Docker: avoid setup CLI namespace loop

scripts/docker/setup.sh

@@ -108,8 +108,7 @@ ensure_control_ui_allowed_origins() {
   local current_allowed_origins
   allowed_origin_json="$(printf '["http://127.0.0.1:%s"]' "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT")"
   current_allowed_origins="$(
-    docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm openclaw-cli \
-      config get gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins 2>/dev/null || true
+    run_setup_cli config get gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins 2>/dev/null || true
   )"
   current_allowed_origins="${current_allowed_origins//$'\r'/}"
 
@@ -118,19 +117,26 @@ ensure_control_ui_allowed_origins() {
     return 0
   fi
 
-  docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm openclaw-cli \
-    config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins "$allowed_origin_json" --strict-json >/dev/null
+  run_setup_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() {
-  docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm openclaw-cli \
-    config set gateway.mode local >/dev/null
-  docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm openclaw-cli \
-    config set gateway.bind "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND" >/dev/null
+  run_setup_cli config set gateway.mode local >/dev/null
+  run_setup_cli config set gateway.bind "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND" >/dev/null
   echo "Pinned gateway.mode=local and gateway.bind=$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND for Docker setup."
 }
 
+run_setup_cli() {
+  # 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 "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway \
+    dist/index.js "$@"
+}
+
 contains_disallowed_chars() {
   local value="$1"
   [[ "$value" == *$'\n'* || "$value" == *$'\r'* || "$value" == *$'\t'* ]]
@@ -458,7 +464,7 @@ echo "==> Fixing data-directory permissions"
 # ownership of all user project files on Linux hosts.
 # After fixing the config dir, only the OpenClaw metadata subdirectory
 # (.openclaw/) inside the workspace gets chowned, not the user's project files.
-docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --user root --entrypoint sh openclaw-cli -c \
+docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm --no-deps --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'
 
@@ -471,7 +477,7 @@ echo "Gateway token: $OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN"
 echo "Tailscale exposure: Off (use host-level tailnet/Tailscale setup separately)."
 echo "Install Gateway daemon: No (managed by Docker Compose)"
 echo ""
-docker compose "${COMPOSE_ARGS[@]}" run --rm openclaw-cli onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon
+run_setup_cli onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon
 
 echo ""
 echo "==> Docker gateway defaults"

src/docker-setup.e2e.test.ts

@@ -206,9 +206,37 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
     expect(extraCompose).toContain("openclaw-home:");
     const log = await readFile(activeSandbox.logPath, "utf8");
     expect(log).toContain("--build-arg OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES=ffmpeg build-essential");
-    expect(log).toContain("run --rm openclaw-cli onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon");
-    expect(log).toContain("run --rm openclaw-cli config set gateway.mode local");
-    expect(log).toContain("run --rm openclaw-cli config set gateway.bind lan");
+    expect(log).toContain(
+      "run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway dist/index.js onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon",
+    );
+    expect(log).toContain(
+      "run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway dist/index.js config set gateway.mode local",
+    );
+    expect(log).toContain(
+      "run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway dist/index.js config set gateway.bind lan",
+    );
+    expect(log).toContain(
+      'run --rm --no-deps --entrypoint node openclaw-gateway dist/index.js config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins ["http://127.0.0.1:18789"] --strict-json',
+    );
+    expect(log).not.toContain("run --rm openclaw-cli onboard --mode local --no-install-daemon");
+  });
+
+  it("avoids shared-network openclaw-cli before the gateway is started", async () => {
+    const activeSandbox = requireSandbox(sandbox);
+
+    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"),
+    );
+    expect(gatewayStartIdx).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+
+    const prestartLines = lines.slice(0, gatewayStartIdx);
+    expect(prestartLines.some((line) => line.includes("run --rm openclaw-cli"))).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it("precreates config identity dir for CLI device auth writes", async () => {
@@ -260,6 +288,7 @@ describe("scripts/docker/setup.sh", () => {
     const onboardIdx = log.indexOf("onboard");
     expect(chownIdx).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
     expect(onboardIdx).toBeGreaterThan(chownIdx);
+    expect(log).toContain("run --rm --no-deps --user root --entrypoint sh openclaw-gateway -c");
   });
 
   it("reuses existing config token when OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN is unset", async () => {