diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-linux.yml b/.github/workflows/release-linux.yml
index d09a7df1..9348b28d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-linux.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-linux.yml
@@ -72,15 +72,38 @@ jobs:
           cp target/release-max/gb-desktop "${package_dir}/"
           cp README.md LICENSE-MIT LICENSE-APACHE "${package_dir}/"
 
-          sdl_libs=(target/release-max/libSDL3*.so*)
-          if ((${#sdl_libs[@]} == 0)); then
-            echo "expected SDL3 shared libraries under target/release-max" >&2
-            exit 1
+          sdl_libs=()
+          sdl_lib_names=()
+          while IFS= read -r sdl_lib; do
+            sdl_name="$(basename "${sdl_lib}")"
+            sdl_seen=false
+            for existing_name in "${sdl_lib_names[@]}"; do
+              if [[ "${existing_name}" == "${sdl_name}" ]]; then
+                sdl_seen=true
+                break
+              fi
+            done
+            if [[ "${sdl_seen}" == false ]]; then
+              sdl_lib_names+=("${sdl_name}")
+              sdl_libs+=("${sdl_lib}")
+            fi
+          done < <(
+            find target/release-max \( -type f -o -type l \) -name 'libSDL3*.so*' -print |
+              sort -u
+          )
+          if ((${#sdl_libs[@]} > 0)); then
+            cp "${sdl_libs[@]}" "${package_dir}/"
+            patchelf --set-rpath '$ORIGIN' "${package_dir}/gb-desktop"
+          else
+            ldd_output="$(ldd "${package_dir}/gb-desktop" 2>&1 || true)"
+            if grep -q 'libSDL3' <<<"${ldd_output}"; then
+              printf '%s\n' "${ldd_output}"
+              echo "gb-desktop dynamically links SDL3 but no bundled libSDL3 shared object was emitted" >&2
+              exit 1
+            fi
           fi
-          cp "${sdl_libs[@]}" "${package_dir}/"
 
           chmod +x "${package_dir}/gb-desktop"
-          patchelf --set-rpath '$ORIGIN' "${package_dir}/gb-desktop"
           "${package_dir}/gb-desktop" --help
 
           tar -C dist -czf "${tar_path}" "${package_name}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-macos.yml b/.github/workflows/release-macos.yml
index 05a866f6..8498595e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-macos.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-macos.yml
@@ -48,26 +48,46 @@ jobs:
           printf 'APPL????' > "${app_root}/Contents/PkgInfo"
           cp README.md LICENSE-MIT LICENSE-APACHE "${package_dir}/"
 
-          sdl_libs=(target/release-max/libSDL3*.dylib)
-          if ((${#sdl_libs[@]} == 0)); then
-            echo "expected SDL3 dylibs under target/release-max" >&2
+          sdl_libs=()
+          sdl_lib_names=()
+          while IFS= read -r sdl_lib; do
+            sdl_name="$(basename "${sdl_lib}")"
+            sdl_seen=false
+            for existing_name in "${sdl_lib_names[@]}"; do
+              if [[ "${existing_name}" == "${sdl_name}" ]]; then
+                sdl_seen=true
+                break
+              fi
+            done
+            if [[ "${sdl_seen}" == false ]]; then
+              sdl_lib_names+=("${sdl_name}")
+              sdl_libs+=("${sdl_lib}")
+            fi
+          done < <(
+            find target/release-max \( -type f -o -type l \) -name 'libSDL3*.dylib' -print |
+              sort -u
+          )
+          if ((${#sdl_libs[@]} > 0)); then
+            for dylib in "${sdl_libs[@]}"; do
+              dylib_name="$(basename "${dylib}")"
+              cp "${dylib}" "${macos_dir}/${dylib_name}"
+              chmod +w "${macos_dir}/${dylib_name}"
+              install_name_tool -id "@executable_path/${dylib_name}" "${macos_dir}/${dylib_name}"
+            done
+
+            bundled_sdl="$(basename "${sdl_libs[0]}")"
+            while IFS= read -r dependency; do
+              case "${dependency}" in
+                *libSDL3*.dylib*)
+                  install_name_tool -change "${dependency}" "@executable_path/${bundled_sdl}" "${macos_dir}/gb-desktop"
+                  ;;
+              esac
+            done < <(otool -L "${macos_dir}/gb-desktop" | tail -n +2 | awk '{print $1}')
+          elif otool -L "${macos_dir}/gb-desktop" | grep -q 'libSDL3'; then
+            otool -L "${macos_dir}/gb-desktop"
+            echo "gb-desktop dynamically links SDL3 but no bundled libSDL3 dylib was emitted" >&2
             exit 1
           fi
-          for dylib in "${sdl_libs[@]}"; do
-            dylib_name="$(basename "${dylib}")"
-            cp "${dylib}" "${macos_dir}/${dylib_name}"
-            chmod +w "${macos_dir}/${dylib_name}"
-            install_name_tool -id "@executable_path/${dylib_name}" "${macos_dir}/${dylib_name}"
-          done
-
-          bundled_sdl="$(basename "${sdl_libs[0]}")"
-          while IFS= read -r dependency; do
-            case "${dependency}" in
-              *libSDL3*.dylib*)
-                install_name_tool -change "${dependency}" "@executable_path/${bundled_sdl}" "${macos_dir}/gb-desktop"
-                ;;
-            esac
-          done < <(otool -L "${macos_dir}/gb-desktop" | tail -n +2 | awk '{print $1}')
 
           chmod +x "${macos_dir}/gb-desktop"
           codesign --force --deep --sign - "${app_root}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml b/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml
index f1e79a59..968112ae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-windows.yml
@@ -26,9 +26,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build desktop release
         run: cargo build --profile release-max -p gb-desktop --features gb-desktop/sdl3-build-from-source
 
-      - name: Smoke test desktop CLI
-        run: target\release-max\gb-desktop.exe --help
-
       - name: Package Windows binary
         shell: pwsh
         run: |
@@ -42,9 +39,15 @@ jobs:
           Copy-Item -Path "target\release-max\gb-desktop.exe" -Destination $packageDir -Force
           Copy-Item -Path "README.md", "LICENSE-MIT", "LICENSE-APACHE" -Destination $packageDir -Force
 
-          Get-ChildItem -Path "target\release-max" -Recurse -Filter "*.dll" -File |
-            Sort-Object -Property FullName -Unique |
-            Copy-Item -Destination $packageDir -Force
+          $packageDlls = @(
+            Get-ChildItem -Path "target\release-max" -Recurse -Filter "*.dll" -File |
+            Sort-Object -Property FullName -Unique
+          )
+          if ($packageDlls.Count -gt 0) {
+            $packageDlls | Copy-Item -Destination $packageDir -Force
+          }
+
+          & (Join-Path $packageDir "gb-desktop.exe") --help
 
           Compress-Archive -Path (Join-Path $packageDir "*") -DestinationPath $zipPath -Force
 
diff --git a/docs/frontends/DESKTOP.md b/docs/frontends/DESKTOP.md
index 5d541e9f..e1b66013 100644
--- a/docs/frontends/DESKTOP.md
+++ b/docs/frontends/DESKTOP.md
@@ -36,13 +36,13 @@ cargo run --profile release-max -p gb-desktop -- [path/to/rom.gb]
 
 ## Release packages
 
-The GitHub release workflows package only the SDL3 desktop frontend. They all build `gb-desktop` with `cargo build --profile release-max -p gb-desktop --features gb-desktop/sdl3-build-from-source`, then run `gb-desktop --help` from the packaged runtime layout so the artifact proves that the executable can find its bundled SDL3 runtime before upload.
+The GitHub release workflows package only the SDL3 desktop frontend. They all build `gb-desktop` with `cargo build --profile release-max -p gb-desktop --features gb-desktop/sdl3-build-from-source`, then run `gb-desktop --help` from the packaged runtime layout so the artifact proves that the executable can start with whatever SDL3 runtime form the source-build path emitted before upload.
 
 The workflows live under `.github/workflows/`:
 
-- `release-windows.yml` creates `gb-cycle-windows-x86_64.zip` on `windows-latest`, containing `gb-desktop.exe`, `README.md`, both license files, and every SDL3 `.dll` copied by the source-build path under `target/release-max`.
-- `release-linux.yml` creates `gb-cycle-linux-x86_64.tar.gz` on `ubuntu-latest`, containing `gb-desktop`, `README.md`, both license files, and `libSDL3*.so*` from `target/release-max`; the binary is patched with an `$ORIGIN` rpath so it loads the bundled SDL3 shared object from the unpacked artifact directory without requiring `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`.
-- `release-macos.yml` creates only the Apple Silicon `gb-cycle-macos-aarch64.zip` package on `macos-latest`, containing `GB Cycle.app`, `README.md`, both license files, and `libSDL3*.dylib` inside `Contents/MacOS`; the dylib install names are rewritten to `@executable_path`, the app is ad-hoc signed after that rewrite, and the bundle reuses `crates/gb-desktop/macos/Info.plist` so the release artifact carries the same Pocket Camera usage string as the local macOS launcher.
+- `release-windows.yml` creates `gb-cycle-windows-x86_64.zip` on `windows-latest`, containing `gb-desktop.exe`, `README.md`, both license files, and every `.dll` emitted recursively by the source-build path under `target/release-max`.
+- `release-linux.yml` creates `gb-cycle-linux-x86_64.tar.gz` on `ubuntu-latest`, containing `gb-desktop`, `README.md`, both license files, and any `libSDL3*.so*` found recursively under `target/release-max` and deduplicated by library filename; when a shared object is present, the binary is patched with an `$ORIGIN` rpath so it loads the bundled SDL3 shared object from the unpacked artifact directory without requiring `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`, and when no shared object is present the workflow fails if `ldd` still reports an SDL3 dynamic dependency.
+- `release-macos.yml` creates only the Apple Silicon `gb-cycle-macos-aarch64.zip` package on `macos-latest`, containing `GB Cycle.app`, `README.md`, both license files, and any `libSDL3*.dylib` found recursively under `target/release-max` and deduplicated by library filename inside `Contents/MacOS`; when a dylib is present, the dylib install names are rewritten to `@executable_path` before ad-hoc signing, when no dylib is present the workflow fails if `otool -L` still reports an SDL3 dynamic dependency, and the bundle reuses `crates/gb-desktop/macos/Info.plist` so the release artifact carries the same Pocket Camera usage string as the local macOS launcher.
 
 Manual `workflow_dispatch` runs are for artifact validation and upload the package through `actions/upload-artifact`. Tag pushes matching `v*` additionally attach the same package to the GitHub Release via `softprops/action-gh-release`; do not use a non-release branch tag unless you intentionally want to test the release-asset path and then clean up the temporary release/tag afterward.