diff --git a/.github/workflows/preflight-critical-path-benchmark.yml b/.github/workflows/preflight-critical-path-benchmark.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..971cf05c8f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/preflight-critical-path-benchmark.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+name: Preflight critical-path comparison
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - .github/workflows/preflight-critical-path-benchmark.yml
+      - config/scripts/benchmark-ci-preflight-critical-path.mjs
+  workflow_dispatch:
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+concurrency:
+  group: preflight-critical-path-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+env:
+  ORCA_BACKGROUND_LAUNCH: '1'
+jobs:
+  compare:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
+    timeout-minutes: 20
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        comparison: [smoke, sync-spawn, typecheck]
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+          fetch-depth: 2
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/install-node-dependencies
+        with:
+          native-runtime: node
+          node-version: '24'
+      - uses: oven-sh/setup-bun@0c5077e51419868618aeaa5fe8019c62421857d6 # v2.2.0
+        with:
+          bun-version: 1.4.3
+      - name: Compare checks and verify their results
+        run: node config/scripts/benchmark-ci-preflight-critical-path.mjs ${{ matrix.comparison }}
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        if: always()
+        with:
+          name: preflight-critical-path-${{ matrix.comparison }}
+          path: .build/preflight-benchmark/
+          retention-days: 30
diff --git a/config/scripts/benchmark-ci-preflight-critical-path.mjs b/config/scripts/benchmark-ci-preflight-critical-path.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..45846ff75e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/benchmark-ci-preflight-critical-path.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+import { mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { availableParallelism, totalmem } from 'node:os'
+import path from 'node:path'
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
+import { runProcessSync } from '@orca/process-host'
+import { measurePreflightCommand } from './preflight-benchmark-command.mjs'
+import { buildCounterbalancedSchedule } from './counterbalanced-benchmark-schedule.mjs'
+import { summarizeBenchmarkSamples } from './benchmark-sample-summary.mjs'
+
+const comparison = process.argv[2]
+if (!['smoke', 'sync-spawn', 'typecheck'].includes(comparison) || process.argv.length !== 3) {
+  throw new Error('Use smoke, sync-spawn or typecheck')
+}
+const root = fileURLToPath(new URL('../..', import.meta.url))
+const output = path.join(root, '.build/preflight-benchmark')
+mkdirSync(output, { recursive: true })
+const env = { ...process.env, ORCA_BACKGROUND_LAUNCH: '1' }
+const report = {
+  sourceSha: process.env.GITHUB_SHA ?? null,
+  comparison,
+  host: {
+    platform: process.platform,
+    arch: process.arch,
+    node: process.version,
+    memoryBytes: totalmem(),
+    cores: availableParallelism()
+  },
+  method:
+    'Four counterbalanced pairs on one checkout; baseline comes from its first parent. Smoke clears build output each run; native and download caches are warmed for both arms.',
+  measurements: []
+}
+const save = () =>
+  writeFileSync(
+    path.join(output, `critical-path-${comparison}.json`),
+    `${JSON.stringify(report, null, 2)}\n`
+  )
+
+function baselineSource(file) {
+  const result = runProcessSync({ program: 'git', args: ['show', `HEAD^1:${file}`], cwd: root })
+  if (result.code !== 0 || result.outputTruncated) {
+    throw new Error(`Cannot read baseline ${file}`)
+  }
+  return result.stdout
+}
+async function command(program, args, label) {
+  const result = await measurePreflightCommand({ program, args, label, root, output, env })
+  if (result.code !== 0 || result.signal || result.timedOut) {
+    throw new Error(`${label}: ${JSON.stringify(result)}`)
+  }
+  return result
+}
+
+const baselineName =
+  comparison === 'smoke'
+    ? 'runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs'
+    : comparison === 'typecheck'
+      ? 'run-typecheck-projects-in-parallel.mjs'
+      : 'check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.mjs'
+const baselineFile = path.join(root, 'config/scripts', `.benchmark-baseline-${baselineName}`)
+const runnerFile = path.join(output, 'baseline-smoke-runner.mjs')
+writeFileSync(baselineFile, baselineSource(`config/scripts/${baselineName}`))
+
+try {
+  if (comparison !== 'smoke') {
+    report.host.bun = (
+      await command('bun', ['--version'], 'critical-path-bun-version')
+    ).stdout.trim()
+    if (report.host.bun !== '1.4.3') {
+      throw new Error('Pin Bun 1.4.3')
+    }
+  }
+  if (comparison === 'sync-spawn') {
+    const baseline = await import(new URL(`./.benchmark-baseline-${baselineName}`, import.meta.url))
+    const candidate = await import('./check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.mjs')
+    const sources = candidate.collectSyncSpawnSources(root)
+    let analyzed = 0
+    for (const [file, contents] of sources) {
+      const before = baseline.collectSyncLaunchUses(file, contents)
+      const after = candidate.collectSyncLaunchUses(file, contents)
+      if (JSON.stringify(before) !== JSON.stringify(after)) {
+        throw new Error(`Findings changed: ${file}`)
+      }
+      analyzed++
+    }
+    for (const source of ['import {', 'const broken = ;']) {
+      for (const implementation of [baseline, candidate]) {
+        let rejected = false
+        try {
+          implementation.collectSyncLaunchUses('src/main/malformed.ts', source)
+        } catch {
+          rejected = true
+        }
+        if (!rejected) {
+          throw new Error('Malformed source was accepted')
+        }
+      }
+    }
+    report.parity = `Identical counts and symbols for all ${analyzed} production files; both reject malformed syntax.`
+  } else if (comparison === 'smoke') {
+    const steps = [
+      [process.execPath, ['config/scripts/ensure-native-runtime.mjs', '--runtime=node']],
+      ['pnpm', ['run', 'build:cli']],
+      ['pnpm', ['run', 'build:orcad']],
+      [process.execPath, [baselineFile, '--target', 'orcad']]
+    ]
+    writeFileSync(
+      runnerFile,
+      `import { runProcessSync } from '@orca/process-host';
+for (const [program, args] of ${JSON.stringify(steps)}) {
+  const result = runProcessSync({ program, args, cwd: ${JSON.stringify(root)}, stdio: 'inherit', timeoutMs: null });
+  if (result.code !== 0 || result.signal) process.exit(result.code || 1);
+}\n`
+    )
+    await command('pnpm', ['run', 'build:orcad'], 'critical-path-smoke-warmup')
+    report.parity =
+      'Both clients must pass pairing, worktree, PTY and execution-host CLI round trips.'
+  } else {
+    report.parity =
+      'Same four projects, Bun version, two processes and two threads; both suites must pass.'
+  }
+
+  let findings
+  for (const [pair, order] of buildCounterbalancedSchedule(4, 'baseline', 'candidate').entries()) {
+    for (const arm of order) {
+      let result
+      if (comparison === 'smoke') {
+        rmSync(path.join(root, 'out'), { recursive: true, force: true })
+        result =
+          arm === 'baseline'
+            ? await command(process.execPath, [runnerFile], `smoke-${pair}-${arm}`)
+            : await command('pnpm', ['run', 'smoke:orcad-terminal'], `smoke-${pair}-${arm}`)
+        for (const marker of [
+          'terminal round trip OK',
+          'execution host CLI round trip OK',
+          '[serve-terminal-smoke] PASS'
+        ]) {
+          if (!result.stdout.includes(marker)) {
+            throw new Error(`Smoke skipped ${marker}: ${arm}`)
+          }
+        }
+      } else if (comparison === 'typecheck') {
+        result = await command(
+          process.execPath,
+          [
+            arm === 'baseline' ? baselineFile : `config/scripts/${baselineName}`,
+            '--compiler=bun',
+            '--bun-concurrency=2',
+            '--bun-threads=2'
+          ],
+          `typecheck-${pair}-${arm}`
+        )
+      } else {
+        result = await command(
+          'bun',
+          [arm === 'baseline' ? baselineFile : `config/scripts/${baselineName}`],
+          `sync-spawn-${pair}-${arm}`
+        )
+        if (findings !== undefined && findings !== result.stdout) {
+          throw new Error(`Ratchet findings changed: ${arm}`)
+        }
+        findings = result.stdout
+      }
+      report.measurements.push({ pair, arm, ...result })
+      save()
+      console.log(JSON.stringify({ comparison, pair, arm, durationMs: result.durationMs }))
+    }
+  }
+  report.summary = Object.fromEntries(
+    ['baseline', 'candidate'].map((arm) => [
+      arm,
+      summarizeBenchmarkSamples(
+        report.measurements
+          .filter((sample) => sample.arm === arm)
+          .map((sample) => sample.durationMs)
+      )
+    ])
+  )
+  save()
+  console.log(JSON.stringify(report.summary))
+} finally {
+  rmSync(baselineFile, { force: true })
+  rmSync(runnerFile, { force: true })
+}
diff --git a/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.mjs b/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.mjs
index 99464da96df..1b8a7ace326 100644
--- a/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.mjs
@@ -64,6 +64,12 @@ const GATED_FAMILIES = [
   { modules: ['src/main/win32-utils'], advice: { grantDirAcl: 'use grantDirAclAsync' } }
 ]
 const ADVICE = new Map(GATED_FAMILIES.flatMap((family) => Object.entries(family.advice)))
+const GATED_MARKERS = [
+  ...ADVICE.keys(),
+  ...new Set(
+    GATED_FAMILIES.flatMap((family) => family.modules.map((module) => path.posix.basename(module)))
+  )
+]
 // Only spread-free calls with no options or a literal with absent/false `sync` are exempt.
 const SYNC_FLAG_SYMBOLS = new Set(['hardenSecurePath'])
 const FALLBACK_OPERATORS = new Set([ts.SyntaxKind.QuestionQuestionToken, ts.SyntaxKind.BarBarToken])
@@ -165,10 +171,17 @@ function isValueReference(node) {
  * Counted by reference only: not traced through non-const holders or the file's own wrappers.
  */
 export function collectSyncLaunchUses(file, contents) {
-  const source = ts.createSourceFile(file, contents, ts.ScriptTarget.Latest, true)
+  // Escaped spellings and relative imports inside gated modules still need the full analysis.
+  const analyze =
+    contents.includes('\\') ||
+    GATED_MARKERS.some((marker) => contents.includes(marker) || file.includes(marker))
+  const source = ts.createSourceFile(file, contents, ts.ScriptTarget.Latest, analyze)
   if (source.parseDiagnostics.length > 0) {
     throw new Error(`Cannot parse ${file}; the sync-spawn ratchet must not skip it.`)
   }
+  if (!analyze) {
+    return { count: 0, symbols: [] }
+  }
   const used = new Set()
   let count = 0
   const namespaces = new Map()
diff --git a/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.test.mjs b/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.test.mjs
index b622cc99d7b..de957aa6b5c 100644
--- a/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.test.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/check-main-sync-spawn-ratchet.test.mjs
@@ -41,6 +41,19 @@ function captureErrors() {
 }
 
 describe('main sync-spawn ratchet', () => {
+  it('retains escaped imports and API names', () => {
+    expect(
+      uses(String.raw`import { \u0065xecSync as run } from 'node:child_\u0070rocess'; run('git')`)
+    ).toEqual({ count: 1, symbols: ['execSync'] })
+  })
+
+  it('retains exports whose module name is inherited from the containing directory', () => {
+    expect(uses("export * from '.'", 'src/main/wsl/consumer.ts')).toEqual({
+      count: 4,
+      symbols: ['getWslHome', 'isWslAvailable', 'listWslDistros', 'wslUncDirectoryExists']
+    })
+  })
+
   it.each([
     ["import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process'\nexecFileSync('git')", 1, ['execFileSync']],
     [
@@ -212,9 +225,12 @@ describe('main sync-spawn ratchet', () => {
     expect([...(gatedSymbolsFor('src\\main\\foo\\x.ts', '..\\wsl') ?? [])]).toContain('getWslHome')
   })
 
-  it('fails closed on source it cannot parse', () => {
-    expect(() => uses('import {')).toThrow('Cannot parse src/main/consumer.ts')
-  })
+  it.each(['import {', 'const broken = ;'])(
+    'fails closed on source it cannot parse: %s',
+    (source) => {
+      expect(() => uses(source)).toThrow('Cannot parse src/main/consumer.ts')
+    }
+  )
 
   it('counts only production main and shared source', () => {
     const sync = "import { execSync } from 'node:child_process'\nexecSync('a')\nexecSync('b')"
diff --git a/config/scripts/run-typecheck-bun-queue.test.mjs b/config/scripts/run-typecheck-bun-queue.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..837cd8fde6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/run-typecheck-bun-queue.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+import { EventEmitter } from 'node:events'
+import { beforeEach, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { runTypecheckProjects, TYPECHECK_PROJECTS } from './run-typecheck-projects-in-parallel.mjs'
+
+const spawn = vi.fn()
+let children
+let active
+let peak
+beforeEach(() => {
+  children = []
+  active = 0
+  peak = 0
+  spawn.mockReset().mockImplementation((spec) => {
+    const child = new EventEmitter()
+    children.push({ child, spec })
+    active++
+    peak = Math.max(peak, active)
+    child.once('close', () => {
+      active--
+    })
+    return child
+  })
+})
+
+function start(memoryBytes = 16 * 1024 ** 3) {
+  return runTypecheckProjects({
+    compiler: 'bun',
+    bunConcurrency: 2,
+    bunThreads: 2,
+    spawnCompiler: spawn,
+    memoryBytes,
+    parallelism: 4
+  })
+}
+
+it('fills a freed compiler slot while the other project is still running', async () => {
+  const result = start()
+  expect(children).toHaveLength(2)
+  children[1].child.emit('close', 0, null)
+  await vi.waitFor(() => expect(children).toHaveLength(3))
+  children[2].child.emit('close', 0, null)
+  await vi.waitFor(() => expect(children).toHaveLength(4))
+  expect(active).toBe(2)
+  children[3].child.emit('close', 0, null)
+  children[0].child.emit('close', 0, null)
+  expect(await result).toEqual([])
+  expect(peak).toBe(2)
+  expect(children.map(({ spec }) => spec.args[spec.args.indexOf('-p') + 1])).toEqual(
+    TYPECHECK_PROJECTS.map(({ config }) => config)
+  )
+  expect(children.every(({ spec }) => spec.args[spec.args.indexOf('--threads') + 1] === '2')).toBe(
+    true
+  )
+})
+
+it('keeps checking after compiler failures and reports errors in project order', async () => {
+  const result = start()
+  children[1].child.emit('close', 1, null)
+  await vi.waitFor(() => expect(children).toHaveLength(3))
+  children[0].child.emit('close', null, 'SIGKILL')
+  await vi.waitFor(() => expect(children).toHaveLength(4))
+  children[2].child.emit('close', 0, null)
+  children[3].child.emit('close', 0, null)
+  expect((await result).map(({ message }) => message)).toEqual([
+    'bun config/tsconfig.node.json exited with signal SIGKILL',
+    'bun config/tsconfig.tc.web.json exited with code 1'
+  ])
+  expect(peak).toBe(2)
+})
+
+it('reduces the queue to one slot when two reservations exceed the memory budget', async () => {
+  const result = start(4 * 1024 ** 3)
+  expect(children).toHaveLength(1)
+  for (let index = 0; index < TYPECHECK_PROJECTS.length; index++) {
+    await vi.waitFor(() => expect(children).toHaveLength(index + 1))
+    children[index].child.emit('close', 0, null)
+  }
+  expect(await result).toEqual([])
+  expect(peak).toBe(1)
+})
diff --git a/config/scripts/run-typecheck-projects-in-parallel.mjs b/config/scripts/run-typecheck-projects-in-parallel.mjs
index 4c3e394c74f..91935273fc1 100644
--- a/config/scripts/run-typecheck-projects-in-parallel.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/run-typecheck-projects-in-parallel.mjs
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export function typecheckBatches(projects, { compiler, bunConcurrency, memoryByt
   )
 }
 
-function checkProject(config, { compiler, bunThreads, root }) {
+function checkProject(config, { compiler, bunThreads, root, spawnCompiler }) {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     const installedCompiler = resolveProjectCompilerInfo(config, root)
     // Bun 1.4.3 targets TypeScript 7.0.2; compiler upgrades require a new parity comparison.
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ function checkProject(config, { compiler, bunThreads, root }) {
         `Bun CI compiler targets TypeScript 7.0.2, but ${config} resolves ${installedCompiler.version}`
       )
     }
-    const child = spawnProcess({
+    const child = spawnCompiler({
       program: compiler === 'bun' ? 'bun' : process.execPath,
       args:
         compiler === 'bun'
@@ -138,15 +138,37 @@ export async function runTypecheckProjects({
   bunThreads = 4,
   root = repoRoot,
   projects = TYPECHECK_PROJECTS,
+  spawnCompiler = spawnProcess,
   memoryBytes = totalmem(),
   parallelism = availableParallelism()
 } = {}) {
   const batches = typecheckBatches(projects, { compiler, bunConcurrency, memoryBytes, parallelism })
+  if (compiler === 'bun') {
+    // Equal Bun reservations let a freed slot start the next project without waiting for peers.
+    const pending = batches.flat()
+    const failures = []
+    let next = 0
+    await Promise.all(
+      Array.from({ length: Math.max(0, ...batches.map((batch) => batch.length)) }, async () => {
+        while (next < pending.length) {
+          const index = next++
+          try {
+            await checkProject(pending[index].config, { compiler, bunThreads, root, spawnCompiler })
+          } catch (reason) {
+            failures.push({ index, reason })
+          }
+        }
+      })
+    )
+    return failures.sort((left, right) => left.index - right.index).map(({ reason }) => reason)
+  }
   // Every batch runs even after one fails, so a single broken project still reports the rest.
   const failures = []
   for (const batch of batches) {
     const results = await Promise.allSettled(
-      batch.map((project) => checkProject(project.config, { compiler, bunThreads, root }))
+      batch.map((project) =>
+        checkProject(project.config, { compiler, bunThreads, root, spawnCompiler })
+      )
     )
     for (const result of results) {
       if (result.status === 'rejected') {
diff --git a/config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs b/config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs
index 10248cb965e..70f408c9f49 100644
--- a/config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs
@@ -28,7 +28,10 @@ import { dirname, join, resolve } from 'node:path'
 import { pathToFileURL } from 'node:url'
 import { randomBytes } from 'node:crypto'
 import process from 'node:process'
-import { ORCAD_SERVER_ENTRY_FILENAME } from '../../src/shared/orcad-artifacts.ts'
+import {
+  ORCAD_CLI_ENTRY_FILENAME,
+  ORCAD_SERVER_ENTRY_FILENAME
+} from '../../src/shared/orcad-artifacts.ts'
 import { packagedNodeRuntimePath } from './build-orcad-node.mjs'
 import { currentTarget } from './server-build-target.mjs'
 
@@ -52,11 +55,21 @@ function fail(message) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Prefer the CLI built from this checkout over whatever `orca` is on PATH: it is the
- * version under test, and a CI runner has no installed Orca app to fall back on.
+ * Orcad uses its packaged CLI and Node; Electron prefers the checkout's desktop CLI.
  */
-function resolveCli() {
-  const built = join(projectDir, 'out', 'cli', 'index.js')
+export function resolveCli(target, root = projectDir) {
+  if (target === 'orcad') {
+    const directory = join(root, 'out', 'orcad')
+    const built = join(directory, ORCAD_CLI_ENTRY_FILENAME)
+    if (!existsSync(built)) {
+      throw new Error(`Missing packaged Orcad CLI at ${built}; run pnpm build:orcad`)
+    }
+    return {
+      command: packagedNodeRuntimePath(directory, currentTarget()),
+      prefix: [built]
+    }
+  }
+  const built = join(root, 'out', 'cli', 'index.js')
   return existsSync(built)
     ? { command: process.execPath, prefix: [built] }
     : { command: 'orca', prefix: [] }
@@ -64,7 +77,7 @@ function resolveCli() {
 
 /** The `orca` CLI, driven with an explicit pairing code so it targets this server only. */
 function orca(pairingCode, args) {
-  const cli = resolveCli()
+  const cli = resolveCli(smokeTarget())
   const result = spawnSync(
     cli.command,
     [...cli.prefix, ...args, '--pairing-code', pairingCode, '--json'],
@@ -170,12 +183,17 @@ async function waitForNonce(pairingCode, terminalHandle, nonce) {
  * contract as the Electron server, proven by the same code rather than a parallel test
  * that could drift into asserting less.
  */
-function resolveLaunch(userDataDir) {
+function smokeTarget() {
   // Why a flag and not just an env var: package scripts have to set this on Windows too,
   // and `FOO=bar cmd` is not portable there.
   const flagIndex = process.argv.indexOf('--target')
-  const target =
-    flagIndex !== -1 ? process.argv[flagIndex + 1] : (process.env.ORCA_SMOKE_TARGET ?? 'electron')
+  return flagIndex !== -1
+    ? process.argv[flagIndex + 1]
+    : (process.env.ORCA_SMOKE_TARGET ?? 'electron')
+}
+
+function resolveLaunch(userDataDir) {
+  const target = smokeTarget()
   if (target === 'orcad') {
     return {
       label: `orcad (${ORCAD_ENTRY})`,
@@ -372,7 +390,7 @@ async function main() {
   } finally {
     // Why before SIGTERM: worktree removal is a server operation, so it needs the server.
     if (seeded?.worktreeId && pairing) {
-      const cleanupCli = resolveCli()
+      const cleanupCli = resolveCli(smokeTarget())
       const removed = spawnSync(
         cleanupCli.command,
         [
@@ -428,4 +446,6 @@ async function main() {
   }
 }
 
-await main()
+if (process.argv[1] && import.meta.url === pathToFileURL(resolve(process.argv[1])).href) {
+  await main()
+}
diff --git a/config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.test.mjs b/config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ff0c2a450d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
+import { afterEach, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { resolveCli } from './runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs'
+import { packagedNodeRuntimePath } from './build-orcad-node.mjs'
+import { currentTarget } from './server-build-target.mjs'
+import { ORCAD_CLI_ENTRY_FILENAME } from '../../src/shared/orcad-artifacts.ts'
+
+const roots = []
+afterEach(() => {
+  for (const root of roots.splice(0)) {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+})
+
+function checkout() {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-smoke-cli-'))
+  roots.push(root)
+  const emitted = join(root, 'out', 'cli', 'index.js')
+  mkdirSync(dirname(emitted), { recursive: true })
+  writeFileSync(emitted, '')
+  return root
+}
+
+it('drives Orcad with its packaged CLI and pinned Node even when a desktop CLI exists', () => {
+  const root = checkout()
+  const directory = join(root, 'out', 'orcad')
+  const bundled = join(directory, ORCAD_CLI_ENTRY_FILENAME)
+  mkdirSync(dirname(bundled), { recursive: true })
+  writeFileSync(bundled, '')
+  expect(resolveCli('orcad', root)).toEqual({
+    command: packagedNodeRuntimePath(directory, currentTarget()),
+    prefix: [bundled]
+  })
+})
+
+it('fails if the packaged CLI is missing instead of using a stale desktop CLI', () => {
+  expect(() => resolveCli('orcad', checkout())).toThrow('Missing packaged Orcad CLI')
+})
+
+it('retains the built desktop CLI for the Electron smoke', () => {
+  const root = checkout()
+  expect(resolveCli('electron', root)).toEqual({
+    command: process.execPath,
+    prefix: [join(root, 'out', 'cli', 'index.js')]
+  })
+})
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 54be0c50371..4a79ce6e2b8 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
     "build:orcad": "pnpm run build:packages && node config/scripts/build-orcad-node.mjs",
     "build:orcad-template": "pnpm run build:packages && node config/scripts/build-orcad-template.mjs",
     "build:orcad-prebuilds": "pnpm run build:packages && node config/scripts/build-orcad-prebuilds.mjs",
-    "smoke:orcad-terminal": "node config/scripts/ensure-native-runtime.mjs --runtime=node && pnpm run build:cli && pnpm run build:orcad && node config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs --target orcad",
+    "smoke:orcad-terminal": "node config/scripts/ensure-native-runtime.mjs --runtime=node && pnpm run build:orcad && node config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs --target orcad",
     "smoke:serve-terminal": "node config/scripts/runtime-serve-terminal-smoke.mjs",
     "check:feature-wall-assets": "node config/scripts/check-feature-wall-assets.mjs",
     "generate:rpc-params-catalog": "node config/scripts/generate-rpc-params-catalog.mjs",
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/browser-pane/workspace-doc/HtmlDocPreview.tsx b/src/renderer/src/components/browser-pane/workspace-doc/HtmlDocPreview.tsx
index f197a6af72b..ad1234bbf36 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/browser-pane/workspace-doc/HtmlDocPreview.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/browser-pane/workspace-doc/HtmlDocPreview.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import type {
   DocPreviewFileFailure,
   DocPreviewFileFailureReason
 } from '../../../../../shared/doc-preview-scheme'
-import type { BrowserPageConversionOrigin } from '../../../../../shared/browser-workspace-types'
+import type { HtmlDocPreviewProps } from './html-doc-preview-props'
 import {
   advanceAcrossBrowserPageConversion,
   returnAcrossBrowserPageConversion
@@ -52,21 +52,7 @@ export function HtmlDocPreview({
   externalSshTargetId = null,
   convertedFrom = null,
   convertedTo = null
-}: {
-  previewId: string
-  filePath: string
-  relativePath: string
-  worktreeId: string
-  /** Whether this preview is the surface the reader is in, and so may hold the keyboard. */
-  holdsGuestFocus?: boolean
-  isActive?: boolean
-  runtimeEnvironmentId?: string | null
-  externalSshTargetId?: string | null
-  /** Set when the address bar converted this page; Back returns across it once guest history runs out. */
-  convertedFrom?: BrowserPageConversionOrigin | null
-  /** Set when Back returned across a conversion to this page; Forward re-crosses it. */
-  convertedTo?: BrowserPageConversionOrigin | null
-}): React.JSX.Element {
+}: HtmlDocPreviewProps): React.JSX.Element {
   const containerRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null)
   const webviewRef = useRef<Electron.WebviewTag | null>(null)
   const reloadRef = useRef<(() => void) | null>(null)
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/browser-pane/workspace-doc/html-doc-preview-props.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/browser-pane/workspace-doc/html-doc-preview-props.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..03023a8bb69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/browser-pane/workspace-doc/html-doc-preview-props.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import type { BrowserPageConversionOrigin } from '../../../../../shared/browser-workspace-types'
+
+export type HtmlDocPreviewProps = {
+  previewId: string
+  filePath: string
+  relativePath: string
+  worktreeId: string
+  /** Whether this preview is the surface the reader is in, and so may hold the keyboard. */
+  holdsGuestFocus?: boolean
+  isActive?: boolean
+  runtimeEnvironmentId?: string | null
+  externalSshTargetId?: string | null
+  /** Set when the address bar converted this page; Back returns across it once guest history runs out. */
+  convertedFrom?: BrowserPageConversionOrigin | null
+  /** Set when Back returned across a conversion to this page; Forward re-crosses it. */
+  convertedTo?: BrowserPageConversionOrigin | null
+}