diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/embeddings.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/embeddings.ts
index 6740057dde8e..636a7f1a0c90 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/embeddings.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/embeddings.ts
@@ -158,6 +158,17 @@ export function resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterId(
   }
 }
 
+export function resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterTransport(
+  providerId: string,
+  config?: MemoryEmbeddingProviderCreateOptions["config"],
+): MemoryEmbeddingProviderAdapter["transport"] {
+  try {
+    return getAdapter(providerId, config).transport;
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}
+
 async function createWithAdapter(
   adapter: MemoryEmbeddingProviderAdapter,
   options: CreateEmbeddingProviderOptions,
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/index.test.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/index.test.ts
index f144043b50be..038f1f6635c2 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/index.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/index.test.ts
@@ -68,6 +68,8 @@ vi.mock("./embeddings.js", () => {
         };
       },
     ) => config?.models?.providers?.[providerId]?.api ?? providerId,
+    resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterTransport: (providerId: string) =>
+      providerId === "local" ? "local" : "remote",
     createEmbeddingProvider: async (options: {
       provider?: string;
       model?: string;
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager-sync-yield.test.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager-sync-yield.test.ts
index 867b01a6db02..14ac277783b0 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager-sync-yield.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager-sync-yield.test.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ vi.mock("openclaw/plugin-sdk/memory-core-host-engine-qmd", () => {
 
 vi.mock("./embeddings.js", () => ({
   resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterId: (providerId: string) => providerId,
+  resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterTransport: (providerId: string) =>
+    providerId === "local" ? "local" : "remote",
   createEmbeddingProvider: vi.fn(),
 }));
 
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.fts-only-reindex.test.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.fts-only-reindex.test.ts
index 550e93884c8b..add000afb38f 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.fts-only-reindex.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.fts-only-reindex.test.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ const createEmbeddingProviderMock = vi.hoisted(() =>
 vi.mock("./embeddings.js", () => ({
   createEmbeddingProvider: createEmbeddingProviderMock,
   resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterId: (providerId: string) => providerId,
+  resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterTransport: (providerId: string) =>
+    providerId === "local" ? "local" : "remote",
   resolveEmbeddingProviderFallbackModel: () => "fts-only",
 }));
 
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.ts
index f0dde8571dc4..60eedf7fff2e 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.ts
@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@ import {
   type MemorySource,
   type MemorySyncProgressUpdate,
 } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/memory-core-host-engine-storage";
+import { normalizeAgentId } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/routing";
 import { uniqueValues } from "openclaw/plugin-sdk/string-coerce-runtime";
 import {
   createEmbeddingProvider,
+  resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterTransport,
   type EmbeddingProvider,
   type EmbeddingProviderId,
   type EmbeddingProviderRequest,
@@ -71,6 +73,11 @@ const MEMORY_INDEX_MANAGER_CACHE_KEY = Symbol.for("openclaw.memoryIndexManagerCa
 export const EMBEDDING_PROBE_CACHE_TTL_MS = 30_000;
 const log = createSubsystemLogger("memory");
 type MemoryIndexManagerPurpose = "default" | "status" | "cli";
+type MemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement = {
+  mode: "fts-only" | "optional" | "required";
+  provider: string;
+  configuredProvider?: string;
+};
 
 const { cache: INDEX_CACHE, pending: INDEX_CACHE_PENDING } =
   resolveSingletonManagedCache<MemoryIndexManager>(MEMORY_INDEX_MANAGER_CACHE_KEY);
@@ -103,7 +110,18 @@ export async function closeMemoryIndexManagersForAgent(params: {
     return;
   }
   const workspaceDir = resolveAgentWorkspaceDir(params.cfg, params.agentId);
-  const key = `${params.agentId}:${workspaceDir}:${JSON.stringify(settings)}:default`;
+  const providerRequirement = resolveMemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement({
+    cfg: params.cfg,
+    agentId: params.agentId,
+    settings,
+  });
+  const key = resolveMemoryIndexManagerCacheKey({
+    agentId: params.agentId,
+    workspaceDir,
+    settings,
+    providerRequirement,
+    purpose: "default",
+  });
   const pending = INDEX_CACHE_PENDING.get(key);
   if (pending) {
     await Promise.allSettled([pending]);
@@ -138,6 +156,56 @@ function resolveEffectiveMemorySearchSettings(
   };
 }
 
+function resolveConfiguredMemoryEmbeddingProvider(params: {
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+  agentId: string;
+}): string | undefined {
+  const normalizedAgentId = normalizeAgentId(params.agentId);
+  const agentEntry = params.cfg.agents?.list?.find(
+    (entry) => entry && normalizeAgentId(entry.id) === normalizedAgentId,
+  );
+  return agentEntry?.memorySearch?.provider ?? params.cfg.agents?.defaults?.memorySearch?.provider;
+}
+
+function resolveMemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement(params: {
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+  agentId: string;
+  settings: ResolvedMemorySearchConfig;
+}): MemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement {
+  const configuredProvider = resolveConfiguredMemoryEmbeddingProvider(params)?.trim();
+  if (params.settings.provider === "none" || configuredProvider === "none") {
+    return { mode: "fts-only", provider: params.settings.provider };
+  }
+  const adapterTransport = resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterTransport(
+    params.settings.provider,
+    params.cfg,
+  );
+  if (!configuredProvider || configuredProvider === "auto" || adapterTransport === "local") {
+    return { mode: "optional", provider: params.settings.provider };
+  }
+  return {
+    mode: "required",
+    provider: params.settings.provider,
+    configuredProvider,
+  };
+}
+
+function resolveMemoryIndexManagerCacheKey(params: {
+  agentId: string;
+  workspaceDir: string;
+  settings: ResolvedMemorySearchConfig;
+  providerRequirement: MemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement;
+  purpose: MemoryIndexManagerPurpose;
+}): string {
+  return [
+    params.agentId,
+    params.workspaceDir,
+    JSON.stringify(params.settings),
+    JSON.stringify(params.providerRequirement),
+    params.purpose,
+  ].join(":");
+}
+
 export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements MemorySearchManager {
   private readonly cacheKey: string;
   private readonly purpose: MemoryIndexManagerPurpose;
@@ -145,6 +213,7 @@ export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements Mem
   protected readonly agentId: string;
   protected readonly workspaceDir: string;
   protected readonly settings: ResolvedMemorySearchConfig;
+  private readonly providerRequirement: MemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement;
   protected override provider: EmbeddingProvider | null;
   private readonly requestedProvider: EmbeddingProviderRequest;
   private providerInitPromise: Promise<void> | null = null;
@@ -237,7 +306,18 @@ export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements Mem
     const workspaceDir = resolveAgentWorkspaceDir(cfg, agentId);
     const purpose =
       params.purpose === "status" || params.purpose === "cli" ? params.purpose : "default";
-    const key = `${agentId}:${workspaceDir}:${JSON.stringify(settings)}:${purpose}`;
+    const providerRequirement = resolveMemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement({
+      cfg,
+      agentId,
+      settings,
+    });
+    const key = resolveMemoryIndexManagerCacheKey({
+      agentId,
+      workspaceDir,
+      settings,
+      providerRequirement,
+      purpose,
+    });
     const transient = purpose === "status" || purpose === "cli";
     return await getOrCreateManagedCacheEntry({
       cache: INDEX_CACHE,
@@ -251,6 +331,7 @@ export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements Mem
           agentId,
           workspaceDir,
           settings,
+          providerRequirement,
           purpose: params.purpose,
         }),
     });
@@ -262,6 +343,7 @@ export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements Mem
     agentId: string;
     workspaceDir: string;
     settings: ResolvedMemorySearchConfig;
+    providerRequirement: MemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement;
     providerResult?: EmbeddingProviderResult;
     purpose?: MemoryIndexManagerPurpose;
   }) {
@@ -274,6 +356,7 @@ export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements Mem
     this.agentId = params.agentId;
     this.workspaceDir = params.workspaceDir;
     this.settings = effectiveSettings;
+    this.providerRequirement = params.providerRequirement;
     this.provider = null;
     this.requestedProvider = effectiveSettings.provider;
     this.providerLifecycle = createPendingMemoryProviderLifecycle(this.requestedProvider);
@@ -412,7 +495,7 @@ export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements Mem
 
   protected isRequiredProviderUnavailable(): boolean {
     return (
-      this.settings.providerRequirement.mode === "required" &&
+      this.providerRequirement.mode === "required" &&
       !this.provider &&
       this.providerLifecycle.mode === "fts-only" &&
       this.providerLifecycle.attemptedProviderId === this.settings.provider
@@ -495,7 +578,7 @@ export class MemoryIndexManager extends MemoryManagerEmbeddingOps implements Mem
     },
   ): Promise<MemorySearchResult[]> {
     opts?.onDebug?.({ backend: "builtin" });
-    if (this.settings.providerRequirement.mode === "required") {
+    if (this.providerRequirement.mode === "required") {
       await this.ensureProviderInitialized();
       this.assertRequiredProviderAvailable("search");
     }
diff --git a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.watcher-config.test.ts b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.watcher-config.test.ts
index 3a0e15fdf64d..6658191892f5 100644
--- a/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.watcher-config.test.ts
+++ b/extensions/memory-core/src/memory/manager.watcher-config.test.ts
@@ -140,6 +140,8 @@ vi.mock("./sqlite-vec.js", () => ({
 
 vi.mock("./embeddings.js", () => ({
   resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterId: (providerId: string) => providerId,
+  resolveEmbeddingProviderAdapterTransport: (providerId: string) =>
+    providerId === "local" ? "local" : "remote",
   createEmbeddingProvider: async () => ({
     requestedProvider: "openai",
     provider: {
diff --git a/src/agents/memory-search.test.ts b/src/agents/memory-search.test.ts
index 316aa85305e9..da5ecabad95a 100644
--- a/src/agents/memory-search.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/memory-search.test.ts
@@ -204,7 +204,6 @@ describe("memory search config", () => {
     expect(resolved?.provider).toBe("openai");
     expect(resolved?.model).toBe("text-embedding-3-small");
     expect(resolved?.fallback).toBe("none");
-    expect(resolved?.providerRequirement).toEqual({ mode: "optional", provider: "openai" });
   });
 
   it("normalizes legacy auto provider config to openai", () => {
@@ -212,29 +211,24 @@ describe("memory search config", () => {
 
     expect(resolved?.provider).toBe("openai");
     expect(resolved?.model).toBe("text-embedding-3-small");
-    expect(resolved?.providerRequirement).toEqual({ mode: "optional", provider: "openai" });
   });
 
-  it("marks explicit concrete providers as required", () => {
+  it("resolves explicit concrete providers", () => {
     const resolved = resolveMemorySearchConfig(configWithDefaultProvider("openai"), "main");
 
-    expect(resolved?.providerRequirement).toEqual({
-      mode: "required",
-      provider: "openai",
-      configuredProvider: "openai",
-    });
+    expect(resolved?.provider).toBe("openai");
   });
 
-  it("keeps explicit local providers optional so local degradation can fall back", () => {
+  it("resolves explicit local providers", () => {
     const resolved = resolveMemorySearchConfig(configWithDefaultProvider("local"), "main");
 
-    expect(resolved?.providerRequirement).toEqual({ mode: "optional", provider: "local" });
+    expect(resolved?.provider).toBe("local");
   });
 
-  it("marks explicit provider-none as fts-only", () => {
+  it("resolves explicit provider-none", () => {
     const resolved = resolveMemorySearchConfig(configWithDefaultProvider("none"), "main");
 
-    expect(resolved?.providerRequirement).toEqual({ mode: "fts-only", provider: "none" });
+    expect(resolved?.provider).toBe("none");
   });
 
   it("resolves custom provider ids through their configured api owner", () => {
diff --git a/src/agents/memory-search.ts b/src/agents/memory-search.ts
index b9d835aab81d..1baf5c56c91b 100644
--- a/src/agents/memory-search.ts
+++ b/src/agents/memory-search.ts
@@ -34,11 +34,6 @@ export type ResolvedMemorySearchConfig = {
   extraPaths: string[];
   multimodal: MemoryMultimodalSettings;
   provider: string;
-  providerRequirement: {
-    mode: "fts-only" | "optional" | "required";
-    provider: string;
-    configuredProvider?: string;
-  };
   remote?: {
     baseUrl?: string;
     apiKey?: SecretInput;
@@ -213,21 +208,6 @@ function getConfiguredMemoryEmbeddingProvider(
   return getMemoryEmbeddingProvider(normalizedOwner);
 }
 
-function resolveMemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement(
-  rawProvider: string | undefined,
-  provider: string,
-  adapterTransport?: "local" | "remote",
-): ResolvedMemorySearchConfig["providerRequirement"] {
-  const configuredProvider = rawProvider?.trim();
-  if (configuredProvider === "none") {
-    return { mode: "fts-only", provider };
-  }
-  if (!configuredProvider || configuredProvider === "auto" || adapterTransport === "local") {
-    return { mode: "optional", provider };
-  }
-  return { mode: "required", provider, configuredProvider };
-}
-
 function mergeConfig(
   cfg: OpenClawConfig,
   defaults: MemorySearchConfig | undefined,
@@ -405,11 +385,6 @@ function mergeConfig(
     extraPaths,
     multimodal,
     provider,
-    providerRequirement: resolveMemoryEmbeddingProviderRequirement(
-      rawProvider,
-      provider,
-      primaryAdapter?.transport,
-    ),
     remote,
     experimental: {
       sessionMemory,