diff --git a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
index 51c1f7b29468..53e7f6418058 100644
--- a/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
+++ b/apps/server/src/vcs/GitVcsDriverCore.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import { dedupeRemoteBranchesWithLocalMatches, normalizeGitRemoteUrl } from "@t3
 import * as HostProcess from "@t3tools/shared/HostProcess";
 import { compactTraceAttributes } from "@t3tools/shared/observability";
 import { decodeJsonResult } from "@t3tools/shared/schemaJson";
+import { resolveSpawnCommand } from "@t3tools/shared/shell";
 import { parseT3ProjectFile } from "@t3tools/shared/t3ProjectFile";
 import { resolveProjectFileBackedSetting } from "@t3tools/shared/projectSettings";
 import { gitCommandDuration, gitCommandsTotal, withMetrics } from "../observability/Metrics.ts";
@@ -977,11 +978,16 @@ export const makeGitVcsDriverCore = Effect.fn("makeGitVcsDriverCore")(function*
           ...input.env,
           ...trace2Monitor.env,
         };
+        const spawnEnv = { ...env, ...windowsLongPathConfigEnv(hostPlatform, env) };
+        const resolved = yield* resolveSpawnCommand("git", [], { env: spawnEnv });
+        // A git.cmd wrapper would need cmd.exe, which cuts multi-line commit
+        // messages at the first newline; leave that case to Node's lookup.
+        const executable = resolved.shell ? "git" : resolved.command;
         const child = yield* commandSpawner
           .spawn(
-            ChildProcess.make("git", commandInput.args, {
+            ChildProcess.make(executable, commandInput.args, {
               cwd: commandInput.cwd,
-              env: { ...env, ...windowsLongPathConfigEnv(hostPlatform, env) },
+              env: spawnEnv,
             }),
           )
           .pipe(
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/shell.test.ts b/packages/shared/src/shell.test.ts
index 428d0d5951f5..5f493c8044d3 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/shell.test.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/shell.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import {
   listLoginShellCandidates,
   mergePathEntries,
   mergePathValues,
+  preferGitForWindowsBinary,
   readEnvironmentFromLoginShell,
   readEnvironmentFromWindowsShell,
   readPathFromLaunchctl,
@@ -511,6 +512,70 @@ effectIt.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveCommandPath", (it) => {
   );
 });
 
+describe("preferGitForWindowsBinary", () => {
+  const files =
+    (...paths: Array<string>) =>
+    (filePath: string) =>
+      paths.includes(filePath);
+
+  it("runs the git.exe Git for Windows' launcher would start", () => {
+    // 2.56+ on x64. The PATHEXT scan returns the extension in PATHEXT's case.
+    expect(
+      preferGitForWindowsBinary(
+        "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.EXE",
+        {},
+        files(
+          "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\ucrt64\\bin\\git.exe",
+          "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\mingw64\\bin\\git.exe",
+        ),
+      ),
+    ).toBe("C:\\Program Files\\Git\\ucrt64\\bin\\git.exe");
+    // Before 2.56, and the portable build's bin launcher.
+    expect(
+      preferGitForWindowsBinary(
+        "D:\\PortableGit\\bin\\git.exe",
+        {},
+        files("D:\\PortableGit\\mingw64\\bin\\git.exe"),
+      ),
+    ).toBe("D:\\PortableGit\\mingw64\\bin\\git.exe");
+    expect(
+      preferGitForWindowsBinary(
+        "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.exe",
+        {},
+        files("C:\\Program Files\\Git\\clangarm64\\bin\\git.exe"),
+      ),
+    ).toBe("C:\\Program Files\\Git\\clangarm64\\bin\\git.exe");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the launcher when MSYSTEM is set", () => {
+    // The real git.exe only adds its own folders to PATH when MSYSTEM is unset;
+    // without them a `#!/bin/sh` hook cannot start.
+    expect(
+      preferGitForWindowsBinary(
+        "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.exe",
+        { MSYSTEM: "MINGW64" },
+        files("C:\\Program Files\\Git\\mingw64\\bin\\git.exe"),
+      ),
+    ).toBe("C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.exe");
+  });
+
+  it("keeps the launcher when no git.exe sits beside it", () => {
+    expect(preferGitForWindowsBinary("C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.exe", {}, () => false)).toBe(
+      "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.exe",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("leaves other gits and other launchers alone", () => {
+    const everything = () => true;
+    expect(preferGitForWindowsBinary("C:\\Users\\me\\scoop\\shims\\git.exe", {}, everything)).toBe(
+      "C:\\Users\\me\\scoop\\shims\\git.exe",
+    );
+    expect(preferGitForWindowsBinary("C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\gitk.exe", {}, everything)).toBe(
+      "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\gitk.exe",
+    );
+  });
+});
+
 effectIt.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveSpawnCommand", (it) => {
   it.effect("runs Windows executables directly without a shell", () =>
     Effect.gen(function* () {
@@ -627,6 +692,30 @@ effectIt.layer(NodeServices.layer)("resolveSpawnCommand", (it) => {
     }).pipe(Effect.provideService(CommandResolutionCache, new Map())),
   );
 
+  it.effect("keeps launcher swaps apart for environments with and without MSYSTEM", () =>
+    Effect.gen(function* () {
+      let scans = 0;
+      const scan: SpawnExecutableResolver = () => {
+        scans++;
+        return "C:\\Git\\cmd\\git.exe";
+      };
+      const resolve = (env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv) =>
+        resolveSpawnCommand("git", [], {
+          env: { PATH: "C:\\Git\\cmd", PATHEXT: ".EXE", ...env },
+        }).pipe(
+          Effect.provideService(HostProcess.Platform, "win32"),
+          Effect.provideService(SpawnExecutableResolution, scan),
+        );
+
+      yield* resolve({});
+      yield* resolve({});
+      expect(scans).toBe(1);
+      // A swap made without MSYSTEM must not reach a child that has it set.
+      yield* resolve({ MSYSTEM: "MINGW64" });
+      expect(scans).toBe(2);
+    }).pipe(Effect.provideService(CommandResolutionCache, new Map())),
+  );
+
   it.effect("does not fall back to a shell for unresolved Windows commands", () =>
     Effect.gen(function* () {
       const command = yield* resolveSpawnCommand("missing & calc", ["unsafe & value"], {
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/shell.ts b/packages/shared/src/shell.ts
index b24c998b1785..4d29841bfa8b 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/shell.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/shell.ts
@@ -693,6 +693,47 @@ export const resolveCommandPath = Effect.fn("shell.resolveCommandPath")(function
   });
 });
 
+// Git for Windows 2.56 moved x64 builds from mingw64 to ucrt64; ARM64 builds
+// live in clangarm64 and 32-bit ones in mingw32.
+const GIT_FOR_WINDOWS_BUILDS = ["ucrt64", "clangarm64", "mingw64", "mingw32"] as const;
+
+function isFileSync(filePath: string): boolean {
+  try {
+    return NodeFS.statSync(filePath).isFile();
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Swaps Git for Windows' launcher (`<Git>\cmd\git.exe`, the only git its
+ * installer puts on PATH, or the portable build's `<Git>\bin\git.exe`) for the
+ * git.exe it starts. The launcher costs a second process on every git command,
+ * and each launch leaks a kernel token reference that slows process creation
+ * machine-wide until reboot. The real binary sets HOME itself, but adds its own
+ * folders to PATH for hooks, ssh and credential helpers only when MSYSTEM is
+ * unset, so the launcher stays when MSYSTEM is set. Anything else is returned
+ * as is.
+ */
+export function preferGitForWindowsBinary(
+  executable: string,
+  env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
+  isFile: (filePath: string) => boolean = isFileSync,
+): string {
+  if (env.MSYSTEM) return executable;
+  const path = NodePath.win32;
+  if (path.basename(executable).toLowerCase() !== "git.exe") return executable;
+  const launcherDirectory = path.dirname(executable);
+  const launcherFolder = path.basename(launcherDirectory).toLowerCase();
+  if (launcherFolder !== "cmd" && launcherFolder !== "bin") return executable;
+  const installRoot = path.dirname(launcherDirectory);
+  for (const build of GIT_FOR_WINDOWS_BUILDS) {
+    const candidate = path.join(installRoot, build, "bin", "git.exe");
+    if (isFile(candidate)) return candidate;
+  }
+  return executable;
+}
+
 // Untraced because it runs before most spawns and returns at once off Windows.
 export const resolveSpawnCommand = Effect.fnUntraced(function* (
   command: string,
@@ -724,6 +765,7 @@ export const resolveSpawnCommand = Effect.fnUntraced(function* (
     platform,
     resolvePathEnvironmentVariable(env),
     resolveWindowsPathExtensions(env).join(";"),
+    env.MSYSTEM ? "msystem" : "",
     command,
   ].join(COMMAND_RESOLUTION_CACHE_KEY_SEPARATOR);
   const nowNanos = yield* Clock.currentTimeNanos;
@@ -732,7 +774,11 @@ export const resolveSpawnCommand = Effect.fnUntraced(function* (
   if (cached !== undefined && cached.expiresAtNanos > nowNanos) {
     resolvedExecutable = cached.resolvedPath;
   } else {
-    resolvedExecutable = resolveExecutable(command, platform, env) ?? null;
+    // Cached with the scan: its file checks would otherwise run before every
+    // git launch. A Git upgrade that moves the real binary can fail git for up
+    // to the cache lifetime.
+    const found = resolveExecutable(command, platform, env);
+    resolvedExecutable = found === undefined ? null : preferGitForWindowsBinary(found, env);
     if (!explicitPath && resolvedExecutable !== null) {
       cacheCommandResolution(cache, cacheKey, resolvedExecutable, nowNanos);
     }