diff --git a/src/modules/punk/mix/base-0.1.2.tm b/src/modules/punk/mix/base-999999.0a1.0.tm
similarity index 100%
rename from src/modules/punk/mix/base-0.1.2.tm
rename to src/modules/punk/mix/base-999999.0a1.0.tm
diff --git a/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-999999.0a1.0.tm b/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-999999.0a1.0.tm
index dbc509ba..d33e8eb7 100644
--- a/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-999999.0a1.0.tm
+++ b/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-999999.0a1.0.tm
@@ -951,8 +951,20 @@ namespace eval punk::mix::cli {
                                     set wd [pwd]
                                     cd $buildfolder
                                     puts "zipfs mkzip $zipfile #modpod-$basename-$module_build_version"
-                                    zipfs mkzip $zipfile #modpod-$basename-$module_build_version
+                                    set mkzip_failed [catch {zipfs mkzip $zipfile #modpod-$basename-$module_build_version} errMkzip]
                                     cd $wd
+                                    if {$mkzip_failed} {
+                                        #Known core defect: Tcl 8.7 builds predating core fix c971e6c7c4 error
+                                        #'non-unique path name' on dot-prefixed entries on Windows (core tkt
+                                        #7d5f1c13089d463e7796 'zipfs mkzip broken on Windows dotfiles') - hit by
+                                        #layout .fossil-custom/.fossil-settings payloads in the templates modpod.
+                                        #Fall back to punk::zip::mkzip, the established path for zipfs-less
+                                        #interps (stores unix-style permissions and folder entries - an accepted
+                                        #archive variant; modpod stubs read both shapes).
+                                        puts stderr "zipfs mkzip failed under Tcl [info patchlevel] ($errMkzip) - falling back to punk::zip::mkzip (known pre-c971e6c7c4 Tcl 8.7 zipfs dotfile defect - core tkt 7d5f1c13089d463e7796)"
+                                        catch {file delete -- $zipfile} ;#a failed zipfs mkzip can leave a partial target zip - punk::zip::mkzip refuses to overwrite
+                                        punk::zip::mkzip -base $buildfolder -directory $buildfolder/#modpod-$basename-$module_build_version  -- $zipfile *
+                                    }
 
                                 } else {
                                     #use -base $buildfolder so that -directory is included in the archive - the modpod stub relies on this - and extraction would be potentially messy otherwise
diff --git a/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-buildversion.txt b/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-buildversion.txt
index a37677da..2d88d947 100644
--- a/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-buildversion.txt
+++ b/src/modules/punk/mix/cli-buildversion.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-0.5.1
+0.5.2
 #First line must be a semantic version number
 #all other lines are ignored.
+#0.5.2 - modpod zip build: zipfs mkzip failure now falls back to punk::zip::mkzip (the established zipfs-less path) with a stderr note naming the interp and upstream ticket. Motivation: Tcl 8.7 builds predating core fix c971e6c7c4 (tkt 7d5f1c13089d463e7796 'zipfs mkzip broken on Windows dotfiles') die with 'non-unique path name' on dot-prefixed entries - hit by the templates modpod's layout .fossil-custom payloads (present since G-087 stage 3) when built under 8.7a6
 #0.5.1 - comment-only: removed commented-out legacy punkcheck proc-pipeline call sites (installfile_begin/started/finished/skipped, start_installer_event) alongside their live OO equivalents - the legacy procs are retired to error shims in punkcheck 0.5.0 (G-094); no behaviour change
 #0.5.0 - added lib::prune_superseded_target_modules and lib::prune_sourcevanished_targets; build_modules_from_source_to_base now prunes punkcheck-recorded superseded module versions from target dirs (recorded as punkcheck DELETE events) and records virtual module_name/module_version sources on installs (punkcheck 0.3.0 targetset_addsource_virtual); requires punk::mix::util explicitly
 #0.4.0 - updated -max_depth to -max-depth at punkcheck::install call sites — call-site flag change warrants minor bump