diff --git a/src/sandboxes/__tests__/appendNoCommitInstruction.test.ts b/src/sandboxes/__tests__/appendNoCommitInstruction.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54d9925
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sandboxes/__tests__/appendNoCommitInstruction.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import { appendNoCommitInstruction, NO_COMMIT_INSTRUCTION } from "../appendNoCommitInstruction";
+
+describe("appendNoCommitInstruction", () => {
+  it("appends the instruction to the value after --message", () => {
+    const result = appendNoCommitInstruction([
+      "agent",
+      "--agent",
+      "main",
+      "--message",
+      "fix the bug",
+    ]);
+
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      "agent",
+      "--agent",
+      "main",
+      "--message",
+      `fix the bug ${NO_COMMIT_INSTRUCTION}`,
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it("is idempotent — does not re-append when the instruction is already present", () => {
+    const original = [
+      "agent",
+      "--message",
+      `do something ${NO_COMMIT_INSTRUCTION}`,
+    ];
+
+    expect(appendNoCommitInstruction(original)).toEqual(original);
+  });
+
+  it("leaves args unchanged when there is no --message flag", () => {
+    const original = ["status"];
+    expect(appendNoCommitInstruction(original)).toEqual(original);
+  });
+
+  it("leaves args unchanged when --message is the last arg (no value)", () => {
+    const original = ["agent", "--message"];
+    expect(appendNoCommitInstruction(original)).toEqual(original);
+  });
+
+  it("returns a new array rather than mutating the input", () => {
+    const original = ["--message", "hi"];
+    const result = appendNoCommitInstruction(original);
+    expect(result).not.toBe(original);
+    expect(original).toEqual(["--message", "hi"]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/sandboxes/appendNoCommitInstruction.ts b/src/sandboxes/appendNoCommitInstruction.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8700ddf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/sandboxes/appendNoCommitInstruction.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+export const NO_COMMIT_INSTRUCTION = "do not commit your changes.";
+
+/**
+ * Hotfix guardrail: ensure the `--message` value passed to `openclaw agent`
+ * (or any tool that takes `--message <prompt>`) ends with the
+ * {@link NO_COMMIT_INSTRUCTION} text. The task runs in a sandbox that is
+ * git-aware, and we push sandbox changes to GitHub after the command — we
+ * do NOT want the agent itself creating commits during the run.
+ *
+ * @param args - The `args` payload passed to `sandbox.runCommand`.
+ * @returns A new args array with the instruction appended to the `--message`
+ *   value if one is present and the instruction isn't already there.
+ *   Otherwise the input is returned unchanged (as a copy).
+ */
+export function appendNoCommitInstruction(args: readonly string[]): string[] {
+  const out = [...args];
+  const messageIdx = out.indexOf("--message");
+  if (messageIdx === -1) return out;
+
+  const valueIdx = messageIdx + 1;
+  if (valueIdx >= out.length) return out;
+
+  const current = out[valueIdx];
+  if (current.includes(NO_COMMIT_INSTRUCTION)) return out;
+
+  out[valueIdx] = `${current} ${NO_COMMIT_INSTRUCTION}`;
+  return out;
+}
diff --git a/src/tasks/runSandboxCommandTask.ts b/src/tasks/runSandboxCommandTask.ts
index 857df73..d873545 100644
--- a/src/tasks/runSandboxCommandTask.ts
+++ b/src/tasks/runSandboxCommandTask.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { ensureOrgRepos } from "../sandboxes/ensureOrgRepos";
 import { ensureSetupSandbox } from "../sandboxes/ensureSetupSandbox";
 import { pushSandboxToGithub } from "../sandboxes/pushSandboxToGithub";
 import { syncOrgRepos } from "../sandboxes/git/syncOrgRepos";
+import { appendNoCommitInstruction } from "../sandboxes/appendNoCommitInstruction";
 import {
   runSandboxCommandPayloadSchema,
   type SandboxResult,
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ export const runSandboxCommandTask = schemaTask({
 
       const commandResult = await sandbox.runCommand({
         cmd: command,
-        args: args || [],
+        args: appendNoCommitInstruction(args || []),
         cwd,
         env: getSandboxEnv(accountId),
       });