diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/config/vite.base.config.spec.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/config/vite.base.config.spec.ts
index 2a05abe4dd..b941dac233 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/config/vite.base.config.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/config/vite.base.config.spec.ts
@@ -235,5 +235,41 @@ describe('vite.base.config', () => {
 
       expect(consoleWarn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
+
+    describe('in the watch subprocess of electron-forge start', () => {
+      afterEach(() => {
+        vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+        process.send = undefined;
+      });
+
+      it('asks the parent to restart the app after a rebuild', () => {
+        const handler = handleRestarts();
+        vi.stubEnv('FORGE_VITE_WATCH', '1');
+        const send = vi.fn(() => true);
+        process.send = send;
+        const plugin = pluginHotRestart('restart');
+
+        // The first build runs before the parent spawns the app.
+        closeBundle(plugin)();
+        expect(send).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+        closeBundle(plugin)();
+        expect(send).toHaveBeenCalledExactlyOnceWith({ type: 'restart' });
+        // The restart handler is registered in the parent, not here.
+        expect(handler).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      });
+
+      it('does not ask the parent to restart the app when the rebuild failed', () => {
+        vi.stubEnv('FORGE_VITE_WATCH', '1');
+        const send = vi.fn(() => true);
+        process.send = send;
+        const plugin = pluginHotRestart('restart');
+
+        closeBundle(plugin)();
+        closeBundle(plugin)(new Error('syntax error'));
+
+        expect(send).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      });
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts
index d6368c9cb6..2e0932692b 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/spec/subprocess-worker.spec.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { spawn } from 'node:child_process';
 import fs from 'node:fs';
+import os from 'node:os';
 import path from 'node:path';
 
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
@@ -184,6 +185,60 @@ describe('subprocess-worker', () => {
     expect(contents).toContain('from-secondary');
   });
 
+  it('asks the parent to restart the app after a main rebuild with hotRestart', async () => {
+    const tmpDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'forge-vite-watch-'));
+    fs.cpSync(projectDir, tmpDir, { recursive: true });
+    const config: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer' | 'hotRestart'> =
+      {
+        build: [
+          {
+            entry: 'src/main.js',
+            config: path.join(tmpDir, 'vite.main.config.mjs'),
+            target: 'main',
+          },
+        ],
+        renderer: [],
+        hotRestart: true,
+      };
+
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [workerPath], {
+      cwd: tmpDir,
+      env: {
+        ...process.env,
+        FORGE_VITE_PROJECT_DIR: tmpDir,
+        FORGE_VITE_KIND: 'build',
+        FORGE_VITE_INDEX: '0',
+        FORGE_VITE_CONFIG: JSON.stringify(config),
+        FORGE_VITE_WATCH: '1',
+      },
+      stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'pipe', 'ipc'],
+    });
+    const messages: string[] = [];
+    const waitFor = (type: string) =>
+      new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+        child.on('message', (msg: { type: string }) => {
+          if (msg.type === type) resolve();
+        });
+      });
+    child.on('message', (msg: { type: string }) => messages.push(msg.type));
+
+    try {
+      await waitFor('first-build-done');
+      await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 500));
+      expect(messages).toEqual(['first-build-done']);
+
+      const restarted = waitFor('restart');
+      fs.appendFileSync(path.join(tmpDir, 'src', 'main.js'), '\n// rebuild\n');
+      await restarted;
+      expect(messages).toEqual(['first-build-done', 'restart']);
+    } finally {
+      const closed = new Promise((resolve) => child.once('close', resolve));
+      child.kill();
+      await closed;
+      fs.rmSync(tmpDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    }
+  });
+
   it('exits nonzero and surfaces error when build fails', async () => {
     const config: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer'> = {
       build: [
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts
index 9f78d9096b..245054452a 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/src/VitePlugin.ts
@@ -4,12 +4,16 @@ import path from 'node:path';
 import { styleText } from 'node:util';
 
 import { readJson, writeJson } from '@electron-forge/core-utils';
+import { requestAppRestart } from '@electron-forge/core-utils/restart';
 import { namedHookWithTaskFn, PluginBase } from '@electron-forge/plugin-base';
 import debug from 'debug';
 import { Listr, PRESET_TIMER } from 'listr2';
 import * as vite from 'vite';
 
-import { viteDevServerUrls } from './config/vite.base.config.js';
+import {
+  viteDevServerUrls,
+  warnAppNotRestarted,
+} from './config/vite.base.config.js';
 import ViteConfigGenerator from './ViteConfig.js';
 
 import type { VitePluginBuildConfig, VitePluginConfig } from './Config.js';
@@ -108,7 +112,7 @@ function spawnViteBuild(
 }
 
 function spawnViteBuildWatch(
-  pluginConfig: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer'>,
+  pluginConfig: Pick<VitePluginConfig, 'build' | 'renderer' | 'hotRestart'>,
   index: number,
   projectDir: string,
   devServerUrls: Record<string, string>,
@@ -153,6 +157,8 @@ function spawnViteBuildWatch(
         settle(() => reject(new Error(msg.message)));
       } else if (msg.type === 'reload-renderers') {
         onReloadRenderers();
+      } else if (msg.type === 'restart' && !requestAppRestart()) {
+        warnAppNotRestarted();
       }
     });
     child.on('error', (err) => settle(() => reject(err)));
@@ -373,17 +379,19 @@ the generated files). Instead, it is ${JSON.stringify(pj.main)}.`);
 
   /**
    * Serializable snapshot of the plugin config to pass to subprocess workers.
-   * We only include build[] and renderer[] — the worker needs the full renderer
-   * list for defines even when building a single main target. `hotRestart` is
-   * moot here: workers only run when packaging.
+   * We include build[] and renderer[] — the worker needs the full renderer
+   * list for defines even when building a single main target — and
+   * `hotRestart`, which the watch builds of `electron-forge start` need to add
+   * the hot restart plugin to main targets.
    */
   private get serializableConfig(): Pick<
     VitePluginConfig,
-    'build' | 'renderer'
+    'build' | 'renderer' | 'hotRestart'
   > {
     return {
       build: this.config.build,
       renderer: this.config.renderer,
+      hotRestart: this.config.hotRestart,
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.base.config.ts b/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.base.config.ts
index 1d35ec220a..2ea9105138 100644
--- a/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.base.config.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin/vite/src/config/vite.base.config.ts
@@ -108,6 +108,18 @@ export function pluginExposeRenderer(name: string): Plugin {
   };
 }
 
+/**
+ * Warn that a rebuilt main process bundle never reached the running app.
+ */
+export function warnAppNotRestarted(): void {
+  console.warn(
+    styleText(
+      'yellow',
+      '[@electron-forge/plugin-vite] Rebuilt the main process bundle, but the running app was not restarted, so it is still running the previous code.',
+    ),
+  );
+}
+
 export function pluginHotRestart(command: 'reload' | 'restart'): Plugin {
   let builtOnce = false;
 
@@ -127,15 +139,17 @@ export function pluginHotRestart(command: 'reload' | 'restart'): Plugin {
           // Preload scripts hot reload.
           server.ws.send({ type: 'full-reload' });
         }
+      } else if (
+        command === 'restart' &&
+        process.env.FORGE_VITE_WATCH === '1'
+      ) {
+        // `electron-forge start` builds main targets in a watch subprocess, but
+        // the restart handler is registered in the parent; ask it to restart.
+        if (isRebuild) process.send?.({ type: 'restart' });
       } else if (command === 'restart' && !requestAppRestart() && isRebuild) {
         // The first build finishes before the app is spawned, so only a rebuild
         // that fails to reach it is worth warning about.
-        console.warn(
-          styleText(
-            'yellow',
-            '[@electron-forge/plugin-vite] Rebuilt the main process bundle, but the running app was not restarted, so it is still running the previous code.',
-          ),
-        );
+        warnAppNotRestarted();
       }
     },
   };