diff --git a/nanoclaw.sh b/nanoclaw.sh
index 0bf193873..f8b58e7cb 100755
--- a/nanoclaw.sh
+++ b/nanoclaw.sh
@@ -245,6 +245,17 @@ fi
 # wipe it.
 export NANOCLAW_BOOTSTRAPPED=1
 
+# setup.sh may have just installed pnpm via npm into a prefix that's not on
+# our PATH (custom `npm config set prefix`, or the default prefix missing
+# from the shell's login PATH). Its PATH mutation doesn't propagate back
+# to us — so replay the same lookup here before the exec.
+if ! command -v pnpm >/dev/null 2>&1 && command -v npm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  NPM_PREFIX="$(npm config get prefix 2>/dev/null)"
+  if [ -n "$NPM_PREFIX" ] && [ -x "$NPM_PREFIX/bin/pnpm" ]; then
+    export PATH="$NPM_PREFIX/bin:$PATH"
+  fi
+fi
+
 # --silent suppresses pnpm's `> nanoclaw@2.0.0 setup:auto / > tsx setup/auto.ts`
 # preamble so the flow continues visually from "Basics installed" straight
 # into setup:auto's spinner. exec so signals (Ctrl-C) propagate directly.
diff --git a/setup.sh b/setup.sh
index e11e073e1..9ca73c1bb 100755
--- a/setup.sh
+++ b/setup.sh
@@ -120,6 +120,20 @@ install_deps() {
       || true
   fi
 
+  # `npm install -g` writes to npm's global prefix, which isn't always on the
+  # shell PATH — common on macOS where the user has `npm config set prefix
+  # ~/.npm-global` to avoid sudo, or on Linux where /usr/local/bin isn't in
+  # PATH. Discover the prefix and prepend its bin dir so `command -v pnpm`
+  # sees the new install.
+  if ! command -v pnpm >/dev/null 2>&1 && command -v npm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    local npm_prefix
+    npm_prefix=$(npm config get prefix 2>/dev/null)
+    if [ -n "$npm_prefix" ] && [ -x "$npm_prefix/bin/pnpm" ]; then
+      export PATH="$npm_prefix/bin:$PATH"
+      log "Prepended npm prefix bin to PATH: $npm_prefix/bin"
+    fi
+  fi
+
   if ! command -v pnpm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     log "pnpm not on PATH after corepack + npm fallback"
     return