diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ed7caf8..799b25d 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "name": "cucumber-java-test-runner",
   "displayName": "Cucumber Test Runner for Java",
   "description": "Run and debug Cucumber BDD scenarios from VS Code's native Test Explorer. Integrates with Maven and cucumber-junit-platform-engine.",
-  "version": "0.2.0",
+  "version": "0.2.1",
   "publisher": "arunkris",
   "license": "MIT",
   "repository": {
diff --git a/src/execution/mavenRunner.ts b/src/execution/mavenRunner.ts
index 5f78265..cd580bd 100644
--- a/src/execution/mavenRunner.ts
+++ b/src/execution/mavenRunner.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import * as config from '../config/configuration';
 
 const RESULTS_FILENAME = 'cucumber-vscode-results.json';
 const CLASSPATH_FILENAME = 'cp.txt';
+const CLI_ARGFILE = 'cucumber-cli-cp.txt';
 const JUNIT_PLATFORM_PROPERTIES = 'junit-platform.properties';
 
 export class MavenRunner implements BuildToolRunner {
@@ -127,10 +128,12 @@ export class MavenRunner implements BuildToolRunner {
 
   assembleCucumberCliCommand(options: RunOptions): CommandSpec {
     const java = this.resolveJavaExecutable();
-    const classpath = this.resolveTestClasspath(options.projectRoot);
     const resultsPath = this.getResultsFilePath(options.projectRoot);
 
-    const args: string[] = ['-cp', classpath, 'io.cucumber.core.cli.Main'];
+    // Write classpath to an argfile to avoid Windows' 32K command line limit.
+    // Use forward slashes — Java's argfile parser treats backslashes as escapes.
+    const argFilePath = this.writeClasspathArgFile(options.projectRoot);
+    const args: string[] = [`@${argFilePath.replace(/\\/g, '/')}`, 'io.cucumber.core.cli.Main'];
 
     args.push('--plugin', `json:${resultsPath.replace(/\\/g, '/')}`);
 
@@ -189,21 +192,26 @@ export class MavenRunner implements BuildToolRunner {
 
   private resolveJavaExecutable(): string {
     const javaHome = process.env.JAVA_HOME;
+    const exe = process.platform === 'win32' ? 'java.exe' : 'java';
     if (javaHome) {
-      const javaBin = path.join(javaHome, 'bin', 'java');
-      if (fs.existsSync(javaBin) || fs.existsSync(javaBin + '.exe')) {
+      const javaBin = path.join(javaHome, 'bin', exe);
+      if (fs.existsSync(javaBin)) {
         return javaBin;
       }
     }
-    return 'java';
+    return exe;
   }
 
-  private resolveTestClasspath(projectRoot: string): string {
+  private writeClasspathArgFile(projectRoot: string): string {
     const cpFile = path.join(projectRoot, 'target', CLASSPATH_FILENAME);
     const deps = fs.readFileSync(cpFile, 'utf-8').trim();
     const sep = process.platform === 'win32' ? ';' : ':';
     const testClasses = path.join(projectRoot, 'target', 'test-classes');
     const classes = path.join(projectRoot, 'target', 'classes');
-    return [testClasses, classes, deps].filter(Boolean).join(sep);
+    const classpath = [testClasses, classes, deps].filter(Boolean).join(sep);
+
+    const argFile = path.join(projectRoot, 'target', CLI_ARGFILE);
+    fs.writeFileSync(argFile, `-cp\n${classpath.replace(/\\/g, '/')}\n`);
+    return argFile;
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/execution/testExecutor.ts b/src/execution/testExecutor.ts
index ed9bea0..5e8ea30 100644
--- a/src/execution/testExecutor.ts
+++ b/src/execution/testExecutor.ts
@@ -97,20 +97,28 @@ export class TestExecutor {
         const resultsPath = this.buildToolRunner.getResultsFilePath(projectRoot);
         this.deleteFileIfExists(resultsPath);
 
-        if (featureTargets.length > 0) {
-          // Specific scenarios: compile then run Cucumber CLI directly
-          if (debug) {
-            await this.executeCucumberCliDebug(runOptions, run, cancellation);
+        try {
+          if (featureTargets.length > 0) {
+            if (debug) {
+              await this.executeCucumberCliDebug(runOptions, run, cancellation);
+            } else {
+              await this.executeCucumberCli(runOptions, run, cancellation);
+            }
           } else {
-            await this.executeCucumberCli(runOptions, run, cancellation);
+            if (debug) {
+              await this.executeDebug(runOptions, projectRoot, run, cancellation);
+            } else {
+              await this.executeRun(runOptions, run, cancellation);
+            }
           }
-        } else {
-          // Run All: Maven test with runner class
-          if (debug) {
-            await this.executeDebug(runOptions, projectRoot, run, cancellation);
-          } else {
-            await this.executeRun(runOptions, run, cancellation);
+        } catch (execErr) {
+          const msg = execErr instanceof Error ? execErr.message : String(execErr);
+          this.logger.error('Execution failed', execErr);
+          for (const item of projectItems) {
+            run.errored(item, new vscode.TestMessage(`Execution failed: ${msg}`));
+            reportedItems.add(item.id);
           }
+          continue;
         }
 
         if (!cancellation.isCancellationRequested) {
diff --git a/src/test/unit/mavenRunner.test.ts b/src/test/unit/mavenRunner.test.ts
index 2b71688..af3a791 100644
--- a/src/test/unit/mavenRunner.test.ts
+++ b/src/test/unit/mavenRunner.test.ts
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ describe('MavenRunner', () => {
       assert.equal(cmd.args[tagsIdx + 1], 'not @wip');
     });
 
-    it('builds classpath from cp.txt + target dirs', () => {
+    it('writes classpath argfile with target dirs and dependencies', () => {
       mkdirp(path.join(tmpDir, 'target'));
       fs.writeFileSync(path.join(tmpDir, 'target', 'cp.txt'), '/dep1.jar:/dep2.jar');
 
@@ -415,11 +415,18 @@ describe('MavenRunner', () => {
         projectRoot: tmpDir,
         featureTargets: ['f.feature:1'],
       });
-      const cpIdx = cmd.args.indexOf('-cp');
-      const cp = cmd.args[cpIdx + 1];
-      assert.ok(cp.includes('test-classes'), 'Classpath should include target/test-classes');
-      assert.ok(cp.includes('classes'), 'Classpath should include target/classes');
-      assert.ok(cp.includes('dep1.jar'), 'Classpath should include dependencies');
+      // First arg should be @argfile reference
+      assert.ok(cmd.args[0].startsWith('@'), 'First arg should be @argfile');
+      assert.ok(cmd.args[0].includes('cucumber-cli-cp.txt'));
+
+      // Read the argfile and verify classpath content
+      const argFilePath = cmd.args[0].substring(1); // strip @
+      const argContent = fs.readFileSync(argFilePath, 'utf-8');
+      assert.ok(argContent.startsWith('-cp\n'), 'Argfile should start with -cp');
+      assert.ok(argContent.includes('test-classes'), 'Classpath should include target/test-classes');
+      assert.ok(argContent.includes('classes'), 'Classpath should include target/classes');
+      assert.ok(argContent.includes('dep1.jar'), 'Classpath should include dependencies');
+      assert.ok(!argContent.includes('\\'), 'Argfile should use forward slashes');
     });
   });