diff --git a/src/runtime/shell/Builtin.rs b/src/runtime/shell/Builtin.rs
index 6ce494deb4ed..ce32ddc18c03 100644
--- a/src/runtime/shell/Builtin.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/shell/Builtin.rs
@@ -1033,6 +1033,7 @@ impl Builtin {
     /// `bun_sys::coreutils_error_map` so output matches GNU coreutils
     /// (e.g. `ENOENT` → "No such file or directory"); falls back to
     /// `"unknown error {errno}"` when unmapped.
+    /// `err.path` is printed as the operand, so builtins that resolve an operand tag it as written.
     pub(crate) fn task_error_to_string<'a>(
         interp: &'a Interpreter,
         cmd: NodeId,
diff --git a/src/runtime/shell/builtin/mkdir.rs b/src/runtime/shell/builtin/mkdir.rs
index a4695d61c6b2..a2de45e792fb 100644
--- a/src/runtime/shell/builtin/mkdir.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/shell/builtin/mkdir.rs
@@ -294,6 +294,11 @@ impl ShellMkdirTask {
         bun_core::heap::into_raw(task)
     }
 
+    /// The operand as written; `run_from_thread_pool` NUL-terminates an absolute one in place.
+    fn operand(&self) -> &[u8] {
+        self.filepath.strip_suffix(b"\0").unwrap_or(&self.filepath)
+    }
+
     fn run_from_thread_pool(this: &mut ShellMkdirTask) {
         use bun_paths::{Platform, platform, resolve_path};
         // We have to give an absolute path to our mkdir implementation for it
@@ -325,7 +330,7 @@ impl ShellMkdirTask {
                 active: this.opts.verbose,
             };
             if let Err(e) = node_fs.mkdir_recursive_impl(&args, &vtable) {
-                this.err = Some(e.with_path(filepath.as_bytes()));
+                this.err = Some(e.with_path(this.operand()));
                 core::hint::black_box(&node_fs);
             }
         } else {
@@ -338,7 +343,7 @@ impl ShellMkdirTask {
                     }
                 }
                 Err(e) => {
-                    this.err = Some(e.with_path(filepath.as_bytes()));
+                    this.err = Some(e.with_path(this.operand()));
                     core::hint::black_box(&node_fs);
                 }
             }
diff --git a/src/runtime/shell/builtin/touch.rs b/src/runtime/shell/builtin/touch.rs
index 95ae1398deee..1408ebe4de49 100644
--- a/src/runtime/shell/builtin/touch.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/shell/builtin/touch.rs
@@ -296,12 +296,12 @@ impl ShellTouchTask {
                             break 'out;
                         }
                         Err(e) => {
-                            this.err = Some(e.with_path(filepath.as_bytes()));
+                            this.err = Some(e.with_path(&this.filepath));
                             break 'out;
                         }
                     }
                 }
-                this.err = Some(err.with_path(filepath.as_bytes()));
+                this.err = Some(err.with_path(&this.filepath));
             }
         }
         // Worker→main bounce-back is posted by `shell_task_trampoline` after
diff --git a/src/runtime/shell/interpreter.rs b/src/runtime/shell/interpreter.rs
index f0e6da780e48..24aacb0422c9 100644
--- a/src/runtime/shell/interpreter.rs
+++ b/src/runtime/shell/interpreter.rs
@@ -2290,7 +2290,7 @@ pub(crate) fn shell_openat(
         let p = shell_get_path(dir, path, &mut buf)?;
         // No `makeLibUVOwnedForSyscall` here: `bun_sys::open` on Windows
         // routes through `sys_uv` and already yields a uv-owned fd.
-        return bun_sys::open(p, flags, perm);
+        return bun_sys::open(p, flags, perm).map_err(|e| e.with_path(path.as_bytes()));
     }
     #[cfg(not(windows))]
     {
diff --git a/test/js/bun/shell/bunshell.test.ts b/test/js/bun/shell/bunshell.test.ts
index 2d57ca0587c9..7d7c28a7b435 100644
--- a/test/js/bun/shell/bunshell.test.ts
+++ b/test/js/bun/shell/bunshell.test.ts
@@ -91,6 +91,89 @@ describe("bunshell", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  // touch and mkdir (everywhere) and cat (on Windows) resolve the operand
+  // against the cwd before the syscall; the error must still name the operand
+  // as the user wrote it, like ls/rm/mv and the system coreutils do. The flag
+  // turns the builtin cat on outside Windows; touch and mkdir are always
+  // builtins.
+  test("builtins name a failing operand as written", async () => {
+    using dir = tempDir("builtin-operand-as-written", { sub: {}, afile: "" });
+    const enoent = "No such file or directory";
+    const enotdir = "Not a directory";
+    // The operand is the last word of each command; stderr must be exactly
+    // `<builtin>: <operand>: <message>`.
+    const rows: [command: string[], message: string][] = [
+      [["cat", "missing.txt"], enoent],
+      [["cat", "sub/missing.txt"], enoent],
+      [["cat", "/bunshell-missing-operand/missing.txt"], enoent],
+      [["cat", join(String(dir), "missing.txt")], enoent],
+      [["touch", "nodir/file.txt"], enoent],
+      [["touch", "sub/nodir/file.txt"], enoent],
+      [["touch", "/bunshell-missing-operand/file.txt"], enoent],
+      [["touch", join(String(dir), "nodir", "file.txt")], enoent],
+      // A missing parent fails in the open() touch falls back to; a file in
+      // the way already fails in utimes() (Windows reports that as ENOENT too).
+      [["touch", "afile/file.txt"], isWindows ? enoent : enotdir],
+      [["mkdir", "nodir/child"], enoent],
+      [["mkdir", "sub/nodir/child"], enoent],
+      [["mkdir", "/bunshell-missing-operand/child"], enoent],
+      [["mkdir", join(String(dir), "nodir", "child")], enoent],
+      // -p is a separate code path; like before, it names the operand rather
+      // than the component that failed.
+      [["mkdir", "-p", "afile/child"], enotdir],
+    ];
+    // The first row of each builtin is also run with stderr redirected to a
+    // file, which takes the builtins' other output path.
+    const redirected = ["cat", "touch", "mkdir"].map(builtin => rows.find(([command]) => command[0] === builtin)!);
+
+    const script = /* ts */ `
+      import { $ } from "bun";
+      $.nothrow();
+      const results = {};
+      const record = async (key, promise) => {
+        const r = await promise.quiet();
+        results[key] = { stdout: r.stdout.toString(), stderr: r.stderr.toString(), exitCode: r.exitCode };
+      };
+      for (const command of ${JSON.stringify(rows.map(([command]) => command))}) {
+        const words = command.slice(0, -1).join(" ");
+        const operand = command[command.length - 1];
+        await record(command.join(" "), $\`\${{ raw: words }} \${operand}\`);
+      }
+      for (const command of ${JSON.stringify(redirected.map(([command]) => command))}) {
+        const words = command.slice(0, -1).join(" ");
+        const operand = command[command.length - 1];
+        const errFile = "err-" + command[0] + ".txt";
+        await record(command.join(" ") + " 2> " + errFile, $\`\${{ raw: words }} \${operand} 2> \${{ raw: errFile }}\`);
+      }
+      console.log(JSON.stringify(results));
+    `;
+    await using proc = Bun.spawn({
+      cmd: [BUN, "-e", script],
+      env: { ...bunEnv, BUN_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_SHELL_BUILTINS: "1" },
+      cwd: String(dir),
+      stdout: "pipe",
+      stderr: "pipe",
+    });
+    const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([proc.stdout.text(), proc.stderr.text(), proc.exited]);
+    expect(stderr).toBe("");
+
+    const errorLine = (command: string[], message: string) =>
+      `${command[0]}: ${command[command.length - 1]}: ${message}\n`;
+    const results = JSON.parse(stdout);
+    const expected: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+    for (const [command, message] of rows) {
+      expected[command.join(" ")] = { stdout: "", stderr: errorLine(command, message), exitCode: 1 };
+    }
+    for (const [command, message] of redirected) {
+      const errFile = `err-${command[0]}.txt`;
+      expected[`${command.join(" ")} 2> ${errFile}`] = { stdout: "", stderr: "", exitCode: 1 };
+      expected[errFile] = errorLine(command, message);
+      results[errFile] = await Bun.file(join(String(dir), errFile)).text();
+    }
+    expect(results).toEqual(expected);
+    expect(exitCode).toBe(0);
+  });
+
   describe("concurrency", () => {
     test("writing to stdout", async () => {
       await Promise.all([
@@ -560,9 +643,7 @@ describe("bunshell", () => {
     });
     const [stdout, stderr, exitCode] = await Promise.all([proc.stdout.text(), proc.stderr.text(), proc.exited]);
     expect(stderr).toBe("");
-    // On Windows the message carries the absolute path (shell_openat only
-    // re-tags the error with the argument as written on POSIX).
-    const missingFileError = expect.stringMatching(/^cat: (.*[\\/])?missing\.txt: No such file or directory\n$/);
+    const missingFileError = "cat: missing.txt: No such file or directory\n";
     expect(JSON.parse(stdout)).toEqual({
       "captured": { stdout: "hi\n", stderr: "", exitCode: 0 },
       "stdout to fd": { stdout: "", stderr: "", exitCode: 0 },