diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2bcde6f9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# check out text files with lf on every platform (regardless of core.autocrlf), letting git detect binary files
+* text=auto eol=lf
+
+# fixtures that must keep their crlf line endings byte for byte
+syft/linux/testdata/unprintable -text
+syft/pkg/cataloger/bitnami/testdata/no-rel/opt/bitnami/redis/.spdx-redis.spdx -text
+syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/jar-metadata/**/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF -text
diff --git a/.github/workflows/validations.yaml b/.github/workflows/validations.yaml
index 2656ab1f1..358cbadbf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/validations.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/validations.yaml
@@ -49,6 +49,13 @@ jobs:
   Unit-Test:
     # Note: changing this job name requires making the same update in the .github/workflows/release.yaml pipeline
     name: "Unit tests"
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: [Unit-Test-Linux, Unit-Test-Windows]
+    steps:
+      - run: echo All unit tests passed!
+
+  Unit-Test-Linux:
+    name: "Unit tests (Linux)"
     runs-on: *test-runner
     permissions:
       contents: read
@@ -68,6 +75,27 @@ jobs:
       - name: Check for capability drift
         run: make check-capability-drift
 
+  Unit-Test-Windows:
+    name: "Unit tests (Windows)"
+    runs-on: windows-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 #v7.0.1
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      # go-make's setup only (not ./.github/actions/bootstrap): no apt, binny tools, or fixture cache are needed
+      - name: Setup go + go-make tooling
+        uses: anchore/go-make/.github/actions/setup@fa5421b3bf24c9d18f11a736c5eb4172f2b7d683 # v0.8.1
+        with:
+          # keep in sync with the go-version default in ./.github/actions/bootstrap
+          go-version: "1.26.2"
+
+      # the full unit suite leans on linux docker fixtures, so this runs the windows-relevant subset
+      - name: Run unit tests
+        run: make unit:windows
+
   Integration-Test:
     # Note: changing this job name requires making the same update in the .github/workflows/release.yaml pipeline
     name: "Integration tests"
diff --git a/.make/main.go b/.make/main.go
index f0f08700d..58db41a96 100644
--- a/.make/main.go
+++ b/.make/main.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
 	"strconv"
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ func main() {
 					raceFlag = " -race"
 				}
 				Run(
-					"go test -count=1 -timeout=30m -v"+raceFlag+" ./cmd/syft/internal/test/integration/...",
+					"go test -count=1 -timeout=30m"+raceFlag+" ./cmd/syft/internal/test/integration/...",
 					run.Env("GODEBUG", "dontfreezetheworld=1"),
 				)
 			},
@@ -96,6 +97,23 @@ func main() {
 			},
 		},
 
+		// windows unit tests: deliberately not hooked into "test" (no RunsOn). The full unit suite leans on
+		// linux docker fixture images and posix-only assumptions, so this covers the packages that own
+		// host path handling (where windows bugs live) and skips the tests that need docker image fixtures.
+		// ponytail: curated package list, widen it as more of the suite is made windows-safe.
+		Task{
+			Name:        "unit:windows",
+			Description: "run the windows-relevant subset of unit tests",
+			Run: func() {
+				Run("go test -count=1"+
+					` -skip "Image|Squash|AllLayers|MixFileTypes|GivenCoordinates"`+
+					" ./syft/internal/windows/... ./syft/internal/fileresolver/... ./syft/source/directorysource/... ./syft/source/filesource/..."+
+					" ./syft/file ./syft/file/cataloger/filedigest/... ./syft/file/cataloger/filecontent/...",
+					run.Stdout(os.Stderr),
+				)
+			},
+		},
+
 		// default validation pipeline (replaces Taskfile `default`/`pr-validations`/`validations`).
 		Task{
 			Name:         "default",
diff --git a/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context.go b/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context.go
index 88647be3a..deb8cd000 100644
--- a/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context.go
+++ b/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context.go
@@ -216,5 +216,8 @@ func (r ChrootContext) ToChrootPath(nativePath string) string {
 		responsePath = strings.TrimPrefix(responsePath, prefix)
 	}
 
-	return responsePath
+	// chroot paths are posix regardless of host (these end up as location paths in the SBOM). This uses
+	// filepath (not path) since responsePath is native here (FromPosix above, then trimmed of a native prefix),
+	// and only filepath.ToSlash knows the host separator to convert.
+	return filepath.ToSlash(responsePath)
 }
diff --git a/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context_test.go b/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context_test.go
index 06f6e283a..fbe2f20e1 100644
--- a/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context_test.go
+++ b/syft/internal/fileresolver/chroot_context_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package fileresolver
 import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -10,6 +11,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func Test_ChrootContext_RequestResponse(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("fixture relies on symlinks, which git does not check out as links on windows by default")
+	}
 	// /
 	//   somewhere/
 	//     outside.txt
@@ -563,6 +567,9 @@ func TestNewChrootContext_BaseValidation(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestToNativeGlob(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("chroot context and expectations are posix paths")
+	}
 	tests := []struct {
 		name           string
 		chrootContext  ChrootContext
diff --git a/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_indexer_test.go b/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_indexer_test.go
index d24a86201..39685ccce 100644
--- a/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_indexer_test.go
+++ b/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_indexer_test.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
-	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
 	"sort"
@@ -18,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/wagoodman/go-progress"
 
 	"github.com/anchore/stereoscope/pkg/file"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/internal/windows"
 )
 
 type indexerMock struct {
@@ -138,6 +138,9 @@ func TestDirectoryIndexer_handleFileAccessErr(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDirectoryIndexer_IncludeRootPathInIndex(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("indexes the posix filesystem root")
+	}
 	filterFn := func(_, path string, _ os.FileInfo, _ error) error {
 		if path != "/" {
 			return fs.SkipDir
@@ -206,11 +209,7 @@ func TestDirectoryIndexer_index(t *testing.T) {
 			info, err := os.Stat(test.path)
 			assert.NoError(t, err)
 
-			// note: the index uses absolute paths, so assertions MUST keep this in mind
-			cwd, err := os.Getwd()
-			require.NoError(t, err)
-
-			p := file.Path(path.Join(cwd, test.path))
+			p := indexedPath(t, test.path)
 			assert.Equal(t, true, tree.HasPath(p))
 			exists, ref, err := tree.File(p)
 			assert.Equal(t, true, exists)
@@ -226,6 +225,9 @@ func TestDirectoryIndexer_index(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDirectoryIndexer_index_for_AncestorSymlinks(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("fixture relies on symlinks, which git does not check out as links on windows by default")
+	}
 	// note: this test is testing the effects from NewFromDirectory, indexTree, and addPathToIndex
 	_, filename, _, ok := runtime.Caller(0)
 	require.True(t, ok)
@@ -256,11 +258,7 @@ func TestDirectoryIndexer_index_for_AncestorSymlinks(t *testing.T) {
 			info, err := os.Stat(test.path)
 			assert.NoError(t, err)
 
-			// note: the index uses absolute paths, so assertions MUST keep this in mind
-			cwd, err := os.Getwd()
-			require.NoError(t, err)
-
-			p := file.Path(path.Join(cwd, test.path))
+			p := indexedPath(t, test.path)
 			assert.Equal(t, true, tree.HasPath(p))
 			exists, ref, err := tree.File(p)
 			assert.Equal(t, true, exists)
@@ -287,6 +285,9 @@ func TestDirectoryIndexer_index_survive_badSymlink(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDirectoryIndexer_index_survive_inaccessibleSymlinkTarget(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("relies on symlinks and posix permissions")
+	}
 	// a symlink that resolves into a directory we don't have permission to traverse should be skipped
 	// with a warning like any other inaccessible path, not abort the entire scan (see #3286).
 	if os.Geteuid() == 0 {
@@ -323,6 +324,9 @@ func TestDirectoryIndexer_index_survive_inaccessibleSymlinkTarget(t *testing.T)
 }
 
 func TestDirectoryIndexer_SkipsAlreadyVisitedLinkDestinations(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("fixture relies on symlinks, which git does not check out as links on windows by default")
+	}
 	var observedPaths []string
 	pathObserver := func(_, p string, _ os.FileInfo, _ error) error {
 		fields := strings.Split(p, "testdata/symlinks-prune-indexing")
@@ -430,6 +434,11 @@ func TestDirectoryIndexer_IndexesAllTypes(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func Test_allContainedPaths(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		// ponytail: production passes native windows paths here, which these posix cases don't represent.
+		// Ancestor indexing for a root reached through a symlink is likely broken on windows; fix separately.
+		t.Skip("cases are posix paths")
+	}
 
 	tests := []struct {
 		name string
@@ -485,6 +494,9 @@ func Test_allContainedPaths(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func Test_relativePath(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("exercises a posix-only test helper")
+	}
 	tests := []struct {
 		name      string
 		basePath  string
@@ -548,3 +560,17 @@ func relativePath(basePath, givenPath string) string {
 
 	return relPath
 }
+
+// indexedPath returns how the given cwd-relative path is keyed in the index (absolute and always posix)
+func indexedPath(t *testing.T, rel string) file.Path {
+	t.Helper()
+	cwd, err := os.Getwd()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	// filepath (not path): cwd is a native host path, so it must be joined with the host separator before
+	// being converted to the posix form the index is keyed on
+	p := filepath.Join(cwd, rel)
+	if windows.HostRunningOnWindows() {
+		p = windows.ToPosix(p)
+	}
+	return file.Path(p)
+}
diff --git a/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_roundtrip_test.go b/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_roundtrip_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..22f39cc18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_roundtrip_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package fileresolver
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	stereoscopeFile "github.com/anchore/stereoscope/pkg/file"
+)
+
+// a location handed out by the resolver should be resolvable again by its own path. This is what the file
+// digest cataloger relies on, and it silently found nothing on windows (see #5325).
+func TestDirectory_LocationPathsRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	// resolve symlinks up front (e.g. /var -> /private/var on macOS) so the cwd prefix matches the indexed paths
+	root, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(t.TempDir())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(root, "sub", "dir"), 0o755))
+	for _, p := range []string{"top.txt", filepath.Join("sub", "mid.txt"), filepath.Join("sub", "dir", "deep.txt")} {
+		require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(root, p), []byte(p), 0o600))
+	}
+
+	// mirror `syft dir:.` from within the scanned directory
+	t.Chdir(root)
+
+	resolver, err := NewFromDirectory(".", "")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	var regular int
+	for loc := range resolver.AllLocations(context.Background()) {
+		md, err := resolver.FileMetadataByLocation(loc)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		if md.Type != stereoscopeFile.TypeRegular {
+			continue
+		}
+		regular++
+
+		assert.NotContains(t, loc.RealPath, `\`, "location paths should be posix")
+
+		found, err := resolver.FilesByPath(loc.RealPath)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Len(t, found, 1, "unable to resolve %q by its own path", loc.RealPath)
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, 3, regular)
+}
diff --git a/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_windows_test.go b/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_windows_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 115fb30a3..000000000
--- a/syft/internal/fileresolver/directory_windows_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,126 +0,0 @@
-package fileresolver
-
-import "testing"
-
-func Test_windowsToPosix(t *testing.T) {
-	type args struct {
-		windowsPath string
-	}
-	tests := []struct {
-		name          string
-		args          args
-		wantPosixPath string
-	}{
-		{
-			name: "basic case",
-			args: args{
-				windowsPath: `C:\some\windows\place`,
-			},
-			wantPosixPath: "/c/some/windows/place",
-		},
-		{
-			name: "escaped case",
-			args: args{
-				windowsPath: `C:\\some\\windows\\place`,
-			},
-			wantPosixPath: "/c/some/windows/place",
-		},
-		{
-			name: "forward slash",
-			args: args{
-				windowsPath: `C:/foo/bar`,
-			},
-			wantPosixPath: "/c/foo/bar",
-		},
-		{
-			name: "mix slash",
-			args: args{
-				windowsPath: `C:\foo/bar\`,
-			},
-			wantPosixPath: "/c/foo/bar",
-		},
-		{
-			name: "case sensitive case",
-			args: args{
-				windowsPath: `C:\Foo/bAr\`,
-			},
-			wantPosixPath: "/c/Foo/bAr",
-		},
-		{
-			name: "special char case",
-			args: args{
-				windowsPath: `C:\ふー\バー`,
-			},
-			wantPosixPath: "/c/ふー/バー",
-		},
-	}
-
-	for _, tt := range tests {
-		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			if gotPosixPath := windowsToPosix(tt.args.windowsPath); gotPosixPath != tt.wantPosixPath {
-				t.Errorf("windowsToPosix() = %v, want %v", gotPosixPath, tt.wantPosixPath)
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
-
-func Test_posixToWindows(t *testing.T) {
-	type args struct {
-		posixPath string
-	}
-	tests := []struct {
-		name            string
-		args            args
-		wantWindowsPath string
-	}{
-		{
-			name: "basic case",
-			args: args{
-				posixPath: "/c/some/windows/place",
-			},
-			wantWindowsPath: `C:\some\windows\place`,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "escaped case",
-			args: args{
-				posixPath: "/c/some/windows/place",
-			},
-			wantWindowsPath: `C:\\some\\windows\\place`,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "forward slash",
-			args: args{
-				posixPath: "/c/foo/bar",
-			},
-			wantWindowsPath: `C:/foo/bar`,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "mix slash",
-			args: args{
-				posixPath: "/c/foo/bar",
-			},
-			wantWindowsPath: `C:\foo/bar\`,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "case sensitive case",
-			args: args{
-				posixPath: "/c/Foo/bAr",
-			},
-			wantWindowsPath: `C:\Foo/bAr\`,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "special char case",
-			args: args{
-				posixPath: "/c/ふー/バー",
-			},
-			wantWindowsPath: `C:\ふー\バー`,
-		},
-	}
-	for _, tt := range tests {
-		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			if gotWindowsPath := posixToWindows(tt.args.posixPath); gotWindowsPath != tt.wantWindowsPath {
-				t.Errorf("posixToWindows() = %v, want %v", gotWindowsPath, tt.wantWindowsPath)
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
diff --git a/syft/internal/fileresolver/file_indexer_test.go b/syft/internal/fileresolver/file_indexer_test.go
index d9ba1d8c9..a4e0364d5 100644
--- a/syft/internal/fileresolver/file_indexer_test.go
+++ b/syft/internal/fileresolver/file_indexer_test.go
@@ -3,13 +3,11 @@ package fileresolver
 import (
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
-	"path"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-
-	"github.com/anchore/stereoscope/pkg/file"
 )
 
 // - Verify that both the parent and the path are indexed
@@ -38,11 +36,7 @@ func Test_index(t *testing.T) {
 			info, err := os.Stat(test.path)
 			assert.NoError(t, err)
 
-			// note: the index uses absolute paths, so assertions MUST keep this in mind
-			cwd, err := os.Getwd()
-			require.NoError(t, err)
-
-			p := file.Path(path.Join(cwd, test.path))
+			p := indexedPath(t, test.path)
 			assert.Equal(t, true, tree.HasPath(p))
 			exists, ref, err := tree.File(p)
 			assert.Equal(t, true, exists)
@@ -71,7 +65,9 @@ func Test_ignoresPathIfFiltered(t *testing.T) {
 	testPath := "testdata/system_paths/target/home/place"
 	cwd, cwdErr := os.Getwd()
 	require.NoError(t, cwdErr)
-	ignorePath := path.Join(cwd, testPath)
+	// filepath (not path): filters see the native absolute path (before posix normalization), so the
+	// expected value must be joined with the host separator to match on windows
+	ignorePath := filepath.Join(cwd, testPath)
 	filterFn := func(_, path string, _ os.FileInfo, _ error) error {
 		if path == ignorePath {
 			return ErrSkipPath
@@ -91,7 +87,8 @@ func Test_ignoresPathIfParentFiltered(t *testing.T) {
 
 	cwd, cwdErr := os.Getwd()
 	require.NoError(t, cwdErr)
-	ignorePath := path.Join(cwd, parentPath)
+	// filepath (not path): see Test_ignoresPathIfFiltered
+	ignorePath := filepath.Join(cwd, parentPath)
 	filterFn := func(_, path string, _ os.FileInfo, _ error) error {
 		if path == ignorePath {
 			return fs.SkipDir
diff --git a/syft/internal/fileresolver/filetree_resolver.go b/syft/internal/fileresolver/filetree_resolver.go
index 68b3b8395..20c60b57a 100644
--- a/syft/internal/fileresolver/filetree_resolver.go
+++ b/syft/internal/fileresolver/filetree_resolver.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 
 	stereoscopeFile "github.com/anchore/stereoscope/pkg/file"
 	"github.com/anchore/stereoscope/pkg/filetree"
@@ -34,8 +35,17 @@ func nativeOSFileOpener(ref stereoscopeFile.Reference) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	return stereoscopeFile.NewLazyReadCloser(filePath), nil
 }
 
+// requestPath converts a user (chroot) path into the path the file tree is keyed on. The tree is always posix
+// (windows paths are volume-encoded, e.g. /c/some/path), while ToNativePath yields a native host path.
 func (r *FiletreeResolver) requestPath(userPath string) (string, error) {
-	return r.Chroot.ToNativePath(userPath)
+	nativePath, err := r.Chroot.ToNativePath(userPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if windows.HostRunningOnWindows() {
+		return windows.ToPosix(nativePath), nil
+	}
+	return nativePath, nil
 }
 
 // responsePath takes a path from the underlying fs domain and converts it to a path that is relative to the root of the file resolver.
@@ -85,10 +95,6 @@ func (r FiletreeResolver) FilesByPath(userPaths ...string) ([]file.Location, err
 			continue
 		}
 
-		if windows.HostRunningOnWindows() {
-			userStrPath = windows.ToPosix(userStrPath)
-		}
-
 		if ref.HasReference() {
 			references = append(references,
 				file.NewVirtualLocationFromDirectory(
@@ -103,8 +109,19 @@ func (r FiletreeResolver) FilesByPath(userPaths ...string) ([]file.Location, err
 	return references, nil
 }
 
+// requestGlob is the glob equivalent of requestPath.
 func (r FiletreeResolver) requestGlob(pattern string) (string, error) {
-	return r.Chroot.ToNativeGlob(pattern)
+	glob, err := r.Chroot.ToNativeGlob(pattern)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	// only a glob that was anchored to the root comes back native. Globs that start with a wildcard
+	// (e.g. **/foo) are returned untouched and are already posix, and ToPosix would root them at "/".
+	// This uses filepath (not path) since we are asking whether this is a native absolute path.
+	if windows.HostRunningOnWindows() && filepath.IsAbs(glob) {
+		return windows.ToPosix(glob), nil
+	}
+	return glob, nil
 }
 
 // FilesByGlob returns all file.References that match the given path glob pattern from any layer in the image.
diff --git a/syft/internal/windows/path.go b/syft/internal/windows/path.go
index c091b89fd..fc16cbe5f 100644
--- a/syft/internal/windows/path.go
+++ b/syft/internal/windows/path.go
@@ -35,6 +35,10 @@ func ToPosix(windowsPath string) (posixPath string) {
 func FromPosix(posixPath string) (windowsPath string) {
 	// decode the volume (e.g. /c/<path> --> C:\\) - There should always be a volume name.
 	// The volume may be a UNC path (e.g. /\\localhost\C$\ --> \\localhost\C$\)
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(posixPath, "/") {
+		// not a volume-encoded posix path (e.g. relative or already native), so there is nothing to decode
+		return posixPath
+	}
 	pathFields := strings.Split(posixPath, "/")
 	if len(pathFields) < 2 {
 		// no separator means no volume to decode
diff --git a/syft/internal/windows/path_windows_test.go b/syft/internal/windows/path_windows_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ad278fb9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/syft/internal/windows/path_windows_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+package windows
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestToPosix(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := map[string]string{
+		`C:\some\windows\place`:    "/c/some/windows/place",
+		`C:\\some\\windows\\place`: "/c/some/windows/place",
+		`C:/foo/bar`:               "/c/foo/bar",
+		`C:\foo/bar\`:              "/c/foo/bar",
+		`C:\Foo/bAr\`:              "/c/Foo/bAr",
+		`C:\ふー\バー`:                 "/c/ふー/バー",
+	}
+	for in, want := range tests {
+		assert.Equal(t, want, ToPosix(in), in)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFromPosix(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := map[string]string{
+		"/c/some/windows/place": `C:\some\windows\place`,
+		"/c/Foo/bAr":            `C:\Foo\bAr`,
+		"/c/ふー/バー":              `C:\ふー\バー`,
+		// non volume-encoded input is left alone
+		"relative/path":     "relative/path",
+		`D:\already\native`: `D:\already\native`,
+	}
+	for in, want := range tests {
+		assert.Equal(t, want, FromPosix(in), in)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source.go b/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source.go
index dcbbeaa62..259ab2cac 100644
--- a/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source.go
+++ b/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source.go
@@ -216,7 +216,8 @@ func cleanDirPath(path, base string) string {
 
 			relPath, err := filepath.Rel(cleanBase, cleanRoot)
 			if err == nil {
-				path = relPath
+				// filepath.Rel yields a native path, but source names are posix like every other path syft reports
+				path = filepath.ToSlash(relPath)
 			}
 			// this is odd, but this means we can't use base
 		}
diff --git a/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_test.go b/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_test.go
index fc4160e58..88e7b3430 100644
--- a/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_test.go
+++ b/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_test.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
@@ -325,6 +326,9 @@ func Test_DirectorySource_Exclusions(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func Test_getDirectoryExclusionFunctions_crossPlatform(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("emulates windows paths on a posix host, see directory_source_win_test.go for the windows equivalent")
+	}
 	testCases := []struct {
 		desc     string
 		root     string
@@ -465,10 +469,11 @@ func Test_DirectorySource_ID(t *testing.T) {
 	testutil.Chdir(t, "..") // run with source/testdata
 
 	tests := []struct {
-		name    string
-		cfg     Config
-		want    artifact.ID
-		wantErr require.ErrorAssertionFunc
+		name          string
+		cfg           Config
+		want          artifact.ID
+		wantErr       require.ErrorAssertionFunc
+		skipOnWindows bool
 	}{
 		{
 			name:    "empty",
@@ -486,6 +491,8 @@ func Test_DirectorySource_ID(t *testing.T) {
 			name:    "with odd unclean path through non-existent directory",
 			cfg:     Config{Path: "testdata/does-not-exist/../"},
 			wantErr: require.Error,
+			// windows cleans the path lexically, so the non-existent directory is never visited
+			skipOnWindows: true,
 		},
 		{
 			name: "to a file (not a directory)",
@@ -543,6 +550,9 @@ func Test_DirectorySource_ID(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if tt.skipOnWindows && runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+				t.Skip("posix-specific path behavior")
+			}
 			if tt.wantErr == nil {
 				tt.wantErr = require.NoError
 			}
diff --git a/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_win_test.go b/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_win_test.go
index 8f99a59d3..d7d38f86a 100644
--- a/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_win_test.go
+++ b/syft/source/directorysource/directory_source_win_test.go
@@ -56,8 +56,9 @@ func Test_DirectorySource_crossPlatformExclusions(t *testing.T) {
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 
 			for _, f := range fns {
-				result := f(test.path, nil, nil)
-				require.Equal(t, test.match, result)
+				// a matched exclusion is signaled by a skip error
+				err := f("", test.path, nil, nil)
+				require.Equal(t, test.match, err != nil)
 			}
 		})
 	}
diff --git a/syft/source/filesource/file_source_test.go b/syft/source/filesource/file_source_test.go
index 87fe2a795..bba5c61e2 100644
--- a/syft/source/filesource/file_source_test.go
+++ b/syft/source/filesource/file_source_test.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
 	"syscall"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -96,6 +97,9 @@ func TestNewFromFile(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestNewFromFile_WithArchive(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("archive fixtures are generated with a shell script")
+	}
 	testutil.Chdir(t, "..") // run with source/testdata
 
 	testCases := []struct {