diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 870f7cd..33eb95a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -173,6 +173,23 @@ jobs:
           }
         shell: pwsh
 
+      - name: Test daemon lifecycle (open, snapshot, close)
+        run: |
+          $env:PATH = "$pwd\bin;$env:PATH"
+          Write-Host "--- Opening page ---"
+          bin/agent-browser-win32-x64.exe open https://example.com
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { Write-Error "open failed"; exit 1 }
+          Write-Host "--- Taking snapshot ---"
+          $snapshot = bin/agent-browser-win32-x64.exe snapshot
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { Write-Error "snapshot failed"; exit 1 }
+          Write-Host $snapshot
+          Write-Host "--- Closing browser ---"
+          bin/agent-browser-win32-x64.exe close
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { Write-Error "close failed"; exit 1 }
+          Write-Host "--- Windows daemon lifecycle test passed ---"
+        shell: pwsh
+        timeout-minutes: 5
+
   serverless-chromium:
     name: Serverless Chromium (@sparticuz/chromium)
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/cli/src/connection.rs b/cli/src/connection.rs
index dc4de8c..6405985 100644
--- a/cli/src/connection.rs
+++ b/cli/src/connection.rs
@@ -355,6 +355,17 @@ pub fn ensure_daemon(
     let exe_path = env::current_exe().map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
     // Canonicalize to resolve symlinks (e.g., npm global bin symlink -> actual binary)
     let exe_path = exe_path.canonicalize().unwrap_or(exe_path);
+    // On Windows, canonicalize() returns \\?\ prefixed extended-length paths.
+    // Node.js cannot handle these, so strip the prefix.
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    let exe_path = {
+        let p = exe_path.to_string_lossy();
+        if let Some(stripped) = p.strip_prefix(r"\\?\") {
+            PathBuf::from(stripped)
+        } else {
+            exe_path
+        }
+    };
     let exe_dir = exe_path.parent().unwrap();
 
     let mut daemon_paths = vec![
@@ -404,10 +415,11 @@ pub fn ensure_daemon(
     {
         use std::os::windows::process::CommandExt;
 
-        // On Windows, call node directly. Command::new handles PATH resolution (node.exe or node.cmd)
-        // and automatically quotes arguments containing spaces.
-        let mut cmd = Command::new("node");
-        cmd.arg(daemon_path);
+        // Use node.exe explicitly to avoid Git Bash/MSYS2 shell wrapper resolution
+        let mut cmd = Command::new("node.exe");
+        cmd.arg(daemon_path)
+            .env("MSYS_NO_PATHCONV", "1")
+            .env("MSYS2_ARG_CONV_EXCL", "*");
         apply_daemon_env(&mut cmd, session, opts);
 
         // CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP | DETACHED_PROCESS
@@ -431,10 +443,20 @@ pub fn ensure_daemon(
         thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
     }
 
-    Err(format!(
-        "Daemon failed to start (socket: {})",
-        get_socket_dir().join(format!("{}.sock", session)).display()
-    ))
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    let endpoint_info = format!(
+        "socket: {}",
+        get_socket_dir()
+            .join(format!("{}.sock", session))
+            .display()
+    );
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    let endpoint_info = format!(
+        "port: 127.0.0.1:{}",
+        get_port_for_session(session)
+    );
+
+    Err(format!("Daemon failed to start ({})", endpoint_info))
 }
 
 fn connect(session: &str) -> Result<Connection, String> {
diff --git a/cli/src/main.rs b/cli/src/main.rs
index c56a423..fa1550e 100644
--- a/cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/cli/src/main.rs
@@ -31,6 +31,15 @@ use std::process::Command as ProcessCommand;
 fn run_auth_cli(cmd: &serde_json::Value, json_mode: bool) -> ! {
     let exe_path = env::current_exe().unwrap_or_default();
     let exe_path = exe_path.canonicalize().unwrap_or(exe_path);
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    let exe_path = {
+        let p = exe_path.to_string_lossy();
+        if let Some(stripped) = p.strip_prefix(r"\\?\") {
+            PathBuf::from(stripped)
+        } else {
+            exe_path
+        }
+    };
     let exe_dir = exe_path.parent().unwrap_or(std::path::Path::new("."));
 
     let mut script_paths = vec![
@@ -233,6 +242,13 @@ fn main() {
         libc::signal(libc::SIGPIPE, libc::SIG_DFL);
     }
 
+    // Prevent MSYS/Git Bash path translation from mangling arguments
+    #[cfg(windows)]
+    {
+        env::set_var("MSYS_NO_PATHCONV", "1");
+        env::set_var("MSYS2_ARG_CONV_EXCL", "*");
+    }
+
     let args: Vec<String> = env::args().skip(1).collect();
     let flags = parse_flags(&args);
     let clean = clean_args(&args);
diff --git a/scripts/postinstall.js b/scripts/postinstall.js
index 6301cf8..8cf2a88 100644
--- a/scripts/postinstall.js
+++ b/scripts/postinstall.js
@@ -187,46 +187,42 @@ async function fixUnixSymlink() {
  * We overwrite them to invoke the native .exe directly.
  */
 async function fixWindowsShims() {
-  // Check if this is a global install by looking for npm's global prefix
   let npmBinDir;
   try {
     npmBinDir = execSync('npm prefix -g', { encoding: 'utf8' }).trim();
   } catch {
-    return; // Not a global install or npm not available
+    return;
   }
 
-  // The shims are in the npm prefix directory (not prefix/bin on Windows)
   const cmdShim = join(npmBinDir, 'agent-browser.cmd');
   const ps1Shim = join(npmBinDir, 'agent-browser.ps1');
 
-  // Only fix if shims exist (indicates global install)
+  // Shims may not exist yet during postinstall (npm creates them after
+  // lifecycle scripts). If missing, fall back: the JS wrapper at
+  // bin/agent-browser.js handles Windows correctly via child_process.spawn.
   if (!existsSync(cmdShim)) {
     return;
   }
 
-  // Path to native binary relative to npm prefix
-  const relativeBinaryPath = 'node_modules\\agent-browser\\bin\\agent-browser-win32-x64.exe';
+  // Detect architecture so ARM64 Windows is handled correctly
+  const cpuArch = arch() === 'arm64' ? 'arm64' : 'x64';
+  const relativeBinaryPath = `node_modules\\agent-browser\\bin\\agent-browser-win32-${cpuArch}.exe`;
+  const absoluteBinaryPath = join(npmBinDir, relativeBinaryPath);
+
+  // Only rewrite shims if the native binary actually exists
+  if (!existsSync(absoluteBinaryPath)) {
+    return;
+  }
 
   try {
-    // Overwrite .cmd shim
     const cmdContent = `@ECHO off\r\n"%~dp0${relativeBinaryPath}" %*\r\n`;
     writeFileSync(cmdShim, cmdContent);
 
-    // Overwrite .ps1 shim
-    const ps1Content = `#!/usr/bin/env pwsh
-$basedir = Split-Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition -Parent
-$exe = ""
-if ($PSVersionTable.PSVersion -lt "6.0" -or $IsWindows) {
-  $exe = ".exe"
-}
-& "$basedir/${relativeBinaryPath.replace(/\\/g, '/')}" $args
-exit $LASTEXITCODE
-`;
+    const ps1Content = `#!/usr/bin/env pwsh\r\n$basedir = Split-Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition -Parent\r\n& "$basedir\\${relativeBinaryPath}" $args\r\nexit $LASTEXITCODE\r\n`;
     writeFileSync(ps1Shim, ps1Content);
 
     console.log('✓ Optimized: shims point to native binary (zero overhead)');
   } catch (err) {
-    // Permission error or other issue - not critical, JS wrapper still works
     console.log(`⚠ Could not optimize shims: ${err.message}`);
     console.log('  CLI will work via Node.js wrapper (slightly slower startup)');
   }