diff --git a/src/__tests__/env-handler.test.ts b/src/__tests__/env-handler.test.ts
index 1a26b106b..3be767c53 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/env-handler.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/env-handler.test.ts
@@ -234,6 +234,66 @@ scope: 'user',
     });
   });
 
+  // ─── detectShellProfile ──────────────────────────────────
+
+  describe('detectShellProfile', () => {
+    afterEach(() => {
+      vi.restoreAllMocks();
+    });
+
+    it('should return .zshrc when SHELL contains zsh', () => {
+      vi.stubEnv('SHELL', '/bin/zsh');
+      expect(handler.detectShellProfile()).toBe(path.join(homeDir, '.zshrc'));
+    });
+
+    it('should return .bashrc on non-Windows when SHELL is unset (unchanged behavior)', () => {
+      vi.stubEnv('SHELL', '');
+      vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('linux');
+      expect(handler.detectShellProfile()).toBe(path.join(homeDir, '.bashrc'));
+    });
+
+    it('should prefer an existing .bash_profile on Windows over .bashrc (#682)', async () => {
+      // Windows never sets SHELL, and Git Bash's default launch is a login
+      // shell, which reads .bash_profile — never .bashrc.
+      vi.stubEnv('SHELL', '');
+      vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('win32');
+      await fse.writeFile(path.join(homeDir, '.bash_profile'), '# existing\n');
+
+      expect(handler.detectShellProfile()).toBe(path.join(homeDir, '.bash_profile'));
+    });
+
+    it('should fall back to .bash_login on Windows when only that exists', async () => {
+      vi.stubEnv('SHELL', '');
+      vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('win32');
+      await fse.writeFile(path.join(homeDir, '.bash_login'), '# existing\n');
+
+      expect(handler.detectShellProfile()).toBe(path.join(homeDir, '.bash_login'));
+    });
+
+    it('should fall back to .profile on Windows when only that exists', async () => {
+      vi.stubEnv('SHELL', '');
+      vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('win32');
+      await fse.writeFile(path.join(homeDir, '.profile'), '# existing\n');
+
+      expect(handler.detectShellProfile()).toBe(path.join(homeDir, '.profile'));
+    });
+
+    it('should default to .bash_profile on Windows when none of the login files exist', () => {
+      vi.stubEnv('SHELL', '');
+      vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('win32');
+
+      expect(handler.detectShellProfile()).toBe(path.join(homeDir, '.bash_profile'));
+    });
+
+    it('should never return .bashrc on Windows, even if it exists alongside login files', async () => {
+      vi.stubEnv('SHELL', '');
+      vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('win32');
+      await fse.writeFile(path.join(homeDir, '.bashrc'), '# existing\n');
+
+      expect(handler.detectShellProfile()).not.toBe(path.join(homeDir, '.bashrc'));
+    });
+  });
+
   // ─── pullItem ────────────────────────────────────────────
 
   describe('pullItem', () => {
diff --git a/src/resources/env.ts b/src/resources/env.ts
index 7ba3a2f5a..b93f27ede 100644
--- a/src/resources/env.ts
+++ b/src/resources/env.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import path from 'node:path';
+import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { z } from 'zod';
 import YAML from 'yaml';
 import { ResourceHandler } from './base.js';
@@ -345,6 +346,23 @@ export class EnvHandler extends ResourceHandler {
     if (shell.includes('zsh')) {
       return path.join(home, '.zshrc');
     }
+
+    // SHELL is a POSIX convention that Windows never sets, so this bash
+    // fallback used to always mean .bashrc — but Git Bash on Windows starts
+    // as a login shell (its default launch is effectively `bash --login`),
+    // and a login shell reads .bash_profile / .bash_login / .profile, never
+    // .bashrc. Prefer whichever of those already exists (bash's own lookup
+    // order); if none do, create .bash_profile, the file most Windows dev
+    // tooling (nvm-windows, etc.) already targets. Scoped to win32 only —
+    // non-Windows bash is correctly a non-login shell here and keeps .bashrc.
+    if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+      for (const name of ['.bash_profile', '.bash_login', '.profile']) {
+        const candidate = path.join(home, name);
+        if (existsSync(candidate)) return candidate;
+      }
+      return path.join(home, '.bash_profile');
+    }
+
     return path.join(home, '.bashrc');
   }