diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 48cffc1..6905d07 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     strace \
     file \
     less \
-    && curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash - \
+    && curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash - \
     && apt-get install -y nodejs \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
@@ -99,6 +99,16 @@ RUN mkdir -p /data /data/.cache/pip /data/.cache/npm /data/.local && \
 # Set working directory to the persistent volume
 WORKDIR /data
 
+# Install startup and OpenClaw node helper scripts
+COPY scripts/clawdbox-entrypoint /usr/local/bin/clawdbox-entrypoint
+COPY scripts/start-clawdbox-node /usr/local/bin/start-clawdbox-node
+COPY scripts/status-clawdbox-node /usr/local/bin/status-clawdbox-node
+COPY scripts/stop-clawdbox-node /usr/local/bin/stop-clawdbox-node
+RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/clawdbox-entrypoint \
+    /usr/local/bin/start-clawdbox-node \
+    /usr/local/bin/status-clawdbox-node \
+    /usr/local/bin/stop-clawdbox-node
+
 # Expose SSH port (non-privileged)
 EXPOSE 2222
 
@@ -119,16 +129,5 @@ RUN echo 'export PS1="\[\e[32m\]\u@clawdbox\[\e[m\]:\[\e[34m\]\w\[\e[m\]\$ "' >>
     echo 'export HISTSIZE=10000' >> /home/claw/.bashrc && \
     echo 'export HISTFILESIZE=10000' >> /home/claw/.bashrc
 
-# Start SSH daemon
-# The keys are generated if they don't exist on the persistent volume
-CMD ["/bin/bash", "-c", "\
-mkdir -p /data/ssh && \
-for keytype in rsa ecdsa ed25519; do \
-    if [ ! -f /data/ssh/ssh_host_${keytype}_key ]; then \
-        echo \"Generating persistent host ${keytype} key...\"; \
-        ssh-keygen -q -f /data/ssh/ssh_host_${keytype}_key -N '' -t ${keytype}; \
-    fi; \
-done && \
-chmod 600 /data/ssh/ssh_host_*_key && \
-ln -sf /data/.gitconfig ~/.gitconfig && \
-/usr/sbin/sshd -D -e -f /etc/ssh/sshd_config"]
+# Start SSH in the foreground and opportunistically start the OpenClaw node host.
+CMD ["/usr/local/bin/clawdbox-entrypoint"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1cceb14..a7f5a71 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -11,13 +11,14 @@ This container provides a stable, tool-rich environment for the AI agent to:
 
 ## Tools Included
 - **Core:** curl, wget, git, jq, yq, unzip, tar, vim/nano, tree, less
-- **Dev:** python3 (pip/venv), build-essential, nodejs (v20), npm
+- **Dev:** python3 (pip/venv), build-essential, nodejs (v22), npm
 - **Python Libraries:** httpie, pyyaml, requests, black, ipython
 - **Network:** ping, dnsutils, net-tools, openssh-server/client, sshpass
 - **Media:** ffmpeg
 - **Monitoring:** htop, tmux, ncdu, strace
 - **Kubernetes:** OpenShift CLI (oc)
 - **Search:** ripgrep (fast grep alternative)
+- **Agent node:** self-starting OpenClaw node host helper for `ClawdBox-CLI`
 
 ## Prerequisites
 
@@ -76,6 +77,14 @@ The `/data` volume preserves data across container restarts:
 ```
 /data/
 ├── ssh/                  # SSH host keys (auto-generated on first run)
+├── agents/
+│   └── clawd/            # Durable OpenClaw agent workspace and node host
+│       ├── bin/          # start/status/stop helpers and openclaw symlink
+│       ├── logs/         # node-host logs and pid file
+│       ├── notes/        # operator notes
+│       ├── src/          # source checkouts and experiments
+│       ├── tmp/          # scratch files
+│       └── tools/        # persistent tool installs
 ├── scripts/              # Helper scripts (from ConfigMap, read-only)
 │   ├── disk-usage.sh
 │   ├── health-check.sh
@@ -92,6 +101,38 @@ The `/data` volume preserves data across container restarts:
 
 **Storage:** 10Gi PersistentVolumeClaim (ReadWriteOnce)
 
+## OpenClaw Node Host
+
+On container startup, ClawdBox keeps SSH as the foreground service and
+opportunistically starts an OpenClaw node host named `ClawdBox-CLI` in the
+background.
+
+The helper scripts are copied into `/data/agents/clawd/bin/` on each startup:
+
+```bash
+start-clawdbox-node
+status-clawdbox-node
+stop-clawdbox-node
+```
+
+The node host installs `openclaw@2026.6.1` under
+`/data/agents/clawd/tools/openclaw-node` if it is missing or stale. It gets the
+Gateway token from `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` when set, otherwise from the live
+`openclaw` deployment via the mounted kubeconfig.
+
+Useful overrides:
+
+```bash
+OPENCLAW_VERSION=2026.6.1
+OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_HOST=openclaw.apps.lab.apilab.us
+OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=443
+OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TLS=true
+CLAWDBOX_NODE_DISPLAY_NAME=ClawdBox-CLI
+```
+
+If node startup fails, the pod still starts and SSH remains available. Check
+`/data/agents/clawd/logs/node-host.log` for details.
+
 ## Common Tasks
 
 ### Quick Operations (Using Makefile)
diff --git a/manifests/configmap.yaml b/manifests/configmap.yaml
index 745ee12..e3f9acb 100644
--- a/manifests/configmap.yaml
+++ b/manifests/configmap.yaml
@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ data:
     fi
     echo ""
 
+    echo "=== OpenClaw Node Host ==="
+    if command -v status-clawdbox-node > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+      status-clawdbox-node
+    elif [ -x /data/agents/clawd/bin/status-clawdbox-node ]; then
+      /data/agents/clawd/bin/status-clawdbox-node
+    else
+      echo "status-clawdbox-node helper not found"
+    fi
+    echo ""
+
     echo "=== Disk Space ==="
     df -h /data
     echo ""
diff --git a/manifests/deployment.yaml b/manifests/deployment.yaml
index 9d0b664..c51aedc 100644
--- a/manifests/deployment.yaml
+++ b/manifests/deployment.yaml
@@ -58,6 +58,16 @@ spec:
               value: noninteractive
             - name: TZ
               value: UTC
+            - name: OPENCLAW_VERSION
+              value: "2026.6.1"
+            - name: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_HOST
+              value: openclaw.apps.lab.apilab.us
+            - name: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT
+              value: "443"
+            - name: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TLS
+              value: "true"
+            - name: CLAWDBOX_NODE_DISPLAY_NAME
+              value: ClawdBox-CLI
           startupProbe:
             tcpSocket:
               port: ssh
diff --git a/scripts/clawdbox-entrypoint b/scripts/clawdbox-entrypoint
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2fab600
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/clawdbox-entrypoint
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT=/data/agents/clawd
+
+mkdir -p /data/ssh /data/.cache/pip /data/.cache/npm /data/.local
+mkdir -p "$ROOT/bin" "$ROOT/src" "$ROOT/tmp" "$ROOT/logs" "$ROOT/notes" "$ROOT/tools"
+
+for keytype in rsa ecdsa ed25519; do
+    if [ ! -f "/data/ssh/ssh_host_${keytype}_key" ]; then
+        echo "Generating persistent host ${keytype} key..."
+        ssh-keygen -q -f "/data/ssh/ssh_host_${keytype}_key" -N '' -t "$keytype"
+    fi
+done
+chmod 600 /data/ssh/ssh_host_*_key
+
+if [ -f /data/.gitconfig ]; then
+    ln -sf /data/.gitconfig "$HOME/.gitconfig"
+fi
+
+cat > "$ROOT/README.md" <<'EOF'
+# ClawdBox Agent Workspace
+
+Durable agent workspace for OpenClaw work that should survive pod restarts.
+
+- `bin/` helper commands
+- `src/` source checkouts and experiments
+- `tmp/` scratch files
+- `logs/` process logs
+- `notes/` operator notes
+- `tools/` persistent tool installs
+EOF
+
+for script in start-clawdbox-node status-clawdbox-node stop-clawdbox-node; do
+    cp "/usr/local/bin/${script}" "$ROOT/bin/${script}"
+done
+
+export PATH="$ROOT/bin:/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
+
+start-clawdbox-node || {
+    echo "ClawdBox-CLI node host did not start; SSH will remain available." >&2
+}
+
+exec /usr/sbin/sshd -D -e -f /etc/ssh/sshd_config
diff --git a/scripts/start-clawdbox-node b/scripts/start-clawdbox-node
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a703f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/start-clawdbox-node
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+set -eu
+
+ROOT=${CLAWDBOX_AGENT_ROOT:-/data/agents/clawd}
+LOG_DIR="$ROOT/logs"
+PID_FILE="$LOG_DIR/node-host.pid"
+LOG_FILE="$LOG_DIR/node-host.log"
+OPENCLAW_DIR="$ROOT/tools/openclaw-node"
+OPENCLAW_VERSION=${OPENCLAW_VERSION:-2026.6.1}
+DISPLAY_NAME=${CLAWDBOX_NODE_DISPLAY_NAME:-ClawdBox-CLI}
+GATEWAY_HOST=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_HOST:-openclaw.apps.lab.apilab.us}
+GATEWAY_PORT=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT:-443}
+
+mkdir -p "$ROOT/bin" "$ROOT/tools" "$LOG_DIR" "$OPENCLAW_DIR"
+
+log() {
+  printf '%s %s\n' "$(date -Iseconds)" "$*" | tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
+}
+
+if [ -f "$PID_FILE" ]; then
+  old=$(cat "$PID_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  case "$old" in
+    *[!0-9]*|"") ;;
+    *)
+      if kill -0 "$old" 2>/dev/null; then
+        echo "$DISPLAY_NAME already running: pid $old"
+        exit 0
+      fi
+      ;;
+  esac
+fi
+
+if [ ! -f "$OPENCLAW_DIR/package.json" ]; then
+  cat > "$OPENCLAW_DIR/package.json" <<EOF
+{
+  "name": "clawdbox-openclaw-node",
+  "private": true,
+  "dependencies": {
+    "openclaw": "$OPENCLAW_VERSION"
+  }
+}
+EOF
+fi
+
+installed_version=""
+if [ -f "$OPENCLAW_DIR/node_modules/openclaw/package.json" ]; then
+  installed_version=$(node -p "require('$OPENCLAW_DIR/node_modules/openclaw/package.json').version" 2>/dev/null || true)
+fi
+
+if [ "$installed_version" != "$OPENCLAW_VERSION" ]; then
+  log "Installing openclaw@$OPENCLAW_VERSION under $OPENCLAW_DIR"
+  npm install --prefix "$OPENCLAW_DIR" "openclaw@$OPENCLAW_VERSION" --omit=dev >> "$LOG_FILE" 2>&1
+fi
+
+OPENCLAW_BIN="$OPENCLAW_DIR/node_modules/.bin/openclaw"
+if [ ! -x "$OPENCLAW_BIN" ]; then
+  log "OpenClaw binary not found at $OPENCLAW_BIN"
+  exit 1
+fi
+ln -sf "$OPENCLAW_BIN" "$ROOT/bin/openclaw"
+
+TOKEN=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN:-}
+if [ -z "$TOKEN" ]; then
+  TOKEN=$(oc get deployment openclaw -n openclaw -o jsonpath='{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].env[?(@.name=="OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN")].value}' 2>/dev/null || true)
+fi
+if [ -z "$TOKEN" ]; then
+  log "OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN is unavailable; skipping node-host startup"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+TLS_FLAG=""
+if [ "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TLS:-true}" = "true" ]; then
+  TLS_FLAG="--tls"
+fi
+
+log "Starting $DISPLAY_NAME against $GATEWAY_HOST:$GATEWAY_PORT"
+OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN="$TOKEN" nohup "$OPENCLAW_BIN" node run \
+  --display-name "$DISPLAY_NAME" \
+  --host "$GATEWAY_HOST" \
+  --port "$GATEWAY_PORT" \
+  $TLS_FLAG >> "$LOG_FILE" 2>&1 &
+echo $! > "$PID_FILE"
+sleep 1
+echo "Started $DISPLAY_NAME node host: pid $(cat "$PID_FILE")"
diff --git a/scripts/status-clawdbox-node b/scripts/status-clawdbox-node
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..abb14eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/status-clawdbox-node
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+set -eu
+
+ROOT=${CLAWDBOX_AGENT_ROOT:-/data/agents/clawd}
+PID_FILE="$ROOT/logs/node-host.pid"
+LOG_FILE="$ROOT/logs/node-host.log"
+
+if [ -f "$PID_FILE" ]; then
+  pid=$(cat "$PID_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true)
+  case "$pid" in
+    *[!0-9]*|"") echo "Invalid pid file: $pid" ;;
+    *) ps -p "$pid" -o pid,etime,cmd || true ;;
+  esac
+else
+  echo "No pid file"
+fi
+
+sed -n '1,120p' "$LOG_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true
diff --git a/scripts/stop-clawdbox-node b/scripts/stop-clawdbox-node
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9754ae7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/stop-clawdbox-node
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env sh
+set -eu
+
+ROOT=${CLAWDBOX_AGENT_ROOT:-/data/agents/clawd}
+PID_FILE="$ROOT/logs/node-host.pid"
+
+if [ ! -f "$PID_FILE" ]; then
+  echo "No pid file"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+pid=$(cat "$PID_FILE" 2>/dev/null || true)
+case "$pid" in
+  *[!0-9]*|"")
+    echo "Invalid pid file: $pid"
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+  *)
+    kill "$pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+    rm -f "$PID_FILE"
+    echo "Stopped ClawdBox-CLI node host: pid $pid"
+    ;;
+esac