diff --git a/.changeset/launcher-spawn-fallback.md b/.changeset/launcher-spawn-fallback.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5ef4061ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/launcher-spawn-fallback.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"hunkdiff": patch
+---
+
+Fall back to the bundled Bun runtime when the npm launcher cannot start the prebuilt binary, such as when Windows Application Control blocks it.
diff --git a/packages/hunk/bin/hunk.cjs b/packages/hunk/bin/hunk.cjs
index 19e943592..fa9865335 100755
--- a/packages/hunk/bin/hunk.cjs
+++ b/packages/hunk/bin/hunk.cjs
@@ -25,7 +25,12 @@ function ensureExecutable(target) {
   }
 }
 
-function run(target, args) {
+/**
+ * Runs a target and exits with its status. When `onSpawnError` is given, a failure to create the
+ * process (for example Windows Application Control blocking an unsigned executable) calls it
+ * instead of exiting so the caller can try another runtime.
+ */
+function run(target, args, onSpawnError) {
   ensureExecutable(target);
   const result = childProcess.spawnSync(target, args, {
     stdio: "inherit",
@@ -33,6 +38,11 @@ function run(target, args) {
   });
 
   if (result.error) {
+    if (onSpawnError) {
+      onSpawnError(result.error);
+      return;
+    }
+
     console.error(result.error.message);
     process.exit(1);
   }
@@ -121,14 +131,25 @@ if (overrideBinary) {
 
 const scriptDir = path.dirname(fs.realpathSync(__filename));
 const prebuiltBinary = findInstalledBinary(scriptDir);
+const bunBinary = bundledBunRuntime();
+const bunEntrypoint = path.join(__dirname, "..", "dist", "npm", "main.js");
+
 if (prebuiltBinary) {
-  run(prebuiltBinary, forwardedArgs);
+  run(prebuiltBinary, forwardedArgs, (error) => {
+    // Without a bundled Bun runtime there is nothing to fall back to, so surface the real error.
+    if (!bunBinary) {
+      console.error(error.message);
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+
+    console.error(
+      `hunk: could not start the prebuilt binary (${error.message}); falling back to the bundled Bun runtime.`,
+    );
+  });
 }
 
-const bunBinary = bundledBunRuntime();
 if (bunBinary) {
-  const entrypoint = path.join(__dirname, "..", "dist", "npm", "main.js");
-  run(bunBinary, [entrypoint, ...forwardedArgs]);
+  run(bunBinary, [bunEntrypoint, ...forwardedArgs]);
 }
 
 const printablePackages = hostCandidates()
diff --git a/test/cli/entrypoint.test.ts b/test/cli/entrypoint.test.ts
index b047284e4..3c134a25c 100644
--- a/test/cli/entrypoint.test.ts
+++ b/test/cli/entrypoint.test.ts
@@ -243,6 +243,51 @@ describe("CLI entrypoint contracts", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  test("bin wrapper falls back to the bundled Bun runtime when the prebuilt binary cannot start", () => {
+    if (process.platform === "win32") {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const platform = { darwin: "darwin", linux: "linux" }[process.platform as string];
+    const arch = { x64: "x64", arm64: "arm64" }[process.arch as string];
+    if (!platform || !arch) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hunk-wrapper-spawn-fallback-"));
+    const pkgDir = join(tempDir, "node_modules", "hunkdiff");
+    const tempWrapperPath = join(pkgDir, "bin", "hunk.cjs");
+    const fakeBunPath = join(pkgDir, "node_modules", "bun", "bin", "bun.exe");
+
+    try {
+      mkdirSync(join(pkgDir, "bin"), { recursive: true });
+      copyFileSync(join(process.cwd(), "packages", "hunk", "bin", "hunk.cjs"), tempWrapperPath);
+
+      // A directory in place of the binary makes process creation fail the way a blocked exe does.
+      mkdirSync(join(pkgDir, "node_modules", `hunkdiff-${platform}-${arch}`, "bin", "hunk"), {
+        recursive: true,
+      });
+      mkdirSync(join(pkgDir, "node_modules", "bun", "bin"), { recursive: true });
+      writeFileSync(join(pkgDir, "node_modules", "bun", "package.json"), '{"name":"bun"}');
+      writeFileSync(fakeBunPath, '#!/bin/sh\necho "bun-fallback $@"\n', { mode: 0o755 });
+
+      const proc = Bun.spawnSync(["node", tempWrapperPath, "--version"], {
+        cwd: tempDir,
+        stdin: "ignore",
+        stdout: "pipe",
+        stderr: "pipe",
+        env: process.env,
+      });
+
+      expect(proc.exitCode).toBe(0);
+      expect(Buffer.from(proc.stdout).toString("utf8")).toContain("bun-fallback");
+      expect(Buffer.from(proc.stdout).toString("utf8")).toContain("--version");
+      expect(Buffer.from(proc.stderr).toString("utf8")).toContain("falling back");
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(tempDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   test("bin wrapper fails clearly when the bundled skill is missing", () => {
     const tempDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hunk-wrapper-skill-missing-"));
     const tempBinDir = join(tempDir, "bin");