diff --git a/scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.sh b/scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.sh
index 2ceb5a773f39..abaae84e6279 100755
--- a/scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.sh
+++ b/scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.sh
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ if [[ ! -e "$ARTIFACT" ]]; then
   echo "Error: artifact not found: $ARTIFACT" >&2
   exit 1
 fi
+if [[ -n "$STAPLE_APP_PATH" && ! -d "$STAPLE_APP_PATH" ]]; then
+  echo "Error: STAPLE_APP_PATH not found: $STAPLE_APP_PATH" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
 
 if ! command -v xcrun >/dev/null 2>&1; then
   echo "Error: xcrun not found; install Xcode command line tools." >&2
@@ -53,13 +57,9 @@ case "$ARTIFACT" in
 esac
 
 if [[ -n "$STAPLE_APP_PATH" ]]; then
-  if [[ -d "$STAPLE_APP_PATH" ]]; then
-    echo "📌 Stapling app: $STAPLE_APP_PATH"
-    xcrun stapler staple "$STAPLE_APP_PATH"
-    xcrun stapler validate "$STAPLE_APP_PATH"
-  else
-    echo "Warn: STAPLE_APP_PATH not found: $STAPLE_APP_PATH" >&2
-  fi
+  echo "📌 Stapling app: $STAPLE_APP_PATH"
+  xcrun stapler staple "$STAPLE_APP_PATH"
+  xcrun stapler validate "$STAPLE_APP_PATH"
 fi
 
 echo "✅ Notarization complete"
diff --git a/test/scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.test.ts b/test/scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..0b94b8ef5465
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const tempDirs: string[] = [];
+const scriptPath = "scripts/notarize-mac-artifact.sh";
+
+function makeTempDir(prefix: string): string {
+  const dir = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), prefix));
+  tempDirs.push(dir);
+  return dir;
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  for (const dir of tempDirs.splice(0)) {
+    rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});
+
+describe("notarize-mac-artifact input validation", () => {
+  it("fails before notarization when an explicit staple app path is missing", () => {
+    const tempRoot = makeTempDir("openclaw-notary-staple-");
+    const artifact = path.join(tempRoot, "OpenClaw.zip");
+    const missingApp = path.join(tempRoot, "Missing.app");
+    writeFileSync(artifact, "placeholder", "utf8");
+
+    const result = spawnSync("bash", [scriptPath, artifact], {
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      encoding: "utf8",
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        STAPLE_APP_PATH: missingApp,
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain("Error: STAPLE_APP_PATH not found");
+    expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("xcrun not found");
+    expect(result.stderr).not.toContain("Notary auth missing");
+    expect(result.stdout).not.toContain("Notarizing:");
+  });
+});