diff --git a/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-scripts.ts b/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-scripts.ts
index 0be413f9ca3..751f194be2d 100644
--- a/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-scripts.ts
+++ b/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-scripts.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ export interface NpmUpdateScriptInput {
 
 export function macosUpdateScript(input: NpmUpdateScriptInput): string {
   return String.raw`set -euo pipefail
+export PATH=/opt/homebrew/bin:/opt/homebrew/opt/node/bin:/opt/homebrew/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin
 scrub_future_plugin_entries() {
   python3 - <<'PY'
 import json
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ wait_for_gateway() {
 }
 scrub_future_plugin_entries
 stop_openclaw_gateway_processes
-OPENCLAW_DISABLE_BUNDLED_PLUGINS=1 /opt/homebrew/bin/openclaw update --tag ${shellQuote(input.updateTarget)} --yes --json
+OPENCLAW_DISABLE_BUNDLED_PLUGINS=1 /opt/homebrew/bin/openclaw update --tag ${shellQuote(input.updateTarget)} --yes --json --no-restart
 ${posixVersionCheck("/opt/homebrew/bin/openclaw", input.expectedNeedle)}
 start_openclaw_gateway
 wait_for_gateway
@@ -100,11 +101,15 @@ function Stop-OpenClawGatewayProcesses {
   Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
     Where-Object { $_.CommandLine -match 'openclaw.*gateway' } |
     ForEach-Object { Stop-Process -Id $_.ProcessId -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }
+  Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 18789 -State Listen -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+    Select-Object -ExpandProperty OwningProcess -Unique |
+    ForEach-Object { Stop-Process -Id $_ -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }
+  Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
 }
 Remove-FuturePluginEntries
 Stop-OpenClawGatewayProcesses
 $env:OPENCLAW_DISABLE_BUNDLED_PLUGINS = '1'
-Invoke-OpenClaw update --tag ${psSingleQuote(input.updateTarget)} --yes --json
+Invoke-OpenClaw update --tag ${psSingleQuote(input.updateTarget)} --yes --json --no-restart
 if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { throw "openclaw update failed with exit code $LASTEXITCODE" }
 $version = Invoke-OpenClaw --version
 $version
@@ -120,6 +125,7 @@ Invoke-OpenClaw agent --local --agent main --session-id parallels-npm-update-win
 
 export function linuxUpdateScript(input: NpmUpdateScriptInput): string {
   return String.raw`set -euo pipefail
+export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/snap/bin
 scrub_future_plugin_entries() {
   node - <<'JS'
 const fs = require("node:fs");
@@ -167,7 +173,7 @@ wait_for_gateway() {
 }
 scrub_future_plugin_entries
 stop_openclaw_gateway_processes
-OPENCLAW_DISABLE_BUNDLED_PLUGINS=1 openclaw update --tag ${shellQuote(input.updateTarget)} --yes --json
+OPENCLAW_DISABLE_BUNDLED_PLUGINS=1 openclaw update --tag ${shellQuote(input.updateTarget)} --yes --json --no-restart
 ${posixVersionCheck("openclaw", input.expectedNeedle)}
 start_openclaw_gateway
 wait_for_gateway
diff --git a/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-smoke.ts b/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-smoke.ts
index c49c81a8159..497e3646370 100755
--- a/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-smoke.ts
+++ b/scripts/e2e/parallels/npm-update-smoke.ts
@@ -442,14 +442,23 @@ class NpmUpdateSmoke {
     ctx: UpdateJobContext,
   ): Promise<void> {
     const macosExecArgs = this.resolveMacosUpdateExecArgs(ctx);
-    const status = await this.runStreamingToJobLog(
-      "prlctl",
-      ["exec", macosVm, ...macosExecArgs, "/bin/bash", "-lc", script],
-      timeoutMs,
-      ctx,
+    const scriptPath = this.writeGuestScript(
+      macosVm,
+      script,
+      "openclaw-parallels-npm-update-macos",
     );
-    if (status !== 0) {
-      throw new Error(`macOS update command failed with exit code ${status}`);
+    try {
+      const status = await this.runStreamingToJobLog(
+        "prlctl",
+        ["exec", macosVm, ...macosExecArgs, "/bin/bash", scriptPath],
+        timeoutMs,
+        ctx,
+      );
+      if (status !== 0) {
+        throw new Error(`macOS update command failed with exit code ${status}`);
+      }
+    } finally {
+      this.removeGuestScript(macosVm, scriptPath);
     }
   }
 
@@ -688,17 +697,64 @@ Remove-Item -Path $scriptPath, $logPath, $donePath, $exitPath -Force -ErrorActio
     timeoutMs: number,
     ctx: UpdateJobContext,
   ): Promise<void> {
-    const status = await this.runStreamingToJobLog(
-      "prlctl",
-      ["exec", this.linuxVm, "/usr/bin/env", "HOME=/root", "bash", "-lc", script],
-      timeoutMs,
-      ctx,
+    const scriptPath = this.writeGuestScript(
+      this.linuxVm,
+      script,
+      "openclaw-parallels-npm-update-linux",
     );
-    if (status !== 0) {
-      throw new Error(`Linux update command failed with exit code ${status}`);
+    try {
+      const status = await this.runStreamingToJobLog(
+        "prlctl",
+        [
+          "exec",
+          this.linuxVm,
+          "/usr/bin/env",
+          "HOME=/root",
+          "PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/snap/bin",
+          "bash",
+          scriptPath,
+        ],
+        timeoutMs,
+        ctx,
+      );
+      if (status !== 0) {
+        throw new Error(`Linux update command failed with exit code ${status}`);
+      }
+    } finally {
+      this.removeGuestScript(this.linuxVm, scriptPath);
     }
   }
 
+  private writeGuestScript(vm: string, script: string, prefix: string): string {
+    const scriptPath = `/tmp/${prefix}-${process.pid}-${Date.now()}.sh`;
+    const write = run("prlctl", ["exec", vm, "/usr/bin/tee", scriptPath], {
+      check: false,
+      input: script,
+      quiet: true,
+      timeoutMs: 120_000,
+    });
+    if (write.status !== 0) {
+      throw new Error(`failed to write guest script ${scriptPath}: ${write.stderr.trim()}`);
+    }
+    const chmod = run("prlctl", ["exec", vm, "/bin/chmod", "700", scriptPath], {
+      check: false,
+      quiet: true,
+      timeoutMs: 30_000,
+    });
+    if (chmod.status !== 0) {
+      throw new Error(`failed to chmod guest script ${scriptPath}: ${chmod.stderr.trim()}`);
+    }
+    return scriptPath;
+  }
+
+  private removeGuestScript(vm: string, scriptPath: string): void {
+    run("prlctl", ["exec", vm, "/bin/rm", "-f", scriptPath], {
+      check: false,
+      quiet: true,
+      timeoutMs: 30_000,
+    });
+  }
+
   private async runStreamingToJobLog(
     command: string,
     args: string[],