diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index a18df60..6618443 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ jobs:
             libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libavutil-dev libswresample-dev libswscale-dev \
             libavfilter-dev libavdevice-dev \
             libpipewire-0.3-dev libgtk-3-dev libgtk-layer-shell-dev libxcb1-dev libasound2-dev \
-            rpm alien wget
+            rpm alien wget patchelf
 
       - name: Setup Rust toolchain
         uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
@@ -78,10 +78,17 @@ jobs:
           DEB_FILE=$(ls dist/*.deb | head -n 1)
           alien --to-rpm --scripts "$DEB_FILE"
           mv *.rpm dist/
+          # alien resolves the Debian package names to sonames, but it drops
+          # libva2 because there is no matching Debian to RPM name rule.
+          # libva is loaded at runtime by the FFmpeg VAAPI device, so the
+          # requirement has to be added back explicitly.
+          rpm --addrequires "libva.so.2()(64bit)" dist/*.rpm
+          rpm -qp --requires dist/*.rpm | grep -q "libva.so.2" \
+            || { echo "::error::libva requirement missing from the RPM"; exit 1; }
 
       - name: Package Standalone AppImage
         run: |
-          mkdir -p AppDir/usr/bin AppDir/usr/share/applications AppDir/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps
+          mkdir -p AppDir/usr/bin AppDir/usr/lib AppDir/usr/share/applications AppDir/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps
           cp target/release/scythe AppDir/usr/bin/
           ln -sf scythe AppDir/usr/bin/scythe-ui
           ln -sf scythe AppDir/usr/bin/scythe-daemon
@@ -89,10 +96,34 @@ jobs:
           ln -sf scythe AppDir/usr/bin/vrec-daemon
           ln -sf scythe AppDir/usr/bin/vrec
           cp packaging/scythe.desktop AppDir/usr/share/applications/
-          
+
+          # Bundle the shared library closure. Without this the image only
+          # runs on a host that happens to carry the exact FFmpeg build the
+          # binary was linked against, which defeats the point of an
+          # AppImage. ldd already resolves the full transitive closure.
+          ldd target/release/scythe | awk '/=>/ {print $3}' | sort -u | while read -r lib; do
+            [ -e "$lib" ] || continue
+            base=$(basename "$lib")
+            # The C runtime stays on the host: bundling a different glibc
+            # than the kernel and the other system libraries expect breaks
+            # the image in ways that are hard to diagnose.
+            case "$base" in
+              libc.so.6|libm.so.6|libgcc_s.so.1|ld-linux*.so.2|libpthread.so.0|libdl.so.2|librt.so.1) continue ;;
+            esac
+            cp -L "$lib" "AppDir/usr/lib/$base"
+          done
+          lib_count=$(ls -1 AppDir/usr/lib | wc -l)
+          echo "bundled libraries: ${lib_count}"
+          ls -1 AppDir/usr/lib
+
+          # Prefer the bundled copies over anything the host provides.
+          patchelf --set-rpath '$ORIGIN/../lib' AppDir/usr/bin/scythe
+          patchelf --print-rpath AppDir/usr/bin/scythe
+
           cat > AppDir/AppRun << 'EOF'
           #!/bin/sh
           HERE="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "${0}")")"
+          export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="${HERE}/usr/lib${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}"
           exec "${HERE}/usr/bin/scythe" "$@"
           EOF
           chmod +x AppDir/AppRun
@@ -105,6 +136,18 @@ jobs:
           chmod +x appimagetool
           ./appimagetool --appimage-extract-and-run AppDir dist/scythe-x86_64.AppImage || true
 
+          # The image is only useful if the libraries actually made it in.
+          lib_count=$(ls -1 AppDir/usr/lib | wc -l)
+          echo "bundled libraries: ${lib_count}"
+          if [ "${lib_count}" -lt 5 ]; then
+            echo "::error::AppImage bundled only ${lib_count} libraries, expected the FFmpeg closure"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          if [ ! -f dist/scythe-x86_64.AppImage ]; then
+            echo "::error::AppImage was not produced"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
       - name: Upload Linux Artifacts
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 333bdf9..a8c20ae 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -3242,7 +3242,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "scythe"
-version = "0.2.19"
+version = "0.2.20"
 dependencies = [
  "ashpd",
  "cpal",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index ed2af7b..881bebf 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "scythe"
-version = "0.2.19"
+version = "0.2.20"
 edition = "2024"
 
 [[bin]]
diff --git a/PROJECT_GUIDE.md b/PROJECT_GUIDE.md
index 7c9d4e2..7f6ef00 100644
--- a/PROJECT_GUIDE.md
+++ b/PROJECT_GUIDE.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ This document is the definitive technical reference for developers and AI agents
 
 ## 1. Project Overview & Current Status
 
-**Current Version:** `v0.2.19`  
+**Current Version:** `v0.2.20`  
 **License:** Dual MIT / Apache 2.0  
 
 ### Repository Topology
diff --git a/packaging/aur/PKGBUILD b/packaging/aur/PKGBUILD
index b97f5ed..8f00cb6 100644
--- a/packaging/aur/PKGBUILD
+++ b/packaging/aur/PKGBUILD
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Maintainer: oiupoyt
 pkgname=scythe-git
-pkgver=0.2.19
+pkgver=0.2.20
 pkgrel=1
 pkgdesc="High-performance GPU hardware screen recorder and instant replay overlay for Wayland and X11"
 arch=('x86_64')
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ sha256sums=('SKIP')
 
 pkgver() {
     cd "$srcdir/scythe"
-    git describe --long --tags 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^v//;s/\([^-]*-g\)/r\1/;s/-/./g' || echo "0.2.19"
+    git describe --long --tags 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^v//;s/\([^-]*-g\)/r\1/;s/-/./g' || echo "0.2.20"
 }
 
 build() {
diff --git a/packaging/rpm/scythe.spec b/packaging/rpm/scythe.spec
index ec1afee..06f54fa 100644
--- a/packaging/rpm/scythe.spec
+++ b/packaging/rpm/scythe.spec
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Name:           scythe
-Version:        0.2.19
+Version:        0.2.20
 Release:        1%{?dist}
 Summary:        High-performance GPU hardware screen recorder and instant replay overlay
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ ln -sf %{_datadir}/applications/scythe.desktop %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/applicati
 %{_datadir}/applications/vrec.desktop
 
 %changelog
-* Tue Oct 21 2026 oiupoyt - 0.2.19-1
+* Tue Oct 21 2026 oiupoyt - 0.2.20-1
 - Unified multicall binary: install scythe with the scythe-daemon, scythe-ui
   and vrec-* compatibility symlinks
 - Dropped the GTK 3 and GTK layer shell requirements, the GTK backend was