diff --git a/internal/process/process.go b/internal/process/process.go
index 44827071be..4d44aaee29 100644
--- a/internal/process/process.go
+++ b/internal/process/process.go
@@ -29,7 +29,15 @@ const termType = "xterm-256color"
 // fires before os/exec's WaitDelay-triggered kill, keeping cancellation
 // behaviour unchanged, while still bounding the post-exit I/O wait so a
 // leaked stdout/stderr pipe can never hang Cmd.Wait indefinitely.
-const waitDelayBuffer = 1 * time.Second
+//
+// The bound is deliberately generous: when it expires, os/exec force-closes
+// the output pipes and any not-yet-drained output is silently lost (Wait
+// returns ErrWaitDelay, which complete() treats as a clean exit). A 1s buffer
+// proved too tight on loaded Windows CI machines, where the post-exit drain of
+// fast hooks intermittently exceeded it and hook output went missing. Hitting
+// this bound should only ever mean a genuinely leaked pipe write-end, not a
+// slow-but-healthy drain.
+const waitDelayBuffer = 30 * time.Second
 
 // afterPTYStartHook lets tests force work to happen after the PTY helper
 // returns so they can verify raw-mode ordering around process startup.
@@ -99,6 +107,12 @@ type Config struct {
 	SignalGracePeriod time.Duration
 	Started           chan struct{}
 	Done              chan struct{}
+
+	// WaitDelay, when positive, overrides the derived Cmd.WaitDelay bound
+	// (SignalGracePeriod + waitDelayBuffer) for the non-PTY path. Production
+	// code leaves this zero; tests use it to keep leaked-pipe regression
+	// tests fast.
+	WaitDelay time.Duration
 }
 
 // Process is an operating system level process
@@ -315,6 +329,9 @@ func (p *Process) startWithoutPTY(context.Context) (func(), error) {
 // cancellation; this keeps cancellation behaviour identical to before while
 // still bounding the post-exit I/O wait for the leaked-pipe case.
 func (p *Process) waitDelay() time.Duration {
+	if p.conf.WaitDelay > 0 {
+		return p.conf.WaitDelay
+	}
 	return max(p.conf.SignalGracePeriod, 0) + waitDelayBuffer
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/process/process_test.go b/internal/process/process_test.go
index bf669643ee..c00e8b3314 100644
--- a/internal/process/process_test.go
+++ b/internal/process/process_test.go
@@ -460,6 +460,8 @@ func TestProcessRunDoesNotHangWhenChildLeaksStdout(t *testing.T) {
 		Env:    []string{"TEST_MAIN=leak-stdout"},
 		Stdout: w,
 		Stderr: w,
+		// Shorten the post-exit I/O bound (default 30s) so the test stays fast.
+		WaitDelay: time.Second,
 	})
 
 	// Ensure the leaked grandchild is cleaned up regardless of outcome.
diff --git a/internal/shell/export_test.go b/internal/shell/export_test.go
index 842e921af4..cca03a5c38 100644
--- a/internal/shell/export_test.go
+++ b/internal/shell/export_test.go
@@ -5,3 +5,9 @@ import "time"
 func Round(d time.Duration) time.Duration {
 	return round(d)
 }
+
+// WithProcessWaitDelay is a test-only shell option that overrides the derived
+// process.Config.WaitDelay bound, keeping leaked-pipe regression tests fast.
+func WithProcessWaitDelay(d time.Duration) NewShellOpt {
+	return func(s *Shell) { s.processWaitDelay = d }
+}
diff --git a/internal/shell/shell.go b/internal/shell/shell.go
index 39cc5fed49..a449a63ba6 100644
--- a/internal/shell/shell.go
+++ b/internal/shell/shell.go
@@ -68,6 +68,10 @@ type Shell struct {
 	// Amount of time to wait between sending the InterruptSignal and SIGKILL
 	signalGracePeriod time.Duration
 
+	// Test-only override for the derived process.Config.WaitDelay bound
+	// (see WithProcessWaitDelay in export_test.go). Zero means "use default".
+	processWaitDelay time.Duration
+
 	// stdin is an optional input stream used by Run() and friends.
 	// It remains unexported on the assumption that it's not useful except via
 	// CloneWithStdin to get a clone prepared for a single command that needs
@@ -151,6 +155,7 @@ func (s *Shell) CloneWithStdin(r io.Reader) *Shell {
 		wd:                s.wd,
 		interruptSignal:   s.interruptSignal,
 		signalGracePeriod: s.signalGracePeriod,
+		processWaitDelay:  s.processWaitDelay,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -576,6 +581,7 @@ func (s *Shell) buildCommand(name string, arg ...string) (process.Config, error)
 		Dir:               s.wd,
 		InterruptSignal:   s.interruptSignal,
 		SignalGracePeriod: s.signalGracePeriod,
+		WaitDelay:         s.processWaitDelay,
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/shell/shell_test.go b/internal/shell/shell_test.go
index 05bec456c8..e4befe1260 100644
--- a/internal/shell/shell_test.go
+++ b/internal/shell/shell_test.go
@@ -757,6 +757,8 @@ func TestRunDoesNotReportCleanHookAsFailedWhenChildLeaksStdout(t *testing.T) {
 	sh, err := shell.New(
 		shell.WithStdout(w),
 		shell.WithLogger(shell.DiscardLogger),
+		// Shorten the post-exit I/O bound (default 30s) so the test stays fast.
+		shell.WithProcessWaitDelay(time.Second),
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("shell.New() error = %v", err)