diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 07756fa55..2ad3631d4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ Docs: https://docs.clawd.bot
 - Android: bump okhttp + dnsjava to satisfy lint dependency checks.
 - Docs: refresh Android node discovery docs for the Gateway WS service type.
 
+### Fixes
+- Tests: stabilize Windows gateway/CLI tests by skipping sidecars and normalizing argv.
+
 ## 2026.1.19-1
 
 ### Breaking
diff --git a/src/entry.ts b/src/entry.ts
index 61f69953e..7b01bfd47 100644
--- a/src/entry.ts
+++ b/src/entry.ts
@@ -60,17 +60,39 @@ function ensureExperimentalWarningSuppressed(): boolean {
 function normalizeWindowsArgv(argv: string[]): string[] {
   if (process.platform !== "win32") return argv;
   if (argv.length < 3) return argv;
-  const execBase = path.basename(process.execPath).toLowerCase();
+  const execPath = process.execPath;
+  const execPathLower = execPath.toLowerCase();
+  const execBase = path.basename(execPath).toLowerCase();
+  const isExecPath = (value: string | undefined): boolean => {
+    if (!value) return false;
+    const lower = value.toLowerCase();
+    return lower === execPathLower || path.basename(lower) === execBase;
+  };
   const arg1 = path.basename(argv[1] ?? "").toLowerCase();
   const arg2 = path.basename(argv[2] ?? "").toLowerCase();
   const looksLikeEntry = arg1 === "entry.ts" || arg1 === "entry.js";
+  let next = argv;
   if (arg1 === execBase) {
-    return [argv[0], ...argv.slice(2)];
+    next = [argv[0], ...argv.slice(2)];
+  } else if (looksLikeEntry && arg2 === execBase) {
+    next = [argv[0], argv[1], ...argv.slice(3)];
   }
-  if (looksLikeEntry && arg2 === execBase) {
-    return [argv[0], argv[1], ...argv.slice(3)];
+
+  if (next.length < 3) return next;
+  const cleaned = [...next];
+  for (let i = 2; i < cleaned.length; ) {
+    const arg = cleaned[i];
+    if (!arg || arg.startsWith("-")) {
+      i += 1;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (isExecPath(arg)) {
+      cleaned.splice(i, 1);
+      continue;
+    }
+    break;
   }
-  return argv;
+  return cleaned;
 }
 
 process.argv = normalizeWindowsArgv(process.argv);
diff --git a/src/gateway/openai-http.e2e.test.ts b/src/gateway/openai-http.e2e.test.ts
index 022b384f6..4f44751dc 100644
--- a/src/gateway/openai-http.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/openai-http.e2e.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ async function startServerWithDefaultConfig(port: number) {
     host: "127.0.0.1",
     auth: { mode: "token", token: "secret" },
     controlUiEnabled: false,
+    openAiChatCompletionsEnabled: false,
   });
 }
 
diff --git a/src/gateway/server.sessions.gateway-server-sessions-a.test.ts b/src/gateway/server.sessions.gateway-server-sessions-a.test.ts
index 3ab734bbb..b7477e6f4 100644
--- a/src/gateway/server.sessions.gateway-server-sessions-a.test.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/server.sessions.gateway-server-sessions-a.test.ts
@@ -81,12 +81,12 @@ describe("gateway server sessions", () => {
         },
         "discord:group:dev": {
           sessionId: "sess-group",
-          updatedAt: now - 120_000,
+          updatedAt: now - 10 * 60_000,
           totalTokens: 50,
         },
         "agent:main:subagent:one": {
           sessionId: "sess-subagent",
-          updatedAt: now - 120_000,
+          updatedAt: now - 10 * 60_000,
           spawnedBy: "agent:main:main",
         },
         global: {
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ describe("gateway server sessions", () => {
     }>(ws, "sessions.list", {
       includeGlobal: false,
       includeUnknown: false,
-      activeMinutes: 1,
+      activeMinutes: 5,
     });
     expect(active.ok).toBe(true);
     expect(active.payload?.sessions.map((s) => s.key)).toEqual(["agent:main:main"]);
diff --git a/src/gateway/test-helpers.server.ts b/src/gateway/test-helpers.server.ts
index f6c4771cd..fc749674f 100644
--- a/src/gateway/test-helpers.server.ts
+++ b/src/gateway/test-helpers.server.ts
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ let previousHome: string | undefined;
 let previousUserProfile: string | undefined;
 let previousStateDir: string | undefined;
 let previousConfigPath: string | undefined;
+let previousSkipBrowserControl: string | undefined;
+let previousSkipGmailWatcher: string | undefined;
+let previousSkipCanvasHost: string | undefined;
 let tempHome: string | undefined;
 let tempConfigRoot: string | undefined;
 
@@ -75,11 +78,17 @@ export function installGatewayTestHooks() {
     previousUserProfile = process.env.USERPROFILE;
     previousStateDir = process.env.CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR;
     previousConfigPath = process.env.CLAWDBOT_CONFIG_PATH;
+    previousSkipBrowserControl = process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_BROWSER_CONTROL_SERVER;
+    previousSkipGmailWatcher = process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_GMAIL_WATCHER;
+    previousSkipCanvasHost = process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_CANVAS_HOST;
     tempHome = await fs.mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "clawdbot-gateway-home-"));
     process.env.HOME = tempHome;
     process.env.USERPROFILE = tempHome;
     process.env.CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR = path.join(tempHome, ".clawdbot");
     delete process.env.CLAWDBOT_CONFIG_PATH;
+    process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_BROWSER_CONTROL_SERVER = "1";
+    process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_GMAIL_WATCHER = "1";
+    process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_CANVAS_HOST = "1";
     tempConfigRoot = path.join(tempHome, ".clawdbot-test");
     setTestConfigRoot(tempConfigRoot);
     sessionStoreSaveDelayMs.value = 0;
@@ -128,6 +137,13 @@ export function installGatewayTestHooks() {
     else process.env.CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR = previousStateDir;
     if (previousConfigPath === undefined) delete process.env.CLAWDBOT_CONFIG_PATH;
     else process.env.CLAWDBOT_CONFIG_PATH = previousConfigPath;
+    if (previousSkipBrowserControl === undefined)
+      delete process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_BROWSER_CONTROL_SERVER;
+    else process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_BROWSER_CONTROL_SERVER = previousSkipBrowserControl;
+    if (previousSkipGmailWatcher === undefined) delete process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_GMAIL_WATCHER;
+    else process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_GMAIL_WATCHER = previousSkipGmailWatcher;
+    if (previousSkipCanvasHost === undefined) delete process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_CANVAS_HOST;
+    else process.env.CLAWDBOT_SKIP_CANVAS_HOST = previousSkipCanvasHost;
     if (tempHome) {
       await fs.rm(tempHome, {
         recursive: true,