diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release-app.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/release-app.yaml
index 05f31c1..6a16afa 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release-app.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release-app.yaml
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ jobs:
       RELEASE_TAG: latest
       ARCHIVE_NAME: shinoa-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
       CHECKSUM_NAME: shinoa-linux-x86_64.tar.gz.sha256
+      TDLIB_ARCHIVE_URL: ${{ gitea.server_url }}/${{ gitea.repository }}/releases/download/tdlib/tdlib-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
     steps:
       - name: Check out repository
         uses: https://github.com/actions/checkout@v4
@@ -44,19 +45,27 @@ jobs:
             pkg-config \
             zlib1g-dev
 
+      - name: Download prebuilt TDLib
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          curl --fail-with-body -L "$TDLIB_ARCHIVE_URL" -o tdlib-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
+          tar -xzf tdlib-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
+          test -f tdlib/include/td/telegram/td_json_client.h
+          test -f tdlib/lib/libtdjson.so
+
       - name: Build release bundle
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           rm -rf build dist
 
-          cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
+          cmake -S . -B build \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+            -DTELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_ROOT="$PWD/tdlib"
           cmake --build build -j"$(nproc)"
 
           install -dm755 dist/usr/bin dist/usr/lib dist/usr/share/doc/shinoa
           install -m755 build/shinoa dist/usr/bin/shinoa
-          install -m755 build/_deps/tdlib-build/libtdjson.so.1.8.63 \
-            dist/usr/lib/libtdjson.so.1.8.63
-          ln -sf libtdjson.so.1.8.63 dist/usr/lib/libtdjson.so
+          cp -a tdlib/lib/libtdjson.so* dist/usr/lib/
           install -m644 README.md dist/usr/share/doc/shinoa/README.md
 
           patchelf --remove-rpath dist/usr/bin/shinoa
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 5d27cba..154bef4 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ find_program(CLANG_FORMAT_BIN clang-format)
 include(FetchContent)
 
 option(TELEGRAM_TUI_USE_SYSTEM_TDLIB "Use an installed TDLib package instead of fetching it." OFF)
+set(TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_ROOT ""
+    CACHE PATH "Path to a prebuilt TDLib root containing include/ and lib/ directories.")
 
 set(CURSES_NEED_WIDE TRUE)
 find_package(Curses REQUIRED)
@@ -46,7 +48,27 @@ configure_file(
   @ONLY
 )
 
-if(TELEGRAM_TUI_USE_SYSTEM_TDLIB)
+if(TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_ROOT)
+  find_path(TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_INCLUDE_DIR
+    NAMES td/telegram/td_json_client.h
+    PATHS "${TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_ROOT}/include"
+    NO_DEFAULT_PATH
+    REQUIRED
+  )
+  find_library(TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_LIBRARY
+    NAMES tdjson libtdjson.so
+    PATHS "${TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_ROOT}/lib"
+    NO_DEFAULT_PATH
+    REQUIRED
+  )
+
+  add_library(TdJsonPrebuilt SHARED IMPORTED GLOBAL)
+  set_target_properties(TdJsonPrebuilt PROPERTIES
+    IMPORTED_LOCATION "${TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_LIBRARY}"
+    INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES "${TELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_INCLUDE_DIR}"
+  )
+  add_library(Td::TdJson ALIAS TdJsonPrebuilt)
+elseif(TELEGRAM_TUI_USE_SYSTEM_TDLIB)
   find_package(Td REQUIRED)
 else()
   set(TD_ENABLE_JNI OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8a66c3f..bfd7cff 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ A minimal Telegram terminal client built with `ncurses` and TDLib.
 - TDLib build dependencies (`gperf`, `openssl`, `zlib`, `git`)
 
 The project vendors TDLib automatically by default. If you already have TDLib installed with CMake package metadata, configure with `-DTELEGRAM_TUI_USE_SYSTEM_TDLIB=ON`.
+If you have a prebuilt TDLib bundle with `include/` and `lib/`, configure with
+`-DTELEGRAM_TUI_TDLIB_ROOT=/path/to/tdlib`.
 
 ## Build
 
@@ -62,8 +64,22 @@ archive plus checksum to the Gitea Generic Package Registry under the `tdlib` pa
 It also refreshes a `latest/tdlib-latest.json` manifest with the newest published version.
 
 The repository also includes [`.gitea/workflows/release-app.yaml`](.gitea/workflows/release-app.yaml),
-which builds a rolling `latest` release asset containing `usr/bin/shinoa` and the bundled
-`usr/lib/libtdjson.so*`. The root `PKGBUILD` installs that prebuilt release as `shinoa-bin`.
+which downloads a prebuilt TDLib bundle from this repository's `tdlib` release tag, builds a
+rolling `latest` app release, and publishes an archive containing `usr/bin/shinoa` plus the
+bundled `usr/lib/libtdjson.so*`. The root `PKGBUILD` installs that prebuilt release as
+`shinoa-bin`.
+
+To prepare the TDLib bundle on your own machine:
+
+```bash
+cmake -S td -B td-build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$PWD/td-install"
+cmake --build td-build -j"$(nproc)"
+cmake --install td-build
+./scripts/package-tdlib.sh td-install tdlib-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
+```
+
+Upload `tdlib-linux-x86_64.tar.gz` to a release tagged `tdlib` in this repository. After that,
+the `Release App` workflow can consume it and publish the app bundle.
 
 ## Keys
 
diff --git a/scripts/package-tdlib.sh b/scripts/package-tdlib.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..5c30aa1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/package-tdlib.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+if [ "$#" -lt 1 ] || [ "$#" -gt 2 ]; then
+  echo "usage: $0 <tdlib-root> [output-tar.gz]" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+tdlib_root="$(realpath "$1")"
+output_path="${2:-tdlib-linux-x86_64.tar.gz}"
+output_path="$(realpath -m "$output_path")"
+
+include_dir="$tdlib_root/include"
+lib_dir="$tdlib_root/lib"
+
+if [ ! -f "$include_dir/td/telegram/td_json_client.h" ]; then
+  echo "missing TDLib header: $include_dir/td/telegram/td_json_client.h" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! compgen -G "$lib_dir/libtdjson.so*" >/dev/null; then
+  echo "missing TDLib shared library under: $lib_dir" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+workdir="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$workdir"' EXIT
+
+mkdir -p "$workdir/tdlib"
+cp -a "$include_dir" "$workdir/tdlib/include"
+cp -a "$lib_dir" "$workdir/tdlib/lib"
+
+tar -C "$workdir" -czf "$output_path" tdlib
+sha256sum "$output_path" > "${output_path}.sha256"
+
+echo "wrote $output_path"
+echo "wrote ${output_path}.sha256"