diff --git a/deploy/build.bat b/deploy/build.bat
index 3781eba..60a67c3 100644
--- a/deploy/build.bat
+++ b/deploy/build.bat
@@ -50,9 +50,10 @@ taskkill /im scoreboard.exe /f >nul 2>&1
 if not exist "rules" echo   [warn] rules dir missing
 node deploy\prepare-extra.mjs || exit /b 1
 cd console
-REM pnpm 11 blocks postinstall by default; electron-builder fetches its own Electron
-REM runtime into its cache, so skipping scripts here is safe (and avoids ERR_PNPM_IGNORED_BUILDS).
+REM pnpm 11 blocks postinstall by default (ERR_PNPM_IGNORED_BUILDS), so the electron
+REM runtime binary is fetched explicitly below instead of relying on the install script.
 call pnpm install --frozen-lockfile --ignore-scripts || exit /b 1
+call :ensure_electron || exit /b 1
 call pnpm run dist || exit /b 1
 cd ..
 
@@ -63,3 +64,15 @@ echo   dist\console\                               console installer + portable
 dir /b dist\console
 endlocal
 exit /b 0
+
+REM ---- ensure the electron runtime binary is present (pnpm skips its postinstall) --
+:ensure_electron
+if exist node_modules\electron\dist\electron.exe exit /b 0
+set "EV=38.8.6"
+echo   downloading electron %EV% ...
+curl -L --fail --max-time 900 -o electron-dl.zip "%ELECTRON_MIRROR%%EV%/electron-v%EV%-win32-x64.zip" || exit /b 1
+powershell -NoProfile -Command "Expand-Archive -LiteralPath 'electron-dl.zip' -DestinationPath 'node_modules/electron/dist' -Force" || exit /b 1
+del /q electron-dl.zip
+echo electron.exe> node_modules\electron\path.txt
+echo   electron runtime ready
+exit /b 0