diff --git a/.githooks/pre-commit b/.githooks/pre-commit
index 5c7758c..6a11599 100644
--- a/.githooks/pre-commit
+++ b/.githooks/pre-commit
@@ -1,14 +1,18 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env sh
 set -eu
 
-PYTHON_BIN="${PYTHON:-python}"
-if ! command -v "$PYTHON_BIN" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-  PYTHON_BIN="python3"
+if command -v py >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  exec py -3 ".githooks/check_staged_java_encoding.py"
 fi
 
-if ! command -v "$PYTHON_BIN" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-  echo "pre-commit: Python is required to run encoding checks." >&2
-  exit 1
+if command -v python >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  exec python ".githooks/check_staged_java_encoding.py"
 fi
 
-exec "$PYTHON_BIN" ".githooks/check_staged_java_encoding.py"
+if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  exec python3 ".githooks/check_staged_java_encoding.py"
+fi
+
+echo "pre-commit: Python is required to run encoding checks." >&2
+echo "Install Python 3 or ensure 'py'/'python' is available in PATH." >&2
+exit 1