diff --git a/src/cli/gateway.sigterm.test.ts b/src/cli/gateway.sigterm.test.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 6a4df1db75f..00000000000
--- a/src/cli/gateway.sigterm.test.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, it } from "vitest";
-
-describe("gateway SIGTERM", () => {
-  it.skip("covered by runGatewayLoop signal tests in src/cli/gateway-cli/run-loop.test.ts", () => {
-    // Kept as a placeholder to document why the old child-process integration
-    // case was retired: it duplicated run-loop signal coverage at high runtime cost.
-  });
-});
diff --git a/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.bot-self-filter.test.ts b/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.bot-self-filter.test.ts
index b3442f89618..7f5b2276987 100644
--- a/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.bot-self-filter.test.ts
+++ b/src/discord/monitor/message-handler.bot-self-filter.test.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,20 @@
-import { describe, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/types.js";
-import { createDiscordMessageHandler } from "./message-handler.js";
 import { createNoopThreadBindingManager } from "./thread-bindings.js";
 
+const preflightDiscordMessageMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+const processDiscordMessageMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+
+vi.mock("./message-handler.preflight.js", () => ({
+  preflightDiscordMessage: preflightDiscordMessageMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./message-handler.process.js", () => ({
+  processDiscordMessage: processDiscordMessageMock,
+}));
+
+const { createDiscordMessageHandler } = await import("./message-handler.js");
+
 const BOT_USER_ID = "bot-123";
 
 function createHandlerParams(overrides?: Partial<{ botUserId: string }>) {
@@ -14,6 +26,11 @@ function createHandlerParams(overrides?: Partial<{ botUserId: string }>) {
         groupPolicy: "allowlist",
       },
     },
+    messages: {
+      inbound: {
+        debounceMs: 0,
+      },
+    },
   };
   return {
     cfg,
@@ -39,35 +56,74 @@ function createHandlerParams(overrides?: Partial<{ botUserId: string }>) {
   };
 }
 
-function createMessageData(authorId: string) {
+function createMessageData(authorId: string, channelId = "ch-1") {
   return {
+    author: { id: authorId, bot: authorId === BOT_USER_ID },
     message: {
       id: "msg-1",
       author: { id: authorId, bot: authorId === BOT_USER_ID },
       content: "hello",
-      channel_id: "ch-1",
+      channel_id: channelId,
     },
-    channel_id: "ch-1",
+    channel_id: channelId,
+  };
+}
+
+function createPreflightContext(channelId = "ch-1") {
+  return {
+    data: {
+      channel_id: channelId,
+      message: {
+        id: `msg-${channelId}`,
+        channel_id: channelId,
+        attachments: [],
+      },
+    },
+    message: {
+      id: `msg-${channelId}`,
+      channel_id: channelId,
+      attachments: [],
+    },
+    route: {
+      sessionKey: `agent:main:discord:channel:${channelId}`,
+    },
+    baseSessionKey: `agent:main:discord:channel:${channelId}`,
+    messageChannelId: channelId,
   };
 }
 
 describe("createDiscordMessageHandler bot-self filter", () => {
-  it("skips bot-own messages before debouncer", async () => {
+  it("skips bot-own messages before the debounce queue", async () => {
+    preflightDiscordMessageMock.mockReset();
+    processDiscordMessageMock.mockReset();
+
     const handler = createDiscordMessageHandler(createHandlerParams());
-    await handler(createMessageData(BOT_USER_ID) as never, {} as never);
+
+    await expect(
+      handler(createMessageData(BOT_USER_ID) as never, {} as never),
+    ).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+
+    expect(preflightDiscordMessageMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(processDiscordMessageMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
-  it("processes messages from other users", async () => {
+  it("enqueues non-bot messages for processing", async () => {
+    preflightDiscordMessageMock.mockReset();
+    processDiscordMessageMock.mockReset();
+    preflightDiscordMessageMock.mockImplementation(
+      async (params: { data: { channel_id: string } }) =>
+        createPreflightContext(params.data.channel_id),
+    );
+
     const handler = createDiscordMessageHandler(createHandlerParams());
-    try {
-      await handler(
-        createMessageData("user-456") as never,
-        {
-          fetchChannel: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(null),
-        } as never,
-      );
-    } catch {
-      // Expected: pipeline fails without full mock, but it passed the filter.
-    }
+
+    await expect(
+      handler(createMessageData("user-456") as never, {} as never),
+    ).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+
+    await vi.waitFor(() => {
+      expect(preflightDiscordMessageMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(processDiscordMessageMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
   });
 });