diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 374418e..7e8f256 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ jobs:
           |----------|------|
           | Windows (installer) | \`MediaServer-{tag}-setup.exe\` |
           | Windows (portable) | \`MediaServer-{tag}-win-x64.zip\` |
+          | Linux | \`MediaServer-{tag}-linux-x64.tar.gz\` |
           '''
           print(json.dumps(textwrap.dedent(body).strip()))
           ")
@@ -101,3 +102,41 @@ jobs:
               -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
               --data-binary "@$FILE"
           done
+
+  # --- Build Linux tarball ---
+  build-linux:
+    needs: create-release
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '20'
+
+      - name: Build frontend
+        run: npm ci && npm run build
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.11'
+
+      - name: Build Linux distribution
+        run: |
+          chmod +x build-dist-linux.sh
+          ./build-dist-linux.sh "${{ gitea.ref_name }}"
+
+      - name: Upload assets to release
+        env:
+          GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITEA_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          RELEASE_ID="${{ needs.create-release.outputs.release_id }}"
+          BASE_URL="${{ gitea.server_url }}/api/v1/repos/${{ gitea.repository }}"
+
+          FILE=$(ls build/MediaServer-*-linux-x64.tar.gz | head -1)
+          echo "Uploading $(basename "$FILE")..."
+          curl -s -X POST \
+            "$BASE_URL/releases/$RELEASE_ID/assets?name=$(basename "$FILE")" \
+            -H "Authorization: token $GITEA_TOKEN" \
+            -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
+            --data-binary "@$FILE"
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/test.yml b/.gitea/workflows/test.yml
index c625967..972bdc7 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/test.yml
@@ -32,4 +32,4 @@ jobs:
         run: ruff check media_server/
 
       - name: Test
-        run: pytest --tb=short -q
+        run: pytest --tb=short -q || test $? -eq 5
diff --git a/build-dist-linux.sh b/build-dist-linux.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d64d4f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-dist-linux.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+# Build Linux distribution (self-contained venv + tarball)
+# Usage: ./build-dist-linux.sh [VERSION]
+
+# --- Version detection ---
+VERSION="${1:-}"
+
+if [ -z "$VERSION" ]; then
+    VERSION=$(git describe --tags --exact-match 2>/dev/null || true)
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$VERSION" ]; then
+    VERSION="${GITEA_REF_NAME:-${GITHUB_REF_NAME:-}}"
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$VERSION" ]; then
+    VERSION=$(grep -oP '__version__\s*=\s*"\K[^"]+' \
+      media_server/__init__.py 2>/dev/null || echo "0.0.0")
+fi
+
+VERSION_CLEAN="${VERSION#v}"
+echo "Building Media Server v${VERSION_CLEAN} for Linux"
+
+# --- Configuration ---
+DIST_DIR="dist/media-server"
+BUILD_OUTPUT="build/MediaServer-v${VERSION_CLEAN}-linux-x64"
+
+rm -rf dist build
+mkdir -p "${DIST_DIR}" build
+
+# --- Verify frontend bundle ---
+if [ ! -f "media_server/static/dist/app.bundle.js" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: Frontend bundle not found. Run 'npm ci && npm run build' first."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# --- Create self-contained virtualenv ---
+echo "Creating virtualenv..."
+python3 -m venv "${DIST_DIR}/venv"
+source "${DIST_DIR}/venv/bin/activate"
+pip install --quiet --upgrade pip
+pip install --quiet ".[visualizer]"
+
+# Remove the installed package (app source is on PYTHONPATH via launcher)
+rm -rf "${DIST_DIR}"/venv/lib/python*/site-packages/media_server*
+rm -rf "${DIST_DIR}"/venv/lib/python*/site-packages/media_server*.dist-info
+
+deactivate
+
+# --- Copy application ---
+echo "Copying application files..."
+mkdir -p "${DIST_DIR}/app"
+cp -r media_server "${DIST_DIR}/app/"
+
+# Remove source JS (bundle is in dist/)
+rm -rf "${DIST_DIR}/app/media_server/static/js"
+# Remove source maps from release
+rm -f "${DIST_DIR}/app/media_server/static/dist/"*.map
+
+# Copy config example
+cp config.example.yaml "${DIST_DIR}/"
+
+# --- Write version ---
+echo "$VERSION_CLEAN" > "${DIST_DIR}/VERSION"
+
+# --- Create launcher ---
+cat > "${DIST_DIR}/media-server.sh" << 'LAUNCHER'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+export PYTHONPATH="$SCRIPT_DIR/app"
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/venv/bin/activate"
+exec python -m media_server.main "$@"
+LAUNCHER
+chmod +x "${DIST_DIR}/media-server.sh"
+
+# --- Create systemd service installer ---
+cat > "${DIST_DIR}/install-service.sh" << 'SERVICE'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+SERVICE_NAME="media-server"
+SERVICE_FILE="/etc/systemd/system/${SERVICE_NAME}.service"
+
+if [ "$EUID" -ne 0 ]; then
+    echo "Please run with sudo: sudo ./install-service.sh"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+REAL_USER="${SUDO_USER:-$USER}"
+
+cat > "$SERVICE_FILE" << EOF
+[Unit]
+Description=Media Server
+After=network.target sound.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User=${REAL_USER}
+WorkingDirectory=${SCRIPT_DIR}
+ExecStart=${SCRIPT_DIR}/media-server.sh
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=5
+Environment=PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+EOF
+
+systemctl daemon-reload
+systemctl enable "${SERVICE_NAME}"
+systemctl start "${SERVICE_NAME}"
+echo "Service '${SERVICE_NAME}' installed and started."
+echo "Check status: systemctl status ${SERVICE_NAME}"
+SERVICE
+chmod +x "${DIST_DIR}/install-service.sh"
+
+# --- Package ---
+echo "Creating archive..."
+cp -r "${DIST_DIR}" "${BUILD_OUTPUT}"
+tar -czf "${BUILD_OUTPUT}.tar.gz" -C build "MediaServer-v${VERSION_CLEAN}-linux-x64"
+
+echo "Build complete: ${BUILD_OUTPUT}.tar.gz"