diff --git a/libs/core/config/CMakeLists.txt b/libs/core/config/CMakeLists.txt
index 1373f6631388..32c3f6ab9fc8 100644
--- a/libs/core/config/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/libs/core/config/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ set(config_macro_headers
     hpx/config/forward.hpp
     hpx/config/manual_profiling.hpp
     hpx/config/move.hpp
+    hpx/config/static_linker_check.hpp
     hpx/config/threads_stack.hpp
     hpx/config/warnings_prefix.hpp
     hpx/config/warnings_suffix.hpp
diff --git a/libs/core/config/include/hpx/config/static_linker_check.hpp b/libs/core/config/include/hpx/config/static_linker_check.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e4e336de3ca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libs/core/config/include/hpx/config/static_linker_check.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+//  Copyright (c) 2026 The STE||AR-Group
+//
+//  SPDX-License-Identifier: BSL-1.0
+//  Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
+//  file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <hpx/config/defines.hpp>
+
+// Emit a compile-time diagnostic when the user includes hpx/hpx_main.hpp
+// while building a statically-linked HPX application on Linux or macOS.
+//
+// Root cause: the '--wrap=main' linker flag, which redirects user 'main' to
+// the HPX runtime entry-point, is only applied automatically when the user
+// links against 'HPX::wrap_main'. Without it, the resulting binary will call
+// the raw 'main' symbol, bypassing HPX initialisation and producing a
+// hard-to-diagnose runtime crash or silent hang.
+//
+// Actionable remedies (pick one):
+//   CMake  -- add target_link_libraries(<target> PRIVATE HPX::wrap_main)
+//   Manual -- pass -Wl,--wrap=main to the linker explicitly
+//
+// This check is intentionally limited to Linux/macOS static builds because:
+//   * On Windows the wrap mechanism is not used (MSVC uses a different ABI).
+//   * Dynamic (shared-library) builds already embed the wrap stub inside
+//     libhpx.so/dylib, so no extra linker flag is needed.
+
+#if defined(HPX_HAVE_DYNAMIC_HPX_MAIN)
+#if (defined(__linux) || defined(__linux__) || defined(linux) ||               \
+    defined(__APPLE__)) &&                                                     \
+    defined(HPX_HAVE_STATIC_LINKING) &&                                        \
+    !defined(HPX_HAVE_WRAP_MAIN_CONFIGURED)
+#warning                                                                       \
+    "HPX static-link wrap-main check: you included hpx/hpx_main.hpp but the " \
+    "--wrap=main linker flag has not been applied. Add "                       \
+    "target_link_libraries(<target> PRIVATE HPX::wrap_main) to your "         \
+    "CMakeLists.txt, or pass -Wl,--wrap=main to the linker manually. "        \
+    "Without this flag the HPX runtime will not be initialised correctly."
+#endif
+#endif
diff --git a/wrap/CMakeLists.txt b/wrap/CMakeLists.txt
index 143952466006..d2d9bf230103 100644
--- a/wrap/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/wrap/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -134,7 +134,11 @@ endif()
 if(HPX_WITH_DYNAMIC_HPX_MAIN)
   if("${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME}" STREQUAL "Linux")
     target_link_libraries(hpx_wrap INTERFACE "-Wl,-wrap=main")
+    target_compile_definitions(hpx_wrap INTERFACE HPX_HAVE_WRAP_MAIN_CONFIGURED)
     target_link_libraries(hpx_auto_wrap INTERFACE "-Wl,-wrap=main")
+    target_compile_definitions(
+      hpx_auto_wrap INTERFACE HPX_HAVE_WRAP_MAIN_CONFIGURED
+    )
   elseif(APPLE)
     target_link_libraries(hpx_wrap INTERFACE "-Wl,-e,_initialize_main")
     target_link_libraries(hpx_auto_wrap INTERFACE "-Wl,-e,_initialize_main")
diff --git a/wrap/include/hpx/hpx_main.hpp b/wrap/include/hpx/hpx_main.hpp
index 9b4077bba341..155f217fef9d 100644
--- a/wrap/include/hpx/hpx_main.hpp
+++ b/wrap/include/hpx/hpx_main.hpp
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
+#include <hpx/config/static_linker_check.hpp>
 #include <hpx/wrap_main.hpp>
 
 #if defined(HPX_HAVE_RUN_MAIN_EVERYWHERE)