diff --git a/docs/development.md b/docs/development.md
index 9eed78a00..cd96239ba 100644
--- a/docs/development.md
+++ b/docs/development.md
@@ -242,6 +242,14 @@ commands use the same non-login Bash behavior on macOS/Linux, but preserve their
 existing `cmd.exe /c` string semantics on Windows. Service scripts are separate:
 they launch in a terminal and receive the service environment described below.
 
+Because the shell differs per platform, a lifecycle command that must run
+everywhere cannot use POSIX-only syntax — `VAR=1 cmd` env prefixes, `$VAR`
+expansion, `cp`/`rm`, or a `./scripts/*.sh` entrypoint all fail under PowerShell,
+and `bash` is not guaranteed to exist on Windows. Put that logic in a Node script
+that reads what it needs from `process.env` and invoke it as
+`node ./scripts/<name>.mjs`. This repo's own setup does exactly that in
+`scripts/seed-worktree-dev-state.mjs` and `scripts/seed-ios-native-cache.mjs`.
+
 ```json
 {
   "worktree": {
diff --git a/paseo.json b/paseo.json
index ab984058e..076d1f2c5 100644
--- a/paseo.json
+++ b/paseo.json
@@ -3,10 +3,9 @@
     "setup": [
       "npm ci",
       "node ./scripts/seed-ios-native-cache.mjs",
-      "PASEO_DEV_MANAGED_HOME=1 PASEO_DEV_SEED_HOME=\"$PASEO_SOURCE_CHECKOUT_PATH/.dev/paseo-home\" PASEO_HOME=\"$PWD/.dev/paseo-home\" ./scripts/dev-home.sh",
+      "node ./scripts/seed-worktree-dev-state.mjs",
       "npm run build:server",
-      "npm run build --workspace=@getpaseo/expo-two-way-audio",
-      "cp \"$PASEO_SOURCE_CHECKOUT_PATH/packages/server/.env\" \"$PWD/packages/server/.env\""
+      "npm run build --workspace=@getpaseo/expo-two-way-audio"
     ]
   },
   "scripts": {
diff --git a/scripts/seed-worktree-dev-state.mjs b/scripts/seed-worktree-dev-state.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d64578959
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/seed-worktree-dev-state.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+import { cpSync, existsSync, mkdirSync, readdirSync, rmSync, statSync } from "node:fs";
+import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+
+// Worktree setup runs through a stable script shell: bash on macOS/Linux, but PowerShell
+// on Windows. POSIX-only command strings (`VAR=1 cmd` env prefixes, `$VAR` expansion, `cp`,
+// `./scripts/*.sh`) cannot express this step portably, so the seeding lives in Node — the
+// one interpreter every Paseo checkout already depends on.
+
+const sourceRoot = process.env.PASEO_SOURCE_CHECKOUT_PATH;
+const targetRoot = process.env.PASEO_WORKTREE_PATH || process.cwd();
+
+if (!sourceRoot || sourceRoot === targetRoot) {
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
+seedPaseoHome();
+copyServerEnv();
+
+function seedPaseoHome() {
+  const source = process.env.PASEO_DEV_SEED_HOME || join(sourceRoot, ".dev/paseo-home");
+  const target = join(targetRoot, ".dev/paseo-home");
+
+  if (!existsSync(source)) {
+    console.log(`  Seed:    skipped (${source} missing)`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (source === target) {
+    console.log("  Seed:    skipped (source is target)");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (process.env.PASEO_DEV_RESET_HOME === "1") {
+    rmSync(target, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  } else if (hasEntries(target)) {
+    console.log(`  Seed:    skipped (${target} already has data)`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  mkdirSync(target, { recursive: true });
+  console.log(`  Seed:    copying metadata from ${source}`);
+  copyJsonTree(join(source, "agents"), join(target, "agents"));
+  copyJsonTree(join(source, "projects"), join(target, "projects"));
+
+  const config = join(source, "config.json");
+  if (existsSync(config)) {
+    cpSync(config, join(target, "config.json"));
+  }
+
+  console.log(`  Seed:    copied metadata from ${source}`);
+}
+
+// Durable JSON metadata only. Runtime files (pid files, sockets, logs) must not be copied.
+function copyJsonTree(source, target) {
+  if (!existsSync(source)) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  cpSync(source, target, {
+    recursive: true,
+    filter: (path) => isDirectory(path) || path.endsWith(".json"),
+  });
+}
+
+function copyServerEnv() {
+  const source = join(sourceRoot, "packages/server/.env");
+  const target = join(targetRoot, "packages/server/.env");
+
+  // Untracked local config. A checkout without one is normal, so this is not a setup failure.
+  if (!existsSync(source)) {
+    console.log(`  Env:     skipped (${source} missing)`);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  mkdirSync(dirname(target), { recursive: true });
+  cpSync(source, target);
+  console.log(`  Env:     copied ${source}`);
+}
+
+function hasEntries(path) {
+  try {
+    return readdirSync(path).length > 0;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+function isDirectory(path) {
+  try {
+    return statSync(path).isDirectory();
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}