diff --git a/plugin-sdk/src/cli/dev.ts b/plugin-sdk/src/cli/dev.ts
index 545062573..87208a9cb 100644
--- a/plugin-sdk/src/cli/dev.ts
+++ b/plugin-sdk/src/cli/dev.ts
@@ -26,8 +26,17 @@ interface PluginLike { onLoad?: (ctx: unknown) => unknown; routes?: PluginRouteL
 
 class PermissionDenied extends Error {}
 
+/**
+ * Accept both bind shapes the real host accepts: spread positional args AND a
+ * single array of them (better-sqlite3 binds an array; node:sqlite does not,
+ * so a plugin using the array form would fail only in dev).
+ */
+function flatBind(args: unknown[]): unknown[] {
+  return args.length === 1 && Array.isArray(args[0]) ? (args[0] as unknown[]) : args;
+}
+
 /** A dev db backed by node:sqlite if available, else an in-memory recorder that returns []. */
-function createDevDb(dbFile: string): { db: PluginContextDb; note: string; close: () => void } {
+export function createDevDb(dbFile: string): { db: PluginContextDb; note: string; close: () => void } {
   try {
     // node:sqlite is available on Node 22.5+ (experimental). Fall back gracefully if not.
     const { DatabaseSync } = createRequire(import.meta.url)('node:sqlite') as { DatabaseSync: new (p: string) => SqliteDb };
@@ -38,9 +47,9 @@ function createDevDb(dbFile: string): { db: PluginContextDb; note: string; close
       note: `db:own → real SQLite at ${dbFile}`,
       close: () => { try { sq.close(); } catch { /* ignore */ } },
       db: {
-        async query(sql: string, ...args: unknown[]) { return sq.prepare(sql).all(...args) as unknown[]; },
+        async query(sql: string, ...args: unknown[]) { return sq.prepare(sql).all(...flatBind(args)) as unknown[]; },
         async exec(sql: string, ...args: unknown[]) {
-          if (args.length) { const r = sq.prepare(sql).run(...args); return { changes: Number(r.changes ?? 0) }; }
+          if (args.length) { const r = sq.prepare(sql).run(...flatBind(args)); return { changes: Number(r.changes ?? 0) }; }
           sq.exec(sql); return { changes: 0 };
         },
         async migrate(id: string, sql: string) { if (applied.has(id)) return { applied: false }; sq.exec(sql); applied.add(id); return { applied: true }; },
@@ -167,7 +176,12 @@ export async function runDev(dir: string, opts: { port?: number } = {}): Promise
       await plugin.onLoad?.(ctx);
       version++;
       console.log(`  ↻ loaded ${plugin.routes?.length ?? 0} route(s)`);
-    } catch (e) { console.error('  ✗ plugin failed to load:', e instanceof Error ? e.message : e); }
+    } catch (e) {
+      // A plugin whose load/onLoad throws would fail activation in TREK — don't
+      // keep serving its routes here, or dev would hide exactly that failure.
+      plugin = {};
+      console.error('  ✗ plugin failed to load:', e instanceof Error ? e.message : e);
+    }
   };
   await load();
 
diff --git a/plugin-sdk/test/sdk.test.ts b/plugin-sdk/test/sdk.test.ts
index 78b12fe04..dc8bdb5a2 100644
--- a/plugin-sdk/test/sdk.test.ts
+++ b/plugin-sdk/test/sdk.test.ts
@@ -164,6 +164,26 @@ describe('dev-server SDK injection', () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe('dev db bind shapes', () => {
+  let tmp: string;
+  beforeEach(() => { tmp = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'devdb-')); });
+  afterEach(() => { fs.rmSync(tmp, { recursive: true, force: true }); });
+
+  it('accepts spread args AND a single array of them, like the real host', async () => {
+    const { createDevDb } = await import('../src/cli/dev.js');
+    const { db, close } = createDevDb(path.join(tmp, 'db.sqlite'));
+    try {
+      await db.migrate('001', 'CREATE TABLE kv (k TEXT PRIMARY KEY, v TEXT)');
+      await db.exec('INSERT INTO kv (k, v) VALUES (?, ?)', ['a', '1']); // array form (better-sqlite3 style)
+      await db.exec('INSERT INTO kv (k, v) VALUES (?, ?)', 'b', '2'); // spread form
+      expect(await db.query('SELECT v FROM kv WHERE k = ?', ['a'])).toEqual([{ v: '1' }]);
+      expect(await db.query('SELECT v FROM kv WHERE k = ?', 'b')).toEqual([{ v: '2' }]);
+    } finally {
+      close();
+    }
+  });
+});
+
 describe('reference plugin (examples/koffi)', () => {
   const dir = path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, '..', 'examples', 'koffi');