diff --git a/tests/tools/test_mcp_tool_issue_948.py b/tests/tools/test_mcp_tool_issue_948.py
index c3e04220260..f7cc00709e4 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_mcp_tool_issue_948.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_mcp_tool_issue_948.py
@@ -34,6 +34,39 @@ def test_resolve_stdio_command_falls_back_to_hermes_node_bin(tmp_path):
     assert env["PATH"].split(os.pathsep)[0] == str(node_bin)
 
 
+def test_resolve_stdio_command_falls_back_to_usr_local_bin():
+    """When ``npx`` isn't on the filtered PATH and isn't under ``$HERMES_HOME/node/bin``
+    or ``~/.local/bin``, the resolver should still locate it at ``/usr/local/bin/npx``.
+
+    This is the canonical install location for Node on Linux from-source builds,
+    the upstream ``node:bookworm-slim`` image (which the Hermes Docker image
+    copies ``node + npm + corepack`` from since #4977), and macOS Homebrew on
+    Intel. Without this candidate, MCP servers run with an ``env.PATH`` that
+    omits ``/usr/local/bin`` (common when users hand-author PATH for sandboxing)
+    fail with ENOENT at ``execvp``.
+    """
+    target = os.path.join(os.sep, "usr", "local", "bin", "npx")
+
+    # Pretend ONLY the /usr/local/bin/npx candidate exists and is executable —
+    # the other candidates ($HERMES_HOME/node/bin/npx and ~/.local/bin/npx)
+    # should fail isfile() and the resolver must fall through to /usr/local/bin.
+    def _fake_isfile(path):
+        return path == target
+
+    def _fake_access(path, _mode):
+        return path == target
+
+    with patch("tools.mcp_tool.shutil.which", return_value=None), \
+         patch("tools.mcp_tool.os.path.isfile", side_effect=_fake_isfile), \
+         patch("tools.mcp_tool.os.access", side_effect=_fake_access):
+        command, env = _resolve_stdio_command("npx", {"PATH": "/opt/data/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"})
+
+    assert command == target
+    # /usr/local/bin must be prepended so npx's shebang (`/usr/bin/env node`)
+    # can find node in the same directory.
+    assert env["PATH"].split(os.pathsep)[0] == os.path.dirname(target)
+
+
 def test_resolve_stdio_command_respects_explicit_empty_path():
     seen_paths = []
 
diff --git a/tools/mcp_tool.py b/tools/mcp_tool.py
index 157f79c1c52..5a3c7ab63af 100644
--- a/tools/mcp_tool.py
+++ b/tools/mcp_tool.py
@@ -422,6 +422,17 @@ def _resolve_stdio_command(command: str, env: dict) -> tuple[str, dict]:
             candidates = [
                 os.path.join(hermes_home, "node", "bin", resolved_command),
                 os.path.join(os.path.expanduser("~"), ".local", "bin", resolved_command),
+                # /usr/local/bin is the canonical install location for Node on
+                # Linux from-source builds, the upstream node:bookworm-slim
+                # image (which the Hermes Docker image copies node + npm +
+                # corepack from since #4977), and macOS Homebrew on Intel.
+                # Without this candidate, any MCP server configured with an
+                # env.PATH that omits /usr/local/bin (a common pattern when
+                # users hand-author PATH for sandboxing) fails with ENOENT
+                # at execvp, and a naive symlink workaround into the user's
+                # PATH only fails one layer deeper because npx's shebang
+                # re-execs /usr/bin/env node which needs the same directory.
+                os.path.join(os.sep, "usr", "local", "bin", resolved_command),
             ]
             for candidate in candidates:
                 if os.path.isfile(candidate) and os.access(candidate, os.X_OK):