diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 99132bcd5..97d322eeb 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
     "name": "clawx",
-    "version": "0.3.2",
+    "version": "0.3.3-beta.0",
     "pnpm": {
         "onlyBuiltDependencies": [
             "@discordjs/opus",
diff --git a/scripts/after-pack.cjs b/scripts/after-pack.cjs
index 29e5f4390..b8eb62ba3 100644
--- a/scripts/after-pack.cjs
+++ b/scripts/after-pack.cjs
@@ -695,4 +695,52 @@ exports.default = async function afterPack(context) {
       console.log(`[after-pack] 🩹 Patched ${asarLruCount} lru-cache instance(s) in app.asar.unpacked`);
     }
   }
+  // 6. [Windows only] Patch NSIS extractAppPackage.nsh to skip CopyFiles
+  //
+  // electron-builder's extractUsing7za macro decompresses app-64.7z into a temp
+  // directory, then uses CopyFiles to copy ~300MB (thousands of small files) to
+  // $INSTDIR.  With Windows Defender real-time scanning each file, CopyFiles
+  // alone takes 3-5 minutes and makes the installer appear frozen.
+  //
+  // Patch: replace the macro with a direct Nsis7z::Extract to $INSTDIR.  This is
+  // safe because customCheckAppRunning in installer.nsh already renames the old
+  // $INSTDIR to a _stale_ directory, so the target is always an empty dir.
+  // The Nsis7z plugin streams LZMA2 data directly to disk — no temp copy needed.
+  if (platform === 'win32') {
+    const extractNsh = join(
+      __dirname, '..', 'node_modules', 'app-builder-lib',
+      'templates', 'nsis', 'include', 'extractAppPackage.nsh'
+    );
+    if (existsSync(extractNsh)) {
+      const { readFileSync: readFS, writeFileSync: writeFS } = require('fs');
+      const original = readFS(extractNsh, 'utf8');
+
+      // Only patch once (idempotent check)
+      if (original.includes('CopyFiles') && !original.includes('ClawX-patched')) {
+        // Replace the extractUsing7za macro body with a direct extraction.
+        // Keep the macro signature so the rest of the template compiles unchanged.
+        const patched = original.replace(
+          /(!macro extractUsing7za FILE[\s\S]*?!macroend)/,
+          [
+            '!macro extractUsing7za FILE',
+            '  ; ClawX-patched: extract directly to $INSTDIR (skip temp + CopyFiles).',
+            '  ; customCheckAppRunning already renamed old $INSTDIR to _stale_X,',
+            '  ; so the target directory is always empty.  Nsis7z streams LZMA2 data',
+            '  ; directly to disk — ~10s vs 3-5 min for CopyFiles with Windows Defender.',
+            '  Nsis7z::Extract "${FILE}"',
+            '!macroend',
+          ].join('\n')
+        );
+
+        if (patched !== original) {
+          writeFS(extractNsh, patched, 'utf8');
+          console.log('[after-pack] ⚡ Patched extractAppPackage.nsh: CopyFiles eliminated, using direct Nsis7z::Extract.');
+        } else {
+          console.warn('[after-pack] ⚠️  extractAppPackage.nsh regex did not match — template may have changed.');
+        }
+      } else if (original.includes('ClawX-patched')) {
+        console.log('[after-pack] ⚡ extractAppPackage.nsh already patched (idempotent skip).');
+      }
+    }
+  }
 };
diff --git a/scripts/installer.nsh b/scripts/installer.nsh
index 3d5c792c2..5730fb427 100644
--- a/scripts/installer.nsh
+++ b/scripts/installer.nsh
@@ -23,59 +23,204 @@
 
   ${if} $R0 == 0
     ${if} ${isUpdated}
-      # allow app to exit without explicit kill
-      Sleep 1000
-      Goto doStopProcess
+      # Auto-update: the app is already shutting down (quitAndInstall was called).
+      # The before-quit handler needs up to 8s to gracefully stop the Gateway
+      # process tree (5s timeout + force-terminate + re-quit).  Wait for the
+      # app to exit on its own before resorting to force-kill.
+      DetailPrint `Waiting for "${PRODUCT_NAME}" to finish shutting down...`
+      Sleep 8000
+      ${nsProcess::FindProcess} "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}" $R0
+      ${if} $R0 != 0
+        # App exited cleanly. Still kill long-lived child processes (gateway,
+        # uv, python) which may not have followed the app's graceful exit.
+        nsExec::ExecToStack 'taskkill /F /IM openclaw-gateway.exe'
+        Pop $0
+        Pop $1
+        Goto done_killing
+      ${endIf}
+      # App didn't exit in time; fall through to force-kill
+    ${endIf}
+    ${if} ${isUpdated} ; skip the dialog for auto-updates
+    ${else}
+      MessageBox MB_OKCANCEL|MB_ICONEXCLAMATION "$(appRunning)" /SD IDOK IDOK doStopProcess
+      Quit
     ${endIf}
-    MessageBox MB_OKCANCEL|MB_ICONEXCLAMATION "$(appRunning)" /SD IDOK IDOK doStopProcess
-    Quit
 
     doStopProcess:
     DetailPrint `Closing running "${PRODUCT_NAME}"...`
 
-    # Silently kill the process using nsProcess instead of taskkill / cmd.exe
-    ${nsProcess::KillProcess} "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}" $R0
-    
-    # to ensure that files are not "in-use"
-    Sleep 300
+    # Kill ALL processes whose executable lives inside $INSTDIR.
+    # This covers ClawX.exe (multiple Electron processes), openclaw-gateway.exe,
+    # python.exe (skills runtime), uv.exe (package manager), and any other
+    # child process that might hold file locks in the installation directory.
+    #
+    # Use PowerShell Get-CimInstance for path-based matching (most reliable),
+    # with taskkill name-based fallback for restricted environments.
+    # Note: Using backticks ` ` for the NSIS string allows us to use single quotes inside.
+    nsExec::ExecToStack `"$SYSDIR\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -NoProfile -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Process | Where-Object { $$_.ExecutablePath -and $$_.ExecutablePath.StartsWith('$INSTDIR', [System.StringComparison]::OrdinalIgnoreCase) } | ForEach-Object { Stop-Process -Id $$_.ProcessId -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }"`
+    Pop $0
+    Pop $1
 
-    # Retry counter
-    StrCpy $R1 0
+    ${if} $0 != 0
+      # PowerShell failed (policy restriction, etc.) — fall back to name-based kill
+      nsExec::ExecToStack 'taskkill /F /T /IM "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}"'
+      Pop $0
+      Pop $1
+    ${endIf}
 
-    loop:
-      IntOp $R1 $R1 + 1
+    # Also kill well-known child processes that may have detached from the
+    # Electron process tree or run from outside $INSTDIR (e.g. system python).
+    nsExec::ExecToStack 'taskkill /F /IM openclaw-gateway.exe'
+    Pop $0
+    Pop $1
 
-      ${nsProcess::FindProcess} "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}" $R0
-      ${if} $R0 == 0
-        # wait to give a chance to exit gracefully
-        Sleep 1000
-        ${nsProcess::KillProcess} "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}" $R0
-        
-        ${nsProcess::FindProcess} "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}" $R0
-        ${If} $R0 == 0
-          DetailPrint `Waiting for "${PRODUCT_NAME}" to close.`
-          Sleep 2000
-        ${else}
-          Goto not_running
-        ${endIf}
-      ${else}
-        Goto not_running
-      ${endIf}
+    # Wait for Windows to fully release file handles after process termination.
+    # 5 seconds accommodates slow antivirus scanners and filesystem flush delays.
+    Sleep 5000
+    DetailPrint "Processes terminated. Continuing installation..."
 
-      # App likely running with elevated permissions.
-      # Ask user to close it manually
-      ${if} $R1 > 1
-        MessageBox MB_RETRYCANCEL|MB_ICONEXCLAMATION "$(appCannotBeClosed)" /SD IDCANCEL IDRETRY loop
-        Quit
-      ${else}
-        Goto loop
-      ${endIf}
-    not_running:
+    done_killing:
       ${nsProcess::Unload}
   ${endIf}
+
+  ; Even if ClawX.exe was not detected as running, orphan child processes
+  ; (python.exe, openclaw-gateway.exe, uv.exe, etc.) from a previous crash
+  ; or unclean shutdown may still hold file locks inside $INSTDIR.
+  ; Unconditionally kill any process whose executable lives in the install dir.
+  nsExec::ExecToStack `"$SYSDIR\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -NoProfile -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Process | Where-Object { $$_.ExecutablePath -and $$_.ExecutablePath.StartsWith('$INSTDIR', [System.StringComparison]::OrdinalIgnoreCase) } | ForEach-Object { Stop-Process -Id $$_.ProcessId -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }"`
+  Pop $0
+  Pop $1
+
+  ; Always kill known process names as a belt-and-suspenders approach.
+  ; PowerShell path-based kill may miss processes if the old ClawX was installed
+  ; in a different directory than $INSTDIR (e.g., per-machine -> per-user migration).
+  ; taskkill is name-based and catches processes regardless of their install location.
+  nsExec::ExecToStack 'taskkill /F /T /IM "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}"'
+  Pop $0
+  Pop $1
+  nsExec::ExecToStack 'taskkill /F /IM openclaw-gateway.exe'
+  Pop $0
+  Pop $1
+  ; Note: we intentionally do NOT kill uv.exe globally — it is a popular
+  ; Python package manager and other users/CI jobs may have uv running.
+  ; The PowerShell path-based kill above already handles uv inside $INSTDIR.
+
+  ; Brief wait for handle release (main wait was already done above if app was running)
+  Sleep 2000
+
+  ; Release NSIS's CWD on $INSTDIR BEFORE the rename check.
+  ; NSIS sets CWD to $INSTDIR in .onInit; Windows refuses to rename a directory
+  ; that any process (including NSIS itself) has as its CWD.
+  SetOutPath $TEMP
+
+  ; Pre-emptively clear the old installation directory so that the 7z
+  ; extraction `CopyFiles` step in extractAppPackage.nsh won't fail on
+  ; locked files.  electron-builder's extractUsing7za macro extracts to a
+  ; temp folder first, then uses `CopyFiles /SILENT` to copy into $INSTDIR.
+  ; If ANY file in $INSTDIR is still locked, CopyFiles fails and triggers a
+  ; "Can't modify ClawX's files" retry loop -> "ClawX 无法关闭" dialog.
+  ;
+  ; Strategy: rename (move) the old $INSTDIR out of the way.  Rename works
+  ; even when AV/indexer have files open for reading (they use
+  ; FILE_SHARE_DELETE sharing mode), whereas CopyFiles fails because it
+  ; needs write/overwrite access which some AV products deny.
+  ; Check if a previous installation exists ($INSTDIR is a directory).
+  ; Use trailing backslash — the correct NSIS idiom for directory existence.
+  ; (IfFileExists "$INSTDIR\*.*" only matches files containing a dot and
+  ;  would fail for extensionless files or pure-subdirectory layouts.)
+  IfFileExists "$INSTDIR\" 0 _instdir_clean
+    ; Find the first available stale directory name (e.g. $INSTDIR._stale_0)
+    ; This ensures we NEVER have to synchronously delete old leftovers before
+    ; renaming the current $INSTDIR. We just move it out of the way instantly.
+    StrCpy $R8 0
+  _find_free_stale:
+    IfFileExists "$INSTDIR._stale_$R8\" 0 _found_free_stale
+    IntOp $R8 $R8 + 1
+    Goto _find_free_stale
+
+  _found_free_stale:
+    ClearErrors
+    Rename "$INSTDIR" "$INSTDIR._stale_$R8"
+    IfErrors 0 _stale_moved
+      ; Rename still failed — a process reopened a file or holds CWD in $INSTDIR.
+      ; We must delete forcibly and synchronously to make room for CopyFiles.
+      ; This can be slow (~1-3 minutes) if there are 10,000+ files and AV is active.
+      nsExec::ExecToStack 'cmd.exe /c rd /s /q "$INSTDIR"'
+      Pop $0
+      Pop $1
+      Sleep 2000
+      CreateDirectory "$INSTDIR"
+      Goto _instdir_clean
+  _stale_moved:
+    CreateDirectory "$INSTDIR"
+  _instdir_clean:
+
+  ; Pre-emptively remove the old uninstall registry entry so that
+  ; electron-builder's uninstallOldVersion skips the old uninstaller entirely.
+  ;
+  ; Why: uninstallOldVersion has a hardcoded 5-retry loop that runs the old
+  ; uninstaller repeatedly.  The old uninstaller's atomicRMDir fails on locked
+  ; files (antivirus, indexing) causing a blocking "ClawX 无法关闭" dialog.
+  ; Deleting UninstallString makes uninstallOldVersion return immediately.
+  ; The new installer will overwrite / extract all files on top of the old dir.
+  ; registryAddInstallInfo will write the correct new entries afterwards.
+  ; Clean both SHELL_CONTEXT and HKCU to cover cross-hive upgrades
+  ; (e.g. old install was per-user, new install is per-machine or vice versa).
+  DeleteRegValue SHELL_CONTEXT "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" UninstallString
+  DeleteRegValue SHELL_CONTEXT "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" QuietUninstallString
+  DeleteRegValue HKCU "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" UninstallString
+  DeleteRegValue HKCU "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY}" QuietUninstallString
+  !ifdef UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY_2
+    DeleteRegValue SHELL_CONTEXT "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY_2}" UninstallString
+    DeleteRegValue SHELL_CONTEXT "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY_2}" QuietUninstallString
+    DeleteRegValue HKCU "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY_2}" UninstallString
+    DeleteRegValue HKCU "${UNINSTALL_REGISTRY_KEY_2}" QuietUninstallString
+  !endif
+!macroend
+
+; Override electron-builder's handleUninstallResult to prevent the
+; "ClawX 无法关闭" retry dialog when the old uninstaller fails.
+;
+; During upgrades, electron-builder copies the old uninstaller to a temp dir
+; and runs it silently.  The old uninstaller uses atomicRMDir to rename every
+; file out of $INSTDIR.  If ANY file is still locked (antivirus scanner,
+; Windows Search indexer, delayed kernel handle release after taskkill), it
+; aborts with a non-zero exit code.  The default handler retries 5× then shows
+; a blocking MessageBox.
+;
+; This macro clears the error and lets the new installer proceed — it will
+; simply overwrite / extract new files on top of the (partially cleaned) old
+; installation directory.  This is safe because:
+;   1. Processes have already been force-killed in customCheckAppRunning.
+;   2. The new installer extracts a complete, self-contained file tree.
+;   3. Any leftover old files that weren't removed are harmless.
+!macro customUnInstallCheck
+  ${if} $R0 != 0
+    DetailPrint "Old uninstaller exited with code $R0. Continuing with overwrite install..."
+  ${endIf}
+  ClearErrors
+!macroend
+
+; Same safety net for the HKEY_CURRENT_USER uninstall path.
+; Without this, handleUninstallResult would show a fatal error and Quit.
+!macro customUnInstallCheckCurrentUser
+  ${if} $R0 != 0
+    DetailPrint "Old uninstaller (current user) exited with code $R0. Continuing..."
+  ${endIf}
+  ClearErrors
 !macroend
 
 !macro customInstall
+  ; Async cleanup of old dirs left by the rename loop in customCheckAppRunning.
+  ; Wait 60s before starting deletion to avoid I/O contention with ClawX's
+  ; first launch (Windows Defender scan, ASAR mapping, etc.).
+  ; ExecShell SW_HIDE is completely detached from NSIS and avoids pipe blocking.
+  IfFileExists "$INSTDIR._stale_0\" 0 _ci_stale_cleaned
+    ; Use PowerShell to extract the basename of $INSTDIR so the glob works
+    ; even when the user picked a custom install folder name.
+    ; E.g. $INSTDIR = D:\Apps\MyClaw → glob = MyClaw._stale_*
+    ExecShell "" "cmd.exe" `/c ping -n 61 127.0.0.1 >nul & cd /d "$INSTDIR\.." & for /d %D in ("$INSTDIR._stale_*") do rd /s /q "%D"` SW_HIDE
+  _ci_stale_cleaned:
   DetailPrint "Core files extracted. Finalizing system integration..."
 
   ; Enable Windows long path support (Windows 10 1607+ / Windows 11).
@@ -85,6 +230,15 @@
   DetailPrint "Enabling long-path support (if permissions allow)..."
   WriteRegDWORD HKLM "SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem" "LongPathsEnabled" 1
 
+  ; Add $INSTDIR to Windows Defender exclusion list so that real-time scanning
+  ; doesn't block the first app launch (Defender scans every newly-created file,
+  ; causing 10-30s startup delay on a fresh install).  Requires elevation;
+  ; silently fails on non-admin per-user installs (no harm done).
+  DetailPrint "Configuring Windows Defender exclusion..."
+  nsExec::ExecToStack `"$SYSDIR\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -NoProfile -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath '$INSTDIR' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"`
+  Pop $0
+  Pop $1
+
   ; Use PowerShell to update the current user's PATH.
   ; This avoids NSIS string-buffer limits and preserves long PATH values.
   DetailPrint "Updating user PATH for the OpenClaw CLI..."
@@ -107,6 +261,11 @@
 !macroend
 
 !macro customUnInstall
+  ; Remove Windows Defender exclusion added during install
+  nsExec::ExecToStack `"$SYSDIR\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -NoProfile -NonInteractive -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Remove-MpPreference -ExclusionPath '$INSTDIR' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"`
+  Pop $0
+  Pop $1
+
   ; Remove resources\cli from user PATH via PowerShell so long PATH values are handled safely
   InitPluginsDir
   ClearErrors
@@ -130,11 +289,13 @@
     /SD IDNO IDYES _cu_removeData IDNO _cu_skipRemove
 
   _cu_removeData:
-    ; Kill any lingering ClawX processes to release file locks on electron-store
-    ; JSON files (settings.json, clawx-providers.json, window-state.json, etc.)
+    ; Kill any lingering ClawX processes (and their child process trees) to
+    ; release file locks on electron-store JSON files, Gateway sockets, etc.
     ${nsProcess::FindProcess} "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}" $R0
     ${if} $R0 == 0
-      ${nsProcess::KillProcess} "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}" $R0
+      nsExec::ExecToStack 'taskkill /F /T /IM "${APP_EXECUTABLE_FILENAME}"'
+      Pop $0
+      Pop $1
     ${endIf}
     ${nsProcess::Unload}
 
@@ -200,12 +361,13 @@
     ReadRegStr $R2 HKLM "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\$R1" "ProfileImagePath"
     StrCmp $R2 "" _cu_enumNext
 
-    ExpandEnvStrings $R2 $R2
-    StrCmp $R2 $PROFILE _cu_enumNext
+    ; ExpandEnvStrings requires distinct src and dest registers
+    ExpandEnvStrings $R3 $R2
+    StrCmp $R3 $PROFILE _cu_enumNext
 
-    RMDir /r "$R2\.openclaw"
-    RMDir /r "$R2\AppData\Local\clawx"
-    RMDir /r "$R2\AppData\Roaming\clawx"
+    RMDir /r "$R3\.openclaw"
+    RMDir /r "$R3\AppData\Local\clawx"
+    RMDir /r "$R3\AppData\Roaming\clawx"
 
   _cu_enumNext:
     IntOp $R0 $R0 + 1