diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
index 4a23f3901..6342034d0 100644
--- a/.github/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -14,5 +14,5 @@ test/integration/attestation-cmd @cli/package-security @cli/code-reviewers
 
 pkg/cmd/attestation/verification/embed/tuf-repo.github.com/ @cli/tuf-root-reviewers @cli/code-reviewers
 
-pkg/cmd/skills/ @cli/skill-reviewers @cli/code-reviewers
-internal/skills/ @cli/skill-reviewers @cli/code-reviewers
+pkg/cmd/skills/ @cli/skills @cli/code-reviewers
+internal/skills/ @cli/skills @cli/code-reviewers
diff --git a/docs/install_windows.md b/docs/install_windows.md
index 88ddc99b8..508afca3f 100644
--- a/docs/install_windows.md
+++ b/docs/install_windows.md
@@ -11,13 +11,13 @@ The [GitHub CLI package](https://winget.run/pkg/GitHub/cli) is supported by Micr
 To install:
 
 ```pwsh
-winget install --id GitHub.cli
+winget install --id GitHub.cli --source winget
 ```
 
 To upgrade:
 
 ```pwsh
-winget upgrade --id GitHub.cli
+winget upgrade --id GitHub.cli --source winget
 ```
 
 > [!NOTE]
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 158b1fe2b..d2edf3ec7 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -59,10 +59,10 @@ require (
 	github.com/zalando/go-keyring v0.2.8
 	golang.org/x/crypto v0.50.0
 	golang.org/x/sync v0.20.0
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.43.0
-	golang.org/x/term v0.42.0
-	golang.org/x/text v0.36.0
-	google.golang.org/grpc v1.80.0
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.44.0
+	golang.org/x/term v0.43.0
+	golang.org/x/text v0.37.0
+	google.golang.org/grpc v1.81.0
 	google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.11
 	gopkg.in/h2non/gock.v1 v1.1.2
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1
@@ -178,9 +178,9 @@ require (
 	github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e // indirect
 	github.com/yuin/goldmark-emoji v1.0.6 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/auto/sdk v1.2.1 // indirect
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.42.0 // indirect
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.42.0 // indirect
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.42.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.43.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.43.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0 // indirect
 	go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.4 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/mod v0.35.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.53.0 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index be25979b0..00c383d18 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -549,16 +549,16 @@ go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/google.golang.org/grpc/otelgrpc v0.6
 go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/google.golang.org/grpc/otelgrpc v0.63.0/go.mod h1:fvPi2qXDqFs8M4B4fmJhE92TyQs9Ydjlg3RvfUp+NbQ=
 go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.63.0 h1:RbKq8BG0FI8OiXhBfcRtqqHcZcka+gU3cskNuf05R18=
 go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.63.0/go.mod h1:h06DGIukJOevXaj/xrNjhi/2098RZzcLTbc0jDAUbsg=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.42.0 h1:lSQGzTgVR3+sgJDAU/7/ZMjN9Z+vUip7leaqBKy4sho=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.42.0/go.mod h1:lJNsdRMxCUIWuMlVJWzecSMuNjE7dOYyWlqOXWkdqCc=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.42.0 h1:2jXG+3oZLNXEPfNmnpxKDeZsFI5o4J+nz6xUlaFdF/4=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.42.0/go.mod h1:RlUN/7vTU7Ao/diDkEpQpnz3/92J9ko05BIwxYa2SSI=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.41.0 h1:YPIEXKmiAwkGl3Gu1huk1aYWwtpRLeskpV+wPisxBp8=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.41.0/go.mod h1:ahFdU0G5y8IxglBf0QBJXgSe7agzjE4GiTJ6HT9ud90=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.39.0 h1:cXMVVFVgsIf2YL6QkRF4Urbr/aMInf+2WKg+sEJTtB8=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.39.0/go.mod h1:xq9HEVH7qeX69/JnwEfp6fVq5wosJsY1mt4lLfYdVew=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.42.0 h1:OUCgIPt+mzOnaUTpOQcBiM/PLQ/Op7oq6g4LenLmOYY=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.42.0/go.mod h1:f3K9S+IFqnumBkKhRJMeaZeNk9epyhnCmQh/EysQCdc=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.43.0 h1:mYIM03dnh5zfN7HautFE4ieIig9amkNANT+xcVxAj9I=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.43.0/go.mod h1:JuG+u74mvjvcm8vj8pI5XiHy1zDeoCS2LB1spIq7Ay0=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.43.0 h1:d7638QeInOnuwOONPp4JAOGfbCEpYb+K6DVWvdxGzgM=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.43.0/go.mod h1:RDnPtIxvqlgO8GRW18W6Z/4P462ldprJtfxHxyKd2PY=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.43.0 h1:pi5mE86i5rTeLXqoF/hhiBtUNcrAGHLKQdhg4h4V9Dg=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.43.0/go.mod h1:P+IkVU3iWukmiit/Yf9AWvpyRDlUeBaRg6Y+C58QHzg=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.43.0 h1:S88dyqXjJkuBNLeMcVPRFXpRw2fuwdvfCGLEo89fDkw=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.43.0/go.mod h1:C/RJtwSEJ5hzTiUz5pXF1kILHStzb9zFlIEe85bhj6A=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0 h1:BkNrHpup+4k4w+ZZ86CZoHHEkohws8AY+WTX09nk+3A=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0/go.mod h1:/QJhyVBUUswCphDVxq+8mld+AvhXZLhe+8WVFxiFff0=
 go.step.sm/crypto v0.77.2 h1:qFjjei+RHc5kP5R7NW9OUWT7SqWIuAOvOkXqg4fNWj8=
 go.step.sm/crypto v0.77.2/go.mod h1:W0YJb9onM5l78qgkXIJ2Up6grnwW8EtpCKIza/NCg0o=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0 h1:2K3zAYmnTNqV73imy9J1T3WC+gmCePx2hEGkimedGto=
@@ -602,21 +602,21 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20210831042530-f4d43177bf5e/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBc
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220520151302-bc2c85ada10a/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220722155257-8c9f86f7a55f/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.5.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.43.0 h1:Rlag2XtaFTxp19wS8MXlJwTvoh8ArU6ezoyFsMyCTNI=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.43.0/go.mod h1:4GL1E5IUh+htKOUEOaiffhrAeqysfVGipDYzABqnCmw=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.44.0 h1:ildZl3J4uzeKP07r2F++Op7E9B29JRUy+a27EibtBTQ=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.44.0/go.mod h1:4GL1E5IUh+htKOUEOaiffhrAeqysfVGipDYzABqnCmw=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20210927222741-03fcf44c2211/go.mod h1:jbD1KX2456YbFQfuXm/mYQcufACuNUgVhRMnK/tPxf8=
 golang.org/x/term v0.5.0/go.mod h1:jMB1sMXY+tzblOD4FWmEbocvup2/aLOaQEp7JmGp78k=
-golang.org/x/term v0.42.0 h1:UiKe+zDFmJobeJ5ggPwOshJIVt6/Ft0rcfrXZDLWAWY=
-golang.org/x/term v0.42.0/go.mod h1:Dq/D+snpsbazcBG5+F9Q1n2rXV8Ma+71xEjTRufARgY=
+golang.org/x/term v0.43.0 h1:S4RLU2sB31O/NCl+zFN9Aru9A/Cq2aqKpTZJ6B+DwT4=
+golang.org/x/term v0.43.0/go.mod h1:lrhlHNdQJHO+1qVYiHfFKVuVioJIheAc3fBSMFYEIsk=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.3/go.mod h1:5Zoc/QRtKVWzQhOtBMvqHzDpF6irO9z98xDceosuGiQ=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.7/go.mod h1:u+2+/6zg+i71rQMx5EYifcz6MCKuco9NR6JIITiCfzQ=
 golang.org/x/text v0.4.0/go.mod h1:mrYo+phRRbMaCq/xk9113O4dZlRixOauAjOtrjsXDZ8=
 golang.org/x/text v0.7.0/go.mod h1:mrYo+phRRbMaCq/xk9113O4dZlRixOauAjOtrjsXDZ8=
 golang.org/x/text v0.14.0/go.mod h1:18ZOQIKpY8NJVqYksKHtTdi31H5itFRjB5/qKTNYzSU=
-golang.org/x/text v0.36.0 h1:JfKh3XmcRPqZPKevfXVpI1wXPTqbkE5f7JA92a55Yxg=
-golang.org/x/text v0.36.0/go.mod h1:NIdBknypM8iqVmPiuco0Dh6P5Jcdk8lJL0CUebqK164=
+golang.org/x/text v0.37.0 h1:Cqjiwd9eSg8e0QAkyCaQTNHFIIzWtidPahFWR83rTrc=
+golang.org/x/text v0.37.0/go.mod h1:a5sjxXGs9hsn/AJVwuElvCAo9v8QYLzvavO5z2PiM38=
 golang.org/x/time v0.15.0 h1:bbrp8t3bGUeFOx08pvsMYRTCVSMk89u4tKbNOZbp88U=
 golang.org/x/time v0.15.0/go.mod h1:Y4YMaQmXwGQZoFaVFk4YpCt4FLQMYKZe9oeV/f4MSno=
 golang.org/x/tools v0.0.0-20180917221912-90fa682c2a6e/go.mod h1:n7NCudcB/nEzxVGmLbDWY5pfWTLqBcC2KZ6jyYvM4mQ=
@@ -636,8 +636,8 @@ google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20260316180232-0b37fe3546d5 h1:
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/api v0.0.0-20260316180232-0b37fe3546d5/go.mod h1:EIQZ5bFCfRQDV4MhRle7+OgjNtZ6P1PiZBgAKuxXu/Y=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20260316180232-0b37fe3546d5 h1:aJmi6DVGGIStN9Mobk/tZOOQUBbj0BPjZjjnOdoZKts=
 google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/rpc v0.0.0-20260316180232-0b37fe3546d5/go.mod h1:4Hqkh8ycfw05ld/3BWL7rJOSfebL2Q+DVDeRgYgxUU8=
-google.golang.org/grpc v1.80.0 h1:Xr6m2WmWZLETvUNvIUmeD5OAagMw3FiKmMlTdViWsHM=
-google.golang.org/grpc v1.80.0/go.mod h1:ho/dLnxwi3EDJA4Zghp7k2Ec1+c2jqup0bFkw07bwF4=
+google.golang.org/grpc v1.81.0 h1:W3G9N3KQf3BU+YuCtGKJk0CmxQNbAISICD/9AORxLIw=
+google.golang.org/grpc v1.81.0/go.mod h1:xGH9GfzOyMTGIOXBJmXt+BX/V0kcdQbdcuwQ/zNw42I=
 google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.11 h1:fV6ZwhNocDyBLK0dj+fg8ektcVegBBuEolpbTQyBNVE=
 google.golang.org/protobuf v1.36.11/go.mod h1:HTf+CrKn2C3g5S8VImy6tdcUvCska2kB7j23XfzDpco=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
diff --git a/internal/telemetry/detach_windows.go b/internal/telemetry/detach_windows.go
index eb610163b..c4d62b307 100644
--- a/internal/telemetry/detach_windows.go
+++ b/internal/telemetry/detach_windows.go
@@ -10,7 +10,15 @@ import (
 
 // detachAttrs returns SysProcAttr configured to place the child in its own
 // process group so that console signals (Ctrl+C) delivered to the parent's
-// group are not forwarded to the child.
+// group are not forwarded to the child, and to suppress any console window
+// for the child and its descendants.
+//
+// CREATE_NO_WINDOW is preferred over DETACHED_PROCESS here: DETACHED_PROCESS
+// removes the console entirely, which causes any console-subsystem descendant
+// (e.g. tzutil.exe invoked transitively to resolve the local IANA timezone)
+// to allocate a fresh conhost window, producing a visible flash on every gh
+// invocation. CREATE_NO_WINDOW gives the child a non-visible console that
+// descendants can inherit, avoiding the flash.
 func detachAttrs() *syscall.SysProcAttr {
-	return &syscall.SysProcAttr{CreationFlags: windows.CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP | windows.DETACHED_PROCESS}
+	return &syscall.SysProcAttr{CreationFlags: windows.CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP | windows.CREATE_NO_WINDOW}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot.go b/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot.go
index 50b00e9fe..cc83ef48e 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot.go
@@ -142,8 +142,9 @@ func runCopilot(opts *CopilotOptions) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
-	copilotPath := findCopilotBinary()
-	if copilotPath == "" {
+	copilotPath := findCopilotBinaryFunc()
+	foundInPath := copilotPath != ""
+	if !foundInPath {
 		if opts.IO.CanPrompt() {
 			confirmed, err := opts.Prompter.Confirm("GitHub Copilot CLI is not installed. Would you like to install it?", true)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -175,12 +176,18 @@ func runCopilot(opts *CopilotOptions) error {
 	externalCmd.Stderr = opts.IO.ErrOut
 	externalCmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "COPILOT_GH=true")
 
-	if err := externalCmd.Run(); err != nil {
+	if err := runExternalCmdFunc(externalCmd); err != nil {
 		if exitErr, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError); ok {
 			// We terminate with os.Exit here, preserving the exit code from Copilot CLI,
 			// and also preventing stdio writes by callers up the stack.
 			os.Exit(exitErr.ExitCode())
 		}
+		if foundInPath {
+			// We found a `copilot` binary but exec failed, possibly due to
+			// unusual characters in the path (see https://github.com/cli/cli/issues/13106).
+			// Suggest running copilot directly as a workaround.
+			return fmt.Errorf("%w\nFailed to run '%s', try running `copilot` directly without `gh`.", err, copilotPath)
+		}
 		return err
 	}
 	return nil
@@ -200,6 +207,14 @@ func copilotBinaryPath() string {
 	return filepath.Join(copilotInstallDir(), binaryName)
 }
 
+var runExternalCmdFunc = runExternalCmd
+
+func runExternalCmd(cmd *exec.Cmd) error {
+	return cmd.Run()
+}
+
+var findCopilotBinaryFunc = findCopilotBinary
+
 // findCopilotBinary returns the path to the Copilot CLI binary, if installed,
 // with the following order of precedence:
 //  1. `copilot` in the PATH
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot_test.go b/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot_test.go
index 07e0191e6..fa173f528 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/copilot/copilot_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
 	"testing"
@@ -589,6 +590,32 @@ func TestDownloadCopilot(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestRunCopilot_execFailureHint(t *testing.T) {
+	ios, _, _, _ := iostreams.Test()
+	opts := &CopilotOptions{
+		IO:          ios,
+		CopilotArgs: []string{},
+	}
+
+	origFind := findCopilotBinaryFunc
+	findCopilotBinaryFunc = func() string {
+		return "/usr/bin/copilot"
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { findCopilotBinaryFunc = origFind })
+
+	execErr := fmt.Errorf("exec failed: something went wrong")
+	origRun := runExternalCmdFunc
+	runExternalCmdFunc = func(_ *exec.Cmd) error {
+		return execErr
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { runExternalCmdFunc = origRun })
+
+	err := runCopilot(opts)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.ErrorIs(t, err, execErr)
+	require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "try running `copilot` directly without `gh`.")
+}
+
 func TestCopilotCommandIsSampledAt100(t *testing.T) {
 	spy := &telemetry.CommandRecorderSpy{}
 	factory := &cmdutil.Factory{}