diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/get-secrets-from-user.ts b/src/resources/extensions/get-secrets-from-user.ts
index 9ff6cbb03..300852305 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/get-secrets-from-user.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/get-secrets-from-user.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,12 @@ function shellEscapeSingle(value: string): string {
 	return `'${value.replace(/'/g, `'\\''`)}'`;
 }
 
+function hydrateProcessEnv(key: string, value: string): void {
+	// Make newly collected secrets immediately visible to the current session.
+	// Some extensions read process.env directly and do not reload .env on every call.
+	process.env[key] = value;
+}
+
 async function writeEnvKey(filePath: string, key: string, value: string): Promise<void> {
 	let content = "";
 	try {
@@ -312,6 +318,7 @@ async function applySecrets(
 			try {
 				await writeEnvKey(opts.envFilePath, key, value);
 				applied.push(key);
+				hydrateProcessEnv(key, value);
 			} catch (err: any) {
 				errors.push(`${key}: ${err.message}`);
 			}
@@ -330,6 +337,7 @@ async function applySecrets(
 					errors.push(`${key}: ${result.stderr.slice(0, 200)}`);
 				} else {
 					applied.push(key);
+					hydrateProcessEnv(key, value);
 				}
 			} catch (err: any) {
 				errors.push(`${key}: ${err.message}`);
diff --git a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/collect-from-manifest.test.ts b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/collect-from-manifest.test.ts
index c0a62946f..9ca2eecd9 100644
--- a/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/collect-from-manifest.test.ts
+++ b/src/resources/extensions/gsd/tests/collect-from-manifest.test.ts
@@ -227,6 +227,45 @@ test("collectSecretsFromManifest: manifest statuses are updated after collection
 		"KEY_TO_SKIP should have status 'skipped' after user skipped it");
 });
 
+test("collectSecretsFromManifest: applied keys hydrate process.env for the running session", async (t) => {
+	const { collectSecretsFromManifest } = await loadOrchestrator();
+
+	const tmp = makeTempDir("manifest-live-env");
+	const envKey = "CONTEXT7_API_KEY";
+	const saved = process.env[envKey];
+	t.after(() => {
+		if (saved === undefined) delete process.env[envKey];
+		else process.env[envKey] = saved;
+		rmSync(tmp, { recursive: true, force: true });
+	});
+
+	delete process.env[envKey];
+
+	const manifest = makeManifest([
+		{ key: envKey, status: "pending" },
+	]);
+	await writeManifestFile(tmp, manifest);
+
+	let callIndex = 0;
+	const mockCtx = {
+		cwd: tmp,
+		hasUI: true,
+		ui: {
+			custom: async (_factory: any) => {
+				callIndex++;
+				if (callIndex <= 1) return null; // summary screen dismiss
+				return "c7_live_test_key";
+			},
+		},
+	};
+
+	const result = await collectSecretsFromManifest(tmp, "M001", mockCtx as any);
+
+	assert.ok(result.applied.includes(envKey), "CONTEXT7_API_KEY should be applied");
+	assert.equal(process.env[envKey], "c7_live_test_key",
+		"applied keys should be available through process.env without restarting");
+});
+
 // ─── showSecretsSummary: render output ────────────────────────────────────────
 
 test("showSecretsSummary: produces lines with correct status glyphs for each entry status", async () => {