diff --git a/docs/install/docker.md b/docs/install/docker.md
index 2c8dcf1b233..0aea7350ce4 100644
--- a/docs/install/docker.md
+++ b/docs/install/docker.md
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ Docker is **optional**. Use it only if you want a containerized gateway or to va
     - generate a gateway token and write it to `.env`
     - start the gateway via Docker Compose
 
+    During setup, pre-start onboarding and config writes run through
+    `openclaw-gateway` directly. `openclaw-cli` is for commands you run after
+    the gateway container already exists.
+
   </Step>
 
   <Step title="Open the Control UI">
@@ -94,7 +98,15 @@ If you prefer to run each step yourself instead of using the setup script:
 
 ```bash
 docker build -t openclaw:local -f Dockerfile .
-docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli onboard
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway \
+  dist/index.js onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway \
+  dist/index.js config set gateway.mode local
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway \
+  dist/index.js config set gateway.bind lan
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway \
+  dist/index.js config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins \
+  '["http://localhost:18789","http://127.0.0.1:18789"]' --strict-json
 docker compose up -d openclaw-gateway
 ```
 
@@ -104,6 +116,13 @@ or `OPENCLAW_HOME_VOLUME`, the setup script writes `docker-compose.extra.yml`;
 include it with `-f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.extra.yml`.
 </Note>
 
+<Note>
+Because `openclaw-cli` shares `openclaw-gateway`'s network namespace, it is a
+post-start tool. Before `docker compose up -d openclaw-gateway`, run onboarding
+and setup-time config writes through `openclaw-gateway` with
+`--no-deps --entrypoint node`.
+</Note>
+
 ### Environment variables
 
 The setup script accepts these optional environment variables:
diff --git a/scripts/docker/setup.sh b/scripts/docker/setup.sh
index dfeefaedcfe..e2b5b03a72b 100755
--- a/scripts/docker/setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/docker/setup.sh
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ ensure_control_ui_allowed_origins() {
   local current_allowed_origins
   allowed_origin_json="$(printf '["http://localhost:%s","http://127.0.0.1:%s"]' "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT" "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT")"
   current_allowed_origins="$(
-    run_setup_cli config get gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins 2>/dev/null || true
+    run_prestart_cli config get gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins 2>/dev/null || true
   )"
   current_allowed_origins="${current_allowed_origins//$'\r'/}"
 
@@ -117,26 +117,53 @@ ensure_control_ui_allowed_origins() {
     return 0
   fi
 
-  run_setup_cli config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins "$allowed_origin_json" --strict-json \
+  run_prestart_cli config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins "$allowed_origin_json" --strict-json \
     >/dev/null
   echo "Set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins to $allowed_origin_json for non-loopback bind."
 }
 
 sync_gateway_mode_and_bind() {
-  run_setup_cli config set gateway.mode local >/dev/null
-  run_setup_cli config set gateway.bind "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND" >/dev/null
+  run_prestart_cli config set gateway.mode local >/dev/null
+  run_prestart_cli config set gateway.bind "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND" >/dev/null
   echo "Pinned gateway.mode=local and gateway.bind=$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND for Docker setup."
 }
 
-run_setup_cli() {
+run_prestart_gateway() {
+  docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps "$@"
+}
+
+run_prestart_cli() {
   # During setup, avoid the shared-network openclaw-cli service because it
   # requires the gateway container's network namespace to already exist. That
   # creates a circular dependency for config writes that are needed before the
   # gateway can start cleanly.
-  docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway \
+  run_prestart_gateway --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway \
     dist/index.js "$@"
 }
 
+run_runtime_cli() {
+  local compose_scope="${1:-current}"
+  local deps_mode="${2:-with-deps}"
+  shift 2
+
+  local -a compose_args
+  local -a run_args=(run --rm)
+
+  case "$compose_scope" in
+    current) compose_args=("${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}") ;;
+    base) compose_args=("${BASE_COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}") ;;
+    *) fail "Unknown runtime CLI compose scope: $compose_scope" ;;
+  esac
+
+  case "$deps_mode" in
+    with-deps) ;;
+    no-deps) run_args+=(--no-deps) ;;
+    *) fail "Unknown runtime CLI deps mode: $deps_mode" ;;
+  esac
+
+  docker compose "${compose_args[@]}" "${run_args[@]}" openclaw-cli "$@"
+}
+
 contains_disallowed_chars() {
   local value="$1"
   [[ "$value" == *$'\n'* || "$value" == *$'\r'* || "$value" == *$'\t'* ]]
@@ -464,7 +491,7 @@ echo "==> Fixing data-directory permissions"
 # ownership of all user project files on Linux hosts.
 # After fixing the config dir, only the OpenClaw metadata subdirectory
 # (.openclaw/) inside the workspace gets chowned, not the user's project files.
-docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps --user root --entrypoint sh openclaw-gateway -c \
+run_prestart_gateway --user root --entrypoint sh openclaw-gateway -c \
   'find /home/node/.openclaw -xdev -exec chown node:node {} +; \
    [ -d /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw ] && chown -R node:node /home/node/.openclaw/workspace/.openclaw || true'
 
@@ -477,7 +504,7 @@ echo "Gateway token: $OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN"
 echo "Tailscale exposure: Off (use host-level tailnet/Tailscale setup separately)."
 echo "Install Gateway daemon: No (managed by Docker Compose)"
 echo ""
-run_setup_cli onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon
+run_prestart_cli onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon
 
 echo ""
 echo "==> Docker gateway defaults"
@@ -561,17 +588,17 @@ fi
 if [[ -n "$SANDBOX_ENABLED" ]]; then
   # Enable sandbox in OpenClaw config.
   sandbox_config_ok=true
-  if ! docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps openclaw-cli \
+  if ! run_runtime_cli current no-deps \
     config set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode "non-main" >/dev/null; then
     echo "WARNING: Failed to set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode" >&2
     sandbox_config_ok=false
   fi
-  if ! docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps openclaw-cli \
+  if ! run_runtime_cli current no-deps \
     config set agents.defaults.sandbox.scope "agent" >/dev/null; then
     echo "WARNING: Failed to set agents.defaults.sandbox.scope" >&2
     sandbox_config_ok=false
   fi
-  if ! docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps openclaw-cli \
+  if ! run_runtime_cli current no-deps \
     config set agents.defaults.sandbox.workspaceAccess "none" >/dev/null; then
     echo "WARNING: Failed to set agents.defaults.sandbox.workspaceAccess" >&2
     sandbox_config_ok=false
@@ -585,7 +612,7 @@ if [[ -n "$SANDBOX_ENABLED" ]]; then
   else
     echo "WARNING: Sandbox config was partially applied. Check errors above." >&2
     echo "  Skipping gateway restart to avoid exposing Docker socket without a full sandbox policy." >&2
-    if ! docker compose "${BASE_COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps openclaw-cli \
+    if ! run_runtime_cli base no-deps \
       config set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode "off" >/dev/null; then
       echo "WARNING: Failed to roll back agents.defaults.sandbox.mode to off" >&2
     else
@@ -601,7 +628,7 @@ else
   # Keep reruns deterministic: if sandbox is not active for this run, reset
   # persisted sandbox mode so future execs do not require docker.sock by stale
   # config alone.
-  if ! docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm openclaw-cli \
+  if ! run_runtime_cli current with-deps \
     config set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode "off" >/dev/null; then
     echo "WARNING: Failed to reset agents.defaults.sandbox.mode to off" >&2
   fi
diff --git a/src/docker-setup.e2e.test.ts b/src/docker-setup.e2e.test.ts
index e1663ceaae4..f4c7f8d788e 100644
--- a/src/docker-setup.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/src/docker-setup.e2e.test.ts
@@ -114,6 +114,26 @@ function runDockerSetup(
   });
 }
 
+async function resetDockerLog(sandbox: DockerSetupSandbox) {
+  await writeFile(sandbox.logPath, "");
+}
+
+async function readDockerLog(sandbox: DockerSetupSandbox) {
+  return readFile(sandbox.logPath, "utf8");
+}
+
+async function readDockerLogLines(sandbox: DockerSetupSandbox) {
+  return (await readDockerLog(sandbox)).split("\n").filter(Boolean);
+}
+
+function isGatewayStartLine(line: string) {
+  return line.includes("compose") && line.includes(" up -d") && line.includes("openclaw-gateway");
+}
+
+function findGatewayStartLineIndex(lines: string[]) {
+  return lines.findIndex((line) => isGatewayStartLine(line));
+}
+
 async function runDockerSetupWithUnsetGatewayToken(
   sandbox: DockerSetupSandbox,
   suffix: string,
@@ -204,7 +224,7 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
     expect(extraCompose).toContain("openclaw-home:/home/node");
     expect(extraCompose).toContain("volumes:");
     expect(extraCompose).toContain("openclaw-home:");
-    const log = await readFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "utf8");
+    const log = await readDockerLog(activeSandbox);
     expect(log).toContain("--build-arg OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES=ffmpeg build-essential");
     expect(log).toContain(
       "run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway dist/index.js onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon",
@@ -224,16 +244,12 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
   it("avoids shared-network openclaw-cli before the gateway is started", async () => {
     const activeSandbox = requireSandbox(sandbox);
 
-    await writeFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "");
+    await resetDockerLog(activeSandbox);
     const result = runDockerSetup(activeSandbox);
     expect(result.status).toBe(0);
 
-    const log = await readFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "utf8");
-    const lines = log.split("\n").filter(Boolean);
-    const gatewayStartIdx = lines.findIndex(
-      (line) =>
-        line.includes("compose") && line.includes(" up -d") && line.includes("openclaw-gateway"),
-    );
+    const lines = await readDockerLogLines(activeSandbox);
+    const gatewayStartIdx = findGatewayStartLineIndex(lines);
     expect(gatewayStartIdx).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
 
     const prestartLines = lines.slice(0, gatewayStartIdx);
@@ -286,7 +302,7 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
     expect(sessionsDirStat.isDirectory()).toBe(true);
 
     // Verify that a root-user chown step runs before setup.
-    const log = await readFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "utf8");
+    const log = await readDockerLog(activeSandbox);
     const chownIdx = log.indexOf("--user root");
     const onboardIdx = log.indexOf("onboard");
     expect(chownIdx).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
@@ -350,7 +366,7 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
 
   it("treats OPENCLAW_SANDBOX=0 as disabled", async () => {
     const activeSandbox = requireSandbox(sandbox);
-    await writeFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "");
+    await resetDockerLog(activeSandbox);
 
     const result = runDockerSetup(activeSandbox, {
       OPENCLAW_SANDBOX: "0",
@@ -360,7 +376,7 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
     const envFile = await readFile(join(activeSandbox.rootDir, ".env"), "utf8");
     expect(envFile).toContain("OPENCLAW_SANDBOX=");
 
-    const log = await readFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "utf8");
+    const log = await readDockerLog(activeSandbox);
     expect(log).toContain("--build-arg OPENCLAW_INSTALL_DOCKER_CLI=");
     expect(log).not.toContain("--build-arg OPENCLAW_INSTALL_DOCKER_CLI=1");
     expect(log).toContain("config set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode off");
@@ -368,7 +384,7 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
 
   it("resets stale sandbox mode and overlay when sandbox is not active", async () => {
     const activeSandbox = requireSandbox(sandbox);
-    await writeFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "");
+    await resetDockerLog(activeSandbox);
     await writeFile(
       join(activeSandbox.rootDir, "docker-compose.sandbox.yml"),
       "services:\n  openclaw-gateway:\n    volumes:\n      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock\n",
@@ -381,14 +397,14 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
 
     expect(result.status).toBe(0);
     expect(result.stderr).toContain("Sandbox requires Docker CLI");
-    const log = await readFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "utf8");
+    const log = await readDockerLog(activeSandbox);
     expect(log).toContain("config set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode off");
     await expect(stat(join(activeSandbox.rootDir, "docker-compose.sandbox.yml"))).rejects.toThrow();
   });
 
   it("skips sandbox gateway restart when sandbox config writes fail", async () => {
     const activeSandbox = requireSandbox(sandbox);
-    await writeFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "");
+    await resetDockerLog(activeSandbox);
     const socketPath = join(activeSandbox.rootDir, "sandbox.sock");
 
     await withUnixSocket(socketPath, async () => {
@@ -402,15 +418,10 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
       expect(result.stderr).toContain("Failed to set agents.defaults.sandbox.scope");
       expect(result.stderr).toContain("Skipping gateway restart to avoid exposing Docker socket");
 
-      const log = await readFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "utf8");
-      const gatewayStarts = log
-        .split("\n")
-        .filter(
-          (line) =>
-            line.includes("compose") &&
-            line.includes(" up -d") &&
-            line.includes("openclaw-gateway"),
-        );
+      const log = await readDockerLog(activeSandbox);
+      const gatewayStarts = (await readDockerLogLines(activeSandbox)).filter((line) =>
+        isGatewayStartLine(line),
+      );
       expect(gatewayStarts).toHaveLength(2);
       expect(log).toContain(
         "run --rm --no-deps openclaw-cli config set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode non-main",