diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 76aa828..500b140 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2025-10-17 - 1.6.1 - fix(plugins)
+Export child_process.spawn from plugins and use plugins.spawn in spawnPath to remove direct require and unify process spawning
+
+- Exported spawn from ts/plugins.ts so native child_process.spawn is available via the plugins module
+- Removed require('child_process') from ts/index.ts and switched to plugins.spawn when spawning child processes in spawnPath
+- No public API changes; this unifies internal imports and fixes inconsistent spawn usage that could cause runtime issues
+
 ## 2025-10-17 - 1.6.0 - feat(core)
 Add spawnPath child-process API with timeout/abort/terminate support, export native types, and expand README
 
diff --git a/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts b/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
index 61d917f..bff22e5 100644
--- a/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
+++ b/ts/00_commitinfo_data.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,6 @@
  */
 export const commitinfo = {
   name: '@git.zone/tsrun',
-  version: '1.6.0',
+  version: '1.6.1',
   description: 'run typescript programs efficiently'
 }
diff --git a/ts/index.ts b/ts/index.ts
index 0481734..15e901e 100644
--- a/ts/index.ts
+++ b/ts/index.ts
@@ -159,8 +159,6 @@ export const spawnPath = (
   fromFileUrl?: string | URL,
   options?: ISpawnOptions
 ): ITsrunChildProcess => {
-  const { spawn } = require('child_process');
-
   // 1. Resolve path (similar to runPath)
   const resolvedPath = fromFileUrl
     ? plugins.path.join(
@@ -192,7 +190,7 @@ export const spawnPath = (
   };
 
   // 4. Spawn child process
-  const child = spawn(process.execPath, args, spawnOptions);
+  const child = plugins.spawn(process.execPath, args, spawnOptions);
 
   // 5. Set up timeout if provided
   let timeoutId: NodeJS.Timeout | undefined;
diff --git a/ts/plugins.ts b/ts/plugins.ts
index 93ca4c4..e1fe8e0 100644
--- a/ts/plugins.ts
+++ b/ts/plugins.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 // node native
 import * as path from 'path';
 import * as url from 'url';
+import { spawn } from 'child_process';
 import type { ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
 import type { Readable } from 'stream';
 
-export { path, url };
+export { path, url, spawn };
 export type { ChildProcess, Readable };
 
 // @pushrocks scope