diff --git a/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js b/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js
index 290040e5d14a..df0c9709c077 100644
--- a/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js
+++ b/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 const readline = require('readline')
-const opener = require('opener')
+const promiseSpawn = require('@npmcli/promise-spawn')
 
 function print (npm, title, url) {
   const json = npm.config.get('json')
@@ -64,15 +64,7 @@ const promptOpen = async (npm, url, title, prompt, emitter) => {
   }
 
   const command = browser === true ? null : browser
-  await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    opener(url, { command }, err => {
-      if (err) {
-        return reject(err)
-      }
-
-      return resolve()
-    })
-  })
+  await promiseSpawn.open(url, { command })
 }
 
 module.exports = promptOpen
diff --git a/lib/utils/open-url.js b/lib/utils/open-url.js
index eed2449dcce5..379640773fa6 100644
--- a/lib/utils/open-url.js
+++ b/lib/utils/open-url.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-const opener = require('opener')
+const promiseSpawn = require('@npmcli/promise-spawn')
 
 const { URL } = require('url')
 
@@ -37,18 +37,14 @@ const open = async (npm, url, errMsg, isFile) => {
   }
 
   const command = browser === true ? null : browser
-  await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    opener(url, { command }, (err) => {
-      if (err) {
-        if (err.code === 'ENOENT') {
-          printAlternateMsg()
-        } else {
-          return reject(err)
-        }
+  await promiseSpawn.open(url, { command })
+    .catch((err) => {
+      if (err.code !== 'ENOENT') {
+        throw err
       }
-      return resolve()
+
+      printAlternateMsg()
     })
-  })
 }
 
 module.exports = open
diff --git a/smoke-tests/test/index.js b/smoke-tests/test/index.js
index d9a2a8833884..7c196cb97eec 100644
--- a/smoke-tests/test/index.js
+++ b/smoke-tests/test/index.js
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@ const exec = async (...args) => {
     env: {
       HOME: path,
       PATH: `${PATH}:${binLocation}`,
+      COMSPEC: process.env.COMSPEC,
     },
     stdioString: true,
     encoding: 'utf-8',
diff --git a/test/fixtures/sandbox.js b/test/fixtures/sandbox.js
index b53c8f173a3a..c7bb8218dc60 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/sandbox.js
+++ b/test/fixtures/sandbox.js
@@ -166,14 +166,14 @@ class Sandbox extends EventEmitter {
       // replace default config values with placeholders
       for (const name of redactedDefaults) {
         const value = this[_npm].config.defaults[name]
-        clean = clean.split(value).join(`{${name.toUpperCase()}}`)
+        clean = clean.split(normalize(value)).join(`{${name.toUpperCase()}}`)
       }
 
       // replace vague default config values that are present within quotes
       // with placeholders
       for (const name of vagueRedactedDefaults) {
         const value = this[_npm].config.defaults[name]
-        clean = clean.split(`"${value}"`).join(`"{${name.toUpperCase()}}"`)
+        clean = clean.split(`"${normalize(value)}"`).join(`"{${name.toUpperCase()}}"`)
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/edit.js b/test/lib/commands/edit.js
index 22543f8e3cdc..dc7114892970 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/edit.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/edit.js
@@ -5,15 +5,11 @@ const { load: loadMockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 const spawk = tspawk(t)
 
-// TODO this ... smells.  npm "script-shell" config mentions defaults but those
-// are handled by run-script, not npm.  So for now we have to tie tests to some
-// pretty specific internals of runScript
-const makeSpawnArgs = require('@npmcli/run-script/lib/make-spawn-args.js')
-
 const npmConfig = {
   config: {
     'ignore-scripts': false,
     editor: 'testeditor',
+    scriptShell: process.platform === 'win32' ? process.env.COMSPEC : 'sh',
   },
   prefixDir: {
     node_modules: {
@@ -34,30 +30,34 @@ const npmConfig = {
   },
 }
 
+const isCmdRe = /(?:^|\\)cmd(?:\.exe)?$/i
+
 t.test('npm edit', async t => {
   const { npm, joinedOutput } = await loadMockNpm(t, npmConfig)
 
   const semverPath = path.resolve(npm.prefix, 'node_modules', 'semver')
-  const [scriptShell, scriptArgs] = makeSpawnArgs({
-    event: 'install',
-    path: npm.prefix,
-    cmd: 'testinstall',
-  })
   spawk.spawn('testeditor', [semverPath])
+
+  const scriptShell = npm.config.get('scriptShell')
+  const scriptArgs = isCmdRe.test(scriptShell)
+    ? ['/d', '/s', '/c', 'testinstall']
+    : ['-c', 'testinstall']
   spawk.spawn(scriptShell, scriptArgs, { cwd: semverPath })
+
   await npm.exec('edit', ['semver'])
   t.match(joinedOutput(), 'rebuilt dependencies successfully')
 })
 
 t.test('rebuild failure', async t => {
   const { npm } = await loadMockNpm(t, npmConfig)
+
   const semverPath = path.resolve(npm.prefix, 'node_modules', 'semver')
-  const [scriptShell, scriptArgs] = makeSpawnArgs({
-    event: 'install',
-    path: npm.prefix,
-    cmd: 'testinstall',
-  })
   spawk.spawn('testeditor', [semverPath])
+
+  const scriptShell = npm.config.get('scriptShell')
+  const scriptArgs = isCmdRe.test(scriptShell)
+    ? ['/d', '/s', '/c', 'testinstall']
+    : ['-c', 'testinstall']
   spawk.spawn(scriptShell, scriptArgs, { cwd: semverPath }).exit(1).stdout('test error')
   await t.rejects(
     npm.exec('edit', ['semver']),
@@ -67,8 +67,10 @@ t.test('rebuild failure', async t => {
 
 t.test('editor failure', async t => {
   const { npm } = await loadMockNpm(t, npmConfig)
+
   const semverPath = path.resolve(npm.prefix, 'node_modules', 'semver')
   spawk.spawn('testeditor', [semverPath]).exit(1).stdout('test editor failure')
+
   await t.rejects(
     npm.exec('edit', ['semver']),
     { message: 'editor process exited with code: 1' }
@@ -85,13 +87,14 @@ t.test('npm edit editor has flags', async t => {
   })
 
   const semverPath = path.resolve(npm.prefix, 'node_modules', 'semver')
-  const [scriptShell, scriptArgs] = makeSpawnArgs({
-    event: 'install',
-    path: npm.prefix,
-    cmd: 'testinstall',
-  })
   spawk.spawn('testeditor', ['--flag', semverPath])
+
+  const scriptShell = npm.config.get('scriptShell')
+  const scriptArgs = isCmdRe.test(scriptShell)
+    ? ['/d', '/s', '/c', 'testinstall']
+    : ['-c', 'testinstall']
   spawk.spawn(scriptShell, scriptArgs, { cwd: semverPath })
+
   await npm.exec('edit', ['semver'])
 })
 
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/restart.js b/test/lib/commands/restart.js
index c2257b8cebf8..f9745acdd11b 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/restart.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/restart.js
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ const { load: loadMockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 const spawk = tspawk(t)
 
-// TODO this ... smells.  npm "script-shell" config mentions defaults but those
-// are handled by run-script, not npm.  So for now we have to tie tests to some
-// pretty specific internals of runScript
-const makeSpawnArgs = require('@npmcli/run-script/lib/make-spawn-args.js')
+const isCmdRe = /(?:^|\\)cmd(?:\.exe)?$/i
 
 t.test('should run restart script from package.json', async t => {
   const { npm } = await loadMockNpm(t, {
@@ -22,15 +19,14 @@ t.test('should run restart script from package.json', async t => {
     },
     config: {
       loglevel: 'silent',
+      scriptShell: process.platform === 'win32' ? process.env.COMSPEC : 'sh',
     },
   })
-  const [scriptShell, scriptArgs] = makeSpawnArgs({
-    path: npm.prefix,
-    cmd: 'node ./test-restart.js',
-  })
-  let scriptContent = scriptArgs.pop()
-  scriptContent += ' foo'
-  scriptArgs.push(scriptContent)
+
+  const scriptShell = npm.config.get('scriptShell')
+  const scriptArgs = isCmdRe.test(scriptShell)
+    ? ['/d', '/s', '/c', 'node ./test-restart.js foo']
+    : ['-c', 'node ./test-restart.js foo']
   const script = spawk.spawn(scriptShell, scriptArgs)
   await npm.exec('restart', ['foo'])
   t.ok(script.called, 'script ran')
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/start.js b/test/lib/commands/start.js
index 3caaa478f02e..47f7f1a6e0f5 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/start.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/start.js
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ const { load: loadMockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 const spawk = tspawk(t)
 
-// TODO this ... smells.  npm "script-shell" config mentions defaults but those
-// are handled by run-script, not npm.  So for now we have to tie tests to some
-// pretty specific internals of runScript
-const makeSpawnArgs = require('@npmcli/run-script/lib/make-spawn-args.js')
+const isCmdRe = /(?:^|\\)cmd(?:\.exe)?$/i
 
 t.test('should run start script from package.json', async t => {
   const { npm } = await loadMockNpm(t, {
@@ -22,13 +19,14 @@ t.test('should run start script from package.json', async t => {
     },
     config: {
       loglevel: 'silent',
+      scriptShell: process.platform === 'win32' ? process.env.COMSPEC : 'sh',
     },
   })
-  const [scriptShell, scriptArgs] = makeSpawnArgs({ path: npm.prefix, cmd: 'node ./test-start.js' })
-  // we're calling the script with 'foo' as an argument, so add that to the script
-  let scriptContent = scriptArgs.pop()
-  scriptContent += ' foo'
-  scriptArgs.push(scriptContent)
+
+  const scriptShell = npm.config.get('scriptShell')
+  const scriptArgs = isCmdRe.test(scriptShell)
+    ? ['/d', '/s', '/c', 'node ./test-start.js foo']
+    : ['-c', 'node ./test-start.js foo']
   const script = spawk.spawn(scriptShell, scriptArgs)
   await npm.exec('start', ['foo'])
   t.ok(script.called, 'script ran')
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/stop.js b/test/lib/commands/stop.js
index 72c2843adec9..9ca774288446 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/stop.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/stop.js
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ const { load: loadMockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 const spawk = tspawk(t)
 
-// TODO this ... smells.  npm "script-shell" config mentions defaults but those
-// are handled by run-script, not npm.  So for now we have to tie tests to some
-// pretty specific internals of runScript
-const makeSpawnArgs = require('@npmcli/run-script/lib/make-spawn-args.js')
+const isCmdRe = /(?:^|\\)cmd(?:\.exe)?$/i
 
 t.test('should run stop script from package.json', async t => {
   const { npm } = await loadMockNpm(t, {
@@ -22,12 +19,14 @@ t.test('should run stop script from package.json', async t => {
     },
     config: {
       loglevel: 'silent',
+      scriptShell: process.platform === 'win32' ? process.env.COMSPEC : 'sh',
     },
   })
-  const [scriptShell, scriptArgs] = makeSpawnArgs({ path: npm.prefix, cmd: 'node ./test-stop.js' })
-  let scriptContent = scriptArgs.pop()
-  scriptContent += ' foo'
-  scriptArgs.push(scriptContent)
+
+  const scriptShell = npm.config.get('scriptShell')
+  const scriptArgs = isCmdRe.test(scriptShell)
+    ? ['/d', '/s', '/c', 'node ./test-stop.js foo']
+    : ['-c', 'node ./test-stop.js foo']
   const script = spawk.spawn(scriptShell, scriptArgs)
   await npm.exec('stop', ['foo'])
   t.ok(script.called, 'script ran')
diff --git a/test/lib/commands/test.js b/test/lib/commands/test.js
index a6a6f723afe7..3a62b6a2d31b 100644
--- a/test/lib/commands/test.js
+++ b/test/lib/commands/test.js
@@ -4,10 +4,7 @@ const { load: loadMockNpm } = require('../../fixtures/mock-npm')
 
 const spawk = tspawk(t)
 
-// TODO this ... smells.  npm "script-shell" config mentions defaults but those
-// are handled by run-script, not npm.  So for now we have to tie tests to some
-// pretty specific internals of runScript
-const makeSpawnArgs = require('@npmcli/run-script/lib/make-spawn-args.js')
+const isCmdRe = /(?:^|\\)cmd(?:\.exe)?$/i
 
 t.test('should run test script from package.json', async t => {
   const { npm } = await loadMockNpm(t, {
@@ -22,12 +19,14 @@ t.test('should run test script from package.json', async t => {
     },
     config: {
       loglevel: 'silent',
+      scriptShell: process.platform === 'win32' ? process.env.COMSPEC : 'sh',
     },
   })
-  const [scriptShell, scriptArgs] = makeSpawnArgs({ path: npm.prefix, cmd: 'node ./test-test.js' })
-  let scriptContent = scriptArgs.pop()
-  scriptContent += ' foo'
-  scriptArgs.push(scriptContent)
+
+  const scriptShell = npm.config.get('scriptShell')
+  const scriptArgs = isCmdRe.test(scriptShell)
+    ? ['/d', '/s', '/c', 'node ./test-test.js foo']
+    : ['-c', 'node ./test-test.js foo']
   const script = spawk.spawn(scriptShell, scriptArgs)
   await npm.exec('test', ['foo'])
   t.ok(script.called, 'script ran')
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js b/test/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js
index 03f6b596d764..a18fe85f6875 100644
--- a/test/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js
+++ b/test/lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js
@@ -21,10 +21,13 @@ const npm = {
 let openerUrl = null
 let openerOpts = null
 let openerResult = null
-const opener = (url, opts, cb) => {
+
+const open = async (url, options) => {
   openerUrl = url
-  openerOpts = opts
-  return cb(openerResult)
+  openerOpts = options
+  if (openerResult) {
+    throw openerResult
+  }
 }
 
 let questionShouldResolve = true
@@ -47,7 +50,9 @@ const readline = {
 }
 
 const openUrlPrompt = t.mock('../../../lib/utils/open-url-prompt.js', {
-  opener,
+  '@npmcli/promise-spawn': {
+    open,
+  },
   readline,
 })
 
diff --git a/test/lib/utils/open-url.js b/test/lib/utils/open-url.js
index 1bf47d8bbaed..70afd550333f 100644
--- a/test/lib/utils/open-url.js
+++ b/test/lib/utils/open-url.js
@@ -19,14 +19,19 @@ const npm = {
 let openerUrl = null
 let openerOpts = null
 let openerResult = null
-const opener = (url, opts, cb) => {
+
+const open = async (url, options) => {
   openerUrl = url
-  openerOpts = opts
-  return cb(openerResult)
+  openerOpts = options
+  if (openerResult) {
+    throw openerResult
+  }
 }
 
 const openUrl = t.mock('../../../lib/utils/open-url.js', {
-  opener,
+  '@npmcli/promise-spawn': {
+    open,
+  },
 })
 
 t.test('opens a url', async t => {