diff --git a/src/lib/oclif-commands.ts b/src/lib/oclif-commands.ts
index 74853931093..bcc8768fa51 100644
--- a/src/lib/oclif-commands.ts
+++ b/src/lib/oclif-commands.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ import {
   SandboxStatusCommand,
 } from "./sandbox-inspection-cli-command";
 import SandboxLogsCommand from "./sandbox-logs-cli-command";
+import {
+  ShieldsDownCommand,
+  ShieldsStatusCommand,
+  ShieldsUpCommand,
+} from "./shields-cli-commands";
 import ShareCommand from "./share-command";
 import SkillInstallCliCommand from "./skill-install-cli-command";
 import { SnapshotCreateCommand, SnapshotListCommand } from "./snapshot-cli-commands";
@@ -44,6 +49,9 @@ export default {
   "sandbox:config:get": SandboxConfigGetCommand,
   "sandbox:logs": SandboxLogsCommand,
   "sandbox:policy-list": SandboxPolicyListCommand,
+  "sandbox:shields:down": ShieldsDownCommand,
+  "sandbox:shields:status": ShieldsStatusCommand,
+  "sandbox:shields:up": ShieldsUpCommand,
   "sandbox:skill:install": SkillInstallCliCommand,
   "sandbox:snapshot:create": SnapshotCreateCommand,
   "sandbox:snapshot:list": SnapshotListCommand,
diff --git a/src/lib/shields-cli-commands.ts b/src/lib/shields-cli-commands.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7811f69f66a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/shields-cli-commands.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+/* v8 ignore start -- thin oclif adapters covered through CLI integration tests. */
+
+import { Args, Command, Flags } from "@oclif/core";
+
+import * as shields from "./shields";
+
+const sandboxNameArg = Args.string({
+  name: "sandbox",
+  description: "Sandbox name",
+  required: true,
+});
+
+export class ShieldsDownCommand extends Command {
+  static id = "sandbox:shields:down";
+  static hidden = true;
+  static strict = true;
+  static summary = "Lower sandbox security shields";
+  static description = "Temporarily lower sandbox shields.";
+  static usage = ["<name> shields down [--timeout 5m] [--reason <text>] [--policy permissive]"];
+  static args = { sandboxName: sandboxNameArg };
+  static flags = {
+    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
+    timeout: Flags.string({ description: "Duration before shields are restored" }),
+    reason: Flags.string({ description: "Reason for lowering shields" }),
+    policy: Flags.string({ description: "Policy to apply while shields are down" }),
+  };
+
+  public async run(): Promise<void> {
+    const { args, flags } = await this.parse(ShieldsDownCommand);
+    shields.shieldsDown(args.sandboxName, {
+      timeout: flags.timeout ?? null,
+      reason: flags.reason ?? null,
+      policy: flags.policy ?? "permissive",
+    });
+  }
+}
+
+export class ShieldsUpCommand extends Command {
+  static id = "sandbox:shields:up";
+  static hidden = true;
+  static strict = true;
+  static summary = "Raise sandbox security shields";
+  static description = "Restore sandbox shields from the saved snapshot.";
+  static usage = ["<name> shields up"];
+  static args = { sandboxName: sandboxNameArg };
+  static flags = {
+    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
+  };
+
+  public async run(): Promise<void> {
+    const { args } = await this.parse(ShieldsUpCommand);
+    shields.shieldsUp(args.sandboxName);
+  }
+}
+
+export class ShieldsStatusCommand extends Command {
+  static id = "sandbox:shields:status";
+  static hidden = true;
+  static strict = true;
+  static summary = "Show current shields state";
+  static description = "Show current sandbox shields state.";
+  static usage = ["<name> shields status"];
+  static args = { sandboxName: sandboxNameArg };
+  static flags = {
+    help: Flags.help({ char: "h" }),
+  };
+
+  public async run(): Promise<void> {
+    const { args } = await this.parse(ShieldsStatusCommand);
+    shields.shieldsStatus(args.sandboxName);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/nemoclaw.ts b/src/nemoclaw.ts
index 82689a47906..ae4bf381454 100644
--- a/src/nemoclaw.ts
+++ b/src/nemoclaw.ts
@@ -4845,48 +4845,30 @@ const [cmd, ...args] = process.argv.slice(2);
         break;
       case "shields": {
         const shieldsSub = actionArgs[0];
-        const shieldsFlags = actionArgs.slice(1);
+        const shieldsArgs = actionArgs.slice(1);
         switch (shieldsSub) {
-          case "down": {
-            const opts: { timeout: string | null; reason: string | null; policy: string } = {
-              timeout: null,
-              reason: null,
-              policy: "permissive",
-            };
-            for (let i = 0; i < shieldsFlags.length; i++) {
-              if (shieldsFlags[i] === "--timeout") {
-                if (i + 1 >= shieldsFlags.length || shieldsFlags[i + 1].startsWith("--")) {
-                  console.error("  --timeout requires a value (e.g. 5m, 30m, 300)");
-                  process.exit(1);
-                }
-                opts.timeout = shieldsFlags[++i];
-              } else if (shieldsFlags[i] === "--reason") {
-                if (i + 1 >= shieldsFlags.length || shieldsFlags[i + 1].startsWith("--")) {
-                  console.error("  --reason requires a value");
-                  process.exit(1);
-                }
-                opts.reason = shieldsFlags[++i];
-              } else if (shieldsFlags[i] === "--policy") {
-                if (i + 1 >= shieldsFlags.length || shieldsFlags[i + 1].startsWith("--")) {
-                  console.error(
-                    "  --policy requires a value (e.g. permissive, /path/to/policy.yaml)",
-                  );
-                  process.exit(1);
-                }
-                opts.policy = shieldsFlags[++i];
-              } else {
-                console.error(`  Unknown flag: ${shieldsFlags[i]}`);
-                process.exit(1);
-              }
+          case "down":
+            if (hasHelpFlag(shieldsArgs)) {
+              printSandboxActionUsage(
+                "shields down [--timeout 5m] [--reason 'text'] [--policy permissive]",
+              );
+              break;
             }
-            shields.shieldsDown(cmd, opts);
+            await runOclif("sandbox:shields:down", [cmd, ...shieldsArgs]);
             break;
-          }
           case "up":
-            shields.shieldsUp(cmd);
+            if (hasHelpFlag(shieldsArgs)) {
+              printSandboxActionUsage("shields up");
+              break;
+            }
+            await runOclif("sandbox:shields:up", [cmd, ...shieldsArgs]);
             break;
           case "status":
-            shields.shieldsStatus(cmd);
+            if (hasHelpFlag(shieldsArgs)) {
+              printSandboxActionUsage("shields status");
+              break;
+            }
+            await runOclif("sandbox:shields:status", [cmd, ...shieldsArgs]);
             break;
           default:
             console.error(`  Usage: ${CLI_NAME} <name> shields <down|up|status>`);
diff --git a/test/cli.test.ts b/test/cli.test.ts
index 448d5ed936c..79488e32ee0 100644
--- a/test/cli.test.ts
+++ b/test/cli.test.ts
@@ -1042,6 +1042,26 @@ describe("CLI dispatch", () => {
     expect(config.out).not.toContain("sandbox:config:get");
   });
 
+  it("shields help keeps public sandbox-scoped usage", () => {
+    const home = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "nemoclaw-cli-shields-help-"));
+    writeSandboxRegistry(home);
+
+    const down = runWithEnv("alpha shields down --help", { HOME: home });
+    expect(down.code).toBe(0);
+    expect(down.out).toContain("<name> shields down");
+    expect(down.out).not.toContain("sandbox:shields:down");
+
+    const up = runWithEnv("alpha shields up --help", { HOME: home });
+    expect(up.code).toBe(0);
+    expect(up.out).toContain("<name> shields up");
+    expect(up.out).not.toContain("sandbox:shields:up");
+
+    const status = runWithEnv("alpha shields status --help", { HOME: home });
+    expect(status.code).toBe(0);
+    expect(status.out).toContain("<name> shields status");
+    expect(status.out).not.toContain("sandbox:shields:status");
+  });
+
   it("snapshot list/create help keeps public sandbox-scoped usage", () => {
     const home = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "nemoclaw-cli-snapshot-help-"));
     writeSandboxRegistry(home);
diff --git a/test/uninstall.test.ts b/test/uninstall.test.ts
index 601c800a0fa..f7b54027ffc 100644
--- a/test/uninstall.test.ts
+++ b/test/uninstall.test.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ describe("uninstall CLI flags", () => {
           HOME: tmp,
           PATH: `${fakeBin}:/usr/bin:/bin`,
           SCRIPT_DIR: path.join(import.meta.dirname, ".."),
+          // Keep helper-service glob cleanup isolated from concurrently running tests.
+          TMPDIR: tmp,
         },
       });