diff --git a/hermes_cli/gateway.py b/hermes_cli/gateway.py
index 8b360087c..7796cc575 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/gateway.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/gateway.py
@@ -761,6 +761,21 @@ def get_systemd_unit_path(system: bool = False) -> Path:
     return Path.home() / ".config" / "systemd" / "user" / f"{name}.service"
 
 
+class UserSystemdUnavailableError(RuntimeError):
+    """Raised when ``systemctl --user`` cannot reach the user D-Bus session.
+
+    Typically hit on fresh RHEL/Debian SSH sessions where linger is disabled
+    and no user@.service is running, so ``/run/user/$UID/bus`` never exists.
+    Carries a user-facing remediation message in ``args[0]``.
+    """
+
+
+def _user_dbus_socket_path() -> Path:
+    """Return the expected per-user D-Bus socket path (regardless of existence)."""
+    xdg = os.environ.get("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR") or f"/run/user/{os.getuid()}"
+    return Path(xdg) / "bus"
+
+
 def _ensure_user_systemd_env() -> None:
     """Ensure DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS and XDG_RUNTIME_DIR are set for systemctl --user.
 
@@ -783,6 +798,126 @@ def _ensure_user_systemd_env() -> None:
             os.environ["DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS"] = f"unix:path={bus_path}"
 
 
+def _wait_for_user_dbus_socket(timeout: float = 3.0) -> bool:
+    """Poll for the user D-Bus socket to appear, up to ``timeout`` seconds.
+
+    Linger-enabled user@.service can take a second or two to spawn the socket
+    after ``loginctl enable-linger`` runs.  Returns True once the socket exists.
+    """
+    import time
+
+    deadline = time.monotonic() + timeout
+    while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+        if _user_dbus_socket_path().exists():
+            _ensure_user_systemd_env()
+            return True
+        time.sleep(0.2)
+    return _user_dbus_socket_path().exists()
+
+
+def _preflight_user_systemd(*, auto_enable_linger: bool = True) -> None:
+    """Ensure ``systemctl --user`` will reach the user D-Bus session bus.
+
+    No-op when the bus socket is already there (the common case on desktops
+    and linger-enabled servers).  On fresh SSH sessions where the socket is
+    missing:
+
+    * If linger is already enabled, wait briefly for user@.service to spawn
+      the socket.
+    * If linger is disabled and ``auto_enable_linger`` is True, try
+      ``loginctl enable-linger $USER`` (works as non-root when polkit permits
+      it, otherwise needs sudo).
+    * If the socket is still missing afterwards, raise
+      :class:`UserSystemdUnavailableError` with a precise remediation message.
+
+    Callers should treat the exception as a terminal condition for user-scope
+    systemd operations and surface the message to the user.
+    """
+    _ensure_user_systemd_env()
+    bus_path = _user_dbus_socket_path()
+    if bus_path.exists():
+        return
+
+    import getpass
+
+    username = getpass.getuser()
+    linger_enabled, linger_detail = get_systemd_linger_status()
+
+    if linger_enabled is True:
+        if _wait_for_user_dbus_socket(timeout=3.0):
+            return
+        # Linger is on but socket still missing — unusual; fall through to error.
+        _raise_user_systemd_unavailable(
+            username,
+            reason="User D-Bus socket is missing even though linger is enabled.",
+            fix_hint=(
+                f"  systemctl start user@{os.getuid()}.service\n"
+                "  (may require sudo; try again after the command succeeds)"
+            ),
+        )
+
+    if auto_enable_linger and shutil.which("loginctl"):
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                ["loginctl", "enable-linger", username],
+                capture_output=True,
+                text=True,
+                check=False,
+                timeout=30,
+            )
+        except Exception as exc:
+            _raise_user_systemd_unavailable(
+                username,
+                reason=f"loginctl enable-linger failed ({exc}).",
+                fix_hint=f"  sudo loginctl enable-linger {username}",
+            )
+        else:
+            if result.returncode == 0:
+                if _wait_for_user_dbus_socket(timeout=5.0):
+                    print(f"✓ Enabled linger for {username} — user D-Bus now available")
+                    return
+                # enable-linger succeeded but the socket never appeared.
+                _raise_user_systemd_unavailable(
+                    username,
+                    reason="Linger was enabled, but the user D-Bus socket did not appear.",
+                    fix_hint=(
+                        "  Log out and log back in, then re-run the command.\n"
+                        f"  Or reboot and run: systemctl --user start {get_service_name()}"
+                    ),
+                )
+            detail = (result.stderr or result.stdout or f"exit {result.returncode}").strip()
+            _raise_user_systemd_unavailable(
+                username,
+                reason=f"loginctl enable-linger was denied: {detail}",
+                fix_hint=f"  sudo loginctl enable-linger {username}",
+            )
+
+    _raise_user_systemd_unavailable(
+        username,
+        reason=(
+            "User D-Bus session is not available "
+            f"({linger_detail or 'linger disabled'})."
+        ),
+        fix_hint=f"  sudo loginctl enable-linger {username}",
+    )
+
+
+def _raise_user_systemd_unavailable(username: str, *, reason: str, fix_hint: str) -> None:
+    """Build a user-facing error message and raise UserSystemdUnavailableError."""
+    msg = (
+        f"{reason}\n"
+        "  systemctl --user cannot reach the user D-Bus session in this shell.\n"
+        "\n"
+        "  To fix:\n"
+        f"{fix_hint}\n"
+        "\n"
+        "  Alternative: run the gateway in the foreground (stays up until\n"
+        "  you exit / close the terminal):\n"
+        "    hermes gateway run"
+    )
+    raise UserSystemdUnavailableError(msg)
+
+
 def _systemctl_cmd(system: bool = False) -> list[str]:
     if not system:
         _ensure_user_systemd_env()
@@ -1623,6 +1758,11 @@ def systemd_start(system: bool = False):
     system = _select_systemd_scope(system)
     if system:
         _require_root_for_system_service("start")
+    else:
+        # Fail fast with actionable guidance if the user D-Bus session is not
+        # reachable (common on fresh RHEL/Debian SSH sessions without linger).
+        # Raises UserSystemdUnavailableError with a remediation message.
+        _preflight_user_systemd()
     refresh_systemd_unit_if_needed(system=system)
     _run_systemctl(["start", get_service_name()], system=system, check=True, timeout=30)
     print(f"✓ {_service_scope_label(system).capitalize()} service started")
@@ -1642,6 +1782,8 @@ def systemd_restart(system: bool = False):
     system = _select_systemd_scope(system)
     if system:
         _require_root_for_system_service("restart")
+    else:
+        _preflight_user_systemd()
     refresh_systemd_unit_if_needed(system=system)
     from gateway.status import get_running_pid
 
@@ -3516,6 +3658,10 @@ def gateway_setup():
                     systemd_start()
                 elif is_macos():
                     launchd_start()
+            except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+                print_error("  Failed to start — user systemd not reachable:")
+                for line in str(e).splitlines():
+                    print(f"  {line}")
             except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
                 print_error(f"  Failed to start: {e}")
     else:
@@ -3580,6 +3726,10 @@ def gateway_setup():
                     else:
                         stop_profile_gateway()
                         print_info("Start manually: hermes gateway")
+                except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+                    print_error("  Restart failed — user systemd not reachable:")
+                    for line in str(e).splitlines():
+                        print(f"  {line}")
                 except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
                     print_error(f"  Restart failed: {e}")
         elif service_installed:
@@ -3589,6 +3739,10 @@ def gateway_setup():
                         systemd_start()
                     elif is_macos():
                         launchd_start()
+                except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+                    print_error("  Start failed — user systemd not reachable:")
+                    for line in str(e).splitlines():
+                        print(f"  {line}")
                 except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
                     print_error(f"  Start failed: {e}")
         else:
@@ -3612,6 +3766,10 @@ def gateway_setup():
                                     systemd_start(system=installed_scope == "system")
                                 else:
                                     launchd_start()
+                            except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+                                print_error("  Start failed — user systemd not reachable:")
+                                for line in str(e).splitlines():
+                                    print(f"  {line}")
                             except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
                                 print_error(f"  Start failed: {e}")
                     except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
@@ -3649,6 +3807,18 @@ def gateway_setup():
 
 def gateway_command(args):
     """Handle gateway subcommands."""
+    try:
+        return _gateway_command_inner(args)
+    except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+        # Clean, actionable message instead of a traceback when the user D-Bus
+        # session is unreachable (fresh SSH shell, no linger, container, etc.).
+        print_error("User systemd not reachable:")
+        for line in str(e).splitlines():
+            print(f"  {line}")
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+
+def _gateway_command_inner(args):
     subcmd = getattr(args, 'gateway_command', None)
     
     # Default to run if no subcommand
diff --git a/hermes_cli/setup.py b/hermes_cli/setup.py
index 1fe5ae058..362961689 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/setup.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/setup.py
@@ -2334,6 +2334,7 @@ def setup_gateway(config: dict):
             launchd_install,
             launchd_start,
             launchd_restart,
+            UserSystemdUnavailableError,
         )
 
         service_installed = _is_service_installed()
@@ -2357,6 +2358,10 @@ def setup_gateway(config: dict):
                         systemd_restart()
                     elif _is_macos:
                         launchd_restart()
+                except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+                    print_error("  Restart failed — user systemd not reachable:")
+                    for line in str(e).splitlines():
+                        print(f"  {line}")
                 except Exception as e:
                     print_error(f"  Restart failed: {e}")
         elif service_installed:
@@ -2366,6 +2371,10 @@ def setup_gateway(config: dict):
                         systemd_start()
                     elif _is_macos:
                         launchd_start()
+                except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+                    print_error("  Start failed — user systemd not reachable:")
+                    for line in str(e).splitlines():
+                        print(f"  {line}")
                 except Exception as e:
                     print_error(f"  Start failed: {e}")
         elif supports_service_manager:
@@ -2389,6 +2398,10 @@ def setup_gateway(config: dict):
                                 systemd_start(system=installed_scope == "system")
                             elif _is_macos:
                                 launchd_start()
+                        except UserSystemdUnavailableError as e:
+                            print_error("  Start failed — user systemd not reachable:")
+                            for line in str(e).splitlines():
+                                print(f"  {line}")
                         except Exception as e:
                             print_error(f"  Start failed: {e}")
                 except Exception as e:
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
index fda893e1e..68554a496 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import pwd
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import SimpleNamespace
 
+import pytest
+
 import hermes_cli.gateway as gateway_cli
 from gateway.restart import (
     DEFAULT_GATEWAY_RESTART_DRAIN_TIMEOUT,
@@ -1083,6 +1085,116 @@ class TestEnsureUserSystemdEnv:
         assert calls == []
 
 
+class TestPreflightUserSystemd:
+    """Tests for _preflight_user_systemd() — D-Bus reachability before systemctl --user.
+
+    Covers issue #5130 / Rick's RHEL 9.6 SSH scenario: setup tries to start the
+    gateway via ``systemctl --user start`` in a shell with no user D-Bus session,
+    which previously failed with a raw ``CalledProcessError`` and no remediation.
+    """
+
+    def test_noop_when_bus_socket_exists(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Socket already there (desktop / linger + prior login) → no-op."""
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "_user_dbus_socket_path",
+            lambda: type("P", (), {"exists": lambda self: True})(),
+        )
+        # Should not raise, no subprocess calls needed.
+        gateway_cli._preflight_user_systemd()
+
+    def test_raises_when_linger_disabled_and_loginctl_denied(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Rick's scenario: no D-Bus, no linger, non-root SSH → clear error."""
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "_user_dbus_socket_path",
+            lambda: type("P", (), {"exists": lambda self: False})(),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "get_systemd_linger_status", lambda: (False, ""),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli.shutil, "which", lambda _: "/usr/bin/loginctl")
+
+        class _Result:
+            returncode = 1
+            stdout = ""
+            stderr = "Interactive authentication required."
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli.subprocess, "run", lambda *a, **kw: _Result(),
+        )
+
+        with pytest.raises(gateway_cli.UserSystemdUnavailableError) as exc_info:
+            gateway_cli._preflight_user_systemd()
+
+        msg = str(exc_info.value)
+        assert "sudo loginctl enable-linger" in msg
+        assert "hermes gateway run" in msg  # foreground fallback mentioned
+        assert "Interactive authentication required" in msg
+
+    def test_raises_when_loginctl_missing(self, monkeypatch):
+        """No loginctl binary at all → suggest sudo install + manual fix."""
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "_user_dbus_socket_path",
+            lambda: type("P", (), {"exists": lambda self: False})(),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "get_systemd_linger_status",
+            lambda: (None, "loginctl not found"),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli.shutil, "which", lambda _: None)
+
+        with pytest.raises(gateway_cli.UserSystemdUnavailableError) as exc_info:
+            gateway_cli._preflight_user_systemd()
+
+        assert "sudo loginctl enable-linger" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    def test_linger_enabled_but_socket_still_missing(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Edge case: linger says yes but the bus socket never came up."""
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "_user_dbus_socket_path",
+            lambda: type("P", (), {"exists": lambda self: False})(),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "get_systemd_linger_status", lambda: (True, ""),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "_wait_for_user_dbus_socket", lambda timeout=3.0: False,
+        )
+
+        with pytest.raises(gateway_cli.UserSystemdUnavailableError) as exc_info:
+            gateway_cli._preflight_user_systemd()
+
+        assert "linger is enabled" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    def test_enable_linger_succeeds_and_socket_appears(self, monkeypatch, capsys):
+        """Happy remediation path: polkit allows enable-linger, socket spawns."""
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "_user_dbus_socket_path",
+            lambda: type("P", (), {"exists": lambda self: False})(),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "get_systemd_linger_status", lambda: (False, ""),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli.shutil, "which", lambda _: "/usr/bin/loginctl")
+
+        class _OkResult:
+            returncode = 0
+            stdout = ""
+            stderr = ""
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli.subprocess, "run", lambda *a, **kw: _OkResult(),
+        )
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli, "_wait_for_user_dbus_socket",
+            lambda timeout=5.0: True,
+        )
+
+        # Should not raise.
+        gateway_cli._preflight_user_systemd()
+        out = capsys.readouterr().out
+        assert "Enabled linger" in out
+
+
 class TestProfileArg:
     """Tests for _profile_arg — returns '--profile <name>' for named profiles."""