diff --git a/.github/workflows/bundle-desktop-windows.yml b/.github/workflows/bundle-desktop-windows.yml
index e82ab3d5ad4b..a657c11af581 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bundle-desktop-windows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bundle-desktop-windows.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 name: "Bundle Desktop (Windows)"
 
 on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
   workflow_call:
     inputs:
       version:
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/platform/windows/bin/install-node.cmd b/ui/desktop/src/platform/windows/bin/install-node.cmd
deleted file mode 100644
index 26abe9b09b03..000000000000
--- a/ui/desktop/src/platform/windows/bin/install-node.cmd
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-@echo off
-setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
-
-REM Check if Node.js is installed in Program Files
-if exist "C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe" (
-    echo Node.js found in Program Files
-    set "NODE_EXE=C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe"
-    goto :found
-)
-
-REM Check if Node.js is installed in Program Files (x86)
-if exist "C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\node.exe" (
-    echo "Node.js found in Program Files (x86)"
-    set "NODE_EXE=C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\node.exe"
-    goto :found
-)
-
-echo Node.js not found in standard locations, installing...
-
-REM Download Node.js MSI installer
-powershell -Command "& {[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri '%1' -OutFile '%TEMP%\node-setup.msi'}"
-
-REM Install Node.js silently
-msiexec /i "%TEMP%\node-setup.msi" /qn
-
-REM Wait a bit for installation to complete
-timeout /t 5 /nobreak
-
-REM Clean up
-del "%TEMP%\node-setup.msi"
-
-REM Set path to installed Node.js
-set "NODE_EXE=C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe"
-
-:found
-echo Using Node.js: %NODE_EXE%
-exit /b 0
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/platform/windows/bin/npx.cmd b/ui/desktop/src/platform/windows/bin/npx.cmd
index 7c019e5ffe82..c297b146671d 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/platform/windows/bin/npx.cmd
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/platform/windows/bin/npx.cmd
@@ -1,31 +1,45 @@
 @ECHO OFF
 SETLOCAL EnableDelayedExpansion
 
-SET "SCRIPT_DIR=%~dp0"
+SET "NODE_VERSION=22.14.0"
+SET "GOOSE_NODE_DIR=%LOCALAPPDATA%\Goose\node"
 
-REM Try to find Node.js in standard locations first
-if exist "C:\Program Files\nodejs\npx.cmd" (
-    "C:\Program Files\nodejs\npx.cmd" %*
-    exit /b %errorlevel%
+REM === Check for previously downloaded portable Node.js (matching version) ===
+if exist "%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%\node-v%NODE_VERSION%.installed" (
+    SET "PATH=%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%;!PATH!"
+    "%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%\npx.cmd" %*
+    exit /b !errorlevel!
 )
 
-if exist "C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\npx.cmd" (
-    "C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs\npx.cmd" %*
-    exit /b %errorlevel%
-)
+REM === Download portable Node.js ===
+echo [Goose] Node.js not found. Downloading portable Node.js v%NODE_VERSION%... 1>&2
+
+SET "NODE_ZIP=%TEMP%\goose-node-%NODE_VERSION%.zip"
+SET "NODE_EXTRACT=%TEMP%\goose-node-extract"
 
-REM If Node.js not found, run installer
-call "%SCRIPT_DIR%install-node.cmd" "https://nodejs.org/dist/v23.10.0/node-v23.10.0-x64.msi"
+powershell -NoProfile -Command "$ProgressPreference='SilentlyContinue'; try { [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol=[Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://nodejs.org/dist/v%NODE_VERSION%/node-v%NODE_VERSION%-win-x64.zip' -OutFile '%NODE_ZIP%' -UseBasicParsing; Expand-Archive -Path '%NODE_ZIP%' -DestinationPath '%NODE_EXTRACT%' -Force; exit 0 } catch { Write-Error $_.Exception.Message; exit 1 }"
 if errorlevel 1 (
-    echo Failed to install Node.js
+    echo [Goose] ERROR: Failed to download Node.js. Please install manually from https://nodejs.org/ 1>&2
+    del "%NODE_ZIP%" >nul 2>&1
     exit /b 1
 )
 
-REM Try using the newly installed Node.js
-if exist "C:\Program Files\nodejs\npx.cmd" (
-    "C:\Program Files\nodejs\npx.cmd" %*
-    exit /b %errorlevel%
+REM Clean previous version and install to Goose directory
+rmdir /s /q "%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%" >nul 2>&1
+mkdir "%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%" >nul 2>&1
+xcopy /s /e /q /y "%NODE_EXTRACT%\node-v%NODE_VERSION%-win-x64\*" "%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%\" >nul 2>&1
+
+REM Clean up
+del "%NODE_ZIP%" >nul 2>&1
+rmdir /s /q "%NODE_EXTRACT%" >nul 2>&1
+
+if exist "%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%\npx.cmd" (
+    echo.>"%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%\node-v%NODE_VERSION%.installed"
+    SET "PATH=%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%;!PATH!"
+    echo [Goose] Node.js v%NODE_VERSION% ready. 1>&2
+    "%GOOSE_NODE_DIR%\npx.cmd" %*
+    exit /b !errorlevel!
 )
 
-echo Failed to find npx after Node.js installation
+echo [Goose] ERROR: Installation failed. Please install Node.js manually from https://nodejs.org/ 1>&2
 exit /b 1
diff --git a/ui/desktop/src/utils/winShims.ts b/ui/desktop/src/utils/winShims.ts
index 058591724a16..7b8170dadd21 100644
--- a/ui/desktop/src/utils/winShims.ts
+++ b/ui/desktop/src/utils/winShims.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ export async function ensureWinShims(): Promise<void> {
     await fs.promises.mkdir(tgtDir, { recursive: true });
 
     // Copy command-line tools, NOT goosed.exe (which should always be used locally)
-    const shims = ['uvx.exe', 'uv.exe', 'npx.cmd', 'install-node.cmd'];
+    const shims = ['uvx.exe', 'uv.exe', 'npx.cmd'];
 
     await Promise.all(
       shims.map(async (shim) => {