diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/daemon-self-updater.test.ts b/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/daemon-self-updater.test.ts
index c272a7f11a..711fd11d80 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/daemon-self-updater.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/daemon-self-updater.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
-import { describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, onTestFinished, test } from "vitest";
 import {
   DaemonSelfUpdateInProgressError,
   DaemonSelfUpdater,
@@ -106,9 +108,11 @@ async function runUpdate(input: {
 
 describe("DaemonSelfUpdater", () => {
   test("probes and updates the running install's prefix when npm defaults elsewhere", async () => {
-    const prefix = path.resolve("custom npm prefix");
+    const prefix = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), "custom npm prefix "));
+    onTestFinished(() => rmSync(prefix, { recursive: true, force: true }));
     const root = process.platform === "win32" ? prefix : path.join(prefix, "lib");
     const packagePath = path.join(root, "node_modules", "@getpaseo", "cli");
+    mkdirSync(packagePath, { recursive: true });
     const commands: string[][] = [];
     let version = "0.1.15";
     const npm = new DefaultNpmGlobalPaseoCli(async (_command, args) => {
diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.test.ts b/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.test.ts
index aece7eb09a..ba852e232e 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, symlinkSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
-import { describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
 import { DefaultNpmGlobalPaseoCli } from "./npm-global-cli.js";
 
 interface CommandCall {
@@ -10,25 +12,65 @@ interface CommandCall {
 }
 
 const globalRoot = path.join(path.sep, "global", "lib");
-const globalNodeModules = path.join(globalRoot, "node_modules");
-const cliPackagePath = path.join(globalNodeModules, "@getpaseo", "cli");
 
-function npmGlobalPaseoCliJson(version: string, options?: { linked?: boolean }): string {
-  return JSON.stringify({
-    name: "lib",
-    path: globalRoot,
-    dependencies: {
-      "@getpaseo/cli": {
-        version,
-        path: cliPackagePath,
-        link: options?.linked === true,
-      },
-    },
-  });
+interface GlobalInstall {
+  root: string;
+  packagePath: string;
+  // npm 7+ `ls --json --long` marks neither kind of install with a link flag.
+  npmLsJson: string;
 }
 
 describe("DefaultNpmGlobalPaseoCli", () => {
+  const tempDirs: string[] = [];
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    for (const dir of tempDirs.splice(0)) {
+      rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  function createGlobalInstall(options: { linked: boolean }): GlobalInstall {
+    const dir = mkdtempSync(path.join(tmpdir(), "paseo-npm-global-"));
+    tempDirs.push(dir);
+    const root = path.join(dir, "prefix", "lib");
+    const packagePath = path.join(root, "node_modules", "@getpaseo", "cli");
+    const checkoutCli = path.join(dir, "checkout", "packages", "cli");
+    if (options.linked) {
+      mkdirSync(checkoutCli, { recursive: true });
+      mkdirSync(path.dirname(packagePath), { recursive: true });
+      symlinkSync(checkoutCli, packagePath, "junction");
+    } else {
+      mkdirSync(packagePath, { recursive: true });
+    }
+    const npmLsJson = JSON.stringify({
+      name: "lib",
+      path: root,
+      dependencies: {
+        "@getpaseo/cli": {
+          version: "0.1.15",
+          resolved: options.linked
+            ? `file:${path.relative(root, checkoutCli)}`
+            : "https://registry.npmjs.org/@getpaseo/cli/-/cli-0.1.15.tgz",
+          path: packagePath,
+        },
+      },
+    });
+    return { root, packagePath, npmLsJson };
+  }
+
+  test("reports a global install linked to a local checkout as linked", async () => {
+    const install = createGlobalInstall({ linked: true });
+    const cli = new DefaultNpmGlobalPaseoCli(async () => ({
+      exitCode: 0,
+      stdout: install.npmLsJson,
+      stderr: "",
+    }));
+
+    await expect(cli.inspect()).resolves.toMatchObject({ isLinked: true });
+  });
+
   test("inspects the npm global cli install with npm -g ls", async () => {
+    const install = createGlobalInstall({ linked: false });
     const calls: CommandCall[] = [];
     const cli = new DefaultNpmGlobalPaseoCli(async (command, args, options) => {
       calls.push({
@@ -37,13 +79,13 @@ describe("DefaultNpmGlobalPaseoCli", () => {
         timeout: options?.timeout,
         maxBuffer: options?.maxBuffer,
       });
-      return { exitCode: 0, stdout: npmGlobalPaseoCliJson("0.1.15"), stderr: "" };
+      return { exitCode: 0, stdout: install.npmLsJson, stderr: "" };
     });
 
     await expect(cli.inspect()).resolves.toEqual({
       version: "0.1.15",
-      packagePath: cliPackagePath,
-      globalRootPath: globalRoot,
+      packagePath: install.packagePath,
+      globalRootPath: install.root,
       isLinked: false,
     });
     expect(calls).toEqual([
diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.ts b/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.ts
index 2eef49980f..6133dcd9d1 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/session/daemon/npm-global-cli.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { lstatSync } from "node:fs";
 import { getErrorMessage } from "@getpaseo/protocol/error-utils";
 import { z } from "zod";
 import { execCommand } from "../../../utils/spawn.js";
@@ -19,7 +20,6 @@ const NpmGlobalCliPackageSchema = z
   .object({
     version: z.string(),
     path: z.string(),
-    link: z.boolean().optional(),
   })
   .passthrough();
 
@@ -112,7 +112,9 @@ function parseNpmGlobalPaseoInstall(stdout: string): NpmGlobalPaseoInstall | nul
     version: cliPackage.data.version,
     packagePath: cliPackage.data.path,
     globalRootPath: list.data.path ?? null,
-    isLinked: cliPackage.data.link === true,
+    // npm links an install by making its node_modules entry a symlink (a junction
+    // on Windows), and `npm ls --json` reports no flag for it.
+    isLinked: lstatSync(cliPackage.data.path).isSymbolicLink(),
   };
 }