diff --git a/apps/desktop/resources/installer.nsh b/apps/desktop/resources/installer.nsh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..092f641c3359
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/resources/installer.nsh
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+!macro customInstall
+  !ifndef DO_NOT_CREATE_START_MENU_SHORTCUT
+    ${IfNot} ${FileExists} "$newStartMenuLink"
+      !insertmacro createMenuDirectory
+      CreateShortCut "$newStartMenuLink" "$appExe" "" "$appExe" 0 "" "" "${APP_DESCRIPTION}"
+      ClearErrors
+      WinShell::SetLnkAUMI "$newStartMenuLink" "${APP_ID}"
+    ${EndIf}
+  !endif
+!macroend
diff --git a/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.test.ts b/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.test.ts
index b7383de236aa..4351d4b7d8a6 100644
--- a/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.test.ts
+++ b/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.test.ts
@@ -451,7 +451,10 @@ it.layer(NodeServices.layer)("build-desktop-artifact", (it) => {
         },
         ...WINDOWS_SERVER_EXTRA_RESOURCES,
       ]);
-      assert.deepStrictEqual(win.nsis, { differentialPackage: true });
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(win.nsis, {
+        differentialPackage: true,
+        include: "apps/desktop/resources/installer.nsh",
+      });
       // Native binaries and helper executables cannot load from inside an
       // asar; everything else stays packed. The Claude SDK platform packages
       // and .bin shims never ship.
diff --git a/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.ts b/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.ts
index bf36029bc75b..85039aad2888 100644
--- a/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.ts
+++ b/scripts/build-desktop-artifact.ts
@@ -2135,7 +2135,10 @@ export const createBuildConfig = Effect.fn("createBuildConfig")(function* (
     // Keep blockmap-based differential downloads enabled while changing the
     // installed file topology. The optimization is in the payload shape, not
     // in trading update bandwidth for install speed.
-    buildConfig.nsis = { differentialPackage: true };
+    buildConfig.nsis = {
+      differentialPackage: true,
+      include: "apps/desktop/resources/installer.nsh",
+    };
     const winConfig: Record<string, unknown> = {
       target: [target],
       icon: "icon.ico",