diff --git a/hermes_cli/gateway.py b/hermes_cli/gateway.py
index 3b7c77dc888..3181751005a 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/gateway.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/gateway.py
@@ -138,16 +138,22 @@ def _get_service_pids() -> set:
                 timeout=5,
             )
             if result.returncode == 0:
-                # Output: "PID\tStatus\tLabel" header, then one data line
-                for line in result.stdout.strip().splitlines():
-                    parts = line.split()
-                    if len(parts) >= 3 and parts[2] == label:
-                        try:
-                            pid = int(parts[0])
-                            if pid > 0:
-                                pids.add(pid)
-                        except ValueError:
-                            pass
+                # Try plist format first (macOS 26+): "PID" = <N>;
+                pid = _parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(result.stdout)
+                if pid is not None and pid > 0:
+                    pids.add(pid)
+                else:
+                    # Fall back to legacy tab-separated format:
+                    # "PID\tStatus\tLabel"
+                    for line in result.stdout.strip().splitlines():
+                        parts = line.split()
+                        if len(parts) >= 3 and parts[2] == label:
+                            try:
+                                pid = int(parts[0])
+                                if pid > 0:
+                                    pids.add(pid)
+                            except ValueError:
+                                pass
         except (FileNotFoundError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired):
             pass
 
@@ -1129,7 +1135,37 @@ def _recover_pending_systemd_restart(
     return False
 
 
+def _parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(output: str) -> int | None:
+    """Extract the PID from ``launchctl list <label>`` output.
+
+    When launchd is actively supervising a process, the output includes a
+    ``"PID" = <number>;`` line.  When the service definition is only *registered*
+    but not running (macOS 26+ with an unmanageable domain, fallback active),
+    the output lacks a PID field entirely.  Returns ``None`` when no PID is
+    found or the PID is non-positive (e.g. ``-1`` for a recently-crashed service).
+    """
+    for line in output.splitlines():
+        stripped = line.strip()
+        if stripped.startswith('"PID"') or stripped.startswith("PID"):
+            parts = stripped.split("=", 1)
+            if len(parts) == 2:
+                val = parts[1].strip().rstrip(";").strip('"')
+                try:
+                    pid = int(val)
+                    return pid if pid > 0 else None
+                except ValueError:
+                    return None
+    return None
+
+
 def _probe_launchd_service_running() -> bool:
+    """Return True when launchd is actively supervising the gateway process.
+
+    ``launchctl list <label>`` returns exit 0 whenever the service definition is
+    registered with launchd — even when ``state = not running`` (macOS 26+).
+    We additionally require a PID in the output to confirm launchd is actually
+    managing a live process, not just holding a static definition.
+    """
     if not get_launchd_plist_path().exists():
         return False
     try:
@@ -1141,7 +1177,9 @@ def _probe_launchd_service_running() -> bool:
         )
     except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
         return False
-    return result.returncode == 0
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        return False
+    return _parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(result.stdout) is not None
 
 
 def get_gateway_runtime_snapshot(system: bool = False) -> GatewayRuntimeSnapshot:
@@ -1235,12 +1273,23 @@ def _print_gateway_process_mismatch(snapshot: GatewayRuntimeSnapshot) -> None:
     if not snapshot.has_process_service_mismatch:
         return
     print()
-    print(
-        "⚠ Gateway process is running for this profile, but the service is not active"
-    )
-    print(f"  PID(s): {_format_gateway_pids(snapshot.gateway_pids, limit=None)}")
-    print("  This is usually a manual foreground/tmux/nohup run, so `hermes gateway`")
-    print("  can refuse to start another copy until this process stops.")
+    # Distinguish the managed detached fallback (macOS launchd exit-5 path)
+    # from a genuinely manual foreground/tmux/nohup run.
+    if _launchd_unsupported_marker_exists():
+        print(
+            "⚠ Gateway is running as a detached fallback process — "
+            "launchd cannot supervise it"
+        )
+        print(f"  PID(s): {_format_gateway_pids(snapshot.gateway_pids, limit=None)}")
+        print("  Auto-start at login and auto-restart on crash are NOT available.")
+        print("  Stop it with: hermes gateway stop")
+    else:
+        print(
+            "⚠ Gateway process is running for this profile, but the service is not active"
+        )
+        print(f"  PID(s): {_format_gateway_pids(snapshot.gateway_pids, limit=None)}")
+        print("  This is usually a manual foreground/tmux/nohup run, so `hermes gateway`")
+        print("  can refuse to start another copy until this process stops.")
 
 
 def _print_other_profiles_gateway_status() -> None:
@@ -3404,6 +3453,47 @@ def _launchctl_domain_unsupported(returncode: int) -> bool:
     return returncode in _LAUNCHCTL_DOMAIN_UNSUPPORTED_CODES
 
 
+# ── launchd unsupported marker ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+# When launchd can't manage the domain on this host (error 5/125, macOS 26+),
+# we write a persistent marker so `launchd_status()` can explain that launchd
+# supervision is unavailable regardless of whether a fallback process is
+# currently running.  The marker is cleared when bootstrap/kickstart succeeds,
+# so an OS update that fixes the underlying issue allows automatic recovery.
+
+
+def _launchd_unsupported_marker_path() -> Path:
+    return get_hermes_home() / ".gateway-launchd-unsupported"
+
+
+def _write_launchd_unsupported_marker() -> None:
+    """Persist that launchd cannot supervise the gateway on this host."""
+    import json
+    from datetime import datetime, timezone
+
+    try:
+        _launchd_unsupported_marker_path().write_text(
+            json.dumps({
+                "written_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
+                "reason": "launchd domain unsupported (exit 5/125)",
+            }),
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+
+
+def _clear_launchd_unsupported_marker() -> None:
+    """Clear the unsupported marker when launchd bootstrap succeeds."""
+    try:
+        _launchd_unsupported_marker_path().unlink(missing_ok=True)
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+
+
+def _launchd_unsupported_marker_exists() -> bool:
+    return _launchd_unsupported_marker_path().exists()
+
+
 def _gateway_run_command() -> list[str]:
     """Build the `python -m hermes_cli.main [--profile X] gateway run --replace` argv.
 
@@ -3461,6 +3551,7 @@ def _launchd_fallback_to_detached(reason: str, *, exit_on_failure: bool = True)
     """
     from hermes_constants import display_hermes_home as _dhh
 
+    _write_launchd_unsupported_marker()
     print(f"⚠ launchd cannot manage the gateway on this macOS version ({reason}).")
     if _spawn_detached_gateway():
         print("✓ Started gateway as a background process instead")
@@ -3702,6 +3793,7 @@ def launchd_install(force: bool = False):
 
     print()
     print("✓ Service installed and loaded!")
+    _clear_launchd_unsupported_marker()
     print()
     print("Next steps:")
     print("  hermes gateway status             # Check status")
@@ -3755,6 +3847,7 @@ def launchd_start():
             _launchd_fallback_to_detached(f"launchctl exit {e.returncode}")
             return
         print("✓ Service started")
+        _clear_launchd_unsupported_marker()
         return
 
     refresh_launchd_plist_if_needed()
@@ -3788,6 +3881,7 @@ def launchd_start():
             _launchd_fallback_to_detached(f"launchctl exit {e2.returncode}")
             return
     print("✓ Service started")
+    _clear_launchd_unsupported_marker()
 
 
 def launchd_stop():
@@ -3883,6 +3977,7 @@ def launchd_restart():
         pid = get_running_pid()
         if pid is not None and _request_gateway_self_restart(pid):
             print("✓ Service restart requested")
+            _clear_launchd_unsupported_marker()
             return
         if pid is not None:
             # Announce the drain BEFORE waiting on it. This wait can run for
@@ -3907,6 +4002,7 @@ def launchd_restart():
                     )
         subprocess.run(["launchctl", "kickstart", "-k", target], check=True, timeout=90)
         print("✓ Service restarted")
+        _clear_launchd_unsupported_marker()
     except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
         if not _launchd_error_indicates_unloaded(e):
             # Not a "job unloaded" code. If the domain is fundamentally
@@ -3932,6 +4028,7 @@ def launchd_restart():
             _launchd_fallback_to_detached(f"launchctl exit {e2.returncode}")
             return
         print("✓ Service restarted")
+        _clear_launchd_unsupported_marker()
 
 
 def launchd_status(deep: bool = False):
@@ -3944,12 +4041,35 @@ def launchd_status(deep: bool = False):
             text=True,
             timeout=10,
         )
-        loaded = result.returncode == 0
-        loaded_output = result.stdout
+        service_listed = result.returncode == 0
+        list_output = result.stdout
     except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-        loaded = False
-        loaded_output = ""
+        service_listed = False
+        list_output = ""
 
+    # Determine whether launchd is actively supervising a process.
+    # ``launchctl list`` returns exit 0 whenever the service definition is
+    # registered — even when ``state = not running`` (macOS 26+ with an
+    # unmanageable domain).  A PID in the output confirms a live process.
+    launchd_pid = _parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(list_output) if service_listed else None
+
+    # Hermes PID tracking — may be a detached fallback process spawned when
+    # launchd cannot manage the domain on this host.
+    from gateway.status import get_running_pid
+    fallback_pid = get_running_pid(cleanup_stale=False)
+
+    # Avoid double-counting: when launchd IS supervising, fallback_pid and
+    # launchd_pid point at the same process (the gateway writes both the
+    # launchd PID and the Hermes PID file).
+    if launchd_pid is not None and fallback_pid == launchd_pid:
+        fallback_pid = None
+
+    # Persistent marker written when launchd bootstrap/kickstart fails with
+    # exit 5/125 on this host.  Lets us explain *why* launchd can't supervise
+    # even when no fallback process is currently running.
+    launchd_unsupported = _launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
+
+    # ── Report ──
     print(f"Launchd plist: {plist_path}")
     if launchd_plist_is_current():
         print("✓ Service definition matches the current Hermes install")
@@ -3957,13 +4077,33 @@ def launchd_status(deep: bool = False):
         print("⚠ Service definition is stale relative to the current Hermes install")
         print("  Run: hermes gateway start")
 
-    if loaded:
-        print("✓ Gateway service is loaded")
-        print(loaded_output)
+    if service_listed:
+        if launchd_pid is not None:
+            print(f"✓ Gateway is supervised by launchd (PID {launchd_pid})")
+            print("  Auto-start at login and auto-restart on crash are available.")
+            if launchd_unsupported:
+                print("  (launchd domain was previously unavailable but is now working)")
+        elif launchd_unsupported:
+            print("⚠ Gateway service is registered but launchd is not supervising it")
+            print("  launchd cannot manage the gateway on this macOS version.")
+            if fallback_pid:
+                print(f"✓ Detached fallback process is running (PID {fallback_pid})")
+                print("  Cron jobs will fire. Stop with: hermes gateway stop")
+            else:
+                print("✗ No fallback process is running")
+                print("  Run: hermes gateway start")
+            print("  ⚠ Auto-start at login and auto-restart on crash are NOT available.")
+        else:
+            print("✓ Gateway service is registered with launchd")
+            print(list_output)
+            if fallback_pid:
+                print(f"  Detached gateway process is running (PID {fallback_pid})")
     else:
         print("✗ Gateway service is not loaded")
         print("  Service definition exists locally but launchd has not loaded it.")
         print("  Run: hermes gateway start")
+        if fallback_pid:
+            print(f"  Note: a detached gateway process is running (PID {fallback_pid})")
 
     if deep:
         log_file = get_hermes_home() / "logs" / "gateway.log"
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
index 56a6181b316..a4f7bac5b3b 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
@@ -993,6 +993,8 @@ class TestLaunchdServiceRecovery:
 
         assert spawned == [True]
         assert "background process" in capsys.readouterr().out.lower()
+        # Verify the unsupported marker was written so status can explain why
+        assert gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
 
     def test_launchd_install_falls_back_to_detached_on_bootstrap_5(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
         """macOS bootstrap error 5 should spawn a detached gateway, not crash."""
@@ -1028,6 +1030,7 @@ class TestLaunchdServiceRecovery:
 
         assert spawned == [True]
         assert "Service installed and loaded" not in capsys.readouterr().out
+        assert gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
 
     def test_launchd_restart_falls_back_to_detached_on_error_5(self, monkeypatch, capsys):
         """kickstart -k error 5 (domain unmanageable) should relaunch detached."""
@@ -1056,6 +1059,7 @@ class TestLaunchdServiceRecovery:
         gateway_cli.launchd_restart()
 
         assert spawned == [True]
+        assert gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
 
     def test_launchd_stop_tolerates_domain_unsupported_bootout(self, monkeypatch, capsys):
         """bootout exit 125 (macOS 26) must fall through to PID-based kill, not raise."""
@@ -1082,6 +1086,177 @@ class TestLaunchdServiceRecovery:
         assert exc.value.code == 1
         out = capsys.readouterr().out
         assert "nohup hermes gateway run" in out
+        # Marker is still written so status knows launchd is unavailable
+        assert gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
+
+    # ── PID parsing ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    def test_parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output_with_pid(self):
+        output = '{\n    "PID" = 12345;\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n}'
+        assert gateway_cli._parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(output) == 12345
+
+    def test_parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output_without_pid(self):
+        output = '{\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n    "OnDemand" = true;\n}'
+        assert gateway_cli._parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(output) is None
+
+    def test_parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output_empty(self):
+        assert gateway_cli._parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output("") is None
+
+    def test_parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output_unquoted_pid(self):
+        """Older macOS versions may output PID without quotes."""
+        output = "{\n    PID = 99999;\n}"
+        assert gateway_cli._parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(output) == 99999
+
+    def test_parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output_negative_pid_returns_none(self):
+        """PID = -1 (recently-crashed service sentinel) must return None."""
+        output = '{\n    "PID" = -1;\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n}'
+        assert gateway_cli._parse_launchd_pid_from_list_output(output) is None
+
+    # ── Probe requires PID ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    def test_probe_launchd_service_running_false_without_pid_in_output(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """launchctl list returns 0 but no PID → not actually running."""
+        plist_path = tmp_path / "ai.hermes.gateway.plist"
+        plist_path.write_text(gateway_cli.generate_launchd_plist(), encoding="utf-8")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_launchd_plist_path", lambda: plist_path)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli.subprocess,
+            "run",
+            lambda *args, **kwargs: SimpleNamespace(
+                returncode=0,
+                stdout='{\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n}',
+                stderr="",
+            ),
+        )
+        assert gateway_cli._probe_launchd_service_running() is False
+
+    def test_probe_launchd_service_running_true_with_pid_in_output(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """launchctl list returns 0 with PID → actually running."""
+        plist_path = tmp_path / "ai.hermes.gateway.plist"
+        plist_path.write_text(gateway_cli.generate_launchd_plist(), encoding="utf-8")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_launchd_plist_path", lambda: plist_path)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            gateway_cli.subprocess,
+            "run",
+            lambda *args, **kwargs: SimpleNamespace(
+                returncode=0,
+                stdout='{\n    "PID" = 55555;\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n}',
+                stderr="",
+            ),
+        )
+        assert gateway_cli._probe_launchd_service_running() is True
+
+    # ── Unsupport marker lifecycle ───────────────────────────────────────
+
+    def test_launchd_unsupported_marker_write_and_clear(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_hermes_home", lambda: tmp_path)
+        assert not gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
+        gateway_cli._write_launchd_unsupported_marker()
+        assert gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
+        gateway_cli._clear_launchd_unsupported_marker()
+        assert not gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
+
+    def test_launchd_start_clears_unsupported_marker_on_bootstrap_success(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
+        """When bootstrap succeeds (OS update fixes the issue), clear the marker."""
+        plist_path = tmp_path / "ai.hermes.gateway.plist"
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_launchd_plist_path", lambda: plist_path)
+        # Pre-seed the marker as if a previous fallback wrote it
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_hermes_home", lambda: tmp_path)
+        # Bypass the temp-home service write guard (added on main after PR #42567)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "_refuse_temp_home_service_write", lambda d, k: False)
+        gateway_cli._write_launchd_unsupported_marker()
+        assert gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
+
+        # Simulate a bootstrap that succeeds
+        def fake_run(cmd, check=False, **kwargs):
+            return SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="", stderr="")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli.subprocess, "run", fake_run)
+
+        gateway_cli.launchd_install(force=True)
+
+        assert "Service installed and loaded" in capsys.readouterr().out
+        assert not gateway_cli._launchd_unsupported_marker_exists()
+
+    # ── launchd_status with active supervision ───────────────────────────
+
+    def test_launchd_status_reports_supervised_when_pid_present(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
+        """When launchd is actively supervising, report it clearly."""
+        plist_path = tmp_path / "ai.hermes.gateway.plist"
+        plist_path.write_text(gateway_cli.generate_launchd_plist(), encoding="utf-8")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_launchd_plist_path", lambda: plist_path)
+
+        def fake_run(cmd, capture_output=False, text=False, timeout=None, check=False, **kwargs):
+            if isinstance(cmd, list) and cmd[:2] == ["launchctl", "list"]:
+                return SimpleNamespace(
+                    returncode=0,
+                    stdout='{\n    "PID" = 77777;\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n}',
+                    stderr="",
+                )
+            return SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="", stderr="")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli.subprocess, "run", fake_run)
+        # No fallback PID — when launchd supervises, get_running_pid returns
+        # the same PID; launchd_status deduplicates it.
+        monkeypatch.setattr("gateway.status.get_running_pid", lambda cleanup_stale=False: 77777)
+
+        gateway_cli.launchd_status()
+
+        out = capsys.readouterr().out
+        assert "supervised by launchd" in out
+        assert "Auto-start at login" in out
+
+    def test_launchd_status_reports_fallback_when_unsupported_and_pid_running(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
+        """When the unsupported marker exists and a fallback PID is running."""
+        plist_path = tmp_path / "ai.hermes.gateway.plist"
+        plist_path.write_text(gateway_cli.generate_launchd_plist(), encoding="utf-8")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_launchd_plist_path", lambda: plist_path)
+
+        def fake_run(cmd, capture_output=False, text=False, timeout=None, check=False, **kwargs):
+            if isinstance(cmd, list) and cmd[:2] == ["launchctl", "list"]:
+                return SimpleNamespace(
+                    returncode=0,
+                    stdout='{\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n    "OnDemand" = true;\n}',
+                    stderr="",
+                )
+            return SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="", stderr="")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli.subprocess, "run", fake_run)
+        monkeypatch.setattr("gateway.status.get_running_pid", lambda cleanup_stale=False: 88888)
+        # Pre-seed the unsupported marker
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_hermes_home", lambda: tmp_path)
+        gateway_cli._write_launchd_unsupported_marker()
+
+        gateway_cli.launchd_status()
+
+        out = capsys.readouterr().out
+        assert "cannot manage the gateway on this macos version" in out.lower()
+        assert "Detached fallback process is running" in out
+        assert "PID 88888" in out
+        assert "NOT available" in out
+
+    def test_launchd_status_reports_fallback_unavailable_when_unsupported_no_pid(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
+        """Unsupported marker exists but no fallback process is running."""
+        plist_path = tmp_path / "ai.hermes.gateway.plist"
+        plist_path.write_text(gateway_cli.generate_launchd_plist(), encoding="utf-8")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_launchd_plist_path", lambda: plist_path)
+
+        def fake_run(cmd, capture_output=False, text=False, timeout=None, check=False, **kwargs):
+            if isinstance(cmd, list) and cmd[:2] == ["launchctl", "list"]:
+                return SimpleNamespace(
+                    returncode=0,
+                    stdout='{\n    "Label" = "ai.hermes.gateway";\n    "OnDemand" = true;\n}',
+                    stderr="",
+                )
+            return SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="", stderr="")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli.subprocess, "run", fake_run)
+        monkeypatch.setattr("gateway.status.get_running_pid", lambda cleanup_stale=False: None)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_cli, "get_hermes_home", lambda: tmp_path)
+        gateway_cli._write_launchd_unsupported_marker()
+
+        gateway_cli.launchd_status()
+
+        out = capsys.readouterr().out
+        assert "cannot manage the gateway on this macos version" in out.lower()
+        assert "No fallback process is running" in out
+        assert "NOT available" in out
 
 
 class TestLaunchdDomainDetection: