diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 64709f2..059f8c9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -68,30 +68,7 @@ jobs:
             libegl1 libopengl0 libxkbcommon-x11-0 \
             libxcb-cursor0 libxcb-icccm4 libxcb-image0 libxcb-keysyms1 \
             libxcb-randr0 libxcb-render-util0 libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-shape0 \
-            ffmpeg
-
-      - name: Detect FFmpeg version (Linux)
-        if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
-        id: ffmpeg-version-linux
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          version="$(ffmpeg -version | head -n1 | awk '{print $3}')"
-          echo "version=$version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-      - name: Cache bundled FFmpeg (Linux)
-        if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
-        id: cache-ffmpeg-linux
-        uses: actions/cache@v4
-        with:
-          path: vendor/ffmpeg/linux
-          key: ffmpeg-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ runner.image_version }}-${{ steps.ffmpeg-version-linux.outputs.version }}-bundle
-
-      - name: Bundle FFmpeg (Linux)
-        if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest' && steps.cache-ffmpeg-linux.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
-        run: |
-          mkdir -p vendor/ffmpeg/linux
-          cp "$(command -v ffmpeg)" vendor/ffmpeg/linux/ffmpeg
-          chmod +x vendor/ffmpeg/linux/ffmpeg
+            zip
 
       - name: Cache bundled FFmpeg (Windows)
         if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest'
@@ -128,46 +105,9 @@ jobs:
           cd "$repo_root"
           ./scripts/build_ffmpeg_windows_msys2.sh
 
-      - name: Detect FFmpeg version (macOS)
-        if: matrix.os == 'macos-latest'
-        id: ffmpeg-version-macos
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          export HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1
-          export HOMEBREW_NO_INSTALL_CLEANUP=1
-          export HOMEBREW_NO_ENV_HINTS=1
-          brew_info="$(brew info --json=v2 ffmpeg 2>/dev/null || true)"
-          version="$(BREW_INFO="$brew_info" python - <<'PY'
-          import json
-          import os
-          data = os.environ.get("BREW_INFO", "").strip()
-          if not data:
-              print("unknown")
-          else:
-              try:
-                  parsed = json.loads(data)
-                  print(parsed["formulae"][0]["versions"]["stable"])
-              except Exception:
-                  print("unknown")
-          PY
-          )"
-          echo "version=$version" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-
-      - name: Cache bundled FFmpeg (macOS)
-        if: matrix.os == 'macos-latest'
-        id: cache-ffmpeg-macos
-        uses: actions/cache@v4
-        with:
-          path: vendor/ffmpeg/macos
-          key: ffmpeg-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ runner.image_version }}-${{ steps.ffmpeg-version-macos.outputs.version }}-bundle
-
-      - name: Bundle FFmpeg (macOS)
-        if: matrix.os == 'macos-latest' && steps.cache-ffmpeg-macos.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
-        run: |
-          brew install ffmpeg
-          mkdir -p vendor/ffmpeg/macos
-          cp "$(brew --prefix)/bin/ffmpeg" vendor/ffmpeg/macos/ffmpeg
-          chmod +x vendor/ffmpeg/macos/ffmpeg
+      - name: Stage portable FFmpeg (Linux/macOS)
+        if: matrix.os != 'windows-latest'
+        run: uv --native-tls run --extra packaging python scripts/stage_portable_ffmpeg.py
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: uv pip install --system -e . pyinstaller
@@ -180,9 +120,48 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         run: |
           out="dist/RenderKit-${{ steps.meta.outputs.os_label }}${{ steps.meta.outputs.artifact_suffix }}.zip"
-          python -m zipfile -c "$out" dist/RenderKit
+          if [[ "${{ matrix.os }}" == "windows-latest" ]]; then
+            python -m zipfile -c "$out" dist/RenderKit
+          else
+            zip -qry "$out" dist/RenderKit
+          fi
           echo "package_path=$out" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
+      - name: Smoke test bundled FFmpeg
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          $zipPath = "${{ steps.package.outputs.package_path }}"
+          $extractRoot = Join-Path $env:RUNNER_TEMP "renderkit-pyinstaller-smoke"
+          if (Test-Path $extractRoot) {
+              Remove-Item $extractRoot -Recurse -Force
+          }
+          New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $extractRoot -Force | Out-Null
+          Expand-Archive -Path $zipPath -DestinationPath $extractRoot -Force
+
+          $ffmpegName = if ($IsWindows) { "ffmpeg.exe" } else { "ffmpeg" }
+          $escapedFfmpegName = [regex]::Escape($ffmpegName)
+          $ffmpeg = Get-ChildItem -Path $extractRoot -Recurse -File -Filter $ffmpegName |
+              Where-Object { $_.FullName -match "[/\\]ffmpeg[/\\]$escapedFfmpegName$" } |
+              Select-Object -First 1
+          if ($null -eq $ffmpeg) {
+              throw "Bundled FFmpeg was not found in $zipPath"
+          }
+
+          & $ffmpeg.FullName -version
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+              exit $LASTEXITCODE
+          }
+
+          $encoders = & $ffmpeg.FullName -hide_banner -encoders
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+              exit $LASTEXITCODE
+          }
+          foreach ($encoder in @("libx264", "libx265", "libaom-av1")) {
+              if (-not ($encoders -match $encoder)) {
+                  throw "Bundled FFmpeg is missing required encoder: $encoder"
+              }
+          }
+
       - name: Upload build artifact
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nuitka-standalone-zip.yml b/.github/workflows/nuitka-standalone-zip.yml
index 8a83879..67342d4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nuitka-standalone-zip.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nuitka-standalone-zip.yml
@@ -1,15 +1,32 @@
 name: Nuitka Standalone Zip
 
 on:
+  push:
+    branches: [ main, develop ]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [ main, develop ]
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
+env:
+  FFMPEG_VERSION: "8.0.1"
+
 jobs:
-  build-windows:
-    name: Build Nuitka Standalone Zip (Windows)
-    runs-on: windows-latest
+  build:
+    name: Build Nuitka Standalone Zip (${{ matrix.os }})
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - os: windows-latest
+            platform: windows
+          - os: ubuntu-latest
+            platform: linux
+          - os: macos-latest
+            platform: macos
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
@@ -24,15 +41,31 @@ jobs:
           enable-cache: true
           cache-dependency-glob: "uv.lock"
 
-      - name: Cache bundled FFmpeg
+      - name: Install Linux system dependencies
+        if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update
+          sudo apt-get install -y \
+            libopenexr-dev libilmbase-dev \
+            libegl1 libopengl0 libxkbcommon-x11-0 \
+            libxcb-cursor0 libxcb-icccm4 libxcb-image0 libxcb-keysyms1 \
+            libxcb-randr0 libxcb-render-util0 libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-shape0 \
+            patchelf zip
+
+      - name: Stage portable FFmpeg (Linux/macOS)
+        if: matrix.os != 'windows-latest'
+        run: uv --native-tls run --extra packaging python scripts/stage_portable_ffmpeg.py
+
+      - name: Cache bundled FFmpeg (Windows)
+        if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest'
         id: cache-ffmpeg
         uses: actions/cache@v4
         with:
           path: vendor/ffmpeg/windows
-          key: ffmpeg-windows-8.0.1-${{ hashFiles('scripts/build_ffmpeg_windows_msys2.sh', 'scripts/build_ffmpeg_windows_msys2_bootstrap.sh') }}
+          key: ffmpeg-nuitka-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ env.FFMPEG_VERSION }}-${{ hashFiles('scripts/build_ffmpeg_windows_msys2.sh', 'scripts/build_ffmpeg_windows_msys2_bootstrap.sh') }}
 
-      - name: Set up MSYS2
-        if: steps.cache-ffmpeg.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+      - name: Set up MSYS2 (Windows)
+        if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest' && steps.cache-ffmpeg.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
         uses: msys2/setup-msys2@v2
         with:
           msystem: UCRT64
@@ -47,9 +80,11 @@ jobs:
             mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-x265
             mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-aom
 
-      - name: Build FFmpeg
-        if: steps.cache-ffmpeg.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+      - name: Build FFmpeg (Windows)
+        if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest' && steps.cache-ffmpeg.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
         shell: msys2 {0}
+        env:
+          FFMPEG_VERSION: ${{ env.FFMPEG_VERSION }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           repo_root="$(cygpath -u "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE")"
@@ -58,10 +93,54 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build Nuitka artifact
         shell: pwsh
-        run: .\scripts\build_nuitka.ps1
+        run: ./scripts/build_nuitka.ps1
+
+      - name: Verify Nuitka artifact
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          $zipPath = "dist-nuitka/RenderKit-nuitka-${{ matrix.platform }}-standalone.zip"
+          if (-not (Test-Path $zipPath)) {
+              throw "Expected Nuitka artifact was not created: $zipPath"
+          }
+          Get-Item $zipPath
+
+      - name: Smoke test bundled FFmpeg
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          $zipPath = "dist-nuitka/RenderKit-nuitka-${{ matrix.platform }}-standalone.zip"
+          $extractRoot = Join-Path $env:RUNNER_TEMP "renderkit-nuitka-smoke"
+          if (Test-Path $extractRoot) {
+              Remove-Item $extractRoot -Recurse -Force
+          }
+          New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $extractRoot -Force | Out-Null
+          Expand-Archive -Path $zipPath -DestinationPath $extractRoot -Force
+
+          $ffmpegName = if ($IsWindows) { "ffmpeg.exe" } else { "ffmpeg" }
+          $escapedFfmpegName = [regex]::Escape($ffmpegName)
+          $ffmpeg = Get-ChildItem -Path $extractRoot -Recurse -File -Filter $ffmpegName |
+              Where-Object { $_.FullName -match "[/\\]ffmpeg[/\\]$escapedFfmpegName$" } |
+              Select-Object -First 1
+          if ($null -eq $ffmpeg) {
+              throw "Bundled FFmpeg was not found in $zipPath"
+          }
+
+          & $ffmpeg.FullName -version
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+              exit $LASTEXITCODE
+          }
+
+          $encoders = & $ffmpeg.FullName -hide_banner -encoders
+          if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+              exit $LASTEXITCODE
+          }
+          foreach ($encoder in @("libx264", "libx265", "libaom-av1")) {
+              if (-not ($encoders -match $encoder)) {
+                  throw "Bundled FFmpeg is missing required encoder: $encoder"
+              }
+          }
 
       - name: Upload Nuitka artifact
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
-          name: RenderKit-nuitka-windows-standalone
-          path: dist-nuitka/RenderKit-nuitka-windows-standalone.zip
+          name: RenderKit-nuitka-${{ matrix.platform }}-standalone
+          path: dist-nuitka/RenderKit-nuitka-${{ matrix.platform }}-standalone.zip
diff --git a/docs/development.md b/docs/development.md
index 2c8f40f..602efa8 100644
--- a/docs/development.md
+++ b/docs/development.md
@@ -82,10 +82,23 @@ release-style zip is written to `dist-nuitka/RenderKit-nuitka-<platform>-standal
 Before using the Nuitka zip for a release, test it by extracting the zip on the
 target platform and running a real conversion.
 
-## Bundled FFmpeg (Windows, Hybrid)
+## Bundled FFmpeg
 
-The repo does not commit `vendor/ffmpeg/`. You can build and stage a minimal
-GPL FFmpeg locally (x265 + AV1 only), and CI will also generate it for releases.
+The repo does not commit `vendor/ffmpeg/`. Packaging workflows stage FFmpeg
+into `vendor/ffmpeg/<platform>/` before building artifacts, and the packaged
+app uses that binary ahead of any system `ffmpeg` on `PATH`.
+
+Linux and macOS use the packaging extra's portable `imageio-ffmpeg` binary:
+
+```bash
+uv --native-tls run --extra packaging python scripts/stage_portable_ffmpeg.py
+```
+
+The staging helper verifies the binary starts and includes the required
+`libx264`, `libx265`, and `libaom-av1` encoders.
+
+Windows uses a minimal GPL FFmpeg build from MSYS2 so the required DLLs can be
+copied alongside `ffmpeg.exe`.
 
 ### Prerequisites (MSYS2 UCRT64)
 
@@ -106,9 +119,9 @@ pacman -S --needed \
 ./scripts/build_ffmpeg_windows_msys2.sh
 ```
 
-This script writes `ffmpeg.exe` and required DLLs to `vendor/ffmpeg/`, which the
-PyInstaller spec bundles automatically. To build a different version, set
-`FFMPEG_VERSION` (default: 8.0.1):
+This script writes `ffmpeg.exe` and required DLLs to `vendor/ffmpeg/windows/`,
+which the packaging workflows bundle automatically. To build a different
+version, set `FFMPEG_VERSION` (default: 8.0.1):
 
 ```bash
 FFMPEG_VERSION=8.0.1 ./scripts/build_ffmpeg_windows_msys2.sh
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 8c193bd..8a4f4db 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ docs = [
 ]
 
 packaging = [
+    "imageio-ffmpeg>=0.6.0,<0.7",
     "nuitka>=4.1.0",
     "ordered-set>=4.1.0",
     "pyinstaller>=6.0.0",
diff --git a/scripts/build_nuitka.ps1 b/scripts/build_nuitka.ps1
index 2d29140..e64d669 100644
--- a/scripts/build_nuitka.ps1
+++ b/scripts/build_nuitka.ps1
@@ -1,15 +1,67 @@
 $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
 
-$repoRoot = Resolve-Path (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "..")
-$outputRoot = Join-Path $repoRoot "dist-nuitka"
-$entryScript = Join-Path $repoRoot "src\renderkit\ui\main_window.py"
-$initContent = Get-Content (Join-Path $repoRoot "src\renderkit\__init__.py") -Raw
+function Join-NativePath {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(ValueFromRemainingArguments = $true)]
+        [string[]] $Parts
+    )
+
+    [System.IO.Path]::Combine($Parts)
+}
+
+function Compress-NuitkaOutput {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
+        [System.IO.DirectoryInfo] $PackageRoot,
+
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)]
+        [string] $ZipPath
+    )
+
+    if ((-not $IsWindows) -and (Get-Command zip -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+        $zipWorkingDir = $PackageRoot.FullName
+        $zipTarget = "."
+        if ($PackageRoot.Extension -eq ".app") {
+            $zipWorkingDir = $PackageRoot.Parent.FullName
+            $zipTarget = $PackageRoot.Name
+        }
+
+        Push-Location $zipWorkingDir
+        try {
+            & zip -qry $ZipPath $zipTarget
+            if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+                exit $LASTEXITCODE
+            }
+        } finally {
+            Pop-Location
+        }
+        return
+    }
+
+    $zipSource = if ($PackageRoot.Extension -eq ".app") {
+        $PackageRoot.FullName
+    } else {
+        Join-Path $PackageRoot.FullName "*"
+    }
+    Compress-Archive -Path $zipSource -DestinationPath $ZipPath -Force
+}
+
+$repoRoot = (Resolve-Path (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "..")).Path
+$outputRoot = Join-NativePath $repoRoot "dist-nuitka"
+$entryScript = Join-NativePath $repoRoot "src" "renderkit" "ui" "main_window.py"
+$initContent = Get-Content (Join-NativePath $repoRoot "src" "renderkit" "__init__.py") -Raw
 $versionMatch = [regex]::Match($initContent, "__version__\s*=\s*['""]([^'""]+)['""]")
 $appVersion = if ($versionMatch.Success) { $versionMatch.Groups[1].Value } else { "0.0.0" }
 
+$iconsDir = Join-NativePath $repoRoot "src" "renderkit" "ui" "icons"
+$stylesheetsDir = Join-NativePath $repoRoot "src" "renderkit" "ui" "stylesheets"
+$ocioDir = Join-NativePath $repoRoot "src" "renderkit" "data" "ocio"
+$nuitkaMode = "standalone"
+$outputFilename = if ($IsMacOS) { "RenderKitApp" } else { "RenderKit" }
+
 $nuitkaArgs = @(
     "--remove-output",
-    "--mode=standalone",
+    "--mode=$nuitkaMode",
     "--assume-yes-for-downloads",
     "--enable-plugin=pyside6",
     "--include-module=PySide6",
@@ -18,21 +70,20 @@ $nuitkaArgs = @(
     "--include-module=PySide6.QtWidgets",
     "--include-qt-plugins=sensible",
     "--include-package=renderkit",
-    "--include-data-dir=$repoRoot\src\renderkit\ui\icons=renderkit/ui/icons",
-    "--include-data-dir=$repoRoot\src\renderkit\ui\stylesheets=renderkit/ui/stylesheets",
-    "--include-data-dir=$repoRoot\src\renderkit\data\ocio=renderkit/data/ocio",
+    "--include-data-dir=$iconsDir=renderkit/ui/icons",
+    "--include-data-dir=$stylesheetsDir=renderkit/ui/stylesheets",
+    "--include-data-dir=$ocioDir=renderkit/data/ocio",
     "--output-dir=$outputRoot",
-    "--output-filename=RenderKit",
+    "--output-filename=$outputFilename",
     "--product-name=RenderKit",
     "--product-version=$appVersion",
     "--file-version=$appVersion",
     "--file-description=RenderKit desktop app",
-    "--copyright=Ahmed Hindy",
-    "--windows-console-mode=disable"
+    "--copyright=Ahmed Hindy"
 )
 
 if ($IsWindows) {
-    $nuitkaArgs = @("--zig") + $nuitkaArgs
+    $nuitkaArgs = @("--zig", "--windows-console-mode=disable") + $nuitkaArgs
 }
 
 & uv --native-tls run --extra packaging python -m nuitka @nuitkaArgs $entryScript
@@ -47,10 +98,11 @@ $platformDir = switch ($true) {
     default { $null }
 }
 
+$vendorFfmpegDir = $null
 if ($null -eq $platformDir) {
     Write-Host "Skipping FFmpeg copy: unsupported platform."
 } else {
-    $vendorFfmpegDir = Join-Path $repoRoot "vendor\ffmpeg\$platformDir"
+    $vendorFfmpegDir = Join-NativePath $repoRoot "vendor" "ffmpeg" $platformDir
     if (-not (Test-Path $vendorFfmpegDir)) {
         Write-Host "Skipping FFmpeg copy: $vendorFfmpegDir does not exist."
     }
@@ -60,12 +112,22 @@ $standaloneDir = Get-ChildItem -Path $outputRoot -Directory -Filter "*.dist" -Er
     Sort-Object LastWriteTime |
     Select-Object -Last 1
 
-if ($null -eq $standaloneDir) {
-    throw "Could not find Nuitka standalone output."
+$appBundleDir = Get-ChildItem -Path $outputRoot -Directory -Filter "*.app" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+    Sort-Object LastWriteTime |
+    Select-Object -Last 1
+
+$packageRoot = if ($IsMacOS -and $null -ne $appBundleDir) { $appBundleDir } else { $standaloneDir }
+
+if ($null -eq $packageRoot) {
+    throw "Could not find Nuitka output."
 }
 
 if ($null -ne $platformDir -and (Test-Path $vendorFfmpegDir)) {
-    $ffmpegTarget = Join-Path $standaloneDir.FullName "ffmpeg"
+    $ffmpegTarget = if ($IsMacOS -and $packageRoot.Extension -eq ".app") {
+        Join-NativePath $packageRoot.FullName "Contents" "MacOS" "ffmpeg"
+    } else {
+        Join-Path $packageRoot.FullName "ffmpeg"
+    }
     New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $ffmpegTarget -Force | Out-Null
     Copy-Item -Path (Join-Path $vendorFfmpegDir "*") -Destination $ffmpegTarget -Recurse -Force
     Write-Host "Copied bundled FFmpeg to $ffmpegTarget"
@@ -77,5 +139,5 @@ if (Test-Path $zipPath) {
     Remove-Item $zipPath -Force
 }
 
-Compress-Archive -Path (Join-Path $standaloneDir.FullName "*") -DestinationPath $zipPath -Force
+Compress-NuitkaOutput -PackageRoot $packageRoot -ZipPath $zipPath
 Write-Host "Packaged Nuitka artifact: $zipPath"
diff --git a/scripts/stage_portable_ffmpeg.py b/scripts/stage_portable_ffmpeg.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb8a8e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/stage_portable_ffmpeg.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+"""Stage a portable FFmpeg binary for packaging workflows."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import shutil
+import stat
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import imageio_ffmpeg
+
+PLATFORM_DIRS = {
+    "win32": "windows",
+    "linux": "linux",
+    "darwin": "macos",
+}
+REQUIRED_ENCODERS = ("libx264", "libx265", "libaom-av1")
+
+
+def _target_name() -> str:
+    return "ffmpeg.exe" if sys.platform == "win32" else "ffmpeg"
+
+
+def _make_executable(path: Path) -> None:
+    if sys.platform == "win32":
+        return
+
+    current_mode = path.stat().st_mode
+    path.chmod(current_mode | stat.S_IXUSR | stat.S_IXGRP | stat.S_IXOTH)
+
+
+def _verify_ffmpeg(path: Path) -> None:
+    version_result = subprocess.run(
+        [str(path), "-version"],
+        check=True,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    first_line = (
+        version_result.stdout.splitlines()[0] if version_result.stdout else "ffmpeg version unknown"
+    )
+    print(first_line)
+
+    encoders_result = subprocess.run(
+        [str(path), "-hide_banner", "-encoders"],
+        check=True,
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    encoders = encoders_result.stdout
+    missing = [encoder for encoder in REQUIRED_ENCODERS if encoder not in encoders]
+    if missing:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"FFmpeg is missing required encoders: {', '.join(missing)}")
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    platform_dir = PLATFORM_DIRS.get(sys.platform)
+    if platform_dir is None:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Unsupported platform for FFmpeg staging: {sys.platform}")
+
+    repo_root = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+    source = Path(imageio_ffmpeg.get_ffmpeg_exe())
+    if not source.is_file():
+        raise RuntimeError(f"imageio-ffmpeg did not provide a usable binary: {source}")
+
+    target_dir = repo_root / "vendor" / "ffmpeg" / platform_dir
+    target_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    target = target_dir / _target_name()
+
+    if target.exists():
+        target.unlink()
+
+    shutil.copy2(source, target)
+    _make_executable(target)
+
+    os.environ["IMAGEIO_FFMPEG_EXE"] = str(target)
+    _verify_ffmpeg(target)
+    print(f"Staged portable FFmpeg: {target}")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 93c5ceb..c493ba9 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -192,6 +192,20 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/0e/61/66938bbb5fc52dbdf84594873d5b51fb1f7c7794e9c0f5bd885f30bc507b/idna-3.11-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:771a87f49d9defaf64091e6e6fe9c18d4833f140bd19464795bc32d966ca37ea", size = 71008, upload-time = "2025-10-12T14:55:18.883Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "imageio-ffmpeg"
+version = "0.6.0"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
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+
 [[package]]
 name = "iniconfig"
 version = "2.3.0"
@@ -829,6 +843,7 @@ docs = [
     { name = "mkdocstrings", extra = ["python"] },
 ]
 packaging = [
+    { name = "imageio-ffmpeg" },
     { name = "nuitka" },
     { name = "ordered-set" },
     { name = "pyinstaller" },
@@ -838,6 +853,7 @@ packaging = [
 [package.metadata]
 requires-dist = [
     { name = "click", specifier = ">=8.1.0" },
+    { name = "imageio-ffmpeg", marker = "extra == 'packaging'", specifier = ">=0.6.0,<0.7" },
     { name = "mkdocs-material", marker = "extra == 'docs'", specifier = ">=9.5.0" },
     { name = "mkdocstrings", extras = ["python"], marker = "extra == 'docs'", specifier = ">=0.24.0" },
     { name = "mypy", marker = "extra == 'dev'", specifier = ">=1.7.0" },