diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-linux.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build-linux.yml
index d80225f..0d30060 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-linux.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-linux.yml
@@ -63,8 +63,6 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build Tauri app
         run: npm run tauri build
-        env:
-          TAURI_CONFIG: '{"bundle":{"resources":["sidecar.zip"]}}'
 
       # ── Release ──
       - name: Upload to release
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-macos.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build-macos.yml
index 40ea942..7447a3f 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-macos.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-macos.yml
@@ -62,8 +62,6 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build Tauri app
         run: npm run tauri build
-        env:
-          TAURI_CONFIG: '{"bundle":{"resources":["sidecar.zip"]}}'
 
       # ── Release ──
       - name: Upload to release
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml
index 608470a..aa0fca0 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build-windows.yml
@@ -72,8 +72,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build Tauri app
         shell: powershell
         run: npm run tauri build
-        env:
-          TAURI_CONFIG: '{"bundle":{"resources":["sidecar.zip"]}}'
 
       # ── Release ──
       - name: Upload to release
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 59a5935..62734c7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -50,5 +50,6 @@ Thumbs.db
 # Sidecar build artifacts
 src-tauri/binaries/*
 !src-tauri/binaries/.gitkeep
+src-tauri/sidecar.zip
 python/dist/
 python/build/
diff --git a/src-tauri/build.rs b/src-tauri/build.rs
index d860e1e..e8cbebf 100644
--- a/src-tauri/build.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/build.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,21 @@
 fn main() {
+    // Ensure sidecar.zip exists so tauri-build doesn't fail.
+    // CI replaces this placeholder with the real PyInstaller sidecar archive.
+    let zip_path = std::path::Path::new("sidecar.zip");
+    if !zip_path.exists() {
+        // Minimal valid zip (empty archive): end-of-central-directory record
+        let empty_zip: [u8; 22] = [
+            0x50, 0x4b, 0x05, 0x06, // EOCD signature
+            0x00, 0x00, // disk number
+            0x00, 0x00, // disk with central dir
+            0x00, 0x00, // entries on this disk
+            0x00, 0x00, // total entries
+            0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // central dir size
+            0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // central dir offset
+            0x00, 0x00, // comment length
+        ];
+        std::fs::write(zip_path, empty_zip).expect("Failed to create placeholder sidecar.zip");
+    }
+
     tauri_build::build()
 }
diff --git a/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json b/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
index be4cb48..ecb89fb 100644
--- a/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
+++ b/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
     "category": "Utility",
     "shortDescription": "Transcribe audio/video with speaker identification",
     "longDescription": "Voice to Notes is a desktop application that transcribes audio and video recordings with speaker identification, synchronized playback, and AI-powered analysis. Export to SRT, WebVTT, ASS captions, or plain text.",
+    "resources": ["sidecar.zip"],
     "copyright": "Voice to Notes Contributors",
     "license": "MIT",
     "linux": {