diff --git a/scripts/gateway-start.sh b/scripts/gateway-start.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..713877d17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gateway-start.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Gateway startup wrapper
+# Cleans stale lock files before starting the gateway
+# This is used by PM2 as a pre-startup hook
+
+set -e
+
+LOCK_FILES=(
+  "$HOME/.clawdbot/gateway.lock"
+  "$HOME/.clawdbot/moltbot.lock"
+  "/tmp/moltbot-gateway.lock"
+)
+
+echo "[$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] Cleaning stale lock files..."
+
+for lock_file in "${LOCK_FILES[@]}"; do
+  if [ -f "$lock_file" ]; then
+    file_age=$(($(date +%s) - $(stat -c%Y "$lock_file" 2>/dev/null || stat -f%m "$lock_file" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)))
+
+    # Clean if older than 5 minutes
+    if [ "$file_age" -gt 300 ]; then
+      rm -f "$lock_file" 2>/dev/null && echo "  Removed: $lock_file"
+    fi
+  fi
+done
+
+echo "[$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] Lock cleanup complete. Starting gateway..."
+
+# Start the actual gateway
+cd /root/moltbot
+exec node dist/entry.js gateway --port 18789
diff --git a/scripts/pm2-health-monitor.js b/scripts/pm2-health-monitor.js
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..a2e9a5ec4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/pm2-health-monitor.js
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+/**
+ * PM2 Health Monitor for Moltbot Gateway
+ *
+ * Monitors gateway responsiveness and automatically recovers from hangs.
+ * Runs as a separate PM2-managed process (not systemd).
+ *
+ * Features:
+ * - Checks if gateway is responding on port 18789
+ * - Detects inotify watcher exhaustion
+ * - Force-restarts hung gateway processes
+ * - Logs all checks and recoveries
+ */
+
+import net from 'net';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+import { spawn } from 'child_process';
+
+// Configuration
+const GATEWAY_PORT = 18789;
+const GATEWAY_HOST = '127.0.0.1';
+const CHECK_INTERVAL = parseInt(process.env.INTERVAL || '300000'); // 5 minutes default
+const INOTIFY_THRESHOLD = 0.8; // 80% of limit = warning
+const LOG_FILE = '/tmp/moltbot/pm2-health-monitor.log';
+
+// Ensure log directory exists
+const logDir = path.dirname(LOG_FILE);
+if (!fs.existsSync(logDir)) {
+  fs.mkdirSync(logDir, { recursive: true });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Log with timestamp
+ */
+function log(message) {
+  const timestamp = new Date().toISOString();
+  const logEntry = `[${timestamp}] ${message}`;
+  console.log(logEntry);
+  fs.appendFileSync(LOG_FILE, logEntry + '\n');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if gateway port is responding
+ */
+function checkGatewayResponsive() {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const socket = net.createConnection(GATEWAY_PORT, GATEWAY_HOST);
+    const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+      socket.destroy();
+      resolve(false);
+    }, 3000);
+
+    socket.on('connect', () => {
+      clearTimeout(timeout);
+      socket.destroy();
+      resolve(true);
+    });
+
+    socket.on('error', () => {
+      clearTimeout(timeout);
+      resolve(false);
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get inotify watcher usage
+ */
+async function checkInotifyUsage() {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    fs.readFile('/proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches', 'utf8', (err, limit) => {
+      if (err) {
+        resolve({ limit: 0, usage: 0, percentage: 0 });
+        return;
+      }
+
+      const maxWatchers = parseInt(limit.trim());
+      resolve({
+        limit: maxWatchers,
+        threshold: Math.floor(maxWatchers * INOTIFY_THRESHOLD)
+      });
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Force restart gateway via PM2
+ */
+function restartGateway() {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    log('⚠️  Gateway unresponsive. Attempting force restart...');
+
+    const killProc = spawn('killall', ['-9', 'moltbot']);
+
+    killProc.on('close', () => {
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        log('✓ Gateway force-killed. PM2 will restart automatically.');
+        resolve(true);
+      }, 2000);
+    });
+
+    killProc.on('error', () => {
+      resolve(true);
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+/**
+ * Main health check routine
+ */
+async function performHealthCheck() {
+  try {
+    log('🔍 Starting health check...');
+
+    const isResponsive = await checkGatewayResponsive();
+
+    if (isResponsive) {
+      log('✓ Gateway is responding on port 18789');
+    } else {
+      log('✗ Gateway NOT responding on port 18789');
+      await restartGateway();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const inotify = await checkInotifyUsage();
+    if (inotify.limit > 0) {
+      log(`ℹ️  Inotify limit: ${inotify.limit} (threshold: ${inotify.threshold})`);
+    }
+
+    log('✓ Health check passed');
+  } catch (error) {
+    log(`✗ Health check error: ${error.message}`);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Start periodic health checks
+ */
+function startHealthMonitoring() {
+  log(`🚀 PM2 Health Monitor started (check interval: ${CHECK_INTERVAL}ms)`);
+  log(`   Gateway: ${GATEWAY_HOST}:${GATEWAY_PORT}`);
+  log(`   Log file: ${LOG_FILE}`);
+
+  performHealthCheck();
+
+  setInterval(() => {
+    performHealthCheck();
+  }, CHECK_INTERVAL);
+}
+
+process.on('SIGINT', () => {
+  log('📴 Health monitor shutting down...');
+  process.exit(0);
+});
+
+process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
+  log('📴 Health monitor terminated');
+  process.exit(0);
+});
+
+startHealthMonitoring();