diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ac8a6d10..42c3464f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 </p>
 
 <p align="center">
-  <sub>100% free, open source. No API keys. No configuration. Just download, open, and see everything Claude Code did.</sub>
+  <sub>100% free, open source. No API keys. No configuration.</sub>
 </p>
 
 <br />
diff --git a/src/main/services/infrastructure/CliInstallerService.ts b/src/main/services/infrastructure/CliInstallerService.ts
index 35772582..9af488fa 100644
--- a/src/main/services/infrastructure/CliInstallerService.ts
+++ b/src/main/services/infrastructure/CliInstallerService.ts
@@ -58,6 +58,12 @@ const INSTALL_TIMEOUT_MS = 120_000;
 /** Max redirects to follow when fetching from GCS */
 const MAX_REDIRECTS = 5;
 
+/** Max retries for EBUSY (antivirus scanning the new binary) */
+const EBUSY_MAX_RETRIES = 3;
+
+/** Delay between EBUSY retries (multiplied by attempt number) */
+const EBUSY_RETRY_DELAY_MS = 2000;
+
 // =============================================================================
 // Helpers
 // =============================================================================
@@ -331,6 +337,12 @@ export class CliInstallerService {
         await fsp.chmod(tmpFilePath, 0o755);
       }
 
+      // On Windows, antivirus (Defender) scans new executables on first access.
+      // A brief pause lets the scan complete before we spawn, preventing EBUSY.
+      if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+        await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1000));
+      }
+
       this.sendProgress({
         type: 'installing',
         detail: 'Starting shell integration...',
@@ -411,7 +423,11 @@ export class CliInstallerService {
       });
 
       res.on('end', () => {
-        fileStream.end(() => resolve(hash.digest('hex')));
+        const digest = hash.digest('hex');
+        fileStream.end();
+        // Wait for 'close' (not just 'finish') — ensures file descriptor is fully released.
+        // On Windows, spawning the file before 'close' can cause EBUSY.
+        fileStream.on('close', () => resolve(digest));
       });
 
       res.on('error', (err) => {
@@ -429,8 +445,9 @@ export class CliInstallerService {
   /**
    * Run `claude install` via spawn with streaming output.
    * Collects all output for error context. Non-zero exit tolerated if binary resolves.
+   * Retries on EBUSY (antivirus scanning the new binary).
    */
-  private async runInstallWithStreaming(binaryPath: string): Promise<void> {
+  private async runInstallWithStreaming(binaryPath: string, attempt = 1): Promise<void> {
     return new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
       const child = spawn(binaryPath, ['install'], {
         env: { ...process.env, CLAUDE_SKIP_ANALYTICS: '1' },
@@ -491,6 +508,24 @@ export class CliInstallerService {
 
       child.on('error', (err) => {
         clearTimeout(timeout);
+
+        // EBUSY: antivirus (Windows Defender / macOS Gatekeeper) may be scanning the binary — retry
+        const isEbusy = (err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === 'EBUSY';
+        if (isEbusy && attempt < EBUSY_MAX_RETRIES) {
+          const delayMs = attempt * EBUSY_RETRY_DELAY_MS;
+          logger.warn(
+            `spawn EBUSY (attempt ${attempt}/${EBUSY_MAX_RETRIES}), retrying in ${delayMs}ms...`
+          );
+          this.sendProgress({
+            type: 'installing',
+            rawChunk: `\r\n⏳ File busy (OS scan), retrying in ${delayMs / 1000}s...\r\n`,
+          });
+          setTimeout(() => {
+            this.runInstallWithStreaming(binaryPath, attempt + 1).then(resolve, reject);
+          }, delayMs);
+          return;
+        }
+
         reject(err);
       });
     });
diff --git a/src/main/services/infrastructure/PtyTerminalService.ts b/src/main/services/infrastructure/PtyTerminalService.ts
index f03bd429..55f02753 100644
--- a/src/main/services/infrastructure/PtyTerminalService.ts
+++ b/src/main/services/infrastructure/PtyTerminalService.ts
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
  */
 
 import crypto from 'node:crypto';
-import os from 'node:os';
 
+import { getHomeDir } from '@main/utils/pathDecoder';
 // eslint-disable-next-line boundaries/element-types -- IPC channel constants shared between main and preload
 import { TERMINAL_DATA, TERMINAL_EXIT } from '@preload/constants/ipcChannels';
 import { createLogger } from '@shared/utils/logger';
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export class PtyTerminalService {
       name: 'xterm-256color',
       cols: options?.cols ?? 80,
       rows: options?.rows ?? 24,
-      cwd: options?.cwd ?? os.homedir(),
+      cwd: options?.cwd ?? getHomeDir(),
       env: { ...process.env, ...options?.env } as Record<string, string>,
     });
 
diff --git a/src/main/utils/pathDecoder.ts b/src/main/utils/pathDecoder.ts
index 07478cca..4b37b158 100644
--- a/src/main/utils/pathDecoder.ts
+++ b/src/main/utils/pathDecoder.ts
@@ -223,9 +223,42 @@ export function buildTodoPath(claudeBasePath: string, sessionId: string): string
 // =============================================================================
 
 /**
- * Get the user's home directory.
+ * Try Electron's app.getPath('home') which correctly handles Unicode paths
+ * on Windows (Cyrillic, CJK, etc.) unlike Node's os.homedir() / env vars
+ * that can suffer from UTF-8 vs system codepage mismatches.
+ *
+ * Returns null when Electron app is unavailable (e.g. in tests).
  */
-function getHomeDir(): string {
+function getElectronHome(): string | null {
+  try {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-require-imports -- Lazy require to avoid hard dependency on electron in test environments
+    const electron = require('electron') as {
+      app?: { getPath: (name: string) => string };
+    };
+    const app = electron.app;
+    if (app && typeof app.getPath === 'function') {
+      const home = app.getPath('home');
+      if (home) return home;
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // Not in Electron context (tests, standalone builds, etc.)
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get the user's home directory.
+ *
+ * Priority:
+ * 1. Electron app.getPath('home') — correct Unicode handling on all platforms
+ * 2. HOME env var (Unix) / USERPROFILE (Windows)
+ * 3. HOMEDRIVE + HOMEPATH (Windows fallback)
+ * 4. os.homedir() (Node.js built-in)
+ */
+export function getHomeDir(): string {
+  const electronHome = getElectronHome();
+  if (electronHome) return electronHome;
+
   const windowsHome =
     process.env.HOMEDRIVE && process.env.HOMEPATH
       ? `${process.env.HOMEDRIVE}${process.env.HOMEPATH}`
diff --git a/src/main/utils/pathValidation.ts b/src/main/utils/pathValidation.ts
index dc9c6d34..4908e22e 100644
--- a/src/main/utils/pathValidation.ts
+++ b/src/main/utils/pathValidation.ts
@@ -6,10 +6,9 @@
  */
 
 import * as fs from 'fs';
-import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
-import { getClaudeBasePath } from './pathDecoder';
+import { getClaudeBasePath, getHomeDir } from './pathDecoder';
 
 /**
  * Sensitive file patterns that should never be accessible.
@@ -149,7 +148,7 @@ export function validateFilePath(
 
   // Expand ~ to home directory
   const expandedPath = filePath.startsWith('~')
-    ? path.join(os.homedir(), filePath.slice(1))
+    ? path.join(getHomeDir(), filePath.slice(1))
     : filePath;
 
   // Must be absolute path
@@ -212,7 +211,7 @@ export function validateOpenPathUserSelected(targetPath: string): PathValidation
   }
 
   const expandedPath = targetPath.startsWith('~')
-    ? path.join(os.homedir(), targetPath.slice(1))
+    ? path.join(getHomeDir(), targetPath.slice(1))
     : targetPath;
 
   const normalizedPath = path.resolve(path.normalize(expandedPath));
@@ -256,7 +255,7 @@ export function validateOpenPath(
 
   // Expand ~ to home directory
   const expandedPath = targetPath.startsWith('~')
-    ? path.join(os.homedir(), targetPath.slice(1))
+    ? path.join(getHomeDir(), targetPath.slice(1))
     : targetPath;
 
   const normalizedPath = path.resolve(path.normalize(expandedPath));