diff --git a/src/agents/prompts/templates/partials/environment.eta b/src/agents/prompts/templates/partials/environment.eta
index 4533bcc5..632526c2 100644
--- a/src/agents/prompts/templates/partials/environment.eta
+++ b/src/agents/prompts/templates/partials/environment.eta
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
     - `redis-cli KEYS "*"` - List all keys (use sparingly)
     - `redis-cli FLUSHALL` - Clear all data (use with caution)
     - `redis-cli INFO` - Get server statistics
-  - **Start**: `su redis -c 'redis-server /etc/redis/redis.conf --daemonize yes'`
+  - **Start**: `su -s /bin/sh redis -c 'redis-server /etc/redis/redis.conf --daemonize yes'`
   - **Stop**: `redis-cli SHUTDOWN`
   - **Monitor**: `redis-cli MONITOR` - Watch all commands in real-time
   - **Data persistence**: AOF enabled (data survives restarts)
diff --git a/src/agents/utils/setup.ts b/src/agents/utils/setup.ts
index 1331c7eb..85f1b412 100644
--- a/src/agents/utils/setup.ts
+++ b/src/agents/utils/setup.ts
@@ -137,10 +137,10 @@ export async function startRedis(): Promise<void> {
 
 	try {
 		// Start Redis in background using redis-server
-		// We use su to run as redis user, and redirect stderr to capture startup errors
+		// We use su -s /bin/sh to run as redis user (redis user has /usr/sbin/nologin shell by default)
 		const startResult = await execCommand(
 			'su',
-			['redis', '-c', `redis-server ${REDIS_CONF} --daemonize yes 2>&1`],
+			['-s', '/bin/sh', 'redis', '-c', `redis-server ${REDIS_CONF} --daemonize yes 2>&1`],
 			'/',
 		);
 		logger.debug('redis-server start output', {