diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 1e013942cc..4ab0fab4c9 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@
     "postinstall": "node scripts/build/postinstall.mjs",
     "uninstall": "node scripts/build/uninstall.mjs",
     "uninstall:full": "node scripts/build/uninstall.mjs --full",
-    "prepare": "husky",
+    "prepare": "node -e \"try{require.resolve('husky')}catch(e){process.exit(0)};require('child_process').execSync('husky',{stdio:'inherit'})\"",
     "system-info": "node scripts/dev/system-info.mjs",
     "build:cli-api": "node --import tsx/esm scripts/cli/generate-api-commands.mjs",
     "postbuild": "node scripts/build/colocate-standalone.mjs",
diff --git a/tests/unit/prepare-script-husky-guard.test.ts b/tests/unit/prepare-script-husky-guard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9da5d9a94a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/prepare-script-husky-guard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { describe, it } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { execSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+describe("package.json prepare script (#11571)", () => {
+  const pkg = JSON.parse(
+    readFileSync(join(import.meta.dirname, "../../package.json"), "utf8")
+  );
+
+  it("has a prepare script that guards against missing husky", () => {
+    const prepare = pkg.scripts?.prepare;
+    assert.ok(prepare, "prepare script must exist");
+    assert.ok(
+      prepare.includes("require.resolve") || prepare.includes("existsSync"),
+      "prepare must check if husky is available before running it"
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("does not hard-fail when husky is absent", () => {
+    const prepare = pkg.scripts?.prepare;
+    assert.ok(
+      !prepare.match(/^\s*husky\s*$/),
+      "prepare must not be a bare 'husky' call without a guard"
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("exits cleanly without invoking husky when it is unresolvable", () => {
+    const prepare = pkg.scripts?.prepare;
+    assert.ok(prepare);
+    assert.ok(
+      !prepare.includes("&& husky") && !prepare.includes("|| husky"),
+      "husky must not appear as a separate shell command after the guard — " +
+        "process.exit(0) in the guard would still allow && to proceed"
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("still calls husky when available", () => {
+    const prepare = pkg.scripts?.prepare;
+    assert.ok(
+      prepare.includes("husky"),
+      "prepare must still invoke husky when it is installed"
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("exits 0 in an environment where husky is not resolvable", () => {
+    const result = execSync(
+      "node -e \"try{require.resolve('husky_nonexistent_pkg')}catch(e){process.exit(0)};process.exit(1)\"",
+      { encoding: "utf8", stdio: "pipe" }
+    );
+    assert.equal(result, "", "should produce no output and exit 0");
+  });
+});