diff --git a/src/hooks/hermes/wiki-worker.ts b/src/hooks/hermes/wiki-worker.ts
index eed27e49..30ab8169 100644
--- a/src/hooks/hermes/wiki-worker.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/hermes/wiki-worker.ts
@@ -186,6 +186,9 @@ async function main(): Promise<void> {
         "--ignore-user-config",
       ], {
         stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+        // Suppress the visible console window Windows would otherwise pop for
+        // a child of this console-less detached worker. No-op on POSIX.
+        windowsHide: true,
         timeout: 120_000,
         env: { ...process.env, HIVEMIND_WIKI_WORKER: "1", HIVEMIND_CAPTURE: "false" },
       });
diff --git a/src/hooks/wiki-worker-spawn.ts b/src/hooks/wiki-worker-spawn.ts
index 6359397b..2f8106ec 100644
--- a/src/hooks/wiki-worker-spawn.ts
+++ b/src/hooks/wiki-worker-spawn.ts
@@ -35,13 +35,16 @@ export function buildClaudeInvocation(claudeBin: string, prompt: string): Claude
     return {
       file: claudeBin,
       args: ["-p", ...CLAUDE_FLAGS],
-      options: { input: prompt, stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "pipe"], shell: true },
+      // windowsHide: the wiki worker is a detached, console-less process, so
+      // without CREATE_NO_WINDOW Windows allocates a visible console window
+      // (titled after the CLI exe) for the child. No-op on POSIX.
+      options: { input: prompt, stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "pipe"], shell: true, windowsHide: true },
     };
   }
   return {
     file: claudeBin,
     args: ["-p", prompt, ...CLAUDE_FLAGS],
-    options: { stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"] },
+    options: { stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"], windowsHide: true },
   };
 }
 
@@ -63,12 +66,14 @@ export function buildTrailingPromptInvocation(bin: string, flags: string[], prom
     return {
       file: bin,
       args: [...flags],
-      options: { input: prompt, stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "pipe"], shell: true },
+      // windowsHide: see buildClaudeInvocation — suppress the visible console
+      // window Windows would pop for a child of the console-less worker.
+      options: { input: prompt, stdio: ["pipe", "pipe", "pipe"], shell: true, windowsHide: true },
     };
   }
   return {
     file: bin,
     args: [...flags, prompt],
-    options: { stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"] },
+    options: { stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"], windowsHide: true },
   };
 }
diff --git a/src/skillify/gate-runner.ts b/src/skillify/gate-runner.ts
index f4029609..6f1f19ab 100644
--- a/src/skillify/gate-runner.ts
+++ b/src/skillify/gate-runner.ts
@@ -200,6 +200,9 @@ export function runGate(opts: GateRunOptions): GateRunResult {
   try {
     const result = runChildProcess(bin, args, {
       stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
+      // Suppress the visible console window Windows would otherwise pop for
+      // a child of the console-less detached skillify worker. No-op on POSIX.
+      windowsHide: true,
       timeout: opts.timeoutMs ?? 120_000,
       maxBuffer: 8 * 1024 * 1024,
       env: { ...inheritedEnv.env, HIVEMIND_WIKI_WORKER: "1", HIVEMIND_CAPTURE: "false" },
diff --git a/tests/claude-code/skillify-gate-runner.test.ts b/tests/claude-code/skillify-gate-runner.test.ts
index ce342b0b..f7989750 100644
--- a/tests/claude-code/skillify-gate-runner.test.ts
+++ b/tests/claude-code/skillify-gate-runner.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,21 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
 import { runGate, findAgentBin, type Agent } from "../../src/skillify/gate-runner.js";
 
+describe("gate-runner spawn options", () => {
+  it("passes windowsHide so the gate CLI never pops a console window on Windows", () => {
+    // The skillify worker is detached and console-less; without windowsHide
+    // on the inner CLI spawn, Windows allocates a visible console window.
+    // Source-level guard because the dispatch tests exec a real /usr/bin/echo
+    // and can't observe the options object.
+    // Scoped to the runChildProcess call ([^)]* = no closing paren in
+    // between) so the guard fails if the option drifts out of the spawn.
+    const src = readFileSync(join(process.cwd(), "src/skillify/gate-runner.ts"), "utf-8");
+    expect(src).toMatch(/runChildProcess\([^)]*windowsHide:\s*true/);
+  });
+});
+
 describe("findAgentBin", () => {
   it("returns a path for each known agent (PATH lookup or fallback)", () => {
     for (const agent of ["claude_code", "codex", "cursor", "hermes", "pi"] as Agent[]) {
diff --git a/tests/claude-code/wiki-worker-windows.test.ts b/tests/claude-code/wiki-worker-windows.test.ts
index 6f99ad94..09602657 100644
--- a/tests/claude-code/wiki-worker-windows.test.ts
+++ b/tests/claude-code/wiki-worker-windows.test.ts
@@ -172,3 +172,26 @@ describe("buildTrailingPromptInvocation (codex / cursor / pi)", () => {
     expect(inv.args).toEqual([...FLAGS, "PROMPT-TEXT"]);
   });
 });
+
+describe("windowsHide — no visible console window for the summarizer CLI", () => {
+  // The wiki worker is spawned detached and console-less (spawn-detached.ts
+  // sets windowsHide on the worker itself). Without CREATE_NO_WINDOW on the
+  // INNER spawn too, Windows allocates a fresh visible console window titled
+  // after the CLI exe (users reported a bare "claude.exe" window popping up).
+  it("buildClaudeInvocation sets windowsHide on every branch", () => {
+    setPlatform("win32");
+    expect(buildClaudeInvocation("C:\\npm\\claude.cmd", "P").options.windowsHide).toBe(true);
+    expect(buildClaudeInvocation("C:\\pf\\claude.exe", "P").options.windowsHide).toBe(true);
+    setPlatform("linux");
+    expect(buildClaudeInvocation("/usr/local/bin/claude", "P").options.windowsHide).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  it("buildTrailingPromptInvocation sets windowsHide on every branch", () => {
+    const FLAGS = ["exec"];
+    setPlatform("win32");
+    expect(buildTrailingPromptInvocation("C:\\npm\\codex.cmd", FLAGS, "P").options.windowsHide).toBe(true);
+    expect(buildTrailingPromptInvocation("C:\\pf\\codex.exe", FLAGS, "P").options.windowsHide).toBe(true);
+    setPlatform("linux");
+    expect(buildTrailingPromptInvocation("/usr/local/bin/codex", FLAGS, "P").options.windowsHide).toBe(true);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tests/hermes/hermes-wiki-worker-source.test.ts b/tests/hermes/hermes-wiki-worker-source.test.ts
index c36b82f1..68151f30 100644
--- a/tests/hermes/hermes-wiki-worker-source.test.ts
+++ b/tests/hermes/hermes-wiki-worker-source.test.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,14 @@ describe("hermes wiki-worker source", () => {
     expect(WORKER_SRC).not.toMatch(/"--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox"/);
   });
 
+  it("hermes spawn passes windowsHide (no visible console window on Windows)", () => {
+    // hermes is the only worker that calls execFileSync directly instead of
+    // going through the wiki-worker-spawn builders, so it needs its own guard.
+    // Scoped to the hermesBin call ([^)]* = no closing paren in between) so
+    // the guard fails if the option drifts out of the spawn.
+    expect(WORKER_SRC).toMatch(/execFileSync\(\s*cfg\.hermesBin[^)]*windowsHide:\s*true/);
+  });
+
   it("config carries hermesBin + hermesProvider + hermesModel (not codexBin)", () => {
     expect(WORKER_SRC).toContain("hermesBin: string");
     expect(WORKER_SRC).toContain("hermesProvider: string");