diff --git a/src/gateway/boot.test.ts b/src/gateway/boot.test.ts
index bb4a5d2a4d8d..6eb9ca43e01b 100644
--- a/src/gateway/boot.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/boot.test.ts
@@ -170,7 +170,41 @@ describe("runBootOnce", () => {
     });
   });
 
-  it("returns failed when BOOT.md cannot be read", async () => {
+  it("skips when BOOT.md disappears after path resolution", async () => {
+    await withBootWorkspace({ bootContent: "Say hello." }, async (workspaceDir) => {
+      const bootPath = path.join(workspaceDir, "BOOT.md");
+      const realpath = vi.spyOn(fs, "realpath");
+      realpath.mockImplementationOnce(async (inputPath) => {
+        realpath.mockRestore();
+        const resolvedPath = await fs.realpath(inputPath);
+        await fs.rm(resolvedPath);
+        return resolvedPath;
+      });
+
+      await expect(runBootOnce({ cfg: {}, deps: makeDeps(), workspaceDir })).resolves.toEqual({
+        status: "skipped",
+        reason: "missing",
+      });
+      expect(agentCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      await expect(fs.access(bootPath)).rejects.toMatchObject({ code: "ENOENT" });
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("returns failed when BOOT.md exceeds the safe read size limit", async () => {
+    await withBootWorkspace({ bootContent: "" }, async (workspaceDir) => {
+      const bootPath = path.join(workspaceDir, "BOOT.md");
+      const oversized = Buffer.alloc(16 * 1024 * 1024 + 1, "x");
+      await fs.writeFile(bootPath, oversized);
+      const result = await runBootOnce({ cfg: {}, deps: makeDeps(), workspaceDir });
+      expect(result.status).toBe("failed");
+      if (result.status === "failed") {
+        expect(result.reason).toContain("File exceeds 16777216 bytes");
+      }
+      expect(agentCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("returns failed when BOOT.md is not a regular file", async () => {
     await withBootWorkspace({ bootAsDirectory: true }, async (workspaceDir) => {
       const result = await runBootOnce({ cfg: {}, deps: makeDeps(), workspaceDir });
       expect(result.status).toBe("failed");
@@ -180,6 +214,45 @@ describe("runBootOnce", () => {
       expect(agentCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
   });
+
+  it("runs agent command when BOOT.md is a symlink to a regular file", async () => {
+    if (process.platform === "win32") {
+      // Symlink support in unit tests is not guaranteed on Windows CI runners.
+      return;
+    }
+    await withBootWorkspace({ bootContent: "" }, async (workspaceDir) => {
+      const bootPath = path.join(workspaceDir, "BOOT.md");
+      const targetPath = path.join(workspaceDir, "REAL_BOOT.md");
+      await fs.writeFile(targetPath, "Say hello.", "utf-8");
+      await fs.rm(bootPath, { force: true });
+      await fs.symlink(targetPath, bootPath);
+      agentCommand.mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+      await expect(runBootOnce({ cfg: {}, deps: makeDeps(), workspaceDir })).resolves.toEqual({
+        status: "ran",
+      });
+      expect(agentCommand).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      const call = requireAgentCall();
+      expect(call.message).toContain("Say hello.");
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("skips when BOOT.md is a dangling symlink", async () => {
+    if (process.platform === "win32") {
+      // Symlink support in unit tests is not guaranteed on Windows CI runners.
+      return;
+    }
+    await withBootWorkspace({ bootContent: "" }, async (workspaceDir) => {
+      const bootPath = path.join(workspaceDir, "BOOT.md");
+      const targetPath = path.join(workspaceDir, "MISSING_BOOT.md");
+      await fs.rm(bootPath, { force: true });
+      await fs.symlink(targetPath, bootPath);
+      await expect(runBootOnce({ cfg: {}, deps: makeDeps(), workspaceDir })).resolves.toEqual({
+        status: "skipped",
+        reason: "missing",
+      });
+      expect(agentCommand).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
   it.each([
     { title: "empty", content: "   \n", reason: "empty" as const },
     { title: "whitespace-only", content: "\n\t ", reason: "empty" as const },
diff --git a/src/gateway/boot.ts b/src/gateway/boot.ts
index 9436e63a8726..448bfcebe4b8 100644
--- a/src/gateway/boot.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/boot.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import { resolveStorePath } from "../config/sessions/paths.js";
 import { preserveTemporarySessionMapping } from "../config/sessions/session-accessor.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/types.openclaw.js";
 import { formatErrorMessage } from "../infra/errors.js";
+import { readRegularFile } from "../infra/regular-file.js";
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../logging/subsystem.js";
 import { type RuntimeEnv, defaultRuntime } from "../runtime.js";
 import { clearBootEchoContextForSession, setBootEchoContextForSession } from "./boot-echo-guard.js";
@@ -72,17 +73,24 @@ function resolveBootSessionKey(sessionKey: string): string {
   return `agent:${agentId}:boot`;
 }
 
+const MAX_BOOT_FILE_BYTES = 16 * 1024 * 1024;
+
 async function loadBootFile(
   workspaceDir: string,
 ): Promise<{ content?: string; status: "ok" | "missing" | "empty" }> {
   const bootPath = path.join(workspaceDir, BOOT_FILENAME);
+
+  // Resolve symlinks so BOOT.md can be a readable symlink to a regular file
+  // while keeping directory/permission/size-limit failures surfaced to the
+  // operator. ENOENT from either resolution or the bounded open keeps the
+  // established readFile contract: treat disappearance as missing.
+  let buffer: Buffer;
   try {
-    const content = await fs.readFile(bootPath, "utf-8");
-    const trimmed = content.trim();
-    if (!trimmed) {
-      return { status: "empty" };
-    }
-    return { status: "ok", content: trimmed };
+    const resolvedPath = await fs.realpath(bootPath);
+    ({ buffer } = await readRegularFile({
+      filePath: resolvedPath,
+      maxBytes: MAX_BOOT_FILE_BYTES,
+    }));
   } catch (err) {
     const anyErr = err as { code?: string };
     if (anyErr.code === "ENOENT") {
@@ -90,6 +98,12 @@ async function loadBootFile(
     }
     throw err;
   }
+  const content = buffer.toString("utf-8");
+  const trimmed = content.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) {
+    return { status: "empty" };
+  }
+  return { status: "ok", content: trimmed };
 }
 
 export async function runBootOnce(params: {