diff --git a/go/internal/runtime/microvm/launch.go b/go/internal/runtime/microvm/launch.go
index 174b7c0c..102f9d9a 100644
--- a/go/internal/runtime/microvm/launch.go
+++ b/go/internal/runtime/microvm/launch.go
@@ -281,10 +281,11 @@ func vmmArgs(cfg BootConfig, consolePath string, opts launchOptions) []string {
 	return args
 }
 
-// startChild sets the child's Pdeathsig (a best-effort orphan guard: on Linux
-// PR_SET_PDEATHSIG fires on the spawning THREAD's death, so the spawn holds the
-// OS thread for it to bind reliably) and captures its stdout+stderr to logPath
-// so a boot failure can surface the daemon's own diagnostics. The real teardown
+// startChild installs the child's best-effort orphan guard via the
+// platform-specific orphanGuardSysProcAttr (Linux PR_SET_PDEATHSIG, which fires
+// on the spawning THREAD's death — so the spawn holds the OS thread for it to
+// bind reliably; a no-op elsewhere) and captures its stdout+stderr to logPath so
+// a boot failure can surface the daemon's own diagnostics. The real teardown
 // guarantee is Shutdown, not Pdeathsig (record §(g) lines 300-303).
 func startChild(c *child) error {
 	logFile, err := os.OpenFile(c.logPath, os.O_CREATE|os.O_WRONLY|os.O_TRUNC, 0o600)
@@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ func startChild(c *child) error {
 	// dup'd it into the child. Close after Start below.
 	c.cmd.Stdout = logFile
 	c.cmd.Stderr = logFile
-	c.cmd.SysProcAttr = &syscall.SysProcAttr{Pdeathsig: syscall.SIGTERM}
+	c.cmd.SysProcAttr = orphanGuardSysProcAttr()
 
 	runtime.LockOSThread()
 	defer runtime.UnlockOSThread()
diff --git a/go/internal/runtime/microvm/orphanguard_noop.go b/go/internal/runtime/microvm/orphanguard_noop.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..af7057ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go/internal/runtime/microvm/orphanguard_noop.go
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+//go:build unix && !linux
+
+package microvm
+
+import "syscall"
+
+// orphanGuardSysProcAttr returns nil on non-Linux unix (darwin): there is no
+// PR_SET_PDEATHSIG equivalent, so the child gets no parent-death guard. The
+// microVM launcher only runs for real on Linux (KVM); this build exists so the
+// unix-tagged package cross-compiles on darwin — e.g. when `go build
+// ./cmd/compass-app` pulls microvm into a darwin compile — without naming the
+// Linux-only Pdeathsig field. Teardown correctness does not depend on the guard
+// (Shutdown is the real guarantee, record §(g)).
+func orphanGuardSysProcAttr() *syscall.SysProcAttr {
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/go/internal/runtime/microvm/orphanguard_pdeathsig.go b/go/internal/runtime/microvm/orphanguard_pdeathsig.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0b6b5913
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go/internal/runtime/microvm/orphanguard_pdeathsig.go
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package microvm
+
+import "syscall"
+
+// orphanGuardSysProcAttr returns the SysProcAttr that installs the child's
+// best-effort orphan guard. On Linux that is PR_SET_PDEATHSIG (SIGTERM): the
+// signal fires on the spawning THREAD's death, so startChild holds the OS thread
+// across cmd.Start for it to bind reliably. The real teardown guarantee is
+// Shutdown, not Pdeathsig (record §(g)); this only shortens the window a wedged
+// host leaves a VMM orphaned.
+//
+// Pdeathsig is a Linux-only field of syscall.SysProcAttr, so naming it directly
+// under //go:build unix would fail the darwin compile — this helper is the
+// per-platform seam that keeps the unix-tagged launcher portable.
+func orphanGuardSysProcAttr() *syscall.SysProcAttr {
+	return &syscall.SysProcAttr{Pdeathsig: syscall.SIGTERM}
+}