diff --git a/bin/lib/onboard.js b/bin/lib/onboard.js
index 65d839bab89..a451ee550a5 100644
--- a/bin/lib/onboard.js
+++ b/bin/lib/onboard.js
@@ -1510,6 +1510,70 @@ function getNonInteractiveModel(providerKey) {
 // ── Step 1: Preflight ────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 // eslint-disable-next-line complexity
+const OPENSHELL_INSTALL_URL = "https://www.nvidia.com/nemoclaw.sh";
+
+/**
+ * Read the minimum required OpenShell version from scripts/install-openshell.sh.
+ * Returns null if the file is missing or the MIN_VERSION line can't be parsed.
+ */
+function getExpectedOpenshellVersion() {
+  const installScript = path.join(SCRIPTS, "install-openshell.sh");
+  try {
+    const scriptContent = fs.readFileSync(installScript, "utf-8");
+    const match = scriptContent.match(/^MIN_VERSION="([^"]+)"/m);
+    if (match) return match[1];
+    note(
+      "[preflight] install-openshell.sh found but MIN_VERSION line not parseable — skipping version check",
+    );
+    return null;
+  } catch {
+    return null; // file missing — skip version check silently
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Emit a warning if the installed OpenShell version differs from the tested baseline.
+ * Silently skips if the installed version or expected version can't be determined.
+ */
+function warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch(installedVersion) {
+  if (!installedVersion) return;
+  const expectedVersion = getExpectedOpenshellVersion();
+  if (!expectedVersion || installedVersion === expectedVersion) return;
+
+  const [iMaj, iMin, iPatch] = installedVersion.split(".").map(Number);
+  const [eMaj, eMin, ePatch] = expectedVersion.split(".").map(Number);
+  const isNewer =
+    iMaj > eMaj ||
+    (iMaj === eMaj && iMin > eMin) ||
+    (iMaj === eMaj && iMin === eMin && iPatch > ePatch);
+  const isOlder =
+    iMaj < eMaj ||
+    (iMaj === eMaj && iMin < eMin) ||
+    (iMaj === eMaj && iMin === eMin && iPatch < ePatch);
+
+  if (isNewer) {
+    console.error("");
+    console.error(
+      `  ⚠️  OpenShell ${installedVersion} is newer than the tested version ${expectedVersion}.`,
+    );
+    console.error(
+      "  Upgrading OpenShell independently (e.g. 'openshell self-update') can break NemoClaw sandbox compatibility.",
+    );
+    console.error(
+      `  If you experience issues, reinstall the tested version: curl -fsSL ${OPENSHELL_INSTALL_URL} | bash`,
+    );
+    console.error("");
+  } else if (isOlder) {
+    console.error("");
+    console.error(
+      `  ⚠️  OpenShell ${installedVersion} is older than the tested version ${expectedVersion}.`,
+    );
+    console.error("  This version may cause onboarding or runtime failures. Please upgrade:");
+    console.error(`  curl -fsSL ${OPENSHELL_INSTALL_URL} | bash`);
+    console.error("");
+  }
+}
+
 async function preflight() {
   step(1, 8, "Preflight checks");
 
@@ -1547,9 +1611,17 @@ async function preflight() {
       process.exit(1);
     }
   }
-  console.log(
-    `  ✓ openshell CLI: ${runCaptureOpenshell(["--version"], { ignoreError: true }) || "unknown"}`,
-  );
+  const openshellVersionRaw = runCaptureOpenshell(["--version"], { ignoreError: true });
+  const installedVersion = getInstalledOpenshellVersion(openshellVersionRaw);
+  if (!openshellVersionRaw) {
+    console.error("  Could not determine the installed OpenShell version.");
+  } else {
+    console.log(`  ✓ openshell CLI: ${openshellVersionRaw}`);
+  }
+
+  // Warn if the installed OpenShell version differs from the version NemoClaw
+  // was tested with. Running a newer OpenShell can break sandbox compatibility.
+  warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch(installedVersion);
   if (openshellInstall.futureShellPathHint) {
     console.log(
       `  Note: openshell was installed to ${openshellInstall.localBin} for this onboarding run.`,
@@ -3979,6 +4051,8 @@ module.exports = {
   getNavigationChoice,
   getSandboxInferenceConfig,
   getInstalledOpenshellVersion,
+  getExpectedOpenshellVersion,
+  warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch,
   getRequestedModelHint,
   getRequestedProviderHint,
   getStableGatewayImageRef,
diff --git a/test/openshell-version-check.test.js b/test/openshell-version-check.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5d07970fc7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/openshell-version-check.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import {
+  getExpectedOpenshellVersion,
+  warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch,
+  getInstalledOpenshellVersion,
+} from "../bin/lib/onboard";
+
+// Helper: create a temp install-openshell.sh with a given MIN_VERSION
+function makeTmpInstallScript(minVersion) {
+  const dir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "nemoclaw-openshell-test-"));
+  const scriptPath = path.join(dir, "install-openshell.sh");
+  fs.writeFileSync(scriptPath, `#!/usr/bin/env bash\nMIN_VERSION="${minVersion}"\necho "done"\n`);
+  return { dir, scriptPath };
+}
+
+describe("getExpectedOpenshellVersion", () => {
+  it("reads MIN_VERSION from install-openshell.sh", () => {
+    const { scriptPath } = makeTmpInstallScript("0.0.22");
+    // Temporarily override SCRIPTS path by spying — use vi.spyOn on fs
+    const origReadFileSync = fs.readFileSync;
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockImplementation((p, ...args) => {
+      if (String(p).endsWith("install-openshell.sh")) {
+        return origReadFileSync(scriptPath, ...args);
+      }
+      return origReadFileSync(p, ...args);
+    });
+
+    const version = getExpectedOpenshellVersion();
+    expect(version).toBe("0.0.22");
+
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("returns null when install script is missing", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockImplementation((p) => {
+      if (String(p).endsWith("install-openshell.sh")) throw new Error("ENOENT");
+      throw new Error("unexpected");
+    });
+
+    const version = getExpectedOpenshellVersion();
+    expect(version).toBeNull();
+
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("returns null when MIN_VERSION line is missing from script", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockReturnValueOnce(
+      "#!/usr/bin/env bash\n# no MIN_VERSION here\n",
+    );
+
+    const version = getExpectedOpenshellVersion();
+    expect(version).toBeNull();
+
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+});
+
+describe("warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch", () => {
+  let stderrOutput;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    stderrOutput = [];
+    vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation((...args) => stderrOutput.push(args.join(" ")));
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("emits no warning when versions match", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockReturnValueOnce('MIN_VERSION="0.0.22"\n');
+    warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch("0.0.22");
+    expect(stderrOutput).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("warns when installed version is newer", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockReturnValueOnce('MIN_VERSION="0.0.22"\n');
+    warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch("0.0.23");
+    expect(stderrOutput.some((l) => l.includes("newer"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(stderrOutput.some((l) => l.includes("0.0.23"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(stderrOutput.some((l) => l.includes("0.0.22"))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("warns when installed version is older", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockReturnValueOnce('MIN_VERSION="0.0.22"\n');
+    warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch("0.0.7");
+    expect(stderrOutput.some((l) => l.includes("older"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(stderrOutput.some((l) => l.includes("0.0.7"))).toBe(true);
+    expect(stderrOutput.some((l) => l.includes("0.0.22"))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("skips gracefully when install script is missing (no crash)", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockImplementation((p) => {
+      if (String(p).endsWith("install-openshell.sh")) throw new Error("ENOENT");
+      throw new Error("unexpected");
+    });
+    // Should not throw even if expectedVersion is null
+    expect(() => warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch("0.0.7")).not.toThrow();
+    expect(stderrOutput).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  it("skips gracefully when installed version is empty/null", () => {
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "readFileSync").mockReturnValueOnce('MIN_VERSION="0.0.22"\n');
+    expect(() => warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch(null)).not.toThrow();
+    expect(() => warnOnOpenshellVersionMismatch("")).not.toThrow();
+    expect(stderrOutput).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});