diff --git a/scripts/install.sh b/scripts/install.sh
index eb6bdfe300b4..92c077bd6fd5 100755
--- a/scripts/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/install.sh
@@ -2874,7 +2874,11 @@ install_openclaw_from_git() {
     validate_git_checkout_head "$repo_dir" || return 1
     if [[ ! -d "$repo_dir" ]]; then
         mkdir -p "$(dirname "$repo_dir")"
-        run_quiet_step "Cloning OpenClaw" git clone "$repo_url" "$repo_dir"
+        # Blobless clone: the installer checks out one release tag, so full blob
+        # history is downloaded and then discarded. blob:none keeps ref metadata
+        # (unlike --depth 1) so ref switching and later updates still work, and
+        # git warns and falls back to a full clone if the server cannot filter.
+        run_quiet_step "Cloning OpenClaw" git clone --filter=blob:none "$repo_url" "$repo_dir"
     fi
 
     local git_ref
diff --git a/test/scripts/install-sh.test.ts b/test/scripts/install-sh.test.ts
index 0ca86ca542db..bce15156e364 100644
--- a/test/scripts/install-sh.test.ts
+++ b/test/scripts/install-sh.test.ts
@@ -1017,14 +1017,47 @@ NODE
     const output = result?.stdout ?? "";
     expect(output).toContain(`git=${join(openclawHome, "openclaw")}`);
     const mkdirParentIndex = script.indexOf('mkdir -p "$(dirname "$repo_dir")"');
-    const cloneIndex = script.indexOf(
-      'run_quiet_step "Cloning OpenClaw" git clone "$repo_url" "$repo_dir"',
-    );
+    // Ordering only. The clone flags are asserted behaviorally below, so this
+    // needle stays short enough to survive future changes to them.
+    const cloneIndex = script.indexOf('run_quiet_step "Cloning OpenClaw" git clone');
     expect(mkdirParentIndex).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
     expect(cloneIndex).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
     expect(mkdirParentIndex).toBeLessThan(cloneIndex);
   });
 
+  it("uses a blobless partial clone for new git installs", () => {
+    const result = runInstallShell(`
+      set -euo pipefail
+      source "${SCRIPT_PATH}"
+      repo="$HOME/openclaw"
+      check_git() { return 0; }
+      ensure_pnpm() { :; }
+      ensure_pnpm_binary_for_scripts() { :; }
+      resolve_git_openclaw_ref() { printf 'main\\n'; }
+      checkout_git_openclaw_ref() { :; }
+      cleanup_legacy_submodules() { :; }
+      activate_repo_pnpm_version() { :; }
+      git_install_lockfile_flag() { printf '%s\\n' '--frozen-lockfile'; }
+      run_quiet_step() {
+        printf 'step:%s|%s\\n' "$1" "\${*:2}"
+        [[ "$1" == "Cloning OpenClaw" ]] && mkdir -p "$repo"
+        return 0
+      }
+      ensure_user_local_bin_on_path() { mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"; }
+      ui_info() { :; }
+      ui_success() { :; }
+      ui_error() { printf 'error:%s\\n' "$*"; }
+      git() { return 0; }
+
+      install_openclaw_from_git "$repo"
+    `);
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain(
+      "step:Cloning OpenClaw|git clone --filter=blob:none https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git",
+    );
+  });
+
   it("does not treat OS HOME config as active when OPENCLAW_HOME is set", () => {
     const tmp = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "openclaw-install-legacy-config-"));
     const osHome = join(tmp, "os-home");