diff --git a/.changeset/fix-windows-arm64-error.md b/.changeset/fix-windows-arm64-error.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e972d657a6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-windows-arm64-error.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@kilocode/cli": patch
+---
+
+Improve missing binary error message on Windows ARM64 to provide actionable workarounds (x64 emulation or WSL2).
diff --git a/packages/opencode/bin/kilo b/packages/opencode/bin/kilo
index f5a18633b86..56828f2ecd3 100755
--- a/packages/opencode/bin/kilo
+++ b/packages/opencode/bin/kilo
@@ -207,14 +207,25 @@ function findBinary(startDir) {
   }
 }
 
+// kilocode_change start
 const resolved = envPath || (fs.existsSync(cached) ? cached : findBinary(scriptDir))
 if (!resolved) {
-  console.error(
-    "It seems that your package manager failed to install the right version of the Kilo CLI for your platform. You can try manually installing " +
-      names.map((n) => `\"${n}\"`).join(" or ") +
-      " package",
-  )
+  if (platform === "windows" && arch === "arm64") {
+    console.error(
+      "The Kilo CLI native binary for Windows ARM64 could not be found.\n" +
+      "If the native package is unavailable, you can try downloading the pre-built x64 binary from the GitHub Releases page to run under Windows 11 emulation.\n" +
+      "Alternatively, use WSL2 with the Linux ARM64 build."
+    )
+  } else {
+    console.error(
+      "It seems that your package manager failed to install the right version of the Kilo CLI for your platform.\n" +
+      "You can try manually installing the " +
+        names.map((n) => `"${n}"`).join(" or ") +
+        " package, or download a pre-built binary from the GitHub Releases page."
+    )
+  }
   process.exit(1)
 }
+// kilocode_change end
 
 run(resolved, resolved === cached ? () => findBinary(scriptDir) : undefined) // kilocode_change - preserve cached binary fallback
diff --git a/packages/opencode/script/postinstall.mjs b/packages/opencode/script/postinstall.mjs
index 2b811968ce1..32bd59a850b 100644
--- a/packages/opencode/script/postinstall.mjs
+++ b/packages/opencode/script/postinstall.mjs
@@ -207,11 +207,13 @@ function main() {
     }
   }
 
+  // kilocode_change start
   throw new Error(
     `It seems your package manager failed to install the right Kilo CLI package. Try manually installing ${packageNames()
       .map((name) => JSON.stringify(name))
-      .join(" or ")}.`,
+      .join(" or ")}. Or download the pre-built binary from the GitHub Releases page.`,
   )
+// kilocode_change end
 }
 
 try {
diff --git a/packages/opencode/test/kilocode/bin-startup.test.ts b/packages/opencode/test/kilocode/bin-startup.test.ts
index d4a170b8428..560dda99455 100644
--- a/packages/opencode/test/kilocode/bin-startup.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opencode/test/kilocode/bin-startup.test.ts
@@ -67,7 +67,9 @@ const trace = { probes: [], spawns: [], signals: [] }
 const signals = ["SIGINT", "SIGTERM", "SIGHUP"]
 const listeners = () => signals.map((signal) => process.listenerCount(signal))
 os.platform = () => "win32"
-os.arch = () => "x64"
+// kilocode_change start
+os.arch = () => input.arch ?? "x64"
+// kilocode_change end
 os.hostname = () => input.host ?? "test-host"
 os.release = () => "10.0.26100"
 os.cpus = () => [{ model: "test CPU" }]
@@ -242,4 +244,28 @@ describe("npm launcher startup", () => {
     expect(await Bun.file(join(root, "kilo", "bin", "windows-avx2.json")).exists()).toBe(true)
     expect((await item.run({ cache })).probes).toEqual([])
   })
+
+// kilocode_change start
+  test("prints helpful emulation message for missing binary on Windows ARM64", async () => {
+    await using item = await fixture()
+    await rm(item.optimized)
+    await rm(item.baseline)
+    const pkg = join(item.root, "node_modules", "@kilocode", "cli")
+    const wrapper = join(pkg, "bin", "kilo")
+    const preload = join(item.root, "preload.cjs")
+    
+    // Run the script directly to capture stderr, since findBinary will fail and call process.exit(1)
+    const proc = Bun.spawnSync([node, "--require", preload, wrapper], {
+      cwd: item.root,
+      env: {
+        KILO_STARTUP_TEST: JSON.stringify({ arch: "arm64" }),
+        KILO_STARTUP_LOG: item.root + "/trace.json",
+      },
+    })
+    const stderr = proc.stderr.toString()
+    expect(proc.exitCode).toBe(1)
+    expect(stderr).toContain("The Kilo CLI native binary for Windows ARM64 could not be found.")
+    expect(stderr).toContain("GitHub Releases page to run under Windows 11 emulation")
+  })
+// kilocode_change end
 })