diff --git a/crates/openshell-core/src/sandbox_env.rs b/crates/openshell-core/src/sandbox_env.rs
index b367e450c..7d27ae864 100644
--- a/crates/openshell-core/src/sandbox_env.rs
+++ b/crates/openshell-core/src/sandbox_env.rs
@@ -53,3 +53,6 @@ pub const SANDBOX_TOKEN_FILE: &str = "OPENSHELL_SANDBOX_TOKEN_FILE";
 /// writes and rotates this file; the supervisor exchanges its contents
 /// for a gateway JWT at startup and on refresh.
 pub const K8S_SA_TOKEN_FILE: &str = "OPENSHELL_K8S_SA_TOKEN_FILE";
+
+/// Opt-in switch for the OCSF JSONL tracing layer in standalone mode.
+pub const OCSF_JSONL_ENABLED: &str = "OPENSHELL_OCSF_JSONL";
diff --git a/crates/openshell-sandbox/src/main.rs b/crates/openshell-sandbox/src/main.rs
index 3c9e21578..7b1c6418f 100644
--- a/crates/openshell-sandbox/src/main.rs
+++ b/crates/openshell-sandbox/src/main.rs
@@ -221,7 +221,10 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
         // Shared flag: the sandbox poll loop toggles this when the
         // `ocsf_json_enabled` setting changes. The JSONL layer checks it
         // on each event and short-circuits when false.
-        let ocsf_enabled = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+        let ocsf_enabled = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(
+            std::env::var(openshell_core::sandbox_env::OCSF_JSONL_ENABLED)
+                .is_ok_and(|v| v == "1" || v.eq_ignore_ascii_case("true")),
+        ));
 
         // Keep guards alive for the entire process. When a guard is dropped the
         // non-blocking writer flushes remaining logs.
diff --git a/docs/observability/ocsf-json-export.mdx b/docs/observability/ocsf-json-export.mdx
index 5c326d665..36e1fdd55 100644
--- a/docs/observability/ocsf-json-export.mdx
+++ b/docs/observability/ocsf-json-export.mdx
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ To disable:
 openshell settings set --global --key ocsf_json_enabled --value false
 ```
 
+### Standalone mode
+
+When the supervisor runs without a gateway endpoint, the policy poll loop that toggles `ocsf_json_enabled` never starts. Set `OPENSHELL_OCSF_JSONL=1` in the supervisor's environment at startup to enable JSON export in this mode.
+
 ## Output Location
 
 When enabled, OCSF JSON records are written to `/var/log/openshell-ocsf.YYYY-MM-DD.log` inside the sandbox. The file rotates daily and retains the 3 most recent files, matching the main log file rotation.