diff --git a/e2e/src/harness.ts b/e2e/src/harness.ts
index 535f7d316..75be65a6c 100644
--- a/e2e/src/harness.ts
+++ b/e2e/src/harness.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ export async function buildPluginFixture(fixtureDir: string): Promise<string> {
 export async function buildCliFixture(fixtureDir: string, outDir = '.vite-devtools'): Promise<string> {
   const result = await x('node', [cliBin, 'build', '--root', fixtureDir, '--outDir', outDir], {
     throwOnError: true,
+    // The CLI process should exit as soon as the build finishes. Without a
+    // bound here, a hang in the child process (e.g. an open handle that
+    // prevents the event loop from draining) silently burns the whole test
+    // timeout with no indication of where it got stuck.
+    timeout: 60_000,
   })
   if (result.exitCode !== 0)
     throw new Error(`vite-devtools build failed:\n${result.stderr}`)
diff --git a/packages/core/src/client/webcomponents/utils/iconify.ts b/packages/core/src/client/webcomponents/utils/iconify.ts
index 29bd116d5..958366588 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/client/webcomponents/utils/iconify.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/client/webcomponents/utils/iconify.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ export async function getIconifySvg(collection: string, icon: string) {
 
   async function _get() {
     const url = `https://api.iconify.design/${collection}/${icon}.svg?color=currentColor&width=100%`
-    const svg = await fetch(url).then(res => res.text())
+    // Bound the request so a stalled connection (offline / flaky CDN / firewall
+    // black-holing the host) rejects instead of hanging forever — the caller
+    // already degrades a rejected fetch to a blank icon.
+    const svg = await fetch(url, { signal: AbortSignal.timeout(10_000) }).then(res => res.text())
     return purify.sanitize(svg)
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/node/cli.ts b/packages/core/src/node/cli.ts
index c311619cd..7d05afbfc 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/node/cli.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/node/cli.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,13 @@ cli
   // Action
   .action(async (options) => {
     const { build } = await import('./cli-commands')
-    return await build(options)
+    await build(options)
+    // A static build has no long-lived work left once it returns. Exiting
+    // explicitly makes termination independent of whatever a `devtools.setup()`
+    // hook (ours or a third-party plugin's) may have left open — a stray timer,
+    // socket, or watcher would otherwise hang the process indefinitely instead
+    // of a build that should just finish and exit.
+    process.exit(0)
   })
 
 cli
diff --git a/packages/core/src/node/plugins/index.ts b/packages/core/src/node/plugins/index.ts
index b250239e5..dd167aaca 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/node/plugins/index.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/node/plugins/index.ts
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ export async function DevTools(options: DevToolsOptions = {}): Promise<Plugin[]>
 
   plugins.unshift(
     ...await DevToolsBuiltin({
+      cwd: options.cwd,
       vitePlusLaunchers: builtinDevTools,
     }),
   )