diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 605d6be..ed3599d 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -44,14 +44,18 @@ targets: ## add rust targets for the universal build
 
 .PHONY: dmg
 dmg: targets ## build the universal (Intel + Apple Silicon) .dmg — UNSIGNED
-	# Tauri's universal build compiles each arch separately and expects a sidecar
-	# named with THAT arch's triple; it lipo's them into the universal bundle and
-	# ships spaceshd inside spacesh.app/Contents/MacOS (else the GUI is offline).
+	# Tauri's universal build needs BOTH the per-arch sidecars (resolved during each
+	# arch sub-build) AND a fat spaceshd-universal-apple-darwin (copied into the final
+	# bundle — Tauri does not lipo sidecars itself). spaceshd ships inside
+	# spacesh.app/Contents/MacOS else the GUI is offline.
 	cargo build --release -p spaceshd --target aarch64-apple-darwin
 	cargo build --release -p spaceshd --target x86_64-apple-darwin
 	rm -rf $(SIDECAR_DIR) && mkdir -p $(SIDECAR_DIR)   # avoid stale sidecars poisoning the bundle
 	cp target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/spaceshd $(SIDECAR_DIR)/spaceshd-aarch64-apple-darwin
 	cp target/x86_64-apple-darwin/release/spaceshd  $(SIDECAR_DIR)/spaceshd-x86_64-apple-darwin
+	lipo -create -output $(SIDECAR_DIR)/spaceshd-universal-apple-darwin \
+		target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/spaceshd \
+		target/x86_64-apple-darwin/release/spaceshd
 	cd $(APP_DIR) && npm run tauri build -- --target $(TAURI_TARGET) --config $(BUNDLE_CONFIG)
 	@echo "→ $(DMG_DIR)" && ls -lh $(DMG_DIR)/*.dmg
 
@@ -63,6 +67,13 @@ dmg-native: ## build a .dmg for the current arch only (faster)
 	cd $(APP_DIR) && npm run tauri build -- --config $(BUNDLE_CONFIG)
 	@ls -lh $(NATIVE_DMG_DIR)/*.dmg
 
+.PHONY: app-bundle
+app-bundle: ## build just the native .app (no .dmg/hdiutil — fast, for self-install)
+	cargo build --release -p spaceshd
+	rm -rf $(SIDECAR_DIR) && mkdir -p $(SIDECAR_DIR)
+	cp target/release/spaceshd $(SIDECAR_DIR)/spaceshd-$(NATIVE_TRIPLE)
+	cd $(APP_DIR) && npm run tauri build -- --bundles app --config $(BUNDLE_CONFIG)
+
 .PHONY: dev
 dev: ## run the app in dev mode (tauri dev)
 	cd $(APP_DIR) && npm run tauri dev
@@ -90,7 +101,7 @@ install-universal: kill-daemon ## install the universal .app to /Applications
 	xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/spacesh.app
 
 .PHONY: reinstall
-reinstall: dmg-native install ## native rebuild + reinstall + restart daemon (fast self-update)
+reinstall: app-bundle install ## fast self-update: build .app (no dmg), reinstall, restart daemon
 
 # ---- Tests ----
 
diff --git a/app/src-tauri/src/bridge.rs b/app/src-tauri/src/bridge.rs
index d16e315..2257a64 100644
--- a/app/src-tauri/src/bridge.rs
+++ b/app/src-tauri/src/bridge.rs
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ impl Bridge {
         let pending: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<u64, oneshot::Sender<Envelope>>>> = Arc::default();
         let out_channels: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<String, Channel<Vec<u8>>>>> = Arc::default();
         let (tx, reader) = spawn_connection(&sock, &app, pending.clone(), out_channels.clone()).await?;
-        let bridge = Self {
+        Ok(Self {
             next_id: AtomicU64::new(1),
             app,
             sock,
@@ -130,34 +130,16 @@ impl Bridge {
             reader: Mutex::new(reader),
             pending,
             out_channels,
-        };
-        bridge.ensure_matching_daemon().await;
-        Ok(bridge)
+        })
     }
 
-    /// If a previously-running daemon is a different build than the one bundled
-    /// with this GUI (the daemon outlives the GUI, so an old one can still be
-    /// serving the socket), restart it so our matching daemon takes over. No-op
-    /// for unstamped dev builds or when the daemon is too old to report a build.
-    async fn ensure_matching_daemon(&self) {
-        let want = option_env!("SPACESH_BUILD").unwrap_or("dev");
-        if want == "dev" {
-            return;
-        }
-        let got = match self.request(Cmd::Health).await {
-            Ok(env) => data_of(env)
-                .ok()
-                .and_then(|v| v.get("build").and_then(|b| b.as_str()).map(str::to_string))
-                .unwrap_or_default(),
-            Err(_) => return,
-        };
-        if got.is_empty() || got == want {
-            return;
-        }
-        // Stale daemon — stop it and respawn our bundled one (matching code).
-        let seen = self.gen.load(Ordering::Acquire);
-        let _ = self.request(Cmd::Shutdown).await; // daemon exits; reply may not arrive
-        let _ = self.reconnect(seen).await; // ensure_daemon respawns the bundled daemon
+    /// Send a command without awaiting a reply or retrying. Used for Shutdown:
+    /// the daemon exits before its reply is flushed, so a normal request() would
+    /// time out and the reconnect-retry would respawn-and-reshutdown in a loop.
+    async fn fire(&self, cmd: Cmd) {
+        let id = self.next_id.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        let tx = self.tx.lock().await.clone();
+        let _ = tx.send(Envelope::Req { id, cmd }).await;
     }
 
     /// Re-establish the daemon connection. Single-flight: callers pass the `gen`
@@ -461,5 +443,8 @@ pub async fn set_config(
 
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn shutdown_daemon(state: BridgeState<'_>) -> Result<Value, String> {
-    data_of(state.request(Cmd::Shutdown).await.map_err(|e| e.to_string())?)
+    // Fire-and-forget: the daemon exits without a flushed reply, so awaiting one
+    // would time out and trigger a respawn-then-reshutdown loop.
+    state.fire(Cmd::Shutdown).await;
+    Ok(Value::Null)
 }