diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.interactive.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.interactive.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1a4d568c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.interactive.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { mkdtempSync, readdirSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { runCommand } from "citty";
+
+const prompts = vi.hoisted(() => ({ errors: [] as string[], typedName: "" }));
+
+vi.mock("@clack/prompts", () => ({
+  intro: () => undefined,
+  cancel: () => undefined,
+  isCancel: () => false,
+  text: async () => prompts.typedName,
+  log: { error: (message: string) => prompts.errors.push(message) },
+}));
+vi.mock("../ui/banner.js", () => ({ printBanner: () => undefined }));
+
+describe("interactive init with a name too long for a folder", () => {
+  let dir: string;
+  let stdoutTty: PropertyDescriptor | undefined;
+  const unit = process.platform === "linux" ? "bytes" : "characters";
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hf-init-interactive-"));
+    prompts.errors = [];
+    stdoutTty = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(process.stdout, "isTTY");
+    Object.defineProperty(process.stdout, "isTTY", { value: true, configurable: true });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (stdoutTty) Object.defineProperty(process.stdout, "isTTY", stdoutTty);
+    else delete (process.stdout as { isTTY?: boolean }).isTTY;
+    rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  const runInit = async (rawArgs: string[]) => {
+    const command = (await import("./init.js")).default;
+    await runCommand(command, { rawArgs });
+  };
+
+  it("shows the plain sentence for a name given on the command line, before any folder is made", async () => {
+    const target = `${dir}/${"z".repeat(257)}/../${"a".repeat(256)}`;
+    await expect(runInit([target])).rejects.toThrow("Command failed");
+    expect(prompts.errors).toEqual([
+      `That name is 256 ${unit} long; a folder name can be at most 255 ${unit}.`,
+    ]);
+    expect(readdirSync(dir)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it("shows the plain sentence for a name typed into the prompt", async () => {
+    prompts.typedName = `${dir}/${"z".repeat(301)}/../${"b".repeat(300)}`;
+    await expect(runInit([])).rejects.toThrow("Command failed");
+    expect(prompts.errors).toEqual([
+      `That name is 300 ${unit} long; a folder name can be at most 255 ${unit}.`,
+    ]);
+    expect(readdirSync(dir)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts
index fe0f99220b..0eb27cbf52 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
 import {
   applyResolutionPreset,
   injectTailwindBrowserScript,
+  nameTooLongMessage,
   resolveVideoDurationSeconds,
 } from "./init.js";
 
@@ -362,6 +363,69 @@ describe("hyperframes init flag rename", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it("a name longer than a folder name can be fails in one plain sentence, before any folder is made", () => {
+    const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hf-init-test-"));
+    const target = join(dir, "a".repeat(256));
+    const unit = process.platform === "linux" ? "bytes" : "characters";
+    try {
+      const res = runInit([target, "--example", "blank", "--non-interactive", "--skip-skills"]);
+      expect(res.status).toBe(1);
+      expect(res.stderr).toContain(
+        `That name is 256 ${unit} long; a folder name can be at most 255 ${unit}.`,
+      );
+      expect(res.stderr).not.toContain("ENAMETOOLONG");
+      expect(res.stderr).not.toContain(dir);
+      expect(existsSync(target)).toBe(false);
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("a name exactly as long as a folder name can be scaffolds", () => {
+    const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hf-init-test-"));
+    const target = join(dir, "a".repeat(255));
+    try {
+      const res = runInit([target, "--example", "blank", "--non-interactive", "--skip-skills"]);
+      expect(res.status).toBe(0);
+      expect(existsSync(join(target, "index.html"))).toBe(true);
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("measures a name as the disk does: UTF-8 bytes on Linux, UTF-16 units on macOS and Windows", () => {
+    const accented = "é".repeat(128); // 128 characters, 256 bytes
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage(accented, "linux")).toBe(
+      "That name is 256 bytes long; a folder name can be at most 255 bytes.",
+    );
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage(accented, "darwin")).toBeNull();
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage("é".repeat(127), "linux")).toBeNull();
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage("a".repeat(256), "darwin")).toBe(
+      "That name is 256 characters long; a folder name can be at most 255 characters.",
+    );
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage("a".repeat(255), "win32")).toBeNull();
+    // Each folder in a nested name is held to the limit, not the whole path.
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage(`parent/${"a".repeat(255)}`, "linux")).toBeNull();
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage(`parent/${"a".repeat(256)}`, "linux")).toContain("256 bytes");
+  });
+
+  it("validates the resolved destination after parent segments remove a long folder", () => {
+    const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hf-init-test-"));
+    const target = `${dir}/${"a".repeat(256)}/../project`;
+    try {
+      const res = runInit([target, "--example", "blank", "--non-interactive", "--skip-skills"]);
+      expect(res.status).toBe(0);
+      expect(existsSync(join(dir, "project", "index.html"))).toBe(true);
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("measures Windows backslash-separated folders individually", () => {
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage(`parent\\${"a".repeat(255)}`, "win32")).toBeNull();
+    expect(nameTooLongMessage(`parent\\${"a".repeat(256)}`, "win32")).toContain("256 characters");
+  });
+
   it("-V prints a migration error instead of version fast-path", () => {
     const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "hf-init-test-"));
     const target = join(dir, "proj");
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
index 9fd043e3bd..2841470777 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
@@ -248,6 +248,25 @@ function getSharedTemplateDir(): string {
   return resolveAssetDir(["..", "templates", "_shared"], ["templates", "_shared"]);
 }
 
+/** The longest folder name the common disks hold: 255 UTF-8 bytes on Linux, 255 UTF-16 units on macOS and Windows. */
+const MAX_FOLDER_NAME = 255;
+
+/** One plain sentence when a folder in `name` is too long for the disk, null when all fit. Checked before mkdir,
+ * which otherwise throws Node's raw ENAMETOOLONG and the full path (repro: init a 256-character name). */
+export function nameTooLongMessage(
+  name: string,
+  platform: NodeJS.Platform = process.platform,
+): string | null {
+  const inBytes = platform === "linux";
+  const unit = inBytes ? "bytes" : "characters";
+  for (const folder of name.split(platform === "win32" ? /[\\/]/ : "/")) {
+    const length = inBytes ? Buffer.byteLength(folder) : folder.length;
+    if (length > MAX_FOLDER_NAME)
+      return `That name is ${length} ${unit} long; a folder name can be at most ${MAX_FOLDER_NAME} ${unit}.`;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
 function toPackageName(projectName: string): string {
   const normalized = basename(projectName)
     .trim()
@@ -818,6 +837,12 @@ export default defineCommand({
       const name = args.name ?? "my-video";
       const destDir = resolve(name);
 
+      const tooLong = nameTooLongMessage(destDir);
+      if (tooLong) {
+        console.error(c.error(tooLong));
+        failCommand();
+      }
+
       if (existsSync(destDir) && readdirSync(destDir).length > 0) {
         console.error(c.error(`Directory already exists and is not empty: ${name}`));
         failCommand();
@@ -995,6 +1020,13 @@ export default defineCommand({
 
     const destDir = resolve(name);
 
+    const tooLong = nameTooLongMessage(destDir);
+    if (tooLong) {
+      clack.log.error(tooLong);
+      clack.cancel("Setup cancelled.");
+      failCommand();
+    }
+
     if (existsSync(destDir) && readdirSync(destDir).length > 0) {
       const overwrite = await clack.confirm({
         message: `Directory ${c.accent(name)} already exists and is not empty. Overwrite?`,