diff --git a/script/text-import-plugin.ts b/script/text-import-plugin.ts
index c99bdc421..455edf697 100644
--- a/script/text-import-plugin.ts
+++ b/script/text-import-plugin.ts
@@ -26,13 +26,6 @@
  *      like `ink-frame.tsx` and third-party packages like `ink`,
  *      `react`) so the file is fully self-contained.
  *
- *   Some of the inlined packages (e.g. `signal-exit`, used by Ink)
- *   are CJS modules that call `require("assert")` etc. esbuild
- *   wraps these in `__require` shims that throw "Dynamic require
- *   is not supported" at runtime. The banner injects a real
- *   `require` function via `createRequire` so CJS dependencies
- *   resolve Node builtins correctly inside the ESM bundle.
- *
  *   Non-TypeScript files (plain `.js`) are copied verbatim.
  *
  * Used by `script/build.ts` (single-file executable) and
@@ -54,20 +47,17 @@ const TS_EXTENSIONS = new Set([".ts", ".tsx", ".jsx"]);
 
 /**
  * Banner injected into the pre-bundled sidecar JS. Provides a real
- * `require` function so esbuild's CJS-wrapping `__require` shims
- * can resolve Node.js builtins (`assert`, `events`, etc.) at runtime.
- * Without this, `signal-exit` and other CJS deps of Ink throw
- * "Dynamic require of 'assert' is not supported".
+ * `require` function so esbuild's CJS-wrapping `__require` shims can
+ * resolve Node.js builtins (`assert`, `events`, etc.) at runtime.
  */
 const REQUIRE_BANNER =
   'import { createRequire as ___cr } from "node:module";' +
   " var require = ___cr(import.meta.url);";
 
 /**
- * Pre-bundle a TypeScript/TSX source file into self-contained JS.
+ * Pre-bundle a TypeScript/TSX source file into a self-contained JS module.
  * All dependencies (local modules AND npm packages) are inlined;
- * only `node:*` builtins are external since Bun resolves them
- * natively inside `/$bunfs/`.
+ * only `node:*` builtins are external since Bun resolves them natively.
  */
 async function prebundleTs(sourcePath: string, outPath: string): Promise<void> {
   await esbuildBuild({
@@ -80,6 +70,9 @@ async function prebundleTs(sourcePath: string, outPath: string): Promise<void> {
     jsx: "automatic",
     external: ["node:*"],
     banner: { js: REQUIRE_BANNER },
+    define: {
+      "process.env.NODE_ENV": JSON.stringify("production"),
+    },
     minify: false,
     write: true,
   });
diff --git a/src/lib/init/ui/ink-ui-sidecar.ts b/src/lib/init/ui/ink-ui-sidecar.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..26d058a07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/init/ui/ink-ui-sidecar.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+/**
+ * Compiled-binary sidecar loader for the Ink App.
+ *
+ * Only imported in the compiled Bun binary (when import.meta.url
+ * contains /$bunfs/). In dev mode this module is never loaded, so the
+ * `with { type: "file" }` static import never runs and the Bun module
+ * cache for ink-app.tsx is never poisoned — which would cause any
+ * subsequent import() of that path to return the path string instead
+ * of the module.
+ */
+// @ts-expect-error: `with { type: "file" }` is Bun-specific and not yet typed in @types/bun
+import inkAppPath from "./ink-app.tsx" with { type: "file" };
+
+export function loadInkApp(): Promise<typeof import("./ink-app.js")> {
+  return import(inkAppPath as string) as Promise<typeof import("./ink-app.js")>;
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/init/ui/ink-ui.ts b/src/lib/init/ui/ink-ui.ts
index 237ab8c69..52c2178d8 100644
--- a/src/lib/init/ui/ink-ui.ts
+++ b/src/lib/init/ui/ink-ui.ts
@@ -161,33 +161,6 @@ function severityForStopCode(code: SpinnerExitCode): LogSeverity {
   return "success";
 }
 
-/**
- * Embed the Ink App sidecar as a Bun-compile file resource.
- *
- * `with { type: "file" }` tells Bun.compile to embed the file into
- * the binary's virtual filesystem (`/$bunfs/root/`) and replace the
- * import with the embedded path string at runtime. The
- * `text-import-plugin` in `script/build.ts` intercepts this during
- * esbuild: it pre-bundles the .tsx source into self-contained JS
- * (stripping TypeScript, inlining local deps and npm packages,
- * injecting a `createRequire` banner for CJS deps), then marks the
- * import external so Bun.compile picks up the resulting .js file.
- *
- * Why pre-bundle? Bun's `/$bunfs/` virtual FS uses a JavaScript
- * parser, not TypeScript — raw .tsx fails on `import { type Foo }`.
- * The `/$bunfs/` environment also has no `node_modules`, so all
- * deps (ink, react, local modules) must be inlined.
- *
- * The npm/Node distribution never reaches `createInkUI()` (the
- * factory routes there only on the Bun binary because Ink uses
- * top-level await that esbuild can't emit in our CJS bundle), so
- * the embedded file is unused on Node. We still produce it because
- * the static import is unconditional; the bundle.ts cleanup step
- * `unlink`s the unused sidecar after bundling.
- */
-// @ts-expect-error: `with { type: "file" }` is Bun-specific and not yet typed in @types/bun
-import inkAppPath from "./ink-app.tsx" with { type: "file" };
-
 /**
  * Open a fresh `/dev/tty` `ReadStream` for Ink to consume. Returns
  * `null` when `/dev/tty` isn't available (non-TTY environment, or
@@ -213,22 +186,23 @@ function openFreshTtyForInk(): ReadStream | null {
 export async function createInkUI(
   opts: CreateInkUIOptions = {}
 ): Promise<InkUI> {
-  // Import the Ink App sidecar from the embedded file. The
-  // `with { type: "file" }` import above gives us the virtual path
-  // (e.g. `/$bunfs/root/ink-app-xxx.js`). The text-import-plugin
-  // pre-bundles the .tsx source into self-contained JS at build
-  // time, so the embedded file includes ink, react, and all local
-  // deps — no external resolution needed at runtime.
-  //
-  // NOTE: Do NOT append a query string (e.g. `?bridge=1`) to the
-  // path. Bun's `/$bunfs/` virtual filesystem does not support
-  // query strings — the path lookup fails with ENOENT.
+  // In the compiled binary: sidecar holds the `with { type: "file" }`
+  // import; detected via /$bunfs/ in import.meta.url.
   //
-  // `mountApp()` lives inside the sidecar so it uses the same
-  // ink/react instances as the App's hooks. Importing ink/react
-  // separately in this module would create a second copy of React,
-  // causing "Invalid hook call" errors at runtime.
-  const app = (await import(inkAppPath)) as typeof import("./ink-app.js");
+  // In dev mode: use a variable import path so esbuild cannot statically
+  // analyse it and bundle ink-app.tsx into bin.js. A literal
+  // `import("./ink-app.js")` would cause esbuild to inline ink-app.tsx
+  // — pulling in ink's CJS modules — and Bun.compile then injects
+  // __promiseAll at wrong positions inside those modules. The variable
+  // breaks esbuild's static analysis while still resolving correctly at
+  // dev-mode runtime. The sidecar is never loaded in dev mode so Bun's
+  // module cache for ink-app.tsx is never poisoned.
+  const devPath = /* @__PURE__ */ (() => "./ink-app.js")();
+  const app = (
+    import.meta.url.includes("/$bunfs/")
+      ? await (await import("./ink-ui-sidecar.js")).loadInkApp()
+      : ((await import(devPath)) as typeof import("./ink-app.js"))
+  ) as typeof import("./ink-app.js");
 
   const store = new WizardStore({
     cliVersion: CLI_VERSION,