diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-dev.yml b/.github/workflows/release-dev.yml
index bc92ab648..1ced8b831 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-dev.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-dev.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ permissions:
   contents: write
   packages: write
 
+env:
+  Z3_RELEASE_TAG: z3-latest
+
 defaults:
   run:
     shell: bash
@@ -129,8 +132,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build Python wheels
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" mise run python:build:multiarch
-          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" mise run python:build:macos
+          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" \
+          OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG="${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+          mise run python:build:multiarch
+          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" \
+          OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG="${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+          mise run python:build:macos
           ls -la target/wheels/*.whl
 
       - name: Capture wheel filenames
@@ -151,7 +158,8 @@ jobs:
   # Build CLI binaries (Linux musl — static, native on each arch)
   #
   # Builds run directly on the CI host (glibc Ubuntu).  Zig provides musl
-  # C/C++ toolchains for bundled-z3 and ring, and is also used as the linker.
+  # C/C++ toolchains for ring and the final musl linker. The downloaded Z3
+  # archives were also built with zig c++, so we keep libc++ for compatibility.
   # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   build-cli-linux:
     name: Build CLI (Linux ${{ matrix.arch }})
@@ -234,6 +242,16 @@ jobs:
           # Override z3-sys default (stdc++) so Rust links the matching runtime.
           echo "CXXSTDLIB=c++" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
+      - name: Download prebuilt Z3
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          Z3_ROOT="$(sh tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh \
+            --target "${{ matrix.target }}" \
+            --release-tag "${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+            --output-dir "${RUNNER_TEMP:-/tmp}/prebuilt-z3")"
+          echo "PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_CROSS=1" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          echo "PKG_CONFIG_PATH=${Z3_ROOT}/lib/pkgconfig${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:+:${PKG_CONFIG_PATH}}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
       - name: Scope workspace to CLI crates
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
@@ -246,7 +264,7 @@ jobs:
           sed -i -E '/^\[workspace\.package\]/,/^\[/{s/^version[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*".*"/version = "'"${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}"'"/}' Cargo.toml
 
       - name: Build ${{ matrix.target }}
-        run: mise x -- cargo build --release --target ${{ matrix.target }} -p openshell-cli --features bundled-z3
+        run: mise x -- cargo build --release --target ${{ matrix.target }} -p openshell-cli
 
       - name: sccache stats
         if: always()
@@ -311,6 +329,7 @@ jobs:
             --build-arg OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" \
             --build-arg OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG=dev \
             --build-arg CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE="${{ github.sha }}" \
+            --build-arg Z3_RELEASE_TAG="${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
             --target binary \
             --output type=local,dest=out/ \
             .
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-tag.yml b/.github/workflows/release-tag.yml
index 564a88d67..bf02c1698 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-tag.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-tag.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ permissions:
 # push-event ref.  Every job references this via env.RELEASE_TAG.
 env:
   RELEASE_TAG: ${{ inputs.tag || github.ref_name }}
+  Z3_RELEASE_TAG: z3-latest
 
 defaults:
   run:
@@ -150,8 +151,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build Python wheels
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" mise run python:build:multiarch
-          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" mise run python:build:macos
+          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" \
+          OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG="${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+          mise run python:build:multiarch
+          OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" \
+          OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG="${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+          mise run python:build:macos
           ls -la target/wheels/*.whl
 
       - name: Capture wheel filenames
@@ -172,7 +177,8 @@ jobs:
   # Build CLI binaries (Linux musl — static, native on each arch)
   #
   # Builds run directly on the CI host (glibc Ubuntu).  Zig provides musl
-  # C/C++ toolchains for bundled-z3 and ring, and is also used as the linker.
+  # C/C++ toolchains for ring and the final musl linker. The downloaded Z3
+  # archives were also built with zig c++, so we keep libc++ for compatibility.
   # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   build-cli-linux:
     name: Build CLI (Linux ${{ matrix.arch }})
@@ -256,6 +262,16 @@ jobs:
           # Override z3-sys default (stdc++) so Rust links the matching runtime.
           echo "CXXSTDLIB=c++" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
 
+      - name: Download prebuilt Z3
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          Z3_ROOT="$(sh tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh \
+            --target "${{ matrix.target }}" \
+            --release-tag "${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+            --output-dir "${RUNNER_TEMP:-/tmp}/prebuilt-z3")"
+          echo "PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_CROSS=1" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          echo "PKG_CONFIG_PATH=${Z3_ROOT}/lib/pkgconfig${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:+:${PKG_CONFIG_PATH}}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
       - name: Scope workspace to CLI crates
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
@@ -268,7 +284,7 @@ jobs:
           sed -i -E '/^\[workspace\.package\]/,/^\[/{s/^version[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*".*"/version = "'"${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}"'"/}' Cargo.toml
 
       - name: Build ${{ matrix.target }}
-        run: mise x -- cargo build --release --target ${{ matrix.target }} -p openshell-cli --features bundled-z3
+        run: mise x -- cargo build --release --target ${{ matrix.target }} -p openshell-cli
 
       - name: sccache stats
         if: always()
@@ -334,6 +350,7 @@ jobs:
             --build-arg OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.cargo_version }}" \
             --build-arg OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG="${{ needs.compute-versions.outputs.semver }}" \
             --build-arg CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE="${{ github.sha }}" \
+            --build-arg Z3_RELEASE_TAG="${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
             --target binary \
             --output type=local,dest=out/ \
             .
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-z3.yml b/.github/workflows/release-z3.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4ee36499a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-z3.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
+name: Release Z3
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      z3_version:
+        description: "Z3 version to build (e.g. 4.16.0)"
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      prune_existing_assets:
+        description: "Delete previously published z3-latest assets before upload"
+        required: false
+        default: true
+        type: boolean
+      notes:
+        description: "Optional additional release notes"
+        required: false
+        type: string
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write
+  packages: read
+
+concurrency:
+  group: z3-latest-release
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+env:
+  Z3_RELEASE_TAG: z3-latest
+
+defaults:
+  run:
+    shell: bash
+
+jobs:
+  build-z3-linux:
+    name: Build Z3 (${{ matrix.target }})
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - runner: build-amd64
+            target: x86_64-unknown-linux-musl
+            zig_target: x86_64-linux-musl
+            use_zig: true
+          - runner: build-arm64
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-musl
+            zig_target: aarch64-linux-musl
+            use_zig: true
+          - runner: build-amd64
+            target: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
+            use_zig: false
+          - runner: build-arm64
+            target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
+            use_zig: false
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    container:
+      image: ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/ci:latest
+      credentials:
+        username: ${{ github.actor }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      options: --privileged
+    env:
+      MISE_GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Mark workspace safe for git
+        run: git config --global --add safe.directory "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE"
+
+      - name: Install tools
+        if: matrix.use_zig
+        run: mise install
+
+      - name: Set up zig wrappers
+        if: matrix.use_zig
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          ZIG="$(mise which zig)"
+          mkdir -p /tmp/zig-z3
+          for tool in cc c++; do
+            printf '#!/bin/bash\nexec "%s" %s --target=%s "$@"\n' \
+              "$ZIG" "$tool" "${{ matrix.zig_target }}" > "/tmp/zig-z3/${tool}"
+            chmod +x "/tmp/zig-z3/${tool}"
+          done
+
+      - name: Build artifact
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          mkdir -p artifacts
+          if [ "${{ matrix.use_zig }}" = "true" ]; then
+            export CC=/tmp/zig-z3/cc
+            export CXX=/tmp/zig-z3/c++
+          fi
+          sh tasks/scripts/z3/build-artifact.sh \
+            --target "${{ matrix.target }}" \
+            --z3-version "${{ inputs.z3_version }}" \
+            --output "artifacts/z3-${{ matrix.target }}.tar.gz"
+          ls -lh artifacts/
+
+      - name: Upload artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: z3-${{ matrix.target }}
+          path: artifacts/z3-${{ matrix.target }}.tar.gz
+          retention-days: 5
+
+  build-z3-macos:
+    name: Build Z3 (aarch64-apple-darwin)
+    runs-on: build-amd64
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    container:
+      image: ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell/ci:latest
+      credentials:
+        username: ${{ github.actor }}
+        password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      options: --privileged
+      volumes:
+        - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Mark workspace safe for git
+        run: git config --global --add safe.directory "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE"
+
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: ./.github/actions/setup-buildx
+
+      - name: Build macOS artifact via Docker
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          docker buildx build \
+            --file deploy/docker/Dockerfile.z3-macos \
+            --build-arg Z3_VERSION="${{ inputs.z3_version }}" \
+            --target artifact \
+            --output type=local,dest=artifacts/ \
+            .
+          ls -lh artifacts/
+
+      - name: Upload artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: z3-aarch64-apple-darwin
+          path: artifacts/z3-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
+          retention-days: 5
+
+  release-z3:
+    name: Release Z3
+    needs: [build-z3-linux, build-z3-macos]
+    runs-on: build-amd64
+    timeout-minutes: 10
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Download all Z3 artifacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          pattern: z3-*
+          path: release/
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Generate checksums
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          cd release
+          sha256sum z3-*.tar.gz > z3-checksums-sha256.txt
+          cat z3-checksums-sha256.txt
+
+      - name: Ensure z3-latest tag exists
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          git tag -fa "${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" -m "OpenShell Z3 Latest" "${GITHUB_SHA}"
+          git push --force origin "${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}"
+
+      - name: Prune stale Z3 assets from z3-latest release
+        if: inputs.prune_existing_assets
+        uses: actions/github-script@v7
+        with:
+          script: |
+            const [owner, repo] = process.env.GITHUB_REPOSITORY.split('/');
+            let release;
+            try {
+              release = await github.rest.repos.getReleaseByTag({ owner, repo, tag: 'z3-latest' });
+            } catch (err) {
+              if (err.status === 404) {
+                core.info('No existing z3-latest release; will create fresh.');
+                return;
+              }
+              throw err;
+            }
+            for (const asset of release.data.assets) {
+              if (asset.name.startsWith('z3-')) {
+                core.info(`Deleting stale asset: ${asset.name}`);
+                await github.rest.repos.deleteReleaseAsset({ owner, repo, asset_id: asset.id });
+              }
+            }
+
+      - name: Create / update z3-latest GitHub Release
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        with:
+          name: OpenShell Z3 Latest
+          prerelease: true
+          tag_name: ${{ env.Z3_RELEASE_TAG }}
+          target_commitish: ${{ github.sha }}
+          body: |
+            Rolling prebuilt static Z3 artifacts for OpenShell release packaging.
+
+            Z3 version: `${{ inputs.z3_version }}`
+
+            Supported assets:
+            - `z3-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz`
+            - `z3-aarch64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz`
+            - `z3-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz`
+            - `z3-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz`
+            - `z3-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz`
+
+            ${{ inputs.notes }}
+          files: |
+            release/z3-x86_64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz
+            release/z3-aarch64-unknown-linux-musl.tar.gz
+            release/z3-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
+            release/z3-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
+            release/z3-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
+            release/z3-checksums-sha256.txt
diff --git a/architecture/build-containers.md b/architecture/build-containers.md
index ee69896e9..4a5bcba93 100644
--- a/architecture/build-containers.md
+++ b/architecture/build-containers.md
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ openshell sandbox create --from <name>
 
 This pulls `ghcr.io/nvidia/openshell-community/sandboxes/<name>:latest`.
 
+## CLI and Wheel Release Builds
+
+Standalone CLI archives and Python wheels do not compile Z3 from source during release packaging. A manually triggered GitHub Actions workflow, `release-z3.yml`, publishes target-specific static Z3 bundles to the rolling `z3-latest` GitHub release in `NVIDIA/OpenShell`.
+
+Release workflows and packaging Dockerfiles download the matching archive for their target, verify it against `z3-checksums-sha256.txt`, and expose the bundled `z3.pc` via `PKG_CONFIG_PATH` so `z3-sys` links against the prebuilt static library. Local development can still opt into source-built Z3 with the existing `bundled-z3` feature when needed.
+
 ## Local Development
 
 `mise run cluster` is the primary development command. It bootstraps a cluster if one doesn't exist, then performs incremental deploys for subsequent runs.
@@ -70,4 +76,3 @@ The harness runs isolated scenarios in temporary git worktrees, keeps its own st
 - auto-detection checks for gateway-only, supervisor-only, shared, Helm-only, unrelated, and explicit-target changes
 - cold vs warm rebuild comparisons for gateway and supervisor code changes
 - container-ID invalidation coverage to verify gateway + Helm are retriggered when the cluster container changes
-
diff --git a/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.cli-macos b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.cli-macos
index f9370691c..86b3fde80 100644
--- a/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.cli-macos
+++ b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.cli-macos
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ FROM ${OSXCROSS_IMAGE} AS osxcross
 FROM python:3.12-slim AS builder
 
 ARG CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE=default
+ARG Z3_RELEASE_TAG=z3-latest
 
 ENV PATH="/root/.cargo/bin:/usr/local/bin:/osxcross/bin:${PATH}"
 ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/osxcross/lib"
@@ -47,6 +48,15 @@ RUN rustup target add aarch64-apple-darwin
 
 WORKDIR /build
 
+COPY tasks/scripts/z3/ tasks/scripts/z3/
+
+RUN mkdir -p /opt/prebuilt-z3 && \
+    sh tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh \
+      --target aarch64-apple-darwin \
+      --release-tag "${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+      --output-dir /opt/prebuilt-z3 >/dev/null && \
+    printf 'export PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_CROSS=1\nexport PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/prebuilt-z3/z3-aarch64-apple-darwin/lib/pkgconfig${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:+:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH}\n' > /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh
+
 ENV CC_aarch64_apple_darwin=oa64-clang
 ENV CXX_aarch64_apple_darwin=oa64-clang++
 ENV AR_aarch64_apple_darwin=aarch64-apple-darwin25.1-ar
@@ -96,7 +106,8 @@ RUN mkdir -p crates/openshell-cli/src \
 RUN --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-registry-cli-macos,sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/registry \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-git-cli-macos,sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/git \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-target-cli-macos-${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE},sharing=locked,target=/build/target \
-    cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin -p openshell-cli --features bundled-z3 2>/dev/null || true
+    . /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh && \
+    cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin -p openshell-cli 2>/dev/null || true
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Stage 2: real build
@@ -121,10 +132,11 @@ ARG OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG
 RUN --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-registry-cli-macos,sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/registry \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-git-cli-macos,sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/git \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-target-cli-macos-${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE},sharing=locked,target=/build/target \
+    . /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh && \
     if [ -n "${OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION:-}" ]; then \
       sed -i -E '/^\[workspace\.package\]/,/^\[/{s/^version[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*".*"/version = "'"${OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION}"'"/}' Cargo.toml; \
     fi && \
-    cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin -p openshell-cli --features bundled-z3 && \
+    cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin -p openshell-cli && \
     cp target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/openshell /openshell
 
 FROM scratch AS binary
diff --git a/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels
index 91e2223c4..ce00ddca6 100644
--- a/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels
+++ b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ FROM base AS builder
 ARG TARGETARCH
 ARG BUILDARCH
 ARG CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE=default
+ARG Z3_RELEASE_TAG=z3-latest
 
 ARG SCCACHE_MEMCACHED_ENDPOINT
 
@@ -38,6 +39,17 @@ WORKDIR /build
 
 RUN . cross-build.sh && install_cross_toolchain && install_sccache && add_rust_target
 
+COPY tasks/scripts/z3/ tasks/scripts/z3/
+
+RUN mkdir -p /opt/prebuilt-z3 && \
+    . cross-build.sh && \
+    Z3_TARGET="$(rust_target)" && \
+    sh tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh \
+      --target "${Z3_TARGET}" \
+      --release-tag "${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+      --output-dir /opt/prebuilt-z3 >/dev/null && \
+    printf 'export PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_CROSS=1\nexport PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/prebuilt-z3/z3-%s/lib/pkgconfig${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:+:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH}\n' "${Z3_TARGET}" > /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh
+
 # Copy dependency manifests first for better caching.
 COPY Cargo.toml Cargo.lock ./
 COPY crates/openshell-cli/Cargo.toml crates/openshell-cli/Cargo.toml
@@ -75,7 +87,9 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-registry-python-wheels-${TARGETARCH},sharing=loc
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-git-python-wheels-${TARGETARCH},sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/git \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-target-python-wheels-${TARGETARCH}-${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE},sharing=locked,target=/build/target \
     --mount=type=cache,id=sccache-python-wheels-${TARGETARCH},sharing=locked,target=/tmp/sccache \
-    . cross-build.sh && cargo_cross_build --release -p openshell-cli --features bundled-z3 2>/dev/null || true
+    . cross-build.sh && \
+    . /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh && \
+    cargo_cross_build --release -p openshell-cli 2>/dev/null || true
 
 # Copy actual source code and Python packaging files.
 COPY crates/ crates/
@@ -103,13 +117,14 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-registry-python-wheels-${TARGETARCH},sharing=loc
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-target-python-wheels-${TARGETARCH}-${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE},sharing=locked,target=/build/target \
     --mount=type=cache,id=sccache-python-wheels-${TARGETARCH},sharing=locked,target=/tmp/sccache \
     . cross-build.sh && \
+    . /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh && \
     export_cross_env && \
     export RUSTC_WRAPPER=sccache && \
     export CARGO_BUILD_TARGET="$(rust_target)" && \
     if [ -n "${OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION:-}" ]; then \
       sed -i -E '/^\[workspace\.package\]/,/^\[/{s/^version[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*".*"/version = "'"${OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION}"'"/}' Cargo.toml; \
     fi && \
-    maturin build --release --target "${CARGO_BUILD_TARGET}" --features bundled-z3 --out /wheels
+    maturin build --release --target "${CARGO_BUILD_TARGET}" --out /wheels
 
 FROM scratch AS wheels
 COPY --from=builder /wheels/*.whl /
diff --git a/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels-macos b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels-macos
index 79cc6d9b4..3c7eb8e6b 100644
--- a/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels-macos
+++ b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.python-wheels-macos
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ FROM python:${PYTHON_VERSION}-slim AS builder
 
 ARG TARGETARCH
 ARG CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE=default
+ARG Z3_RELEASE_TAG=z3-latest
 
 ENV PATH="/root/.cargo/bin:/usr/local/bin:/osxcross/bin:${PATH}"
 ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/osxcross/lib"
@@ -42,6 +43,15 @@ RUN pip install --no-cache-dir maturin
 
 WORKDIR /build
 
+COPY tasks/scripts/z3/ tasks/scripts/z3/
+
+RUN mkdir -p /opt/prebuilt-z3 && \
+    sh tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh \
+      --target aarch64-apple-darwin \
+      --release-tag "${Z3_RELEASE_TAG}" \
+      --output-dir /opt/prebuilt-z3 >/dev/null && \
+    printf 'export PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_CROSS=1\nexport PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/prebuilt-z3/z3-aarch64-apple-darwin/lib/pkgconfig${PKG_CONFIG_PATH:+:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH}\n' > /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh
+
 ENV CC_aarch64_apple_darwin=oa64-clang
 ENV CXX_aarch64_apple_darwin=oa64-clang++
 ENV AR_aarch64_apple_darwin=aarch64-apple-darwin25.1-ar
@@ -87,7 +97,8 @@ RUN mkdir -p crates/openshell-cli/src crates/openshell-core/src crates/openshell
 RUN --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-registry-python-wheels-macos-${TARGETARCH},sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/registry \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-git-python-wheels-macos-${TARGETARCH},sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/git \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-target-python-wheels-macos-${TARGETARCH}-${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE},sharing=locked,target=/build/target \
-    cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin -p openshell-cli --features bundled-z3 2>/dev/null || true
+    . /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh && \
+    cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin -p openshell-cli 2>/dev/null || true
 
 # Copy actual source code and Python packaging files.
 COPY crates/ crates/
@@ -115,10 +126,11 @@ ARG OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG
 RUN --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-registry-python-wheels-macos-${TARGETARCH},sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/registry \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-git-python-wheels-macos-${TARGETARCH},sharing=locked,target=/root/.cargo/git \
     --mount=type=cache,id=cargo-target-python-wheels-macos-${TARGETARCH}-${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE},sharing=locked,target=/build/target \
+    . /opt/prebuilt-z3/env.sh && \
     if [ -n "${OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION:-}" ]; then \
       sed -i -E '/^\[workspace\.package\]/,/^\[/{s/^version[[:space:]]*=[[:space:]]*".*"/version = "'"${OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION}"'"/}' Cargo.toml; \
     fi && \
-    maturin build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin --features bundled-z3 --out /wheels
+    maturin build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin --out /wheels
 
 FROM scratch AS wheels
 COPY --from=builder /wheels/*.whl /
diff --git a/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.z3-macos b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.z3-macos
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e89dd9263
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/docker/Dockerfile.z3-macos
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1.6
+
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+ARG OSXCROSS_IMAGE=crazymax/osxcross:latest
+
+FROM ${OSXCROSS_IMAGE} AS osxcross
+
+FROM python:3.12-slim AS builder
+
+ARG Z3_VERSION
+
+ENV PATH="/usr/local/bin:/osxcross/bin:${PATH}"
+ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/osxcross/lib"
+
+COPY --from=osxcross /osxcross /osxcross
+
+RUN SDKROOT="$(echo /osxcross/SDK/MacOSX*.sdk)" && ln -sfn "${SDKROOT}" /osxcross/SDK/MacOSX.sdk
+
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    build-essential \
+    ca-certificates \
+    clang \
+    cmake \
+    curl \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# Match the linker alias used by the existing macOS release build.
+RUN ln -sf /osxcross/bin/arm64-apple-darwin25.1-ld /usr/local/bin/arm64-apple-macosx-ld
+
+WORKDIR /build
+
+COPY tasks/scripts/z3/ tasks/scripts/z3/
+
+ENV CC=oa64-clang
+ENV CXX=oa64-clang++
+ENV AR=aarch64-apple-darwin25.1-ar
+ENV SDKROOT=/osxcross/SDK/MacOSX.sdk
+ENV MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=13.3
+ENV CFLAGS=--target=arm64-apple-macosx\ -mmacosx-version-min=13.3
+ENV CXXFLAGS=--target=arm64-apple-macosx\ -mmacosx-version-min=13.3
+ENV LDFLAGS=--target=arm64-apple-macosx\ -mmacosx-version-min=13.3
+
+RUN mkdir -p /out && \
+    Z3_CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=Darwin \
+    Z3_CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR=arm64 \
+    sh tasks/scripts/z3/build-artifact.sh \
+      --target aarch64-apple-darwin \
+      --z3-version "${Z3_VERSION}" \
+      --output /out/z3-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
+
+FROM scratch AS artifact
+COPY --from=builder /out/z3-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz /z3-aarch64-apple-darwin.tar.gz
diff --git a/tasks/python.toml b/tasks/python.toml
index 211e474c1..0985df45c 100644
--- a/tasks/python.toml
+++ b/tasks/python.toml
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE=$(printf '%s' "$CACHE_SCOPE_INPUT" | sha256_16_stdin)
 VERSION_ARGS=(
   --build-arg "CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE=${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE}"
   ${OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG:+--build-arg "OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG=${OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG}"}
+  ${OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG:+--build-arg "Z3_RELEASE_TAG=${OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG}"}
 )
 
 if [ -n "$CARGO_VERSION" ]; then
@@ -192,6 +193,7 @@ docker build \
   --build-arg "CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE=${CARGO_TARGET_CACHE_SCOPE}" \
   ${CARGO_VERSION:+--build-arg "OPENSHELL_CARGO_VERSION=${CARGO_VERSION}"} \
   ${OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG:+--build-arg "OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG=${OPENSHELL_IMAGE_TAG}"} \
+  ${OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG:+--build-arg "Z3_RELEASE_TAG=${OPENSHELL_Z3_RELEASE_TAG}"} \
   --output type=local,dest=target/wheels \
   .
 
diff --git a/tasks/scripts/z3/build-artifact.sh b/tasks/scripts/z3/build-artifact.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d7b84805b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/scripts/z3/build-artifact.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+set -eu
+
+SELF_DIR=$(CDPATH= cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")" && pwd)
+. "${SELF_DIR}/common.sh"
+
+TARGET=""
+Z3_VERSION=""
+OUTPUT=""
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<'EOF' >&2
+Usage: build-artifact.sh --target <triple> --z3-version <version> --output <path>
+
+Build a static Z3 release artifact that contains headers, libz3.a, pkg-config
+metadata, and a small manifest for the given target triple.
+EOF
+  exit 2
+}
+
+while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --target)
+      TARGET="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --z3-version)
+      Z3_VERSION="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --output)
+      OUTPUT="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    -h|--help)
+      usage
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "unknown argument: $1" >&2
+      usage
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+[ -n "$TARGET" ] || usage
+[ -n "$Z3_VERSION" ] || usage
+[ -n "$OUTPUT" ] || usage
+
+ASSET_NAME=$(z3_asset_name_for_target "$TARGET")
+PACKAGE_DIR_NAME=$(z3_package_dir_name "$TARGET")
+
+WORKDIR=$(mktemp -d)
+cleanup() {
+  rm -rf "$WORKDIR"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT INT TERM
+
+SOURCE_ARCHIVE="${WORKDIR}/z3-source.tar.gz"
+SOURCE_ROOT="${WORKDIR}/source"
+BUILD_ROOT="${WORKDIR}/build"
+PACKAGE_PARENT="${WORKDIR}/package"
+PACKAGE_ROOT="${PACKAGE_PARENT}/${PACKAGE_DIR_NAME}"
+
+mkdir -p "$SOURCE_ROOT" "$BUILD_ROOT" "$PACKAGE_ROOT" "$(dirname "$OUTPUT")"
+
+SOURCE_URL="https://github.com/Z3Prover/z3/archive/refs/tags/z3-${Z3_VERSION}.tar.gz"
+echo "Downloading Z3 ${Z3_VERSION} source from ${SOURCE_URL}"
+curl --fail --location --retry 5 --retry-all-errors --silent --show-error \
+  --output "$SOURCE_ARCHIVE" \
+  "$SOURCE_URL"
+tar -xzf "$SOURCE_ARCHIVE" -C "$SOURCE_ROOT"
+
+set -- "${SOURCE_ROOT}"/*
+if [ "$#" -ne 1 ] || [ ! -d "$1" ]; then
+  echo "expected a single extracted Z3 source directory" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+SOURCE_DIR="$1"
+
+set -- \
+  -S "$SOURCE_DIR" \
+  -B "$BUILD_ROOT" \
+  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$PACKAGE_ROOT" \
+  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR=include \
+  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR=lib \
+  -DZ3_BUILD_LIBZ3_SHARED=false \
+  -DZ3_BUILD_EXECUTABLE=false \
+  -DZ3_BUILD_TEST_EXECUTABLES=false
+
+if [ -n "${Z3_CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME:-}" ]; then
+  set -- "$@" "-DCMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME=${Z3_CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME}"
+fi
+if [ -n "${Z3_CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR:-}" ]; then
+  set -- "$@" "-DCMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR=${Z3_CMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR}"
+fi
+if [ -n "${MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET:-}" ]; then
+  set -- "$@" "-DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=${MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET}"
+fi
+
+cmake "$@"
+cmake --build "$BUILD_ROOT" --parallel "$(z3_cpu_count)"
+cmake --install "$BUILD_ROOT"
+
+HEADER_PATH=$(find "$PACKAGE_ROOT" -path '*/z3.h' -type f | head -n 1 || true)
+LIB_PATH=$(find "$PACKAGE_ROOT" -name 'libz3.a' -type f | head -n 1 || true)
+
+[ -n "$HEADER_PATH" ] || { echo "z3.h missing from packaged artifact" >&2; exit 1; }
+[ -n "$LIB_PATH" ] || { echo "libz3.a missing from packaged artifact" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+INCLUDE_DIR_NAME=$(basename "$(dirname "$HEADER_PATH")")
+LIB_DIR=$(dirname "$LIB_PATH")
+LIB_DIR_NAME=$(basename "$LIB_DIR")
+PKGCONFIG_DIR="${LIB_DIR}/pkgconfig"
+mkdir -p "$PKGCONFIG_DIR"
+
+cat > "${PKGCONFIG_DIR}/z3.pc" <<EOF
+prefix=\${pcfiledir}/../..
+libdir=\${prefix}/${LIB_DIR_NAME}
+includedir=\${prefix}/${INCLUDE_DIR_NAME}
+
+Name: z3
+Description: Z3 theorem prover
+Version: ${Z3_VERSION}
+Libs: -L\${libdir} -lz3
+Cflags: -I\${includedir}
+EOF
+
+cat > "${PACKAGE_ROOT}/manifest.json" <<EOF
+{
+  "asset": "${ASSET_NAME}",
+  "target": "${TARGET}",
+  "z3_version": "${Z3_VERSION}"
+}
+EOF
+
+tar -C "$PACKAGE_PARENT" -czf "$OUTPUT" "$PACKAGE_DIR_NAME"
+echo "Wrote ${OUTPUT}"
diff --git a/tasks/scripts/z3/common.sh b/tasks/scripts/z3/common.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ce7923af6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/scripts/z3/common.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+set -eu
+
+z3_asset_name_for_target() {
+  case "${1:-}" in
+    x86_64-unknown-linux-musl|aarch64-unknown-linux-musl|x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu|aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu|aarch64-apple-darwin)
+      printf 'z3-%s.tar.gz\n' "$1"
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "unsupported Z3 target: ${1:-<missing>}" >&2
+      return 1
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+z3_package_dir_name() {
+  case "${1:-}" in
+    x86_64-unknown-linux-musl|aarch64-unknown-linux-musl|x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu|aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu|aarch64-apple-darwin)
+      printf 'z3-%s\n' "$1"
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "unsupported Z3 target: ${1:-<missing>}" >&2
+      return 1
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
+
+z3_release_url() {
+  repo="${1:?repo is required}"
+  tag="${2:?tag is required}"
+  asset="${3:?asset is required}"
+  printf 'https://github.com/%s/releases/download/%s/%s\n' "$repo" "$tag" "$asset"
+}
+
+z3_cpu_count() {
+  if command -v nproc >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    nproc
+  elif command -v sysctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    sysctl -n hw.ncpu
+  else
+    echo 4
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh b/tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..722d42135
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/scripts/z3/download-release-artifact.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2025-2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+set -eu
+
+SELF_DIR=$(CDPATH= cd -- "$(dirname -- "$0")" && pwd)
+. "${SELF_DIR}/common.sh"
+
+TARGET=""
+OUTPUT_DIR=""
+RELEASE_TAG="${Z3_RELEASE_TAG:-z3-latest}"
+REPO="${Z3_RELEASE_REPO:-NVIDIA/OpenShell}"
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<'EOF' >&2
+Usage: download-release-artifact.sh --target <triple> --output-dir <path> [--release-tag <tag>] [--repo <owner/repo>]
+
+Download a prebuilt Z3 artifact from an OpenShell GitHub release, verify it
+against the published checksum file, extract it, and print the extracted root.
+EOF
+  exit 2
+}
+
+while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --target)
+      TARGET="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --output-dir)
+      OUTPUT_DIR="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --release-tag)
+      RELEASE_TAG="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --repo)
+      REPO="${2:-}"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    -h|--help)
+      usage
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "unknown argument: $1" >&2
+      usage
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+[ -n "$TARGET" ] || usage
+[ -n "$OUTPUT_DIR" ] || usage
+
+ASSET_NAME=$(z3_asset_name_for_target "$TARGET")
+PACKAGE_DIR_NAME=$(z3_package_dir_name "$TARGET")
+CHECKSUMS_NAME="z3-checksums-sha256.txt"
+
+WORKDIR=$(mktemp -d)
+cleanup() {
+  rm -rf "$WORKDIR"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT INT TERM
+
+ASSET_PATH="${WORKDIR}/${ASSET_NAME}"
+CHECKSUMS_PATH="${WORKDIR}/${CHECKSUMS_NAME}"
+
+curl --fail --location --retry 5 --retry-all-errors --silent --show-error \
+  --output "$ASSET_PATH" \
+  "$(z3_release_url "$REPO" "$RELEASE_TAG" "$ASSET_NAME")"
+
+curl --fail --location --retry 5 --retry-all-errors --silent --show-error \
+  --output "$CHECKSUMS_PATH" \
+  "$(z3_release_url "$REPO" "$RELEASE_TAG" "$CHECKSUMS_NAME")"
+
+EXPECTED_SHA=$(awk -v asset="$ASSET_NAME" '$2 == asset { print $1 }' "$CHECKSUMS_PATH")
+[ -n "$EXPECTED_SHA" ] || {
+  echo "checksum entry for ${ASSET_NAME} not found in ${CHECKSUMS_NAME}" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  ACTUAL_SHA=$(sha256sum "$ASSET_PATH" | awk '{print $1}')
+else
+  ACTUAL_SHA=$(shasum -a 256 "$ASSET_PATH" | awk '{print $1}')
+fi
+
+[ "$EXPECTED_SHA" = "$ACTUAL_SHA" ] || {
+  echo "checksum mismatch for ${ASSET_NAME}" >&2
+  echo "expected: ${EXPECTED_SHA}" >&2
+  echo "actual:   ${ACTUAL_SHA}" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"
+rm -rf "${OUTPUT_DIR:?}/${PACKAGE_DIR_NAME}"
+tar -xzf "$ASSET_PATH" -C "$OUTPUT_DIR"
+
+EXTRACTED_ROOT="${OUTPUT_DIR}/${PACKAGE_DIR_NAME}"
+[ -f "${EXTRACTED_ROOT}/manifest.json" ] || {
+  echo "manifest missing from extracted Z3 artifact: ${EXTRACTED_ROOT}" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+[ -f "${EXTRACTED_ROOT}/lib/pkgconfig/z3.pc" ] || {
+  echo "pkg-config metadata missing from extracted Z3 artifact: ${EXTRACTED_ROOT}" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+printf '%s\n' "$EXTRACTED_ROOT"