diff --git a/src/NETWORK_SECURITY.md b/src/NETWORK_SECURITY.md
index 4f3457e037..68d5d4f842 100644
--- a/src/NETWORK_SECURITY.md
+++ b/src/NETWORK_SECURITY.md
@@ -138,6 +138,10 @@ Configurable via `HTTP_HOST` (default `127.0.0.1`) and `HTTP_PORT` (default `808
 
 By default the webhook server binds to loopback only. For external webhook providers, expose it intentionally via a tunnel or set `HTTP_HOST` explicitly.
 
+**`--cli-only` mode:** When the `--cli-only` flag is set, non-CLI network services and channel activations are suppressed — no webhook server, WASM channel endpoints, HTTP channel, Signal channel, relay channel restoration, gateway channel, managed tunnel, or sandbox orchestrator API will start.
+
+This mode suppresses network-facing services; it does not disable the job tool surface. Scheduler-backed job tools remain available, while sandbox/container-backed job dependencies are only injected when the orchestrator is running.
+
 **Reference:** `src/config/channels.rs` — `http_host` default (`"127.0.0.1"`), `http_port` default (`8080`)
 
 ### Authentication
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 47f37777d7..d733d2d0c5 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -84,6 +84,13 @@ fn format_top_level_error(err: &anyhow::Error) {
     eprintln!();
 }
 
+/// Returns `true` when non-CLI network services should be enabled.
+/// `--cli-only` suppresses all of them: webhooks, WASM channels, HTTP,
+/// Signal, relay channels, gateway, managed tunnel, and sandbox orchestrator API.
+fn non_cli_channels_enabled(cli_only: bool) -> bool {
+    !cli_only
+}
+
 fn normalize_persisted_wasm_channel_names<I, S>(names: I) -> std::collections::HashSet<String>
 where
     I: IntoIterator<Item = S>,
@@ -134,6 +141,7 @@ fn persisted_non_relay_wasm_channel_names(
 
 async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let cli = Cli::parse();
+    let enable_non_cli = non_cli_channels_enabled(cli.cli_only);
 
     // Handle non-agent commands first (they don't need full setup)
     match &cli.command {
@@ -423,21 +431,39 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     // ── Tunnel setup ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-    let (config, active_tunnel) = ironclaw::tunnel::start_managed_tunnel(config).await;
+    let (config, active_tunnel) = if enable_non_cli {
+        ironclaw::tunnel::start_managed_tunnel(config).await
+    } else {
+        (config, None)
+    };
 
     // ── Orchestrator / container job manager ────────────────────────────
+    // Orchestrator starts an internal HTTP API (default 0.0.0.0:50051) for
+    // sandbox worker communication.  Skip it entirely under --cli-only to
+    // honour the "no network listeners" contract.
 
-    let orch = ironclaw::orchestrator::setup_orchestrator(
-        &config,
-        &components.llm,
-        components.db.as_ref(),
-        components.secrets_store.as_ref(),
-    )
-    .await;
-    let container_job_manager = orch.container_job_manager;
-    let job_event_tx = orch.job_event_tx;
-    let prompt_queue = orch.prompt_queue;
-    let docker_status = orch.docker_status;
+    let (container_job_manager, job_event_tx, prompt_queue, docker_status) = if enable_non_cli {
+        let orch = ironclaw::orchestrator::setup_orchestrator(
+            &config,
+            &components.llm,
+            components.db.as_ref(),
+            components.secrets_store.as_ref(),
+        )
+        .await;
+        (
+            orch.container_job_manager,
+            orch.job_event_tx,
+            orch.prompt_queue,
+            orch.docker_status,
+        )
+    } else {
+        (
+            None,
+            None,
+            std::sync::Arc::new(tokio::sync::Mutex::new(std::collections::HashMap::new())),
+            ironclaw::sandbox::DockerStatus::Disabled,
+        )
+    };
 
     // Derive user-facing warning from docker_status for channel notification
     let docker_user_warning: Option<String> = match docker_status {
@@ -629,17 +655,20 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     // Collect webhook route fragments; a single WebhookServer hosts them all.
     let mut webhook_routes: Vec<axum::Router> = Vec::new();
 
-    webhook_routes.push(webhooks::routes(ToolWebhookState {
-        tools: Arc::clone(&components.tools),
-        routine_engine: Arc::clone(&shared_routine_engine_slot),
-        user_id: config.owner_id.clone(),
-        secrets_store: components.secrets_store.clone(),
-    }));
+    if enable_non_cli {
+        webhook_routes.push(webhooks::routes(ToolWebhookState {
+            tools: Arc::clone(&components.tools),
+            routine_engine: Arc::clone(&shared_routine_engine_slot),
+            user_id: config.owner_id.clone(),
+            secrets_store: components.secrets_store.clone(),
+        }));
+    }
 
     // Load WASM channels and register their webhook routes.
     // Ensure the channels directory exists so the WASM runtime initializes even when
     // no channels are installed yet — hot-activation needs the runtime to be available.
-    if config.channels.wasm_channels_enabled
+    if enable_non_cli
+        && config.channels.wasm_channels_enabled
         && let Err(e) = std::fs::create_dir_all(&config.channels.wasm_channels_dir)
     {
         tracing::warn!(
@@ -648,7 +677,10 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             "Failed to create WASM channels directory"
         );
     }
-    if config.channels.wasm_channels_enabled && config.channels.wasm_channels_dir.exists() {
+    if enable_non_cli
+        && config.channels.wasm_channels_enabled
+        && config.channels.wasm_channels_dir.exists()
+    {
         let wasm_result = ironclaw::channels::wasm::setup_wasm_channels(
             &config,
             &components.secrets_store,
@@ -678,9 +710,7 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     }
 
     // Add Signal channel if configured and not CLI-only mode.
-    if !cli.cli_only
-        && let Some(ref signal_config) = config.channels.signal
-    {
+    if enable_non_cli && let Some(ref signal_config) = config.channels.signal {
         let signal_channel = SignalChannel::new(
             signal_config.clone(),
             components.db.clone(),
@@ -704,9 +734,7 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let mut webhook_server_addr: Option<std::net::SocketAddr> = None;
     #[cfg(unix)]
     let mut http_channel_state: Option<Arc<ironclaw::channels::HttpChannelState>> = None;
-    if !cli.cli_only
-        && let Some(ref http_config) = config.channels.http
-    {
+    if enable_non_cli && let Some(ref http_config) = config.channels.http {
         let http_channel = HttpChannel::new(http_config.clone());
         #[cfg(unix)]
         {
@@ -782,7 +810,8 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let scheduler_slot: ironclaw::tools::builtin::SchedulerSlot =
         Arc::new(tokio::sync::RwLock::new(None));
 
-    // Register job tools (sandbox deps auto-injected when container_job_manager is available)
+    // Register job tools even under --cli-only so scheduler-backed jobs remain available.
+    // Sandbox-only dependencies are injected only when the container manager is running.
     components.tools.register_job_tools(
         Arc::clone(&components.context_manager),
         Some(scheduler_slot.clone()),
@@ -790,7 +819,7 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         components.db.clone(),
         job_event_tx.clone(),
         Some(channels.inject_sender()),
-        if config.sandbox.enabled {
+        if config.sandbox.enabled && container_job_manager.is_some() {
             Some(Arc::clone(&prompt_queue))
         } else {
             None
@@ -802,7 +831,7 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     let mut gateway_url: Option<String> = None;
     let mut sse_manager: Option<std::sync::Arc<ironclaw::channels::web::sse::SseManager>> = None;
-    if let Some(ref gw_config) = config.channels.gateway {
+    if enable_non_cli && let Some(ref gw_config) = config.channels.gateway {
         let mut gw = GatewayChannel::new(gw_config.clone(), config.owner_id.clone());
         gw = gw.with_llm_provider(Arc::clone(&components.llm));
         if let Some(ref ws) = components.workspace {
@@ -1137,9 +1166,9 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         }
     }
 
-    // Ensure the relay channel manager is always set (even without WASM runtime),
-    // then restore any persisted relay channels.
-    if let Some(ref ext_mgr) = components.extension_manager {
+    // Relay restoration can make outbound relay calls and hot-add live channels.
+    // Suppress it under --cli-only along with other non-CLI channel activation paths.
+    if enable_non_cli && let Some(ref ext_mgr) = components.extension_manager {
         ext_mgr
             .set_relay_channel_manager(Arc::clone(&channels))
             .await;
@@ -1232,7 +1261,9 @@ async fn async_main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         document_extraction: Some(Arc::new(
             ironclaw::document_extraction::DocumentExtractionMiddleware::new(),
         )),
-        sandbox_readiness: if !config.sandbox.enabled {
+        sandbox_readiness: if !config.sandbox.enabled
+            || matches!(docker_status, ironclaw::sandbox::DockerStatus::Disabled)
+        {
             ironclaw::agent::routine_engine::SandboxReadiness::DisabledByConfig
         } else if docker_status.is_ok() {
             ironclaw::agent::routine_engine::SandboxReadiness::Available
@@ -1543,6 +1574,138 @@ fn oauth_base_url(host: &str, port: u16) -> String {
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
+    /// Regression test for <https://github.com/nearai/ironclaw/issues/1840>:
+    /// `--cli-only` must suppress webhook server and all non-CLI channels.
+    #[test]
+    fn cli_only_disables_non_cli_channels() {
+        assert!(
+            !non_cli_channels_enabled(true),
+            "--cli-only should disable non-CLI channels"
+        );
+        assert!(
+            non_cli_channels_enabled(false),
+            "default mode should enable non-CLI channels"
+        );
+    }
+
+    fn find_bytes(haystack: &[u8], needle: &[u8], from: usize) -> Option<usize> {
+        haystack
+            .get(from..)?
+            .windows(needle.len())
+            .position(|window| window == needle)
+            .map(|pos| from + pos)
+    }
+
+    fn is_ident_byte(byte: u8) -> bool {
+        byte == b'_' || byte.is_ascii_alphanumeric()
+    }
+
+    fn is_ident_at(source: &[u8], ident: &[u8], pos: usize) -> bool {
+        let before = pos.checked_sub(1).and_then(|idx| source.get(idx).copied());
+        let after = source.get(pos + ident.len()).copied();
+        !before.is_some_and(is_ident_byte) && !after.is_some_and(is_ident_byte)
+    }
+
+    fn matching_close_brace(source: &[u8], open_pos: usize) -> Option<usize> {
+        let mut depth = 0usize;
+        for (idx, byte) in source[open_pos..].iter().enumerate() {
+            match byte {
+                b'{' => depth += 1,
+                b'}' => {
+                    depth = depth.checked_sub(1)?;
+                    if depth == 0 {
+                        return Some(open_pos + idx);
+                    }
+                }
+                _ => {}
+            }
+        }
+        None
+    }
+
+    fn next_guard_block_start(source: &[u8], guard_pos: usize) -> Option<usize> {
+        let mut cursor = guard_pos + b"enable_non_cli".len();
+        while let Some(byte) = source.get(cursor) {
+            match byte {
+                b'{' => return Some(cursor),
+                b';' | b'}' => return None,
+                _ => cursor += 1,
+            }
+        }
+        None
+    }
+
+    fn is_inside_enable_non_cli_block(source: &[u8], pos: usize) -> bool {
+        let mut search_from = 0;
+        while let Some(guard_pos) = find_bytes(source, b"enable_non_cli", search_from) {
+            if guard_pos >= pos {
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            if is_ident_at(source, b"enable_non_cli", guard_pos)
+                && let Some(open_pos) = next_guard_block_start(source, guard_pos)
+                && open_pos < pos
+                && let Some(close_pos) = matching_close_brace(source, open_pos)
+                && pos < close_pos
+            {
+                return true;
+            }
+
+            search_from = guard_pos + b"enable_non_cli".len();
+        }
+        false
+    }
+
+    /// Source-level guard: every network-facing startup call in `async_main`
+    /// must be gated behind `enable_non_cli`.  If someone adds a new channel
+    /// or tunnel call without the guard, this test fails.
+    ///
+    /// Regression coverage for <https://github.com/nearai/ironclaw/issues/1840>.
+    #[test]
+    fn all_non_cli_ingress_paths_are_guarded() {
+        let source = include_str!("main.rs").as_bytes();
+
+        // Extract the body of async_main (from its signature to the end of file,
+        // minus the test module). Keep this byte-based to avoid UTF-8 boundary
+        // panics when checking source offsets.
+        let async_main_start =
+            find_bytes(source, b"async fn async_main(", 0).expect("async_main not found");
+        let async_main_end =
+            find_bytes(source, b"#[cfg(test)]", async_main_start).unwrap_or(source.len());
+        let async_main_body = &source[async_main_start..async_main_end];
+
+        // Calls that MUST be behind an `enable_non_cli` guard.
+        // When adding a new channel, tunnel, or network-facing service,
+        // add its startup call here so this test catches missing guards.
+        let guarded_calls = &[
+            "setup_orchestrator(",
+            "webhooks::routes(",
+            "setup_wasm_channels(",
+            "SignalChannel::new(",
+            "HttpChannel::new(",
+            "GatewayChannel::new(",
+            "start_managed_tunnel(",
+            "set_relay_channel_manager(",
+            "restore_relay_channels(&",
+        ];
+
+        for call in guarded_calls {
+            let call = call.as_bytes();
+            let mut search_from = 0;
+            while let Some(abs) = find_bytes(async_main_body, call, search_from) {
+                assert!(
+                    is_inside_enable_non_cli_block(async_main_body, abs),
+                    "Network ingress call `{}` at byte offset {} in async_main is not inside \
+                     a brace-delimited `enable_non_cli` block. Every non-CLI startup path must check \
+                     this flag (issue #1840).",
+                    String::from_utf8_lossy(call),
+                    abs,
+                );
+                search_from = abs + call.len();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn oauth_base_url_maps_unspecified_to_localhost() {
         assert_eq!(oauth_base_url("0.0.0.0", 3033), "http://localhost:3033");