diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index 5fb179e9822..16968a9bcf8 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -105,6 +105,17 @@ exec_installer_from_ref() {
   NEMOCLAW_INSTALL_TAG="$ref" bash "$legacy_script" "$@"
 }
 
+require_supported_platform() {
+  # macOS ships only an Apple Silicon (aarch64) OpenShell gateway build, so an
+  # Intel Mac (x86_64 Darwin) install always fails once that binary is fetched.
+  # Reject it here, before any ref resolution or clone, so the user gets an
+  # actionable message instead of a mid-install failure and needless downloads.
+  if [[ "$(uname -s)" == "Darwin" && "$(uname -m)" == "x86_64" ]]; then
+    printf "[ERROR] Apple Silicon (aarch64) is required on macOS. Intel Mac (x86_64) is not supported.\n" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
 bootstrap_version() {
   printf "nemoclaw-installer\n"
 }
@@ -163,6 +174,8 @@ bootstrap_main() {
     esac
   done
 
+  require_supported_platform
+
   local ref
   ref="$(resolve_release_tag)"
   exec_installer_from_ref "$ref" "$@"
diff --git a/test/install-macos-arch-guard.test.ts b/test/install-macos-arch-guard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..214bc39e12e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/install-macos-arch-guard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+//
+// The public curl|bash installer must reject an unsupported macOS architecture
+// before it resolves a ref or clones anything, so an Intel Mac gets an
+// actionable message instead of a mid-install failure and wasted downloads.
+//
+// See: https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/issues/7297
+
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import path from "node:path";
+
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const INSTALLER = path.join(import.meta.dirname, "..", "install.sh");
+
+// Drive the real bootstrap: source install.sh, stub `uname` to report the target
+// platform, and replace ref and download entrypoints with sentinels.
+function runBootstrap(unameS: string, unameM: string) {
+  const script = [
+    'source "$INSTALLER_UNDER_TEST"',
+    'uname() { case "$1" in -s) printf %s "$UNAME_S" ;; -m) printf %s "$UNAME_M" ;; *) command uname "$@" ;; esac; }',
+    'resolve_release_tag() { printf "REACHED_RESOLVE\\n" >&2; printf "test-ref"; }',
+    'clone_nemoclaw_ref() { printf "REACHED_CLONE\\n"; }',
+    'exec_installer_from_ref() { printf "REACHED_INSTALLER\\n"; }',
+    "bootstrap_main",
+  ].join("\n");
+  const result = spawnSync("bash", ["-c", script], {
+    encoding: "utf8",
+    env: { ...process.env, INSTALLER_UNDER_TEST: INSTALLER, UNAME_S: unameS, UNAME_M: unameM },
+  });
+  return { result, output: `${result.stdout}${result.stderr}` };
+}
+
+describe("installer macOS architecture guard (#7297)", () => {
+  it("rejects Intel macOS before ref resolution or clone", () => {
+    const { result, output } = runBootstrap("Darwin", "x86_64");
+
+    expect(result.status).not.toBe(0);
+    expect(output).toContain(
+      "Apple Silicon (aarch64) is required on macOS. Intel Mac (x86_64) is not supported.",
+    );
+    expect(output).not.toMatch(/REACHED_(RESOLVE|CLONE|INSTALLER)/);
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    ["Apple Silicon macOS", "Darwin", "arm64"],
+    ["Linux x86_64", "Linux", "x86_64"],
+    ["Linux aarch64", "Linux", "aarch64"],
+  ])("proceeds to the installer on a supported platform: %s", (_label, unameS, unameM) => {
+    const { result, output } = runBootstrap(unameS, unameM);
+
+    expect(result.status, output).toBe(0);
+    expect(output).toContain("REACHED_INSTALLER");
+    expect(output).not.toContain("Apple Silicon (aarch64) is required");
+  });
+});