docs: clarify OpenShell compatibility guidance

README.md

@@ -52,6 +52,15 @@ The sandbox image is approximately 2.4 GB compressed. During image push, the Doc
 | Container runtime | Supported runtime installed and running |
 | [OpenShell](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell) | Installed |
 
+#### OpenShell Compatibility
+
+NemoClaw 0.1.0 was validated with OpenShell 0.0.7.
+During onboarding, NemoClaw derives the OpenShell gateway image from the installed `openshell` CLI version, so upgrading OpenShell independently can rebuild the sandbox with a different runtime layout than the current NemoClaw release expects.
+
+| NemoClaw | OpenShell | Notes |
+|----------|-----------|-------|
+| 0.1.0 | 0.0.7 | Use `nemoclaw onboard` to create or recreate NemoClaw-managed sandboxes. Avoid `openshell self-update`, `npm update -g openshell`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` directly unless you intend to manage OpenShell separately and then re-onboard. |
+
 #### Container Runtimes
 
 | Platform | Supported runtimes | Notes |

bin/lib/onboard.js

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ const os = require("os");
 const path = require("path");
 const { spawn, spawnSync } = require("child_process");
 const pRetry = require("p-retry");
+const { version: NEMOCLAW_VERSION } = require("../../package.json");
 
 /** Parse a numeric env var, returning `fallback` when unset or non-finite. */
 function envInt(name, fallback) {
@@ -88,6 +89,46 @@ function cleanupTempDir(filePath, expectedPrefix) {
 }
 
 const EXPERIMENTAL = process.env.NEMOCLAW_EXPERIMENTAL === "1";
+const OPENSHELL_COMPATIBILITY = Object.freeze({
+  "0.1.0": Object.freeze(["0.0.7"]),
+});
+
+function parseSemver(version) {
+  const match = String(version || "")
+    .trim()
+    .match(/^(\d+)\.(\d+)\.(\d+)$/);
+  if (!match) return null;
+  return match.slice(1).map((part) => Number(part));
+}
+
+function isExactSemverMatch(version, supportedVersion) {
+  const actual = parseSemver(version);
+  const supported = parseSemver(supportedVersion);
+  return (
+    Array.isArray(actual) &&
+    Array.isArray(supported) &&
+    actual[0] === supported[0] &&
+    actual[1] === supported[1] &&
+    actual[2] === supported[2]
+  );
+}
+
+function getSupportedOpenshellVersions(nemoclawVersion = NEMOCLAW_VERSION) {
+  return OPENSHELL_COMPATIBILITY[nemoclawVersion] || [];
+}
+
+function isSupportedOpenshellVersion(version, supportedVersions = getSupportedOpenshellVersions()) {
+  if (!version || supportedVersions.length === 0) return false;
+  return supportedVersions.some((supportedVersion) =>
+    isExactSemverMatch(version, supportedVersion),
+  );
+}
+
+function formatSupportedOpenshellVersions(supportedVersions) {
+  if (supportedVersions.length === 0) return null;
+  if (supportedVersions.length === 1) return supportedVersions[0];
+  return `${supportedVersions.slice(0, -1).join(", ")}, or ${supportedVersions.at(-1)}`;
+}
 const USE_COLOR = !process.env.NO_COLOR && !!process.stdout.isTTY;
 const DIM = USE_COLOR ? "\x1b[2m" : "";
 const RESET = USE_COLOR ? "\x1b[0m" : "";
@@ -583,6 +624,23 @@ function getStableGatewayImageRef(versionOutput = null) {
   return `ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/cluster:${version}`;
 }
 
+function getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice(version = null) {
+  const supportedVersions = getSupportedOpenshellVersions();
+  const supportedLabel = formatSupportedOpenshellVersions(supportedVersions);
+  if (version && supportedLabel && !isSupportedOpenshellVersion(version, supportedVersions)) {
+    return [
+      `  OpenShell compatibility warning: NemoClaw ${NEMOCLAW_VERSION} was validated with OpenShell ${supportedLabel}, but found ${version}.`,
+      `  Install OpenShell ${supportedLabel}, then rerun \`nemoclaw onboard\` before creating or reusing NemoClaw-managed sandboxes.`,
+      "  Avoid `openshell self-update`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` directly unless you are also updating the NemoClaw compatibility baseline.",
+    ];
+  }
+  const suffix = version ? ` (${version})` : "";
+  return [
+    `  OpenShell compatibility: NemoClaw derives the gateway image from the installed openshell CLI${suffix}.`,
+    "  Use `nemoclaw onboard` to recreate NemoClaw-managed sandboxes, and avoid `openshell self-update`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` directly.",
+  ];
+}
+
 function getOpenshellBinary() {
   if (OPENSHELL_BIN) return OPENSHELL_BIN;
   const resolved = resolveOpenshell();
@@ -2212,6 +2270,10 @@ async function preflight() {
 
 async function startGatewayWithOptions(_gpu, { exitOnFailure = true } = {}) {
   step(2, 7, "Starting OpenShell gateway");
+  const gatewayEnv = getGatewayStartEnv();
+  for (const line of getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice(gatewayEnv.IMAGE_TAG || null)) {
+    console.log(line);
+  }
 
   const gatewayStatus = runCaptureOpenshell(["status"], { ignoreError: true });
   const gwInfo = runCaptureOpenshell(["gateway", "info", "-g", GATEWAY_NAME], {
@@ -2239,7 +2301,6 @@ async function startGatewayWithOptions(_gpu, { exitOnFailure = true } = {}) {
   // sandbox itself does not need direct GPU access. Passing --gpu causes
   // FailedPrecondition errors when the gateway's k3s device plugin cannot
   // allocate GPUs. See: https://build.nvidia.com/spark/nemoclaw/instructions
-  const gatewayEnv = getGatewayStartEnv();
   if (gatewayEnv.OPENSHELL_CLUSTER_IMAGE) {
     console.log(`  Using pinned OpenShell gateway image: ${gatewayEnv.OPENSHELL_CLUSTER_IMAGE}`);
   }
@@ -4184,6 +4245,7 @@ module.exports = {
   getGatewayStartEnv,
   getGatewayReuseState,
   getSandboxInferenceConfig,
+  getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice,
   getInstalledOpenshellVersion,
   getRequestedModelHint,
   getRequestedProviderHint,

docs/about/how-it-works.md

@@ -93,9 +93,9 @@ Respect CLI boundaries
 Supply chain safety
 : Blueprint artifacts are immutable, versioned, and digest-verified before execution.
 
-OpenShell-native for new installs
-: For users without an existing OpenClaw installation, NemoClaw recommends `openshell sandbox create` directly
-  rather than forcing a plugin-driven bootstrap.
+OpenShell-backed lifecycle
+: NemoClaw orchestrates OpenShell resources under the hood, but `nemoclaw onboard`
+  is the supported operator entry point for creating or recreating NemoClaw-managed sandboxes.
 
 Reproducible setup
 : Running setup again recreates the sandbox from the same blueprint and policy definitions.

docs/get-started/quickstart.md

@@ -55,6 +55,15 @@ The sandbox image is approximately 2.4 GB compressed. During image push, the Doc
 | Container runtime | Supported runtime installed and running |
 | [OpenShell](https://github.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell) | Installed |
 
+:::{warning} OpenShell compatibility
+NemoClaw 0.1.0 was validated with OpenShell 0.0.7.
+During onboarding, NemoClaw derives the OpenShell gateway image from the installed `openshell` CLI version, so upgrading OpenShell independently can rebuild the sandbox with a different runtime layout than the current NemoClaw release expects.
+:::
+
+| NemoClaw | OpenShell | Notes |
+|----------|-----------|-------|
+| 0.1.0 | 0.0.7 | Use `nemoclaw onboard` to create or recreate NemoClaw-managed sandboxes. Avoid `openshell self-update`, `npm update -g openshell`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` directly unless you intend to manage OpenShell separately and then re-onboard. |
+
 ### Container Runtimes
 
 | Platform | Supported runtimes | Notes |

docs/reference/commands.md

@@ -66,6 +66,11 @@ Use this command for new installs and for recreating a sandbox after changes to
 $ nemoclaw onboard
 ```
 
+:::{warning}
+For NemoClaw-managed environments, use `nemoclaw onboard` when you need to create or recreate the OpenShell gateway or sandbox.
+NemoClaw derives the gateway image from the installed `openshell` CLI version, so `openshell self-update`, `npm update -g openshell`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` can replace the runtime with a different OpenShell release than NemoClaw 0.1.0 was validated against.
+:::
+
 The wizard prompts for a provider first, then collects the provider credential if needed.
 Supported non-experimental choices include NVIDIA Endpoints, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and compatible OpenAI or Anthropic endpoints.
 Credentials are stored in `~/.nemoclaw/credentials.json`.

test/onboard.test.js

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import {
   getGatewayReuseState,
   getPortConflictServiceHints,
   getFutureShellPathHint,
+  getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice,
   getSandboxInferenceConfig,
   getInstalledOpenshellVersion,
   getRequestedModelHint,
@@ -35,6 +36,8 @@ import {
 } from "../bin/lib/onboard";
 import { buildWebSearchDockerConfig } from "../dist/lib/web-search";
 
+const ROOT = path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, "..");
+
 describe("onboard helpers", () => {
   it("classifies sandbox create timeout failures and tracks upload progress", () => {
     expect(
@@ -306,6 +309,37 @@ describe("onboard helpers", () => {
     expect(getStableGatewayImageRef("bogus")).toBe(null);
   });
 
+  it("prints a compatibility note when the gateway version is pinned", () => {
+    expect(getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice("0.0.7")).toEqual([
+      "  OpenShell compatibility: NemoClaw derives the gateway image from the installed openshell CLI (0.0.7).",
+      "  Use `nemoclaw onboard` to recreate NemoClaw-managed sandboxes, and avoid `openshell self-update`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` directly.",
+    ]);
+    expect(getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice()).toEqual([
+      "  OpenShell compatibility: NemoClaw derives the gateway image from the installed openshell CLI.",
+      "  Use `nemoclaw onboard` to recreate NemoClaw-managed sandboxes, and avoid `openshell self-update`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` directly.",
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("warns when the installed OpenShell version falls outside the supported baseline", () => {
+    expect(getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice("0.0.8")).toEqual([
+      "  OpenShell compatibility warning: NemoClaw 0.1.0 was validated with OpenShell 0.0.7, but found 0.0.8.",
+      "  Install OpenShell 0.0.7, then rerun `nemoclaw onboard` before creating or reusing NemoClaw-managed sandboxes.",
+      "  Avoid `openshell self-update`, `openshell gateway start --recreate`, or `openshell sandbox create` directly unless you are also updating the NemoClaw compatibility baseline.",
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("prints the compatibility notice before the healthy gateway reuse early return", () => {
+    const content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, "bin/lib/onboard.js"), "utf-8");
+    const startGwBlock = content.match(/async function startGatewayWithOptions[\s\S]*?^}/m);
+    expect(startGwBlock).toBeTruthy();
+
+    const noticeIndex = startGwBlock[0].indexOf("getOpenshellCompatibilityNotice(");
+    const healthyCheckIndex = startGwBlock[0].indexOf("if (isGatewayHealthy(");
+    expect(noticeIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(healthyCheckIndex).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(noticeIndex).toBeLessThan(healthyCheckIndex);
+  });
+
   it("treats the gateway as healthy only when nemoclaw is running and connected", () => {
     expect(
       isGatewayHealthy(