fix(config): fix the issue where --es fails to start

framework/src/main/java/org/tron/core/config/args/Args.java

@@ -167,16 +167,19 @@ public static void setParam(final String[] args, final String confFileName) {
         ? cmd.shellConfFileName : confFileName;
     Config config = Configuration.getByFileName(configFilePath);
 
-    // 2. Config overrides defaults
+    // 2. Config overrides defaults (event config bean is read here but not yet applied)
     applyConfigParams(config);
 
-    // 3. CLI overrides Config (highest priority)
+    // 3. CLI overrides Config (highest priority, including --es → eventSubscribe)
     applyCLIParams(cmd, jc);
 
-    // 4. Apply platform constraints (e.g. ARM64 forces RocksDB)
+    // 4. Apply event config after CLI
+    applyEventConfig(eventConfig);
+
+    // 5. Apply platform constraints (e.g. ARM64 forces RocksDB)
     applyPlatformConstraints();
 
-    // 5. Init witness (depends on CLI witness flag)
+    // 6. Init witness (depends on CLI witness flag)
     initLocalWitnesses(config, cmd);
   }
 
@@ -217,7 +220,7 @@ private static void applyStorageConfig(StorageConfig sc) {
     PARAMETER.storage.setIndexSwitch(
         org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils.isNotEmpty(indexSwitch) ? indexSwitch : "on");
     PARAMETER.storage.setTransactionHistorySwitch(sc.getTransHistory().getSwitch());
-    // contractParse is set in applyEventConfig — it belongs to event.subscribe domain
+    // contractParse is set in applyConfigParams alongside event config, not here
     PARAMETER.storage.setCheckpointVersion(sc.getCheckpoint().getVersion());
     PARAMETER.storage.setCheckpointSync(sc.getCheckpoint().isSync());
 
@@ -343,21 +346,21 @@ private static void applyRateLimiterConfig(RateLimiterConfig rl) {
     PARAMETER.rateLimiterInitialization = initialization;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Package-private entry point only for tests
+   */
+  static void applyEventConfig() {
+    applyEventConfig(eventConfig);
+  }
+
   /**
    * Bridge EventConfig bean values to CommonParameter fields.
    * Converts EventConfig (raw bean) into EventPluginConfig and FilterQuery (business objects).
    */
   private static void applyEventConfig(EventConfig ec) {
-    PARAMETER.eventSubscribe = ec.isEnable();
-    // contractParse belongs to event.subscribe but Storage object holds it
-    PARAMETER.storage.setContractParseSwitch(ec.isContractParse());
-
-    // PARAMETER.eventPluginConfig and PARAMETER.eventFilter are only consumed by
-    // Manager.startEventSubscribing(), which itself is gated by isEventSubscribe()
-    // (= ec.isEnable()) at Manager.java:564. When subscribe is disabled, building
-    // these objects has no observable effect — skip both early so PARAMETER stays
-    // consistent with the runtime intent.
-    if (!ec.isEnable()) {
+    // cmd parameter has higher priority
+    PARAMETER.eventSubscribe = PARAMETER.eventSubscribe || ec.isEnable();
+    if (!PARAMETER.eventSubscribe) {
       return;
     }
 
@@ -770,9 +773,12 @@ public static void applyConfigParams(
 
     // node.shutdown — handled in applyNodeConfig
 
-    // Event config: bind from config.conf "event.subscribe" section
+    // Event config: read bean here; applyEventConfig() is called once in setParam()
+    // after applyCLIParams() so that --es is already reflected in eventSubscribe.
     eventConfig = EventConfig.fromConfig(config);
-    applyEventConfig(eventConfig);
+    // contractParse is event-domain but must be set from config before CLI can
+    // override it with --contract-parse-enable (which runs in applyCLIParams).
+    PARAMETER.storage.setContractParseSwitch(eventConfig.isContractParse());
 
     logConfig();
   }

framework/src/main/java/org/tron/core/net/peer/PeerConnection.java

@@ -170,7 +170,8 @@ public class PeerConnection {
 
   public void setChannel(Channel channel) {
     this.channel = channel;
-    if (relayNodes.stream().anyMatch(n -> n.getAddress().equals(channel.getInetAddress()))) {
+    if (relayNodes != null
+        && relayNodes.stream().anyMatch(n -> n.getAddress().equals(channel.getInetAddress()))) {
       this.isRelayPeer = true;
     }
     this.nodeStatistics = TronStatsManager.getNodeStatistics(channel.getInetAddress());

framework/src/test/java/org/tron/core/config/args/ArgsTest.java

@@ -344,6 +344,21 @@ public void testCliEsOverridesConfig() {
     Args.clearParam();
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Regression: when --es is the sole source of event.subscribe.enable=true
+   * (config has it disabled), eventPluginConfig must be built.
+   * Previously applyEventConfig() ran before applyCLIParams() and returned
+   * early (both flags false), leaving eventPluginConfig=null; Manager then
+   * called EventPluginLoader.start(null) and threw "Failed to load eventPlugin."
+   */
+  @Test
+  public void testCliEsBuildsEventPluginConfig() {
+    Args.setParam(new String[] {"--es"}, TestConstants.TEST_CONF);
+    Assert.assertTrue(Args.getInstance().isEventSubscribe());
+    Assert.assertNotNull(Args.getInstance().getEventPluginConfig());
+    Args.clearParam();
+  }
+
   /**
    * Verify that config file storage values are applied when no CLI override is present.
    *
@@ -454,6 +469,7 @@ public void testEventConfigDisabledSkipsEpcAndFilter() {
     Config config = ConfigFactory.parseMap(override)
         .withFallback(ConfigFactory.defaultReference());
     Args.applyConfigParams(config);
+    Args.applyEventConfig();
     Assert.assertNull(Args.getInstance().getEventPluginConfig());
     Assert.assertNull(Args.getInstance().getEventFilter());
     Args.clearParam();
@@ -467,6 +483,7 @@ public void testEventConfigEnabledBuildsEpcAndFilter() {
     Config config = ConfigFactory.parseMap(override)
         .withFallback(ConfigFactory.defaultReference());
     Args.applyConfigParams(config);
+    Args.applyEventConfig();
     Assert.assertNotNull(Args.getInstance().getEventPluginConfig());
     Assert.assertNotNull(Args.getInstance().getEventFilter());
     Args.clearParam();
@@ -481,6 +498,7 @@ public void testEventConfigEnabledWithInvalidFromBlockLeavesFilterNull() {
     Config config = ConfigFactory.parseMap(override)
         .withFallback(ConfigFactory.defaultReference());
     Args.applyConfigParams(config);
+    Args.applyEventConfig();
     // epc still built; filter rejected
     Assert.assertNotNull(Args.getInstance().getEventPluginConfig());
     Assert.assertNull(Args.getInstance().getEventFilter());

framework/src/test/java/org/tron/core/net/messagehandler/ChainInventoryMsgHandlerTest.java

@@ -3,18 +3,32 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
 import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
+import org.tron.common.TestConstants;
 import org.tron.common.utils.Pair;
 import org.tron.core.capsule.BlockCapsule.BlockId;
 import org.tron.core.config.Parameter.NetConstants;
+import org.tron.core.config.args.Args;
 import org.tron.core.exception.P2pException;
 import org.tron.core.net.message.keepalive.PingMessage;
 import org.tron.core.net.message.sync.ChainInventoryMessage;
 import org.tron.core.net.peer.PeerConnection;
 
 public class ChainInventoryMsgHandlerTest {
 
+  @BeforeClass
+  public static void init() {
+    Args.setParam(new String[]{}, TestConstants.TEST_CONF);
+  }
+
+  @AfterClass
+  public static void destroy() {
+    Args.clearParam();
+  }
+
   private ChainInventoryMsgHandler handler = new ChainInventoryMsgHandler();
   private PeerConnection peer = new PeerConnection();
   private ChainInventoryMessage msg = new ChainInventoryMessage(new ArrayList<>(), 0L);