diff --git a/hermes_cli/gateway_launchd.py b/hermes_cli/gateway_launchd.py
index 94c920bca3..bf0c9442d6 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/gateway_launchd.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/gateway_launchd.py
@@ -220,20 +220,27 @@ def launchd_program_arguments(command: list[str], stdout_log: Path, stderr_log:
     venv Python has no application ID and is not platform-entitled, so every LAN connect from the
     launchd gateway dies with ``EHOSTUNREACH`` while the same code works from Terminal (whose grant it
     inherits). An ad-hoc-signed helper .app does not help: nehelper never prompts for it and denies
-    (#57812 dead-end table, re-verified live on macOS 26.3). ``/usr/bin/osascript``'s ``do shell script``
-    spawns its child as osascript-responsible — an Apple platform binary — so the child is exempt;
-    ``/bin/sh -c exec …`` and ``/usr/bin/time`` wrappers are NOT (the launchd job identity is the
-    non-entitled first executable). ``do shell script`` buffers the child's stdout/stderr until it exits,
-    so the command appends both to the same files the plist's ``StandardOutPath``/``StandardErrorPath``
-    name (those keys stay: they are where osascript's own output lands — an empty result line per exit
-    and an un-timestamped ``execution error`` line on non-zero exit); ``exec`` keeps the
-    gateway a direct child in the job's process group, so ``launchctl bootout`` / ``kickstart -k`` still
-    deliver SIGTERM to it and KeepAlive's ``SuccessfulExit`` semantics are preserved (osascript exits 0
-    exactly when the shell did).
+    (#57812 dead-end table, re-verified live on macOS 26.3). ``/usr/bin/osascript`` spawning the child
+    makes it osascript-responsible — an Apple platform binary — so the child is exempt; ``/bin/sh -c
+    exec …`` and ``/usr/bin/time`` wrappers are NOT (the launchd job identity is the non-entitled first
+    executable).
+
+    Standard Additions' ``do shell script`` polls WindowServer for a user-cancel event while it waits.
+    That is appropriate for a short interactive script but burns CPU for the gateway's process lifetime.
+    JXA calling libc ``system()`` waits in the kernel instead while retaining osascript as the responsible
+    process. The shell's ``exec`` keeps the gateway in the launchd job's process group, so ``launchctl
+    bootout`` / ``kickstart -k`` still deliver SIGTERM to it. stdout/stderr are appended inside the shell
+    command because ``system()`` otherwise inherits osascript's plist log handles. The encoded wait status
+    is translated back to a process exit code so KeepAlive's ``SuccessfulExit`` semantics are preserved.
     """
     shell = f"exec {shlex.join(command)} >> {shlex.quote(str(stdout_log))} 2>> {shlex.quote(str(stderr_log))}"
-    applescript = shell.replace("\\", "\\\\").replace('"', '\\"')
-    return ["/usr/bin/osascript", "-e", f'do shell script "{applescript}"']
+    javascript = (
+        'ObjC.import("stdlib"); '
+        f"const status=$.system({json.dumps(shell)}); "
+        "const signal=status & 127; "
+        "$.exit(status === -1 ? 1 : signal === 0 ? (status >> 8) & 255 : 128 + signal);"
+    )
+    return ["/usr/bin/osascript", "-l", "JavaScript", "-e", javascript]
 
 
 def _timestamped_stderr_gateway_command(error_log: Path, *, external_supervisor: bool = False) -> list[str]:
diff --git a/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py b/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
index e1daa38530..4454580bac 100644
--- a/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
+++ b/tests/hermes_cli/test_gateway_service.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import plistlib
 import re
 import shlex
 import subprocess
+import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import SimpleNamespace
 
@@ -16,6 +17,7 @@ pwd = pytest.importorskip("pwd")
 grp = pytest.importorskip("grp")
 
 import hermes_cli.gateway as gateway_cli
+from hermes_cli.gateway_launchd import launchd_program_arguments
 from gateway import status
 from gateway.restart import (
     DEFAULT_GATEWAY_CRON_DRAIN_TIMEOUT,
@@ -27,13 +29,17 @@ from gateway.restart import (
 
 
 def _osascript_exec_argv(program_args: list[str]) -> list[str]:
-    """The argv a launchd ``ProgramArguments`` of ``/usr/bin/osascript -e <script>`` hands to ``exec`` —
-    undoing the AppleScript string escaping, then POSIX shell quoting, the way osascript and /bin/sh will."""
-    assert program_args[:2] == ["/usr/bin/osascript", "-e"] and len(program_args) == 3, program_args
-    script = program_args[2]
-    prefix, suffix = 'do shell script "', '"'
-    assert script.startswith(prefix) and script.endswith(suffix), script
-    shell = re.sub(r"\\(.)", r"\1", script[len(prefix):-len(suffix)])
+    """The argv the launchd JXA wrapper's libc ``system()`` hands to ``exec``."""
+    assert program_args[:4] == ["/usr/bin/osascript", "-l", "JavaScript", "-e"], program_args
+    assert len(program_args) == 5, program_args
+    script = program_args[4]
+    match = re.fullmatch(
+        r'ObjC\.import\("stdlib"\); const status=\$\.system\((.+)\); const signal=status & 127; '
+        r'\$\.exit\(status === -1 \? 1 : signal === 0 \? \(status >> 8\) & 255 : 128 \+ signal\);',
+        script,
+    )
+    assert match, script
+    shell = json.loads(match.group(1))
     exec_, *argv = shlex.split(shell)
     assert exec_ == "exec", shell
     return argv
@@ -1745,7 +1751,8 @@ class TestProfileArg:
         program_args = plistlib.loads(plist.encode("utf-8"))["ProgramArguments"]
 
         # The job is launched through osascript so macOS Local Network Privacy attributes the
-        # gateway's sockets to a platform binary (#71206); the real command is the exec'd child,
+        # gateway's sockets to a platform binary (#71206); JXA system() waits without the
+        # Standard Additions user-cancel polling loop. The real command is the exec'd child,
         # whose python runs through the PM installation launcher (-I -c bootstrap ...).
         exec_argv = _osascript_exec_argv(program_args)
         assert exec_argv[-4:] == [">>", str(profile_dir / "logs" / "gateway.log"),
@@ -1759,7 +1766,7 @@ class TestProfileArg:
         assert "--replace" not in program_args
 
     def test_launchd_osascript_wrapper_round_trips_shell_hostile_paths(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-        """A home with spaces, quotes and a backslash survives shlex + AppleScript + plist quoting."""
+        """A home with spaces, quotes and a backslash survives shlex + JXA + plist quoting."""
         profile_dir = tmp_path / 'my "odd" dir \\ here' / ".hermes"
         profile_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
         monkeypatch.setattr(Path, "home", lambda: tmp_path)
@@ -1775,6 +1782,28 @@ class TestProfileArg:
         # The wrapper's own ps line must never be taken for the gateway (stop/status would signal osascript).
         assert status.looks_like_gateway_command_line(" ".join(program_args)) is False
 
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform != "darwin", reason="osascript is macOS-only")
+    def test_launchd_osascript_wrapper_preserves_process_group_and_exit_status(self, tmp_path):
+        """The non-polling JXA wait keeps lifecycle signals and KeepAlive failure semantics intact."""
+        stdout_log = tmp_path / "stdout.log"
+        stderr_log = tmp_path / "stderr.log"
+        command = [
+            sys.executable,
+            "-c",
+            "import os, sys; print(os.getpgrp(), os.getpgid(os.getppid())); sys.exit(23)",
+        ]
+
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            launchd_program_arguments(command, stdout_log, stderr_log),
+            check=False,
+            timeout=10,
+        )
+
+        assert result.returncode == 23
+        child_group, wrapper_group = stdout_log.read_text().split()
+        assert child_group == wrapper_group
+        assert stderr_log.read_text() == ""
+
     def test_launchd_plist_path_uses_real_user_home_not_profile_home(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
         profile_dir = tmp_path / ".hermes" / "profiles" / "orcha"
         profile_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/messaging/index.md b/website/docs/user-guide/messaging/index.md
index b343b584e1..083fa5ede7 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/messaging/index.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/messaging/index.md
@@ -676,7 +676,7 @@ The plist sets `RunAtLoad`, so loading it starts the gateway. `hermes gateway in
 :::
 
 :::info Local Network access (LAN devices fail with "No route to host")
-macOS Local Network Privacy attributes a socket to the executable launchd spawned for the job. A bare venv Python has no application identity, so a launchd-run gateway could not reach LAN hosts (Home Assistant, local model servers) — every connect failed with `errno 65 No route to host` while the same URL worked from Terminal, and no prompt was ever shown to grant it. The generated plist therefore runs the gateway through `/usr/bin/osascript` (`do shell script "exec …"`), whose children macOS treats as osascript's own — an Apple platform binary, exempt from the check. `ps` shows `osascript → stderr_timestamp → gateway run`; stop/restart/KeepAlive behave exactly as before. A plist installed by an older Hermes is refreshed by `hermes gateway install` (or on the next `hermes gateway start`).
+macOS Local Network Privacy attributes a socket to the executable launchd spawned for the job. A bare venv Python has no application identity, so a launchd-run gateway could not reach LAN hosts (Home Assistant, local model servers) — every connect failed with `errno 65 No route to host` while the same URL worked from Terminal, and no prompt was ever shown to grant it. The generated plist therefore runs the gateway through `/usr/bin/osascript`; a JXA `system()` call starts the gateway without an interactive event-polling loop, and macOS treats its children as osascript's own — an Apple platform binary, exempt from the check. `ps` shows `osascript → stderr_timestamp → gateway run`; stop/restart/KeepAlive behave exactly as before. A plist installed by an older Hermes is refreshed by `hermes gateway install` (or on the next `hermes gateway start`).
 :::
 
 :::tip Picking up new credentials after `hermes auth add` / `hermes auth reset`