diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 60ec3103..3b3c06bd 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- API: keep publish-time Plugin Inspector target preparation inside its disposable workspace when hosted runtimes expose an unusable home directory.
 - API: keep older code-plugin and Claw backports from replacing the highest-semver `latest` release while preserving custom distribution tags.
 - Integrations: truncate publisher-controlled Discord webhook titles to the platform's 256-character embed limit.
 - Security: recover scheduled temporal publisher-abuse scans from strict Convex payload validation failures without leaving zombie running runs (thanks @jesse-merhi).
diff --git a/convex/openclaw-plugin-inspector.d.ts b/convex/openclaw-plugin-inspector.d.ts
index 59c63806..7abe5a7f 100644
--- a/convex/openclaw-plugin-inspector.d.ts
+++ b/convex/openclaw-plugin-inspector.d.ts
@@ -26,9 +26,15 @@ declare module "@openclaw/plugin-inspector" {
       allowExecution?: boolean;
       configPath?: string;
       generatedAt?: string;
+      targetOpenClaw?: unknown;
     }): Promise<{ report: PluginInspectorReport; paths: PluginInspectorPaths }>;
   };
 
+  export const openClawTargets: {
+    resolveVersion(requestedVersion: string): Promise<unknown>;
+    prepare(resolvedTarget: unknown, options?: { cacheDir?: string }): Promise<unknown>;
+  };
+
   export const reports: {
     renderTextSummary(report: PluginInspectorReport, options?: Record<string, unknown>): string;
     sanitizeArtifact(report: PluginInspectorReport): unknown;
diff --git a/convex/packageInspectorNode.test.ts b/convex/packageInspectorNode.test.ts
index cf726724..e3f70761 100644
--- a/convex/packageInspectorNode.test.ts
+++ b/convex/packageInspectorNode.test.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 /* @vitest-environment node */
 
 import path from "node:path";
-import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import {
   buildPublishInspectorRunCheckOptions,
   createPackageInspectorWorkspace,
   normalizeInspectorReportForPublish,
+  preparePublishInspectorOpenClawTarget,
 } from "./packageInspectorNode";
 
 const originalPlatform = process.platform;
@@ -60,12 +61,37 @@ describe("package inspector publish normalization", () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it("targets latest stable OpenClaw for publish-time inspection", () => {
-    expect(buildPublishInspectorRunCheckOptions("/tmp/plugin", "2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z")).toEqual(
+  it("prepares latest stable OpenClaw with a cache outside the inspected package", async () => {
+    const resolvedTarget = { version: "2026.7.0" };
+    const preparedTarget = { status: "ok", version: "2026.7.0" };
+    const resolveVersion = vi.fn(async () => resolvedTarget);
+    const prepare = vi.fn(async () => preparedTarget);
+
+    await expect(
+      preparePublishInspectorOpenClawTarget("/tmp/plugin", { resolveVersion, prepare }),
+    ).resolves.toBe(preparedTarget);
+    expect(resolveVersion).toHaveBeenCalledWith("latest");
+    expect(prepare).toHaveBeenCalledWith(resolvedTarget, {
+      cacheDir: path.join("/tmp/plugin", ".plugin-inspector-cache"),
+    });
+    expect(path.join("/tmp/plugin", ".plugin-inspector-cache")).not.toContain(
+      path.join("/tmp/plugin", "package") + path.sep,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("uses the prepared OpenClaw target for publish-time inspection", () => {
+    const targetOpenClaw = { status: "ok", version: "2026.7.0" };
+    expect(
+      buildPublishInspectorRunCheckOptions(
+        "/tmp/plugin",
+        "2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z",
+        targetOpenClaw,
+      ),
+    ).toEqual(
       expect.objectContaining({
         pluginRoot: "/tmp/plugin",
         openclawPath: false,
-        openclawVersion: "latest",
+        targetOpenClaw,
         authorFacing: true,
       }),
     );
diff --git a/convex/packageInspectorNode.ts b/convex/packageInspectorNode.ts
index ce0b16a2..a7981b4b 100644
--- a/convex/packageInspectorNode.ts
+++ b/convex/packageInspectorNode.ts
@@ -130,11 +130,32 @@ const inspectorMetadataValidator = v.object({
   targetOpenClawVersion: v.optional(v.string()),
 });
 
-export function buildPublishInspectorRunCheckOptions(root: string, generatedAt: string) {
+export async function preparePublishInspectorOpenClawTarget<ResolvedTarget, PreparedTarget>(
+  root: string,
+  targets: {
+    resolveVersion: (requestedVersion: string) => Promise<ResolvedTarget>;
+    prepare: (
+      resolvedTarget: ResolvedTarget,
+      options: { cacheDir: string },
+    ) => Promise<PreparedTarget>;
+  },
+) {
+  const resolvedTarget = await targets.resolveVersion("latest");
+  return await targets.prepare(resolvedTarget, {
+    // The dependency defaults to os.homedir(), which can be unusable in serverless runtimes.
+    cacheDir: path.join(root, ".plugin-inspector-cache"),
+  });
+}
+
+export function buildPublishInspectorRunCheckOptions(
+  root: string,
+  generatedAt: string,
+  targetOpenClaw: unknown,
+) {
   return {
     pluginRoot: root,
     openclawPath: false,
-    openclawVersion: "latest",
+    targetOpenClaw,
     outDir: "reports",
     capture: false,
     mockSdk: true,
@@ -187,9 +208,11 @@ export const runPackageInspectorForPublishInternal = internalAction({
     metadata: inspectorMetadataValidator,
   }),
   handler: async (ctx, args) => {
-    let root: string | undefined;
+    let workspaceRoot: string | undefined;
     try {
-      root = await createPackageInspectorWorkspace();
+      workspaceRoot = await createPackageInspectorWorkspace();
+      const root = path.join(workspaceRoot, "package");
+      await mkdir(root, { recursive: true });
       for (const file of args.files) {
         const blob = await ctx.storage.get(file.storageId);
         if (!blob) {
@@ -201,8 +224,16 @@ export const runPackageInspectorForPublishInternal = internalAction({
       }
       await writeSyntheticInspectorConfigIfNeeded(root, args.files, args.packageName);
 
-      const { pluginRoot } = await import("@openclaw/plugin-inspector");
-      const runCheckOptions = buildPublishInspectorRunCheckOptions(root, new Date().toISOString());
+      const { openClawTargets, pluginRoot } = await import("@openclaw/plugin-inspector");
+      const targetOpenClaw = await preparePublishInspectorOpenClawTarget(
+        workspaceRoot,
+        openClawTargets,
+      );
+      const runCheckOptions = buildPublishInspectorRunCheckOptions(
+        root,
+        new Date().toISOString(),
+        targetOpenClaw,
+      );
       const { report } = await pluginRoot.runCheck(runCheckOptions);
 
       return normalizeInspectorReportForPublish(report);
@@ -230,8 +261,8 @@ export const runPackageInspectorForPublishInternal = internalAction({
         },
       };
     } finally {
-      if (root) {
-        await rm(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      if (workspaceRoot) {
+        await rm(workspaceRoot, { recursive: true, force: true });
       }
     }
   },