diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 3983166843b..e936aac2aba 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
 
 ### Fixes
 
+- Doctor: honor `OPENCLAW_SERVICE_REPAIR_POLICY=external` by reporting gateway service health while skipping service install/start/restart/bootstrap, supervisor rewrites, and legacy service cleanup for externally managed environments. Thanks @shakkernerd.
 - UI/Windows: quote resolved pnpm `.cmd` launcher paths before spawning UI install/build/test commands so Node installs under `C:\Program Files` no longer fail as `C:\Program`. Fixes #45275. Thanks @Kobevictor, @stoppieboy, and @iubns.
 - Codex/agent: translate `--thinking minimal` to `low` for modern Codex models (gpt-5.5, gpt-5.4, gpt-5.4-mini, gpt-5.2) at request build time so the first turn is accepted instead of paying a wasted call + retry-with-low fallback. Older Codex models still receive `minimal` directly. Fixes #71946. Thanks @hclsys.
 - Plugins/uninstall: remove tracked plugin files from their recorded managed extensions root even when the current state directory points somewhere else, so `openclaw plugins uninstall --force` does not leave the plugin discoverable. Thanks @shakkernerd.
diff --git a/docs/cli/doctor.md b/docs/cli/doctor.md
index 6e61b15860f..c3ac4c0c16b 100644
--- a/docs/cli/doctor.md
+++ b/docs/cli/doctor.md
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ Notes:
 - State integrity checks now detect orphan transcript files in the sessions directory and can archive them as `.deleted.<timestamp>` to reclaim space safely.
 - Doctor also scans `~/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json` (or `cron.store`) for legacy cron job shapes and can rewrite them in place before the scheduler has to auto-normalize them at runtime.
 - Doctor repairs missing bundled plugin runtime dependencies without writing into packaged global installs. For root-owned npm installs or hardened systemd units, set `OPENCLAW_PLUGIN_STAGE_DIR` to a writable directory such as `/var/lib/openclaw/plugin-runtime-deps`.
+- Set `OPENCLAW_SERVICE_REPAIR_POLICY=external` when another supervisor owns the gateway lifecycle. Doctor still reports gateway/service health and applies non-service repairs, but skips service install/start/restart/bootstrap and legacy service cleanup.
 - Doctor auto-migrates legacy flat Talk config (`talk.voiceId`, `talk.modelId`, and friends) into `talk.provider` + `talk.providers.<provider>`.
 - Repeat `doctor --fix` runs no longer report/apply Talk normalization when the only difference is object key order.
 - Doctor includes a memory-search readiness check and can recommend `openclaw configure --section model` when embedding credentials are missing.
diff --git a/docs/gateway/doctor.md b/docs/gateway/doctor.md
index 8be867834c4..ccce6cc8de1 100644
--- a/docs/gateway/doctor.md
+++ b/docs/gateway/doctor.md
@@ -430,6 +430,7 @@ That stages grounded durable candidates into the short-term dreaming store while
     - `openclaw doctor --yes` accepts the default repair prompts.
     - `openclaw doctor --repair` applies recommended fixes without prompts.
     - `openclaw doctor --repair --force` overwrites custom supervisor configs.
+    - `OPENCLAW_SERVICE_REPAIR_POLICY=external` keeps doctor read-only for gateway service lifecycle. It still reports service health and runs non-service repairs, but skips service install/start/restart/bootstrap, supervisor config rewrites, and legacy service cleanup because an external supervisor owns that lifecycle.
     - If token auth requires a token and `gateway.auth.token` is SecretRef-managed, doctor service install/repair validates the SecretRef but does not persist resolved plaintext token values into supervisor service environment metadata.
     - If token auth requires a token and the configured token SecretRef is unresolved, doctor blocks the install/repair path with actionable guidance.
     - If both `gateway.auth.token` and `gateway.auth.password` are configured and `gateway.auth.mode` is unset, doctor blocks install/repair until mode is set explicitly.