diff --git a/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command.go b/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command.go
index 66a56f9ce..88110de08 100644
--- a/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command.go
+++ b/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command.go
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 package gateway
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
+
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
@@ -11,7 +13,11 @@ func NewGatewayCommand() *cobra.Command {
 		Use:     "gateway",
 		Aliases: []string{"g"},
 		Short:   "Start picoclaw gateway",
-		Args:    cobra.NoArgs,
+		Long: `Start picoclaw gateway in foreground mode.
+
+Use 'picoclaw gateway start' to run in background mode.
+Use 'picoclaw gateway stop' to stop the background service.`,
+		Args: cobra.NoArgs,
 		RunE: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
 			return gatewayCmd(debug)
 		},
@@ -19,5 +25,107 @@ func NewGatewayCommand() *cobra.Command {
 
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&debug, "debug", "d", false, "Enable debug logging")
 
+	// Add subcommands
+	cmd.AddCommand(newStartCommand(&debug))
+	cmd.AddCommand(newStopCommand())
+	cmd.AddCommand(newStatusCommand())
+
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func newStartCommand(debug *bool) *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "start",
+		Short: "Start picoclaw gateway in background",
+		Long: `Start picoclaw gateway as a background service.
+
+The gateway will run in the background and logs will be written to:
+  ~/.picoclaw/logs/gateway.log
+
+Use 'picoclaw gateway stop' to stop the background service.
+Use 'picoclaw gateway status' to check if the gateway is running.`,
+		Args: cobra.NoArgs,
+		RunE: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
+			// Check if already running
+			if running, pid := isGatewayRunning(); running {
+				fmt.Printf("⚠️  Gateway is already running (PID: %d)\n", pid)
+				fmt.Println("Use 'picoclaw gateway stop' to stop it first.")
+				return nil
+			}
+
+			fmt.Println("🚀 Starting picoclaw gateway in background...")
+
+			if err := startGatewayBackground(*debug); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to start gateway: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			running, pid, logPath := getGatewayStatus()
+			if running {
+				fmt.Printf("✓ Gateway started successfully (PID: %d)\n", pid)
+				fmt.Printf("📝 Logs: %s\n", logPath)
+				fmt.Println("\nUse 'picoclaw gateway stop' to stop the service.")
+				fmt.Println("Use 'picoclaw gateway status' to check the status.")
+			} else {
+				fmt.Println("⚠️  Gateway may have failed to start. Check the logs:")
+				fmt.Printf("   %s\n", logPath)
+			}
+
+			return nil
+		},
+	}
+
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func newStopCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "stop",
+		Short: "Stop picoclaw gateway background service",
+		Long: `Stop the picoclaw gateway running in the background.
+
+This command will gracefully stop the gateway service that was started
+with 'picoclaw gateway start'.`,
+		Args: cobra.NoArgs,
+		RunE: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
+			running, pid := isGatewayRunning()
+			if !running {
+				fmt.Println("ℹ️  Gateway is not running.")
+				return nil
+			}
+
+			fmt.Printf("🛑 Stopping picoclaw gateway (PID: %d)...\n", pid)
+
+			if err := stopGatewayProcess(); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to stop gateway: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			fmt.Println("✓ Gateway stopped successfully.")
+			return nil
+		},
+	}
+
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func newStatusCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "status",
+		Short: "Show picoclaw gateway status",
+		Long:  `Show the current status of the picoclaw gateway background service.`,
+		Args:  cobra.NoArgs,
+		Run: func(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
+			running, pid, logPath := getGatewayStatus()
+
+			if running {
+				fmt.Printf("✓ Gateway is running (PID: %d)\n", pid)
+				fmt.Printf("📝 Logs: %s\n", logPath)
+				fmt.Println("\nUse 'picoclaw gateway stop' to stop the service.")
+			} else {
+				fmt.Println("○ Gateway is not running.")
+				fmt.Println("\nUse 'picoclaw gateway start' to start the service.")
+			}
+		},
+	}
+
 	return cmd
 }
diff --git a/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command_test.go b/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command_test.go
index 4d591ea67..34bdbb32e 100644
--- a/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command_test.go
+++ b/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/command_test.go
@@ -24,8 +24,46 @@ func TestNewGatewayCommand(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Nil(t, cmd.PersistentPreRun)
 	assert.Nil(t, cmd.PersistentPostRun)
 
-	assert.False(t, cmd.HasSubCommands())
+	// Gateway command now has subcommands: start, stop, status
+	assert.True(t, cmd.HasSubCommands())
+	assert.Len(t, cmd.Commands(), 3)
 
 	assert.True(t, cmd.HasFlags())
 	assert.NotNil(t, cmd.Flags().Lookup("debug"))
 }
+
+func TestGatewayStartCommand(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := NewGatewayCommand()
+
+	startCmd, _, err := cmd.Find([]string{"start"})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, startCmd)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "start", startCmd.Use)
+	assert.Equal(t, "Start picoclaw gateway in background", startCmd.Short)
+	assert.NotNil(t, startCmd.RunE)
+}
+
+func TestGatewayStopCommand(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := NewGatewayCommand()
+
+	stopCmd, _, err := cmd.Find([]string{"stop"})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, stopCmd)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "stop", stopCmd.Use)
+	assert.Equal(t, "Stop picoclaw gateway background service", stopCmd.Short)
+	assert.NotNil(t, stopCmd.RunE)
+}
+
+func TestGatewayStatusCommand(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := NewGatewayCommand()
+
+	statusCmd, _, err := cmd.Find([]string{"status"})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, statusCmd)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "status", statusCmd.Use)
+	assert.Equal(t, "Show picoclaw gateway status", statusCmd.Short)
+	assert.NotNil(t, statusCmd.Run)
+}
diff --git a/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/process.go b/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/process.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..677c0ed11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/picoclaw/internal/gateway/process.go
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+package gateway
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+// getPidFilePath returns the path to the gateway PID file
+func getPidFilePath() string {
+	home, _ := os.UserHomeDir()
+	return filepath.Join(home, ".picoclaw", "gateway.pid")
+}
+
+// savePID saves the process ID to the PID file
+func savePID(pid int) error {
+	pidFile := getPidFilePath()
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(pidFile), 0o755); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create directory: %w", err)
+	}
+	return os.WriteFile(pidFile, []byte(strconv.Itoa(pid)), 0o644)
+}
+
+// loadPID loads the process ID from the PID file
+func loadPID() (int, error) {
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(getPidFilePath())
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	return strconv.Atoi(string(data))
+}
+
+// removePIDFile removes the PID file
+func removePIDFile() {
+	_ = os.Remove(getPidFilePath())
+}
+
+// isProcessRunning checks if a process with the given PID is running
+func isProcessRunning(pid int) bool {
+	process, err := os.FindProcess(pid)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// On Unix systems, FindProcess always succeeds, so we need to send signal 0 to check
+	if runtime.GOOS != "windows" {
+		err = process.Signal(syscall.Signal(0))
+		return err == nil
+	}
+
+	// On Windows, we rely on FindProcess result
+	return true
+}
+
+// isGatewayRunning checks if the gateway is currently running
+func isGatewayRunning() (bool, int) {
+	pid, err := loadPID()
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, 0
+	}
+
+	if isProcessRunning(pid) {
+		return true, pid
+	}
+
+	// PID file exists but process is not running, clean up
+	removePIDFile()
+	return false, 0
+}
+
+// startGatewayBackground starts the gateway in the background
+func startGatewayBackground(debug bool) error {
+	// Check if already running
+	if running, pid := isGatewayRunning(); running {
+		return fmt.Errorf("gateway is already running (PID: %d)", pid)
+	}
+
+	// Get the current executable path
+	execPath, err := os.Executable()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to get executable path: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Build command arguments
+	args := []string{"gateway"}
+	if debug {
+		args = append(args, "--debug")
+	}
+
+	cmd := exec.Command(execPath, args...)
+
+	// Redirect output to log file
+	logPath := getLogFilePath()
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(logPath), 0o755); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create log directory: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	logFile, err := os.OpenFile(logPath, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND, 0o644)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to open log file: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	cmd.Stdout = logFile
+	cmd.Stderr = logFile
+
+	// Set process group for proper cleanup on Unix systems
+	if runtime.GOOS != "windows" {
+		cmd.SysProcAttr = &syscall.SysProcAttr{
+			Setpgid: true,
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Start the process
+	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
+		_ = logFile.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to start gateway: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Close log file handle (process inherits it)
+	_ = logFile.Close()
+
+	// Save PID
+	if err := savePID(cmd.Process.Pid); err != nil {
+		// Try to kill the process if we can't save the PID
+		_ = cmd.Process.Kill()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to save PID: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// stopGatewayProcess stops the running gateway process
+func stopGatewayProcess() error {
+	running, pid := isGatewayRunning()
+	if !running {
+		return fmt.Errorf("gateway is not running")
+	}
+
+	process, err := os.FindProcess(pid)
+	if err != nil {
+		removePIDFile()
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to find process: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Send interrupt signal first for graceful shutdown
+	if runtime.GOOS != "windows" {
+		if err := process.Signal(os.Interrupt); err != nil {
+			// If interrupt fails, try kill
+			if killErr := process.Kill(); killErr != nil {
+				removePIDFile()
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to stop gateway: %w", killErr)
+			}
+		}
+	} else {
+		// Windows doesn't support Interrupt, use Kill directly
+		if err := process.Kill(); err != nil {
+			removePIDFile()
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to stop gateway: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	removePIDFile()
+	return nil
+}
+
+// getLogFilePath returns the path to the gateway log file
+func getLogFilePath() string {
+	home, _ := os.UserHomeDir()
+	return filepath.Join(home, ".picoclaw", "logs", "gateway.log")
+}
+
+// getGatewayStatus returns the status information of the gateway
+func getGatewayStatus() (bool, int, string) {
+	running, pid := isGatewayRunning()
+	logPath := getLogFilePath()
+	return running, pid, logPath
+}