diff --git a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/cli/RunExampleTool.java b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/cli/RunExampleTool.java
index e1d002cf21ee..def358660634 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/cli/RunExampleTool.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/cli/RunExampleTool.java
@@ -751,8 +751,10 @@ protected Map<String, Object> startSolr(
     if (!isWindows && cwdPath.length() > 1 && solrHome.startsWith(cwdPath))
       solrHome = solrHome.substring(cwdPath.length() + 1);
 
+    // For techproducts, add modules only if the modules directory exists (not in slim distribution)
     final var syspropArg =
-        ("techproducts".equals(cli.getOptionValue(EXAMPLE_OPTION)))
+        ("techproducts".equals(cli.getOptionValue(EXAMPLE_OPTION))
+                && Files.isDirectory(serverDir.getParent().resolve("modules")))
             ? "-Dsolr.modules=clustering,extraction,langid,ltr,scripting -Dsolr.ltr.enabled=true -Dsolr.clustering.enabled=true"
             : "";
 
diff --git a/solr/packaging/test/test_example_slim.bats b/solr/packaging/test/test_example_slim.bats
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..d94f1d66f9d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/solr/packaging/test/test_example_slim.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+# contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+# The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+# (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+# the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+load bats_helper
+
+setup() {
+  common_clean_setup
+}
+
+teardown() {
+  # save a snapshot of SOLR_HOME for failed tests
+  save_home_on_failure
+
+  solr stop --all >/dev/null 2>&1
+
+  # Restore modules directory if it was renamed
+  if [ -d "${SOLR_TIP}/modules.backup" ]; then
+    mv "${SOLR_TIP}/modules.backup" "${SOLR_TIP}/modules"
+  fi
+}
+
+@test "start -e techproducts works in slim distribution (no modules dir)" {
+  # Simulate a slim distribution by temporarily hiding the Solr modules directory
+  # Note: SOLR_TIP points to the distribution directory (e.g., solr/)
+  # which contains modules/ (Solr modules) and server/ (Jetty server)
+  if [ -d "${SOLR_TIP}/modules" ]; then
+    mv "${SOLR_TIP}/modules" "${SOLR_TIP}/modules.backup"
+  fi
+
+  # Verify Solr modules directory is not present (slim distribution)
+  run test -d "${SOLR_TIP}/modules"
+  assert_failure
+
+  # Start techproducts example - should work without Solr modules
+  solr start -e techproducts --no-prompt
+
+  # Verify Solr started successfully
+  solr assert --started http://localhost:${SOLR_PORT} --timeout 10000
+
+  # Verify the techproducts collection was created
+  run curl -s "http://localhost:${SOLR_PORT}/solr/admin/collections?action=LIST"
+  assert_output --partial '"techproducts"'
+
+  # Verify documents were indexed (techproducts has 31 docs)
+  run curl -s "http://localhost:${SOLR_PORT}/solr/techproducts/select?q=*:*&rows=0"
+  assert_output --partial '"numFound":31'
+
+  # Verify that module system properties were NOT set (since modules dir doesn't exist)
+  # The solr process should NOT have -Dsolr.modules=... in its command line
+  run ps aux
+  refute_output --partial "solr.modules=clustering"
+}
+
+@test "start -e techproducts includes modules when available" {
+  # Verify modules directory exists
+  run test -d "${SOLR_TIP}/modules"
+  assert_success
+
+  # Start techproducts example
+  run solr start -e techproducts --no-prompt
+  assert_success
+
+  # Verify Solr started with module-related system properties
+  # Check the logs or process for the module properties
+  run ps aux
+  assert_output --partial "solr.modules=clustering,extraction,langid,ltr,scripting"
+
+  # Verify Solr started successfully
+  solr assert --started http://localhost:${SOLR_PORT} --timeout 10000
+}
\ No newline at end of file