diff --git a/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.test.tsx b/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.test.tsx
index 3845e9e5f8..6667436a6c 100644
--- a/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.test.tsx
@@ -29,9 +29,18 @@ function jsonOk(body: unknown): Response {
 const SETTINGS_VIEW = {
   ok: true,
   schema: {
-    greeting: { type: "string", label: "Greeting" },
+    greeting: {
+      type: "string",
+      label: "Greeting",
+      placeholder: "Enter a greeting",
+    },
     enabled: { type: "boolean", label: "Enabled" },
-    apiKey: { type: "string", label: "API key", secret: true },
+    apiKey: {
+      type: "string",
+      label: "API key",
+      secret: true,
+      placeholder: "Paste an API key",
+    },
   },
   values: { greeting: "hello", enabled: true, apiKey: { set: false } },
 };
@@ -66,11 +75,12 @@ describe("PluginSettingsForm", () => {
       "Greeting",
     )) as HTMLInputElement;
     expect(greeting.value).toBe("hello");
+    expect(greeting.placeholder).toBe("Enter a greeting");
 
     // Secrets are write-only: no value, only a set/not-set placeholder.
     const apiKey = screen.getByLabelText("API key") as HTMLInputElement;
     expect(apiKey.value).toBe("");
-    expect(apiKey.placeholder).toBe("[not set]");
+    expect(apiKey.placeholder).toBe("Paste an API key");
 
     const save = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /save settings/i });
     expect((save as HTMLButtonElement).disabled).toBe(true);
@@ -125,6 +135,31 @@ describe("PluginSettingsForm", () => {
       values: { apiKey: "sk-123" },
     });
   });
+
+  it("keeps the set marker for configured secrets", async () => {
+    vi.stubGlobal(
+      "fetch",
+      vi.fn(() =>
+        Promise.resolve(
+          jsonOk({
+            ...SETTINGS_VIEW,
+            values: {
+              ...SETTINGS_VIEW.values,
+              apiKey: { set: true },
+            },
+          }),
+        ),
+      ),
+    );
+
+    const { wrapper } = createQueryClientTestHarness();
+    render(<PluginSettingsForm pluginId="demo" />, { wrapper });
+
+    const apiKey = (await screen.findByLabelText(
+      "API key",
+    )) as HTMLInputElement;
+    expect(apiKey.placeholder).toBe("[set]");
+  });
 });
 
 function rowPlugin(
diff --git a/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.tsx b/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.tsx
index a5d91dd283..a9722f4970 100644
--- a/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.tsx
+++ b/apps/app/src/components/plugin/PluginSettings.tsx
@@ -184,12 +184,17 @@ function PluginSettingField({
       : !isSecret && typeof storedValue === "string"
         ? storedValue
         : "";
+  const placeholder = isSecret
+    ? secretIsSet
+      ? "[set]"
+      : (descriptor.placeholder ?? "[not set]")
+    : descriptor.placeholder;
   return (
     <Input
       type={isSecret ? "password" : "text"}
       value={value}
       aria-label={descriptor.label}
-      placeholder={isSecret ? (secretIsSet ? "[set]" : "[not set]") : undefined}
+      placeholder={placeholder}
       onChange={(event) => onChange(event.target.value)}
       className="h-7 w-full text-xs sm:w-64"
     />
diff --git a/apps/mobile/src/screens/plugins/PluginSettingsForm.tsx b/apps/mobile/src/screens/plugins/PluginSettingsForm.tsx
index 82e46516ef..6d88c5f25e 100644
--- a/apps/mobile/src/screens/plugins/PluginSettingsForm.tsx
+++ b/apps/mobile/src/screens/plugins/PluginSettingsForm.tsx
@@ -191,9 +191,9 @@ function SettingField({
           placeholder={
             isSecret
               ? pluginSecretIsSet(storedValue)
-                ? "[set] — type to replace"
-                : "[not set]"
-              : undefined
+                ? "[set]"
+                : (descriptor.placeholder ?? "[not set]")
+              : descriptor.placeholder
           }
           autoCapitalize="none"
           editable={!disabled}
diff --git a/packages/plugin-sdk/src/backend-contract.ts b/packages/plugin-sdk/src/backend-contract.ts
index 0926a86288..be3112afcc 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-sdk/src/backend-contract.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-sdk/src/backend-contract.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ export type PluginSettingDescriptor =
       description?: string;
       /** Stored in a 0600 file under <dataDir>/plugins/<id>/secrets/, never in the db or sent to the frontend. */
       secret?: true;
+      placeholder?: string;
       default?: string;
     }
   | { type: "boolean"; label: string; description?: string; default?: boolean }
diff --git a/packages/plugin-sdk/src/internal/host-policy.ts b/packages/plugin-sdk/src/internal/host-policy.ts
index bb4fc85928..fffa38eb1d 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-sdk/src/internal/host-policy.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-sdk/src/internal/host-policy.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ const settingDescriptorSchema = z.discriminatedUnion("type", [
       type: z.literal("string"),
       ...settingsBaseFields,
       secret: z.literal(true).optional(),
+      placeholder: z.string().min(1).optional(),
       default: z.string().optional(),
     })
     .strict(),
diff --git a/packages/plugin-sdk/src/testing/__tests__/fake-plugin-host.test.ts b/packages/plugin-sdk/src/testing/__tests__/fake-plugin-host.test.ts
index 05ac4bb468..f25d61903e 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-sdk/src/testing/__tests__/fake-plugin-host.test.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-sdk/src/testing/__tests__/fake-plugin-host.test.ts
@@ -238,6 +238,23 @@ describe("settings", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("retains string input placeholders", () => {
+    const { bb, harness } = createFakePluginHost();
+    bb.settings.define({
+      token: {
+        type: "string",
+        label: "Token",
+        placeholder: "Paste a token",
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(harness.registrations.settingsDescriptors.token).toEqual({
+      type: "string",
+      label: "Token",
+      placeholder: "Paste a token",
+    });
+  });
+
   it("setSettings validates, fires onChange with next/prev, and skips no-op updates", async () => {
     const { bb, harness } = createFakePluginHost();
     const handle = defineSettings(bb);
@@ -279,6 +296,17 @@ describe("settings", () => {
         broken: { type: "select", label: "B", options: ["a"], default: "z" },
       }),
     ).toThrow('default for setting "broken" must be one of its options');
+    expect(() =>
+      bb.settings.define({
+        emptyPlaceholder: {
+          type: "string",
+          label: "Empty placeholder",
+          placeholder: "",
+        },
+      }),
+    ).toThrow(
+      'invalid descriptor for setting "emptyPlaceholder" (placeholder)',
+    );
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/server-contract/src/api/plugins.ts b/packages/server-contract/src/api/plugins.ts
index 9f3a69643f..615ed116d1 100644
--- a/packages/server-contract/src/api/plugins.ts
+++ b/packages/server-contract/src/api/plugins.ts
@@ -296,6 +296,7 @@ export const pluginSettingDescriptorSchema = z.discriminatedUnion("type", [
       ...pluginSettingBaseSchema,
       type: z.literal("string"),
       secret: z.literal(true).optional(),
+      placeholder: z.string().min(1).optional(),
       default: z.string().optional(),
     })
     .strict(),