diff --git a/packages/extension-base/README.md b/packages/extension-base/README.md
index 844c708..b195c92 100644
--- a/packages/extension-base/README.md
+++ b/packages/extension-base/README.md
@@ -18,4 +18,10 @@ The shared CLI is modeled on `apps/roam` in the Discourse Graphs monorepo. It bu
 
 `roam-prototype dev` watches the source and serves `dist/` from a local URL. `roam-prototype build` creates a minified production bundle without source maps. README and CHANGELOG files are copied into `dist/`; imported CSS is emitted as `extension.css`.
 
-The starter still uses `roamjs-components/util/runExtension`. Its production error reporting to SamePage is behavior inside `roamjs-components`, independent of which bundler produced `extension.js`; reports include the graph name and extension settings. Never store credentials or sensitive data in extension settings.
+The starter imports the lifecycle wrapper as a named export:
+
+```ts
+import { runExtension } from "roamjs-components/util";
+```
+
+Its production error reporting to SamePage is behavior inside `roamjs-components`, independent of which bundler produced `extension.js`; reports include the graph name and extension settings. Never store credentials or sensitive data in extension settings.
diff --git a/packages/extension-base/scripts/cli.mjs b/packages/extension-base/scripts/cli.mjs
index fc88469..d675220 100644
--- a/packages/extension-base/scripts/cli.mjs
+++ b/packages/extension-base/scripts/cli.mjs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 
 import * as esbuild from "esbuild";
+import { realpathSync } from "node:fs";
 import { copyFile, mkdir, readFile, rm, stat } from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
@@ -181,7 +182,24 @@ const run = async () => {
   throw new Error("Usage: roam-prototype <build|dev> [--port <number>]");
 };
 
-const isCli = process.argv[1] && path.resolve(process.argv[1]) === fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
+const normalizePath = (value) => {
+  const normalized = path.normalize(value);
+  return process.platform === "win32" ? normalized.toLowerCase() : normalized;
+};
+
+export const pathsReferToSameFile = (left, right) => {
+  if (!left || !right) return false;
+  const resolvedLeft = path.resolve(left);
+  const resolvedRight = path.resolve(right);
+  try {
+    return normalizePath(realpathSync.native(resolvedLeft)) ===
+      normalizePath(realpathSync.native(resolvedRight));
+  } catch {
+    return normalizePath(resolvedLeft) === normalizePath(resolvedRight);
+  }
+};
+
+const isCli = pathsReferToSameFile(process.argv[1], fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 if (isCli) {
   run().catch((error) => {
     console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : error);
diff --git a/packages/extension-base/template/src/index.ts b/packages/extension-base/template/src/index.ts
index addfa1f..bcbd195 100644
--- a/packages/extension-base/template/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/extension-base/template/src/index.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { render as renderToast } from "roamjs-components/components/Toast";
-import runExtension from "roamjs-components/util/runExtension";
+import { runExtension } from "roamjs-components/util";
 import "./styles.css";
 
 export default runExtension(async () => {
diff --git a/test/create-prototype.test.mjs b/test/create-prototype.test.mjs
index d4080db..d8a7ad7 100644
--- a/test/create-prototype.test.mjs
+++ b/test/create-prototype.test.mjs
@@ -52,9 +52,17 @@ test("creates a complete prototype with catalog dependencies", async () => {
     assert.equal(manifest.devDependencies["@samepage/scripts"], undefined);
     assert.equal(manifest.dependencies["roamjs-components"], "catalog:");
     assert.equal(manifest.dependencies["use-sync-external-store"], "catalog:");
+    const entry = await readFile(
+      path.join(result.destination, "src", "index.ts"),
+      "utf8",
+    );
     assert.match(
-      await readFile(path.join(result.destination, "src", "index.ts"), "utf8"),
-      /runExtension/,
+      entry,
+      /import \{ runExtension \} from "roamjs-components\/util";/,
+    );
+    assert.doesNotMatch(
+      entry,
+      /import runExtension from "roamjs-components\/util\/runExtension";/,
     );
   });
 });
diff --git a/test/extension-cli.test.mjs b/test/extension-cli.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..84237f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/extension-cli.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { mkdir, mkdtemp, rm, symlink, writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";
+import os from "node:os";
+import path from "node:path";
+import test from "node:test";
+import { pathsReferToSameFile } from "../packages/extension-base/scripts/cli.mjs";
+
+test("recognizes a CLI invoked through a workspace directory link", async () => {
+  const root = await mkdtemp(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "roam-extension-cli-"));
+  const realDirectory = path.join(root, "real");
+  const linkedDirectory = path.join(root, "linked");
+  const filename = "cli.mjs";
+
+  try {
+    await mkdir(realDirectory);
+    await writeFile(path.join(realDirectory, filename), "", "utf8");
+    await symlink(
+      realDirectory,
+      linkedDirectory,
+      process.platform === "win32" ? "junction" : "dir",
+    );
+
+    assert.equal(
+      pathsReferToSameFile(
+        path.join(linkedDirectory, filename),
+        path.join(realDirectory, filename),
+      ),
+      true,
+    );
+  } finally {
+    await rm(root, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+});
diff --git a/test/starter-integration.test.mjs b/test/starter-integration.test.mjs
index 757368a..cbe5ce8 100644
--- a/test/starter-integration.test.mjs
+++ b/test/starter-integration.test.mjs
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ test(
         "--lockfile=false",
         "--force",
       ];
-      if (!process.env.CI) installArguments.push("--offline");
+      if (!process.env.CI) installArguments.push("--prefer-offline");
       run(installArguments, repoRoot);
       run(["--dir", destination, "test"], repoRoot);
       const recursiveBuild = run(
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ test(
         repoRoot,
       );
       assert.match(recursiveBuild, new RegExp(name));
+      assert.match(recursiveBuild, /Built dist/);
       assert.doesNotMatch(recursiveBuild, /readme-only-placeholder@/);
 
       for (const file of [