diff --git a/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.test.ts b/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.test.ts
index 32992fdb3a8..3558fb26260 100644
--- a/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.test.ts
+++ b/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { isAbortError, isTransientNetworkError } from "./unhandled-rejections.js";
+import {
+  isAbortError,
+  isTransientNetworkError,
+  isTransientSqliteError,
+} from "./unhandled-rejections.js";
 
 describe("isAbortError", () => {
   it("returns true for error with name AbortError", () => {
@@ -187,3 +191,59 @@ describe("isTransientNetworkError", () => {
     expect(isTransientNetworkError(error)).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+describe("isTransientSqliteError", () => {
+  it("returns true for errors with transient SQLite codes", () => {
+    const codes = [
+      "SQLITE_CANTOPEN",
+      "SQLITE_BUSY",
+      "SQLITE_LOCKED",
+      "SQLITE_IOERR_LOCK",
+      "SQLITE_IOERR_SHORT_READ",
+      "SQLITE_IOERR_BLOCKED",
+    ];
+
+    for (const code of codes) {
+      const error = Object.assign(new Error("test"), { code });
+      expect(isTransientSqliteError(error), `code: ${code}`).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for broad SQLITE_IOERR base code", () => {
+    const error = Object.assign(new Error("test"), { code: "SQLITE_IOERR" });
+    expect(isTransientSqliteError(error)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for permanent SQLITE_IOERR subtypes", () => {
+    const permanentCodes = ["SQLITE_IOERR_NOMEM", "SQLITE_IOERR_ACCESS", "SQLITE_IOERR_WRITE"];
+    for (const code of permanentCodes) {
+      const error = Object.assign(new Error("test"), { code });
+      expect(isTransientSqliteError(error), `code: ${code}`).toBe(false);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("returns true for SQLite error nested in cause chain", () => {
+    const innerCause = Object.assign(new Error("database is locked"), { code: "SQLITE_BUSY" });
+    const error = Object.assign(new Error("wrapper"), { cause: innerCause });
+    expect(isTransientSqliteError(error)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for non-SQLite errors", () => {
+    expect(isTransientSqliteError(new Error("Something went wrong"))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isTransientSqliteError(Object.assign(new Error("test"), { code: "ECONNRESET" }))).toBe(
+      false,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("returns false for non-transient SQLite errors", () => {
+    const error = Object.assign(new Error("test"), { code: "SQLITE_CORRUPT" });
+    expect(isTransientSqliteError(error)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it.each([null, undefined, "string error", 42, { message: "plain object" }])(
+    "returns false for non-SQLite input %#",
+    (value) => {
+      expect(isTransientSqliteError(value)).toBe(false);
+    },
+  );
+});
diff --git a/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.ts b/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.ts
index ca99b649719..4af20591fc7 100644
--- a/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.ts
+++ b/src/infra/unhandled-rejections.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,19 @@ const FATAL_ERROR_CODES = new Set([
 
 const CONFIG_ERROR_CODES = new Set(["INVALID_CONFIG", "MISSING_API_KEY", "MISSING_CREDENTIALS"]);
 
+// SQLite error codes that indicate transient failures (shouldn't crash the gateway).
+// Note: we intentionally do NOT include the broad SQLITE_IOERR base code here because
+// many IO-error subtypes (e.g. SQLITE_IOERR_NOMEM, SQLITE_IOERR_ACCESS) are permanent.
+// Only specific transient IO-error subtypes are listed.
+const TRANSIENT_SQLITE_CODES = new Set([
+  "SQLITE_CANTOPEN",
+  "SQLITE_BUSY",
+  "SQLITE_LOCKED",
+  "SQLITE_IOERR_LOCK",
+  "SQLITE_IOERR_SHORT_READ",
+  "SQLITE_IOERR_BLOCKED",
+]);
+
 // Network error codes that indicate transient failures (shouldn't crash the gateway)
 const TRANSIENT_NETWORK_CODES = new Set([
   "ECONNRESET",
@@ -112,6 +125,21 @@ function extractErrorCodeWithCause(err: unknown): string | undefined {
   return extractErrorCode(getErrorCause(err));
 }
 
+/** Shared callback for {@link collectErrorGraphCandidates} used by both SQLite and network checks. */
+function collectNestedErrorSources(current: Record<string, unknown>): Array<unknown> {
+  const nested: Array<unknown> = [
+    current.cause,
+    current.reason,
+    current.original,
+    current.error,
+    current.data,
+  ];
+  if (Array.isArray(current.errors)) {
+    nested.push(...current.errors);
+  }
+  return nested;
+}
+
 /**
  * Checks if an error is an AbortError.
  * These are typically intentional cancellations (e.g., during shutdown) and shouldn't crash.
@@ -142,6 +170,39 @@ function isConfigError(err: unknown): boolean {
   return code !== undefined && CONFIG_ERROR_CODES.has(code);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Checks if an error is a transient SQLite error that shouldn't crash the gateway.
+ * These are typically temporary I/O or locking issues (e.g., running as a LaunchAgent on macOS).
+ */
+export function isTransientSqliteError(err: unknown): boolean {
+  if (!err) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  for (const candidate of collectErrorGraphCandidates(err, collectNestedErrorSources)) {
+    const code = extractErrorCodeOrErrno(candidate);
+    if (code && TRANSIENT_SQLITE_CODES.has(code)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    // node:sqlite surfaces errors as code: ERR_SQLITE_ERROR with transient
+    // details only in the message text.  Match the code first, then inspect
+    // the message for known transient patterns.
+    if (
+      code === "ERR_SQLITE_ERROR" ||
+      (candidate && typeof candidate === "object" && "message" in candidate)
+    ) {
+      const msg = String((candidate as { message: unknown }).message).toLowerCase();
+      if (
+        msg.includes("database is locked") ||
+        msg.includes("database is busy") ||
+        msg.includes("unable to open database")
+      ) {
+        return true;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return false;
+}
+
 /**
  * Checks if an error is a transient network error that shouldn't crash the gateway.
  * These are typically temporary connectivity issues that will resolve on their own.
@@ -150,19 +211,7 @@ export function isTransientNetworkError(err: unknown): boolean {
   if (!err) {
     return false;
   }
-  for (const candidate of collectErrorGraphCandidates(err, (current) => {
-    const nested: Array<unknown> = [
-      current.cause,
-      current.reason,
-      current.original,
-      current.error,
-      current.data,
-    ];
-    if (Array.isArray(current.errors)) {
-      nested.push(...current.errors);
-    }
-    return nested;
-  })) {
+  for (const candidate of collectErrorGraphCandidates(err, collectNestedErrorSources)) {
     const code = extractErrorCodeOrErrno(candidate);
     if (code && TRANSIENT_NETWORK_CODES.has(code)) {
       return true;
@@ -251,6 +300,11 @@ export function installUnhandledRejectionHandler(): void {
       return;
     }
 
+    if (isTransientSqliteError(reason)) {
+      console.warn("[openclaw] Non-fatal SQLite error (continuing):", formatUncaughtError(reason));
+      return;
+    }
+
     console.error("[openclaw] Unhandled promise rejection:", formatUncaughtError(reason));
     process.exit(1);
   });