diff --git a/php/boot-phar.php b/php/boot-phar.php
index e5f94a262..a708cac62 100644
--- a/php/boot-phar.php
+++ b/php/boot-phar.php
@@ -9,9 +9,13 @@
 	die( -1 );
 }
 
-// Store the path to the Phar early on for `Utils\phar-safe-path()` function.
-define( 'WP_CLI_PHAR_PATH', Phar::running( true ) );
+// Store the filesystem path for `Utils\phar_safe_path()` function.
+// Using Phar::running(false) returns just the filesystem path without phar:// protocol.
+// This prevents phar_safe_path() from attempting to replace "phar://phar://..." incorrectly.
+define( 'WP_CLI_PHAR_PATH', Phar::running( false ) );
 
+// Use the phar alias 'wp-cli.phar' which is set during phar creation and works
+// regardless of the actual filename. This ensures template paths resolve correctly.
 if ( file_exists( 'phar://wp-cli.phar/php/wp-cli.php' ) ) {
 	define( 'WP_CLI_ROOT', 'phar://wp-cli.phar' );
 	include WP_CLI_ROOT . '/php/wp-cli.php';