaemonOptions = {}) {
     taskStore: store,
   });
 
+  // Auto-load all enabled plugins so runtime UI (NewAgentDialog, AgentDetailView)
+  // can discover installed runtimes like Hermes and OpenClaw.
+  try {
+    const { loaded, errors } = await pluginLoader.loadAllPlugins();
+    console.log(`[plugins] Loaded ${loaded} plugins (${errors} errors)`);
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error(
+      `[plugins] Failed to load plugins: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`
+    );
+  }
+
   // Get subsystems from the cwd engine for the HTTP layer
   const heartbeatMonitor = cwdEngine.getRuntime().getHeartbeatMonitor();
   const missionAutopilot = cwdEngine.getRuntime().getMissionAutopilot();

packages/cli/src/commands/dashboard.ts

@@ -1023,6 +1023,18 @@ export async function runDashboard(port: number, opts: { paused?: boolean; dev?:
     taskStore: store,
   });
 
+  // Auto-load all enabled plugins so runtime UI (NewAgentDialog, AgentDetailView)
+  // can discover installed runtimes like Hermes and OpenClaw.
+  try {
+    const { loaded, errors } = await pluginLoader.loadAllPlugins();
+    logSink.log(`Loaded ${loaded} plugins (${errors} errors)`, "plugins");
+  } catch (err) {
+    logSink.log(
+      `Failed to load plugins: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`,
+      "plugins"
+    );
+  }
+
   // ── HeartbeatMonitor + HeartbeatTriggerScheduler ──────────────────────
   //
   // In non-dev mode: obtained from ProjectEngine after engine.start(), which

packages/cli/src/commands/serve.ts

@@ -422,6 +422,17 @@ export async function runServe(
     taskStore: store,
   });
 
+  // Auto-load all enabled plugins so runtime UI (NewAgentDialog, AgentDetailView)
+  // can discover installed runtimes like Hermes and OpenClaw.
+  try {
+    const { loaded, errors } = await pluginLoader.loadAllPlugins();
+    console.log(`[plugins] Loaded ${loaded} plugins (${errors} errors)`);
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.error(
+      `[plugins] Failed to load plugins: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : err}`
+    );
+  }
+
   // Get subsystems from the cwd engine for the HTTP layer
   const heartbeatMonitor = cwdEngine.getRuntime().getHeartbeatMonitor();
   const missionAutopilot = cwdEngine.getRuntime().getMissionAutopilot();