diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
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+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# install.sh — host-install hook for the openclaw runtime.
+#
+# Why this exists
+# ---------------
+# openclaw's npm package (openclaw@2026.4.29 at time of writing) pins
+# `engines.node >= 22.14.0`. The default Ubuntu 24.04 workspace AMI
+# ships Node 18.19.1 from apt. When adapter.py:setup() runs
+# `npm install --prefix ~/.local -g openclaw` against Node 18, npm
+# either fails outright or surfaces a successful install whose
+# postinstall scripts crash on first invocation — both end as
+# `RuntimeError: Failed to install OpenClaw` from adapter.py:71, the
+# molecule-runtime never binds port 8000, and the workspace flips to
+# status=failed within ~2 minutes of provision.
+#
+# Diagnosed 2026-05-01 from /var/log/molecule-runtime.log on a failed
+# provision:
+#
+#     RuntimeError: Failed to install OpenClaw: npm WARN EBADENGINE
+#       package: 'openclaw@2026.4.29',
+#       required: { node: '>=22.14.0' },
+#       current: { node: 'v18.19.1', npm: '9.2.0' }
+#
+# What this does
+# --------------
+# Installs Node 22 LTS from nodesource into the system PATH. apt is
+# the standard way to install Node on Ubuntu and matches openclaw's
+# own README. The runtime user has passwordless sudo on the AMI, so
+# we don't need to fall back to a user-local tarball install. Node 22
+# is the LTS line that openclaw upstream targets.
+#
+# Idempotent — if Node ≥22 is already on PATH (e.g. AMI gets bumped
+# in a future cycle and this hook becomes a no-op), early-exits 0
+# without touching apt.
+#
+# Tracked: this is template-local "system deps" workaround. The
+# durable fix is bumping the workspace AMI to ship Node 22 directly,
+# which would also benefit gemini-cli and any future Node-based
+# runtimes. Until then, this hook keeps openclaw provisioning green.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+current_major() {
+  command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo 0; return; }
+  node --version 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^v//' | cut -d. -f1
+}
+
+if [ "$(current_major)" -ge 22 ]; then
+  echo "Node $(node --version) already satisfies >=22 — skipping install"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+echo "Installing Node 22 from nodesource (had: $(node --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'none'))"
+
+# nodesource setup_22.x: configures /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list
+# and refreshes apt cache. Re-running on an already-configured host is a
+# no-op, so this stays idempotent across reboots / re-runs.
+curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
+
+# `apt-get install -y nodejs` from nodesource provides Node 22 + npm 10.
+# --no-install-recommends keeps the install slim (no recommended-but-unused
+# build toolchain pulled in transitively).
+sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends nodejs
+
+echo "Node $(node --version) installed; npm $(npm --version)"