diff --git a/apps/desktop/package.json b/apps/desktop/package.json
index 0c4dbf30cd..300c4582ab 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/package.json
+++ b/apps/desktop/package.json
@@ -120,6 +120,7 @@
     "d3-force": "3.0.0",
     "dnd-core": "14.0.1",
     "dompurify": "3.4.13",
+    "driver.js": "1.8.0",
     "emojibase-data": "16.0.3",
     "fflate": "0.8.3",
     "frimousse": "0.3.0",
diff --git a/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts b/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts
index 46d5bea536..7627a62c47 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/vite.config.ts
@@ -155,6 +155,17 @@ export default defineConfig(({ command }) => ({
       }
     }
   },
+  // driver.js only enters the graph through the tour's DYNAMIC import chain
+  // (lib/tour/run-tour.ts), so the dep scanner never sees it at startup. Left
+  // alone, first use registers it as a missing dep at runtime — which (a)
+  // esbuild-prebundles the `?raw` IIFE import as a JS module, breaking the
+  // raw-text transform ("does not provide an export named 'default'"), and
+  // (b) triggers Vite's "new dependencies optimized" full page reload mid-
+  // session. It's pure ESM with no CJS deps, so serving it unoptimized is
+  // free. Query and bare forms all listed — exclusion matches exact ids.
+  optimizeDeps: {
+    exclude: ['driver.js', 'driver.js/dist/driver.js.iife.js', 'driver.js/dist/driver.js.iife.js?raw', 'driver.js/dist/driver.css?raw']
+  },
   resolve: {
     alias: {
       '@/debug/dev-only': debugEntry(command, process.env as Record<string, string>),
@@ -162,6 +173,20 @@ export default defineConfig(({ command }) => ({
       '@hermes/plugin-sdk': path.resolve(__dirname, './src/sdk/index.ts'),
       '@hermes/shared/billing': path.resolve(__dirname, '../shared/src/billing-types.ts'),
       '@hermes/shared': path.resolve(__dirname, '../shared/src'),
+      // The tour tool's preview surface injects driver.js's prebuilt IIFE into
+      // the pane's guest page as raw source; the package's exports map doesn't
+      // expose that dist file (nor ./package.json), so resolve the main entry
+      // (dist/driver.js.cjs) and point at its sibling. Both keys on purpose:
+      // alias matching is exact, and the id reaches it with the `?raw` query
+      // still attached in dev but stripped in some build paths.
+      'driver.js/dist/driver.js.iife.js?raw': `${path.join(
+        path.dirname(requireFromApp.resolve('driver.js')),
+        'driver.js.iife.js'
+      )}?raw`,
+      'driver.js/dist/driver.js.iife.js': path.join(
+        path.dirname(requireFromApp.resolve('driver.js')),
+        'driver.js.iife.js'
+      ),
       react: reactDir,
       'react-dom': reactDomDir,
       'react/jsx-dev-runtime': path.join(reactDir, 'jsx-dev-runtime.js'),
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 4b79b63afe..507d5ee0b7 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@
         "d3-force": "3.0.0",
         "dnd-core": "14.0.1",
         "dompurify": "3.4.13",
+        "driver.js": "1.8.0",
         "emojibase-data": "16.0.3",
         "fflate": "0.8.3",
         "frimousse": "0.3.0",
@@ -9573,6 +9574,12 @@
         "url": "https://dotenvx.com"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/driver.js": {
+      "version": "1.8.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/driver.js/-/driver.js-1.8.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-+8/IO7h1v14IzWh2GP60N7T3PFZweXwdn5e5POuxRSBoCYUojsBxzqawPeXh3YZIibRy7EehYNEyxe7slwwtdg==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/dunder-proto": {
       "version": "1.0.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dunder-proto/-/dunder-proto-1.0.1.tgz",