diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 4923bd115b..a3c276f4a8 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ Format follows [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+- Claude global installs keep prompt file references home-relative instead of expanding to `C:/Users/<name>` / `/Users/<name>` paths, so generated `.planning` files no longer leak local usernames into committed execution_context blocks (#987)
+
 ## [1.22.4] - 2026-03-03
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/bin/install.js b/bin/install.js
index b7f11e4cf6..eac7d40e24 100755
--- a/bin/install.js
+++ b/bin/install.js
@@ -59,13 +59,29 @@ if (hasAll) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Convert a pathPrefix (which uses absolute paths for global installs) to a
- * $HOME-relative form for replacing $HOME/.claude/ references in bash code blocks.
- * Preserves $HOME as a shell variable so paths remain portable across machines.
+ * Convert an absolute in-home pathPrefix to a ~/ path when possible so Claude
+ * prompts stay portable and don't bake usernames into generated planning files.
+ */
+function toTildePrefix(pathPrefix) {
+  const home = os.homedir().replace(/\\/g, '/');
+  const normalized = pathPrefix.replace(/\\/g, '/');
+  if (normalized.startsWith(home)) {
+    return '~' + normalized.slice(home.length);
+  }
+  return normalized;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Convert a pathPrefix to a $HOME-relative form for replacing $HOME/.claude/
+ * references in bash code blocks. Preserves $HOME as a shell variable so
+ * paths remain portable across machines.
  */
 function toHomePrefix(pathPrefix) {
   const home = os.homedir().replace(/\\/g, '/');
   const normalized = pathPrefix.replace(/\\/g, '/');
+  if (normalized.startsWith('~/')) {
+    return '$HOME/' + normalized.slice(2);
+  }
   if (normalized.startsWith(home)) {
     return '$HOME' + normalized.slice(home.length);
   }
@@ -81,6 +97,24 @@ function getDirName(runtime) {
   return '.claude';
 }
 
+/**
+ * Resolve the markdown path prefix that installed prompts should use for a
+ * runtime. Claude keeps global installs home-relative to avoid leaking local
+ * usernames into generated .planning artifacts.
+ */
+function getPathPrefix(runtime, isGlobal, targetDir) {
+  if (!isGlobal) {
+    return `./${getDirName(runtime)}/`;
+  }
+
+  const absolutePrefix = `${targetDir.replace(/\\/g, '/')}/`;
+  if (runtime === 'claude') {
+    return toTildePrefix(absolutePrefix);
+  }
+
+  return absolutePrefix;
+}
+
 /**
  * Get the config directory path relative to home directory for a runtime
  * Used for templating hooks that use path.join(homeDir, '<configDir>', ...)
@@ -1888,12 +1922,10 @@ function install(isGlobal, runtime = 'claude') {
     ? targetDir.replace(os.homedir(), '~')
     : targetDir.replace(process.cwd(), '.');
 
-  // Path prefix for file references in markdown content
-  // For global installs: use full path
-  // For local installs: use relative
-  const pathPrefix = isGlobal
-    ? `${targetDir.replace(/\\/g, '/')}/`
-    : `./${dirName}/`;
+  // Path prefix for file references in markdown content.
+  // Claude keeps global installs home-relative to avoid leaking usernames
+  // into generated planning artifacts; other runtimes still use concrete paths.
+  const pathPrefix = getPathPrefix(runtime, isGlobal, targetDir);
 
   let runtimeLabel = 'Claude Code';
   if (isOpencode) runtimeLabel = 'OpenCode';
@@ -2411,6 +2443,9 @@ function installAllRuntimes(runtimes, isGlobal, isInteractive) {
 // Test-only exports — skip main logic when loaded as a module for testing
 if (process.env.GSD_TEST_MODE) {
   module.exports = {
+    toTildePrefix,
+    toHomePrefix,
+    getPathPrefix,
     getCodexSkillAdapterHeader,
     convertClaudeAgentToCodexAgent,
     generateCodexAgentToml,
diff --git a/tests/install-paths.test.cjs b/tests/install-paths.test.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1c0bed63ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/install-paths.test.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+const { test, describe } = require('node:test');
+const assert = require('node:assert');
+const os = require('node:os');
+
+process.env.GSD_TEST_MODE = '1';
+const { toTildePrefix, toHomePrefix, getPathPrefix } = require('../bin/install.js');
+
+const home = os.homedir().replace(/\\/g, '/');
+
+describe('installer path privacy helpers', () => {
+  test('toTildePrefix collapses in-home absolute paths', () => {
+    assert.equal(toTildePrefix(`${home}/.claude/`), '~/.claude/');
+    assert.equal(toTildePrefix(`${home}/custom/gsd/`), '~/custom/gsd/');
+  });
+
+  test('toHomePrefix preserves tilde-based paths as $HOME references', () => {
+    assert.equal(toHomePrefix('~/.claude/'), '$HOME/.claude/');
+    assert.equal(toHomePrefix('~/custom/gsd/'), '$HOME/custom/gsd/');
+  });
+
+  test('getPathPrefix keeps global Claude installs home-relative', () => {
+    assert.equal(getPathPrefix('claude', true, `${home}/.claude`), '~/.claude/');
+  });
+
+  test('getPathPrefix keeps non-Claude global installs concrete', () => {
+    assert.equal(getPathPrefix('codex', true, `${home}/.codex`), `${home}/.codex/`);
+  });
+
+  test('getPathPrefix keeps local installs runtime-relative', () => {
+    assert.equal(getPathPrefix('claude', false, '/ignored'), './.claude/');
+    assert.equal(getPathPrefix('codex', false, '/ignored'), './.codex/');
+  });
+
+  test('getPathPrefix leaves out-of-home Claude installs absolute', () => {
+    assert.equal(getPathPrefix('claude', true, '/opt/shared/claude'), '/opt/shared/claude/');
+  });
+
+  test('Windows-style home paths also collapse to tilde/$HOME forms', () => {
+    const originalHomedir = os.homedir;
+    os.homedir = () => 'C:\\Users\\Nicole';
+    try {
+      assert.equal(toTildePrefix('C:\\Users\\Nicole\\.claude\\'), '~/.claude/');
+      assert.equal(toHomePrefix('~/.claude/'), '$HOME/.claude/');
+      assert.equal(getPathPrefix('claude', true, 'C:\\Users\\Nicole\\.claude'), '~/.claude/');
+    } finally {
+      os.homedir = originalHomedir;
+    }
+  });
+});