diff --git a/agent/src/index.ts b/agent/src/index.ts
index f3ae5f04b3..683a7bcf2c 100644
--- a/agent/src/index.ts
+++ b/agent/src/index.ts
@@ -371,12 +371,7 @@ export async function createAgent(
         character.name
     );
 
-    nodePlugin ??= (
-        getSecret(character, "AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID") &&
-        getSecret(character, "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY") &&
-        getSecret(character, "AWS_REGION") &&
-        getSecret(character, "AWS_S3_BUCKET")
-    ) ? createNodePlugin() : undefined;
+    nodePlugin ??= createNodePlugin();
 
     const teeMode = getSecret(character, "TEE_MODE") || "OFF";
     const walletSecretSalt = getSecret(character, "WALLET_SECRET_SALT");
diff --git a/packages/plugin-node/src/environment.ts b/packages/plugin-node/src/environment.ts
index 5d30bb93ed..ef524d03a3 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-node/src/environment.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-node/src/environment.ts
@@ -71,6 +71,15 @@ export async function validateNodeConfig(
             // VITS settings
             VITS_VOICE: voiceSettings?.model || process.env.VITS_VOICE,
             VITS_MODEL: process.env.VITS_MODEL,
+
+            // AWS settings (only include if present)
+            ...(runtime.getSetting("AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID") && {
+                AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: runtime.getSetting("AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID"),
+                AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: runtime.getSetting("AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"),
+                AWS_REGION: runtime.getSetting("AWS_REGION"),
+                AWS_S3_BUCKET: runtime.getSetting("AWS_S3_BUCKET"),
+                AWS_S3_UPLOAD_PATH: runtime.getSetting("AWS_S3_UPLOAD_PATH"),
+            }),
         };
 
         return nodeEnvSchema.parse(config);
diff --git a/packages/plugin-node/src/services/awsS3.ts b/packages/plugin-node/src/services/awsS3.ts
index 16a50e13a3..57600ada5b 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-node/src/services/awsS3.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-node/src/services/awsS3.ts
@@ -26,32 +26,28 @@ interface JsonUploadResult extends UploadResult {
 export class AwsS3Service extends Service implements IAwsS3Service {
     static serviceType: ServiceType = ServiceType.AWS_S3;
 
-    private s3Client: S3Client;
-    private bucket: string;
-    private fileUploadPath: string;
-    getInstance(): IAwsS3Service {
-        return AwsS3Service.getInstance();
-    }
+    private s3Client: S3Client | null = null;
+    private bucket: string = '';
+    private fileUploadPath: string = '';
     private runtime: IAgentRuntime | null = null;
 
     async initialize(runtime: IAgentRuntime): Promise<void> {
         console.log("Initializing AwsS3Service");
         this.runtime = runtime;
-        const AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = runtime.getSetting("AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID");
-        const AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = runtime.getSetting(
-            "AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
-        );
-        const AWS_REGION = runtime.getSetting("AWS_REGION");
-        const AWS_S3_BUCKET = runtime.getSetting("AWS_S3_BUCKET");
-        if (
-            !AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID ||
-            !AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY ||
-            !AWS_REGION ||
-            !AWS_S3_BUCKET
-        ) {
-            throw new Error(
-                "Missing required AWS credentials in environment variables"
-            );
+        this.fileUploadPath = runtime.getSetting("AWS_S3_UPLOAD_PATH") ?? "";
+    }
+
+    private async initializeS3Client(): Promise<boolean> {
+        if (this.s3Client) return true;
+        if (!this.runtime) return false;
+
+        const AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = this.runtime.getSetting("AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID");
+        const AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = this.runtime.getSetting("AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY");
+        const AWS_REGION = this.runtime.getSetting("AWS_REGION");
+        const AWS_S3_BUCKET = this.runtime.getSetting("AWS_S3_BUCKET");
+
+        if (!AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID || !AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY || !AWS_REGION || !AWS_S3_BUCKET) {
+            return false;
         }
 
         this.s3Client = new S3Client({
@@ -61,8 +57,8 @@ export class AwsS3Service extends Service implements IAwsS3Service {
                 secretAccessKey: AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
             },
         });
-        this.fileUploadPath = runtime.getSetting("AWS_S3_UPLOAD_PATH") ?? "";
         this.bucket = AWS_S3_BUCKET;
+        return true;
     }
 
     async uploadFile(
@@ -71,6 +67,13 @@ export class AwsS3Service extends Service implements IAwsS3Service {
         expiresIn: number = 900
     ): Promise<UploadResult> {
         try {
+            if (!await this.initializeS3Client()) {
+                return {
+                    success: false,
+                    error: "AWS S3 credentials not configured",
+                };
+            }
+
             if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) {
                 return {
                     success: false,
@@ -120,10 +123,7 @@ export class AwsS3Service extends Service implements IAwsS3Service {
         } catch (error) {
             return {
                 success: false,
-                error:
-                    error instanceof Error
-                        ? error.message
-                        : "Unknown error occurred",
+                error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : "Unknown error occurred",
             };
         }
     }
@@ -135,6 +135,10 @@ export class AwsS3Service extends Service implements IAwsS3Service {
         fileName: string,
         expiresIn: number = 900
     ): Promise<string> {
+        if (!await this.initializeS3Client()) {
+            throw new Error("AWS S3 credentials not configured");
+        }
+
         const command = new GetObjectCommand({
             Bucket: this.bucket,
             Key: fileName,
@@ -171,6 +175,13 @@ export class AwsS3Service extends Service implements IAwsS3Service {
         expiresIn: number = 900
     ): Promise<JsonUploadResult> {
         try {
+            if (!await this.initializeS3Client()) {
+                return {
+                    success: false,
+                    error: "AWS S3 credentials not configured",
+                };
+            }
+
             // Validate input
             if (!jsonData) {
                 return {