diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7db4ac2..89b7a85 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1139,6 +1139,19 @@ else()
     message(STATUS "wallet-rebuild helper: OFF (no Berkeley DB found; set DRAGONX_BDB_ROOT for release builds)")
 endif()
 
+# Release packaging (build.sh --linux-release / --win-release / --mac-release) builds ONLY what ships:
+#   cmake --build . --target dragonx_release
+# The test binary, the lite smoke tools and the dev CLIs are skipped WITHOUT writing BUILD_TESTING=OFF into the
+# build/<platform> cache that dev builds share. A stale OFF would leave ctest running an old test binary.
+# If a release path starts copying a new CMake-built file out of bin/, add its target here.
+add_custom_target(dragonx_release)
+add_dependencies(dragonx_release ObsidianDragon)
+foreach(_dragonx_release_dep dragonx-wallet-rebuild copy_langs copy_themes)
+    if(TARGET ${_dragonx_release_dep})
+        add_dependencies(dragonx_release ${_dragonx_release_dep})
+    endif()
+endforeach()
+
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # fake_dragonxd — a deliberately slow, scriptable dragonxd stand-in that reproduces the daemon-stop
 # incident (usage and the incident it models: tools/fake_dragonxd/README.md).
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 74a9df5..26097c6 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -393,7 +393,7 @@ build_release_linux() {
         "${CMAKE_LITE_ARGS[@]}"
 
     info "Building with $JOBS jobs ..."
-    cmake --build . -j "$JOBS"
+    cmake --build . -j "$JOBS" --target dragonx_release
 
     [[ -f "bin/${APP_BASENAME}" ]] || { err "Linux build failed"; exit 1; }
 
@@ -854,7 +854,7 @@ HDR
         "${CMAKE_LITE_ARGS[@]}"
 
     info "Building with $JOBS jobs ..."
-    cmake --build . -j "$JOBS"
+    cmake --build . -j "$JOBS" --target dragonx_release
 
     [[ -f "bin/${APP_BASENAME}.exe" ]] || { err "Windows build failed"; exit 1; }
     # Strip the app exe — the Linux and macOS release paths already strip theirs, and even the Windows
@@ -1150,7 +1150,7 @@ TOOLCHAIN
     fi
 
     info "Building with $JOBS jobs ..."
-    cmake --build . -j "$JOBS"
+    cmake --build . -j "$JOBS" --target dragonx_release
 
     [[ -f "bin/${APP_BASENAME}" ]] || { err "macOS build failed"; exit 1; }