diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.test.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.test.ts
index e87c90b..bf1d4bd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.test.ts
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ describe('escapeShellArg', () => {
 
       it('should handle empty strings', () => {
         const result = escapeShellArg('', 'cmd');
-        expect(result).toBe('');
+        expect(result).toBe('""');
       });
     });
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.ts b/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.ts
index e0e62ec..2789dd5 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/utils/shell-utils.ts
@@ -90,7 +90,16 @@ export const isWindows = () => os.platform() === 'win32';
  */
 export function escapeShellArg(arg: string, shell: ShellType): string {
   if (!arg) {
-    return '';
+    // For empty strings, return quoted empty string to preserve the argument
+    switch (shell) {
+      case 'powershell':
+        return "''";
+      case 'cmd':
+        return '""';
+      case 'bash':
+      default:
+        return "''";
+    }
   }
 
   switch (shell) {