diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 89b7a85..5687d50 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -939,7 +939,9 @@ if(DRAGONX_FREETYPE)
     target_compile_definitions(ObsidianDragon PRIVATE DRAGONX_HAVE_FREETYPE)
 endif()
 
-add_executable(HushChatFixtureCheck
+# Dev-only HushChat fixture CLI (nothing runs it; not linked into the app or tests). Not part of `all`:
+#   cmake --build build/linux --target HushChatFixtureCheck    (output: build/linux/bin/HushChatFixtureCheck)
+add_executable(HushChatFixtureCheck EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL
     tools/hushchat_fixture_check.cpp
     src/chat/chat_protocol.cpp
     src/chat/chat_fixture_tooling.cpp