diff --git a/src/lib/actions/sandbox/destroy-flow.test.ts b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/destroy-flow.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f5b1fa351be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/actions/sandbox/destroy-flow.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
+
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, type MockInstance, vi } from "vitest";
+
+type DestroySandbox =
+  typeof import("../../../../dist/lib/actions/sandbox/destroy")["destroySandbox"];
+
+const requireDist = createRequire(import.meta.url);
+const destroyModulePath = "../../../../dist/lib/actions/sandbox/destroy.js";
+
+type DestroyHarness = {
+  cleanupGatewaySpy: MockInstance;
+  destroySandbox: DestroySandbox;
+  killStaleProxySpy: MockInstance;
+  logSpy: MockInstance;
+  removeSandboxSpy: MockInstance;
+  runOpenshellSpy: MockInstance;
+  selectGatewaySpy: MockInstance;
+  stopNimByNameSpy: MockInstance;
+  unloadOllamaModelsSpy: MockInstance;
+};
+
+type DestroyHarnessOptions = {
+  deleteStatus?: number;
+  deleteOutput?: string;
+};
+
+const sandboxEntry = {
+  name: "alpha",
+  provider: "ollama-local",
+  model: "nvidia/nemotron",
+  imageTag: null,
+  nimContainer: "alpha-nim",
+  gatewayName: "nemoclaw-19080",
+  gatewayPort: 19080,
+};
+
+function createDestroyHarness(options: DestroyHarnessOptions = {}): DestroyHarness {
+  delete require.cache[requireDist.resolve(destroyModulePath)];
+
+  const logSpy = vi.spyOn(console, "log").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  vi.spyOn(console, "error").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  vi.spyOn(console, "warn").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+
+  const resolve = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/adapters/openshell/resolve.js");
+  const runtime = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/adapters/openshell/runtime.js");
+  const destroyGateway = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/actions/sandbox/destroy-gateway.js");
+  const sandboxProviderCleanup = requireDist(
+    "../../../../dist/lib/onboard/sandbox-provider-cleanup.js",
+  );
+  const nim = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/inference/nim.js");
+  const ollamaProxy = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/inference/ollama/proxy.js");
+  const tunnelServices = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/tunnel/services.js");
+  const onboardSession = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/state/onboard-session.js");
+  const registry = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/state/registry.js");
+  const sandboxSession = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/state/sandbox-session.js");
+  const timerControl = requireDist("../../../../dist/lib/shields/timer-control.js");
+
+  vi.spyOn(resolve, "resolveOpenshell").mockReturnValue("/usr/bin/openshell");
+  vi.spyOn(sandboxSession, "getActiveSandboxSessions").mockReturnValue({
+    detected: true,
+    sessions: [{ pid: 1 }],
+  });
+  vi.spyOn(registry, "getSandbox").mockReturnValue(sandboxEntry);
+  vi.spyOn(registry, "listSandboxes").mockReturnValue({ sandboxes: [] });
+  const removeSandboxSpy = vi.spyOn(registry, "removeSandbox").mockReturnValue(true);
+  vi.spyOn(onboardSession, "loadSession").mockReturnValue({ sandboxName: "alpha" });
+  vi.spyOn(onboardSession, "updateSession").mockImplementation((mutator: unknown) => {
+    const session = { sandboxName: "alpha" };
+    if (typeof mutator === "function") (mutator as (value: typeof session) => void)(session);
+    return session;
+  });
+  const runOpenshellSpy = vi.spyOn(runtime, "runOpenshell").mockImplementation((args: unknown) => {
+    const argv = Array.isArray(args) ? args : [];
+    if (argv[0] === "sandbox" && argv[1] === "delete") {
+      return { status: options.deleteStatus ?? 0, stdout: options.deleteOutput ?? "", stderr: "" };
+    }
+    return { status: 0, stdout: "", stderr: "" };
+  });
+  vi.spyOn(runtime, "captureOpenshell").mockReturnValue({ status: 0, output: "" });
+  const selectGatewaySpy = vi
+    .spyOn(destroyGateway, "selectGatewayForSandboxDestroy")
+    .mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  const cleanupGatewaySpy = vi
+    .spyOn(destroyGateway, "cleanupGatewayAfterLastSandbox")
+    .mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  vi.spyOn(sandboxProviderCleanup, "runSandboxProviderPreDeleteCleanup").mockReturnValue({
+    failures: [],
+  });
+  vi.spyOn(sandboxProviderCleanup, "emitProviderDetachResidualHint").mockImplementation(
+    () => undefined,
+  );
+  const stopNimByNameSpy = vi
+    .spyOn(nim, "stopNimContainerByName")
+    .mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  vi.spyOn(nim, "stopNimContainer").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  const killStaleProxySpy = vi
+    .spyOn(ollamaProxy, "killStaleProxy")
+    .mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  const unloadOllamaModelsSpy = vi
+    .spyOn(ollamaProxy, "unloadOllamaModels")
+    .mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  vi.spyOn(tunnelServices, "stopAll").mockImplementation(() => undefined);
+  vi.spyOn(timerControl, "killTimer").mockReturnValue({ warnings: [] });
+
+  logSpy.mockClear();
+
+  return {
+    cleanupGatewaySpy,
+    destroySandbox: requireDist(destroyModulePath).destroySandbox,
+    killStaleProxySpy,
+    logSpy,
+    removeSandboxSpy,
+    runOpenshellSpy,
+    selectGatewaySpy,
+    stopNimByNameSpy,
+    unloadOllamaModelsSpy,
+  };
+}
+
+describe("destroySandbox flow", () => {
+  let exitSpy: MockInstance;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    exitSpy = vi.spyOn(process, "exit").mockImplementation(((code?: number | string | null) => {
+      throw new Error(`process.exit(${code ?? 0})`);
+    }) as never);
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
+    delete require.cache[requireDist.resolve(destroyModulePath)];
+  });
+
+  it("selects the sandbox gateway, deletes live resources, cleans host state, and removes registry state", async () => {
+    const harness = createDestroyHarness();
+
+    await expect(
+      harness.destroySandbox("alpha", { yes: true, cleanupGateway: true }),
+    ).resolves.toBeUndefined();
+
+    expect(harness.selectGatewaySpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "alpha",
+      "nemoclaw-19080",
+      harness.runOpenshellSpy,
+    );
+    expect(harness.stopNimByNameSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("alpha-nim");
+    expect(harness.killStaleProxySpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(harness.runOpenshellSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      ["sandbox", "delete", "alpha"],
+      expect.objectContaining({ ignoreError: true }),
+    );
+    expect(harness.unloadOllamaModelsSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(harness.removeSandboxSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith("alpha");
+    expect(harness.cleanupGatewaySpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      "nemoclaw-19080",
+      harness.runOpenshellSpy,
+    );
+    expect(harness.logSpy.mock.calls.map((call) => String(call[0])).join("\n")).toContain(
+      "Sandbox 'alpha' destroyed",
+    );
+    expect(exitSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("stops before local cleanup when OpenShell fails to delete the live sandbox", async () => {
+    const harness = createDestroyHarness({ deleteStatus: 7, deleteOutput: "delete failed" });
+
+    await expect(harness.destroySandbox("alpha", { yes: true })).rejects.toThrow("process.exit(7)");
+
+    expect(harness.runOpenshellSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      ["sandbox", "delete", "alpha"],
+      expect.objectContaining({ ignoreError: true }),
+    );
+    expect(harness.removeSandboxSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(harness.cleanupGatewaySpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(exitSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(7);
+  });
+});