diff --git a/openclaw.mjs b/openclaw.mjs
index 099c7f6a406..432ee961fb0 100755
--- a/openclaw.mjs
+++ b/openclaw.mjs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
+import { access } from "node:fs/promises";
 import module from "node:module";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 
@@ -59,7 +60,11 @@ const isDirectModuleNotFoundError = (err, specifier) => {
   }
 
   const message = "message" in err && typeof err.message === "string" ? err.message : "";
-  return message.includes(fileURLToPath(expectedUrl));
+  const expectedPath = fileURLToPath(expectedUrl);
+  return (
+    message.includes(`Cannot find module '${expectedPath}'`) ||
+    message.includes(`Cannot find module "${expectedPath}"`)
+  );
 };
 
 const installProcessWarningFilter = async () => {
@@ -95,10 +100,36 @@ const tryImport = async (specifier) => {
   }
 };
 
+const exists = async (specifier) => {
+  try {
+    await access(new URL(specifier, import.meta.url));
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+};
+
+const buildMissingEntryErrorMessage = async () => {
+  const lines = ["openclaw: missing dist/entry.(m)js (build output)."];
+  if (!(await exists("./src/entry.ts"))) {
+    return lines.join("\n");
+  }
+
+  lines.push("This install looks like an unbuilt source tree or GitHub source archive.");
+  lines.push(
+    "Build locally with `pnpm install && pnpm build`, or install a built package instead.",
+  );
+  lines.push(
+    "For pinned GitHub installs, use `npm install -g github:openclaw/openclaw#<ref>` instead of a raw `/archive/<ref>.tar.gz` URL.",
+  );
+  lines.push("For releases, use `npm install -g openclaw@latest`.");
+  return lines.join("\n");
+};
+
 if (await tryImport("./dist/entry.js")) {
   // OK
 } else if (await tryImport("./dist/entry.mjs")) {
   // OK
 } else {
-  throw new Error("openclaw: missing dist/entry.(m)js (build output).");
+  throw new Error(await buildMissingEntryErrorMessage());
 }
diff --git a/test/openclaw-launcher.e2e.test.ts b/test/openclaw-launcher.e2e.test.ts
index ab9400da5db..53a6d14d8d4 100644
--- a/test/openclaw-launcher.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/test/openclaw-launcher.e2e.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ async function makeLauncherFixture(fixtureRoots: string[]): Promise<string> {
   return fixtureRoot;
 }
 
+async function addSourceTreeMarker(fixtureRoot: string): Promise<void> {
+  await fs.mkdir(path.join(fixtureRoot, "src"), { recursive: true });
+  await fs.writeFile(path.join(fixtureRoot, "src", "entry.ts"), "export {};\n", "utf8");
+}
+
 describe("openclaw launcher", () => {
   const fixtureRoots: string[] = [];
 
@@ -55,4 +60,20 @@ describe("openclaw launcher", () => {
     expect(result.status).not.toBe(0);
     expect(result.stderr).toContain("missing dist/entry.(m)js");
   });
+
+  it("explains how to recover from an unbuilt source install", async () => {
+    const fixtureRoot = await makeLauncherFixture(fixtureRoots);
+    await addSourceTreeMarker(fixtureRoot);
+
+    const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [path.join(fixtureRoot, "openclaw.mjs"), "--help"], {
+      cwd: fixtureRoot,
+      encoding: "utf8",
+    });
+
+    expect(result.status).not.toBe(0);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("missing dist/entry.(m)js");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("unbuilt source tree or GitHub source archive");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("pnpm install && pnpm build");
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("github:openclaw/openclaw#<ref>");
+  });
 });