diff --git a/docs/reference/commands.mdx b/docs/reference/commands.mdx
index 52cf1dd02a4..c9e83b14dd5 100644
--- a/docs/reference/commands.mdx
+++ b/docs/reference/commands.mdx
@@ -1366,6 +1366,10 @@ When the host Docker daemon is reachable but the per-sandbox container is stoppe
 If the owning OpenShell gateway is healthy but no longer lists the registered Docker-driver sandbox, status attempts post-reboot recovery from the labeled container.
 It waits for Docker readiness, restores the in-sandbox gateway and host forwards, and refreshes preflight before probing inference.
 A successful recovery clears the stale stopped-container failure.
+<AgentOnly variant="openclaw">
+If OpenShell already reports the registered Docker-driver sandbox as present and `Ready`, status verifies the OpenClaw gateway and host forward.
+It recovers either component when the verification reports it absent.
+</AgentOnly>
 If Docker readiness or the agent delivery chain cannot be proven, status exits non-zero and reports the failed recovery layer.
 <AgentOnly variant="openclaw,hermes">
 If the sandbox's recorded dashboard port is also held by a foreign listener, the header escalates to the `sandbox_dashboard_port_conflict` failure layer with the message `sandbox container is stopped and the dashboard port is held by a foreign listener.` so the operator can recover the port before restarting the sandbox.
diff --git a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.test.ts b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.test.ts
index 4a757c15dbd..6c2f5d77622 100644
--- a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.test.ts
@@ -109,6 +109,32 @@ describe("recreated sandbox OpenShell readiness", () => {
     expect(sleeps).toEqual([3]);
   });
 
+  it("retries the exact same-sandbox Error phase when OpenShell also emits informational stdout", () => {
+    const captureOpenshellImpl = vi
+      .fn()
+      .mockReturnValueOnce({
+        status: 1,
+        output:
+          `Waiting for sandbox registration\n${OPENSHELL_TRANSIENT_ERROR_PHASE_STDERR}`.trim(),
+        stdout: "Waiting for sandbox registration\n",
+        stderr: OPENSHELL_TRANSIENT_ERROR_PHASE_STDERR,
+      })
+      .mockReturnValueOnce({ status: 0, output: "", stdout: "", stderr: "" });
+    const sleeps: number[] = [];
+
+    expect(
+      waitForRecreatedSandboxOpenShellReady("recreated-box", {
+        beforeProbe: () => true,
+        captureOpenshellImpl,
+        intervalSeconds: 3,
+        sleepImpl: (seconds) => sleeps.push(seconds),
+        timeoutSeconds: 30,
+      }),
+    ).toBe(true);
+    expect(captureOpenshellImpl).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(sleeps).toEqual([3]);
+  });
+
   it("rides out a transient Error phase past the old 30s budget by default (#7227)", () => {
     // No timeoutSeconds option and no env override: the default recovery budget
     // must be large enough (120s, aligned with connect's readiness wait) to keep
diff --git a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.ts b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.ts
index 9497ee37854..9bc28614aee 100644
--- a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.ts
+++ b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/process-recovery.ts
@@ -599,30 +599,30 @@ function normalizeOpenshellStructuredError(value: string): string {
   return stripAnsi(value).replace(/[×│]/gu, " ").replace(/\s+/gu, " ").trim();
 }
 
-function hasRetryableOpenshellResultShape(result: ReturnType<typeof captureOpenshell>): boolean {
-  return (
-    result.status === 1 &&
-    !result.error &&
-    String(result.stdout ?? "").trim() === "" &&
-    String(result.stderr ?? "").trim() !== ""
-  );
+function hasRetryableOpenshellFailureShape(result: ReturnType<typeof captureOpenshell>): boolean {
+  return result.status === 1 && !result.error && String(result.stderr ?? "").trim() !== "";
 }
 
 function isRetryableOpenshellReRegistrationState(
   result: ReturnType<typeof captureOpenshell>,
   sandboxName: string,
 ): boolean {
-  if (!hasRetryableOpenshellResultShape(result)) return false;
+  if (!hasRetryableOpenshellFailureShape(result)) return false;
   const error = normalizeOpenshellStructuredError(String(result.stderr));
-  if (error === OPENSHELL_SANDBOX_NOT_READY) return true;
   // OpenShell can publish Ready before replacement registration settles.
   // Retry only if the readiness probe reports phase Error for this sandbox.
+  // The CLI can emit informational stdout before this exact stderr refusal;
+  // stdout does not change the result of the read-only `true` probe.
   if (
     error ===
     `Error: sandbox '${sandboxName}' is not ready (phase: Error); wait for it to reach Ready state.`
   ) {
     return true;
   }
+  // All less-specific transient signatures remain constrained to an otherwise
+  // empty stdout stream so unrelated command output cannot be reclassified.
+  if (String(result.stdout ?? "").trim() !== "") return false;
+  if (error === OPENSHELL_SANDBOX_NOT_READY) return true;
 
   // OpenShell 0.0.85 can keep the recreated sandbox's cached phase at Ready
   // while its replacement supervisor session is still registering. The exec
diff --git a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-flow.test.ts b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-flow.test.ts
index 57b9a9508a3..e7336db919a 100644
--- a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-flow.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-flow.test.ts
@@ -557,7 +557,7 @@ describe("showSandboxStatus flow", () => {
       lookup: {
         state: "sandbox_recovery_failed",
         output:
-          "  Docker restored sandbox 'alpha', but its agent delivery chain is not ready " +
+          "  Sandbox 'alpha' is present, but its agent delivery chain could not be proven " +
           "(forward-recovery: OpenShell forward state unavailable).",
         recoveredSandbox: true,
       },
@@ -567,12 +567,31 @@ describe("showSandboxStatus flow", () => {
 
     const output = harness.logSpy.mock.calls.flat().join("\n");
     expect(output).toContain("restored from Docker");
-    expect(output).toContain("agent delivery chain could not be recovered safely");
+    expect(output).toContain("agent delivery chain could not be proven");
     expect(output).toContain("forward-recovery: OpenShell forward state unavailable");
     expect(output).toContain("Retry `nemoclaw alpha recover`");
     expect(output).not.toContain("Could not verify against live gateway");
   });
 
+  it("does not claim Docker restoration when a visible sandbox fails delivery recovery", async () => {
+    const harness = createStatusFlowHarness({
+      inferenceHealth: null,
+      lookup: {
+        state: "sandbox_recovery_failed",
+        output:
+          "  Sandbox 'alpha' is present, but its agent delivery chain could not be proven " +
+          "(gateway-recovery: the managed agent gateway could not be restarted).",
+      },
+    });
+
+    await expect(harness.showSandboxStatus("alpha")).rejects.toThrow("process.exit(1)");
+
+    const output = harness.logSpy.mock.calls.flat().join("\n");
+    expect(output).toContain("Sandbox 'alpha' is present");
+    expect(output).toContain("agent delivery chain could not be proven");
+    expect(output).not.toContain("restored from Docker");
+  });
+
   it("renders missing gateway metadata after restart without claiming recovery", async () => {
     const harness = createStatusFlowHarness({
       inferenceHealth: null,
diff --git a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-lookup-rendering.ts b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-lookup-rendering.ts
index 7343d944307..a028ad3e454 100644
--- a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-lookup-rendering.ts
+++ b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-lookup-rendering.ts
@@ -60,8 +60,11 @@ function printSandboxRecoveryFailedLookupStatus({
   lookup,
 }: SandboxGatewayLookupStatusContext): void {
   console.log("");
+  const recoveredFromDocker = "recoveredSandbox" in lookup && lookup.recoveredSandbox === true;
   console.log(
-    `  Sandbox '${sandboxName}' was restored from Docker, but its agent delivery chain could not be recovered safely.`,
+    recoveredFromDocker
+      ? `  Sandbox '${sandboxName}' was restored from Docker, but its agent delivery chain could not be proven.`
+      : `  Sandbox '${sandboxName}' is present, but its agent delivery chain could not be proven.`,
   );
   if (lookup.output) console.log(lookup.output);
   console.log(
diff --git a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot-recovery.test.ts b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot-recovery.test.ts
index 629f3600c61..47008ef8e7f 100644
--- a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot-recovery.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot-recovery.test.ts
@@ -78,6 +78,99 @@ function snapshotDeps(recoveryResult: unknown) {
 }
 
 describe("collectSandboxStatusSnapshot Docker recovery", () => {
+  it("recovers the delivery chain when OpenShell already reports the restarted container (#7824)", async () => {
+    const deps = {
+      ...snapshotDeps({
+        checked: true,
+        wasRunning: false,
+        recovered: true,
+        forwardRecovered: true,
+      }),
+      reconcile: () =>
+        Promise.resolve({
+          state: "present" as const,
+          output: "Phase: Ready",
+        }),
+    };
+
+    const snapshot = await collectSandboxStatusSnapshot("alpha", { deps });
+
+    expect(deps.recoverSandboxProcesses).toHaveBeenCalledWith("alpha", { quiet: true });
+    expect(snapshot.lookup.state).toBe("present");
+  });
+
+  it("fails closed when the visible restarted container cannot recover OpenClaw (#7824)", async () => {
+    const deps = {
+      ...snapshotDeps({
+        checked: true,
+        wasRunning: false,
+        recovered: false,
+        forwardRecovered: false,
+      }),
+      reconcile: () =>
+        Promise.resolve({
+          state: "present" as const,
+          output: "Phase: Ready",
+        }),
+    };
+
+    const snapshot = await collectSandboxStatusSnapshot("alpha", { deps });
+
+    expect(snapshot.lookup.state).toBe("sandbox_recovery_failed");
+    expect(snapshot.lookup.output).toContain(
+      "Sandbox 'alpha' is present, but its agent delivery chain could not be proven",
+    );
+    expect(deps.probeSandboxInferenceGatewayHealthImpl).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    "Provisioning",
+    "Failed",
+  ])("keeps the existing %s phase diagnosis ahead of markerless recovery (#7824)", async (phase) => {
+    const deps = {
+      ...snapshotDeps({
+        checked: true,
+        wasRunning: false,
+        recovered: false,
+        forwardRecovered: false,
+      }),
+      reconcile: () =>
+        Promise.resolve({
+          state: "present" as const,
+          output: `Phase: ${phase}`,
+        }),
+    };
+
+    const snapshot = await collectSandboxStatusSnapshot("alpha", { deps });
+
+    expect(deps.recoverSandboxProcesses).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(snapshot.lookup.state).toBe("present");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps a host preflight failure ahead of markerless recovery (#7824)", async () => {
+    const deps = {
+      ...snapshotDeps({
+        checked: true,
+        wasRunning: false,
+        recovered: false,
+        forwardRecovered: false,
+      }),
+      reconcile: () =>
+        Promise.resolve({
+          state: "present" as const,
+          output: "Phase: Ready",
+        }),
+    };
+
+    const snapshot = await collectSandboxStatusSnapshot("alpha", {
+      deps,
+      preflight: stoppedPreflight,
+    });
+
+    expect(deps.recoverSandboxProcesses).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(snapshot.lookup.state).toBe("present");
+  });
+
   it.each([
     [
       "inspection",
diff --git a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot.ts b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot.ts
index 7cf8e5db7bb..e536b727b31 100644
--- a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot.ts
+++ b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/status-snapshot.ts
@@ -414,13 +414,21 @@ export async function collectSandboxStatusSnapshot(
     };
   }
   const dockerRecovered = lookup.recoveredSandbox === true;
-  if (lookup.state === "present" && lookup.recoveredSandbox) {
+  const managedOpenClawDeliveryMustBeProven =
+    lookup.state === "present" &&
+    sb?.openshellDriver === "docker" &&
+    (sb.agent ?? "openclaw") === "openclaw" &&
+    parseSandboxPhase(lookup.output || "") === "Ready" &&
+    !opts.preflight?.failure;
+  if (
+    lookup.state === "present" &&
+    (lookup.recoveredSandbox || managedOpenClawDeliveryMustBeProven)
+  ) {
     let failure: SandboxProcessRecoveryFailure | null;
     try {
-      // Docker recovery makes the sandbox visible to OpenShell again, but a
-      // host reboot also tears down the managed agent process and port-forward.
-      // Reuse the guarded connect recovery only for this explicit mutation
-      // path, before status probes the delivery chain.
+      // The managed gateway service can restart a Docker sandbox before status
+      // runs. OpenShell then reports Ready without a recoveredSandbox marker,
+      // while the OpenClaw gateway and host forward can still be absent.
       const recovery = (opts.deps?.recoverSandboxProcesses ?? loadRecoverSandboxProcesses())(
         sandboxName,
         {
@@ -439,7 +447,7 @@ export async function collectSandboxStatusSnapshot(
         ...lookup,
         state: "sandbox_recovery_failed",
         output:
-          `  Docker restored sandbox '${sandboxName}', but its agent delivery chain is not ready ` +
+          `  Sandbox '${sandboxName}' is present, but its agent delivery chain could not be proven ` +
           `(${failure.layer}: ${failure.detail}).`,
       };
     }
diff --git a/test/cli/sandbox-status-json.test.ts b/test/cli/sandbox-status-json.test.ts
index 246c67fa1e2..f80cd5075a9 100644
--- a/test/cli/sandbox-status-json.test.ts
+++ b/test/cli/sandbox-status-json.test.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,9 @@ function createInferenceRouteStatusSetup(options: {
   writeSandboxRegistry(home, sandboxName, {
     model: "nvidia/nemotron",
     provider: "nvidia-prod",
-    openshellDriver: "docker",
+    // These cases test only inference.local classification. Use the VM driver
+    // so Docker post-reboot delivery recovery does not affect their assertions.
+    openshellDriver: "vm",
   });
   fs.writeFileSync(
     path.join(localBin, "docker"),