diff --git a/bin/omarchy-launch-shell b/bin/omarchy-launch-shell
index e3e13d05..c183eb0b 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-launch-shell
+++ b/bin/omarchy-launch-shell
@@ -9,8 +9,14 @@
 #
 # Backgrounded because bash defers a trap until a foreground command returns but
 # interrupts wait. systemd-cat execs, so the job is Quickshell itself.
+#
+# Quickshell's own reloading is off; Omarchy restarts the shell deliberately.
+# A package upgrade rewriting $OMARCHY_PATH/shell would otherwise reload it
+# against a half-written tree, and that failed reload leaves a second engine
+# generation behind that turns the next restart's IPC kill into a crash.
 run_shell() {
-  systemd-cat -t omarchy-shell -- quickshell -n -p "$OMARCHY_PATH/shell" &
+  QS_DISABLE_FILE_WATCHER=1 QS_NO_RELOAD_POPUP=1 \
+    systemd-cat -t omarchy-shell -- quickshell -n -p "$OMARCHY_PATH/shell" &
   shell_pid=$!
 
   local status
diff --git a/test/shell.d/launch-shell-test.sh b/test/shell.d/launch-shell-test.sh
index 695000db..a5e0cf1c 100755
--- a/test/shell.d/launch-shell-test.sh
+++ b/test/shell.d/launch-shell-test.sh
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ cat >"$fake_bin/quickshell" <<'SH'
 #!/bin/bash
 
 printf '%s\n' "$*" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_QS_LOG"
+printf 'watcher=%s popup=%s\n' \
+  "${QS_DISABLE_FILE_WATCHER:-unset}" "${QS_NO_RELOAD_POPUP:-unset}" >>"$OMARCHY_TEST_QS_ENV_LOG"
 
 launches=$(wc -l <"$OMARCHY_TEST_QS_LOG")
 status=$(awk -v n="$launches" 'NR == n { print; found = 1 } END { if (!found) print "0" }' <<<"$OMARCHY_TEST_QS_STATUSES")
@@ -77,17 +79,20 @@ SH
 chmod +x "$fake_bin/quickshell" "$fake_bin/systemd-cat" "$fake_bin/hyprctl" "$fake_bin/logger"
 
 qs_log="$test_tmp/quickshell.log"
+qs_env_log="$test_tmp/quickshell-env.log"
 logger_log="$test_tmp/logger.log"
 qs_terminated="$test_tmp/quickshell-terminated"
 hyprctl_misses="$test_tmp/hyprctl-misses"
 
 launch_shell() {
   : >"$qs_log"
+  : >"$qs_env_log"
   : >"$logger_log"
 
   PATH="$fake_bin:$PATH" \
   OMARCHY_PATH="$shell_root" \
   OMARCHY_TEST_QS_LOG="$qs_log" \
+  OMARCHY_TEST_QS_ENV_LOG="$qs_env_log" \
   OMARCHY_TEST_QS_STATUSES="$1" \
   OMARCHY_TEST_COMPOSITOR_GONE="${2:-0}" \
   OMARCHY_TEST_LOGGER_LOG="$logger_log" \
@@ -106,6 +111,12 @@ launch_shell '0' || fail "a clean launch succeeds"
 grep -F -- "-n -p $shell_root/shell" "$qs_log" >/dev/null || fail "the shell launches from OMARCHY_PATH"
 pass "a shell that exits cleanly is left alone"
 
+# A misspelled variable would leave Quickshell hot-reloading the tree pacman
+# rewrites underneath it, which is what crashes the restart that follows.
+[[ $(<"$qs_env_log") == "watcher=1 popup=1" ]] ||
+  fail "the shell launches with Quickshell's own reloading off" "$(<"$qs_env_log")"
+pass "the shell launches with Quickshell's config watcher and reload popup off"
+
 # Qt leaves through _exit(), so Quickshell's crash handler never relaunches it.
 launch_shell $'255\n0' || fail "a shell that died on a Wayland error is relaunched"
 [[ $(launches) == 2 ]] || fail "the dead shell is relaunched exactly once" "$(<"$qs_log")"
@@ -130,11 +141,13 @@ pass "a compositor too busy to answer is not mistaken for one that is gone"
 
 # A signal mid-backoff only reaches the trap once the sleep is over.
 : >"$qs_log"
+: >"$qs_env_log"
 : >"$logger_log"
 
 PATH="$fake_bin:$PATH" \
 OMARCHY_PATH="$shell_root" \
 OMARCHY_TEST_QS_LOG="$qs_log" \
+OMARCHY_TEST_QS_ENV_LOG="$qs_env_log" \
 OMARCHY_TEST_QS_STATUSES=$'255\n0' \
 OMARCHY_TEST_COMPOSITOR_GONE=0 \
 OMARCHY_TEST_LOGGER_LOG="$logger_log" \
@@ -156,12 +169,14 @@ pass "a signal during backoff stops the supervisor before it relaunches"
 
 # Stopping the launcher used to stop the shell, back when it exec'd Quickshell.
 : >"$qs_log"
+: >"$qs_env_log"
 : >"$logger_log"
 rm -f "$qs_terminated"
 
 PATH="$fake_bin:$PATH" \
 OMARCHY_PATH="$shell_root" \
 OMARCHY_TEST_QS_LOG="$qs_log" \
+OMARCHY_TEST_QS_ENV_LOG="$qs_env_log" \
 OMARCHY_TEST_QS_STATUSES='run' \
 OMARCHY_TEST_COMPOSITOR_GONE=0 \
 OMARCHY_TEST_LOGGER_LOG="$logger_log" \