diff --git a/.changeset/cli-retire-abandoned-tsup-config.md b/.changeset/cli-retire-abandoned-tsup-config.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..10a4cbad73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/cli-retire-abandoned-tsup-config.md
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+---
+"@objectstack/cli": patch
+---
+
+Remove the abandoned tsup build path from `packages/cli` (#10185): the
+`tsup.config.ts`, the orphaned `src/bin.ts` it was the only referrer of, and
+the now-unused `tsup` devDependency.
+
+The package has built with `tsc -p tsconfig.build.json` since the oclif
+migration, which also introduced `oclif.commands.target: "./dist/commands"`
+and moved the `bin` field onto `bin/run.js`. The tsup config was left behind
+by that commit and never invoked again — but it was not inert. It declared
+`clean: true` with only `src/bin.ts` and `src/index.ts` as entries, so anyone
+running the obvious `tsup` next to a `tsup.config.ts` would wipe `dist/` and
+emit no `dist/commands/**` at all, leaving a CLI that resolves zero commands.
+Deleting it removes the trap rather than documenting it.
+
+No published behaviour changes: the resolved oclif command surface is
+identical before and after (60 commands, 68 topics). The only build-output
+difference is that `dist/bin.js` — a re-export of `execute` from
+`@oclif/core` that nothing imported — is no longer emitted.
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index f3416f2012..6549dd0738 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -119,7 +119,6 @@
     "@oclif/plugin-plugins": "^5.4.87",
     "@types/better-sqlite3": "^7.6.13",
     "@types/node": "^26.2.0",
-    "tsup": "^8.5.1",
     "typescript": "^6.0.3",
     "vitest": "^4.1.10"
   },
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/bin.ts b/packages/cli/src/bin.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 7e7f9d6f63..0000000000
--- a/packages/cli/src/bin.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright (c) 2025 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
-
-/**
- * ObjectStack CLI — oclif-based entry point.
- *
- * All commands are auto-discovered from `src/commands/` by oclif.
- * Plugins extend the CLI via oclif's built-in plugin system
- * (configured in package.json under "oclif.plugins").
- *
- * Run `os --help` for available commands.
- */
-
-export { execute } from '@oclif/core';
diff --git a/packages/cli/tsup.config.ts b/packages/cli/tsup.config.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index a26047d4ff..0000000000
--- a/packages/cli/tsup.config.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright (c) 2025 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
-
-import { defineConfig } from 'tsup';
-
-export default defineConfig([
-  // CLI binary entry — needs shebang
-  {
-    entry: ['src/bin.ts'],
-    format: ['esm'],
-    clean: true,
-    shims: true,
-    banner: {
-      js: '#!/usr/bin/env node',
-    },
-  },
-  // Library entry — no shebang, with types
-  {
-    entry: ['src/index.ts'],
-    format: ['esm'],
-    dts: !process.env.OS_SKIP_DTS,
-    shims: true,
-  },
-]);
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index e56c87dd68..704b88939e 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -599,9 +599,6 @@ importers:
       '@types/node':
         specifier: ^26.2.0
         version: 26.2.0
-      tsup:
-        specifier: ^8.5.1
-        version: 8.5.1(jiti@2.7.0)(postcss@8.5.26)(tsx@4.23.12)(typescript@6.0.3)(yaml@2.9.0)
       typescript:
         specifier: ^6.0.3
         version: 6.0.3