diff --git a/docs/help/testing.md b/docs/help/testing.md
index 2773d94e6c01..55a7989088fc 100644
--- a/docs/help/testing.md
+++ b/docs/help/testing.md
@@ -694,6 +694,11 @@ Native dependency policy:
       after 5 minutes with no stdout or stderr output. Set
       `OPENCLAW_VITEST_NO_OUTPUT_TIMEOUT_MS=0` to disable the watchdog for
       an intentionally silent investigation.
+    - `scripts/run-tsgo.mjs` waits indefinitely by default. Set
+      `OPENCLAW_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS` to bound a run on hosts where a wedged
+      compiler would otherwise block its caller forever; on expiry the whole
+      tsgo process tree is killed and the run fails. Values above Node's
+      timer ceiling saturate instead of collapsing to a 1ms deadline.
 
   </Accordion>
 
diff --git a/scripts/run-tsgo.mts b/scripts/run-tsgo.mts
index 3ea27918e097..f0a090cf37d1 100644
--- a/scripts/run-tsgo.mts
+++ b/scripts/run-tsgo.mts
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ import {
   shouldSkipSparseTsgoGuardError,
 } from "./lib/tsgo-sparse-guard.mts";
 
-/** Watchdog bound for one tsgo run; sized well above a healthy whole-program check. */
-const DEFAULT_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS = 45 * 60 * 1000;
 /** Node's timer ceiling: a longer delay silently becomes 1ms, so a raised override must saturate. */
 const MAX_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS = 2_147_483_647;
 
@@ -51,10 +49,14 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
   }
 
   ensureRepoToolNodeModulesLink(tsgoPath);
-  const timeoutMs = Math.min(
-    readPositiveEnvInt("OPENCLAW_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS", env, DEFAULT_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS),
-    MAX_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS,
-  );
+  // Opt-in deadline: no supported duration contract covers every host and project,
+  // so an unset value keeps the pre-existing unbounded wait rather than guessing one.
+  const timeoutMs = env.OPENCLAW_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS?.trim()
+    ? Math.min(
+        readPositiveEnvInt("OPENCLAW_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS", env, MAX_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS),
+        MAX_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      )
+    : undefined;
   try {
     // Managed run owns the whole tsgo process tree: on timeout it SIGKILLs the
     // process group, because a wedged checker ignores SIGTERM and would otherwise
diff --git a/test/scripts/run-tsgo.test.ts b/test/scripts/run-tsgo.test.ts
index 2e819fa294a4..b325a0367b80 100644
--- a/test/scripts/run-tsgo.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/run-tsgo.test.ts
@@ -242,17 +242,16 @@ describe.skipIf(process.platform === "win32")("run-tsgo watchdog", () => {
     fs.chmodSync(fakeTsgo, 0o755);
   }
 
-  function runFakeTsgo(cwd: string, timeoutMs: string) {
+  function runFakeTsgo(cwd: string, timeoutMs: string | undefined) {
+    const { OPENCLAW_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS: _unset, ...baseEnv } = process.env;
     return spawnSync(
       process.execPath,
       [path.resolve("scripts/run-tsgo.mjs"), "-p", "tsconfig.extensions.json"],
       {
         cwd,
         encoding: "utf8",
-        env: {
-          ...process.env,
-          OPENCLAW_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS: timeoutMs,
-        },
+        env:
+          timeoutMs === undefined ? baseEnv : { ...baseEnv, OPENCLAW_TSGO_TIMEOUT_MS: timeoutMs },
         // spawnSync blocks this thread, so vitest's own per-test budget can never
         // fire; a regression here would hang the worker instead of failing.
         timeout: 25_000,
@@ -264,8 +263,12 @@ describe.skipIf(process.platform === "win32")("run-tsgo watchdog", () => {
   it("kills a wedged tsgo that ignores SIGTERM instead of blocking its caller forever", () => {
     const cwd = createTempDir("openclaw-run-tsgo-watchdog-");
     // Mirrors the observed wedge: the checker refuses SIGTERM and never reports,
-    // so only a process-group SIGKILL frees the caller.
-    writeFakeTsgo(cwd, "#!/bin/sh\ntrap '' TERM\nwhile true; do sleep 1; done\n");
+    // so only a process-group SIGKILL frees the caller. The bounded loop is the
+    // harness backstop: a pre-fix or failing run must not leak this tree.
+    writeFakeTsgo(
+      cwd,
+      "#!/bin/sh\ntrap '' TERM\ni=0\nwhile [ $i -lt 60 ]; do sleep 1; i=$((i+1)); done\n",
+    );
 
     const result = runFakeTsgo(cwd, "2000");
 
@@ -274,6 +277,16 @@ describe.skipIf(process.platform === "win32")("run-tsgo watchdog", () => {
     expect(result.stderr.trim().split("\n").at(-1)).toBe("[tsgo] FAILED (exit 1)");
   }, 30_000);
 
+  it("arms no watchdog until an operator opts in", () => {
+    const cwd = createTempDir("openclaw-run-tsgo-watchdog-");
+    writeFakeTsgo(cwd, "#!/bin/sh\nsleep 2\nexit 0\n");
+
+    const result = runFakeTsgo(cwd, undefined);
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("killed the tsgo process tree");
+  }, 30_000);
+
   it("leaves a tsgo that finishes inside the watchdog bound alone", () => {
     const cwd = createTempDir("openclaw-run-tsgo-watchdog-");
     writeFakeTsgo(cwd, "#!/bin/sh\nexit 0\n");