diff --git a/src/DiffEngine.Tests/BundledViewerRidTests.cs b/src/DiffEngine.Tests/BundledViewerRidTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6b6efd8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/DiffEngine.Tests/BundledViewerRidTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#if NET10_0
+/// <summary>
+/// Which RIDs the bundled viewer is probed for.
+/// <para>
+/// The framework's own RID comes first, and on Alpine that is linux-musl-x64, which the package
+/// does not ship - so the probe is supposed to miss and the caller falls through to the dotnet
+/// tool. The synthesised linux-{arch} that followed it undid that, because it names the glibc
+/// build, and resolving one against musl hands back an apphost that cannot start.
+/// </para>
+/// </summary>
+public class BundledViewerRidTests
+{
+    [Test]
+    [Arguments("linux-musl-x64")]
+    [Arguments("linux-musl-arm64")]
+    public async Task MuslProbesItsOwnRidAndNothingElse(string runtimeIdentifier)
+    {
+        var rids = BundledViewerDirectory.Rids(runtimeIdentifier).ToList();
+
+        await Assert.That(rids).IsEquivalentTo([runtimeIdentifier]);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Everywhere else the synthesised RID still follows, which is what makes the probe work when
+    /// the framework reports something the package does not ship under that exact name.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Test]
+    public async Task GlibcStillFallsBackToTheSynthesisedRid()
+    {
+        var rids = BundledViewerDirectory.Rids("linux-x64").ToList();
+
+        await Assert.That(rids.Count).IsGreaterThan(1);
+        await Assert.That(rids[0]).IsEqualTo("linux-x64");
+    }
+}
+#endif
diff --git a/src/DiffEngine/Viewer/BundledViewerDirectory.cs b/src/DiffEngine/Viewer/BundledViewerDirectory.cs
index 8f108f3e..abda2325 100644
--- a/src/DiffEngine/Viewer/BundledViewerDirectory.cs
+++ b/src/DiffEngine/Viewer/BundledViewerDirectory.cs
@@ -80,13 +80,30 @@ static class BundledViewerDirectory
     }
 #endif
 
-    static IEnumerable<string> Rids()
-    {
+    static IEnumerable<string> Rids() =>
 #if NET6_0_OR_GREATER
+        Rids(RuntimeInformation.RuntimeIdentifier);
+
+    internal static IEnumerable<string> Rids(string runtimeIdentifier)
+    {
         // The framework's own value first. On Alpine that is linux-musl-x64, a RID we do not
         // ship, so the probe misses and the caller falls through to the dotnet tool rather than
         // resolving a glibc build against musl.
-        yield return RuntimeInformation.RuntimeIdentifier;
+        yield return runtimeIdentifier;
+
+        // And nothing else, or the synthesised RID below undoes that: linux-{arch} is the glibc
+        // build, so on musl the probe would hit after all and hand back an apphost that cannot
+        // start. Falling through to the dotnet tool is the outcome the comment above describes and
+        // was not what happened
+        if (runtimeIdentifier.Contains("-musl-", StringComparison.Ordinal))
+        {
+            yield break;
+        }
+#else
+        InnerRids();
+
+    static IEnumerable<string> InnerRids()
+    {
 #endif
 
         var architecture = RuntimeInformation.OSArchitecture switch