diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/crash-evidence.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/crash-evidence.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..62a85940a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/crash-evidence.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, unlinkSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { dirname } from 'node:path'
+
+/** Minimal Electron crash reporter surface used before the app is ready. */
+export interface DesktopCrashReporter {
+  start(options: {
+    readonly productName: string
+    readonly uploadToServer: false
+    readonly globalExtra: Record<string, string>
+  }): void
+}
+
+export interface DesktopCrashMetadata {
+  readonly productName: string
+  readonly version: string
+  readonly platform: string
+  readonly arch: string
+}
+
+/** Start local-only Crashpad collection for native main and child process failures. */
+export function startDesktopCrashReporting(
+  reporter: DesktopCrashReporter,
+  metadata: DesktopCrashMetadata,
+): void {
+  reporter.start({
+    productName: metadata.productName,
+    uploadToServer: false,
+    globalExtra: {
+      appVersion: metadata.version,
+      platform: metadata.platform,
+      arch: metadata.arch,
+    },
+  })
+}
+
+/** Identity persisted while one desktop process is active. */
+export interface DesktopRunRecord {
+  readonly startedAt: string
+  readonly pid: number
+  readonly version: string
+}
+
+export interface UnreadableDesktopRun {
+  readonly unreadable: true
+}
+
+/** Active run marker and evidence recovered from the previous launch. */
+export interface DesktopRun {
+  readonly previousRun: DesktopRunRecord | UnreadableDesktopRun | undefined
+  /** Remove this process's active marker before a controlled exit. */
+  markClean(): void
+}
+
+function readPreviousRun(statePath: string): DesktopRunRecord | UnreadableDesktopRun | undefined {
+  if (!existsSync(statePath)) return undefined
+  try {
+    const value: unknown = JSON.parse(readFileSync(statePath, 'utf8'))
+    if (typeof value !== 'object' || value === null) return { unreadable: true }
+    const record = value as Partial<DesktopRunRecord>
+    if (typeof record.startedAt !== 'string'
+      || typeof record.pid !== 'number'
+      || typeof record.version !== 'string') return { unreadable: true }
+    return { startedAt: record.startedAt, pid: record.pid, version: record.version }
+  } catch (cause) {
+    if (cause instanceof SyntaxError) return { unreadable: true }
+    throw cause
+  }
+}
+
+/** Persist this launch and return a marker left behind by an unclean exit. */
+export function beginDesktopRun(statePath: string, currentRun: DesktopRunRecord): DesktopRun {
+  const previousRun = readPreviousRun(statePath)
+  mkdirSync(dirname(statePath), { recursive: true })
+  writeFileSync(statePath, `${JSON.stringify(currentRun)}\n`, 'utf8')
+  let clean = false
+  return {
+    previousRun,
+    markClean() {
+      if (clean) return
+      clean = true
+      unlinkSync(statePath)
+    },
+  }
+}
diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/desktop-logger.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/desktop-logger.ts
index 77e1459cfb..8bb8fd7e61 100644
--- a/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/desktop-logger.ts
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/desktop-logger.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,44 @@ export interface DesktopUncaughtExceptionProcess {
   off(event: 'uncaughtException', listener: (error: Error) => void): unknown
 }
 
+export interface DesktopChildProcessDetails {
+  readonly type: string
+  readonly reason: string
+  readonly exitCode: number
+  readonly serviceName?: string
+  readonly name?: string
+}
+
+/** Electron app events that expose native child process failures. */
+export interface DesktopChildProcessSource {
+  on(event: 'child-process-gone', listener: (event: unknown, details: DesktopChildProcessDetails) => void): unknown
+  off(event: 'child-process-gone', listener: (event: unknown, details: DesktopChildProcessDetails) => void): unknown
+}
+
+/** Render signed Electron exit codes with their Windows NTSTATUS bit pattern. */
+export function formatDesktopExitCode(exitCode: number): string {
+  return `${String(exitCode)} / 0x${(exitCode >>> 0).toString(16).padStart(8, '0')}`
+}
+
+/** Persist unexpected utility, GPU, and other Electron child process exits. */
+export function installDesktopChildProcessLogging(
+  app: DesktopChildProcessSource,
+  logger: DesktopLogger,
+): () => void {
+  const handler = (_event: unknown, details: DesktopChildProcessDetails): void => {
+    const identity = [
+      `type: ${details.type}`,
+      ...(details.name === undefined ? [] : [`name: ${details.name}`]),
+      ...(details.serviceName === undefined ? [] : [`service: ${details.serviceName}`]),
+    ]
+    logger.error(
+      `dsh-plugin-desktop: child process gone (${identity.join(', ')}, reason: ${details.reason}, exitCode: ${formatDesktopExitCode(details.exitCode)})`,
+    )
+  }
+  app.on('child-process-gone', handler)
+  return () => { app.off('child-process-gone', handler) }
+}
+
 /** Persist the first uncaught exception before requesting a fatal exit. */
 export function installDesktopUncaughtExceptionLogging(
   proc: DesktopUncaughtExceptionProcess,
diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/electron-runtime.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/electron-runtime.ts
index 4b90cbdbf9..f681580f32 100644
--- a/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/electron-runtime.ts
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/electron-runtime.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ import type {
   DesktopUpdateAdapter,
 } from './runtime.ts'
 import type { RendererBootReport } from './renderer-boot-contract.ts'
-import type { DesktopLogger } from './desktop-logger.ts'
+import { formatDesktopExitCode, type DesktopLogger } from './desktop-logger.ts'
 import { exportDiagnosticsZip } from './diagnostic-export.ts'
 import { prepareTrayIcon } from './tray-icons.ts'
 import {
@@ -619,7 +619,7 @@ export class ElectronDesktopRuntime implements DesktopRuntime {
     window.webContents.on('will-frame-navigate', navigate)
     window.webContents.on('will-redirect', navigate)
     window.webContents.on('render-process-gone', (_event, details) => {
-      this.logError(`dsh-plugin-desktop: renderer process gone (reason: ${details.reason}, exitCode: ${details.exitCode})`)
+      this.logError(`dsh-plugin-desktop: renderer process gone (reason: ${details.reason}, exitCode: ${formatDesktopExitCode(details.exitCode)})`)
     })
     window.webContents.on('did-fail-load', (_event, errorCode, errorDescription) => {
       this.logError(`dsh-plugin-desktop: renderer failed to load (${errorCode}: ${errorDescription})`)
diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/main.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/main.ts
index 53bd89c21c..feed8cba4a 100644
--- a/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/main.ts
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/src/main.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /** DSH Desktop executable: minimal Electron bootstrap around the Host Cordis root. */
 
-import { app } from 'electron'
+import { app, crashReporter } from 'electron'
 import type { Context } from '@deepseek-ai/cordis'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
@@ -20,9 +20,15 @@ import {
 import { desktopProductVersion, ElectronDesktopRuntime } from './electron-runtime.ts'
 import {
   ElectronStderrLogger,
+  installDesktopChildProcessLogging,
   installDesktopUncaughtExceptionLogging,
   type DesktopLogger,
 } from './desktop-logger.ts'
+import {
+  beginDesktopRun,
+  startDesktopCrashReporting,
+  type DesktopRun,
+} from './crash-evidence.ts'
 import { FileExporter } from './file-exporter.ts'
 import { DESKTOP_SETTINGS_NAMESPACE, type DesktopSettings } from './index.ts'
 import { LogFileSink } from './log-files.ts'
@@ -122,6 +128,7 @@ async function start(): Promise<void> {
   let shutdown: DesktopShutdown | undefined
   let removeShutdownRequests: (() => void) | undefined
   let removeUncaughtExceptionLogging: (() => void) | undefined
+  let removeChildProcessLogging: (() => void) | undefined
   let disposeDshRuntime: (() => void) | undefined
   let disposePnpmRuntime: (() => void) | undefined
   let fileExporter: FileExporter | undefined
@@ -141,6 +148,36 @@ async function start(): Promise<void> {
     logSink = undefined
   }
   const electronLogger = new ElectronStderrLogger(logSink)
+  try {
+    startDesktopCrashReporting(crashReporter, {
+      productName: PRODUCT_NAME,
+      version: desktopProductVersion(),
+      platform: process.platform,
+      arch: process.arch,
+    })
+  } catch (cause) {
+    electronLogger.error(`${BIN_NAME}: local crash reporting unavailable: ${cause instanceof Error ? cause.message : String(cause)}`)
+  }
+  let desktopRun: DesktopRun | undefined
+  try {
+    desktopRun = beginDesktopRun(
+      join(app.getPath('userData'), 'crash-evidence', 'active-run.json'),
+      {
+        startedAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+        pid: process.pid,
+        version: desktopProductVersion(),
+      },
+    )
+    const previousRun = desktopRun.previousRun
+    if (previousRun !== undefined) {
+      electronLogger.error('unreadable' in previousRun
+        ? `${BIN_NAME}: previous desktop run did not shut down cleanly (active run marker unreadable)`
+        : `${BIN_NAME}: previous desktop run did not shut down cleanly (startedAt: ${previousRun.startedAt}, pid: ${String(previousRun.pid)}, version: ${previousRun.version})`)
+    }
+  } catch (cause) {
+    electronLogger.error(`${BIN_NAME}: active run tracking unavailable: ${cause instanceof Error ? cause.message : String(cause)}`)
+  }
+  removeChildProcessLogging = installDesktopChildProcessLogging(app, electronLogger)
   const nativeExit = createDesktopExitCoordinator(
     {
       prepareToQuit: () => { runtime.prepareToQuit() },
@@ -150,6 +187,12 @@ async function start(): Promise<void> {
     () => {
       removeShutdownRequests?.()
       removeUncaughtExceptionLogging?.()
+      removeChildProcessLogging?.()
+      try {
+        desktopRun?.markClean()
+      } catch (cause) {
+        electronLogger.error(`${BIN_NAME}: failed to clear active run marker: ${cause instanceof Error ? cause.message : String(cause)}`)
+      }
     },
   )
   let restartRequested = false
diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/crash-evidence.spec.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/crash-evidence.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9996ef0c3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/crash-evidence.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { beginDesktopRun, startDesktopCrashReporting } from '../src/crash-evidence.ts'
+
+describe('desktop crash evidence', () => {
+  it('starts Electron crash reporting without uploading dumps', () => {
+    const reporter = { start: vi.fn() }
+
+    startDesktopCrashReporting(reporter, {
+      productName: 'DSH Desktop',
+      version: '2.0.1',
+      platform: 'win32',
+      arch: 'x64',
+    })
+
+    expect(reporter.start).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      productName: 'DSH Desktop',
+      uploadToServer: false,
+      globalExtra: {
+        appVersion: '2.0.1',
+        platform: 'win32',
+        arch: 'x64',
+      },
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('reports the previous run when it did not shut down cleanly', () => {
+    const statePath = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'dsh-run-')), 'active-run.json')
+    beginDesktopRun(statePath, {
+      startedAt: '2026-08-18T00:00:00.000Z',
+      pid: 41,
+      version: '2.0.1',
+    })
+
+    const next = beginDesktopRun(statePath, {
+      startedAt: '2026-08-18T00:01:00.000Z',
+      pid: 42,
+      version: '2.0.1',
+    })
+
+    expect(next.previousRun).toEqual({
+      startedAt: '2026-08-18T00:00:00.000Z',
+      pid: 41,
+      version: '2.0.1',
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('does not report a run that marked its shutdown clean', () => {
+    const statePath = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'dsh-run-')), 'active-run.json')
+    const run = beginDesktopRun(statePath, {
+      startedAt: '2026-08-18T00:00:00.000Z',
+      pid: 41,
+      version: '2.0.1',
+    })
+
+    expect(() => {
+      run.markClean()
+      run.markClean()
+    }).not.toThrow()
+
+    const next = beginDesktopRun(statePath, {
+      startedAt: '2026-08-18T00:01:00.000Z',
+      pid: 42,
+      version: '2.0.1',
+    })
+    expect(next.previousRun).toBeUndefined()
+  })
+
+  it('reports an unreadable previous marker without blocking the next run', () => {
+    const statePath = join(mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'dsh-run-')), 'active-run.json')
+    writeFileSync(statePath, '{partial', 'utf8')
+
+    const run = beginDesktopRun(statePath, {
+      startedAt: '2026-08-18T00:01:00.000Z',
+      pid: 42,
+      version: '2.0.1',
+    })
+
+    expect(run.previousRun).toEqual({ unreadable: true })
+    expect(() => run.markClean()).not.toThrow()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/desktop-logger.spec.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/desktop-logger.spec.ts
index 5d65222e18..0f8a34738e 100644
--- a/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/desktop-logger.spec.ts
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/desktop-logger.spec.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { join } from 'node:path'
 import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
 import {
   ElectronStderrLogger,
+  installDesktopChildProcessLogging,
   installDesktopUncaughtExceptionLogging,
 } from '../src/desktop-logger.ts'
 import { LogFileSink } from '../src/log-files.ts'
@@ -23,6 +24,26 @@ function sink(): { s: LogFileSink; dir: string } {
 }
 
 describe('ElectronStderrLogger', () => {
+  it('logs Electron child process crashes with the Windows exception code', () => {
+    const app = new EventEmitter()
+    const logger = { error: vi.fn(), errorCause: vi.fn() }
+    const remove = installDesktopChildProcessLogging(app, logger)
+
+    app.emit('child-process-gone', {}, {
+      type: 'Utility',
+      reason: 'crashed',
+      exitCode: -1073741819,
+      serviceName: 'network.mojom.NetworkService',
+      name: 'Network Service',
+    })
+
+    expect(logger.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'dsh-plugin-desktop: child process gone (type: Utility, name: Network Service, service: network.mojom.NetworkService, reason: crashed, exitCode: -1073741819 / 0xc0000005)',
+    )
+    remove()
+    expect(app.listenerCount('child-process-gone')).toBe(0)
+  })
+
   it('writes to the sink and to stderr', () => {
     const { s, dir } = sink()
     const stderrSpy = vi.spyOn(process.stderr, 'write').mockImplementation(() => true)
diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/electron-runtime.spec.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/electron-runtime.spec.ts
index 2a5d312970..2f9ecbb289 100644
--- a/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/electron-runtime.spec.ts
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/electron-runtime.spec.ts
@@ -321,6 +321,25 @@ describe('Electron compatibility runtime', () => {
     expect(electron.trays[0]?.off).toHaveBeenCalledWith('click', expect.any(Function))
   })
 
+  it('logs renderer crashes with the Windows exception code', async () => {
+    vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('win32')
+    const { ElectronDesktopRuntime } = await import('../src/electron-runtime.ts')
+    const logger = { error: vi.fn(), errorCause: vi.fn() }
+    const runtime = new ElectronDesktopRuntime(async () => {}, undefined, logger)
+    const release = runtime.schedule(spec)
+    await runtime.mountScheduled()
+
+    const gone = electron.browserWindows[0]?.webContents.on.mock.calls
+      .find(([event]) => event === 'render-process-gone')?.[1]
+    expect(gone).toEqual(expect.any(Function))
+    gone({}, { reason: 'crashed', exitCode: -1073741819 })
+
+    expect(logger.error).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      'dsh-plugin-desktop: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, exitCode: -1073741819 / 0xc0000005)',
+    )
+    await release()
+  })
+
   it('starts from the saved locale and rebuilds native tray commands when it changes', async () => {
     vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get').mockReturnValue('win32')
     const { ElectronDesktopRuntime } = await import('../src/electron-runtime.ts')
diff --git a/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/package.spec.ts b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/package.spec.ts
index 0098a8729f..4d84b19521 100644
--- a/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/package.spec.ts
+++ b/dsh-plugin-desktop/tests/package.spec.ts
@@ -162,6 +162,25 @@ describe('published package surface', () => {
     expect(main).toContain('disposeDshRuntime?.()')
   })
 
+  it('wires local crash evidence before Electron becomes ready', () => {
+    const main = readFileSync(new URL('src/main.ts', packageRoot), 'utf8')
+    const startCrashReporter = main.indexOf('startDesktopCrashReporting(crashReporter')
+    const beginRun = main.indexOf('beginDesktopRun(')
+    const childLogging = main.indexOf('installDesktopChildProcessLogging(app')
+    const exitCoordinator = main.indexOf('createDesktopExitCoordinator(')
+    const ready = main.indexOf('await app.whenReady()')
+    const markClean = main.indexOf('desktopRun?.markClean()')
+    const nativeExit = main.indexOf('app.exit(code)')
+
+    expect(startCrashReporter).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0)
+    expect(beginRun).toBeGreaterThan(startCrashReporter)
+    expect(childLogging).toBeGreaterThan(beginRun)
+    expect(exitCoordinator).toBeGreaterThan(childLogging)
+    expect(nativeExit).toBeGreaterThan(exitCoordinator)
+    expect(markClean).toBeGreaterThan(nativeExit)
+    expect(ready).toBeGreaterThan(markClean)
+  })
+
   it('uses the upstream child-environment scrub around login-shell recovery', () => {
     const shellEnvironment = readFileSync(new URL('src/shell-environment.ts', packageRoot), 'utf8')