diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 1aeac12..49fada6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -44,11 +44,8 @@ jobs:
           cargo test --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --test legacy_parity
           cargo test --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --test security_regressions
 
-      - name: Build release binary
-        run: cargo build --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --release
-
-      - name: Build native app bundle
-        run: ./scripts/build-native-app.sh
+      - name: Build universal release binaries
+        run: ./scripts/build-universal-release.sh
 
       - name: Build local source tarball for Homebrew smoke
         id: source_tarball
@@ -99,9 +96,6 @@ jobs:
           ./rust/target/release/apw --version
           ./rust/target/release/apw status --json
 
-      - name: Build native app bundle
-        run: ./scripts/build-native-app.sh
-
       - name: Homebrew smoke install from source tarball
         env:
           APW_SRC_TARBALL: ${{ steps.source_tarball.outputs.path }}
@@ -150,6 +144,9 @@ jobs:
           tar -tzf "$archive" | grep -qx 'APW.app/Contents/Info.plist'
           tar -tzf "$archive" | grep -qx 'APW.app/Contents/MacOS/APW'
 
+      - name: Validate universal release binaries
+        run: ./scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh
+
       - name: Publish release assets
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
         with:
diff --git a/docs/INSTALLATION.md b/docs/INSTALLATION.md
index b6de7cd..d36a54b 100644
--- a/docs/INSTALLATION.md
+++ b/docs/INSTALLATION.md
@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@ The resulting binary is:
 rust/target/release/apw
 ```
 
+To build release-equivalent macOS artifacts from source, including universal
+`arm64` and `x86_64` slices for both the CLI and `APW.app`, run:
+
+```bash
+./scripts/build-universal-release.sh
+./scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh
+```
+
 ### Install manually
 
 ```bash
@@ -54,6 +62,16 @@ apw
 APW.app/
 ```
 
+Release archives are built as universal macOS artifacts. Verify the architecture
+slices after extracting an archive with:
+
+```bash
+lipo -archs ./apw
+lipo -archs ./APW.app/Contents/MacOS/APW
+```
+
+Both commands must include `arm64` and `x86_64`.
+
 Extract the archive and keep `apw` beside `APW.app` while installing the
 per-user app bundle:
 
@@ -233,8 +251,8 @@ cargo fmt --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml -- --check
 cargo clippy --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --all-targets -- -D warnings
 cargo test --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --all-targets
 cargo test --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --test native_app_e2e
-cargo build --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --release
-./scripts/build-native-app.sh
+./scripts/build-universal-release.sh
+./scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh
 ```
 
 Optional parity and release helpers:
diff --git a/docs/SECURITY_POSTURE_AND_TESTING.md b/docs/SECURITY_POSTURE_AND_TESTING.md
index c6b4f14..a619fd3 100644
--- a/docs/SECURITY_POSTURE_AND_TESTING.md
+++ b/docs/SECURITY_POSTURE_AND_TESTING.md
@@ -60,8 +60,8 @@ cargo clippy --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --all-targets -- -D warnings
 cargo test --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --all-targets
 cargo test --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --test legacy_parity
 cargo test --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --test native_app_e2e
-cargo build --manifest-path rust/Cargo.toml --release
-./scripts/build-native-app.sh
+./scripts/build-universal-release.sh
+./scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh
 ```
 
 ## Security-focused regression coverage
diff --git a/scripts/build-apw-release.sh b/scripts/build-apw-release.sh
index 5bd1495..9c242ec 100755
--- a/scripts/build-apw-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-apw-release.sh
@@ -3,11 +3,13 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 print_help() {
   cat <<'EOF'
-Usage: ./scripts/build-apw-release.sh [--install|--no-install] [--brew-smoke|--no-brew-smoke]
+Usage: ./scripts/build-apw-release.sh [--universal|--no-universal] [--install|--no-install] [--brew-smoke|--no-brew-smoke]
                                     [--install-dir /usr/local/bin] [--skip-version]
                                     [--archive-smoke|--no-archive-smoke]
 
 Options:
+  --universal           build universal arm64 + x86_64 release binaries (default)
+  --no-universal        build only the host architecture
   --install              install apw to --install-dir (defaults to /usr/local/bin)
   --no-install           skip installation (default)
   --install-dir PATH     destination directory for installation (default /usr/local/bin)
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@ CARGO_MANIFEST="$ROOT_DIR/rust/Cargo.toml"
 APP_BUNDLE_PATH="$ROOT_DIR/native-app/dist/APW.app"
 VERSION="$(awk -F ' = ' '/^version = / {gsub(/"/, "", $2); print $2; exit}' "$CARGO_MANIFEST")"
 ARCHIVE_PATH="$ROOT_DIR/dist/apw-macos-v${VERSION}.tar.gz"
+UNIVERSAL_BUILD=1
 INSTALL_BIN=0
 INSTALL_DIR="/usr/local/bin"
 BREW_SMOKE=0
@@ -44,6 +47,12 @@ fi
 
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   case "$1" in
+    --universal)
+      UNIVERSAL_BUILD=1
+      ;;
+    --no-universal)
+      UNIVERSAL_BUILD=0
+      ;;
     --install)
       INSTALL_BIN=1
       ;;
@@ -97,15 +106,19 @@ if [ ! -f "$CARGO_MANIFEST" ]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-printf '\n[1/5] Building APW app bundle...\n'
-cd "$ROOT_DIR"
-"$ROOT_DIR/scripts/build-native-app.sh"
-
-printf '\n[2/5] Building release binary...\n'
 cd "$ROOT_DIR"
-cargo build --manifest-path "$CARGO_MANIFEST" --release
+if [ "$UNIVERSAL_BUILD" -eq 1 ]; then
+  printf '\n[release] Building universal release binaries...\n'
+  "$ROOT_DIR/scripts/build-universal-release.sh"
+else
+  printf '\n[release] Building APW app bundle...\n'
+  "$ROOT_DIR/scripts/build-native-app.sh"
+
+  printf '\n[release] Building release binary...\n'
+  cargo build --manifest-path "$CARGO_MANIFEST" --release
+fi
 
-printf '\n[3/5] Packaging release archive...\n'
+printf '\n[release] Packaging release archive...\n'
 rm -rf "$ROOT_DIR/dist/apw" "$ROOT_DIR/dist/APW.app"
 mkdir -p "$ROOT_DIR/dist"
 cp "$BIN_PATH" "$ROOT_DIR/dist/apw"
@@ -115,13 +128,18 @@ rm -rf "$ROOT_DIR/dist/apw" "$ROOT_DIR/dist/APW.app"
 echo "Created: $ARCHIVE_PATH"
 
 if [ "$SKIP_VERSION_CHECK" -ne 1 ]; then
-  printf '\n[4/5] Validating binary health...\n'
+  printf '\n[release] Validating binary health...\n'
   "$BIN_PATH" --version
   "$BIN_PATH" status --json
 fi
 
+if [ "$UNIVERSAL_BUILD" -eq 1 ]; then
+  printf '\n[release] Validating universal binary slices...\n'
+  "$ROOT_DIR/scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh" "$BIN_PATH" "$APP_BUNDLE_PATH/Contents/MacOS/APW"
+fi
+
 if [ "$ARCHIVE_SMOKE" -eq 1 ]; then
-  printf '\n[5/5] Validating release archive smoke...\n'
+  printf '\n[release] Validating release archive smoke...\n'
   smoke_dir="$(mktemp -d)"
   smoke_home="$(mktemp -d)"
   cleanup_smoke() {
diff --git a/scripts/build-native-app.sh b/scripts/build-native-app.sh
index d88ebff..a91bf6d 100755
--- a/scripts/build-native-app.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-native-app.sh
@@ -12,21 +12,51 @@ MACOS_DIR="$CONTENTS_DIR/MacOS"
 RESOURCES_DIR="$CONTENTS_DIR/Resources"
 PLIST_PATH="$CONTENTS_DIR/Info.plist"
 EXECUTABLE_PATH="$PACKAGE_DIR/.build/release/$EXECUTABLE_NAME"
+UNIVERSAL=0
 VERSION="$(awk -F ' = ' '$1 == "version" { gsub(/"/, "", $2); print $2; exit }' "$ROOT_DIR/rust/Cargo.toml")"
 
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --universal)
+      UNIVERSAL=1
+      ;;
+    -h|--help)
+      cat <<'HELP'
+Usage: ./scripts/build-native-app.sh [--universal]
+
+Build native-app/dist/APW.app.
+
+Options:
+  --universal  Build APW.app as a universal arm64 + x86_64 bundle.
+HELP
+      exit 0
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "Unknown argument: $1" >&2
+      exit 1
+      ;;
+  esac
+  shift
+done
+
 if [[ -z "$VERSION" ]]; then
   echo "Unable to determine APW version from rust/Cargo.toml" >&2
   exit 1
 fi
 
-swift build --package-path "$PACKAGE_DIR" -c release
+if [[ "$UNIVERSAL" -eq 1 ]]; then
+  swift build --package-path "$PACKAGE_DIR" -c release --arch arm64 --arch x86_64
+  EXECUTABLE_PATH="$PACKAGE_DIR/.build/apple/Products/Release/$EXECUTABLE_NAME"
+else
+  swift build --package-path "$PACKAGE_DIR" -c release
+fi
 
 rm -rf "$APP_DIR"
 mkdir -p "$MACOS_DIR" "$RESOURCES_DIR"
 cp "$EXECUTABLE_PATH" "$MACOS_DIR/$EXECUTABLE_NAME"
 chmod 0755 "$MACOS_DIR/$EXECUTABLE_NAME"
 
-RESOURCE_BUNDLE="$(find "$PACKAGE_DIR/.build" -path '*/release/*.bundle' -type d -name '*NativeAppLib*.bundle' | head -n 1 || true)"
+RESOURCE_BUNDLE="$(find "$PACKAGE_DIR/.build" \( -path '*/release/*.bundle' -o -path '*/Release/*.bundle' \) -type d -name '*NativeAppLib*.bundle' | head -n 1 || true)"
 if [[ -n "$RESOURCE_BUNDLE" ]]; then
   cp -R "$RESOURCE_BUNDLE" "$RESOURCES_DIR/$(basename "$RESOURCE_BUNDLE")"
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/build-universal-release.sh b/scripts/build-universal-release.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..522255f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/build-universal-release.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+print_help() {
+  cat <<'HELP'
+Usage: ./scripts/build-universal-release.sh
+
+Build universal arm64 + x86_64 release binaries:
+  - rust/target/release/apw
+  - native-app/dist/APW.app/Contents/MacOS/APW
+
+Requires macOS, rustup, cargo, SwiftPM, lipo, and vendored OpenSSL build tools.
+HELP
+}
+
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "-h" || "${1:-}" == "--help" ]]; then
+  print_help
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+CHECK_BUILD_INPUTS=0
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--check-build-inputs" ]]; then
+  CHECK_BUILD_INPUTS=1
+  shift
+fi
+
+if [[ $# -ne 0 ]]; then
+  echo "Unexpected arguments: $*" >&2
+  print_help >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+ROOT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+CARGO_MANIFEST="$ROOT_DIR/rust/Cargo.toml"
+CARGO_BIN="${CARGO_BIN:-cargo}"
+RUSTUP_BIN="${RUSTUP_BIN:-rustup}"
+LIPO_BIN="${LIPO_BIN:-lipo}"
+TARGETS=(aarch64-apple-darwin x86_64-apple-darwin)
+
+ensure_vendored_openssl_build_inputs() {
+  [[ "${OSTYPE:-}" == darwin* || "${APW_FORCE_OPENSSL_INPUT_CHECK:-}" == "1" ]] || return 0
+
+  local missing=()
+  for tool in cc make perl; do
+    if ! command -v "$tool" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      missing+=("$tool")
+    fi
+  done
+
+  if ((${#missing[@]} > 0)); then
+    echo "Missing required tool(s) for vendored OpenSSL build: ${missing[*]}" >&2
+    echo "Install Xcode Command Line Tools and Perl on the macOS release runner." >&2
+    echo "If intentionally using system OpenSSL, set OPENSSL_NO_VENDOR=1 and provide OPENSSL_DIR/PKG_CONFIG_PATH." >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+if [[ "$(uname -s)" != "Darwin" ]]; then
+  echo "Universal macOS release builds must run on macOS." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+ensure_vendored_openssl_build_inputs
+
+if [[ "$CHECK_BUILD_INPUTS" -eq 1 ]]; then
+  echo "Universal release build inputs are available."
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if ! command -v "$RUSTUP_BIN" >/dev/null 2>&1 && [[ -x "$HOME/.cargo/bin/rustup" ]]; then
+  RUSTUP_BIN="$HOME/.cargo/bin/rustup"
+fi
+
+RUSTUP_PATH="$(command -v "$RUSTUP_BIN" || true)"
+if [[ "$CARGO_BIN" == "cargo" && -n "$RUSTUP_PATH" && -x "$(dirname "$RUSTUP_PATH")/cargo" ]]; then
+  CARGO_BIN="$(dirname "$RUSTUP_PATH")/cargo"
+fi
+
+for tool in "$CARGO_BIN" "$RUSTUP_BIN" swift "$LIPO_BIN"; do
+  if ! command -v "$tool" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "Required tool not found: $tool" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+done
+
+for target in "${TARGETS[@]}"; do
+  "$RUSTUP_BIN" target add "$target"
+  "$CARGO_BIN" build --manifest-path "$CARGO_MANIFEST" --release --target "$target"
+done
+
+"$LIPO_BIN" -create \
+  "$ROOT_DIR/rust/target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/apw" \
+  "$ROOT_DIR/rust/target/x86_64-apple-darwin/release/apw" \
+  -output "$ROOT_DIR/rust/target/release/apw"
+chmod 0755 "$ROOT_DIR/rust/target/release/apw"
+
+"$ROOT_DIR/scripts/build-native-app.sh" --universal
+"$ROOT_DIR/scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh"
diff --git a/scripts/ci/run-fast-checks.sh b/scripts/ci/run-fast-checks.sh
index 46dacc7..564b845 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/run-fast-checks.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/run-fast-checks.sh
@@ -42,5 +42,7 @@ done < <(find .github/scripts scripts -type f -name '*.sh' -print0)
 
 ./scripts/test-render-homebrew-formula.sh
 ./scripts/test-extended-validation-config.sh
+./scripts/test-verify-universal-binaries.sh
+./scripts/test-universal-release-config.sh
 
 echo "APW fast checks passed."
diff --git a/scripts/test-universal-release-config.sh b/scripts/test-universal-release-config.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..9814014
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-universal-release-config.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+cd "$ROOT_DIR"
+
+if grep -Eq 'command -v brew|brew install|brew --prefix|brew list|command -v pkg-config|pkg-config --|AARCH64_APPLE_DARWIN_OPENSSL_DIR|X86_64_APPLE_DARWIN_OPENSSL_DIR' scripts/build-universal-release.sh; then
+  echo "Universal release build must not depend on Homebrew/pkg-config OpenSSL discovery." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+tmp_bin="$(mktemp -d)"
+trap 'rm -rf "$tmp_bin"' EXIT
+
+for tool in cc make perl uname; do
+  cat >"$tmp_bin/$tool" <<'EOF'
+#!/bin/sh
+if [ "$(basename "$0")" = "uname" ]; then
+  if [ "${1:-}" = "-s" ]; then
+    echo Darwin
+  elif [ "${1:-}" = "-m" ]; then
+    echo arm64
+  else
+    echo Darwin
+  fi
+  exit 0
+fi
+exit 0
+EOF
+  chmod +x "$tmp_bin/$tool"
+done
+
+PATH="$tmp_bin:$PATH" APW_FORCE_OPENSSL_INPUT_CHECK=1 \
+  bash scripts/build-universal-release.sh --check-build-inputs >/dev/null
+
+echo "Universal release configuration is deterministic."
diff --git a/scripts/test-verify-universal-binaries.sh b/scripts/test-verify-universal-binaries.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c3be496
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/test-verify-universal-binaries.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+WORK_DIR="$(mktemp -d)"
+cleanup() {
+  rm -rf "$WORK_DIR"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+fake_lipo="$WORK_DIR/lipo"
+fake_cli="$WORK_DIR/apw"
+fake_app="$WORK_DIR/APW"
+fake_missing_cli="$WORK_DIR/missing-apw"
+fake_log="$WORK_DIR/lipo.log"
+
+cat >"$fake_lipo" <<'EOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+echo "$*" >> "$FAKE_LIPO_LOG"
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "-archs" ]]; then
+  case "${2:-}" in
+    *missing*)
+      echo "arm64"
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "arm64 x86_64"
+      ;;
+  esac
+else
+  echo "unexpected lipo arguments: $*" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+EOF
+chmod +x "$fake_lipo"
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\n' >"$fake_cli"
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\n' >"$fake_app"
+printf '#!/usr/bin/env bash\n' >"$fake_missing_cli"
+chmod +x "$fake_cli" "$fake_app" "$fake_missing_cli"
+
+FAKE_LIPO_LOG="$fake_log" LIPO_BIN="$fake_lipo" \
+  "$ROOT_DIR/scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh" "$fake_cli" "$fake_app" >"$WORK_DIR/pass.out"
+grep -q "apw: arm64 x86_64" "$WORK_DIR/pass.out"
+grep -q "APW.app: arm64 x86_64" "$WORK_DIR/pass.out"
+
+if FAKE_LIPO_LOG="$fake_log" LIPO_BIN="$fake_lipo" \
+  "$ROOT_DIR/scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh" "$fake_missing_cli" "$fake_app" \
+  >"$WORK_DIR/fail.out" 2>"$WORK_DIR/fail.err"; then
+  echo "verify-universal-binaries accepted a missing architecture." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+grep -q "expected arm64 and x86_64" "$WORK_DIR/fail.err"
diff --git a/scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh b/scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..4f5275a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+print_help() {
+  cat <<'HELP'
+Usage: ./scripts/verify-universal-binaries.sh [CLI_PATH] [APP_EXECUTABLE_PATH]
+
+Verify that APW release Mach-O binaries contain both arm64 and x86_64 slices.
+
+Defaults:
+  CLI_PATH: rust/target/release/apw
+  APP_EXECUTABLE_PATH: native-app/dist/APW.app/Contents/MacOS/APW
+HELP
+}
+
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "-h" || "${1:-}" == "--help" ]]; then
+  print_help
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+ROOT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)"
+CLI_PATH="${1:-$ROOT_DIR/rust/target/release/apw}"
+APP_EXECUTABLE_PATH="${2:-$ROOT_DIR/native-app/dist/APW.app/Contents/MacOS/APW}"
+LIPO_BIN="${LIPO_BIN:-lipo}"
+
+if ! command -v "$LIPO_BIN" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "lipo not found. Universal binary verification must run on macOS with Xcode command line tools." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+verify_binary() {
+  local label="$1"
+  local path="$2"
+
+  if [[ ! -x "$path" ]]; then
+    echo "$label binary is missing or not executable: $path" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  local archs
+  archs="$("$LIPO_BIN" -archs "$path")"
+  for required in arm64 x86_64; do
+    if [[ " $archs " != *" $required "* ]]; then
+      echo "$label binary is not universal; expected arm64 and x86_64, got: $archs" >&2
+      exit 1
+    fi
+  done
+  echo "$label: $archs"
+}
+
+verify_binary "apw" "$CLI_PATH"
+verify_binary "APW.app" "$APP_EXECUTABLE_PATH"