diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/get-windows.d.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/get-windows.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a52c2feafe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/get-windows.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+// Type declarations for the get-windows optionalDependency.
+//
+// get-windows ships no bundled types and is an optionalDependency: on Linux
+// `npm ci` skips it when its node-pre-gyp install script fails (no Linux
+// prebuilt; the node-gyp fallback needs `gyp` in the active Python), so the
+// package is legitimately absent from node_modules on Linux builds. Declaring
+// the module here keeps the typecheck independent of whether the package
+// installed — the runtime import in window-below.ts degrades to null when it
+// is absent.
+
+declare module 'get-windows' {
+  export interface GetWindowsWindow {
+    bounds?: { height?: number; width?: number; x?: number; y?: number }
+    id?: number
+    owner?: { name?: string; processId?: number }
+    title?: string
+  }
+
+  export function openWindows(options?: {
+    accessibilityPermission?: boolean
+    screenRecordingPermission?: boolean
+  }): Promise<GetWindowsWindow[]>
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/electron/window-below.ts b/apps/desktop/electron/window-below.ts
index 82581added..979734be42 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/electron/window-below.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/electron/window-below.ts
@@ -122,10 +122,15 @@ type GetWindowsModule = {
   >
 }
 
-let getWindowsModule: Promise<GetWindowsModule> | null = null
+let getWindowsModule: Promise<GetWindowsModule | null> | null = null
 
-const loadGetWindows = (): Promise<GetWindowsModule> => {
-  getWindowsModule ??= import('get-windows')
+const loadGetWindows = (): Promise<GetWindowsModule | null> => {
+  // get-windows is an optionalDependency: on Linux `npm ci` skips it when its
+  // node-pre-gyp install script fails (no Linux prebuilt, and the node-gyp
+  // fallback needs `gyp` in the active Python). A missing module is therefore
+  // a normal state, so the lazy import resolves to null instead of rejecting;
+  // enumeration then degrades to the failure note instead of an uncaught error.
+  getWindowsModule ??= import('get-windows').catch(() => null)
 
   return getWindowsModule
 }
@@ -143,7 +148,13 @@ async function enumerateViaGetWindows(titlesAvailable: boolean): Promise<Enumera
   let raw
 
   try {
-    const { openWindows } = await loadGetWindows()
+    const getWindows = await loadGetWindows()
+
+    if (!getWindows) {
+      return null
+    }
+
+    const { openWindows } = getWindows
     raw = await openWindows(
       process.platform === 'darwin'
         ? { accessibilityPermission: false, screenRecordingPermission: titlesAvailable }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/package.json b/apps/desktop/package.json
index 08a961ef4b..b80c74068b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/package.json
+++ b/apps/desktop/package.json
@@ -114,7 +114,6 @@
     "emojibase-data": "16.0.3",
     "fflate": "0.8.3",
     "frimousse": "0.3.0",
-    "get-windows": "9.3.0",
     "hast-util-from-html-isomorphic": "2.0.0",
     "hast-util-to-text": "4.0.2",
     "ignore": "7.0.6",
@@ -145,6 +144,9 @@
     "vfile": "6.0.3",
     "web-haptics": "0.0.6"
   },
+  "optionalDependencies": {
+    "get-windows": "9.3.0"
+  },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@electron/rebuild": "4.2.0",
     "@playwright/test": "1.58.2",
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.mjs
index 95fea7d13b..1a96644b6a 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.mjs
@@ -407,12 +407,20 @@ export function openWindowsSync() {
 `
 
 function resolveGetWindowsRoot() {
-  // get-windows' exports map doesn't expose ./package.json; resolve the entry
-  // (index.js sits at the package root) and take its directory.
-  const entryPath = require.resolve('get-windows', {
-    paths: [projectRoot]
-  })
-  return dirname(entryPath)
+  // get-windows is an optionalDependency (its node-pre-gyp install script has
+  // no Linux prebuilt and the node-gyp fallback needs `gyp` in the active
+  // Python, so `npm ci` may skip it entirely on Linux). Return null when it is
+  // absent; the caller decides whether that is fatal per platform.
+  try {
+    // get-windows' exports map doesn't expose ./package.json; resolve the entry
+    // (index.js sits at the package root) and take its directory.
+    const entryPath = require.resolve('get-windows', {
+      paths: [projectRoot]
+    })
+    return dirname(entryPath)
+  } catch {
+    return null
+  }
 }
 
 /**
@@ -537,9 +545,32 @@ function rebuildGetWindowsViaNpm() {
   }
 }
 
-export function stageGetWindows({ platform = process.platform } = {}) {
-  const srcRoot = resolveGetWindowsRoot()
+export function stageGetWindows(
+  { platform = process.platform, resolveRoot = resolveGetWindowsRoot } = {}
+) {
+  const srcRoot = resolveRoot()
   const destRoot = resolve(projectRoot, 'dist/node_modules/get-windows')
+
+  if (!srcRoot) {
+    // get-windows is an optionalDependency: `npm ci` on Linux skips it when the
+    // install script fails (no Linux prebuilt, node-gyp needs `gyp` in the
+    // active Python), so absence here is a normal state, not a broken checkout.
+    // On Linux it only backs read_window_below over X11 (lib/linux.js shells
+    // out to xprop); skipping it degrades that tool to Hyprland IPC or an
+    // "unavailable" note instead of failing the whole desktop build. On
+    // darwin/win32 the native payload is required, so fail loudly.
+    if (platform === 'linux') {
+      console.warn(
+        '[stage-native-deps] get-windows not installed (optional dep skipped on ' +
+          'Linux); read_window_below will be unavailable in this build'
+      )
+      return undefined
+    }
+    throw new Error(
+      `[stage-native-deps] get-windows is not installed; cannot stage its ${platform} native payload`
+    )
+  }
+
   // Only a win32 host can produce the win32 binding, so a cross-platform pack
   // has nothing to gain from the rebuild.
   const rebuild =
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.test.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.test.mjs
index 48a4101175..53b7f04018 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.test.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/stage-native-deps.test.mjs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { pathToFileURL } from 'node:url'
 import { test } from 'vitest'
 
 import {
+  stageGetWindows,
   stageGetWindowsInto,
   stageNodePtyInto,
   classifyNativeBinary
@@ -519,3 +520,29 @@ test('darwin staging ships the Swift helper executable and the rewritten windows
     fs.rmSync(tmp, { recursive: true, force: true })
   }
 })
+
+// ─── stageGetWindows (optionalDependency gate) ──────────────────────
+//
+// get-windows is an optionalDependency: on Linux its node-pre-gyp install
+// script fails (no Linux prebuilt; the node-gyp fallback needs `gyp` in the
+// active Python), so npm skips the package and `npm ci` must still succeed.
+// The staging step mirrors that: absent package on Linux is a skip, on
+// darwin/win32 it is a hard failure because the native payload is required.
+
+test('linux staging skips when get-windows is absent (optional dep skipped by npm)', () => {
+  assert.equal(stageGetWindows({ platform: 'linux', resolveRoot: () => null }), undefined)
+})
+
+test('darwin staging fails when get-windows is absent', () => {
+  assert.throws(
+    () => stageGetWindows({ platform: 'darwin', resolveRoot: () => null }),
+    /get-windows is not installed/
+  )
+})
+
+test('win32 staging fails when get-windows is absent', () => {
+  assert.throws(
+    () => stageGetWindows({ platform: 'win32', resolveRoot: () => null }),
+    /get-windows is not installed/
+  )
+})
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 090b2a7bdd..451f5a10df 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -108,7 +108,6 @@
         "emojibase-data": "16.0.3",
         "fflate": "0.8.3",
         "frimousse": "0.3.0",
-        "get-windows": "9.3.0",
         "hast-util-from-html-isomorphic": "2.0.0",
         "hast-util-to-text": "4.0.2",
         "ignore": "7.0.6",
@@ -167,6 +166,9 @@
       },
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=22.22.0"
+      },
+      "optionalDependencies": {
+        "get-windows": "9.3.0"
       }
     },
     "apps/desktop/node_modules/@electron/get": {
@@ -11004,6 +11006,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-DrOfQSmIcsFax28FfSUjbLTfeOkAG7yeh6NCb/9zzRkDuClXaqYqHuQBPUqcqd1uYS70ygYERSooacMAwvbyVw==",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "optional": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=18.18"
       },