diff --git a/src/cli/command-catalog.ts b/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
index 5330ff2a5865..fa639988a725 100644
--- a/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
+++ b/src/cli/command-catalog.ts
@@ -244,6 +244,13 @@ export const cliCommandCatalog: readonly CliCommandCatalogEntry[] = [
     route: { id: "gateway-status" },
   },
   { commandPath: ["gateway", "call"], exact: true, policy: { networkProxy: "bypass" } },
+  ...["suspend", "resume"].map(
+    (subcommand): CliCommandCatalogEntry => ({
+      commandPath: ["gateway", subcommand],
+      exact: true,
+      policy: { configGuard: "validate", networkProxy: "bypass" },
+    }),
+  ),
   { commandPath: ["gateway", "diagnostics"], exact: true, policy: { networkProxy: "bypass" } },
   { commandPath: ["gateway", "discover"], exact: true, policy: { networkProxy: "bypass" } },
   {
diff --git a/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts b/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts
index 5dcf8013aea9..005498db502e 100644
--- a/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/command-path-policy.test.ts
@@ -125,6 +125,15 @@ describe("command-path-policy", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it("keeps gateway suspension RPCs on non-observing config validation", () => {
+    for (const subcommand of ["suspend", "resume"]) {
+      expectResolvedPolicy(["gateway", subcommand], {
+        configGuard: "validate",
+        networkProxy: "bypass",
+      });
+    }
+  });
+
   it("applies exact overrides after broader channel plugin rules", () => {
     expectResolvedPolicy(["channels", "send"], {
       loadPlugins: "always",
diff --git a/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts b/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts
index f0ac5a78336f..ad3461360461 100644
--- a/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/command-startup-policy.test.ts
@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@ describe("command-startup-policy", () => {
       ["nodes", "remove"],
       ["devices", "approve"],
       ["devices", "remove"],
+      ["gateway", "suspend"],
+      ["gateway", "resume"],
     ]) {
       expect(resolvePolicy({ commandPath })).toMatchObject({
         skipConfigGuard: false,
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-backed-exit.process.test.ts b/src/cli/gateway-backed-exit.process.test.ts
index 038648ea27a2..c095d5eef63d 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-backed-exit.process.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-backed-exit.process.test.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ import {
   storeOriginDeviceToken,
 } from "../infra/device-auth-store.js";
 import { loadOrCreateDeviceIdentity } from "../infra/device-identity.js";
-import { openNodeSqliteDatabase, resolveImmutableSqliteFileUri } from "../infra/node-sqlite.js";
 import { closeOpenClawStateDatabaseForTest } from "../state/openclaw-state-db.js";
 import { getFreePort } from "../test-utils/ports.js";
 
@@ -31,6 +30,7 @@ const tempDirs = useAutoCleanupTempDirTracker(afterEach);
 const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
 const activeChildren = new Set<ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams>();
 const activeServers = new Set<WebSocketServer>();
+const UNREACHABLE_GATEWAY_URL = "ws://127.0.0.1:9";
 
 afterEach(async () => {
   await Promise.all(
@@ -191,8 +191,6 @@ async function snapshotDirectoryContents(root: string): Promise<Record<string, s
         await visit(absolutePath);
       } else if (stat.isSymbolicLink()) {
         snapshot[relativePath] = `symlink:${await fs.readlink(absolutePath)}`;
-      } else if (name === "openclaw.sqlite") {
-        snapshot[relativePath] = "sqlite-database";
       } else {
         snapshot[relativePath] = `file:${createHash("sha256")
           .update(await fs.readFile(absolutePath))
@@ -204,34 +202,80 @@ async function snapshotDirectoryContents(root: string): Promise<Record<string, s
   return snapshot;
 }
 
-function snapshotSqliteTables(databasePath: string): Record<string, string[]> {
-  const database = openNodeSqliteDatabase(resolveImmutableSqliteFileUri(databasePath), {
-    readOnly: true,
-  });
+async function snapshotSharedStateArtifacts(stateDir: string): Promise<Record<string, string>> {
+  const sharedStateDir = path.join(stateDir, "state");
   try {
-    const tables = database
-      .prepare("SELECT name FROM sqlite_schema WHERE type = 'table' ORDER BY name")
-      .all() as Array<{ name: string }>;
-    return Object.fromEntries(
-      tables.map(({ name }) => {
-        const quotedName = `"${name.replaceAll('"', '""')}"`;
-        const rows = database
-          .prepare(`SELECT * FROM ${quotedName}`)
-          .all()
-          .map((row) =>
-            JSON.stringify(row, (_key, value: unknown) =>
-              typeof value === "bigint" ? value.toString() : value,
-            ),
-          )
-          .toSorted();
-        return [name, rows];
-      }),
-    );
-  } finally {
-    database.close();
+    return await snapshotDirectoryContents(sharedStateDir);
+  } catch (error) {
+    if ((error as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "ENOENT") {
+      return {};
+    }
+    throw error;
   }
 }
 
+async function prepareUnreachableGatewayCliFixture(params: {
+  label: string;
+  seeded: boolean;
+}): Promise<{ root: string; stateDir: string; configPath: string }> {
+  const root = tempDirs.make(`openclaw-${params.label}-${params.seeded ? "seeded" : "absent"}-`);
+  const stateDir = path.join(root, "state");
+  const configPath = path.join(stateDir, "openclaw.json");
+  await fs.mkdir(stateDir, { recursive: true });
+  await fs.writeFile(
+    configPath,
+    JSON.stringify({
+      gateway: {
+        mode: "remote",
+        auth: { mode: "none" },
+        remote: { url: UNREACHABLE_GATEWAY_URL },
+      },
+    }),
+  );
+  if (params.seeded) {
+    const stateEnv = {
+      ...process.env,
+      HOME: root,
+      OPENCLAW_HOME: root,
+      OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR: stateDir,
+    };
+    const identity = loadOrCreateDeviceIdentity({ env: stateEnv });
+    storeOriginDeviceToken({
+      gatewayScope: gatewayOriginScope(UNREACHABLE_GATEWAY_URL),
+      deviceId: identity.deviceId,
+      role: "operator",
+      token: "stored-device-token",
+      scopes: ["operator.admin"],
+      env: stateEnv,
+    });
+    closeOpenClawStateDatabaseForTest();
+  }
+  return { root, stateDir, configPath };
+}
+
+function expectUnreachableGatewayTransportFailure(
+  result: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof runIsolatedGatewayCli>>,
+  output: "json" | "text",
+): void {
+  expect(result).toMatchObject({ code: 1, signal: null });
+  if (output === "json") {
+    expect(result.stderr).toBe("");
+    expect(JSON.parse(result.stdout)).toMatchObject({
+      ok: false,
+      error: {
+        type: "gateway_transport_error",
+        kind: "closed",
+        message: expect.stringContaining("Gateway not reachable"),
+      },
+      gateway: { url: UNREACHABLE_GATEWAY_URL },
+    });
+    return;
+  }
+  expect(result.stderr).toContain("Gateway not reachable");
+  expect(result.stderr).toContain(UNREACHABLE_GATEWAY_URL);
+  expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("gateway timeout");
+}
+
 async function runIsolatedGatewayCli(params: {
   args: string[];
   root: string;
@@ -294,6 +338,55 @@ async function runIsolatedGatewayCli(params: {
 }
 
 describe("gateway-backed CLI process exit", () => {
+  it.each([
+    {
+      label: "root-health-json",
+      args: ["health", "--json", "--timeout", "250"],
+      output: "json" as const,
+    },
+    {
+      label: "gateway-health-text",
+      args: ["gateway", "health", "--timeout", "250"],
+      output: "text" as const,
+    },
+    {
+      label: "gateway-health-json",
+      args: ["gateway", "health", "--json", "--timeout", "250"],
+      output: "json" as const,
+    },
+    {
+      label: "gateway-suspend-json",
+      args: ["gateway", "suspend", "--json", "--timeout", "250"],
+      output: "json" as const,
+    },
+    {
+      label: "gateway-resume-json",
+      args: ["gateway", "resume", "suspension-1", "--json", "--timeout", "250"],
+      output: "json" as const,
+    },
+  ])(
+    "leaves shared state byte-identical after unreachable $label",
+    async ({ label, args, output }) => {
+      const absent = await prepareUnreachableGatewayCliFixture({ label, seeded: false });
+      expect(await snapshotSharedStateArtifacts(absent.stateDir)).toEqual({});
+
+      const absentResult = await runIsolatedGatewayCli({ ...absent, args });
+
+      expectUnreachableGatewayTransportFailure(absentResult, output);
+      expect(await snapshotSharedStateArtifacts(absent.stateDir)).toEqual({});
+
+      const seeded = await prepareUnreachableGatewayCliFixture({ label, seeded: true });
+      const before = await snapshotSharedStateArtifacts(seeded.stateDir);
+      expect(Object.keys(before)).toContain("openclaw.sqlite");
+
+      const seededResult = await runIsolatedGatewayCli({ ...seeded, args });
+
+      expectUnreachableGatewayTransportFailure(seededResult, output);
+      expect(await snapshotSharedStateArtifacts(seeded.stateDir)).toEqual(before);
+    },
+    60_000,
+  );
+
   it("dispatches node pairing mutations without opening the writable state database", async () => {
     const root = tempDirs.make("openclaw-node-pairing-cli-");
     const stateDir = path.join(root, "state");
@@ -350,9 +443,7 @@ describe("gateway-backed CLI process exit", () => {
       env: stateEnv,
     });
     closeOpenClawStateDatabaseForTest();
-    const databasePath = path.join(stateDir, "state", "openclaw.sqlite");
     const before = await snapshotDirectoryContents(stateDir);
-    const beforeTables = snapshotSqliteTables(databasePath);
 
     const result = await runIsolatedGatewayCli({
       args: ["nodes", "approve", "request-1", "--json"],
@@ -365,7 +456,6 @@ describe("gateway-backed CLI process exit", () => {
     expect(JSON.parse(result.stdout)).toEqual({ approved: true });
     expect(gateway.calls).toEqual(["node.pair.list", "node.pair.approve"]);
     expect(await snapshotDirectoryContents(stateDir)).toEqual(before);
-    expect(snapshotSqliteTables(databasePath)).toEqual(beforeTables);
     expect(
       loadOriginDeviceTokenReadOnly({
         gatewayScope: gatewayOriginScope(gateway.url),
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.test.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.test.ts
index 6106bc6a6bbf..60ac656b4b2f 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
   it("writes successful JSON without loading error-only dependencies", async () => {
     const runtime = createRuntime();
     const callGateway = vi.fn(async () => ({ ok: true, durationMs: 6 }));
-    const readBestEffortConfig = vi.fn(async () => ({}));
+    const readBestEffortHealthConfig = vi.fn(async () => ({}));
     const emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic = vi.fn(async () => false);
     const formatGatewayAuthErrorJson = vi.fn();
     const formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson = vi.fn();
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
       runtime as never,
       {
         callGateway,
-        readBestEffortConfig,
+        readBestEffortHealthConfig,
         emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic: emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic as never,
         formatGatewayAuthErrorJson: formatGatewayAuthErrorJson as never,
         formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson: formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson as never,
@@ -41,10 +41,10 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
       "health",
       { json: true, timeout: "10000" },
       undefined,
-      { defaultTimeoutMs: 10_000 },
+      { defaultTimeoutMs: 10_000, sharedStateMode: "read-only" },
     );
     expect(runtime.writeJson).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ ok: true, durationMs: 6 }, 2);
-    expect(readBestEffortConfig).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(readBestEffortHealthConfig).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(formatGatewayAuthErrorJson).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
   it("projects a local port into the routed config", async () => {
     const runtime = createRuntime();
     const callGateway = vi.fn(async () => ({ ok: true }));
-    const readBestEffortConfig = vi.fn(async () => ({
+    const readBestEffortHealthConfig = vi.fn(async () => ({
       gateway: { auth: { mode: "token" as const } },
     }));
 
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
         localPortOverride: 19083,
       },
       runtime as never,
-      { callGateway, readBestEffortConfig },
+      { callGateway, readBestEffortHealthConfig },
     );
 
     expect(callGateway).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
         },
       }),
       undefined,
-      { defaultTimeoutMs: 10_000 },
+      { defaultTimeoutMs: 10_000, sharedStateMode: "read-only" },
     );
   });
 
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
       runtime as never,
       {
         callGateway,
-        readBestEffortConfig: vi.fn(async () => {
+        readBestEffortHealthConfig: vi.fn(async () => {
           throw error;
         }),
       },
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
 
     await runGatewayHealthJsonRoute({ rpc: { json: true, timeout: "10000" } }, runtime as never, {
       callGateway,
-      readBestEffortConfig: async () => ({}),
+      readBestEffortHealthConfig: async () => ({}),
       emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic: vi.fn(async () => false) as never,
       formatGatewayAuthErrorJson: vi.fn(() => null) as never,
       formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson: vi.fn(() => null) as never,
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ describe("runGatewayHealthJsonRoute", () => {
 
     await runGatewayHealthJsonRoute({ rpc: { json: true, timeout: "10000" } }, runtime as never, {
       callGateway,
-      readBestEffortConfig: async () => ({}),
+      readBestEffortHealthConfig: async () => ({}),
       emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic: vi.fn(async () => false) as never,
       formatGatewayAuthErrorJson: formatGatewayAuthErrorJson as never,
       formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson: formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson as never,
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.ts
index 576603b616b4..c0ed54f57d14 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/health-route.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 // Route-first machine-readable Gateway health command.
-import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import { formatErrorMessage } from "../../infra/errors.js";
 import { type RuntimeEnv, writeRuntimeJson } from "../../runtime.js";
 
@@ -14,7 +13,7 @@ type GatewayHealthJsonRouteArgs = {
 
 type GatewayHealthRouteDependencies = {
   callGateway?: typeof import("../gateway-rpc.js").callGatewayFromCliWithTransport;
-  readBestEffortConfig?: () => Promise<OpenClawConfig>;
+  readBestEffortHealthConfig?: typeof import("../../commands/health.js").readBestEffortHealthConfig;
   emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic?: typeof import("../../commands/health.js").emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic;
   formatGatewayAuthErrorJson?: typeof import("../../gateway/call.js").formatGatewayAuthErrorJson;
   formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson?: typeof import("../../gateway/call.js").formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson;
@@ -28,10 +27,10 @@ async function resolveRouteRpcOptions(
   if (args.localPortOverride === undefined) {
     return args.rpc;
   }
-  const readBestEffortConfig =
-    deps.readBestEffortConfig ??
-    (await import("../../config/read-best-effort-config.runtime.js")).readBestEffortConfig;
-  const config = await readBestEffortConfig();
+  const readBestEffortHealthConfig =
+    deps.readBestEffortHealthConfig ??
+    (await import("../../commands/health.js")).readBestEffortHealthConfig;
+  const config = await readBestEffortHealthConfig();
   return {
     ...args.rpc,
     localPortOverride: args.localPortOverride,
@@ -59,7 +58,10 @@ export async function runGatewayHealthJsonRoute(
       deps.callGateway ?? (await import("../gateway-rpc.js")).callGatewayFromCliWithTransport;
     writeRuntimeJson(
       runtime,
-      await callGateway("health", rpc, undefined, { defaultTimeoutMs: 10_000 }),
+      await callGateway("health", rpc, undefined, {
+        defaultTimeoutMs: 10_000,
+        sharedStateMode: "read-only",
+      }),
     );
   } catch (error) {
     if (!rpc) {
@@ -67,11 +69,10 @@ export async function runGatewayHealthJsonRoute(
       runtime.exit(1);
       return;
     }
-    const [healthModule, configModule, callModule] = await Promise.all([
-      deps.emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic ? undefined : import("../../commands/health.js"),
-      deps.readBestEffortConfig
+    const [healthModule, callModule] = await Promise.all([
+      deps.emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic && deps.readBestEffortHealthConfig
         ? undefined
-        : import("../../config/read-best-effort-config.runtime.js"),
+        : import("../../commands/health.js"),
       deps.formatGatewayAuthErrorJson &&
       deps.formatGatewayClientRequestErrorJson &&
       deps.formatGatewayTransportErrorJson
@@ -80,13 +81,14 @@ export async function runGatewayHealthJsonRoute(
     ]);
     const emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic =
       deps.emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic ?? healthModule?.emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic;
-    const readBestEffortConfig = deps.readBestEffortConfig ?? configModule?.readBestEffortConfig;
-    if (!emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic || !readBestEffortConfig) {
+    const readBestEffortHealthConfig =
+      deps.readBestEffortHealthConfig ?? healthModule?.readBestEffortHealthConfig;
+    if (!emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic || !readBestEffortHealthConfig) {
       throw error;
     }
     const handled = await emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic({
       error,
-      config: rpc.config ?? (await readBestEffortConfig()),
+      config: rpc.config ?? (await readBestEffortHealthConfig()),
       runtime,
       timeoutMs: Number(rpc.timeout ?? "10000"),
       token: rpc.token,
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.option-collisions.test.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.option-collisions.test.ts
index 6675bdb2dc9f..d8ce4bdcc245 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.option-collisions.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.option-collisions.test.ts
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ vi.mock("../../commands/health.js", () => ({
   emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic: (params: unknown) =>
     mocks.emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic(params),
   formatHealthChannelLines: () => mocks.formatHealthChannelLines(),
+  readBestEffortHealthConfig: async () => ({}),
 }));
 
 vi.mock("../../config/read-best-effort-config.runtime.js", () => ({
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts
index 653a0ff93d08..e244a0321a3d 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli/register.ts
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ function gatewayCallOpts(cmd: Command, defaultTimeoutMs = DEFAULT_GATEWAY_RPC_TI
 async function callGatewayCli(method: string, opts: GatewayRpcOpts, params?: unknown) {
   return await callGatewayFromCliWithTransport(method, opts, params, {
     defaultTimeoutMs: DEFAULT_GATEWAY_RPC_TIMEOUT_MS,
+    sharedStateMode: "read-only",
   });
 }
 
@@ -696,14 +697,12 @@ export function registerGatewayCli(program: Command, deps: GatewayCliDependencie
             try {
               result = await callGatewayCli("health", rpcOpts);
             } catch (error) {
-              const [{ emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic }, { readBestEffortConfig }] =
-                await Promise.all([
-                  (deps.loadGatewayHealthModule ?? loadGatewayHealthModule)(),
-                  loadConfigModule(),
-                ]);
+              const { emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic, readBestEffortHealthConfig } = await (
+                deps.loadGatewayHealthModule ?? loadGatewayHealthModule
+              )();
               const handled = await emitReachableGatewayAuthDiagnostic({
                 error,
-                config: rpcOpts.config ?? (await readBestEffortConfig()),
+                config: rpcOpts.config ?? (await readBestEffortHealthConfig()),
                 runtime: defaultRuntime,
                 timeoutMs: parseGatewayRpcTimeoutOption(rpcOpts.timeout),
                 token: rpcOpts.token,
diff --git a/src/commands/health.test.ts b/src/commands/health.test.ts
index 61ffadb0e3f3..78e744550cba 100644
--- a/src/commands/health.test.ts
+++ b/src/commands/health.test.ts
@@ -436,6 +436,7 @@ describe("healthCommand", () => {
     expect(gatewayRequest.token).toBe("setup-token");
     expect(gatewayRequest.password).toBe("setup-password");
     expect(gatewayRequest.ignoreEnvUrlOverride).toBe(true);
+    expect(gatewayRequest.sharedStateMode).toBe("read-only");
   });
 
   it("outputs JSON for gateway transport failures in JSON mode", async () => {
diff --git a/src/commands/health.ts b/src/commands/health.ts
index a38e4baa8c73..d002ff7a5f7e 100644
--- a/src/commands/health.ts
+++ b/src/commands/health.ts
@@ -267,6 +267,7 @@ export async function healthCommand(
           config: cfg,
           token: opts.token,
           password: opts.password,
+          sharedStateMode: "read-only",
           ignoreEnvUrlOverride: opts.ignoreEnvUrlOverride,
           localPortOverride: opts.localPortOverride,
         }),
@@ -562,7 +563,11 @@ export async function healthCommand(
   }
 }
 
-async function readBestEffortHealthConfig(): Promise<OpenClawConfig> {
-  const { readBestEffortConfig } = await loadConfigRuntime();
-  return await readBestEffortConfig();
+export async function readBestEffortHealthConfig(): Promise<OpenClawConfig> {
+  const { readConfigFileSnapshot } = await loadConfigRuntime();
+  const snapshot = await readConfigFileSnapshot({
+    observe: false,
+    pluginValidation: "core-only",
+  });
+  return snapshot.runtimeConfig ?? snapshot.config;
 }