diff --git a/bin/lib/onboard.js b/bin/lib/onboard.js
index 3e84534256..e54c868084 100644
--- a/bin/lib/onboard.js
+++ b/bin/lib/onboard.js
@@ -14,6 +14,16 @@ const HOST_GATEWAY_URL = "http://host.openshell.internal";
 
 // ── Helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+/**
+ * Validate a sandbox name to prevent shell injection and OpenShell argument
+ * parsing issues (e.g., WSL truncation on hyphens).
+ * Allowed: lowercase alphanumeric, hyphens, underscores. Must start with a letter.
+ */
+function validateSandboxName(name) {
+  if (!name || typeof name !== "string") return false;
+  return /^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_-]{0,62}$/.test(name);
+}
+
 function step(n, total, msg) {
   console.log("");
   console.log(`  [${n}/${total}] ${msg}`);
@@ -130,6 +140,12 @@ async function createSandbox(gpu) {
   const nameAnswer = await prompt("  Sandbox name [my-assistant]: ");
   const sandboxName = nameAnswer || "my-assistant";
 
+  if (!validateSandboxName(sandboxName)) {
+    console.error(`  Invalid sandbox name: '${sandboxName}'`);
+    console.error("  Names must start with a letter and contain only letters, digits, hyphens, or underscores.");
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+
   // Check if sandbox already exists in registry
   const existing = registry.getSandbox(sandboxName);
   if (existing) {
@@ -139,7 +155,7 @@ async function createSandbox(gpu) {
       return sandboxName;
     }
     // Destroy old sandbox
-    run(`openshell sandbox delete ${sandboxName} 2>/dev/null || true`, { ignoreError: true });
+    run(`openshell sandbox delete "${sandboxName}" 2>/dev/null || true`, { ignoreError: true });
     registry.removeSandbox(sandboxName);
   }
 
@@ -158,7 +174,7 @@ async function createSandbox(gpu) {
   const basePolicyPath = path.join(ROOT, "nemoclaw-blueprint", "policies", "openclaw-sandbox.yaml");
   const createArgs = [
     `--from "${buildCtx}/Dockerfile"`,
-    `--name ${sandboxName}`,
+    `--name "${sandboxName}"`,
     `--policy "${basePolicyPath}"`,
   ];
   if (gpu && gpu.nimCapable) createArgs.push("--gpu");
@@ -172,7 +188,7 @@ async function createSandbox(gpu) {
   run(`openshell sandbox create ${createArgs.join(" ")} -- env ${envArgs.join(" ")} nemoclaw-start 2>&1 | awk '/Sandbox allocated/{if(!seen){print;seen=1}next}1'`);
 
   // Forward dashboard port separately
-  run(`openshell forward start --background 18789 ${sandboxName}`, { ignoreError: true });
+  run(`openshell forward start --background 18789 "${sandboxName}"`, { ignoreError: true });
 
   // Clean up build context
   run(`rm -rf "${buildCtx}"`, { ignoreError: true });
@@ -478,4 +494,4 @@ async function onboard() {
   printDashboard(sandboxName, model, provider);
 }
 
-module.exports = { onboard };
+module.exports = { onboard, validateSandboxName };
diff --git a/bin/lib/policies.js b/bin/lib/policies.js
index 575fcdee27..c997ca0a46 100644
--- a/bin/lib/policies.js
+++ b/bin/lib/policies.js
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ function applyPreset(sandboxName, presetName) {
   let rawPolicy = "";
   try {
     rawPolicy = runCapture(
-      `openshell policy get --full ${sandboxName} 2>/dev/null`,
+      `openshell policy get --full "${sandboxName}" 2>/dev/null`,
       { ignoreError: true }
     );
   } catch {}
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ function applyPreset(sandboxName, presetName) {
   fs.writeFileSync(tmpFile, merged, "utf-8");
 
   try {
-    run(`openshell policy set --policy "${tmpFile}" --wait ${sandboxName}`);
+    run(`openshell policy set --policy "${tmpFile}" --wait "${sandboxName}"`);
     console.log(`  Applied preset: ${presetName}`);
   } finally {
     fs.unlinkSync(tmpFile);
diff --git a/test/sandbox-name.test.js b/test/sandbox-name.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..066c5b1f27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/sandbox-name.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+const { describe, it } = require("node:test");
+const assert = require("node:assert/strict");
+
+const { validateSandboxName } = require("../bin/lib/onboard");
+
+describe("validateSandboxName", () => {
+  it("accepts simple names", () => {
+    assert.ok(validateSandboxName("my-assistant"));
+    assert.ok(validateSandboxName("sandbox1"));
+    assert.ok(validateSandboxName("test_box"));
+  });
+
+  it("accepts hyphenated names (WSL regression)", () => {
+    assert.ok(validateSandboxName("my-assistant"));
+    assert.ok(validateSandboxName("dev-sandbox-01"));
+    assert.ok(validateSandboxName("a-b-c-d"));
+  });
+
+  it("rejects empty or non-string input", () => {
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName(""), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName(null), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName(undefined), false);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects names starting with non-letter", () => {
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("1sandbox"), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("-sandbox"), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("_sandbox"), false);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects names with spaces or shell metacharacters", () => {
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("my sandbox"), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("sandbox;rm -rf"), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("test$(whoami)"), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("name`cmd`"), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("a b"), false);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects names that could cause argument injection", () => {
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("--policy"), false);
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("-wait"), false);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects excessively long names", () => {
+    assert.equal(validateSandboxName("a".repeat(64)), false);
+    assert.ok(validateSandboxName("a".repeat(63)));
+  });
+});