diff --git a/bin/pipekit b/bin/pipekit
index a7f397c..24a3cfe 100755
--- a/bin/pipekit
+++ b/bin/pipekit
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Thin launcher: run `pipekit` from anywhere.
+# Thin launcher: prefer the repo venv if deploy.sh created one,
+# else fall back to system python3.
 set -euo pipefail
+REPO="$(cd "$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$0")")/.." && pwd)"
+if [ -x "$REPO/.venv/bin/python3" ]; then
+    exec "$REPO/.venv/bin/python3" -m pipekit "$@"
+fi
 exec python3 -m pipekit "$@"
diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 2790150..3f80b80 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -42,11 +42,7 @@ fi
 "$VENV_DIR/bin/pip" install --quiet -r "$REPO_DIR/requirements.txt"
 echo "Python deps installed."
 
-cat > "$REPO_DIR/bin/pipekit" <<EOF
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -euo pipefail
-exec "$VENV_DIR/bin/python3" -m pipekit "\$@"
-EOF
+# The in-repo bin/pipekit auto-detects .venv at runtime; no rewrite needed.
 chmod +x "$REPO_DIR/bin/pipekit"
 ln -sf "$REPO_DIR/bin/pipekit" "$LAUNCHER"
 echo "Launcher: $LAUNCHER -> $REPO_DIR/bin/pipekit"