diff --git a/bin/omarchy-install-openclaw-cli b/bin/omarchy-install-openclaw-cli
index 3a13c6c7..e4469181 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-install-openclaw-cli
+++ b/bin/omarchy-install-openclaw-cli
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 mode=${1:-}
 
+# Everything here runs the user's own files, --check included.
+if (( EUID == 0 )); then
+  echo "Run this command as your desktop user, without sudo." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 prefix="$HOME/.openclaw"
 runtime_command="$prefix/bin/openclaw"
 command_path="$HOME/.local/bin/openclaw"
@@ -48,22 +54,47 @@ on_path() {
   [[ $(realpath -m -- "$found") == "$(realpath -m -- "$runtime_command")" ]]
 }
 
+# Nothing yet, or the runtime's command.
+path_clear() {
+  ! type -P openclaw >/dev/null || on_path
+}
+
+# The package counts too: without it --now has a pacman step to take, and
+# answering yes here would run that where no terminal can ask for a password.
 installed() {
-  runtime_runs && on_path
+  omarchy-pkg-present openclaw && runtime_runs && on_path
+}
+
+# The service a unit runs, read from its ExecStart alone: other lines can name
+# ~/.openclaw paths whichever OpenClaw the unit starts.
+unit_runs() {
+  grep -E '^ExecStart=' "$1" | grep -qF -- "$2"
+}
+
+# A gateway service already running some other OpenClaw. Upstream's installer
+# rewrites a loaded gateway service to the copy it has just installed, so
+# seeding beside one would take it over.
+foreign_gateway() {
+  local unit="$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service"
+  [[ -f $unit ]] && ! unit_runs "$unit" "$prefix/" && ! unit_runs "$unit" "/usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/"
 }
 
 # A service the openclaw package's own copy installed runs from
 # /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw, which that package no longer ships. Installed
 # again from the runtime, it runs code `openclaw update` can replace; upstream
-# rewrites the unit and restarts it. A service running any other OpenClaw is
-# the user's arrangement and stays.
+# rewrites the unit and starts it. It is stopped first: still running the old
+# code from deleted files, it holds the state directory the newer runtime has
+# to migrate, and could not restart from those files anyway. A service running
+# any other OpenClaw is the user's arrangement and stays.
 rehome_services() {
   local role unit
   for role in gateway node; do
     unit="$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-$role.service"
-    if [[ -f $unit ]] && grep -qF "/usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/" "$unit"; then
+    if [[ -f $unit ]] && unit_runs "$unit" "/usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/"; then
       echo "Moving the OpenClaw $role service to $prefix..."
-      if ! "$runtime_command" "$role" install --force; then
+      systemctl --user stop "openclaw-$role.service" 2>/dev/null || true
+      # The selectors would point the install at another unit and command.
+      if ! env -u OPENCLAW_PROFILE -u OPENCLAW_SYSTEMD_UNIT -u OPENCLAW_WRAPPER "$runtime_command" "$role" install --force; then
         echo "Could not move the OpenClaw $role service. Finish with: openclaw $role install --force" >&2
         return 1
       fi
@@ -82,8 +113,8 @@ case "$mode" in
   ;;
 esac
 
-if (( EUID == 0 )); then
-  echo "Run this command as your desktop user, without sudo." >&2
+if ! command_ours; then
+  echo "$command_path is not the OpenClaw Omarchy set up. Move it aside, then run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now again." >&2
   exit 1
 fi
 
@@ -94,12 +125,28 @@ fi
 
 # A runtime that already answers is never reinstalled: it may be past the
 # packaged release by its own updates, and seeding would take it back.
+seeding=false
 if ! runtime_runs; then
+  seeding=true
   if [[ ! -r $seed/install-cli.sh || ! -r $seed/openclaw.tgz ]]; then
     echo "The installed OpenClaw package cannot set up a self-updating OpenClaw. Run 'omarchy update', then try again." >&2
     exit 1
   fi
+fi
 
+# Refused before anything in the home is touched.
+if ! path_clear; then
+  echo "'openclaw' on PATH is $(type -P openclaw), which is what Omarchy would run instead of $runtime_command." >&2
+  echo "Remove it or reorder PATH, then run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now again." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ $seeding == "true" ]] && foreign_gateway; then
+  echo "The OpenClaw gateway service runs another OpenClaw, which setting one up in $prefix would take over." >&2
+  echo "Remove that gateway with 'openclaw gateway uninstall', then run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now again." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ $seeding == "true" ]]; then
   # Every choice the installer reads from the environment is named, so an
   # OPENCLAW_INSTALL_METHOD or OPENCLAW_PREFIX left in a shell cannot move it.
   echo "Setting up OpenClaw in $prefix..."
@@ -110,18 +157,13 @@ if ! runtime_runs; then
   fi
 fi
 
-if command_ours; then
-  mkdir -p "${command_path%/*}"
-  ln -sfn "$runtime_command" "$command_path"
-else
-  echo "$command_path is not the OpenClaw Omarchy set up. Move it aside, then run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now again." >&2
-  exit 1
-fi
+mkdir -p "${command_path%/*}"
+ln -sfn "$runtime_command" "$command_path"
 
 rehome_services
 
 if ! on_path; then
   echo "$runtime_command is ready, but 'openclaw' on PATH is $(type -P openclaw || echo missing), which is what Omarchy runs." >&2
-  echo "Remove it or reorder PATH, then run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now again." >&2
+  echo "Put ~/.local/bin on PATH, then run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now again." >&2
   exit 1
 fi
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-remove-ai-openclaw b/bin/omarchy-remove-ai-openclaw
index f4502cd8..7d793bdc 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-remove-ai-openclaw
+++ b/bin/omarchy-remove-ai-openclaw
@@ -35,8 +35,9 @@ for unit_file in "$unit_dir"/openclaw-gateway.service "$unit_dir"/openclaw-node.
     systemctl --user disable --now "$unit" 2>/dev/null ||
     unit_stopped "$unit"; then
     # .bak is what `gateway install --force` leaves behind when it rewrites a
-    # unit, so it goes with the unit.
-    rm -f "$unit_file" "$unit_file.bak" "$unit_dir/default.target.wants/$unit"
+    # unit, and .reconcile-*.bak what `openclaw update` leaves when it
+    # refreshes one, so they go with the unit.
+    rm -f "$unit_file" "$unit_file.bak" "$unit_file".reconcile-*.bak "$unit_dir/default.target.wants/$unit"
     systemctl --user daemon-reload 2>/dev/null || true
     # A unit that had been failing stays listed as "not-found failed" after
     # its file is gone until its failed state is reset.
diff --git a/test/shell.d/openclaw-cli-test.sh b/test/shell.d/openclaw-cli-test.sh
index 29654d76..74ac24b6 100755
--- a/test/shell.d/openclaw-cli-test.sh
+++ b/test/shell.d/openclaw-cli-test.sh
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ cat >"$mock_bin/omarchy-pkg-add" <<'SH'
 printf 'pkg-add %s\n' "$*" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_ROOT/events"
 touch "$OMARCHY_TEST_ROOT/package-installed"
 SH
+cat >"$mock_bin/systemctl" <<'SH'
+#!/bin/bash
+printf 'systemctl %s\n' "$*" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_ROOT/events"
+SH
 chmod +x "$mock_bin/"*
 
 # Stands in for upstream's install-cli.sh: it writes the command the way the
@@ -34,7 +38,7 @@ cat >"$prefix/bin/openclaw" <<EOF
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 [[ -z "${OMARCHY_TEST_INSTALL_BROKEN:-}" ]] || exit 1
-printf 'runtime %s\n' "\$*" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_ROOT/events"
+printf 'runtime %s%s\n' "\$*" "\${OPENCLAW_PROFILE:+ profile=\$OPENCLAW_PROFILE}" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_ROOT/events"
 exec true "$prefix/tools/node-v24.19.0/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/entry.js" "\$@"
 EOF
 chmod 755 "$prefix/bin/openclaw"
@@ -122,10 +126,33 @@ printf '#!/bin/bash\n' >"$test_tmp/usr-bin/openclaw"
 chmod +x "$test_tmp/usr-bin/openclaw"
 run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now && fail "an openclaw earlier on PATH fails the install"
 grep -q "on PATH is $test_tmp/usr-bin/openclaw" "$test_tmp/output" || fail "an openclaw earlier on PATH is named" "$(cat "$test_tmp/output")"
+[[ ! -e $test_home/.openclaw && ! -e $command ]] || fail "an openclaw earlier on PATH is refused before anything is touched"
+rm "$test_tmp/usr-bin/openclaw"
+run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now || fail "--now follows once nothing shadows the runtime" "$(cat "$test_tmp/output")"
+printf '#!/bin/bash\n' >"$test_tmp/usr-bin/openclaw"
+chmod +x "$test_tmp/usr-bin/openclaw"
 run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --check && fail "--check calls a shadowed runtime installed"
 rm "$test_tmp/usr-bin/openclaw"
 run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --check || fail "--check follows once nothing shadows the runtime"
-pass "the runtime has to be the openclaw PATH finds"
+pass "the runtime has to be the openclaw PATH finds, and anything else is refused before it is set up"
+
+# A runtime that answers without the package still leaves --now a pacman step,
+# which the default agent must not run outside a terminal.
+rm "$test_tmp/package-installed"
+run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --check && fail "--check calls a runtime without its package installed"
+pass "--check needs the package too, so --now never has a password to ask for unseen"
+
+# Upstream's installer rewrites a loaded gateway service to the copy it has
+# just made, so a gateway running another OpenClaw stops the seeding first.
+new_home foreign-gateway
+mkdir -p "$test_home/.config/systemd/user"
+printf 'Environment=OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH=%s/.openclaw/openclaw.json\nExecStart=/opt/node %s/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway\n' "$test_home" "$test_home" \
+  >"$test_home/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service"
+run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now && fail "a gateway running another OpenClaw stops the install"
+grep -q "runs another OpenClaw" "$test_tmp/output" || fail "a gateway running another OpenClaw is named" "$(cat "$test_tmp/output")"
+! grep -q '^install-cli' "$events" && [[ ! -e $test_home/.openclaw ]] ||
+  fail "a gateway running another OpenClaw is refused before anything is set up" "$(cat "$events")"
+pass "a gateway running another OpenClaw is refused before upstream's installer can take it over"
 
 # A gateway the old package installed runs from /usr/lib/node_modules, which
 # the seed package no longer ships; one running any other OpenClaw stays.
@@ -134,9 +161,11 @@ units="$test_home/.config/systemd/user"
 mkdir -p "$units"
 printf 'ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /usr/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway --port 18789\n' >"$units/openclaw-gateway.service"
 printf 'ExecStart=/opt/node /home/someone/openclaw/dist/index.js node run\n' >"$units/openclaw-node.service"
-run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now || fail "--now moves the old package's services" "$(cat "$test_tmp/output")"
-grep -Fxq "runtime gateway install --force" "$events" || fail "--now moves a gateway the old package installed" "$(cat "$events")"
-! grep -q "runtime node install" "$events" || fail "--now leaves a service running another OpenClaw alone" "$(cat "$events")"
+OPENCLAW_PROFILE=work run omarchy-install-openclaw-cli --now || fail "--now moves the old package's services" "$(cat "$test_tmp/output")"
+grep -A1 -Fx "systemctl --user stop openclaw-gateway.service" "$events" | grep -Fxq "runtime gateway install --force" ||
+  fail "--now stops a gateway the old package installed, then moves it" "$(cat "$events")"
+! grep -q "runtime node install\|openclaw-node" "$events" || fail "--now leaves a service running another OpenClaw alone" "$(cat "$events")"
+! grep -q "install --force profile=work" "$events" || fail "--now moves the default unit whatever profile the shell selects" "$(cat "$events")"
 pass "a service the old package installed moves to the runtime, and only that one"
 
 # The migration moves only machines that have the package, and waits for the
diff --git a/test/shell.d/remove-ai-test.sh b/test/shell.d/remove-ai-test.sh
index 5778f373..693b929d 100644
--- a/test/shell.d/remove-ai-test.sh
+++ b/test/shell.d/remove-ai-test.sh
@@ -245,6 +245,8 @@ fresh_openclaw_home() {
     "$HOME/.local/share/applications" "$HOME/.local/share/icons/hicolor/256x256/apps"
   touch "$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service" \
     "$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service.bak" \
+    "$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service.reconcile-0f1e.bak" \
+    "$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service.reconcile-0f1e.receipt.bak" \
     "$HOME/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-node.service" \
     "$HOME/.openclaw/openclaw.json" \
     "$HOME/.local/share/applications/OpenClaw.desktop" \
@@ -269,6 +271,8 @@ fresh_openclaw_home
 
 for gone in .config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service \
   .config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service.bak \
+  .config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service.reconcile-0f1e.bak \
+  .config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service.reconcile-0f1e.receipt.bak \
   .config/systemd/user/default.target.wants/openclaw-gateway.service \
   .config/systemd/user/openclaw-node.service \
   .config/systemd/user/default.target.wants/openclaw-node.service \