diff --git a/scripts/run-openclaw-podman.sh b/scripts/run-openclaw-podman.sh
index be7bc5072ffb..bfc96daa94ad 100755
--- a/scripts/run-openclaw-podman.sh
+++ b/scripts/run-openclaw-podman.sh
@@ -36,6 +36,14 @@ fail() {
   exit 1
 }
 
+run_podman_detached() {
+  if command -v timeout >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    timeout "$PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT" podman run "$@"
+    return
+  fi
+  podman run "$@"
+}
+
 validate_single_line_value() {
   local label="$1"
   local value="$2"
@@ -167,7 +175,7 @@ load_podman_env_file() {
     key="${key%"${key##*[![:space:]]}"}"
     [[ "$key" =~ ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$ ]] || continue
     case "$key" in
-      OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_CONTAINER|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_IMAGE|OPENCLAW_IMAGE|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_PULL|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_GATEWAY_HOST_PORT|OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_BRIDGE_HOST_PORT|OPENCLAW_BRIDGE_PORT|OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_USERNS|OPENCLAW_BIND_MOUNT_OPTIONS|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_PUBLISH_HOST)
+      OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_CONTAINER|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_IMAGE|OPENCLAW_IMAGE|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_PULL|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_GATEWAY_HOST_PORT|OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_BRIDGE_HOST_PORT|OPENCLAW_BRIDGE_PORT|OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_USERNS|OPENCLAW_BIND_MOUNT_OPTIONS|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_PUBLISH_HOST)
         ;;
       *)
         continue
@@ -236,6 +244,7 @@ WORKSPACE_DIR="${OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR:-$CONFIG_DIR/workspace}"
 CONTAINER_NAME="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_CONTAINER:-openclaw}"
 OPENCLAW_IMAGE="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_IMAGE:-${OPENCLAW_IMAGE:-openclaw:local}}"
 PODMAN_PULL="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_PULL:-never}"
+PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT:-600s}"
 HOST_GATEWAY_PORT="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_GATEWAY_HOST_PORT:-${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT:-18789}}"
 HOST_BRIDGE_PORT="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_BRIDGE_HOST_PORT:-${OPENCLAW_BRIDGE_PORT:-18790}}"
 PUBLISH_HOST="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_PUBLISH_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"
@@ -546,7 +555,7 @@ if [[ "$RUN_SETUP" == true ]]; then
 fi
 
 TOKEN_ENV_FILE="$(create_token_env_file "$ENV_FILE" "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN")"
-podman run --pull="$PODMAN_PULL" -d --replace \
+run_podman_detached --pull="$PODMAN_PULL" -d --replace \
   --name "$CONTAINER_NAME" \
   --init \
   "${USERNS_ARGS[@]}" "${RUN_USER_ARGS[@]}" \
diff --git a/test/scripts/test-install-sh-docker.test.ts b/test/scripts/test-install-sh-docker.test.ts
index 7d833d6e32ff..9ab5240bcc89 100644
--- a/test/scripts/test-install-sh-docker.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/test-install-sh-docker.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 const SCRIPT_PATH = "scripts/test-install-sh-docker.sh";
 const DOCKER_SETUP_PATH = "scripts/docker/setup.sh";
 const PODMAN_SETUP_PATH = "scripts/podman/setup.sh";
+const PODMAN_RUN_PATH = "scripts/run-openclaw-podman.sh";
 const SMOKE_RUNNER_PATH = "scripts/docker/install-sh-smoke/run.sh";
 const BUN_GLOBAL_SMOKE_PATH = "scripts/e2e/bun-global-install-smoke.sh";
 const BUN_GLOBAL_ASSERTIONS_PATH = "scripts/e2e/lib/bun-global-install/assertions.mjs";
@@ -142,6 +143,18 @@ describe("test-install-sh-docker", () => {
     expect(script).not.toContain('podman pull "$OPENCLAW_IMAGE"');
   });
 
+  it("bounds detached Podman launches without timing out onboarding", () => {
+    const script = readFileSync(PODMAN_RUN_PATH, "utf8");
+
+    expect(script).toContain('PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT="${OPENCLAW_PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT:-600s}"');
+    expect(script).toContain("OPENCLAW_PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT|OPENCLAW_PODMAN_GATEWAY_HOST_PORT");
+    expect(script).toContain("run_podman_detached()");
+    expect(script).toContain('timeout "$PODMAN_RUN_TIMEOUT" podman run "$@"');
+    expect(script).toContain('podman run --pull="$PODMAN_PULL" --rm -it \\');
+    expect(script).toContain('run_podman_detached --pull="$PODMAN_PULL" -d --replace \\');
+    expect(script).not.toContain('podman run --pull="$PODMAN_PULL" -d --replace \\');
+  });
+
   it("passes image-scoped pip packages through Docker and Podman setup", () => {
     const dockerSetup = readFileSync(DOCKER_SETUP_PATH, "utf8");
     const podmanSetup = readFileSync(PODMAN_SETUP_PATH, "utf8");