diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cb1a65591..4ee9094b0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 - macOS packaging: move rpath config into swift build for reliability (#69) — thanks @petter-b
 - macOS: prioritize main bundle for device resources to prevent crash (#73) — thanks @petter-b
 - Chat UI: clear composer input immediately and allow clear while editing to prevent duplicate sends (#72) — thanks @hrdwdmrbl
+- Restart: use systemd on Linux (and report actual restart method) instead of always launchctl.
 - Docs: add manual OAuth setup for remote/headless deployments (#67) — thanks @wstock
 - Docs/agent tools: clarify that browser `wait` should be avoided by default and used only in exceptional cases.
 - Browser tools: `upload` supports auto-click refs, direct `inputRef`/`element` file inputs, and emits input/change after `setFiles` so JS-heavy sites pick up attachments.
diff --git a/src/auto-reply/reply.ts b/src/auto-reply/reply.ts
index 6d14eaa89..91701392d 100644
--- a/src/auto-reply/reply.ts
+++ b/src/auto-reply/reply.ts
@@ -886,10 +886,10 @@ export async function getReplyFromConfig(
       cleanupTyping();
       return undefined;
     }
-    triggerClawdisRestart();
+    const restartMethod = triggerClawdisRestart();
     cleanupTyping();
     return {
-      text: "⚙️ Restarting clawdis via launchctl; give me a few seconds to come back online.",
+      text: `⚙️ Restarting clawdis via ${restartMethod}; give me a few seconds to come back online.`,
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/src/infra/restart.ts b/src/infra/restart.ts
index c7b3b703d..b39c98819 100644
--- a/src/infra/restart.ts
+++ b/src/infra/restart.ts
@@ -1,22 +1,33 @@
-import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
 
 const DEFAULT_LAUNCHD_LABEL = "com.steipete.clawdis";
+const DEFAULT_SYSTEMD_UNIT = "clawdis-gateway.service";
 
-export function triggerClawdisRestart(): void {
+export function triggerClawdisRestart(): "launchctl" | "systemd" | "supervisor" {
   if (process.platform !== "darwin") {
-    return;
+    if (process.platform === "linux") {
+      const unit = process.env.CLAWDIS_SYSTEMD_UNIT || DEFAULT_SYSTEMD_UNIT;
+      const userRestart = spawnSync("systemctl", ["--user", "restart", unit], {
+        stdio: "ignore",
+      });
+      if (!userRestart.error && userRestart.status === 0) {
+        return "systemd";
+      }
+      const systemRestart = spawnSync("systemctl", ["restart", unit], {
+        stdio: "ignore",
+      });
+      if (!systemRestart.error && systemRestart.status === 0) {
+        return "systemd";
+      }
+      return "systemd";
+    }
+    return "supervisor";
   }
 
   const label = process.env.CLAWDIS_LAUNCHD_LABEL || DEFAULT_LAUNCHD_LABEL;
   const uid =
     typeof process.getuid === "function" ? process.getuid() : undefined;
   const target = uid !== undefined ? `gui/${uid}/${label}` : label;
-  const child = spawn("launchctl", ["kickstart", "-k", target], {
-    detached: true,
-    stdio: "ignore",
-  });
-  child.on("error", () => {
-    // Best-effort restart; ignore failures (e.g. missing launchctl, invalid label).
-  });
-  child.unref();
+  spawnSync("launchctl", ["kickstart", "-k", target], { stdio: "ignore" });
+  return "launchctl";
 }