diff --git a/.agents/skills/nemoclaw-reference/references/troubleshooting.md b/.agents/skills/nemoclaw-reference/references/troubleshooting.md
index 8174ea589..1d7ed6586 100644
--- a/.agents/skills/nemoclaw-reference/references/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/.agents/skills/nemoclaw-reference/references/troubleshooting.md
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ If another process is already bound to this port, onboarding fails.
 Identify the conflicting process, verify it is safe to stop, and terminate it:
 
 ```console
-$ lsof -i :18789
+$ sudo lsof -i :18789
 $ kill <PID>
 ```
 
diff --git a/bin/lib/onboard.js b/bin/lib/onboard.js
index 59024830c..59f2527f1 100644
--- a/bin/lib/onboard.js
+++ b/bin/lib/onboard.js
@@ -1574,13 +1574,13 @@ async function preflight() {
         if (portCheck.pid) {
           console.error(`       sudo kill ${portCheck.pid}`);
         } else {
-          console.error(`       lsof -i :${port} -sTCP:LISTEN -P -n`);
+          console.error(`       sudo lsof -i :${port} -sTCP:LISTEN -P -n`);
         }
         console.error("       # or, if it's a systemd service:");
         console.error("       systemctl --user stop openclaw-gateway.service");
       } else {
         console.error(`     Could not identify the process using port ${port}.`);
-        console.error(`     Run: lsof -i :${port} -sTCP:LISTEN`);
+        console.error(`     Run: sudo lsof -i :${port} -sTCP:LISTEN`);
       }
       console.error("");
       console.error(`     Detail: ${portCheck.reason}`);
diff --git a/docs/reference/troubleshooting.md b/docs/reference/troubleshooting.md
index da61ee93e..a279c91b8 100644
--- a/docs/reference/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/reference/troubleshooting.md
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ If another process is already bound to this port, onboarding fails.
 Identify the conflicting process, verify it is safe to stop, and terminate it:
 
 ```console
-$ lsof -i :18789
+$ sudo lsof -i :18789
 $ kill <PID>
 ```