diff --git a/gateway/run.py b/gateway/run.py
index 429f1ce0b54..c6eaabf922a 100644
--- a/gateway/run.py
+++ b/gateway/run.py
@@ -5501,6 +5501,19 @@ class GatewayRunner(GatewayAuthorizationMixin, GatewayKanbanWatchersMixin, Gatew
             # run as a self-restart loop guard and the gateway stays stopped.
             watcher_env.pop("_HERMES_GATEWAY", None)
             project_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+            watcher_python = sys.executable
+            try:
+                # Prefer a real GUI-subsystem interpreter for the watcher
+                # itself.  With uv venvs, ``python.exe`` can re-exec the base
+                # console interpreter and flash even when the Popen carries
+                # CREATE_NO_WINDOW; pythonw.exe avoids console allocation.
+                from hermes_cli.gateway_windows import _resolve_detached_python
+
+                watcher_python, _watcher_venv_dir, _watcher_site_packages = (
+                    _resolve_detached_python(sys.executable)
+                )
+            except Exception:
+                watcher_python = sys.executable
             venv_dir = Path(watcher_env.get("VIRTUAL_ENV") or project_root / "venv")
             site_packages = venv_dir / "Lib" / "site-packages"
             if site_packages.exists():
@@ -5510,7 +5523,7 @@ class GatewayRunner(GatewayAuthorizationMixin, GatewayKanbanWatchersMixin, Gatew
                     pythonpath.append(watcher_env["PYTHONPATH"])
                 watcher_env["PYTHONPATH"] = os.pathsep.join(dict.fromkeys(pythonpath))
             subprocess.Popen(
-                [sys.executable, "-c", watcher, str(current_pid), str(restart_after_s), *cmd_argv],
+                [watcher_python, "-c", watcher, str(current_pid), str(restart_after_s), *cmd_argv],
                 stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
                 stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
                 env=watcher_env,
diff --git a/gateway/status.py b/gateway/status.py
index 80c0f8286f0..9b8a1b6f83c 100644
--- a/gateway/status.py
+++ b/gateway/status.py
@@ -171,17 +171,18 @@ def _read_process_cmdline(pid: int) -> Optional[str]:
         if raw:
             return raw.replace(b"\x00", b" ").decode("utf-8", errors="ignore").strip()
 
-    try:
-        result = subprocess.run(
-            ["ps", "-p", str(pid), "-o", "command="],
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            timeout=5,
-        )
-        if result.returncode == 0 and result.stdout.strip():
-            return result.stdout.strip()
-    except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired):
-        pass
+    if not _IS_WINDOWS:
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                ["ps", "-p", str(pid), "-o", "command="],
+                capture_output=True,
+                text=True,
+                timeout=5,
+            )
+            if result.returncode == 0 and result.stdout.strip():
+                return result.stdout.strip()
+        except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired):
+            pass
 
     # Windows fallback: psutil (already used by _pid_exists)
     try:
diff --git a/hermes_cli/gateway.py b/hermes_cli/gateway.py
index 2624b43253d..a39ef54ad56 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/gateway.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/gateway.py
@@ -180,7 +180,11 @@ def _get_parent_pid(pid: int) -> int | None:
         pass
     except Exception:
         return None
-    # Fallback: shell out to ps (POSIX only — bare ``ps`` doesn't exist on Windows).
+    # Fallback: shell out to ps (POSIX only).  Git Bash installs ``ps.exe`` on
+    # Windows; running it from the windowless desktop/gateway backend flashes a
+    # console, and psutil above is the authoritative Windows path anyway.
+    if is_windows():
+        return None
     if not shutil.which("ps"):
         return None
     try:
diff --git a/hermes_constants.py b/hermes_constants.py
index 274bed4b003..526bb0ed473 100644
--- a/hermes_constants.py
+++ b/hermes_constants.py
@@ -317,11 +317,14 @@ def node_tool_runnable(path: str | None) -> bool:
     import subprocess
 
     try:
+        from hermes_cli._subprocess_compat import windows_hide_flags
+
         result = subprocess.run(
             [path, "--version"],
             capture_output=True,
             timeout=10,
             env=with_hermes_node_path(),
+            creationflags=windows_hide_flags(),
         )
     except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired, ValueError):
         return False
@@ -562,11 +565,14 @@ def agent_browser_runnable(path: str | None) -> bool:
     import subprocess
 
     try:
+        from hermes_cli._subprocess_compat import windows_hide_flags
+
         result = subprocess.run(
             [path, "--version"],
             capture_output=True,
             timeout=10,
             env=with_hermes_node_path(),
+            creationflags=windows_hide_flags(),
         )
     except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired, ValueError):
         return False
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_restart_drain.py b/tests/gateway/test_restart_drain.py
index 56c0ce7aeba..e9cae47ac9f 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_restart_drain.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_restart_drain.py
@@ -353,6 +353,49 @@ async def test_windows_detached_restart_scrubs_gateway_marker(monkeypatch, tmp_p
     assert kwargs["stderr"] is subprocess.DEVNULL
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_windows_detached_restart_uses_pythonw_for_watcher(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    runner, _adapter = make_restart_runner()
+    popen_calls = []
+    venv_dir = tmp_path / "venv"
+    site_packages = venv_dir / "Lib" / "site-packages"
+    site_packages.mkdir(parents=True)
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_run.sys, "platform", "win32")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_run.sys, "executable", r"C:\venv\Scripts\python.exe")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_run, "_resolve_hermes_bin", lambda: ["hermes"])
+    monkeypatch.setattr(gateway_run.os, "getpid", lambda: 321)
+    monkeypatch.setenv("VIRTUAL_ENV", str(venv_dir))
+
+    import hermes_cli._subprocess_compat as subprocess_compat
+    import hermes_cli.gateway_windows as gateway_windows
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        gateway_windows,
+        "_resolve_detached_python",
+        lambda _python: (r"C:\Python311\pythonw.exe", venv_dir, [str(site_packages)]),
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        subprocess_compat,
+        "windows_detach_popen_kwargs",
+        lambda: {"creationflags": 0x08000008},
+    )
+
+    def fake_popen(cmd, **kwargs):
+        popen_calls.append((cmd, kwargs))
+        return MagicMock()
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(subprocess, "Popen", fake_popen)
+
+    await runner._launch_detached_restart_command()
+
+    assert len(popen_calls) == 1
+    cmd, kwargs = popen_calls[0]
+    assert cmd[0] == r"C:\Python311\pythonw.exe"
+    assert cmd[-3:] == ["hermes", "gateway", "restart"]
+    assert kwargs["creationflags"] == 0x08000008
+
+
 # ── Shutdown notification tests ──────────────────────────────────────
 
 
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_status.py b/tests/gateway/test_status.py
index 7301656f6bd..ab4c9415743 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_status.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_status.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import json
 import os
+import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import SimpleNamespace
 
@@ -1351,6 +1352,7 @@ class TestReadProcessCmdlinePsFallback:
 
     def test_ps_fallback_when_proc_unavailable(self, monkeypatch):
         monkeypatch.setattr(status.Path, "read_bytes", lambda self: (_ for _ in ()).throw(FileNotFoundError))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(status, "_IS_WINDOWS", False)
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             status.subprocess, "run",
             lambda args, **kwargs: SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="/usr/libexec/bluetoothuserd\n"),
@@ -1360,6 +1362,7 @@ class TestReadProcessCmdlinePsFallback:
 
     def test_ps_fallback_returns_none_on_failure(self, monkeypatch):
         monkeypatch.setattr(status.Path, "read_bytes", lambda self: (_ for _ in ()).throw(FileNotFoundError))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(status, "_IS_WINDOWS", False)
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             status.subprocess, "run",
             lambda args, **kwargs: SimpleNamespace(returncode=1, stdout=""),
@@ -1381,6 +1384,7 @@ class TestReadProcessCmdlinePsFallback:
 
     def test_ps_fallback_used_when_proc_returns_empty(self, monkeypatch):
         monkeypatch.setattr(status.Path, "read_bytes", lambda self: b"")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(status, "_IS_WINDOWS", False)
         monkeypatch.setattr(
             status.subprocess, "run",
             lambda args, **kwargs: SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="python hermes_cli/main.py gateway run\n"),
@@ -1388,6 +1392,34 @@ class TestReadProcessCmdlinePsFallback:
         result = status._read_process_cmdline(12345)
         assert "hermes_cli/main.py" in result
 
+    def test_windows_skips_ps_fallback_and_uses_psutil(self, monkeypatch):
+        monkeypatch.setattr(status.Path, "read_bytes", lambda self: (_ for _ in ()).throw(FileNotFoundError))
+        monkeypatch.setattr(status, "_IS_WINDOWS", True)
+        ps_calls = []
+        monkeypatch.setattr(
+            status.subprocess,
+            "run",
+            lambda args, **kwargs: ps_calls.append((args, kwargs)) or SimpleNamespace(returncode=0, stdout="ps should not run\n"),
+        )
+
+        class _Proc:
+            def __init__(self, pid):
+                self.pid = pid
+
+            def cmdline(self):
+                return ["pythonw.exe", "-m", "hermes_cli.main", "gateway", "run"]
+
+        monkeypatch.setitem(
+            sys.modules,
+            "psutil",
+            SimpleNamespace(Process=_Proc),
+        )
+
+        result = status._read_process_cmdline(12345)
+
+        assert result == "pythonw.exe -m hermes_cli.main gateway run"
+        assert ps_calls == []
+
 
 class TestCorruptStatusFiles:
     """A status / pid file holding non-UTF-8 (binary) bytes must read as
diff --git a/tests/test_hermes_constants.py b/tests/test_hermes_constants.py
index 46ff5a3ce6b..8635c6827c8 100644
--- a/tests/test_hermes_constants.py
+++ b/tests/test_hermes_constants.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import os
 from pathlib import Path
+from types import SimpleNamespace
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -611,6 +612,43 @@ class TestAgentBrowserRunnable:
         assert agent_browser_runnable("npx agent-browser") is True
         assert agent_browser_runnable("/usr/local/bin/npx agent-browser") is True
 
+    def test_version_probe_uses_windows_hide_flags(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        good = self._stub(tmp_path, "agent-browser", "#!/bin/sh\necho hi\n")
+        captured = []
+
+        def fake_run(cmd, **kwargs):
+            captured.append((cmd, kwargs))
+            return SimpleNamespace(returncode=0)
+
+        import hermes_cli._subprocess_compat as subprocess_compat
+        import subprocess as subprocess_mod
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(subprocess_compat, "windows_hide_flags", lambda: 0x08000000)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(subprocess_mod, "run", fake_run)
+
+        assert agent_browser_runnable(str(good)) is True
+        assert captured[0][0] == [str(good), "--version"]
+        assert captured[0][1]["creationflags"] == 0x08000000
+
+
+    def test_node_tool_probe_uses_windows_hide_flags(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        good = self._stub(tmp_path, "node", "#!/bin/sh\necho v22\n")
+        captured = []
+
+        def fake_run(cmd, **kwargs):
+            captured.append((cmd, kwargs))
+            return SimpleNamespace(returncode=0)
+
+        import hermes_cli._subprocess_compat as subprocess_compat
+        import subprocess as subprocess_mod
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(subprocess_compat, "windows_hide_flags", lambda: 0x08000000)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(subprocess_mod, "run", fake_run)
+
+        assert node_tool_runnable(str(good)) is True
+        assert captured[0][0] == [str(good), "--version"]
+        assert captured[0][1]["creationflags"] == 0x08000000
+
 
 class TestGetHermesDir:
     """Tests for ``get_hermes_dir(new_subpath, old_name)``.
diff --git a/tests/test_windows_subprocess_no_window_flags.py b/tests/test_windows_subprocess_no_window_flags.py
index 3f877bc32bb..7768f5fec08 100644
--- a/tests/test_windows_subprocess_no_window_flags.py
+++ b/tests/test_windows_subprocess_no_window_flags.py
@@ -299,3 +299,29 @@ def test_local_stt_audio_prep_hides_ffmpeg_window(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
 
     assert captured[0][0][0] == "ffmpeg"
     assert captured[0][1]["creationflags"] == _CREATE_NO_WINDOW
+
+def test_tui_slash_worker_hides_python_window(monkeypatch):
+    from tui_gateway import server
+
+    captured = []
+
+    class _Proc:
+        stdin = SimpleNamespace()
+        stdout = []
+        stderr = []
+
+    def fake_popen(cmd, **kwargs):
+        captured.append((cmd, kwargs))
+        return _Proc()
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server.subprocess, "Popen", fake_popen)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(server.threading, "Thread", lambda *a, **k: SimpleNamespace(start=lambda: None))
+
+    import hermes_cli._subprocess_compat as subprocess_compat
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(subprocess_compat, "windows_hide_flags", lambda: _CREATE_NO_WINDOW)
+
+    server._SlashWorker("session-key", "model-x")
+
+    assert captured[0][0][:3] == [server.sys.executable, "-m", "tui_gateway.slash_worker"]
+    assert captured[0][1]["creationflags"] == _CREATE_NO_WINDOW
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_browser_chromium_check.py b/tests/tools/test_browser_chromium_check.py
index 33df88735d5..f6641e7951e 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_browser_chromium_check.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_browser_chromium_check.py
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ class TestCheckBrowserRequirementsChromium:
 
     def test_local_mode_with_chromium_returns_true(self, monkeypatch, tmp_path):
         monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_is_camofox_mode", lambda: False)
-        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_find_agent_browser", lambda: "/usr/local/bin/agent-browser")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_find_agent_browser", lambda **_kw: "/usr/local/bin/agent-browser")
         monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_requires_real_termux_browser_install", lambda _: False)
         monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_get_cloud_provider", lambda: None)
         monkeypatch.setenv("PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH", str(tmp_path))
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class TestCheckBrowserRequirementsChromium:
                 return "browserbase"
 
         monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_is_camofox_mode", lambda: False)
-        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_find_agent_browser", lambda: "/usr/local/bin/agent-browser")
+        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_find_agent_browser", lambda **_kw: "/usr/local/bin/agent-browser")
         monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_requires_real_termux_browser_install", lambda _: False)
         monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_get_cloud_provider", lambda: FakeProvider())
         # Point chromium search at an empty dir — should not matter for cloud.
@@ -102,6 +102,23 @@ class TestCheckBrowserRequirementsChromium:
 
         assert bt.check_browser_requirements() is True
 
+    def test_startup_check_uses_lightweight_agent_browser_lookup(self, monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+        seen = []
+
+        def fake_find_agent_browser(**kwargs):
+            seen.append(kwargs)
+            return "/usr/local/bin/agent-browser"
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_is_camofox_mode", lambda: False)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_find_agent_browser", fake_find_agent_browser)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_requires_real_termux_browser_install", lambda _: False)
+        monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_get_cloud_provider", lambda: None)
+        monkeypatch.setenv("PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH", str(tmp_path))
+        (tmp_path / "chromium-1208").mkdir()
+
+        assert bt.check_browser_requirements() is True
+        assert seen == [{"validate": False}]
+
     def test_camofox_mode_does_not_require_chromium(self, monkeypatch, tmp_path):
         monkeypatch.setattr(bt, "_is_camofox_mode", lambda: True)
         # Even with no chromium on disk, camofox drives its own backend.
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_browser_homebrew_paths.py b/tests/tools/test_browser_homebrew_paths.py
index fbb1749d4d6..6994250bfd0 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_browser_homebrew_paths.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_browser_homebrew_paths.py
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ class TestBrowserRequirements:
         monkeypatch.setenv("PREFIX", "/data/data/com.termux/files/usr")
         monkeypatch.setattr("tools.browser_tool._is_camofox_mode", lambda: False)
         monkeypatch.setattr("tools.browser_tool._get_cloud_provider", lambda: None)
-        monkeypatch.setattr("tools.browser_tool._find_agent_browser", lambda: "npx agent-browser")
+        monkeypatch.setattr("tools.browser_tool._find_agent_browser", lambda **_kw: "npx agent-browser")
 
         assert check_browser_requirements() is False
 
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ class TestRunBrowserCommandTermuxFallback:
     def test_termux_local_mode_rejects_bare_npx_fallback(self, monkeypatch):
         monkeypatch.setenv("TERMUX_VERSION", "0.118.3")
         monkeypatch.setenv("PREFIX", "/data/data/com.termux/files/usr")
-        monkeypatch.setattr("tools.browser_tool._find_agent_browser", lambda: "npx agent-browser")
+        monkeypatch.setattr("tools.browser_tool._find_agent_browser", lambda **_kw: "npx agent-browser")
         monkeypatch.setattr("tools.browser_tool._get_cloud_provider", lambda: None)
 
         result = _run_browser_command("task-1", "navigate", ["https://example.com"])
diff --git a/tools/browser_tool.py b/tools/browser_tool.py
index ffd69e6bdef..8cd191c07c5 100644
--- a/tools/browser_tool.py
+++ b/tools/browser_tool.py
@@ -2002,7 +2002,15 @@ def _get_session_info(task_id: Optional[str] = None) -> Dict[str, str]:
 
 
 
-def _find_agent_browser() -> str:
+def _agent_browser_candidate_present(path: str | None) -> bool:
+    if not path:
+        return False
+    if " " in path and path.split()[0].endswith("npx"):
+        return True
+    return os.path.exists(path) and (os.name == "nt" or os.access(path, os.X_OK))
+
+
+def _find_agent_browser(*, validate: bool = True) -> str:
     """
     Find the agent-browser CLI executable.
 
@@ -2041,7 +2049,11 @@ def _find_agent_browser() -> str:
 
     # Check if it's in PATH (global install)
     which_result = shutil.which("agent-browser")
-    if which_result and agent_browser_runnable(which_result):
+    if which_result and (
+        agent_browser_runnable(which_result) if validate else _agent_browser_candidate_present(which_result)
+    ):
+        if not validate:
+            return which_result
         _cached_agent_browser = which_result
         _agent_browser_resolved = True
         return which_result
@@ -2051,7 +2063,11 @@ def _find_agent_browser() -> str:
     extended_path = _merge_browser_path("")
     if extended_path:
         which_result = shutil.which("agent-browser", path=extended_path)
-        if which_result and agent_browser_runnable(which_result):
+        if which_result and (
+            agent_browser_runnable(which_result) if validate else _agent_browser_candidate_present(which_result)
+        ):
+            if not validate:
+                return which_result
             _cached_agent_browser = which_result
             _agent_browser_resolved = True
             return which_result
@@ -2068,7 +2084,11 @@ def _find_agent_browser() -> str:
     local_bin_dir = repo_root / "node_modules" / ".bin"
     if local_bin_dir.is_dir():
         local_which = shutil.which("agent-browser", path=str(local_bin_dir))
-        if local_which and agent_browser_runnable(local_which):
+        if local_which and (
+            agent_browser_runnable(local_which) if validate else _agent_browser_candidate_present(local_which)
+        ):
+            if not validate:
+                return local_which
             _cached_agent_browser = local_which
             _agent_browser_resolved = True
             return _cached_agent_browser
@@ -2078,10 +2098,15 @@ def _find_agent_browser() -> str:
     if not npx_path and extended_path:
         npx_path = shutil.which("npx", path=extended_path)
     if npx_path:
+        if not validate:
+            return "npx agent-browser"
         _cached_agent_browser = "npx agent-browser"
         _agent_browser_resolved = True
         return _cached_agent_browser
 
+    if not validate:
+        raise FileNotFoundError("agent-browser CLI not found")
+
     # Nothing found — try lazy installation before giving up.
     try:
         from hermes_cli.dep_ensure import ensure_dependency
@@ -4206,8 +4231,12 @@ def check_browser_requirements() -> bool:
         return True
 
     # The agent-browser CLI is required for local launch and cloud-provider flows.
+    # Tool-schema assembly runs during Desktop startup; do not execute
+    # ``agent-browser --version`` here, because Windows .cmd shims route through
+    # cmd.exe and can flash a console before the user invokes any browser tool.
+    # Actual browser execution paths still validate the candidate before use.
     try:
-        browser_cmd = _find_agent_browser()
+        browser_cmd = _find_agent_browser(validate=False)
     except FileNotFoundError:
         return False
 
diff --git a/tui_gateway/server.py b/tui_gateway/server.py
index ea4ae4fbbf9..a654d690496 100644
--- a/tui_gateway/server.py
+++ b/tui_gateway/server.py
@@ -278,6 +278,8 @@ class _SlashWorker:
             argv += ["--model", model]
 
         self._closed = False
+        from hermes_cli._subprocess_compat import windows_hide_flags
+
         self.proc = subprocess.Popen(
             argv,
             stdin=subprocess.PIPE,
@@ -289,6 +291,7 @@ class _SlashWorker:
             # slash_worker runs the Hermes agent → needs provider credentials.
             # Tier-1 secrets (gateway/GitHub/infra) are still stripped (#29157).
             env=hermes_subprocess_env(inherit_credentials=True),
+            creationflags=windows_hide_flags(),
         )
         threading.Thread(target=self._drain_stdout, daemon=True).start()
         threading.Thread(target=self._drain_stderr, daemon=True).start()