diff --git a/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py b/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py
index 8fb0a68deba535..b40784c185735d 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_zipapp.py
@@ -185,8 +185,13 @@ def test_main_and_main_py(self):
         source.mkdir()
         (source / '__main__.py').touch()
         target = self.tmpdir / 'source.pyz'
-        with self.assertRaises(zipapp.ZipAppError):
-            zipapp.create_archive(str(source), str(target), main='pkg.mod:fn')
+        for main in ('pkg.mod:fn', ''):
+            with self.subTest(main=main):
+                target.write_bytes(b'original content')
+                with self.assertRaisesRegex(zipapp.ZipAppError,
+                                            'Cannot specify entry point'):
+                    zipapp.create_archive(str(source), str(target), main=main)
+                self.assertEqual(target.read_bytes(), b'original content')
 
     def test_main_written(self):
         # Test that the __main__.py is written correctly.
@@ -227,8 +232,10 @@ def test_main_validation(self):
         ]
         for main in problems:
             with self.subTest(main=main):
-                with self.assertRaises(zipapp.ZipAppError):
+                with self.assertRaisesRegex(zipapp.ZipAppError,
+                                            'Invalid entry point:'):
                     zipapp.create_archive(str(source), str(target), main=main)
+                self.assertFalse(target.exists())
 
     def test_default_no_shebang(self):
         # Test that no shebang line is written to the target by default.
@@ -328,6 +335,19 @@ def test_read_from_fileobj(self):
         zipapp.create_archive(temp_archive, new_target, interpreter='python2.7')
         self.assertStartsWith(new_target.getvalue(), b'#!python2.7\n')
 
+    def test_main_with_existing_archive(self):
+        archive = self.tmpdir / 'source.pyz'
+        with zipfile.ZipFile(archive, 'w') as z:
+            z.writestr('__main__.py', '')
+        target = self.tmpdir / 'target.pyz'
+        for main in ('pkg.mod:fn', ''):
+            for source in (archive, io.BytesIO(archive.read_bytes())):
+                with self.subTest(main=main, source=source):
+                    target.write_bytes(b'original content')
+                    with self.assertRaises(zipapp.ZipAppError):
+                        zipapp.create_archive(source, target, main=main)
+                    self.assertEqual(target.read_bytes(), b'original content')
+
     def test_remove_shebang(self):
         # Test that we can remove the shebang from a file.
         source = self.tmpdir / 'source'
@@ -428,11 +448,14 @@ def test_cmdline_copy_change_main(self):
         # Test copying an archive doesn't allow changing __main__.py.
         original = self.make_archive()
         target = self.tmpdir / 'target.pyz'
-        args = [str(original), '-o', str(target), '-m', 'foo:bar']
-        with self.assertRaises(SystemExit) as cm:
-            zipapp.main(args)
-        # Program should exit with a non-zero return code.
-        self.assertTrue(cm.exception.code)
+        for main in ('foo:bar', ''):
+            with self.subTest(main=main):
+                args = [str(original), '-o', str(target), '-m', main]
+                with self.assertRaises(SystemExit) as cm:
+                    zipapp.main(args)
+                # Program should exit with a non-zero return code.
+                self.assertTrue(cm.exception.code)
+                self.assertFalse(target.exists())
 
     @patch('sys.stdout', new_callable=io.StringIO)
     def test_info_command(self, mock_stdout):
diff --git a/Lib/zipapp.py b/Lib/zipapp.py
index a1cef18ada9d05..cb73c0beb7e4e1 100644
--- a/Lib/zipapp.py
+++ b/Lib/zipapp.py
@@ -103,6 +103,8 @@ def create_archive(source, target=None, interpreter=None, main=None,
             source_is_file = True
 
     if source_is_file:
+        if main is not None:
+            raise ZipAppError("Cannot change the main function when copying")
         _copy_archive(source, target, interpreter)
         return
 
@@ -110,14 +112,14 @@ def create_archive(source, target=None, interpreter=None, main=None,
     if not source.exists():
         raise ZipAppError("Source does not exist")
     has_main = (source / '__main__.py').is_file()
-    if main and has_main:
+    if main is not None and has_main:
         raise ZipAppError(
             "Cannot specify entry point if the source has __main__.py")
-    if not (main or has_main):
+    if main is None and not has_main:
         raise ZipAppError("Archive has no entry point")
 
     main_py = None
-    if main:
+    if main is not None:
         # Check that main has the right format.
         mod, sep, fn = main.partition(':')
         mod_ok = all(part.isidentifier() for part in mod.split('.'))
@@ -219,7 +221,7 @@ def main(args=None):
         if args.output is None or (os.path.exists(args.output) and
                                    os.path.samefile(args.source, args.output)):
             raise SystemExit("In-place editing of archives is not supported")
-        if args.main:
+        if args.main is not None:
             raise SystemExit("Cannot change the main function when copying")
 
     create_archive(args.source, args.output,
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2026-10-13-21-20-01.gh-issue-159354.zIpMai.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2026-10-13-21-20-01.gh-issue-159354.zIpMai.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..8cdc40b1e72c03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2026-10-13-21-20-01.gh-issue-159354.zIpMai.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Fix :func:`zipapp.create_archive` to reject a ``main`` argument when copying
+an existing archive, instead of silently ignoring it. An empty ``main`` is
+also rejected when creating an archive from a directory.