diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index bb4a3a7..b43f11b 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -827,6 +827,9 @@ async function runClaudeCode(
     const child = spawn(claudePath, spawnArgs, {
       stdio: "inherit",
       env,
+      // On Windows the resolved launcher is a .cmd batch file; CreateProcess
+      // cannot run .cmd directly, it must go through cmd.exe (shell: true).
+      shell: process.platform === "win32",
     });
 
     child.on("error", (err) => {
diff --git a/src/path.ts b/src/path.ts
index 76c1cf7..5222548 100644
--- a/src/path.ts
+++ b/src/path.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,18 @@ export function getInstallationPath(id: string = DEFAULT_INSTALLATION_ID): strin
 export function resolveClaudePath(): string {
   try {
     if (process.platform === "win32") {
-      return execSync("where claude", { encoding: "utf-8" }).trim().split(/\r?\n/)[0] ?? "claude";
+      const candidates = execSync("where claude", { encoding: "utf-8" })
+        .trim()
+        .split(/\r?\n/)
+        .filter(Boolean);
+      // `where` lists the extension-less sh shim first. CreateProcess (used by
+      // child_process.spawn without a shell) cannot execute it, so pick the
+      // .cmd/.exe/.bat launcher that Windows actually runs.
+      return (
+        candidates.find((p) => /\.(cmd|exe|bat)$/i.test(p)) ??
+        candidates[0] ??
+        "claude"
+      );
     }
     return execSync("which claude", { encoding: "utf-8" }).trim();
   } catch {