diff --git a/src/srtctl/cli/mixins/frontend_stage.py b/src/srtctl/cli/mixins/frontend_stage.py
index 4d372f335..2a04ac19b 100644
--- a/src/srtctl/cli/mixins/frontend_stage.py
+++ b/src/srtctl/cli/mixins/frontend_stage.py
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ def _start_nginx(self, topology: FrontendTopology) -> ManagedProcess:
         # Install nginx and run it (daemon off keeps nginx in foreground so srun can manage it)
         # Use container path (/logs) since log_dir is mounted there
         container_config_path = "/logs/nginx.conf"
-        # Optional ulimit: use_bash_wrapper=False bypasses default_bash_preamble;
-        # some clusters reject raising nofile inside the nginx container.
+        # Optional nginx-specific ulimit; some clusters reject raising nofile
+        # inside the nginx container.
         fe = self.config.frontend
         inner = (
             f"ulimit -n 1048576 && nginx -c {container_config_path} -g 'daemon off;'"
diff --git a/src/srtctl/core/schema.py b/src/srtctl/core/schema.py
index ebd6729b0..f5addecae 100644
--- a/src/srtctl/core/schema.py
+++ b/src/srtctl/core/schema.py
@@ -207,8 +207,7 @@ class ClusterConfig:
     default_mounts: dict[str, str] | None = None
     # Shell snippet prepended to every container srun (after env exports, before
     # the main command). Useful for cluster-wide ulimits, e.g.
-    # ``"ulimit -n 1048576 -s unlimited -u 1048576"``. Silently dropped for
-    # sruns that bypass the bash wrapper (distroless containers).
+    # ``"ulimit -n 1048576 -s unlimited -u 1048576"``.
     default_bash_preamble: str | None = None
     reporting: ReportingConfig | None = None
     telemetry: dict | None = None  # opaque dict, parsed by try_start_snapshotter
diff --git a/src/srtctl/core/slurm.py b/src/srtctl/core/slurm.py
index af588f859..fc9573e07 100644
--- a/src/srtctl/core/slurm.py
+++ b/src/srtctl/core/slurm.py
@@ -314,12 +314,10 @@ def start_srun_process(
     else:
         cluster_preamble = _get_cluster_bash_preamble()
         if cluster_preamble:
-            logger.warning(
-                "Cluster default_bash_preamble is set but this srun bypasses the bash wrapper "
-                "(use_bash_wrapper=False); preamble will not be applied. command=%s",
-                shlex.join(command),
-            )
-        srun_cmd.extend(command)
+            bash_command = " && ".join([cluster_preamble, shlex.join(command)])
+            srun_cmd.extend(["bash", "-c", bash_command])
+        else:
+            srun_cmd.extend(command)
 
     # Demoted to debug — every worker srun line is multi-KB once the
     # fingerprint heredoc is inlined (see core/fingerprint.generate_capture_script),
diff --git a/tests/test_slurm.py b/tests/test_slurm.py
index 789c449bb..ed93b4a71 100644
--- a/tests/test_slurm.py
+++ b/tests/test_slurm.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 """Tests for SLURM command construction."""
 
+import shlex
 import subprocess
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import SimpleNamespace
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ def test_cluster_bash_preamble_applied_when_only_cluster_set() -> None:
     assert bash_cmd.startswith("ulimit -n 1048576 && python3 -m server")
 
 
-def test_cluster_bash_preamble_warns_when_bash_wrapper_disabled(caplog) -> None:
+def test_cluster_bash_preamble_wraps_command_when_bash_wrapper_disabled() -> None:
     with (
         patch("srtctl.core.slurm.get_slurm_job_id", return_value="12345"),
         patch(
@@ -85,15 +86,13 @@ def test_cluster_bash_preamble_warns_when_bash_wrapper_disabled(caplog) -> None:
             return_value="ulimit -n 1048576",
         ),
         patch("subprocess.Popen") as mock_popen,
-        caplog.at_level("WARNING", logger="srtctl.core.slurm"),
     ):
         mock_popen.return_value = MagicMock()
-        start_srun_process(["/bin/node_exporter"], use_bash_wrapper=False)
+        command = ["bash", "-c", "nginx -c /logs/nginx.conf -g 'daemon off;'"]
+        start_srun_process(command, use_bash_wrapper=False)
 
-    srun_cmd = mock_popen.call_args.args[0]
-    # Distroless path runs the binary directly; preamble cannot apply.
-    assert "bash" not in srun_cmd
-    assert any("default_bash_preamble" in record.message for record in caplog.records)
+    bash_cmd = _built_bash_command(mock_popen)
+    assert bash_cmd == " && ".join(["ulimit -n 1048576", shlex.join(command)])
 
 
 def test_srun_options_use_equals_separator() -> None: