diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
index 5dcf188..21b8796 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
+import { spawn, execFile } from "node:child_process";
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
+import { promisify } from "node:util";
 
 import { defineCommand } from "citty";
 
@@ -42,6 +44,8 @@ const GITIGNORE = `data/
 node_modules/
 `;
 
+const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
+
 const CPU_SCHEMA_TS = `import { integer, real, sqliteTable, text } from "drizzle-orm/sqlite-core";
 
 export const cpuUsage = sqliteTable("cpu_usage", {
@@ -90,7 +94,6 @@ function writeFile(filePath: string, content: string): void {
 }
 
 async function runCommand(cmd: string, args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<void> {
-  const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
   await new Promise<void>((resolve, reject) => {
     const child = spawn(cmd, args, { cwd, stdio: "inherit" });
     child.on("close", (code) => {
@@ -102,10 +105,6 @@ async function runCommand(cmd: string, args: string[], cwd: string): Promise<voi
 }
 
 async function detectPackageManager(): Promise<{ cmd: string; installArgs: string[] }> {
-  const { execFile } = await import("node:child_process");
-  const { promisify } = await import("node:util");
-  const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
-
   for (const pm of ["pnpm", "yarn", "npm"]) {
     try {
       await execFileAsync(pm, ["--version"]);
@@ -223,9 +222,6 @@ async function tryRequireSqlite(nerveRoot: string): Promise<boolean> {
   try {
     const modulePath = join(nerveRoot, "node_modules", "better-sqlite3");
     // Use a child process to test if the native module loads
-    const { execFile } = await import("node:child_process");
-    const { promisify } = await import("node:util");
-    const execFileAsync = promisify(execFile);
     await execFileAsync("node", ["-e", `require(${JSON.stringify(modulePath)})`], {
       cwd: nerveRoot,
       timeout: 10_000,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/start.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/start.ts
index ff23b57..f668d2f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/start.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/start.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { createWriteStream, existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { mkdir } from "node:fs/promises";
 import { dirname, join } from "node:path";
@@ -8,6 +9,7 @@ import { defineCommand } from "citty";
 import {
   getLogPath,
   getNerveRoot,
+  getSocketPath,
   isRunning,
   readPidFile,
   removePidFile,
@@ -64,7 +66,6 @@ async function runDaemon(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
   const logPath = getLogPath();
   await mkdir(join(nerveRoot, "logs"), { recursive: true });
 
-  const { spawn } = await import("node:child_process");
   const logStream = createWriteStream(logPath, { flags: "a" });
   await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
     if (logStream.pending) logStream.once("open", () => resolve());
@@ -90,7 +91,6 @@ async function runDaemon(nerveRoot: string): Promise<void> {
 
   writePidFile(pid);
 
-  const { getSocketPath } = await import("../workspace.js");
   const ready = await waitForSocket(getSocketPath(), 5000);
 
   if (!ready || !isRunning()) {