diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yaml
index 04efe07..151dce9 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -76,7 +76,14 @@ jobs:
 
   build-iso-amd64:
     name: Build x86_64 ISO + disk image
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # Routes to a runner with the `amd64-linux` label. As of v0.3.x no such
+    # runner exists in this Gitea instance — the only runner is the Odroid
+    # which is arm64 and would fail apt-installing grub-efi-amd64-bin /
+    # syslinux because those packages aren't in the arm64 ports repo. The
+    # job stays in the workflow (so it auto-runs once an amd64 runner is
+    # registered) but is gated and the release job continues without it.
+    if: false   # remove this line once an amd64-linux runner is registered
+    runs-on: amd64-linux
     needs: build-binaries
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -147,7 +154,15 @@ jobs:
   release:
     name: Publish Gitea Release
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [build-binaries, build-iso-amd64, build-disk-arm64]
+    # build-iso-amd64 is gated `if: false` in v0.3.x (no amd64 runner yet);
+    # don't block the release on it. build-disk-arm64 is required — that's
+    # the headline artifact for v0.3.x. build-binaries is required since
+    # the Go binaries are core to every release.
+    needs: [build-binaries, build-disk-arm64]
+    # `if: always()` so the release publishes even if the gated x86 job
+    # somehow ran-and-failed instead of being skipped. The downstream
+    # `find` in the Flatten step ignores missing files gracefully.
+    if: always() && needs.build-binaries.result == 'success' && needs.build-disk-arm64.result == 'success'
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
@@ -190,32 +205,42 @@ jobs:
 
           ### Downloads
 
-          - \`kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.iso\` — bootable x86_64 ISO
-          - \`kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.img.xz\` — x86_64 raw disk image (A/B GPT, GRUB)
           - \`kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.arm64.img.xz\` — ARM64 raw disk image (A/B GPT, UEFI)
           - \`kubesolo-cloudinit-linux-{amd64,arm64}\` — standalone cloud-init parser
           - \`kubesolo-update-linux-{amd64,arm64}\` — standalone update agent
           - \`SHA256SUMS\` — checksums for every artifact above
 
+          > **x86_64 ISO + disk image**: not built automatically yet. The
+          > release workflow's amd64 build job needs an amd64-linux runner,
+          > which this Gitea instance doesn't have yet. To produce them
+          > yourself, clone the repo at this tag and run \`make iso disk-image\`
+          > on any Linux amd64 host.
+
           ### Verify
 
           \`\`\`
           sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS
           \`\`\`
 
-          ### Quick start
+          ### Quick start (ARM64)
 
           \`\`\`
-          # x86_64 in QEMU/KVM
-          xz -d kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.img.xz
-          qemu-system-x86_64 -m 2048 -smp 2 -enable-kvm \\
-            -drive file=kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.img,format=raw,if=virtio \\
-            -nographic
-
-          # ARM64 on Graviton/Ampere or under qemu-system-aarch64
+          # On Graviton/Ampere/any UEFI ARM64 host:
           xz -d kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.arm64.img.xz
-          dd if=kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.arm64.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
+          sudo dd if=kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.arm64.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
+
+          # Under qemu-system-aarch64 (Apple Silicon w/ HVF):
+          UEFI_FW=\$(brew --prefix qemu)/share/qemu/edk2-aarch64-code.fd
+          qemu-system-aarch64 -M virt -accel hvf -cpu host -m 2048 -smp 2 \\
+            -nographic -bios "\$UEFI_FW" \\
+            -drive file=kubesolo-os-${DISPLAY}.arm64.img,format=raw,if=virtio,media=disk \\
+            -device virtio-rng-pci \\
+            -net nic,model=virtio \\
+            -net user,hostfwd=tcp::6443-:6443,hostfwd=tcp::8080-:8080
           \`\`\`
+
+          Then from the host: \`curl http://localhost:8080 > ~/.kube/kubesolo-config\`
+          and \`kubectl --kubeconfig ~/.kube/kubesolo-config get nodes\`.
           EOF
           cat release-body.md