diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f1ec31f6d..46037f224 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
 - Gateway/Discovery: include `gatewayPort`/`sshPort`/`cliPath` in wide-area Bonjour records, and add a tailnet DNS fallback for `gateway discover` when split DNS isn’t configured. — thanks @steipete
 - CLI: add global `--no-color` (and respect `NO_COLOR=1`) to disable ANSI output. — thanks @steipete
 - CLI: centralize lobster palette + apply it to onboarding/config prompts. — thanks @steipete
-- Gateway/CLI: add `clawdbot gateway --dev/--reset` to auto-create a dev config/workspace with a robot identity (no BOOTSTRAP.md), and reset wipes config/creds/sessions/workspace. — thanks @steipete
+- Gateway/CLI: add `clawdbot gateway --dev/--reset` to auto-create a dev config/workspace with a robot identity (no BOOTSTRAP.md), and reset wipes config/creds/sessions/workspace (subcommand --dev no longer collides with global --dev profile). — thanks @steipete
 - Configure: stop prompting to open the Control UI (still shown in onboarding). — thanks @steipete
 - Config: fix Minimax hosted onboarding to write `agents.defaults` and allow `msteams` as a heartbeat target. — thanks @steipete
 
diff --git a/src/cli/gateway-cli.ts b/src/cli/gateway-cli.ts
index a47303e74..11ecd42b9 100644
--- a/src/cli/gateway-cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli/gateway-cli.ts
@@ -97,6 +97,10 @@ Protocol droid for debugging and operations.
 - Ask for missing context before guessing.
 - Prefer reproducible steps and logs.
 `;
+const DEV_TOOLS_TEMPLATE = `# TOOLS.md - Dev Tool Notes
+
+Use local tools carefully. Prefer read-only inspection before changes.
+`;
 const DEV_IDENTITY_TEMPLATE = `# IDENTITY.md - Agent Identity
 
 - Name: ${DEV_IDENTITY_NAME}
@@ -104,6 +108,16 @@ const DEV_IDENTITY_TEMPLATE = `# IDENTITY.md - Agent Identity
 - Vibe: ${DEV_IDENTITY_THEME}
 - Emoji: ${DEV_IDENTITY_EMOJI}
 `;
+const DEV_USER_TEMPLATE = `# USER.md - User Profile
+
+- Name:
+- Preferred address:
+- Notes:
+`;
+const DEV_HEARTBEAT_TEMPLATE = `# HEARTBEAT.md
+
+Keep it short. Check logs, health, and connectivity.
+`;
 
 type GatewayRunSignalAction = "stop" | "restart";
 
@@ -162,6 +176,15 @@ async function ensureDevWorkspace(dir: string) {
     path.join(resolvedDir, "IDENTITY.md"),
     DEV_IDENTITY_TEMPLATE,
   );
+  await writeFileIfMissing(
+    path.join(resolvedDir, "TOOLS.md"),
+    DEV_TOOLS_TEMPLATE,
+  );
+  await writeFileIfMissing(path.join(resolvedDir, "USER.md"), DEV_USER_TEMPLATE);
+  await writeFileIfMissing(
+    path.join(resolvedDir, "HEARTBEAT.md"),
+    DEV_HEARTBEAT_TEMPLATE,
+  );
 }
 
 async function ensureDevGatewayConfig(opts: { reset?: boolean }) {
diff --git a/src/cli/profile.test.ts b/src/cli/profile.test.ts
index 131b6d25d..daf51071d 100644
--- a/src/cli/profile.test.ts
+++ b/src/cli/profile.test.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import { applyCliProfileEnv, parseCliProfileArgs } from "./profile.js";
 
 describe("parseCliProfileArgs", () => {
-  it("strips --dev anywhere in argv", () => {
+  it("leaves gateway --dev for subcommands", () => {
     const res = parseCliProfileArgs([
       "node",
       "clawdbot",
@@ -12,15 +12,28 @@ describe("parseCliProfileArgs", () => {
       "--allow-unconfigured",
     ]);
     if (!res.ok) throw new Error(res.error);
-    expect(res.profile).toBe("dev");
+    expect(res.profile).toBeNull();
     expect(res.argv).toEqual([
       "node",
       "clawdbot",
       "gateway",
+      "--dev",
       "--allow-unconfigured",
     ]);
   });
 
+  it("still accepts global --dev before subcommand", () => {
+    const res = parseCliProfileArgs([
+      "node",
+      "clawdbot",
+      "--dev",
+      "gateway",
+    ]);
+    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(res.error);
+    expect(res.profile).toBe("dev");
+    expect(res.argv).toEqual(["node", "clawdbot", "gateway"]);
+  });
+
   it("parses --profile value and strips it", () => {
     const res = parseCliProfileArgs([
       "node",
diff --git a/src/cli/profile.ts b/src/cli/profile.ts
index a0725caae..038bbf23a 100644
--- a/src/cli/profile.ts
+++ b/src/cli/profile.ts
@@ -33,12 +33,18 @@ export function parseCliProfileArgs(argv: string[]): CliProfileParseResult {
   const out: string[] = argv.slice(0, 2);
   let profile: string | null = null;
   let sawDev = false;
+  let sawCommand = false;
 
   const args = argv.slice(2);
   for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i += 1) {
     const arg = args[i];
     if (arg === undefined) continue;
 
+    if (sawCommand) {
+      out.push(arg);
+      continue;
+    }
+
     if (arg === "--dev") {
       if (profile && profile !== "dev") {
         return { ok: false, error: "Cannot combine --dev with --profile" };
@@ -66,6 +72,12 @@ export function parseCliProfileArgs(argv: string[]): CliProfileParseResult {
       continue;
     }
 
+    if (!arg.startsWith("-")) {
+      sawCommand = true;
+      out.push(arg);
+      continue;
+    }
+
     out.push(arg);
   }