diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.option-collisions.test.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.option-collisions.test.ts
index ffaeab97d5b..e2eab032038 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.option-collisions.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.option-collisions.test.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,11 @@ const recoverConfigFromJsonRootSuffix = vi.fn<(snapshot?: unknown) => Promise<bo
 const writeRestartSentinel = vi.fn<(payload?: unknown) => Promise<string>>(
   async (_payload?: unknown) => "/tmp/restart-sentinel.json",
 );
+const writeDiagnosticStabilityBundleForFailureSync = vi.fn((_reason: string, _error: unknown) => ({
+  status: "written" as const,
+  message: "wrote stability bundle: /tmp/openclaw-stability.json",
+  path: "/tmp/openclaw-stability.json",
+}));
 const controlUiState = vi.hoisted(() => ({
   root: "/tmp/openclaw-control-ui" as string | null,
 }));
@@ -110,6 +115,11 @@ vi.mock("../../logging/console.js", () => ({
   setConsoleTimestampPrefix: () => undefined,
 }));
 
+vi.mock("../../logging/diagnostic-stability-bundle.js", () => ({
+  writeDiagnosticStabilityBundleForFailureSync: (reason: string, error: unknown) =>
+    writeDiagnosticStabilityBundleForFailureSync(reason, error),
+}));
+
 vi.mock("../../logging/subsystem.js", () => ({
   createSubsystemLogger: () => ({
     info: (message: string) => {
@@ -167,6 +177,7 @@ describe("gateway run option collisions", () => {
     recoverConfigFromJsonRootSuffix.mockResolvedValue(false);
     writeRestartSentinel.mockReset();
     writeRestartSentinel.mockResolvedValue("/tmp/restart-sentinel.json");
+    writeDiagnosticStabilityBundleForFailureSync.mockClear();
     startGatewayServer.mockClear();
     setGatewayWsLogStyle.mockClear();
     setVerbose.mockClear();
@@ -253,6 +264,19 @@ describe("gateway run option collisions", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("does not write startup failure bundles for expected gateway lock conflicts", async () => {
+    const err = Object.assign(new Error("gateway already running on port 18789"), {
+      name: "GatewayLockError",
+    });
+    startGatewayServer.mockRejectedValueOnce(err);
+
+    await expect(runGatewayCli(["gateway", "run", "--allow-unconfigured"])).rejects.toThrow(
+      "__exit__:0",
+    );
+
+    expect(writeDiagnosticStabilityBundleForFailureSync).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("blocks startup when the observed snapshot loses gateway.mode even if loadConfig still says local", async () => {
     configState.cfg = {
       gateway: {
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.ts
index 5e659430ece..a3561f3863b 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/run.ts
@@ -686,7 +686,6 @@ async function runGatewayCommand(opts: GatewayRunOpts) {
       }
     }
   } catch (err) {
-    maybeWriteGatewayStartupFailureBundle(err);
     if (isGatewayLockError(err)) {
       const errMessage = formatErrorMessage(err);
       defaultRuntime.error(
@@ -706,6 +705,7 @@ async function runGatewayCommand(opts: GatewayRunOpts) {
       defaultRuntime.exit(isHealthyGatewayLockError(err) ? 0 : 1);
       return;
     }
+    maybeWriteGatewayStartupFailureBundle(err);
     defaultRuntime.error(`Gateway failed to start: ${String(err)}`);
     defaultRuntime.exit(1);
   }