diff --git a/browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher b/browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..37e03ce10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+PLATFORM="${1:-$(uname -s)}"
+case "$PLATFORM" in
+  MINGW*|MSYS*|CYGWIN*|Windows_NT) ;;
+  *) exit 0 ;;
+esac
+
+ROOT="${2:-$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.." && pwd -P)}"
+if command -v cygpath >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  ROOT="$(cygpath -u "$ROOT" 2>/dev/null || printf '%s' "$ROOT")"
+fi
+ROOT="$(cd "$ROOT" && pwd -P)"
+
+BUN_CMD="${BUN_CMD:-bun}"
+SOURCE="$ROOT/browse/bin/windows-browse"
+DESTINATION="$ROOT/browse/dist/browse"
+
+if [ ! -f "$SOURCE" ]; then
+  echo "ERROR: Windows browse launcher source is missing: $SOURCE" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$DESTINATION")"
+
+# MSYS cp resolves an extensionless destination to an existing .exe and can
+# overwrite browse.exe. Bun writes the exact extensionless path.
+GSTACK_LAUNCHER_SOURCE="$SOURCE" \
+GSTACK_LAUNCHER_DESTINATION="$DESTINATION" \
+  "$BUN_CMD" -e 'await Bun.write(process.env.GSTACK_LAUNCHER_DESTINATION, Bun.file(process.env.GSTACK_LAUNCHER_SOURCE))'
diff --git a/browse/bin/windows-browse b/browse/bin/windows-browse
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..d5a5c0a77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/browse/bin/windows-browse
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+is_complete_gstack_source() {
+  local root="$1"
+  [ -f "$root/package.json" ] &&
+    [ -f "$root/browse/src/cli.ts" ] &&
+    [ -f "$root/browse/dist/server-node.mjs" ] &&
+    [ -f "$root/node_modules/playwright/package.json" ] &&
+    [ -f "$root/node_modules/diff/package.json" ]
+}
+
+normalize_candidate() {
+  local candidate="$1"
+  if command -v cygpath >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    candidate="$(cygpath -u "$candidate" 2>/dev/null || printf '%s' "$candidate")"
+  fi
+  (cd "$candidate" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P) || true
+}
+
+SOURCE_ROOT=""
+if [ -n "${GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT:-}" ]; then
+  SOURCE_ROOT="$(normalize_candidate "$GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT")"
+  if [ -z "$SOURCE_ROOT" ] || ! is_complete_gstack_source "$SOURCE_ROOT"; then
+    echo "ERROR: GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT does not contain a complete gstack source install: $GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT" >&2
+    exit 2
+  fi
+else
+  SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd -P)"
+  for candidate in \
+    "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." \
+    "$HOME/.gstack/repos/gstack" \
+    "$HOME/.claude/skills/gstack" \
+    "$HOME/.codex/skills/gstack"; do
+    resolved="$(normalize_candidate "$candidate")"
+    if [ -n "$resolved" ] && is_complete_gstack_source "$resolved"; then
+      SOURCE_ROOT="$resolved"
+      break
+    fi
+  done
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$SOURCE_ROOT" ]; then
+  echo "ERROR: no complete gstack source install was found." >&2
+  echo "Expected browse/src/cli.ts, browse/dist/server-node.mjs, and installed dependencies." >&2
+  echo "Set GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT to the full gstack checkout and retry." >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+if ! command -v bun >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "ERROR: Bun is required for the Windows gstack browser launcher." >&2
+  exit 3
+fi
+
+if ! command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "ERROR: Node.js is required for the Windows gstack browser server." >&2
+  exit 3
+fi
+
+cd "$SOURCE_ROOT"
+exec bun run "$SOURCE_ROOT/browse/src/cli.ts" "$@"
diff --git a/scripts/build.sh b/scripts/build.sh
index 67acf6dc0..c31e3b1f3 100755
--- a/scripts/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build.sh
@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ esac
 "$BUN_CMD" build --compile make-pdf/src/cli.ts --outfile make-pdf/dist/pdf
 "$BUN_CMD" build --compile bin/gstack-global-discover.ts --outfile bin/gstack-global-discover
 bash browse/scripts/build-node-server.sh
+# Smart App Control can block the locally compiled unsigned browse.exe.
+# Browser skills use an extensionless source launcher through the installed Bun
+# runtime while the native binary remains available for signed release workflows.
+BUN_CMD="$BUN_CMD" bash browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher "$(uname -s)" "$ROOT"
 bash scripts/write-version-files.sh browse/dist/.version design/dist/.version make-pdf/dist/.version
 chmod +x browse/dist/browse browse/dist/find-browse design/dist/design make-pdf/dist/pdf bin/gstack-global-discover
 rm -f .*.bun-build
diff --git a/setup b/setup
index 275236cd3..903db5feb 100755
--- a/setup
+++ b/setup
@@ -380,6 +380,8 @@ if [ ! -x "$BROWSE_BIN" ]; then
   NEEDS_BUILD=1
 elif [ -n "$(find "$SOURCE_GSTACK_DIR/browse/src" -type f -newer "$BROWSE_BIN" -print -quit 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
   NEEDS_BUILD=1
+elif [ "$IS_WINDOWS" -eq 1 ] && { [ "$SOURCE_GSTACK_DIR/browse/bin/windows-browse" -nt "$BROWSE_BIN" ] || [ "$SOURCE_GSTACK_DIR/browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher" -nt "$BROWSE_BIN" ]; }; then
+  NEEDS_BUILD=1
 elif [ "$SOURCE_GSTACK_DIR/package.json" -nt "$BROWSE_BIN" ]; then
   NEEDS_BUILD=1
 elif [ -f "$SOURCE_GSTACK_DIR/bun.lock" ] && [ "$SOURCE_GSTACK_DIR/bun.lock" -nt "$BROWSE_BIN" ]; then
diff --git a/test/windows-appcontrol-launcher.test.ts b/test/windows-appcontrol-launcher.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..979027425
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/windows-appcontrol-launcher.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
+import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs';
+import { tmpdir } from 'os';
+import { basename, join, resolve } from 'path';
+import { spawnSync } from 'child_process';
+
+const ROOT = resolve(import.meta.dir, '..');
+const POSIX_LAUNCHER = join(ROOT, 'browse', 'bin', 'windows-browse');
+const STAGE_LAUNCHER = join(ROOT, 'browse', 'bin', 'stage-windows-browse-launcher');
+const BUILD_SCRIPT = readFileSync(join(ROOT, 'scripts', 'build.sh'), 'utf8');
+const SETUP_SCRIPT = readFileSync(join(ROOT, 'setup'), 'utf8');
+const BASH = process.platform === 'win32'
+  ? join(process.env.ProgramFiles || 'C:\\Program Files', 'Git', 'bin', 'bash.exe')
+  : 'bash';
+const tempRoots: string[] = [];
+
+function makeCompleteSource(): string {
+  const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-appcontrol-source-'));
+  tempRoots.push(root);
+  for (const relative of [
+    'browse/src',
+    'browse/dist',
+    'node_modules/playwright',
+    'node_modules/diff',
+  ]) {
+    mkdirSync(join(root, relative), { recursive: true });
+  }
+  writeFileSync(join(root, 'package.json'), '{}\n');
+  writeFileSync(
+    join(root, 'browse/src/cli.ts'),
+    'console.log(`cwd=${process.cwd().replace(/\\\\/g, "/")}`);\n' +
+      'for (const arg of Bun.argv.slice(2)) console.log(`arg=${arg}`);\n',
+  );
+  writeFileSync(join(root, 'browse/dist/server-node.mjs'), '// fixture\n');
+  writeFileSync(join(root, 'node_modules/playwright/package.json'), '{}\n');
+  writeFileSync(join(root, 'node_modules/diff/package.json'), '{}\n');
+  return root;
+}
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  for (const root of tempRoots.splice(0)) {
+    rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});
+
+describe('Windows Smart App Control browse launcher', () => {
+  test('source launcher discovers complete installs without a hardcoded user path', () => {
+    const posix = readFileSync(POSIX_LAUNCHER, 'utf8');
+
+    expect(posix).toContain('GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT');
+    expect(posix).toContain('browse/src/cli.ts');
+    expect(posix).toContain('browse/dist/server-node.mjs');
+    expect(posix).toContain('node_modules');
+    expect(posix).not.toMatch(/Users[\\/]Administrator|Users[\\/]garry/i);
+    expect(posix).toContain('$HOME/.gstack/repos/gstack');
+    expect(posix).toContain('$HOME/.claude/skills/gstack');
+  });
+
+  test('POSIX launcher forwards arguments through Bun from the discovered source root', () => {
+    const sourceRoot = makeCompleteSource();
+    if (process.platform === 'win32') expect(existsSync(BASH)).toBe(true);
+
+    const result = spawnSync(BASH, ['browse/bin/windows-browse', 'goto', 'http://127.0.0.1:4322/'], {
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      cwd: ROOT,
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT: sourceRoot,
+      },
+    });
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    const cwdLine = result.stdout.split(/\r?\n/).find(line => line.startsWith('cwd='));
+    expect(cwdLine?.replace(/\\/g, '/').endsWith(`/${basename(sourceRoot)}`)).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('arg=goto');
+    expect(result.stdout).toContain('arg=http://127.0.0.1:4322/');
+  });
+
+  test('explicit incomplete source roots fail closed', () => {
+    const incomplete = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-appcontrol-incomplete-'));
+    tempRoots.push(incomplete);
+    const result = spawnSync(BASH, ['browse/bin/windows-browse', 'status'], {
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      cwd: ROOT,
+      env: { ...process.env, GSTACK_SOURCE_ROOT: incomplete },
+    });
+    expect(result.status).toBe(2);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('does not contain a complete gstack source install');
+  });
+
+  test('stager no-ops off Windows and preserves browse.exe while installing the exact launcher', () => {
+    const stageRoot = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gstack-appcontrol-stage-'));
+    tempRoots.push(stageRoot);
+    mkdirSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/bin'), { recursive: true });
+    mkdirSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/dist'), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/bin/windows-browse'), '#!/usr/bin/env bash\necho staged\n');
+    writeFileSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/dist/browse.exe'), 'native sentinel\n');
+    const shellRoot = stageRoot.replace(/\\/g, '/');
+
+    const nonWindows = spawnSync(BASH, ['browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher', 'Linux', shellRoot], {
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      cwd: ROOT,
+    });
+    expect(nonWindows.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(existsSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/dist/browse'))).toBe(false);
+
+    const windows = spawnSync(BASH, ['browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher', 'MINGW64_NT-10.0', shellRoot], {
+      encoding: 'utf8',
+      cwd: ROOT,
+    });
+    expect(windows.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(readFileSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/dist/browse'), 'utf8')).toBe(
+      readFileSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/bin/windows-browse'), 'utf8'),
+    );
+    expect(readFileSync(join(stageRoot, 'browse/dist/browse.exe'), 'utf8')).toBe('native sentinel\n');
+  });
+
+  test('Windows build stages the extensionless launcher after compiling', () => {
+    expect(BUILD_SCRIPT).toContain('bash browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher');
+    expect(BUILD_SCRIPT.indexOf('build --compile browse/src/cli.ts')).toBeLessThan(
+      BUILD_SCRIPT.indexOf('bash browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher'),
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('setup rebuilds when either Windows launcher file changes', () => {
+    expect(SETUP_SCRIPT).toContain('browse/bin/windows-browse" -nt "$BROWSE_BIN');
+    expect(SETUP_SCRIPT).toContain('browse/bin/stage-windows-browse-launcher" -nt "$BROWSE_BIN');
+  });
+});