diff --git a/src/gateway/boot.test.ts b/src/gateway/boot.test.ts
index 492c60f0b9..4c8790319f 100644
--- a/src/gateway/boot.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/boot.test.ts
@@ -8,14 +8,23 @@ const agentCommand = vi.fn();
 vi.mock("../commands/agent.js", () => ({ agentCommand }));
 
 const { runBootOnce } = await import("./boot.js");
-const { resolveMainSessionKey } = await import("../config/sessions/main-session.js");
-const { saveSessionStore } = await import("../config/sessions/store.js");
+const { resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey, resolveMainSessionKey } =
+  await import("../config/sessions/main-session.js");
 const { resolveStorePath } = await import("../config/sessions/paths.js");
-const { resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey } = await import("../config/sessions/main-session.js");
+const { loadSessionStore, saveSessionStore } = await import("../config/sessions/store.js");
 
 describe("runBootOnce", () => {
-  beforeEach(() => {
+  const resolveMainStore = (cfg: { session?: { store?: string } } = {}) => {
+    const sessionKey = resolveMainSessionKey(cfg);
+    const agentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(sessionKey);
+    const storePath = resolveStorePath(cfg.session?.store, { agentId });
+    return { sessionKey, storePath };
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
     vi.clearAllMocks();
+    const { storePath } = resolveMainStore();
+    await fs.rm(storePath, { force: true });
   });
 
   const makeDeps = () => ({
@@ -93,17 +102,14 @@ describe("runBootOnce", () => {
     await fs.rm(workspaceDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
 
-  it("reuses existing session ID when session mapping exists", async () => {
+  it("uses a fresh boot session ID even when main session mapping already exists", async () => {
     const workspaceDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "openclaw-boot-"));
     const content = "Say hello when you wake up.";
     await fs.writeFile(path.join(workspaceDir, "BOOT.md"), content, "utf-8");
 
-    // Create a session store with an existing session
     const cfg = {};
-    const sessionKey = resolveMainSessionKey(cfg);
-    const agentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(sessionKey);
-    const storePath = resolveStorePath(undefined, { agentId });
-    const existingSessionId = "existing-session-abc123";
+    const { sessionKey, storePath } = resolveMainStore(cfg);
+    const existingSessionId = "main-session-abc123";
 
     await saveSessionStore(storePath, {
       [sessionKey]: {
@@ -120,24 +126,21 @@ describe("runBootOnce", () => {
     expect(agentCommand).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
     const call = agentCommand.mock.calls[0]?.[0];
 
-    // Verify the existing session ID was reused
-    expect(call?.sessionId).toBe(existingSessionId);
+    expect(call?.sessionId).not.toBe(existingSessionId);
+    expect(call?.sessionId).toMatch(/^boot-\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}_\d{2}-\d{2}-\d{2}-\d{3}-[0-9a-f]{8}$/);
     expect(call?.sessionKey).toBe(sessionKey);
 
     await fs.rm(workspaceDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
 
-  it("appends boot message to existing session transcript", async () => {
+  it("restores the original main session mapping after the boot run", async () => {
     const workspaceDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "openclaw-boot-"));
     const content = "Check if the system is healthy.";
     await fs.writeFile(path.join(workspaceDir, "BOOT.md"), content, "utf-8");
 
-    // Create a session store with an existing session
     const cfg = {};
-    const sessionKey = resolveMainSessionKey(cfg);
-    const agentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(sessionKey);
-    const storePath = resolveStorePath(undefined, { agentId });
-    const existingSessionId = "test-session-xyz789";
+    const { sessionKey, storePath } = resolveMainStore(cfg);
+    const existingSessionId = "main-session-xyz789";
 
     await saveSessionStore(storePath, {
       [sessionKey]: {
@@ -146,19 +149,46 @@ describe("runBootOnce", () => {
       },
     });
 
-    agentCommand.mockResolvedValue(undefined);
+    agentCommand.mockImplementation(async (opts: { sessionId?: string }) => {
+      const current = loadSessionStore(storePath, { skipCache: true });
+      current[sessionKey] = {
+        sessionId: String(opts.sessionId),
+        updatedAt: Date.now(),
+      };
+      await saveSessionStore(storePath, current);
+    });
     await expect(runBootOnce({ cfg, deps: makeDeps(), workspaceDir })).resolves.toEqual({
       status: "ran",
     });
 
-    const call = agentCommand.mock.calls[0]?.[0];
+    const restored = loadSessionStore(storePath, { skipCache: true });
+    expect(restored[sessionKey]?.sessionId).toBe(existingSessionId);
 
-    // Verify boot message uses the existing session
-    expect(call?.sessionId).toBe(existingSessionId);
-    expect(call?.sessionKey).toBe(sessionKey);
+    await fs.rm(workspaceDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
 
-    // The agent command should append to the existing session's JSONL file
-    // (actual file append is handled by agentCommand, we just verify the IDs match)
+  it("removes a boot-created main-session mapping when none existed before", async () => {
+    const workspaceDir = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "openclaw-boot-"));
+    await fs.writeFile(path.join(workspaceDir, "BOOT.md"), "health check", "utf-8");
+
+    const cfg = {};
+    const { sessionKey, storePath } = resolveMainStore(cfg);
+
+    agentCommand.mockImplementation(async (opts: { sessionId?: string }) => {
+      const current = loadSessionStore(storePath, { skipCache: true });
+      current[sessionKey] = {
+        sessionId: String(opts.sessionId),
+        updatedAt: Date.now(),
+      };
+      await saveSessionStore(storePath, current);
+    });
+
+    await expect(runBootOnce({ cfg, deps: makeDeps(), workspaceDir })).resolves.toEqual({
+      status: "ran",
+    });
+
+    const restored = loadSessionStore(storePath, { skipCache: true });
+    expect(restored[sessionKey]).toBeUndefined();
 
     await fs.rm(workspaceDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
   });
diff --git a/src/gateway/boot.ts b/src/gateway/boot.ts
index 7017811a0b..e9486eac32 100644
--- a/src/gateway/boot.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/boot.ts
@@ -3,12 +3,15 @@ import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import type { CliDeps } from "../cli/deps.js";
 import type { OpenClawConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import type { SessionEntry } from "../config/sessions/types.js";
 import { SILENT_REPLY_TOKEN } from "../auto-reply/tokens.js";
 import { agentCommand } from "../commands/agent.js";
-import { resolveMainSessionKey } from "../config/sessions/main-session.js";
-import { resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey } from "../config/sessions/main-session.js";
+import {
+  resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey,
+  resolveMainSessionKey,
+} from "../config/sessions/main-session.js";
 import { resolveStorePath } from "../config/sessions/paths.js";
-import { loadSessionStore } from "../config/sessions/store.js";
+import { loadSessionStore, updateSessionStore } from "../config/sessions/store.js";
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../logging/subsystem.js";
 import { type RuntimeEnv, defaultRuntime } from "../runtime.js";
 
@@ -19,38 +22,13 @@ function generateBootSessionId(): string {
   return `boot-${ts}-${suffix}`;
 }
 
-/**
- * Resolve the session ID for the boot message.
- * If there's an existing session mapped to the main session key, reuse it to avoid orphaning.
- * Otherwise, generate a new ephemeral boot session ID.
- */
-function resolveBootSessionId(cfg: OpenClawConfig): string {
-  const sessionKey = resolveMainSessionKey(cfg);
-  const agentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(sessionKey);
-  const storePath = resolveStorePath(cfg.session?.store, { agentId });
-
-  try {
-    const sessionStore = loadSessionStore(storePath);
-    const existingEntry = sessionStore[sessionKey];
-
-    if (existingEntry?.sessionId) {
-      log.info("reusing existing session for boot message", {
-        sessionKey,
-        sessionId: existingEntry.sessionId,
-      });
-      return existingEntry.sessionId;
-    }
-  } catch (err) {
-    // If we can't load the session store (e.g., first boot), fall through to generate new ID
-    log.debug("could not load session store for boot; generating new session ID", {
-      error: String(err),
-    });
-  }
-
-  const newSessionId = generateBootSessionId();
-  log.info("generating new boot session", { sessionKey, sessionId: newSessionId });
-  return newSessionId;
-}
+type SessionMappingSnapshot = {
+  storePath: string;
+  sessionKey: string;
+  canRestore: boolean;
+  hadEntry: boolean;
+  entry?: SessionEntry;
+};
 
 const log = createSubsystemLogger("gateway/boot");
 const BOOT_FILENAME = "BOOT.md";
@@ -94,6 +72,68 @@ async function loadBootFile(
   }
 }
 
+function snapshotMainSessionMapping(params: {
+  cfg: OpenClawConfig;
+  sessionKey: string;
+}): SessionMappingSnapshot {
+  const agentId = resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey(params.sessionKey);
+  const storePath = resolveStorePath(params.cfg.session?.store, { agentId });
+  try {
+    const store = loadSessionStore(storePath, { skipCache: true });
+    const entry = store[params.sessionKey];
+    if (!entry) {
+      return {
+        storePath,
+        sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
+        canRestore: true,
+        hadEntry: false,
+      };
+    }
+    return {
+      storePath,
+      sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
+      canRestore: true,
+      hadEntry: true,
+      entry: structuredClone(entry),
+    };
+  } catch (err) {
+    log.debug("boot: could not snapshot main session mapping", {
+      sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
+      error: String(err),
+    });
+    return {
+      storePath,
+      sessionKey: params.sessionKey,
+      canRestore: false,
+      hadEntry: false,
+    };
+  }
+}
+
+async function restoreMainSessionMapping(
+  snapshot: SessionMappingSnapshot,
+): Promise<string | undefined> {
+  if (!snapshot.canRestore) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  try {
+    await updateSessionStore(
+      snapshot.storePath,
+      (store) => {
+        if (snapshot.hadEntry && snapshot.entry) {
+          store[snapshot.sessionKey] = snapshot.entry;
+          return;
+        }
+        delete store[snapshot.sessionKey];
+      },
+      { activeSessionKey: snapshot.sessionKey },
+    );
+    return undefined;
+  } catch (err) {
+    return err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+  }
+}
+
 export async function runBootOnce(params: {
   cfg: OpenClawConfig;
   deps: CliDeps;
@@ -119,8 +159,13 @@ export async function runBootOnce(params: {
 
   const sessionKey = resolveMainSessionKey(params.cfg);
   const message = buildBootPrompt(result.content ?? "");
-  const sessionId = resolveBootSessionId(params.cfg);
+  const sessionId = generateBootSessionId();
+  const mappingSnapshot = snapshotMainSessionMapping({
+    cfg: params.cfg,
+    sessionKey,
+  });
 
+  let agentFailure: string | undefined;
   try {
     await agentCommand(
       {
@@ -132,10 +177,22 @@ export async function runBootOnce(params: {
       bootRuntime,
       params.deps,
     );
-    return { status: "ran" };
   } catch (err) {
-    const messageText = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
-    log.error(`boot: agent run failed: ${messageText}`);
-    return { status: "failed", reason: messageText };
+    agentFailure = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+    log.error(`boot: agent run failed: ${agentFailure}`);
   }
+
+  const mappingRestoreFailure = await restoreMainSessionMapping(mappingSnapshot);
+  if (mappingRestoreFailure) {
+    log.error(`boot: failed to restore main session mapping: ${mappingRestoreFailure}`);
+  }
+
+  if (!agentFailure && !mappingRestoreFailure) {
+    return { status: "ran" };
+  }
+  const reasonParts = [
+    agentFailure ? `agent run failed: ${agentFailure}` : undefined,
+    mappingRestoreFailure ? `mapping restore failed: ${mappingRestoreFailure}` : undefined,
+  ].filter((part): part is string => Boolean(part));
+  return { status: "failed", reason: reasonParts.join("; ") };
 }