diff --git a/src/agents/sandbox.ts b/src/agents/sandbox.ts
index 745910e090f..683721c3b28 100644
--- a/src/agents/sandbox.ts
+++ b/src/agents/sandbox.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ export {
   requireSandboxBackendFactory,
 } from "./sandbox/backend.js";
 
-export { buildSandboxCreateArgs } from "./sandbox/docker.js";
+export { buildSandboxCreateArgs, isDockerDaemonUnavailable } from "./sandbox/docker.js";
 export {
   listSandboxBrowsers,
   listSandboxContainers,
diff --git a/src/agents/sandbox/browser.ts b/src/agents/sandbox/browser.ts
index a026779fd52..dac3f84d17c 100644
--- a/src/agents/sandbox/browser.ts
+++ b/src/agents/sandbox/browser.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import {
   buildSandboxCreateArgs,
   dockerContainerState,
   execDocker,
+  isDockerDaemonUnavailable,
   readDockerContainerEnvVar,
   readDockerContainerLabel,
   readDockerNetworkDriver,
@@ -130,6 +131,12 @@ async function ensureSandboxBrowserImage(image: string) {
   if (result.code === 0) {
     return;
   }
+  const stderr = result.stderr.trim();
+  // When Docker daemon is unavailable, silently return instead of throwing.
+  // This allows sandbox.mode="off" sessions to start without Docker errors.
+  if (isDockerDaemonUnavailable(stderr)) {
+    return;
+  }
   throw new Error(
     `Sandbox browser image not found: ${image}. Build it with scripts/sandbox-browser-setup.sh.`,
   );
diff --git a/src/agents/sandbox/docker.test.ts b/src/agents/sandbox/docker.test.ts
index 2dca47efcd8..2cae9429137 100644
--- a/src/agents/sandbox/docker.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/sandbox/docker.test.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ type MockDockerChild = EventEmitter & {
 const spawnState = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   calls: [] as SpawnCall[],
   imageExists: true,
+  inspectError: "",
 }));
 
 function createMockDockerChild(): MockDockerChild {
@@ -40,7 +41,9 @@ function spawnDockerProcess(command: string, args: string[]) {
     stderr = `unexpected command: ${command}`;
   } else if (args[0] === "image" && args[1] === "inspect") {
     code = spawnState.imageExists ? 0 : 1;
-    stderr = spawnState.imageExists ? "" : `Error response from daemon: No such image: ${args[2]}`;
+    stderr = spawnState.imageExists
+      ? ""
+      : spawnState.inspectError || `Error response from daemon: No such image: ${args[2]}`;
   } else if (args[0] === "pull" || args[0] === "tag") {
     code = 0;
   } else {
@@ -79,6 +82,7 @@ describe("ensureDockerImage", () => {
   beforeEach(async () => {
     spawnState.calls.length = 0;
     spawnState.imageExists = true;
+    spawnState.inspectError = "";
     await loadFreshDockerModuleForTest();
   });
 
@@ -113,4 +117,19 @@ describe("ensureDockerImage", () => {
       },
     ]);
   });
+
+  it("returns when the Docker daemon is unavailable during image inspection", async () => {
+    spawnState.imageExists = false;
+    spawnState.inspectError =
+      "Cannot connect to the Docker daemon at unix:///var/run/docker.sock. Is the docker daemon running?";
+
+    await ensureDockerImage(DEFAULT_SANDBOX_IMAGE);
+
+    expect(spawnState.calls).toEqual([
+      {
+        command: "docker",
+        args: ["image", "inspect", DEFAULT_SANDBOX_IMAGE],
+      },
+    ]);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/agents/sandbox/docker.ts b/src/agents/sandbox/docker.ts
index a84875f311b..6d9eca9865e 100644
--- a/src/agents/sandbox/docker.ts
+++ b/src/agents/sandbox/docker.ts
@@ -272,23 +272,40 @@ export async function readDockerPort(containerName: string, port: number) {
   return Number.isFinite(mapped) ? mapped : null;
 }
 
-async function dockerImageExists(image: string) {
+const DOCKER_DAEMON_UNAVAILABLE_MARKERS = [
+  "cannot connect to the docker daemon",
+  "dial unix",
+  "docker daemon is not running",
+  "connection refused",
+];
+
+export function isDockerDaemonUnavailable(stderr: string): boolean {
+  return DOCKER_DAEMON_UNAVAILABLE_MARKERS.some((marker) => stderr.toLowerCase().includes(marker));
+}
+
+async function inspectDockerImage(image: string): Promise<"exists" | "missing" | "unavailable"> {
   const result = await execDocker(["image", "inspect", image], {
     allowFailure: true,
   });
   if (result.code === 0) {
-    return true;
+    return "exists";
   }
   const stderr = result.stderr.trim();
-  if (stderr.includes("No such image")) {
-    return false;
+  if (stderr.toLowerCase().includes("no such image")) {
+    return "missing";
+  }
+  // When Docker daemon is unavailable, treat the image as unavailable
+  // rather than throwing. This allows sandbox.mode="off" sessions to
+  // start without a running Docker daemon.
+  if (isDockerDaemonUnavailable(stderr)) {
+    return "unavailable";
   }
   throw new Error(`Failed to inspect sandbox image: ${stderr}`);
 }
 
 export async function ensureDockerImage(image: string) {
-  const exists = await dockerImageExists(image);
-  if (exists) {
+  const imageState = await inspectDockerImage(image);
+  if (imageState === "exists" || imageState === "unavailable") {
     return;
   }
   if (image === DEFAULT_SANDBOX_IMAGE) {
diff --git a/src/commands/doctor-sandbox.ts b/src/commands/doctor-sandbox.ts
index 3dd025b420d..fda5fd5d849 100644
--- a/src/commands/doctor-sandbox.ts
+++ b/src/commands/doctor-sandbox.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import {
   DEFAULT_SANDBOX_BROWSER_IMAGE,
   DEFAULT_SANDBOX_COMMON_IMAGE,
   DEFAULT_SANDBOX_IMAGE,
+  isDockerDaemonUnavailable,
   resolveSandboxScope,
 } from "../agents/sandbox.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.openclaw.js";
@@ -85,6 +86,9 @@ async function dockerImageExists(image: string): Promise<boolean> {
     if (stderr.includes("No such image")) {
       return false;
     }
+    if (isDockerDaemonUnavailable(stderr)) {
+      return false;
+    }
     throw error;
   }
 }