diff --git a/evals/agentic-engineering/workspace-template/scripts/setup.mjs b/evals/agentic-engineering/workspace-template/scripts/setup.mjs
index bfeddcf6..afdd10da 100644
--- a/evals/agentic-engineering/workspace-template/scripts/setup.mjs
+++ b/evals/agentic-engineering/workspace-template/scripts/setup.mjs
@@ -5,9 +5,9 @@
  * Runs with cwd = eval file directory (which is inside the repo).
  */
 
-import { cpSync, mkdirSync, readdirSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
-import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { execSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { cpSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, readdirSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { join } from 'node:path';
 
 // Read workspace_path from stdin (provided by AgentV orchestrator)
 let workspacePath;
@@ -32,10 +32,7 @@ console.log(`Workspace: ${workspacePath}`);
 console.log(`Repo root: ${repoRoot}`);
 
 // Copy to skill discovery directories in the workspace
-const skillDirs = [
-  join(workspacePath, '.agents', 'skills'),
-  join(workspacePath, '.pi', 'skills'),
-];
+const skillDirs = [join(workspacePath, '.agents', 'skills'), join(workspacePath, '.pi', 'skills')];
 for (const dir of skillDirs) {
   mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
 }
diff --git a/packages/core/src/evaluation/yaml-parser.ts b/packages/core/src/evaluation/yaml-parser.ts
index e8004bbc..8c2fc239 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/evaluation/yaml-parser.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/evaluation/yaml-parser.ts
@@ -513,9 +513,28 @@ export async function loadTestById(
 /** @deprecated Use `loadTestById` instead */
 export const loadEvalCaseById = loadTestById;
 
+/**
+ * Normalize a command value from YAML into a string array.
+ * Accepts a string (split on whitespace) or an array of strings.
+ */
+function parseCommandArray(source: unknown): string[] | undefined {
+  if (typeof source === 'string') {
+    const parts = source.trim().split(/\s+/);
+    return parts.length > 0 && parts[0] !== '' ? parts : undefined;
+  }
+  if (Array.isArray(source)) {
+    const arr = source.filter((s): s is string => typeof s === 'string');
+    return arr.length > 0 ? arr : undefined;
+  }
+  return undefined;
+}
+
 /**
  * Parse a WorkspaceScriptConfig from raw YAML value.
  * Accepts both `command` (preferred) and `script` (deprecated alias).
+ * Command can be an array of strings or a single string (auto-split on whitespace).
+ * Note: string commands are split naively on whitespace. For arguments containing
+ * spaces, use the array form: command: ["node", "path with spaces/setup.mjs"]
  */
 function parseWorkspaceScriptConfig(
   raw: unknown,
@@ -527,10 +546,9 @@ function parseWorkspaceScriptConfig(
   if (obj.script !== undefined && obj.command === undefined) {
     logWarning("'script' is deprecated. Use 'command' instead.");
   }
-  const commandSource = obj.command ?? obj.script;
-  if (!Array.isArray(commandSource) || commandSource.length === 0) return undefined;
-  const commandArr = commandSource.filter((s): s is string => typeof s === 'string');
-  if (commandArr.length === 0) return undefined;
+
+  const command = parseCommandArray(obj.command ?? obj.script);
+  if (!command) return undefined;
 
   const timeoutMs = typeof obj.timeout_ms === 'number' ? obj.timeout_ms : undefined;
   let cwd = typeof obj.cwd === 'string' ? obj.cwd : undefined;
@@ -540,7 +558,7 @@ function parseWorkspaceScriptConfig(
     cwd = path.resolve(evalFileDir, cwd);
   }
 
-  const config: WorkspaceScriptConfig = { command: commandArr };
+  const config: WorkspaceScriptConfig = { command };
   if (timeoutMs !== undefined) {
     return { ...config, timeout_ms: timeoutMs, ...(cwd !== undefined && { cwd }) };
   }
diff --git a/packages/core/test/evaluation/workspace-config-parsing.test.ts b/packages/core/test/evaluation/workspace-config-parsing.test.ts
index 8c215ed2..5779b606 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/evaluation/workspace-config-parsing.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/evaluation/workspace-config-parsing.test.ts
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@ tests:
     workspace:
       hooks:
         before_all:
-          script: ["bun", "run", "setup.ts"]
+          command: ["bun", "run", "setup.ts"]
           timeout_ms: 120000
         after_each:
-          script: ["bun", "run", "teardown.ts"]
+          command: ["bun", "run", "teardown.ts"]
           timeout_ms: 30000
 `,
     );
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ tests:
 workspace:
   hooks:
     before_all:
-      script: ["bun", "run", "default-setup.ts"]
+      command: ["bun", "run", "default-setup.ts"]
 
 tests:
   - id: case-1
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ tests:
 workspace:
   hooks:
     before_all:
-      script: ["bun", "run", "default-setup.ts"]
+      command: ["bun", "run", "default-setup.ts"]
 
 tests:
   - id: case-override
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ tests:
     workspace:
       hooks:
         before_all:
-          script: ["bun", "run", "custom-setup.ts"]
+          command: ["bun", "run", "custom-setup.ts"]
   - id: case-default
     input: "Do something else"
     criteria: "Should work"
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ tests:
     workspace:
       hooks:
         before_all:
-          script: ["bun", "run", "setup.ts"]
+          command: ["bun", "run", "setup.ts"]
           cwd: ./scripts
 `,
     );
@@ -337,6 +337,31 @@ tests:
     await expect(loadTests(evalFile, testDir)).rejects.toThrow(/workspace\.pool has been removed/i);
   });
 
+  it('should accept string command and auto-split on whitespace', async () => {
+    const evalFile = path.join(testDir, 'workspace-string-cmd.yaml');
+    await writeFile(
+      evalFile,
+      `
+tests:
+  - id: test-string-cmd
+    input: "Do something"
+    criteria: "Should work"
+    workspace:
+      hooks:
+        before_all:
+          command: node scripts/setup.mjs
+          timeout_ms: 60000
+`,
+    );
+
+    const cases = await loadTests(evalFile, testDir);
+    expect(cases).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(cases[0].workspace?.hooks?.before_all).toEqual({
+      command: ['node', 'scripts/setup.mjs'],
+      timeout_ms: 60000,
+    });
+  });
+
   it('should handle case with no workspace config', async () => {
     const evalFile = path.join(testDir, 'no-workspace.yaml');
     await writeFile(