diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ac42a454a..b73ef0f10 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@
 - macOS: treat location permission as always-only to avoid iOS-only enums. (#165) — thanks @Nachx639
 - macOS: make generated gateway protocol models `Sendable` for Swift 6 strict concurrency. (#195) — thanks @andranik-sahakyan
 - macOS: bundle QR code renderer modules so DMG gateway boot doesn't crash on missing qrcode-terminal vendor files.
+- macOS: parse JSON5 config safely to avoid wiping user settings when comments are present.
 - WhatsApp: suppress typing indicator during heartbeat background tasks. (#190) — thanks @mcinteerj
 - WhatsApp: mark offline history sync messages as read without auto-reply. (#193) — thanks @mcinteerj
 - Discord: avoid duplicate replies when a provider emits late streaming `text_end` events (OpenAI/GPT).
diff --git a/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdbot/ClawdbotConfigFile.swift b/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdbot/ClawdbotConfigFile.swift
index 55b62a9fc..46a685865 100644
--- a/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdbot/ClawdbotConfigFile.swift
+++ b/apps/macos/Sources/Clawdbot/ClawdbotConfigFile.swift
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ enum ClawdbotConfigFile {
         guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: url.path) else { return [:] }
         do {
             let data = try Data(contentsOf: url)
-            guard let root = try JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data) as? [String: Any] else {
+            guard let root = self.parseConfigData(data) else {
                 self.logger.warning("config JSON root invalid")
                 return [:]
             }
@@ -122,4 +122,19 @@ enum ClawdbotConfigFile {
         }
         return nil
     }
+
+    private static func parseConfigData(_ data: Data) -> [String: Any]? {
+        if let root = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data) as? [String: Any] {
+            return root
+        }
+        let decoder = JSONDecoder()
+        if #available(macOS 12.0, *) {
+            decoder.allowsJSON5 = true
+        }
+        if let decoded = try? decoder.decode([String: AnyCodable].self, from: data) {
+            self.logger.notice("config parsed with JSON5 decoder")
+            return decoded.mapValues { $0.foundationValue }
+        }
+        return nil
+    }
 }