diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build.yml
index f70bb70..9219675 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build.yml
@@ -68,7 +68,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build desktop app
         run: |
           cd cmd/app
-          wails build -trimpath -ldflags="-s -w" -tags webkit2_41 -o ../../dist/waste-linux-amd64
+          wails build -trimpath -ldflags="-s -w" -tags webkit2_41
+          cp build/bin/waste ../../dist/waste-linux-amd64
 
       # ── Publish release (tags only) ─────────────────────────────────────────
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b00618a..83238b4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -21,6 +21,51 @@ waste-go/
 
 ---
 
+## Prebuilt binaries
+
+Every tagged release publishes cross-compiled binaries — no Go toolchain required. Grab them from the repo's **Releases** page:
+
+```
+https://repo.explewd.com/explewd/waste-go/releases
+```
+
+| File | What it is | Run it on |
+|---|---|---|
+| `waste-daemon-<os>-<arch>` | The peer process — your identity, mesh connections, file shares | Each friend's own machine |
+| `waste-anchor-<os>-<arch>` | The signaling relay (no message content ever passes through it) | One server you control (VPS) |
+
+`<os>` is `linux`, `darwin` (macOS), or `windows`; `<arch>` is `amd64` or `arm64` (Windows builds are amd64 only). Windows binaries have a `.exe` suffix.
+
+**Linux / macOS:**
+
+```bash
+curl -LO https://repo.explewd.com/explewd/waste-go/releases/download/<tag>/waste-daemon-linux-amd64
+chmod +x waste-daemon-linux-amd64
+./waste-daemon-linux-amd64 -alias yourname -data-dir ~/.waste --join 'waste:eyJ...'
+```
+
+> **macOS Gatekeeper:** unsigned binaries downloaded from a browser get a quarantine flag and macOS will refuse to run them ("cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified"). Clear it once after downloading: `xattr -d com.apple.quarantine waste-daemon-darwin-arm64` (or right-click → Open the first time, which prompts for an override).
+
+**Windows:** download the `.exe`, then run it from PowerShell or `cmd.exe`:
+
+```powershell
+.\waste-daemon-windows-amd64.exe -alias yourname -data-dir C:\waste --join "waste:eyJ..."
+```
+
+SmartScreen may warn about an unrecognized publisher on first run — these binaries aren't code-signed. Click "More info" → "Run anyway".
+
+Once the daemon is running, drive it with the [TUI](#terminal-ui) (`./cmd/tui` built locally, or the web UI in [daemon mode](#daemon-mode-for-users-running-the-daemon-locally)) — the daemon itself has no UI of its own, it just exposes the local IPC API on port 17337.
+
+The `waste-anchor` binary is for whoever is hosting a network — see [Hosting on a VPS](#hosting-on-a-vps) below for the full anchor + web UI setup. For a quick local anchor (e.g. testing on a LAN), just run:
+
+```bash
+./waste-anchor-linux-amd64 -bind 0.0.0.0:8080
+```
+
+> **No desktop app build in the current release.** A native Wails desktop app (`cmd/app/`) exists in the source tree, but the CI step that packages it for releases was broken (wrong output path) until this fix — earlier tagged releases only have daemon/anchor binaries. The next tag will include `waste-linux-amd64`. Until then, build it yourself with `./build-app.sh` (see [Desktop app (Wails)](#desktop-app-wails) below).
+
+---
+
 ## Hosting on a VPS
 
 You need two things on the server: the **anchor** (signaling process) and the **web UI** (static files). Both are served through the same domain via Nginx Proxy Manager.