diff --git a/scripts/telegram-bridge.js b/scripts/telegram-bridge.js
index c51a5529a4..76613a5290 100755
--- a/scripts/telegram-bridge.js
+++ b/scripts/telegram-bridge.js
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * Env:
  *   TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN  — from @BotFather
  *   NVIDIA_API_KEY      — for inference
- *   SANDBOX_NAME        — sandbox name (default: nemoclaw)
+ *   SANDBOX_NAME        — sandbox name (default: from registry, or "my-assistant")
  *   ALLOWED_CHAT_IDS    — comma-separated Telegram chat IDs to accept (optional, accepts all if unset)
  */
 
@@ -29,8 +29,6 @@ if (!OPENSHELL) {
 
 const TOKEN = process.env.TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN;
 const API_KEY = process.env.NVIDIA_API_KEY;
-const SANDBOX = process.env.SANDBOX_NAME || "nemoclaw";
-try { validateName(SANDBOX, "SANDBOX_NAME"); } catch (e) { console.error(e.message); process.exit(1); }
 const ALLOWED_CHATS = process.env.ALLOWED_CHAT_IDS
   ? process.env.ALLOWED_CHAT_IDS.split(",").map((s) => s.trim())
   : null;
@@ -38,6 +36,25 @@ const ALLOWED_CHATS = process.env.ALLOWED_CHAT_IDS
 if (!TOKEN) { console.error("TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN required"); process.exit(1); }
 if (!API_KEY) { console.error("NVIDIA_API_KEY required"); process.exit(1); }
 
+/**
+ * Resolve the sandbox name.  Priority:
+ * 1. SANDBOX_NAME env var (explicit override)
+ * 2. The default sandbox from the NemoClaw registry
+ * 3. Fallback to "my-assistant" (matches onboard default)
+ */
+function resolveSandboxName() {
+  if (process.env.SANDBOX_NAME) return process.env.SANDBOX_NAME;
+  try {
+    const registry = require("../bin/lib/registry");
+    const def = registry.getDefault();
+    if (def) return def;
+  } catch {}
+  return "my-assistant";
+}
+
+const SANDBOX = resolveSandboxName();
+try { validateName(SANDBOX, "SANDBOX_NAME"); } catch (e) { console.error(e.message); process.exit(1); }
+
 let offset = 0;
 const activeSessions = new Map(); // chatId → message history
 
diff --git a/test/telegram-bridge-sandbox-name.test.js b/test/telegram-bridge-sandbox-name.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..860f8644b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/telegram-bridge-sandbox-name.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+// 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 fs = require("node:fs");
+const path = require("node:path");
+
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, "..");
+const SCRIPT = fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, "scripts", "telegram-bridge.js"), "utf-8");
+
+function extractFunctionSource(source, name) {
+  const signature = `function ${name}()`;
+  const start = source.indexOf(signature);
+  assert.notEqual(start, -1, `expected source to include ${signature}`);
+
+  const bodyStart = source.indexOf("{", start);
+  assert.notEqual(bodyStart, -1, `expected ${name} to have a function body`);
+
+  let depth = 0;
+  for (let i = bodyStart; i < source.length; i += 1) {
+    const char = source[i];
+    if (char === "{") {
+      depth += 1;
+    } else if (char === "}") {
+      depth -= 1;
+      if (depth === 0) {
+        return source.slice(start, i + 1);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  assert.fail(`expected ${name}() to have balanced braces`);
+}
+
+const RESOLVE_SANDBOX_NAME_SOURCE = extractFunctionSource(SCRIPT, "resolveSandboxName");
+
+function resolveSandboxNameWith({ env = {}, registryDefault, registryThrows = false } = {}) {
+  assert.ok(RESOLVE_SANDBOX_NAME_SOURCE, "expected telegram bridge to define resolveSandboxName()");
+
+  const processStub = { env: { ...env } };
+  const requireStub = (specifier) => {
+    if (specifier !== "../bin/lib/registry") {
+      throw new Error(`unexpected require: ${specifier}`);
+    }
+    if (registryThrows) {
+      throw new Error("registry unavailable");
+    }
+    return { getDefault: () => registryDefault };
+  };
+
+  const resolveSandboxName = new Function(
+    "process",
+    "require",
+    `${RESOLVE_SANDBOX_NAME_SOURCE}\nreturn resolveSandboxName;`,
+  )(processStub, requireStub);
+
+  return resolveSandboxName();
+}
+
+describe("telegram bridge sandbox resolution", () => {
+  it("prefers SANDBOX_NAME when explicitly set", () => {
+    assert.equal(
+      resolveSandboxNameWith({
+        env: { SANDBOX_NAME: "from-env" },
+        registryDefault: "from-registry",
+      }),
+      "from-env",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("reads the default sandbox from the registry when env is unset", () => {
+    assert.equal(
+      resolveSandboxNameWith({ registryDefault: "from-registry" }),
+      "from-registry",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("falls back to my-assistant when no explicit or registered sandbox exists", () => {
+    assert.equal(
+      resolveSandboxNameWith({ registryThrows: true }),
+      "my-assistant",
+    );
+  });
+});