diff --git a/docs-site/guide/troubleshooting.md b/docs-site/guide/troubleshooting.md
index bab48502..5e98f237 100644
--- a/docs-site/guide/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs-site/guide/troubleshooting.md
@@ -117,6 +117,20 @@ unset NODE_OPTIONS NODE_DEBUG NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS NODE_NO_WARNINGS
 
 If your shell or IDE re-adds them automatically, add an exception rule — e.g. in VS Code add `"terminal.integrated.env.linux": { "NODE_OPTIONS": null }` to disable the auto-injection just for this project.
 
+## Error: `RangeError: pkg: Intl.Segmenter is unavailable in this executable`
+
+Standard-mode binaries embed a Node.js built with `small-icu`, which ships no ICU break-iterator data. `new Intl.Segmenter()` constructs fine, but `segment()` has no data to work with.
+
+Upstream Node.js crashes the process outright here — an uncatchable `SIGSEGV` with no stack trace ([nodejs/node#51752](https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/51752)). pkg replaces `segment()` with this `RangeError` so the failure points at its caller instead.
+
+You will usually hit this through a dependency rather than directly: `string-width` v7+ calls `Intl.Segmenter` to measure text, and it is a transitive dependency of `ora`, `boxen`, `inquirer` and `cli-table3`. Spinner frames are the classic trigger.
+
+Pick whichever fits:
+
+- **Build with [`--sea`](./sea-mode.md).** SEA mode uses the official Node.js binaries, which are full-icu. Nothing else to do.
+- **Ship ICU data alongside the executable.** Download the `icudt<N>l.dat` matching `process.versions.icu` from the [ICU releases](https://github.com/unicode-org/icu/releases) and point `NODE_ICU_DATA` at its directory. pkg detects the data and steps aside. This costs you the single-file property, and pkg cannot do it for you — ICU initializes before any user code runs, so the file cannot come from the virtual filesystem.
+- **Avoid the API.** Pin `string-width` to v6, or shim `Intl.Segmenter` before importing anything that pulls it in.
+
 ## AI-assisted debugging with Claude Code
 
 If you use [Claude Code](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code), you can install the `/pkg-debug` skill to get interactive AI-assisted troubleshooting for any packaging issue.
diff --git a/prelude/bootstrap-shared.js b/prelude/bootstrap-shared.js
index 99c4876c..044b490e 100644
--- a/prelude/bootstrap-shared.js
+++ b/prelude/bootstrap-shared.js
@@ -372,6 +372,67 @@ function patchChildProcess(entrypoint) {
   };
 }
 
+// /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// INTL SEGMENTER //////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+
+/**
+ * Replace Intl.Segmenter#segment with a throwing stub when the embedded
+ * Node.js has no ICU break-iterator data.
+ *
+ * pkg-fetch base binaries are built with --with-intl=small-icu, which
+ * ships no break-iterator data. V8 only DCHECKs the null
+ * icu::BreakIterator returned by BreakIterator::create*Instance, and
+ * DCHECKs are compiled out of release builds — so `new Intl.Segmenter()`
+ * succeeds and the first .segment() call dereferences null. The result is
+ * an uncatchable SIGSEGV with no stack, which is close to undebuggable
+ * downstream (nodejs/node#51752, https://issues.chromium.org/issues/531782498).
+ *
+ * Throwing the RangeError upstream intends to throw once the V8 fix lands
+ * costs nothing and makes the failure name its caller.
+ */
+function patchIntlSegmenter() {
+  if (typeof Intl === 'undefined' || typeof Intl.Segmenter !== 'function') {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  var variables = (process.config && process.config.variables) || {};
+
+  // Cheap gate first — full-icu builds are unaffected and pay only this
+  // property read.
+  if (variables.icu_small !== true) return;
+
+  // icu_small stays true when the user supplies real data through
+  // NODE_ICU_DATA / --icu-data-dir, and Segmenter then works, so probe for
+  // the data rather than trusting the build flag. Data-less small-icu
+  // resolves every locale to the default one; requiring two unrelated
+  // locales means no single system locale can mask the check.
+  if (
+    new Intl.DateTimeFormat('de').resolvedOptions().locale === 'de' &&
+    new Intl.DateTimeFormat('ja').resolvedOptions().locale === 'ja'
+  ) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  var dat = 'icudt' + (variables.icu_ver_major || '') + 'l.dat';
+
+  // Only .segment() is replaced. string-width v7+ — a transitive
+  // dependency of ora, boxen, inquirer and cli-table3 — constructs a
+  // Segmenter at module scope, so removing the constructor would break
+  // those imports outright instead of at the point of use.
+  Intl.Segmenter.prototype.segment = function segment() {
+    throw new RangeError(
+      'pkg: Intl.Segmenter is unavailable in this executable. It embeds a ' +
+        'small-icu Node.js build with no break-iterator data, where calling ' +
+        'segment() would crash the process (nodejs/node#51752). Re-package ' +
+        'with --sea, which uses full-icu official Node.js binaries, or set ' +
+        'NODE_ICU_DATA to a directory containing ' +
+        dat +
+        '.',
+    );
+  };
+}
+
 // /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 // PROCESS.PKG SETUP ///////////////////////////////////////////////
 // /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
@@ -564,6 +625,7 @@ function installDiagnostic(snapshotPrefix) {
 module.exports = {
   patchDlopen: patchDlopen,
   patchChildProcess: patchChildProcess,
+  patchIntlSegmenter: patchIntlSegmenter,
   setupProcessPkg: setupProcessPkg,
   installDiagnostic: installDiagnostic,
   COMPRESS_NONE: COMPRESS_NONE,
diff --git a/prelude/bootstrap.js b/prelude/bootstrap.js
index 7308c34b..e8e5ad8f 100644
--- a/prelude/bootstrap.js
+++ b/prelude/bootstrap.js
@@ -1958,3 +1958,4 @@ REQUIRE_SHARED.patchChildProcess(ENTRYPOINT);
 // /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
 REQUIRE_SHARED.patchDlopen(insideSnapshot);
+REQUIRE_SHARED.patchIntlSegmenter();
diff --git a/prelude/sea-bootstrap-core.js b/prelude/sea-bootstrap-core.js
index d2e4adb7..4ad08b6f 100644
--- a/prelude/sea-bootstrap-core.js
+++ b/prelude/sea-bootstrap-core.js
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ var SNAPSHOT_PREFIX = vfs.SNAPSHOT_PREFIX;
 
 shared.patchDlopen(insideSnapshot);
 shared.patchChildProcess(entrypoint);
+shared.patchIntlSegmenter();
 shared.setupProcessPkg(entrypoint, manifest.entrypoint);
 
 // /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
diff --git a/prelude/sea-worker-entry.js b/prelude/sea-worker-entry.js
index b26f05da..551e23f9 100644
--- a/prelude/sea-worker-entry.js
+++ b/prelude/sea-worker-entry.js
@@ -22,3 +22,7 @@ shared.setupProcessPkg(
   vfs.toPlatformPath(vfs.manifest.entrypoint),
   vfs.manifest.entrypoint,
 );
+
+// Worker threads get their own Intl, so the main-thread patch does not
+// carry over — see patchIntlSegmenter in bootstrap-shared.
+shared.patchIntlSegmenter();
diff --git a/test/test-50-intl-segmenter/main.js b/test/test-50-intl-segmenter/main.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..acc15813
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test-50-intl-segmenter/main.js
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+'use strict';
+
+const assert = require('assert');
+const utils = require('../utils.js');
+
+assert(!module.parent);
+assert(__dirname === process.cwd());
+
+const target = process.argv[2] || 'host';
+const input = './test-x-index.js';
+const output = './test-output.exe';
+
+utils.pkg.sync(['--target', target, '--output', output, input]);
+
+// spawn.sync fails the test on a non-zero status or any signal, so a
+// SIGSEGV here is caught without an explicit assertion.
+const right = utils.spawn.sync(output, [], {});
+const lines = right.split('\n');
+
+assert.strictEqual(lines[2], 'ALIVE');
+
+if (lines[0] === 'BROKEN:true') {
+  // small-icu base, no break-iterator data: the prelude must have turned
+  // the crash into something catchable.
+  assert.strictEqual(lines[1], 'THREW:RangeError');
+} else {
+  // full-icu base (or NODE_ICU_DATA supplied): the prelude must stay out
+  // of the way. '⠋ hi ✔' is 6 grapheme clusters.
+  assert.strictEqual(lines[1], 'SEGMENTED:6');
+}
+
+utils.vacuum.sync(output);
diff --git a/test/test-50-intl-segmenter/test-x-index.js b/test/test-50-intl-segmenter/test-x-index.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f75a5ca1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test-50-intl-segmenter/test-x-index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+'use strict';
+
+// Guards nodejs/node#51752: pkg-fetch base binaries are built with
+// small-icu and ship no ICU break-iterator data, where Intl.Segmenter
+// constructs fine but segment() dereferences a null icu::BreakIterator
+// and takes the process down with SIGSEGV. The prelude replaces
+// segment() with a RangeError on such bases. Whichever branch applies,
+// the process must survive.
+
+const variables = process.config.variables;
+
+// Recomputed independently of the prelude: data-less small-icu resolves
+// every locale to the default one.
+const hasBreakData =
+  new Intl.DateTimeFormat('de').resolvedOptions().locale === 'de' &&
+  new Intl.DateTimeFormat('ja').resolvedOptions().locale === 'ja';
+
+console.log('BROKEN:' + (variables.icu_small === true && !hasBreakData));
+
+const segmenter = new Intl.Segmenter();
+
+try {
+  console.log('SEGMENTED:' + [...segmenter.segment('⠋ hi ✔')].length);
+} catch (error) {
+  console.log('THREW:' + error.constructor.name);
+}
+
+console.log('ALIVE');
diff --git a/test/unit/intl-segmenter.test.ts b/test/unit/intl-segmenter.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6459b6aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/intl-segmenter.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { createRequire } from 'node:module';
+import { describe, it } from 'node:test';
+
+const shared = createRequire(__filename)('../../prelude/bootstrap-shared.js');
+
+// patchIntlSegmenter works around nodejs/node#51752, where segment()
+// segfaults on small-icu builds with no break-iterator data. The unit
+// suite runs on an official full-icu Node.js, so the case to lock in here
+// is the one that would silently break healthy runtimes: on a base where
+// Intl.Segmenter works, the patch must leave it alone. The crashing base
+// is covered end-to-end by test-50-intl-segmenter.
+describe('patchIntlSegmenter', () => {
+  it('leaves Intl.Segmenter alone when break-iterator data is present', () => {
+    const hasBreakData =
+      new Intl.DateTimeFormat('de').resolvedOptions().locale === 'de' &&
+      new Intl.DateTimeFormat('ja').resolvedOptions().locale === 'ja';
+
+    // Nothing to assert on a host that is itself affected.
+    if (!hasBreakData) return;
+
+    const before = Intl.Segmenter.prototype.segment;
+    shared.patchIntlSegmenter();
+
+    assert.equal(Intl.Segmenter.prototype.segment, before);
+    assert.equal([...new Intl.Segmenter().segment('⠋ hi ✔')].length, 6);
+  });
+});