diff --git a/src/toolchain/registry.cppm b/src/toolchain/registry.cppm
index 0dd21fb9..eae2c842 100644
--- a/src/toolchain/registry.cppm
+++ b/src/toolchain/registry.cppm
@@ -229,6 +229,35 @@ parse_toolchain_spec(std::string compilerArg,
             "supported alias like mingw / musl-gcc)", compilerArg));
     }
 
+    // `@system` means "whatever this machine has", and it is deliberately
+    // available for MSVC ONLY.
+    //
+    // xlings depends on the host as little as it can: a toolchain comes from
+    // a payload, which is what makes "the manifest says 14.44.35207" true on
+    // every machine instead of on the one that happened to have it. Offering
+    // `gcc@system` would invite the uncertainty back in, and the alternative
+    // is one command away.
+    //
+    // MSVC is the exception because Windows is: Visual Studio is frequently
+    // already installed and cannot always be redistributed, so refusing to
+    // use it would mean refusing to build. That is a platform fact, not a
+    // general capability, so it is not generalised.
+    //
+    // Rejected here rather than left unimplemented: an unimplemented spelling
+    // fails somewhere further in with a message about something else.
+    if (norm->version == "system" && norm->family != "msvc") {
+        return std::unexpected(std::format(
+            "'{}@system' is not a thing — mcpp does not build with the "
+            "machine's own {}.\n"
+            "  A toolchain comes from a payload, so a manifest means the same "
+            "thing on every machine.\n"
+            "  Name a version instead: `{}@<version>` "
+            "(`mcpp toolchain list` shows what is available).\n"
+            "  Only `msvc@system` exists, because Visual Studio cannot always "
+            "be redistributed.",
+            norm->family, norm->family, norm->family));
+    }
+
     ToolchainSpec spec;
     if      (norm->family == "llvm") spec.family = Family::Llvm;
     else if (norm->family == "msvc") spec.family = Family::Msvc;
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_toolchain_msvc.cpp b/tests/unit/test_toolchain_msvc.cpp
index 034a9c0e..4bd1b48c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_toolchain_msvc.cpp
+++ b/tests/unit/test_toolchain_msvc.cpp
@@ -84,6 +84,30 @@ TEST(MsvcSpec, SystemOriginIsTheUnversionedSpec) {
     EXPECT_FALSE(is_system_toolchain(*gcc));
 }
 
+TEST(MsvcSpec, OnlyMsvcHasASystemOrigin) {
+    // xlings depends on the host as little as it can: a toolchain comes from
+    // a payload, which is what makes "the manifest says 14.44.35207" true on
+    // every machine rather than on the one that happened to have it.
+    // `gcc@system` would invite that uncertainty back.
+    //
+    // MSVC is the exception because Windows is — Visual Studio is often
+    // already installed and cannot always be redistributed. A platform fact,
+    // not a general capability, so it is not generalised.
+    //
+    // Rejected rather than merely unimplemented: an unimplemented spelling
+    // fails later, somewhere else, with a message about something else.
+    for (auto s : {"gcc@system", "llvm@system", "clang@system"}) {
+        auto spec = parse_toolchain_spec(s);
+        ASSERT_FALSE(spec.has_value()) << s << " was accepted";
+        // The message has to say what to do instead, or it is just a refusal.
+        EXPECT_NE(spec.error().find("@<version>"), std::string::npos)
+            << s << ": " << spec.error();
+        EXPECT_NE(spec.error().find("msvc@system"), std::string::npos)
+            << s << ": " << spec.error();
+    }
+    EXPECT_TRUE(parse_toolchain_spec("msvc@system").has_value());
+}
+
 TEST(MsvcSpec, ToolsetVersionIsAManagedPayloadNotASystemSpec) {
     // The defect this closes: EVERY msvc spec used to be a system spec, so a
     // manifest could name a toolset and silently get whatever the machine