diff --git a/DOCS.md b/DOCS.md
index c3c306b..8586068 100644
--- a/DOCS.md
+++ b/DOCS.md
@@ -204,6 +204,7 @@ All options are set via **Settings → Apps/Add-ons → OpenClaw Assistant → C
 | `enable_openai_api` | bool | `false` | Enable the OpenAI-compatible `/v1/chat/completions` endpoint. Required for [Assist pipeline integration](#6c-assist-pipeline-integration-openai-api) |
 | `allow_insecure_auth` | bool | `false` | Allow HTTP (non-HTTPS) authentication on LAN. **Required** for browser access over plain HTTP |
 | `force_ipv4_dns` | bool | `false` | Force IPv4-first DNS ordering for Node network calls. Useful if IPv6 DNS resolves but IPv6 egress is broken (can affect Telegram API polling). |
+| `gateway_env_vars` | map(string) | `{}` | Environment variables exported to the gateway process at startup. Use YAML map format (for example `OPENAI_API_KEY: "sk-..."`). Limits: max 50 vars, key length 255, value length 10000. |
 
 ### Terminal
 
diff --git a/openclaw_assistant/CHANGELOG.md b/openclaw_assistant/CHANGELOG.md
index 3ffc263..f18263c 100644
--- a/openclaw_assistant/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/openclaw_assistant/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 
 All notable changes to the OpenClaw Assistant Home Assistant Add-on will be documented in this file.
 
+## [0.5.50] - 2026-02-23
+
+### Added
+- New add-on option `gateway_env_vars` that accepts a YAML map; values are exported verbatim to the gateway process at startup with limits (50 vars, key ≤255 chars, value ≤10000 chars).
+
 ## [0.5.49] - 2026-02-22
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml b/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml
index d37c5d9..1e5f72c 100644
--- a/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml
+++ b/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: OpenClaw Assistant
-version: "0.5.49"
+version: "0.5.50"
 slug: openclaw_assistant
 description: Run OpenClaw Assistant (OpenClaw-compatible) as a Home Assistant add-on.
 url: https://github.com/techartdev/OpenClawHomeAssistant
diff --git a/openclaw_assistant/run.sh b/openclaw_assistant/run.sh
index 77dbc7d..9c8ef5f 100644
--- a/openclaw_assistant/run.sh
+++ b/openclaw_assistant/run.sh
@@ -151,46 +151,53 @@ export PATH="${PNPM_HOME}:${PATH}"
 # Export gateway environment variables from add-on config
 # These are user-defined variables that should be available to the gateway process
 if [ "$GW_ENV_VARS" != "{}" ] && [ -n "$GW_ENV_VARS" ]; then
-  echo "INFO: Setting gateway environment variables from add-on config..."
-  env_count=0
-  max_env_vars=50
-  max_var_name_size=255
-  
-  # Parse JSON object and export each key=value pair
-  while IFS='=' read -r key value; do
-    # Skip empty lines and trim whitespace
-    key=$(echo "$key" | xargs)
-    value=$(echo "$value" | xargs)
-    
-    if [ -z "$key" ]; then
-      continue
+  if printf '%s' "$GW_ENV_VARS" | jq -e 'type == "object"' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "INFO: Setting gateway environment variables from add-on config..."
+    env_count=0
+    max_env_vars=50
+    max_var_name_size=255
+    max_var_value_size=10000
+
+    # Use null-delimited key/value pairs to preserve spaces and special chars.
+    while IFS= read -r -d '' key && IFS= read -r -d '' value; do
+      if [ -z "$key" ]; then
+        continue
+      fi
+
+      # Validate variable name format
+      if ! [[ "$key" =~ ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$ ]]; then
+        echo "WARN: Invalid environment variable name: '$key' (must start with letter/underscore, skip)"
+        continue
+      fi
+
+      # Enforce max variable name length
+      if [ ${#key} -gt $max_var_name_size ]; then
+        echo "WARN: Environment variable name too long: '$key' (max $max_var_name_size chars, skip)"
+        continue
+      fi
+
+      # Enforce max variable value length
+      if [ ${#value} -gt $max_var_value_size ]; then
+        echo "WARN: Environment variable value too long for '$key' (max $max_var_value_size chars, skip)"
+        continue
+      fi
+
+      # Enforce limit on number of variables
+      if [ $env_count -ge $max_env_vars ]; then
+        echo "WARN: Maximum environment variables limit ($max_env_vars) reached (skip)"
+        continue
+      fi
+
+      export "$key=$value"
+      ((env_count++))
+      echo "INFO: Exported gateway env var: $key"
+    done < <(printf '%s' "$GW_ENV_VARS" | jq -j 'to_entries[] | .key, "\u0000", (.value | tostring), "\u0000"')
+
+    if [ $env_count -gt 0 ]; then
+      echo "INFO: Successfully exported $env_count gateway environment variable(s)"
     fi
-    
-    # Validate variable name format
-    if ! [[ "$key" =~ ^[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*$ ]]; then
-      echo "WARN: Invalid environment variable name: '$key' (must start with letter/underscore, skip)"
-      continue
-    fi
-    
-    # Enforce max variable name length
-    if [ ${#key} -gt $max_var_name_size ]; then
-      echo "WARN: Environment variable name too long: '$key' (max $max_var_name_size chars, skip)"
-      continue
-    fi
-    
-    # Enforce limit on number of variables
-    if [ $env_count -ge $max_env_vars ]; then
-      echo "WARN: Maximum environment variables limit ($max_env_vars) reached (skip)"
-      continue
-    fi
-    
-    export "$key=$value"
-    ((env_count++))
-    echo "INFO: Exported gateway env var: $key"
-  done < <(echo "$GW_ENV_VARS" | jq -r 'to_entries[] | "\(.key)=\(.value)"')
-  
-  if [ $env_count -gt 0 ]; then
-    echo "INFO: Successfully exported $env_count gateway environment variable(s)"
+  else
+    echo "WARN: Invalid gateway_env_vars format in add-on options (expected JSON object), skipping"
   fi
 fi