diff --git a/config/scripts/pr-e2e-source-routing.mjs b/config/scripts/pr-e2e-source-routing.mjs
index ecfc528a113..e0efd468096 100644
--- a/config/scripts/pr-e2e-source-routing.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/pr-e2e-source-routing.mjs
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ export const PR_E2E_SOURCE_ROUTES = [
     ],
     matches: (file) =>
       isProductSource(file) &&
-      /^(?:config\/scripts\/(?:verify-wsl-e2e-participation|verify-playwright-participation)\.mjs$|src\/main\/(?:wsl[/-]|pty\/.*wsl|providers\/wsl)|src\/shared\/(?:wsl-|windows-terminal-shell)|src\/renderer\/src\/.*(?:terminal-paste|pty-paste)|tests\/e2e\/(?:golden-tab-bar-agent-launch\.spec|terminal-windows-shell-paste-ownership\.spec|helpers\/(?:wsl-golden-stub-agent|golden-stub-agent))|\.github\/(?:actions\/setup-wsl-test-runtime\/|workflows\/windows-wsl-e2e\.yml))/.test(
+      /^(?:config\/scripts\/(?:verify-wsl-e2e-participation|verify-playwright-participation)\.mjs$|src\/main\/(?:wsl[/-]|pty\/.*wsl|providers\/wsl)|src\/shared\/(?:wsl-|windows-terminal-shell)|src\/renderer\/src\/.*(?:terminal-paste|pty-paste)|tests\/e2e\/(?:golden-tab-bar-agent-launch\.spec|terminal-windows-shell-paste-ownership\.spec|terminal-inline-images-windows\.spec|helpers\/(?:wsl-golden-stub-agent|golden-stub-agent))|\.github\/(?:actions\/setup-wsl-test-runtime\/|workflows\/windows-wsl-e2e\.yml))/.test(
         file
       )
   },
diff --git a/config/scripts/wsl-e2e-lane-contract.test.mjs b/config/scripts/wsl-e2e-lane-contract.test.mjs
index 6790e19e5fe..f10f8284b3f 100644
--- a/config/scripts/wsl-e2e-lane-contract.test.mjs
+++ b/config/scripts/wsl-e2e-lane-contract.test.mjs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ describe('real WSL terminal lane', () => {
     'tests/e2e/helpers/wsl-golden-stub-agent.ts',
     'tests/e2e/golden-tab-bar-agent-launch.spec.ts',
     'tests/e2e/terminal-windows-shell-paste-ownership.spec.ts',
+    'tests/e2e/terminal-inline-images-windows.spec.ts',
     '.github/actions/setup-wsl-test-runtime/setup.ps1',
     '.github/workflows/windows-wsl-e2e.yml'
   ])('routes %s to both WSL sentinels', (path) => {
diff --git a/tests/e2e/terminal-inline-images-windows.spec.ts b/tests/e2e/terminal-inline-images-windows.spec.ts
index 564598811d4..3251bee9cea 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/terminal-inline-images-windows.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/terminal-inline-images-windows.spec.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto'
+import { writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import path from 'node:path'
 import { expect, test } from './helpers/orca-app'
 import { ensureTerminalVisible, waitForSessionReady } from './helpers/store'
 import {
@@ -21,7 +24,8 @@ test.skip(process.platform !== 'win32', 'Native Windows and WSL PTY coverage')
 for (const runtime of ['native', 'wsl'] as const) {
   for (const acceleration of ['off', 'on'] as const) {
     test(`@headful ${runtime}, ${acceleration}: PTY images and Kitty placeholders render on Windows`, async ({
-      orcaPage
+      orcaPage,
+      testRepoPath
     }, testInfo) => {
       await waitForSessionReady(orcaPage)
       await ensureTerminalVisible(orcaPage)
@@ -70,10 +74,17 @@ for (const runtime of ['native', 'wsl'] as const) {
         .toBe(acceleration === 'on')
       const ptyId = await waitForActivePanePtyId(orcaPage)
       const marker = 'WINDOWS_INLINE_IMAGES_DONE'
-      const payload = Buffer.from(`${inlineImagePayload(true)}${marker}\r\n`).toString('base64')
+      const rawPayload = `${inlineImagePayload(true)}${marker}\r\n`
+      const payload = Buffer.from(rawPayload).toString('base64')
+      // Why a file: this command is typed at PTY bind, before WSL bash reaches readline; a
+      // ~25 KB line in the kernel's cooked mode loses everything past 4095 bytes.
+      const payloadFile = `.orca-inline-images-${randomUUID()}.bin`
+      if (runtime === 'wsl') {
+        writeFileSync(path.join(testRepoPath, payloadFile), rawPayload)
+      }
       const command =
         runtime === 'wsl'
-          ? `printf '%s' '${payload}' | base64 -d; printf 'WSL_IMAGE_PROTOCOL=%s\\n' "$ORCA_IMAGE_PROTOCOL"`
+          ? `cat ${payloadFile}; rm -f ${payloadFile}; printf 'WSL_IMAGE_PROTOCOL=%s\\n' "$ORCA_IMAGE_PROTOCOL"`
           : nodeTerminalCommand(['-e', `process.stdout.write(Buffer.from('${payload}', 'base64'))`])
       await execInTerminal(orcaPage, ptyId, command)
       await waitForTerminalOutput(orcaPage, marker, 30_000)