diff --git a/apps/craft-anything/src/main.rs b/apps/craft-anything/src/main.rs
index 07f06e68..4282d4ea 100644
--- a/apps/craft-anything/src/main.rs
+++ b/apps/craft-anything/src/main.rs
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ fn main() -> eframe::Result {
     let mut options = eframe::NativeOptions { viewport, ..Default::default() };
     #[cfg(windows)]
     if let eframe::egui_wgpu::WgpuSetup::CreateNew(setup) = &mut options.wgpu_options.wgpu_setup {
+        // Starting GL loads the system's OpenGL driver before any adapter is picked, and some
+        // Intel drivers crash in it (ig9icd64.dll, #196), so the window never opens. DX12 (with
+        // WARP) and Vulkan always cover Windows; `WGPU_BACKEND=gl` still asks for GL.
+        setup.instance_descriptor.backends = windows_backends(eframe::wgpu::Backends::from_env());
         setup.native_adapter_selector = Some(Arc::new(pick_adapter));
     }
     let run = eframe::run_native(
@@ -102,6 +106,13 @@ fn pick_adapter(adapters: &[eframe::wgpu::Adapter], surface: Option<&eframe::wgp
     }
 }
 
+/// Windows: the graphics backends to start. `WGPU_BACKEND` decides when set; otherwise every
+/// primary backend and not GL (#196).
+#[cfg(windows)]
+fn windows_backends(from_env: Option<eframe::wgpu::Backends>) -> eframe::wgpu::Backends {
+    from_env.unwrap_or(eframe::wgpu::Backends::PRIMARY)
+}
+
 /// Lower is better: GL last, then the fastest kind of device first (wgpu's own high-performance
 /// preference).
 #[cfg(windows)]
@@ -131,6 +142,15 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(best(&[(B::Dx12, T::IntegratedGpu), (B::Vulkan, T::DiscreteGpu), (B::Dx12, T::Cpu)]), Some(1), "fastest GPU first");
         assert_eq!(best(&[(B::Gl, T::Other)]), Some(0), "GL when it's all there is");
     }
+
+    /// #196: an Intel OpenGL driver crashed the app as wgpu started GL, before any window.
+    #[test]
+    fn gl_is_only_started_when_asked_for() {
+        use eframe::wgpu::Backends;
+        let started = windows_backends(None);
+        assert!(!started.contains(Backends::GL) && started.contains(Backends::DX12) && started.contains(Backends::VULKAN));
+        assert_eq!(windows_backends(Some(Backends::GL)), Backends::GL, "WGPU_BACKEND=gl still works");
+    }
 }
 
 /// Kept small: started afresh once it passes this size.
diff --git a/docs/pitfalls.md b/docs/pitfalls.md
index 0c59e076..25ec7f85 100644
--- a/docs/pitfalls.md
+++ b/docs/pitfalls.md
@@ -141,6 +141,11 @@ real Deep-mode run (the CLI never shows it: it already has a console). Every chi
 the windowed app gets `CREATE_NO_WINDOW`; check the desktop app, not only the CLI, after adding a
 program.
 
+**A graphics backend that crashed before it was chosen.** We ranked GL last when picking an
+adapter, but eframe starts every backend first, and starting GL loaded an old Intel OpenGL driver
+that crashed the app before any window or error box (#196). Ranking can't protect you from a
+backend that's started at all: start only the backends the app may use.
+
 **A Mac app that couldn't find Claude Code, and offered a GitHub key instead.** An app opened from
 the Dock gets the system's short `PATH`, not the shell's, so `claude` in `~/.local/bin` wasn't
 found; "Built by" then fell back to "Claude Code on github.com-work", an `~/.ssh/config` alias