diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/validate-json-strict-exit.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/validate-json-strict-exit.e2e.test.ts
index bca34da64db..ccd9b7a6003 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/validate-json-strict-exit.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/validate-json-strict-exit.e2e.test.ts
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@
  * number only exists once Node has exited and the kernel has masked it to
  * `& 0xFF`. `test/migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts` is the precedent and states
  * this in the same words — the audience `--json` exists for reads the SHELL, so
- * that is what gets asserted. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, so the
+ * that is what gets asserted. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, so the
  * suite does not depend on `packages/cli/dist` having been built.
  *
  * ## Why this file is not beside its siblings in `packages/cli/test/`
@@ -143,7 +143,6 @@ function linkSpec(dir: string): void {
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 /**
  * The test-only live conversion the child loads with `--import` (its header
@@ -230,7 +229,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       {
         cwd,
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-callable-names.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-callable-names.test.ts
index 1528b76c80b..1bdbe417850 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-callable-names.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-callable-names.test.ts
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
  *
  * Each kind's fixture carries both collisions against an authored `functions`
  * entry (a shared function; an equal name) under disjoint names, round-trips
- * through `objectstack build` (`bin/run-dev.js`, source via tsx) and then the
+ * through `objectstack build` (`bin/run-dev.js`, source under `node`) and then the
  * runtime's own `loadArtifactBundle`, and asserts that each authored name ships
  * under itself and answers its own code, and that each hook or action ref
  * answers its own code. Every callable names a module-scope constant, so no
@@ -66,9 +66,8 @@ import { locateCallables } from '../src/utils/build-runtime.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 const LOWER_CALLABLES = resolve(HERE, '../src/utils/lower-callables.ts');
-/** A cold `tsx` spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
+/** A cold spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
 const SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 
 // ── The census ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -258,7 +257,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-connector-spec-file-artifact.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-connector-spec-file-artifact.e2e.test.ts
index be75a041624..630b61a538b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-connector-spec-file-artifact.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-connector-spec-file-artifact.e2e.test.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
  * are kept. The control for the refusal is the same stack with the file
  * present, which both commands accept.
  *
- * Runs the CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` through tsx), as the other build
+ * Runs the CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` under `node`), as the other build
  * suites do, so `compile.ts` and `validate.ts` are measured without a rebuild.
  */
 
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 const DOCUMENT = {
   openapi: '3.0.3',
@@ -72,7 +71,7 @@ afterAll(() => {
 function run(command: 'build' | 'validate', cwd: string): Promise<{ code: number; stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
   return new Promise((done) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, command, '--json'],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) =>
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-demo-staff-artifact.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-demo-staff-artifact.test.ts
index d9f92fbec24..c8920080e6b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-demo-staff-artifact.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-demo-staff-artifact.test.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
  * `functions` entry runs, so a green here is "this one key was left out", not
  * "the build wrote nothing".
  *
- * Runs the CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` through tsx), as the other build
+ * Runs the CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` under `node`), as the other build
  * suites do, so `compile.ts` is measured without a rebuild.
  */
 
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 const RUNTIME_MODULE = /^objectstack-runtime\.[a-f0-9]+\.mjs$/;
 
 const STAFF_EMAIL = 'counsel1@legal.example';
@@ -79,7 +78,7 @@ afterAll(() => {
 function build(cwd: string): Promise<{ code: number; stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
   return new Promise((done) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, 'build', '--json'],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) =>
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-docs-step-count.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-docs-step-count.e2e.test.ts
index 20e076a9f8c..50766bf3227 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-docs-step-count.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-docs-step-count.e2e.test.ts
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
  * and the `--json` face must stay one JSON document, so the machine face is
  * asserted to parse and to carry no step text at all.
  *
- * ALTITUDE: this spawns the CLI (`bin/run-dev.js` through tsx) rather than
+ * ALTITUDE: this spawns the CLI (`bin/run-dev.js` under `node`) rather than
  * calling a helper, because the defect is in the ORDER of two statements inside
  * the command body — there is no seam below the process that can observe it.
  * Same spawn shape and the same `childEnv()` as
@@ -62,7 +62,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 interface Run {
   code: number;
@@ -73,7 +72,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-runtime-bundle-bodyless.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-runtime-bundle-bodyless.test.ts
index 783b4f25240..a322cf34a18 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-runtime-bundle-bodyless.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-runtime-bundle-bodyless.test.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
  * `functions` entry resolving to a callable that runs through the runtime's own
  * artifact loader (`loadArtifactBundle`, which merges the module's `functions`).
  *
- * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, via tsx). Its dependencies,
+ * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, under `node`). Its dependencies,
  * `@objectstack/runtime` included, resolve through `exports` to `dist/`.
  */
 
@@ -44,8 +44,7 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
-/** A cold `tsx` spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
+/** A cold spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
 const SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -57,7 +56,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-seed-files-artifact.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-seed-files-artifact.e2e.test.ts
index 1ae2d104720..dd11b39376e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-seed-files-artifact.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-seed-files-artifact.e2e.test.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
  * and SHA-256 under `files`, keyed by the path. The control for the refusal is
  * the same stack with the file present, which both commands accept.
  *
- * Runs the CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` through tsx), as the other build
+ * Runs the CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` under `node`), as the other build
  * suites do, so `compile.ts` and `validate.ts` are measured without a rebuild.
  */
 
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 const PDF = '%PDF-1.7 a seeded contract';
 
@@ -76,7 +75,7 @@ afterAll(() => {
 function run(command: 'build' | 'validate', cwd: string): Promise<{ code: number; stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
   return new Promise((done) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, command, '--json'],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) =>
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-strict-body-count.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-strict-body-count.test.ts
index 2b768d07cb6..91a34e44157 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-strict-body-count.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-strict-body-count.test.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
  * This file pins the door: the header's number, and the `--json` list, on the
  * real command.
  *
- * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, via tsx). Its dependencies
+ * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, under `node`). Its dependencies
  * resolve through `exports` to `dist/`.
  */
 
@@ -36,8 +36,7 @@ import { defineStackSourceFromLiteral, linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-f
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
-/** A cold `tsx` spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
+/** A cold spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
 const SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -49,7 +48,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/build-view-container-name.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/build-view-container-name.test.ts
index 6e17e8d1122..c3108d117da 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/build-view-container-name.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/build-view-container-name.test.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
  * actually throws for the same payload, driven through `ObjectQL.registerApp`,
  * rather than a literal copy of the words.
  *
- * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, via tsx); its dependencies —
+ * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, under `node`); its dependencies —
  * `@objectstack/objectql` among them — resolve through `exports` to `dist/`.
  */
 
@@ -42,8 +42,7 @@ import { defineStackSource, linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
-/** A cold `tsx` spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
+/** A cold spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
 const SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 /** `os build`'s default `--output`, relative to the working directory. */
 const ARTIFACT = join('dist', 'objectstack.json');
@@ -57,7 +56,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/create-refuses-invalid-project-name.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/create-refuses-invalid-project-name.e2e.test.ts
index e41a1bf7b27..9e6fd1208cf 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/create-refuses-invalid-project-name.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/create-refuses-invalid-project-name.e2e.test.ts
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
  * length rule into the shared validator would break `init` for a name npm
  * accepts; this test is what says so.
  *
- * Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, so the suite does not depend on
+ * Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, so the suite does not depend on
  * `packages/cli/dist` having been built — `@objectstack/cli#test` depends on
  * `^build` only (the reason `invocation-loudness.e2e.test.ts` spawns that way).
  */
@@ -67,9 +67,8 @@ import { NPM_PACKAGE_NAME_MAX_LENGTH, validateProjectName } from '../src/command
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 180_000;
 
 /** The card's input: a capital and a space, both npm-invalid. */
@@ -93,7 +92,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/dev-no-watch.pin.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/dev-no-watch.pin.test.ts
index 164623ac315..a37be762c49 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/dev-no-watch.pin.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/dev-no-watch.pin.test.ts
@@ -58,7 +58,6 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 const PACKAGE_ROOT = resolve(HERE, '..');
 
@@ -108,7 +107,7 @@ function derivePackageManagerPin(): string {
   return `pnpm@${answer}`;
 }
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 180_000;
 
 /** What the fixture workspace's own `dev` script prints — proof it ran. */
@@ -134,7 +133,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runDev(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, 'dev', ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -236,7 +235,7 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
     })}\n`,
   );
 
-  // Sequential on purpose: three cold tsx starts, each loading every command
+  // Sequential on purpose: three cold CLI starts, each loading every command
   // module, in a container several agents share.
   watchEqualsFalse = await runDev(['--watch=false'], projectDir);
   noWatchAtWorkspace = await runDev(['--no-watch'], workspaceDir);
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/generate-agent-retired.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/generate-agent-retired.e2e.test.ts
index 90a209aa91d..02a0f0ce32e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/generate-agent-retired.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/generate-agent-retired.e2e.test.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
  * `invocation-loudness.e2e.test.ts` documents at length: `process.exitCode`
  * inside a vitest worker is not an exit status (a CI script judges this
  * command by `$?`), and these commands print through `utils/format.ts`, whose
- * `printError` writes to stdout. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx so the
+ * `printError` writes to stdout. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node` so the
  * suite does not depend on `packages/cli/dist` having been built.
  *
  * The refusal's pointer at skills is asserted here only as TEXT. That the
@@ -41,9 +41,8 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 180_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -52,10 +51,10 @@ interface Run {
   stderr: string;
 }
 
-function runTsx(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
+function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       args,
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -83,11 +82,11 @@ let survivor: Run;
 beforeAll(async () => {
   dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'os-g-agent-retired-'));
 
-  // Sequential on purpose: three cold tsx starts, each loading every command
+  // Sequential on purpose: three cold CLI starts, each loading every command
   // module, in a container several agents share.
-  retired = await runTsx([CLI, 'g', 'agent', 'support'], dir);
-  unknown = await runTsx([CLI, 'g', 'nonexistent-type', 'support'], dir);
-  survivor = await runTsx([CLI, 'g', 'object', 'customer', '--dry-run'], dir);
+  retired = await runCli([CLI, 'g', 'agent', 'support'], dir);
+  unknown = await runCli([CLI, 'g', 'nonexistent-type', 'support'], dir);
+  survivor = await runCli([CLI, 'g', 'object', 'customer', '--dry-run'], dir);
 }, RUN_TIMEOUT_MS);
 
 afterAll(() => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/generate-object-namespace-prefix.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/generate-object-namespace-prefix.e2e.test.ts
index 797fc4d1032..141e493bb47 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/generate-object-namespace-prefix.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/generate-object-namespace-prefix.e2e.test.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
  *
  * Projects live under this package's `node_modules`, so a config's
  * `@objectstack/spec` import resolves to the workspace copy without an
- * install. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, so the suite does not
+ * install. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, so the suite does not
  * depend on `packages/cli/dist`. Commands print through `utils/format.ts`,
  * which writes to stdout, so stdout is what is read.
  */
@@ -41,9 +41,8 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold starts, eight of them, sequential. */
+/** oclif cold starts, eight of them, sequential. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 300_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -55,7 +54,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -106,7 +105,7 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
     read(join(dirs.broken, 'src', 'objects', 'index.ts')) + "export { default as legacy } from './legacy.object';\n",
   );
 
-  // Sequential on purpose: cold tsx starts in a container several agents share.
+  // Sequential on purpose: cold CLI starts in a container several agents share.
   runs.generate = await runCli(['g', 'object', 'order_line'], dirs.namespaced);
   runs.prefixed = await runCli(['g', 'object', 'my_app_invoice'], dirs.namespaced);
   runs.legacyForm = await runCli(['g', 'object', 'order__line'], dirs.namespaced);
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-name-outside-charset.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-name-outside-charset.test.ts
index 4b9b3a21436..da8bfb62d4f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-name-outside-charset.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-name-outside-charset.test.ts
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
  * class here is an EXIT CODE plus bytes on disk, `process.exitCode` inside a
  * vitest worker is not an exit status, and these commands print through
  * `utils/format.ts`, whose `printError` writes to stdout. Spawned through
- * `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx so the suite does not depend on `packages/cli/dist`.
+ * `bin/run-dev.js` + `node` so the suite does not depend on `packages/cli/dist`.
  *
  * ## ⛔ Why this file is NOT named `.e2e`
  *
@@ -73,9 +73,8 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 240_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -84,10 +83,10 @@ interface Run {
   stderr: string;
 }
 
-function runTsx(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
+function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       args,
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -160,12 +159,12 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
   backstopDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'os-g-charset-backstop-'));
   controlDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'os-g-charset-control-'));
 
-  // Sequential on purpose: cold tsx starts, each loading every command module,
+  // Sequential on purpose: cold CLI starts, each loading every command module,
   // in a container several agents share.
-  gated = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order-line'], gatedDir);
-  dryRun = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'flow', 'lead-qual', '--dry-run'], dryRunDir);
-  backstop = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'class'], backstopDir);
-  control = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order_line'], controlDir);
+  gated = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order-line'], gatedDir);
+  dryRun = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'flow', 'lead-qual', '--dry-run'], dryRunDir);
+  backstop = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'class'], backstopDir);
+  control = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order_line'], controlDir);
 }, RUN_TIMEOUT_MS);
 
 afterAll(() => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unimportable-alias.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unimportable-alias.test.ts
index 1ad674778ac..4d3486fed37 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unimportable-alias.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unimportable-alias.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  * here are on a real child process and on stdout, for the same two reasons
  * `invocation-loudness.e2e.test.ts` documents at length — these commands print
  * through `utils/format.ts`, whose `printError` writes to stdout. Spawned
- * through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx so the suite does not depend on
+ * through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node` so the suite does not depend on
  * `packages/cli/dist` having been built.
  *
  * ## ⛔ Why this file is NOT named `.e2e`
@@ -66,9 +66,8 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 240_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -77,10 +76,10 @@ interface Run {
   stderr: string;
 }
 
-function runTsx(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
+function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       args,
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -125,7 +124,7 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
   controlDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'os-g-alias-control-'));
   contextualDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'os-g-contextual-'));
 
-  // Sequential on purpose: cold tsx starts, each loading every command module,
+  // Sequential on purpose: cold CLI starts, each loading every command module,
   // in a container several agents share.
   //
   // The card's measured row was `os g view class`. `view` suffixes its `const`
@@ -134,17 +133,17 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
   // the project's stack must declare, so in these config-less directories it
   // is refused before this layer; `dashboard` suffixes its binding the same
   // way (`classDashboard`) and binds nothing, so it reaches this layer alone.
-  reserved = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'class'], reservedDir);
+  reserved = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'class'], reservedDir);
   // A second generator, to show the refusal is not one patched call site —
   // and `let`, which is reserved only because a module is in strict mode.
   // (`skill`, not `flow`, for the same #21325 reason as above.)
-  strictReserved = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'skill', 'let'], strictDir);
-  dryRun = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'class', '--dry-run'], dryRunDir);
+  strictReserved = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'skill', 'let'], strictDir);
+  dryRun = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'class', '--dry-run'], dryRunDir);
   // The layer in front, on the name it owns.
-  parseLayer = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'class'], parseLayerDir);
-  charsetLayer = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order-line'], charsetLayerDir);
-  control = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'order_line'], controlDir);
-  contextual = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'type'], contextualDir);
+  parseLayer = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'class'], parseLayerDir);
+  charsetLayer = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order-line'], charsetLayerDir);
+  control = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'order_line'], controlDir);
+  contextual = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'dashboard', 'type'], contextualDir);
 }, RUN_TIMEOUT_MS);
 
 afterAll(() => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unparseable-name.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unparseable-name.test.ts
index 2edb2bff459..39bf4f7735a 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unparseable-name.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/generate-refuses-unparseable-name.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  * assertions here are on a real child process and on stdout, for the same two
  * reasons `invocation-loudness.e2e.test.ts` documents at length — these
  * commands print through `utils/format.ts`, whose `printError` writes to
- * stdout. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx so the suite does not depend
+ * stdout. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node` so the suite does not depend
  * on `packages/cli/dist` having been built.
  *
  * ## ⛔ Why this file is NOT named `.e2e`
@@ -85,9 +85,8 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 240_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -96,10 +95,10 @@ interface Run {
   stderr: string;
 }
 
-function runTsx(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
+function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       args,
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -155,16 +154,16 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
   dryRunDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'os-g-dryrun-'));
   unparseableDir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'os-g-unparseable-'));
 
-  // Sequential on purpose: cold tsx starts, each loading every command module,
+  // Sequential on purpose: cold CLI starts, each loading every command module,
   // in a container several agents share.
-  refused = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'foo.bar'], refusedDir);
+  refused = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'foo.bar'], refusedDir);
   // A second generator, to show the refusal is not one patched call site.
-  refusedAgain = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'flow', 'foo.bar'], refusedDir);
-  dryRun = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'foo.bar', '--dry-run'], dryRunDir);
+  refusedAgain = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'flow', 'foo.bar'], refusedDir);
+  dryRun = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'foo.bar', '--dry-run'], dryRunDir);
   // Inside the charset, outside the grammar — the name that reaches THIS
   // check now that a charset gate stands in front of it (#16726).
-  unparseable = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'class'], unparseableDir);
-  control = await runTsx([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order_line'], controlDir);
+  unparseable = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'class'], unparseableDir);
+  control = await runCli([CLI, 'generate', 'object', 'order_line'], controlDir);
 }, RUN_TIMEOUT_MS);
 
 afterAll(() => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/generate-skill.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/generate-skill.e2e.test.ts
index c7469292823..9e6d0db4359 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/generate-skill.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/generate-skill.e2e.test.ts
@@ -60,8 +60,10 @@
  * Assertions run against a REAL CHILD PROCESS and read stdout, for the two
  * reasons `generate-agent-retired.e2e.test.ts` documents: `process.exitCode`
  * inside a vitest worker is not an exit status, and these commands print
- * through `utils/format.ts`, which writes to stdout. Spawned through
- * `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, so the suite does not depend on `packages/cli/dist`.
+ * through `utils/format.ts`, which writes to stdout. The CLI is spawned as
+ * `bin/run-dev.js` under this process's own `node`, so the suite does not
+ * depend on `packages/cli/dist`; only the parse probe, a bare `.ts` file, runs
+ * through the tsx binary.
  */
 
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
@@ -86,6 +88,7 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
+/** Runs the parse probe only: a bare `.ts` module, which plain `node` cannot import. */
 const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 /**
@@ -96,7 +99,7 @@ const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
  */
 const SPEC_PACKAGE_ROOT = dirname(createRequire(import.meta.url).resolve('@objectstack/spec/package.json'));
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start, with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 180_000;
 
 /** The contract under test, read from the registry — never restated. */
@@ -111,10 +114,10 @@ interface Run {
   stderr: string;
 }
 
-function runTsx(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
+function runChild(bin: string, args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      bin,
       args,
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -161,13 +164,13 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
   specLink = join(dir, 'node_modules', '@objectstack', 'spec');
   symlinkSync(SPEC_PACKAGE_ROOT, specLink, 'dir');
 
-  // Sequential on purpose: cold tsx starts, each loading every command module,
+  // Sequential on purpose: cold CLI starts, each loading every command module,
   // in a container several agents share.
   // `lead_qualification`, not `lead-qualification`: the #16726 charset gate
   // refuses kebab-case at the door. Both spellings derive the same written
   // file and the same barrel alias, so what this file measures is unchanged.
-  generated = await runTsx([CLI, 'g', 'skill', 'lead_qualification'], dir);
-  control = await runTsx([CLI, 'g', 'object', 'customer'], dir);
+  generated = await runChild(process.execPath, [CLI, 'g', 'skill', 'lead_qualification'], dir);
+  control = await runChild(process.execPath, [CLI, 'g', 'object', 'customer'], dir);
 
   const skillDir = join(dir, 'src', 'skills');
   const produced = existsSync(skillDir)
@@ -188,7 +191,7 @@ beforeAll(async () => {
       `import skill from './src/skills/${writtenName}';\n`
       + 'process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(skill));\n',
     );
-    parseProbe = await runTsx([probe], dir);
+    parseProbe = await runChild(TSX, [probe], dir);
   }
 }, RUN_TIMEOUT_MS);
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/hook-body-build-reach.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/hook-body-build-reach.e2e.test.ts
index f57be754efa..9a3fdd044bf 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/hook-body-build-reach.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/hook-body-build-reach.e2e.test.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
  * A unit test over the extractor alone would restate exactly the false
  * confidence this card is about. The only way to establish what the real
  * authoring path does is to run it, so every test here spawns the actual CLI
- * (`bin/run-dev.js` + tsx against a `mkdtemp` project — the
+ * (`bin/run-dev.js` + `node` against a `mkdtemp` project — the
  * `validate-top-level-strict.e2e.test.ts` pattern) and reads the artifact the
  * shell was left holding.
  *
@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 interface Run {
   code: number;
@@ -67,7 +66,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/migrate-apply-refuses-before-ddl.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/migrate-apply-refuses-before-ddl.e2e.test.ts
index 2f9d37e9100..b834e33df9e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/migrate-apply-refuses-before-ddl.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/migrate-apply-refuses-before-ddl.e2e.test.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
  *
  * Same reason as `migrate-unloadable-host-config-exit.e2e.test.ts`: the claim
  * is about a command an operator runs, and `process.exitCode` set inside a
- * vitest worker is not an exit status. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx,
+ * vitest worker is not an exit status. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`,
  * so the suite does not depend on `packages/cli/dist` having been built.
  */
 
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { SqlDriver } from '@objectstack/driver-sql';
-import { CLI, TSX, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
+import { CLI, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 import { NO_DDL_EXECUTED_NOTICE } from '../src/utils/schema-migration-plugins.js';
 
 /**
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ import { NO_DDL_EXECUTED_NOTICE } from '../src/utils/schema-migration-plugins.js
  */
 const REQUIRED_VAR = 'OS_E2E_13118_SECRET';
 
-/** Generous: a cold tsx compile of the command tree dominates a ~1 s apply. */
+/** Generous: a cold load of the command tree dominates a ~1 s apply. */
 const RUN_BUDGET_MS = 120_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       {
         cwd,
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts
index 4ce585d5994..6705a57d0b4 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
  * It has to be a real child process. `process.exitCode` set inside a vitest
  * worker is not an exit status — the number the defect produced only exists
  * once Node has exited and the kernel has masked it to `& 0xFF`. Spawned
- * through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx (the pattern `migrate-meta.e2e.test.ts` and
+ * through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node` (the pattern `migrate-meta.e2e.test.ts` and
  * `emit-json-pipe.test.ts` already use) so the suite does not depend on
  * `packages/cli/dist` having been built.
  */
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ import { childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 /** Minimal project: the command boots a stack, it does not need much of one. */
 const CONFIG = `
@@ -79,7 +78,7 @@ function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string, env: Record<string, string> = {}):
   const started = Date.now();
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1', ...env }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
@@ -189,7 +188,7 @@ describe('os migrate recorded-by --json — a successful run exits 0 (#4873)', (
   });
 
   it('still exits promptly — #4813 stays fixed', () => {
-    // Wall time of the whole child, tsx compile included.
+    // Wall time of the whole child, command-tree load included.
     for (const run of runs) expect(run.wallMs).toBeLessThan(SLOW_RUN_MS);
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/migrate-unloadable-host-config-exit.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/migrate-unloadable-host-config-exit.e2e.test.ts
index 3fddcd804ac..443f60a3560 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/migrate-unloadable-host-config-exit.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/migrate-unloadable-host-config-exit.e2e.test.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
  * worker is not one — only a process that has actually exited has a status for
  * a shell, a `set -e` script or a container entrypoint to read. That audience
  * is the entire point of the ruling, and it is the one an in-process assertion
- * cannot stand in for. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, the pattern
+ * cannot stand in for. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, the pattern
  * `migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts` and `migrate-plan-exits.e2e.test.ts` already
  * use, so the suite does not depend on `packages/cli/dist` having been built.
  *
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ import { execFile } from 'node:child_process';
 import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
-import { CLI, TSX, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
+import { CLI, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 /**
  * The environment variable the unloadable fixture demands.
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ import { CLI, TSX, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
  */
 const REQUIRED_VAR = 'OS_E2E_12953_SECRET';
 
-/** Generous: a cold tsx compile of the command tree dominates a ~1 s plan. */
+/** Generous: a cold load of the command tree dominates a ~1 s plan. */
 const RUN_BUDGET_MS = 120_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       {
         cwd,
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/package-install-local-handlers.integration.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/package-install-local-handlers.integration.test.ts
index b1785631333..1c8b25e3f50 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/package-install-local-handlers.integration.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/package-install-local-handlers.integration.test.ts
@@ -39,8 +39,9 @@
  *
  * ## Spawn shape
  *
- * The tsx source entry (`bin/run-dev.js`), as every `runServe()` caller spawns
- * it, for `os start` and for `os package install` alike. It pins
+ * The source entry (`bin/run-dev.js`), as every `runServe()` caller spawns it
+ * but under this process's own `node` rather than the tsx binary, for
+ * `os start` and for `os package install` alike. It pins
  * `NODE_ENV=development`, where a taken port is a hop rather than an exit, so
  * each boot takes a kernel-assigned port and reads it back off its own ready
  * banner (`readKernelAssignedPort`) before any request is addressed to it. The CLI runs
@@ -64,7 +65,6 @@ import {
   KERNEL_ASSIGNED_PORT,
   probeThroughChild,
   readKernelAssignedPort,
-  TSX,
 } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
 /** The banner's tail — every row above it has printed. */
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ const OBJECT = 'tasks_app_task';
 /**
  * The development dev-admin seed (`objectstack dev`'s documented, loginable
  * admin — `admin@objectos.ai` / `admin123`, promoted to platform admin): the
- * tsx entry runs `os start` in development, which seeds it on every boot that
+ * source entry runs `os start` in development, which seeds it on every boot that
  * finds no login, so it is the operator on all three boots and holds the
  * `manage_metadata` capability the install route demands.
  */
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ interface LiveStart {
 
 function bootStart(cwd: string, home: string, extra: string[] = []): Promise<LiveStart> {
   return new Promise((resolveBoot, rejectBoot) => {
-    const child = spawn(TSX, [CLI, 'start', '-p', KERNEL_ASSIGNED_PORT, '--home', home, '--auth-secret', E2E_SECRET_KEY, '--no-ui', ...extra], {
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [CLI, 'start', '-p', KERNEL_ASSIGNED_PORT, '--home', home, '--auth-secret', E2E_SECRET_KEY, '--no-ui', ...extra], {
       cwd,
       // `childEnv`, never a bare `...process.env` — see its header.
       env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1', OS_CLOUD_URL: 'off', OS_LOG_LEVEL: 'warn', OS_SECRET_KEY: E2E_SECRET_KEY }),
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ async function authenticate(live: LiveStart): Promise<string> {
  */
 function packageInstall(appDir: string, live: LiveStart): Promise<{ exit: number | null; output: string }> {
   return new Promise((done) => {
-    const child = spawn(TSX, [CLI, 'package', 'install', './dist/objectstack.json', '--runtime', live.base, '--email', EMAIL, '--password', PASSWORD], {
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [CLI, 'package', 'install', './dist/objectstack.json', '--runtime', live.base, '--email', EMAIL, '--password', PASSWORD], {
       cwd: appDir,
       env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }),
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/qa-names-and-tags-run.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/qa-names-and-tags-run.test.ts
index 3b5680d78f9..9f6137897f8 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/qa-names-and-tags-run.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/qa-names-and-tags-run.test.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
  * out — not run, and not merely hidden from the report.
  *
  * A real child process, because `process.exit(1)` inside a vitest worker is
- * not an exit status. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx so the suite does
+ * not an exit status. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node` so the suite does
  * not depend on `packages/cli/dist`. The target is a stub `node:http` server
  * in this process: the runner's HTTP adapter is what is exercised, and no
  * ObjectStack server is booted.
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@ import type { AddressInfo } from 'node:net';
 import { mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
-import { CLI, TSX, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
+import { CLI, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start; a healthy run here is a few seconds. */
+/** oclif cold start; a healthy run here is a few seconds. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/qa-requires-skip-run.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/qa-requires-skip-run.test.ts
index 2d3c06c6b5c..606d5006907 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/qa-requires-skip-run.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/qa-requires-skip-run.test.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
  * hidden from the report.
  *
  * A real child process, because `process.exit(1)` inside a vitest worker is
- * not an exit status. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx so the suite does
+ * not an exit status. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node` so the suite does
  * not depend on `packages/cli/dist`. The target is a stub `node:http` server
  * in this process that answers discovery the way both real producers do; no
  * ObjectStack server is booted.
@@ -34,9 +34,9 @@ import type { AddressInfo } from 'node:net';
 import { mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
-import { CLI, TSX, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
+import { CLI, childEnv } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start; a healthy run here is a few seconds. */
+/** oclif cold start; a healthy run here is a few seconds. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 
 /** The variable the `params`-gated scenario needs — test-only, so `OS_TEST_*`. */
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string, env: Record<string, string | undefined> = {}): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       // The variable is REMOVED unless the run sets it, so an operator's shell
       // cannot decide what the unset-variable run measures.
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/refusal-renders-once.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/refusal-renders-once.e2e.test.ts
index 8feebdb7f68..12c574dbb92 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/refusal-renders-once.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/refusal-renders-once.e2e.test.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
  *
  * ## What each case asserts
  *
- * The CLI is SPAWNED — `bin/run-dev.js` through tsx, the source entry that
+ * The CLI is SPAWNED — `bin/run-dev.js` under `node`, the source entry that
  * shares the published entry's `handle()` and `flush()` — because the second
  * rendering is made by the entry point AFTER `run()` has thrown, so no
  * in-process run can see it (`exit-signal.pin.test.ts` says as much). For each
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
  * ## Tier
  *
  * Nightly by name, `integration` by behaviour (`vitest-tiers.ts`): each case is
- * a spawn. Every spawn is paid in `beforeAll`, sequentially — ten tsx starts at
+ * a spawn. Every spawn is paid in `beforeAll`, sequentially — ten CLI starts at
  * once is the load that turns a shared box's verdicts into timeouts — and no
  * case is clocked.
  */
@@ -77,7 +77,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 interface Run {
   code: number;
@@ -88,7 +87,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(argv: string[], cwd: string, env: Record<string, string> = {}): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...argv],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1', ...env }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/retry-policy-key-validate-door.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/retry-policy-key-validate-door.test.ts
index 491369bb356..9433b7ff76d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/retry-policy-key-validate-door.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/retry-policy-key-validate-door.test.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
  * Integration tier: it spawns the source CLI (`packages/cli/vitest-tiers.ts`).
  * Not named `.e2e`, so it runs on every PR and in the merge queue rather than
  * nightly; two spawns, one per fixture, keep that cost to the floor. The CLI
- * runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, via tsx), and `@objectstack/spec`
+ * runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, under `node`), and `@objectstack/spec`
  * resolves through `exports` to `dist/`.
  */
 
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ import { writeDefineStackConfig } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 type Retry = Record<string, unknown>;
 
@@ -109,7 +108,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/rule-line-explain-pointer.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/rule-line-explain-pointer.e2e.test.ts
index c44bebc9fc4..f4cafd240b5 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/rule-line-explain-pointer.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/rule-line-explain-pointer.e2e.test.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
  * untouched (the `⚠` line itself is unchanged in kind, so
  * `validate-json-warning-parity.e2e.test.ts` still pairs it).
  *
- * Spawns the real CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, the
+ * Spawns the real CLI from source (`bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, the
  * `validate-json-warning-parity.e2e.test.ts` pattern): what is pinned is the
  * text two real commands print, not a function's return value. The in-process
  * pins for the helper and for `os explain <rule-id>` are in
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 /** The tutorial shape: a ticket whose long-text `description` nothing displays. */
 const SOURCE = `
@@ -64,7 +63,7 @@ const EXPECTED = [
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<{ code: number; stdout: string; stderr: string }> {
   return new Promise((done) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/scaffold-emission-policy.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/scaffold-emission-policy.e2e.test.ts
index bc21399499e..9b1ae129135 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/scaffold-emission-policy.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/scaffold-emission-policy.e2e.test.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
  * and would stay green through a build that stopped copying templates at all.
  * Its `dist/` is present because `@objectstack/cli#test` depends on `^build`.
  *
- * Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, so this suite does not depend on
+ * Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, so this suite does not depend on
  * `packages/cli/dist` having been built (`@objectstack/cli#test` depends on
  * `^build` only) — the same reason `create-refuses-invalid-project-name.e2e.test.ts`
  * spawns that way.
@@ -91,7 +91,6 @@ import { DEFAULT_PLACEMENT, templates } from '../src/commands/create.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 /**
  * The on-ramp's real entry point and the template it ships, both declared as
@@ -111,7 +110,7 @@ const ON_RAMP_TEMPLATE_PKG = resolve(HERE, '../../..', 'packages/create-objectst
 const GETTING_STARTED = resolve(HERE, '../../..', 'content/docs/getting-started/index.mdx');
 const TROUBLESHOOTING = resolve(HERE, '../../..', 'content/docs/deployment/troubleshooting.mdx');
 
-/** oclif + tsx cold start with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
+/** oclif cold start with every command module loaded; ~2-10 s when healthy. */
 const RUN_TIMEOUT_MS = 180_000;
 
 const PROBE_NAME = 'emission-policy-probe';
@@ -257,7 +256,7 @@ describe('the emitted tsconfig.json comes from the shared renderer', () => {
   function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<{ code: number; stderr: string }> {
     return new Promise((done) => {
       execFile(
-        TSX,
+        process.execPath,
         [CLI, ...args],
         { cwd, maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
         (err, _stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/serve-host-config-metadata-door.integration.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/serve-host-config-metadata-door.integration.test.ts
index 4c7e226de65..34d2fab7e40 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/serve-host-config-metadata-door.integration.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/serve-host-config-metadata-door.integration.test.ts
@@ -34,8 +34,9 @@
  *
  * ## Spawn shape, and the production posture it does not reach
  *
- * The tsx source entry (`bin/run-dev.js`), the harness the other boot-level
- * files here use. That entry runs under `NODE_ENV=development`, so both legs
+ * The source entry (`bin/run-dev.js`), the harness the other boot-level
+ * files here use, under this process's own `node` rather than the tsx binary.
+ * That entry runs under `NODE_ENV=development`, so both legs
  * boot the DEVELOPMENT posture. The host-config door is decided by the same
  * three facts on both postures (no artifact door, a host config, no
  * `MetadataPlugin` in the composition), and the source leg is the branch
@@ -61,7 +62,6 @@ import {
   KERNEL_ASSIGNED_PORT,
   probeThroughChild,
   readKernelAssignedPort,
-  TSX,
 } from './helpers/serve-process.js';
 import { defineStackSourceFromLiteral, linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ const readings: Partial<Record<'source' | 'artifact', Reading>> = {};
 
 function boot(argv: string[], env: Record<string, string | undefined>): Promise<Live> {
   return new Promise((resolveBoot, rejectBoot) => {
-    const child = spawn(TSX, [CLI, ...argv, '-p', KERNEL_ASSIGNED_PORT], {
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [CLI, ...argv, '-p', KERNEL_ASSIGNED_PORT], {
       cwd: dir,
       // `childEnv`, never a bare `...process.env` — see its header. Neither
       // artifact variable leaks in from the runner: each leg states its own.
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/stack-datasource-default-validate-door.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/stack-datasource-default-validate-door.test.ts
index 17a5bef3fd7..3dcf13d4d46 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/stack-datasource-default-validate-door.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/stack-datasource-default-validate-door.test.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
  *
  * Integration tier: it spawns the source CLI (`packages/cli/vitest-tiers.ts`).
  * Not named `.e2e`, so it runs on every PR and in the merge queue; two spawns,
- * one per fixture. The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, via tsx), and
+ * one per fixture. The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, under `node`), and
  * `@objectstack/spec` resolves through `exports` to `dist/`.
  */
 
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ import { writeDefineStackConfig } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 /** One stack: one object, and one declared sqlite datasource under `name`. */
 const stackOf = (name: string) => ({
@@ -74,7 +73,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/validate-field-predicate-traversal.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/validate-field-predicate-traversal.test.ts
index b927de8dc09..dd9e37eb132 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/validate-field-predicate-traversal.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/validate-field-predicate-traversal.test.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
  *
  * The exit status is what a CI step reads, and it only exists once Node has
  * exited — the same reason `src/commands/validate-json-strict-exit.e2e.test.ts`
- * gives. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, so the suite does not depend on
+ * gives. Spawned through `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, so the suite does not depend on
  * `packages/cli/dist`; it lands in the INTEGRATION project (`vitest-tiers.ts`).
  * ⛔ Deliberately NOT named `*.e2e.test.ts`: that name selects the NIGHTLY run,
  * and this pin belongs to the queue's.
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 const objects = (orderFields: string, orderExtra = '') => `
 import { defineStack } from '@objectstack/spec';
@@ -125,7 +124,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runValidate(cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, 'validate', '--json'],
       // `childEnv()`, never a bulk `process.env` copy: the vitest worker's
       // `TEST` / `VITEST*` family must not reach the child (check:cli-test-child-env).
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/validate-json-warning-parity.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/validate-json-warning-parity.e2e.test.ts
index a26936cfcc3..31f66f3cfce 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/validate-json-warning-parity.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/validate-json-warning-parity.e2e.test.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
  * stay exactly equal.
  *
  * Spawns the real CLI (the `validate-top-level-strict.e2e.test.ts` pattern:
- * `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, no dependency on `packages/cli/dist`) because the
+ * `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, no dependency on `packages/cli/dist`) because the
  * divergence being pinned is between two real invocations, not two functions.
  */
 
@@ -67,7 +67,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 interface Fixture {
   /** Directory name / test label. */
@@ -158,7 +157,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/validate-top-level-strict.e2e.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/validate-top-level-strict.e2e.test.ts
index 3f847d8b1e9..d3215efe9d7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/validate-top-level-strict.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/validate-top-level-strict.e2e.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
  * `--strict` at all** (B subsumes Shape A's warning-accounting change). The
  * exit status is the whole point of the card — it is the only thing a CI
  * pipeline reads — so this test spawns the real CLI (the
- * `migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts` pattern: `bin/run-dev.js` + tsx, no
+ * `migrate-exit-code.e2e.test.ts` pattern: `bin/run-dev.js` + `node`, no
  * dependency on `packages/cli/dist`) and asserts what the SHELL sees.
  *
  * Schema-layer pins (issue code/path, near-miss guidance, curated
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ import { linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
 
 /** The card's failure shape: a valid stack plus ONE stray top-level key. */
 const CONFIG_WITH_STRAY_KEY = `
@@ -78,7 +77,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/validate-view-container-name.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/validate-view-container-name.test.ts
index 15ec45c5b8c..66337632aa7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/test/validate-view-container-name.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/test/validate-view-container-name.test.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
  * with the payload `AppPlugin` hands it — rather than a literal copy of the
  * words, which would be a second spelling of them.
  *
- * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, via tsx); its dependencies —
+ * The CLI runs through `bin/run-dev.js` (source, under `node`); its dependencies —
  * `@objectstack/objectql` among them — resolve through `exports` to `dist/`.
  */
 
@@ -41,8 +41,7 @@ import { defineStackSource, linkSpec } from './helpers/define-stack-fixture.js';
 
 const HERE = resolve(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url), '..');
 const CLI = resolve(HERE, '../bin/run-dev.js');
-const TSX = resolve(HERE, '../../../node_modules/.bin/tsx');
-/** A cold `tsx` spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
+/** A cold spawn of the CLI source entry runs well past vitest's 5 s default. */
 const SPAWN_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 
 interface Run {
@@ -54,7 +53,7 @@ interface Run {
 function runCli(args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<Run> {
   return new Promise((resolvePromise) => {
     execFile(
-      TSX,
+      process.execPath,
       [CLI, ...args],
       { cwd, maxBuffer: 16 * 1024 * 1024, env: childEnv({ NO_COLOR: '1' }) },
       (err, stdout, stderr) => {