diff --git a/hermes_cli/clipboard.py b/hermes_cli/clipboard.py
index fa750d85c5..6373cfc8b3 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/clipboard.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/clipboard.py
@@ -285,8 +285,8 @@ def _convert_to_png(path: Path) -> bool:
         logger.debug("Pillow BMP→PNG conversion failed: %s", e)
 
     # Fall back to ImageMagick convert
+    tmp = path.with_suffix(".bmp")
     try:
-        tmp = path.with_suffix(".bmp")
         path.rename(tmp)
         r = subprocess.run(
             ["convert", str(tmp), "png:" + str(path)],
@@ -297,8 +297,12 @@ def _convert_to_png(path: Path) -> bool:
             return True
     except FileNotFoundError:
         logger.debug("ImageMagick not installed — cannot convert BMP to PNG")
+        if tmp.exists() and not path.exists():
+            tmp.rename(path)
     except Exception as e:
         logger.debug("ImageMagick BMP→PNG conversion failed: %s", e)
+        if tmp.exists() and not path.exists():
+            tmp.rename(path)
 
     # Can't convert — BMP is still usable as-is for most APIs
     return path.exists() and path.stat().st_size > 0
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_clipboard.py b/tests/tools/test_clipboard.py
index 9b75974171..dca3d3d2b4 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_clipboard.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_clipboard.py
@@ -550,14 +550,13 @@ class TestConvertToPng:
         """BMP file should still be reported as success if no converter available."""
         dest = tmp_path / "img.png"
         dest.write_bytes(FAKE_BMP)  # it's a BMP but named .png
-        # Both Pillow and ImageMagick fail
-        with patch("hermes_cli.clipboard.subprocess.run", side_effect=FileNotFoundError):
-            # Pillow import fails
-            with pytest.raises(Exception):
-                from PIL import Image  # noqa — this may or may not work
-            # The function should still return True if file exists and has content
-            # (raw BMP is better than nothing)
-            assert dest.exists() and dest.stat().st_size > 0
+        # Both Pillow and ImageMagick unavailable
+        with patch.dict(sys.modules, {"PIL": None, "PIL.Image": None}):
+            with patch("hermes_cli.clipboard.subprocess.run", side_effect=FileNotFoundError):
+                result = _convert_to_png(dest)
+                # Raw BMP is better than nothing — function should return True
+                assert result is True
+                assert dest.exists() and dest.stat().st_size > 0
 
 
 # ── has_clipboard_image dispatch ─────────────────────────────────────────