diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 8157c118..a5b5a61e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest]
         node-version: [22, 24]
         include:
-          # Single macOS runner — verifies platform compatibility
+          # Single macOS runner — verifies platform compatibility on the standard version
           - os: macos-latest
-            node-version: 22
-          # Single Windows runner — slowest CI runner, smoke-test only
-          - os: windows-latest
-            node-version: 22
+            node-version: 24
+          # Windows path/separator coverage is handled by hardcoded-paths.test.cjs
+          # and windows-robustness.test.cjs (static analysis, runs on all platforms).
+          # A dedicated windows-compat workflow runs on a weekly schedule.
 
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd  # v6.0.2
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ca038744..8117cf4a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     "url": "https://github.com/gsd-build/get-shit-done/issues"
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": ">=20.0.0"
+    "node": ">=22.0.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "c8": "^11.0.0",
diff --git a/tests/hardcoded-paths.test.cjs b/tests/hardcoded-paths.test.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..caece993
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hardcoded-paths.test.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+/**
+ * Hardcoded Path Detection Tests
+ *
+ * Statically scans source files to catch hardcoded platform-specific paths
+ * submitted in contributions. Catches issues that previously required a real
+ * Windows runner to detect.
+ *
+ * Checks for:
+ *  1. Windows drive-letter paths (C:\, D:\, etc.) inside string literals
+ *  2. Hardcoded Linux home dirs (/home/<user>/) in string literals
+ *  3. Hardcoded macOS home dirs (/Users/<user>/) in string literals
+ *  4. Hardcoded /tmp/ that should use os.tmpdir() instead
+ *
+ * Test files are excluded — they may intentionally contain these strings as
+ * fixtures (e.g., path-replacement.test.cjs simulates Windows paths).
+ */
+
+'use strict';
+
+const { test, describe } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+
+const repoRoot = path.join(__dirname, '..');
+
+/**
+ * Collect all .js and .cjs files under a directory, recursively.
+ * Skips node_modules and the tests/ directory.
+ */
+function collectSourceFiles(dir) {
+  const results = [];
+  if (!fs.existsSync(dir)) return results;
+  for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(dir, { withFileTypes: true })) {
+    if (entry.name === 'node_modules') continue;
+    const fullPath = path.join(dir, entry.name);
+    if (entry.isDirectory()) {
+      results.push(...collectSourceFiles(fullPath));
+    } else if (entry.name.endsWith('.js') || entry.name.endsWith('.cjs')) {
+      results.push(fullPath);
+    }
+  }
+  return results;
+}
+
+// Scan source dirs only — exclude tests/ which may contain intentional fixtures
+const sourceDirs = ['bin', 'scripts', 'hooks', path.join('get-shit-done', 'bin')].map(
+  d => path.join(repoRoot, d)
+);
+const sourceFiles = sourceDirs.flatMap(collectSourceFiles);
+
+// ─── Helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+/**
+ * Scan files for a pattern, skipping comment lines.
+ * Returns an array of human-readable failure strings.
+ */
+function scanFiles(files, pattern, description) {
+  const failures = [];
+  for (const file of files) {
+    const content = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8');
+    const lines = content.split('\n');
+    for (let i = 0; i < lines.length; i++) {
+      const line = lines[i];
+      const trimmed = line.trimStart();
+      // Skip pure comment lines
+      if (trimmed.startsWith('//') || trimmed.startsWith('*') || trimmed.startsWith('#')) continue;
+      if (pattern.test(line)) {
+        failures.push(`${path.relative(repoRoot, file)}:${i + 1}: ${trimmed.slice(0, 120)}`);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return failures;
+}
+
+// ─── 1. Windows Drive-Letter Paths ──────────────────────────────────────────
+// Matches a string literal containing a Windows drive path: 'C:\...' or "D:\..."
+// Requires: quote + single capital letter + colon + backslash (escaped as \\ in JS source)
+// This avoids false positives from regex patterns, URLs (https://), etc.
+
+describe('no hardcoded Windows drive-letter paths', () => {
+  test('source files exist to scan', () => {
+    assert.ok(sourceFiles.length > 0, 'Expected source files to scan — check sourceDirs config');
+  });
+
+  test('no C:\\ / D:\\ style drive paths in string literals', () => {
+    // In JS source, a literal backslash is written as \\ inside a string.
+    // So 'C:\Users' appears as 'C:\\Users' in the raw source text.
+    // Pattern: quote char + capital letter + :\ (as :\\ in source) + word char
+    const drivePath = /['"`][A-Z]:\\{1,2}[A-Za-z_]/;
+    const failures = scanFiles(sourceFiles, drivePath);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(
+      failures, [],
+      `Hardcoded Windows drive-letter paths found in string literals.\n` +
+      `Use path.join() or os.homedir() instead:\n  ${failures.join('\n  ')}`
+    );
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── 2. Hardcoded /home/<user>/ Paths ───────────────────────────────────────
+// Catches '/home/ubuntu/', '/home/runner/', etc. in string literals.
+// /home/ is a Linux-specific path — use os.homedir() for cross-platform code.
+
+describe('no hardcoded /home/ absolute paths', () => {
+  test('no /home/<username>/ paths in string literals', () => {
+    // Requires: quote + /home/ + non-slash chars (the username) + /
+    // This avoids matching things like regex patterns /^home/
+    const homePath = /['"`]\/home\/[^/\s'"` \n]+\//;
+    const failures = scanFiles(sourceFiles, homePath);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(
+      failures, [],
+      `Hardcoded /home/ paths found in string literals.\n` +
+      `Use os.homedir() or path.join() instead:\n  ${failures.join('\n  ')}`
+    );
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── 3. Hardcoded /Users/<user>/ Paths ──────────────────────────────────────
+// Catches '/Users/john/', '/Users/runner/', etc. in string literals.
+// /Users/ is macOS-specific — use os.homedir() for cross-platform code.
+
+describe('no hardcoded /Users/ absolute paths', () => {
+  test('no /Users/<username>/ paths in string literals', () => {
+    // Requires: quote + /Users/ + username chars + /
+    const usersPath = /['"`]\/Users\/[^/\s'"` \n]+\//;
+    const failures = scanFiles(sourceFiles, usersPath);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(
+      failures, [],
+      `Hardcoded /Users/ paths found in string literals.\n` +
+      `Use os.homedir() or path.join() instead:\n  ${failures.join('\n  ')}`
+    );
+  });
+});
+
+// ─── 4. Hardcoded /tmp/ Paths ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// /tmp/ is Linux-specific. On Windows the temp dir is %TEMP% or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp.
+// os.tmpdir() is the cross-platform API for the system temp directory.
+
+describe('no hardcoded /tmp/ paths', () => {
+  test('source files use os.tmpdir() not hardcoded /tmp/', () => {
+    // Requires: quote + /tmp/ — distinct from regex like /tmp\// which has no leading quote
+    const tmpPath = /['"`]\/tmp\//;
+    const failures = scanFiles(sourceFiles, tmpPath);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(
+      failures, [],
+      `Hardcoded /tmp/ paths found in string literals.\n` +
+      `Use os.tmpdir() instead for cross-platform compatibility:\n  ${failures.join('\n  ')}`
+    );
+  });
+});