diff --git a/scripts/install.ps1 b/scripts/install.ps1
index 179bca54b74..9712e293e42 100644
--- a/scripts/install.ps1
+++ b/scripts/install.ps1
@@ -502,6 +502,26 @@ function Sync-EnvPath {
     $env:Path = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User") + ";" + [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "Machine")
 }
 
+# npm lifecycle scripts on Windows spawn ``cmd.exe /d /s /c node <script>``.
+# PowerShell can resolve ``node`` via Get-Command while the child cmd process
+# still sees a PATH without node.exe's directory (nvm4w shims, App Paths
+# aliases, stale cross-process PATH).  Prepend the resolved node.exe parent
+# directory so postinstall hooks (electron-winstaller, native modules, etc.)
+# can find ``node``.  Regression for #48130.
+function Ensure-NodeExeOnPath {
+    $nodeCmd = Get-Command node -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if (-not $nodeCmd) { return $false }
+
+    $nodeExeDir = Split-Path $nodeCmd.Source -Parent
+    if (-not $nodeExeDir) { return $false }
+
+    $pathParts = $env:Path -split ";"
+    if ($pathParts -notcontains $nodeExeDir) {
+        $env:Path = "$nodeExeDir;$env:Path"
+    }
+    return $true
+}
+
 # Re-discover uv without re-installing it.  Cross-process stage drivers
 # (the desktop GUI's onboarding wizard, CI step-runners) invoke each stage
 # in a fresh powershell process, so $script:UvCmd set by Install-Uv in a
@@ -920,6 +940,7 @@ function Test-Node {
     if (Get-Command node -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
         $version = node --version
         if (Test-NodeVersionOk $version) {
+            Ensure-NodeExeOnPath | Out-Null
             Write-Success "Node.js $version found"
             $script:HasNode = $true
             return $true
@@ -2247,6 +2268,11 @@ function Install-NodeDeps {
         }
     }
 
+    # npm lifecycle scripts need node.exe on the PATH visible to child
+    # cmd.exe processes.  Stage-Node may have run in a prior process, so
+    # re-apply here before any npm install (regression #48130).
+    Ensure-NodeExeOnPath | Out-Null
+
     # Resolve npm explicitly to npm.cmd, NOT npm.ps1.  Node.js on Windows
     # ships BOTH npm.cmd (a batch shim) and npm.ps1 (a PowerShell shim).
     # Get-Command's default ordering picks whichever comes first in PATHEXT,