diff --git a/graphify/hooks.py b/graphify/hooks.py
index d284903e5..211c074be 100644
--- a/graphify/hooks.py
+++ b/graphify/hooks.py
@@ -67,10 +67,17 @@
         # POSIX launcher: parse the shebang. head -c + tr strip NUL bytes first —
         # when the launcher is a Windows binary reached without its .exe suffix,
         # a raw `head -1` reads binary into the command substitution and the
-        # shell warns about ignored null bytes on every commit.
+        # shell warns about ignored null bytes on every commit. Gate on a
+        # leading '#!': a launcher can also be a binary trampoline with no
+        # shebang at all (uv tool installs on Windows), and its bytes must
+        # never reach the shebang parse (#2852).
         case "$GRAPHIFY_BIN" in
-            *.exe) _SHEBANG="" ;;
-            *)     _SHEBANG=$(head -c 256 "$GRAPHIFY_BIN" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\\000' | head -n 1 | sed 's/^#![[:space:]]*//') ;;
+            *.exe) _GFY_HEAD="" ;;
+            *)     _GFY_HEAD=$(head -c 256 "$GRAPHIFY_BIN" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '\\000') ;;
+        esac
+        case "$_GFY_HEAD" in
+            '#!'*) _SHEBANG=$(printf '%s\\n' "$_GFY_HEAD" | head -n 1 | sed 's/^#![[:space:]]*//') ;;
+            *)     _SHEBANG="" ;;
         esac
         case "$_SHEBANG" in
             */env\\ *) GRAPHIFY_PYTHON="${_SHEBANG#*/env }" ;;
@@ -86,6 +93,29 @@
         fi
     fi
 fi
+# Fourth probe: uv tool environments. `uv tool install` (the README's
+# recommended method) puts graphify in an isolated venv that no ambient
+# python can import, and on Windows its launcher on PATH is a binary
+# trampoline with no shebang to parse — so the probes above can all miss a
+# healthy install and the hook dies at the last-resort fallback (#2852).
+# Scan the uv tool envs directly; UV_TOOL_DIR overrides the default
+# location. A tool env is adopted only if its python passes the probe, so a
+# co-installed tool without graphify never satisfies it.
+if [ -z "$GRAPHIFY_PYTHON" ]; then
+    for _GFY_TOOLS in \
+        "${UV_TOOL_DIR:-}" \
+        "$HOME/.local/share/uv/tools" \
+        "$HOME/AppData/Roaming/uv/tools"; do
+        [ -n "$_GFY_TOOLS" ] || continue
+        for _GFY_CAND in "$_GFY_TOOLS"/*/bin/python "$_GFY_TOOLS"/*/Scripts/python.exe; do
+            [ -x "$_GFY_CAND" ] || continue
+            if "$_GFY_CAND" -c "$_GFY_PROBE" 2>/dev/null; then
+                GRAPHIFY_PYTHON="$_GFY_CAND"
+                break 2
+            fi
+        done
+    done
+fi
 # Last resort: try python3 / python (works for system/venv installs on PATH).
 if [ -z "$GRAPHIFY_PYTHON" ]; then
     if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 && python3 -c "$_GFY_PROBE" 2>/dev/null; then
diff --git a/tests/test_hooks.py b/tests/test_hooks.py
index 3d8bcfc2a..e00d7e298 100644
--- a/tests/test_hooks.py
+++ b/tests/test_hooks.py
@@ -450,6 +450,148 @@ def test_probe_prefers_sibling_python_exe_on_windows_layouts():
     assert "/python.exe" in _PYTHON_DETECT
 
 
+# ── #2852: interpreter resolution under uv tool installs ───────────────────
+
+def _detect_run(tmp_path, home, stub_bin, env_extra=None):
+    """Run the emitted _PYTHON_DETECT under a real sh in a controlled
+    environment — dead pin, no .graphify_python, an unparseable launcher first
+    on PATH, and a python3 that cannot import graphify (#2852's uv-tool
+    Windows machine reproduced on POSIX) — and report what GRAPHIFY_PYTHON
+    resolved to. Behavior of the emitted script, not the source string
+    (per the #2126/#2641 convention)."""
+    from graphify.hooks import _PYTHON_DETECT
+    script = tmp_path / "detect_run.sh"
+    script.write_text(
+        _PYTHON_DETECT + '\necho "RESOLVED=$GRAPHIFY_PYTHON"\n',
+        encoding="utf-8", newline="\n",
+    )
+    env = dict(os.environ)
+    env["HOME"] = str(home)
+    env.pop("UV_TOOL_DIR", None)
+    if env_extra:
+        env.update(env_extra)
+    env["PATH"] = str(stub_bin) + os.pathsep + env["PATH"]
+    return subprocess.run(
+        ["sh", script.name], capture_output=True, text=True,
+        cwd=str(tmp_path), env=env,
+    )
+
+
+def _broken_uv_machine(tmp_path):
+    """#2852's machine: the only graphify-importable python lives in the uv
+    tool venv; the launcher on PATH is a binary trampoline reached WITHOUT its
+    .exe suffix (Git-Bash command -v); ambient python3 cannot import graphify.
+    Returns (home, stub_bin)."""
+    home = tmp_path / "home"
+    stub_bin = tmp_path / "stubbin"
+    stub_bin.mkdir(parents=True)
+    launcher = stub_bin / "graphify"
+    launcher.write_bytes(b"MZ\x90\x00\x03" + bytes(range(60)))
+    launcher.chmod(0o755)
+    # Ambient pythons answer the probe with "no module named graphify" —
+    # under uv tool install no system python can see the isolated venv (#2852).
+    for name in ("python3", "python"):
+        py = stub_bin / name
+        py.write_text("#!/bin/sh\nexit 1\n", encoding="utf-8", newline="\n")
+        py.chmod(0o755)
+    return home, stub_bin
+
+
+def _tool_venv(home, tool, rel, ok):
+    """Create a fake uv tool env python under <home>/.local/share/uv/tools;
+    ok=False simulates a venv without graphify (the probe must reject it)."""
+    py = home / ".local" / "share" / "uv" / "tools" / tool / rel
+    py.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    py.write_text(
+        "#!/bin/sh\nexit 0\n" if ok else "#!/bin/sh\nexit 1\n",
+        encoding="utf-8", newline="\n",
+    )
+    py.chmod(0o755)
+    return py
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("sh") is None, reason="sh required to run emitted probe chain")
+def test_uv_tool_env_rescues_hook_when_pin_and_launcher_fail(tmp_path):
+    """#2852: `uv tool install` puts graphify in an isolated venv no ambient
+    python can import, and on Windows the launcher is a binary trampoline with
+    no shebang to parse. With the pin dead (git-template hooks, a pin rejected
+    by the allowlist, or a venv moved by an upgrade), every earlier probe
+    missed and the hook no-op'd with only a warning. The uv tool-env scan must
+    adopt the venv whose python passes the probe — and keep walking past
+    sibling tool envs that do not (glob order puts aaa-tool first)."""
+    home, stub_bin = _broken_uv_machine(tmp_path)
+    other = _tool_venv(home, "aaa-plain-tool", "bin/python", ok=False)
+    mine = _tool_venv(home, "graphifyy", "bin/python", ok=True)
+    res = _detect_run(tmp_path, home, stub_bin)
+    assert res.returncode == 0, res.stderr
+    assert f"RESOLVED={mine}" in res.stdout, res.stdout + res.stderr
+    assert f"RESOLVED={other}" not in res.stdout
+    assert "could not locate" not in res.stderr
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("sh") is None or os.name == "nt",
+                    reason="sh required; a sh-script named python.exe only execs on POSIX")
+def test_uv_tool_env_honors_uv_tool_dir_and_windows_layout(tmp_path):
+    """UV_TOOL_DIR overrides the default location, and the Windows layout
+    (`<tool>\\Scripts\\python.exe`) is scanned too — the reporter's exact
+    machine (#2852)."""
+    home, stub_bin = _broken_uv_machine(tmp_path)
+    tools = tmp_path / "custom-tools"
+    py = tools / "graphifyy" / "Scripts" / "python.exe"
+    py.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+    py.write_text("#!/bin/sh\nexit 0\n", encoding="utf-8", newline="\n")
+    py.chmod(0o755)
+    res = _detect_run(tmp_path, home, stub_bin, env_extra={"UV_TOOL_DIR": str(tools)})
+    assert res.returncode == 0, res.stderr
+    assert f"RESOLVED={py}" in res.stdout, res.stdout + res.stderr
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("sh") is None, reason="sh required to run emitted probe chain")
+def test_uv_tool_env_without_graphify_still_fails_loudly(tmp_path):
+    """The scan must not adopt a tool env whose python lacks graphify; the
+    chain still ends in the loud 'could not locate' warning on stderr — never
+    a bare silent exit (#2852's diagnosis ask)."""
+    home, stub_bin = _broken_uv_machine(tmp_path)
+    _tool_venv(home, "aaa-tool", "bin/python", ok=False)
+    res = _detect_run(tmp_path, home, stub_bin)
+    assert "could not locate" in res.stderr
+    # the sentinel must NOT print: the chain exited at the warning
+    assert res.stdout == ""
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("sh") is None, reason="sh required to run emitted probe chain")
+def test_shebang_parse_requires_leading_hash_bang(tmp_path):
+    """The launcher read must gate on a leading '#!': a non-script launcher
+    whose first line merely NAMES a working python must not be adopted as the
+    interpreter. Pre-gate code parsed any first line, so trampoline bytes
+    (and here, a decoy path) reached the shebang parse (#2852)."""
+    home, stub_bin = _broken_uv_machine(tmp_path)
+    mine = _tool_venv(home, "graphifyy", "bin/python", ok=True)
+    decoy = stub_bin / "fakepy"
+    decoy.write_text("#!/bin/sh\nexit 0\n", encoding="utf-8", newline="\n")
+    decoy.chmod(0o755)
+    launcher = stub_bin / "graphify"
+    launcher.write_text(
+        f"{decoy}\nnot a script — the first line just names a python\n",
+        encoding="utf-8", newline="\n",
+    )
+    launcher.chmod(0o755)
+    res = _detect_run(tmp_path, home, stub_bin)
+    assert res.returncode == 0, res.stderr
+    assert f"RESOLVED={mine}" in res.stdout, res.stdout + res.stderr
+    assert "fakepy" not in res.stdout
+
+
+def test_uv_tool_probe_present_in_emitted_detect():
+    """Static companion to the runtime tests above (same convention as the
+    NUL-safe read): the emitted chain must scan uv tool envs and honor
+    UV_TOOL_DIR."""
+    from graphify.hooks import _PYTHON_DETECT
+    assert "UV_TOOL_DIR" in _PYTHON_DETECT
+    assert '"$HOME/.local/share/uv/tools"' in _PYTHON_DETECT
+    assert '"$HOME/AppData/Roaming/uv/tools"' in _PYTHON_DETECT
+
+
 def _extract_case_pattern(marker: str) -> str:
     """Pull the `*[!...]*` glob portion of a real case arm out of _PYTHON_DETECT
     by a unique anchor, so tests run against the emitted text, not a copy."""