diff --git a/src/gateway/assistant-identity.test.ts b/src/gateway/assistant-identity.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5085708e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gateway/assistant-identity.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import type { ClawdbotConfig } from "../config/config.js";
+import { DEFAULT_ASSISTANT_IDENTITY, resolveAssistantIdentity } from "./assistant-identity.js";
+
+describe("resolveAssistantIdentity avatar normalization", () => {
+  it("drops sentence-like avatar placeholders", () => {
+    const cfg: ClawdbotConfig = {
+      ui: {
+        assistant: {
+          avatar: "workspace-relative path, http(s) URL, or data URI",
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAssistantIdentity({ cfg }).avatar).toBe(DEFAULT_ASSISTANT_IDENTITY.avatar);
+  });
+
+  it("keeps short text avatars", () => {
+    const cfg: ClawdbotConfig = {
+      ui: {
+        assistant: {
+          avatar: "PS",
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAssistantIdentity({ cfg }).avatar).toBe("PS");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps path avatars", () => {
+    const cfg: ClawdbotConfig = {
+      ui: {
+        assistant: {
+          avatar: "avatars/clawd.png",
+        },
+      },
+    };
+
+    expect(resolveAssistantIdentity({ cfg }).avatar).toBe("avatars/clawd.png");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/gateway/assistant-identity.ts b/src/gateway/assistant-identity.ts
index 72f521d12..35ff43490 100644
--- a/src/gateway/assistant-identity.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/assistant-identity.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,25 @@ function coerceIdentityValue(value: string | undefined, maxLength: number): stri
   return trimmed.slice(0, maxLength);
 }
 
+function isAvatarUrl(value: string): boolean {
+  return /^https?:\/\//i.test(value) || /^data:image\//i.test(value);
+}
+
+function looksLikeAvatarPath(value: string): boolean {
+  if (/[\\/]/.test(value)) return true;
+  return /\.(png|jpe?g|gif|webp|svg|ico)$/i.test(value);
+}
+
+function normalizeAvatarValue(value: string | undefined): string | undefined {
+  if (!value) return undefined;
+  const trimmed = value.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) return undefined;
+  if (isAvatarUrl(trimmed)) return trimmed;
+  if (looksLikeAvatarPath(trimmed)) return trimmed;
+  if (!/\s/.test(trimmed) && trimmed.length <= 4) return trimmed;
+  return undefined;
+}
+
 export function resolveAssistantIdentity(params: {
   cfg: ClawdbotConfig;
   agentId?: string | null;
@@ -43,12 +62,15 @@ export function resolveAssistantIdentity(params: {
     coerceIdentityValue(fileIdentity?.name, MAX_ASSISTANT_NAME) ??
     DEFAULT_ASSISTANT_IDENTITY.name;
 
+  const avatarCandidates = [
+    coerceIdentityValue(configAssistant?.avatar, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR),
+    coerceIdentityValue(agentIdentity?.avatar, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR),
+    coerceIdentityValue(agentIdentity?.emoji, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR),
+    coerceIdentityValue(fileIdentity?.avatar, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR),
+    coerceIdentityValue(fileIdentity?.emoji, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR),
+  ];
   const avatar =
-    coerceIdentityValue(configAssistant?.avatar, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR) ??
-    coerceIdentityValue(agentIdentity?.avatar, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR) ??
-    coerceIdentityValue(agentIdentity?.emoji, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR) ??
-    coerceIdentityValue(fileIdentity?.avatar, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR) ??
-    coerceIdentityValue(fileIdentity?.emoji, MAX_ASSISTANT_AVATAR) ??
+    avatarCandidates.map((candidate) => normalizeAvatarValue(candidate)).find(Boolean) ??
     DEFAULT_ASSISTANT_IDENTITY.avatar;
 
   return { agentId, name, avatar };