diff --git a/openclaw_assistant/Dockerfile b/openclaw_assistant/Dockerfile
index 4af525d..fb823ac 100644
--- a/openclaw_assistant/Dockerfile
+++ b/openclaw_assistant/Dockerfile
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     nano \
     fd-find \
     ripgrep \
+    rsync \
     bat \
     less \
  && apt-get clean \
diff --git a/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml b/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml
index 3e9927f..729faaf 100644
--- a/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml
+++ b/openclaw_assistant/config.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: OpenClaw Assistant
-version: "0.5.40"
+version: "0.5.41"
 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 5f785e6..0d151df 100644
--- a/openclaw_assistant/run.sh
+++ b/openclaw_assistant/run.sh
@@ -67,6 +67,53 @@ export XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/config
 
 mkdir -p /config/.openclaw /config/clawd /config/keys /config/secrets
 
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Sync built-in OpenClaw skills from image to persistent storage
+# On each startup, copy new/updated built-in skills so they survive rebuilds.
+# We sync them to /config/.openclaw/skills and symlink back.
+# NOTE: We cannot use `npm root -g` here because HOME=/config may contain a
+# persisted .npmrc with a custom prefix from a previous run. Instead, we
+# resolve the real image path by temporarily overriding HOME.
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR="$(HOME=/root npm root -g 2>/dev/null)/openclaw/skills"
+PERSISTENT_SKILLS_DIR="/config/.openclaw/skills"
+
+if [ -d "$IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR" ] && [ ! -L "$IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "$PERSISTENT_SKILLS_DIR"
+  # Sync skills: --update replaces older files so upgrades propagate,
+  # but doesn't delete user-added files in persistent storage.
+  if command -v rsync >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    rsync -a --update "$IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR/" "$PERSISTENT_SKILLS_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+  else
+    cp -ru "$IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR/"* "$PERSISTENT_SKILLS_DIR/" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+  # Replace image skills dir with symlink to persistent copy
+  rm -rf "$IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR"
+  ln -sf "$PERSISTENT_SKILLS_DIR" "$IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR"
+  echo "INFO: Synced built-in skills to persistent storage at $PERSISTENT_SKILLS_DIR"
+elif [ -L "$IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR" ]; then
+  echo "INFO: Built-in skills already linked to persistent storage"
+else
+  echo "WARN: Built-in skills directory not found at $IMAGE_SKILLS_DIR"
+fi
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Persist user-installed node skills across Docker image rebuilds
+# Redirect npm/pnpm global installs to /config/.node_global (persistent storage)
+# so that skills installed via the dashboard survive container rebuilds.
+# NOTE: This MUST come after the skills sync above (which needs the original npm root -g).
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+PERSISTENT_NODE_GLOBAL="/config/.node_global"
+mkdir -p "$PERSISTENT_NODE_GLOBAL"
+npm config set prefix "$PERSISTENT_NODE_GLOBAL" 2>/dev/null || true
+export PATH="${PERSISTENT_NODE_GLOBAL}/bin:${PATH}"
+export NODE_PATH="${PERSISTENT_NODE_GLOBAL}/lib/node_modules:${NODE_PATH:-}"
+
+# Also configure pnpm global dir to persistent storage
+export PNPM_HOME="${PERSISTENT_NODE_GLOBAL}/pnpm"
+mkdir -p "$PNPM_HOME"
+export PATH="${PNPM_HOME}:${PATH}"
+
 # Back-compat: some docs/scripts assume /data; point it at /config.
 if [ ! -e /data ]; then
   ln -s /config /data || true