diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr.yml b/.github/workflows/pr.yml
index bbd6288c33b..0997222a54a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr.yml
@@ -1173,6 +1173,19 @@ jobs:
           rpm_marker="$(rpm2cpio "$rpm" | cpio --quiet --extract --to-stdout ./opt/Orca/resources/package-type)"
           [[ "$deb_marker" == deb ]] || { echo "Expected deb marker, got: $deb_marker"; exit 1; }
           [[ "$rpm_marker" == rpm ]] || { echo "Expected rpm marker, got: $rpm_marker"; exit 1; }
+          # Only the AppImage carries the pinned Node (config/scripts/appimage-node-runtime.cjs).
+          if dpkg-deb --fsys-tarfile "$deb" | tar -t | grep '/resources/node-runtime' >/dev/null; then
+            echo "The deb must not carry the AppImage's Node"; exit 1
+          fi
+          if rpm2cpio "$rpm" | cpio --quiet -t | grep '/resources/node-runtime' >/dev/null; then
+            echo "The rpm must not carry the AppImage's Node"; exit 1
+          fi
+          appimage_root="$(mktemp -d)"
+          (cd "$appimage_root" && "$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/dist/orca-linux.AppImage" --appimage-extract 'resources/node-runtime/bin/node' >/dev/null)
+          test -x "$appimage_root/squashfs-root/resources/node-runtime/bin/node"
+          "$appimage_root/squashfs-root/resources/node-runtime/bin/node" --version
+          rm -rf "$appimage_root"
+          ls -l dist/orca-linux.AppImage "$deb" "$rpm"
 
       - wait: shutdown-fixture-cache
 
diff --git a/config/electron-builder.config.cjs b/config/electron-builder.config.cjs
index d67399d7096..108af35554d 100644
--- a/config/electron-builder.config.cjs
+++ b/config/electron-builder.config.cjs
@@ -55,6 +55,11 @@ const {
 } = require('./scripts/packaged-orcad-template.cjs')
 const { verifySkillsCliRuntime } = require('./scripts/verify-skills-cli-runtime.cjs')
 const { verifyStaticAppImagePackage } = require('./scripts/static-appimage-package-contract.cjs')
+const {
+  appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs,
+  placeAppImageNodeRuntime,
+  verifyAppImageNodeRuntimeServesPty
+} = require('./scripts/appimage-node-runtime.cjs')
 const { signWindowsUninstallerViaSignPath } = require('./scripts/windows-uninstaller-signing.cjs')
 
 // Why: dev-channel builds must carry the *release* identity — same bundle id,
@@ -440,13 +445,15 @@ module.exports = {
     // Why after the prune: `pnpm install:release` widens the CPU set for cross-builds,
     // so an arm64 slice can still carry the x64 @parcel/watcher until
     // prunePackagedRuntimeNodeModules drops it.
+    let appImageNodeRuntime = null
     if (context.electronPlatformName === 'linux') {
+      const targetArch = { 1: 'x64', 3: 'arm64' }[context.arch]
+      // Before the floor gate, so the bundled Node is held to the same glibc floor.
+      appImageNodeRuntime = await placeAppImageNodeRuntime(resourcesDir, targetArch)
       // Why the arch is passed: symbol-version checks pass happily on a wrong-architecture binary,
       // so a cross-built slice could ship the host's pty.node and only fail at runtime.
       finalizePackagedWaylandClipboard(resourcesDir)
-      verifyLinuxGlibcFloor(context.appOutDir, {
-        targetArch: { 1: 'x64', 3: 'arm64' }[context.arch]
-      })
+      verifyLinuxGlibcFloor(context.appOutDir, { targetArch })
     }
     verifyPackagedMainRuntimeDeps(resourcesDir)
     // Why: boot the packaged daemon-entry under plain Node, but only for the
@@ -471,6 +478,9 @@ module.exports = {
     }
     if (canExecuteTargetArch) {
       verifyPackagedDaemonEntryBoots(resourcesDir)
+      if (appImageNodeRuntime) {
+        await verifyAppImageNodeRuntimeServesPty(resourcesDir, appImageNodeRuntime)
+      }
     } else {
       // Why: a cross-arch slice can't be booted by the host Node, but the
       // unpacked entry must still exist — its absence is a layout regression
@@ -740,7 +750,9 @@ module.exports = {
     // GUI-triggered and can never run on a server, so without this the CLI is
     // unreachable from the shell on exactly the hosts that need it.
     afterInstall: 'resources/linux/packaging/after-install.sh',
-    afterRemove: 'resources/linux/packaging/after-remove.sh'
+    afterRemove: 'resources/linux/packaging/after-remove.sh',
+    // Why: only an AppImage's files can vanish under a running daemon (see appimage-node-runtime.cjs).
+    fpm: appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs
   },
   rpm: {
     packageName: 'orca-ide',
@@ -757,7 +769,9 @@ module.exports = {
     ],
     // Why: same headless CLI-on-PATH registration as deb; rpm runs these via fpm.
     afterInstall: 'resources/linux/packaging/after-install.sh',
-    afterRemove: 'resources/linux/packaging/after-remove.sh'
+    afterRemove: 'resources/linux/packaging/after-remove.sh',
+    // Why: only an AppImage's files can vanish under a running daemon (see appimage-node-runtime.cjs).
+    fpm: appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs
   },
   beforeBuild: electronBuilderNativeRebuild,
   // Why: must be true so that electron-builder rebuilds native modules
diff --git a/config/scripts/appimage-node-runtime.cjs b/config/scripts/appimage-node-runtime.cjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..34d393e1521
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/appimage-node-runtime.cjs
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/**
+ * Linux builds place the pinned Node at resources/node-runtime/bin/node in afterPack, before the
+ * glibc-floor gate scans the tree. deb and rpm drop it again through fpm, so only the AppImage
+ * ships it: an AppImage's files vanish with its mount, an installed package's do not.
+ */
+const { chmodSync, copyFileSync, mkdirSync } = require('node:fs')
+const { join, resolve } = require('node:path')
+const { pathToFileURL } = require('node:url')
+const {
+  APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_FPM_EXCLUDE,
+  APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_SEGMENTS,
+  appImageNodeRuntimeTarget
+} = require('../../src/shared/appimage-node-runtime.ts')
+const { runTerminalHostRoundTrip } = require('./verify-packaged-daemon-entry.cjs')
+
+const appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs = ['--exclude', APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_FPM_EXCLUDE]
+const PTY_ROUND_TRIP_TIMEOUT_MS = 20_000
+
+async function ensurePinnedNode(target) {
+  const { ensurePinnedNodeExecutable } = await import(
+    pathToFileURL(resolve(__dirname, 'pinned-node-downloads.mjs')).href
+  )
+  return ensurePinnedNodeExecutable({ target })
+}
+
+/** `arch` is a Node arch name; the copy is hash-checked by the pinned download it comes from. */
+async function placeAppImageNodeRuntime(resourcesDir, arch, ensureNode = ensurePinnedNode) {
+  const target = appImageNodeRuntimeTarget(arch)
+  if (!target) {
+    throw new Error(`[appimage-node-runtime] the Node pin has no glibc build for Linux ${arch}`)
+  }
+  const destination = join(resourcesDir, ...APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_SEGMENTS)
+  mkdirSync(join(destination, '..'), { recursive: true })
+  copyFileSync(await ensureNode(target), destination)
+  chmodSync(destination, 0o755)
+  return destination
+}
+
+/** The bundled Node must load the packaged node-pty and serve one PTY, as the daemon will. */
+async function verifyAppImageNodeRuntimeServesPty(resourcesDir, runtimePath) {
+  const stderr = []
+  try {
+    await runTerminalHostRoundTrip({
+      command: [runtimePath],
+      entry: join(resourcesDir, 'app.asar.unpacked', 'out', 'main', 'daemon-entry.js'),
+      deadline: Date.now() + PTY_ROUND_TRIP_TIMEOUT_MS,
+      stderr
+    })
+  } catch (error) {
+    throw new Error(
+      `[appimage-node-runtime] the bundled Node did not serve a PTY: ${error.message}\n${stderr.join('').slice(-2000)}`
+    )
+  }
+  console.log('[appimage-node-runtime] OK — the bundled Node served a PTY')
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs,
+  placeAppImageNodeRuntime,
+  verifyAppImageNodeRuntimeServesPty
+}
diff --git a/config/scripts/appimage-node-runtime.test.mjs b/config/scripts/appimage-node-runtime.test.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4161d9e7761
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/scripts/appimage-node-runtime.test.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+import { mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, statSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { createRequire } from 'node:module'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+const require = createRequire(import.meta.url)
+const {
+  appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs,
+  placeAppImageNodeRuntime
+} = require('./appimage-node-runtime.cjs')
+const releaseConfig = require('../electron-builder.config.cjs')
+const prLinuxConfig = require('../electron-builder-pr-linux.config.cjs')
+
+let root = ''
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-appimage-node-pack-'))
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true })
+})
+
+/** Ruby's File.fnmatch without flags, which is how fpm applies --exclude: `*` crosses `/`. */
+function fpmExcludes(pattern, stagedPath) {
+  const source = pattern.replace(/[.+^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&').replaceAll('*', '.*')
+  return new RegExp(`^${source}$`).test(stagedPath)
+}
+
+describe('the pinned Node in Linux packages', () => {
+  it('is placed under resources as an executable bin/node for the slice arch', async () => {
+    const pinned = join(root, 'pinned-node')
+    writeFileSync(pinned, 'node bytes')
+    const requested = []
+    const destination = await placeAppImageNodeRuntime(join(root, 'resources'), 'arm64', (t) => {
+      requested.push(t)
+      return pinned
+    })
+    expect(requested).toEqual(['linux-arm64-glibc'])
+    expect(destination).toBe(join(root, 'resources', 'node-runtime', 'bin', 'node'))
+    expect(readFileSync(destination, 'utf8')).toBe('node bytes')
+    expect(statSync(destination).mode & 0o777).toBe(0o755)
+  })
+
+  it('fails packaging for a slice the pin has no glibc build for', async () => {
+    await expect(
+      placeAppImageNodeRuntime(join(root, 'resources'), 'ia32', () => '')
+    ).rejects.toThrow('no glibc build for Linux ia32')
+  })
+
+  it('ships only in the AppImage: deb and rpm exclude it, release and PR builds alike', () => {
+    for (const config of [releaseConfig, prLinuxConfig]) {
+      for (const target of ['deb', 'rpm']) {
+        const fpm = config[target].fpm.join('\0')
+        expect(fpm).toContain(appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs.join('\0'))
+      }
+      expect(config.appImage.fpm).toBeUndefined()
+    }
+    const [, pattern] = appImageNodeRuntimeFpmArgs
+    expect(fpmExcludes(pattern, 'opt/Orca/resources/node-runtime')).toBe(true)
+    expect(fpmExcludes(pattern, 'opt/Orca/resources/node_modules')).toBe(false)
+    expect(fpmExcludes(pattern, 'opt/Orca/resources/app.asar.unpacked/out/node-runtime')).toBe(
+      false
+    )
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime.test.ts b/src/main/node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6c8cbafb68b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import { mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
+import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { NODE_RUNTIME_ASSETS } from '../../shared/node-runtime-pin'
+import { findAppImageNodeRuntime } from './appimage-bundled-node-runtime'
+
+let resources = ''
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  resources = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'orca-appimage-node-'))
+})
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  rmSync(resources, { recursive: true, force: true })
+})
+
+function bundle(): string {
+  const path = join(resources, 'node-runtime', 'bin', 'node')
+  mkdirSync(join(path, '..'), { recursive: true })
+  writeFileSync(path, '')
+  return path
+}
+
+describe('findAppImageNodeRuntime', () => {
+  it('names the pinned glibc Node a Linux package carries for its CPU', () => {
+    const path = bundle()
+    expect(findAppImageNodeRuntime(resources, 'arm64', 'linux')).toEqual({
+      path,
+      target: 'linux-arm64-glibc',
+      executableSha256: NODE_RUNTIME_ASSETS['linux-arm64-glibc'].executableSha256
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('finds nothing in a package without one, or off Linux', () => {
+    expect(findAppImageNodeRuntime(resources, 'x64', 'linux')).toBeNull()
+    bundle()
+    expect(findAppImageNodeRuntime(resources, 'x64', 'darwin')).toBeNull()
+    expect(findAppImageNodeRuntime(resources, 'ia32', 'linux')).toBeNull()
+    expect(findAppImageNodeRuntime(undefined, 'x64', 'linux')).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/src/main/node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime.ts b/src/main/node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2cb7ab1b204
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/** The pinned Node inside a Linux AppImage's resources, used where Orca would otherwise download it. */
+import { randomUUID } from 'node:crypto'
+import { existsSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { chmod, copyFile, mkdir, rename, rm } from 'node:fs/promises'
+import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
+import {
+  APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_SEGMENTS,
+  appImageNodeRuntimeTarget
+} from '../../shared/appimage-node-runtime'
+import { NODE_RUNTIME_ASSETS, type ServerTarget } from '../../shared/node-runtime-pin'
+import { verifyFileSha256 } from './pinned-runtime-materializer'
+
+export type AppImageNodeRuntime = {
+  path: string
+  target: ServerTarget
+  executableSha256: string
+}
+
+/** Null for every package that carries none: deb, rpm, macOS, Windows and dev builds. */
+export function findAppImageNodeRuntime(
+  resourcesPath: string | undefined,
+  arch: string = process.arch,
+  platform: NodeJS.Platform = process.platform
+): AppImageNodeRuntime | null {
+  const target = appImageNodeRuntimeTarget(arch)
+  if (platform !== 'linux' || !resourcesPath || !target) {
+    return null
+  }
+  const path = join(resourcesPath, ...APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_SEGMENTS)
+  return existsSync(path)
+    ? { path, target, executableSha256: NODE_RUNTIME_ASSETS[target].executableSha256 }
+    : null
+}
+
+/** Copies the bundled Node to `destination`; only bytes that hash to the pin are published. */
+export async function copyVerifiedAppImageNodeRuntime(
+  runtime: AppImageNodeRuntime,
+  destination: string
+): Promise<void> {
+  await mkdir(dirname(destination), { recursive: true })
+  const staging = `${destination}.copy-${process.pid}-${randomUUID()}`
+  try {
+    await copyFile(runtime.path, staging)
+    await verifyFileSha256(staging, runtime.executableSha256, 'bundled Node')
+    await chmod(staging, 0o755)
+    await rename(staging, destination)
+  } finally {
+    await rm(staging, { force: true })
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection-entry.ts b/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection-entry.ts
index 016ac730159..7546dbe1fa1 100644
--- a/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection-entry.ts
+++ b/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection-entry.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
 } from '../../shared/orcad-local-serve-selection'
 import { selectServeRuntime } from './orcad-local-serve-selection'
 import { pruneDesktopOrcadArtifactCache } from './orcad-artifact-cache-retention'
+import { findAppImageNodeRuntime } from '../node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime'
 
 function flagValue(argv: readonly string[], flag: string): string | null {
   const index = argv.indexOf(flag)
@@ -30,7 +31,8 @@ async function run(argv: readonly string[]): Promise<void> {
     templateDirs: [
       ...(process.resourcesPath ? [join(process.resourcesPath, 'orcad-template')] : []),
       join(appRoot, 'out', 'orcad-template')
-    ]
+    ],
+    bundledNodeRuntime: findAppImageNodeRuntime(process.resourcesPath)
   })
   // orcad serve never starts the desktop's startup pass, so the slot cache is bounded here too.
   await pruneDesktopOrcadArtifactCache(
diff --git a/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.test.ts b/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.test.ts
index f6df27980c4..e9a775beff8 100644
--- a/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { createHash } from 'node:crypto'
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@ import {
 import { hashProfileStatePayload } from '../persistence/profile-state/profile-state-document-validation'
 import { importProfileStateJson } from '../persistence/profile-state/profile-state-documents'
 import { selectServeRuntime, type ServeRuntimeSelectionInput } from './orcad-local-serve-selection'
+import type { AppImageNodeRuntime } from '../node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime'
 
 const TARGET = 'linux-x64-glibc'
 const SSH_TARGET = { id: 'ssh-1', label: 'box', host: 'box.example', port: 22, username: 'me' }
@@ -202,6 +204,57 @@ describe('orca serve runtime selection', () => {
     })
   })
 
+  describe('an AppImage that carries the pinned Node', () => {
+    const offline = (): ServeRuntimeSelectionInput['materializeRuntime'] =>
+      vi.fn(async (): Promise<string> => {
+        throw new Error('fetch failed')
+      })
+
+    function bundledNode(bytes: string): AppImageNodeRuntime {
+      const path = join(root, 'resources', 'node-runtime', 'bin', 'node')
+      mkdirSync(join(path, '..'), { recursive: true })
+      writeFileSync(path, bytes)
+      return {
+        path,
+        target: TARGET,
+        executableSha256: createHash('sha256').update('#!/bin/sh\n# pinned\n').digest('hex')
+      }
+    }
+
+    it('prepares the slot from it on an offline first run', async () => {
+      const selection = await selectServeRuntime(
+        input({
+          materializeRuntime: offline(),
+          bundledNodeRuntime: bundledNode('#!/bin/sh\n# pinned\n')
+        })
+      )
+      const runtime = join(
+        root,
+        'orcad-artifacts',
+        TARGET,
+        '0.1.0+abc',
+        ...orcadNodeRuntimeRelativePath(TARGET, SHA)
+      )
+      expect(selection).toMatchObject({ kind: 'orcad', runtime })
+      expect(readFileSync(runtime, 'utf8')).toBe('#!/bin/sh\n# pinned\n')
+    })
+
+    it('downloads instead when the bundled bytes are not the pin', async () => {
+      const options = input({ bundledNodeRuntime: bundledNode('#!/bin/sh\n# tampered\n') })
+      expect(await selectServeRuntime(options)).toMatchObject({ kind: 'orcad' })
+      expect(options.materializeRuntime).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+    })
+
+    it('downloads instead when the bundled Node is for another host', async () => {
+      const options = input({
+        hostTarget: () => 'linux-x64-musl',
+        bundledNodeRuntime: bundledNode('#!/bin/sh\n# pinned\n')
+      })
+      await selectServeRuntime(options)
+      expect(options.materializeRuntime).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+    })
+  })
+
   it.each([
     [
       'an unknown runtime name',
diff --git a/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.ts b/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.ts
index 8b18969f275..75cc3c5a42c 100644
--- a/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.ts
+++ b/src/main/orcad/orcad-local-serve-selection.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ import { resolveBundledOrcadRuntime } from './orcad-bundled-runtime'
 import { detectNativeHostAbi, nativeSlotName } from './native-host-abi'
 import { materializeOrcadArtifact } from './orcad-artifact-materializer'
 import { materializeCachedNodeRuntime } from '../node-runtime/pinned-runtime-materializer'
+import {
+  copyVerifiedAppImageNodeRuntime,
+  type AppImageNodeRuntime
+} from '../node-runtime/appimage-bundled-node-runtime'
 import { serveProfileHasSshTargets } from './serve-profile-ssh-targets'
 import { errorMessage } from '../../shared/error-message'
 
@@ -44,6 +48,8 @@ export type ServeRuntimeSelectionInput = {
   hostTarget?: () => string
   materializeSlot?: typeof materializeOrcadArtifact
   materializeRuntime?: typeof materializeCachedNodeRuntime
+  /** The pinned Node an AppImage carries; the slot uses it before trying a download. */
+  bundledNodeRuntime?: AppImageNodeRuntime | null
   nativePreflight?: (runtime: string, entry: string) => Promise<string>
   profileHasSshTargets?: (userDataPath: string) => boolean
 }
@@ -87,7 +93,7 @@ export async function selectServeRuntime(
       templateDir,
       cacheRoot
     })
-    await placeSlotRuntime(slotDir, target, cacheRoot, input.materializeRuntime)
+    await placeSlotRuntime(slotDir, target, cacheRoot, input)
   } catch (error) {
     return electron(`the orcad slot for ${target} could not be prepared: ${errorMessage(error)}`)
   }
@@ -133,12 +139,15 @@ function profileSshReason(input: ServeRuntimeSelectionInput): string | null {
   }
 }
 
-/** The slot references its runtime beside it; the cached pinned Node is linked into place. */
+/** The slot references its runtime beside it: the AppImage's own copy, else the cached download. */
 async function placeSlotRuntime(
   slotDir: string,
   target: ServerTarget,
   cacheRoot: string,
-  materializeRuntime: typeof materializeCachedNodeRuntime = materializeCachedNodeRuntime
+  {
+    materializeRuntime = materializeCachedNodeRuntime,
+    bundledNodeRuntime
+  }: Pick<ServeRuntimeSelectionInput, 'materializeRuntime' | 'bundledNodeRuntime'>
 ): Promise<void> {
   const destination = join(
     slotDir,
@@ -147,6 +156,14 @@ async function placeSlotRuntime(
   if (existsSync(destination)) {
     return
   }
+  if (bundledNodeRuntime?.target === target) {
+    try {
+      await copyVerifiedAppImageNodeRuntime(bundledNodeRuntime, destination)
+      return
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error(`orca serve: not using the bundled Node (${errorMessage(error)})`)
+    }
+  }
   const cached = await materializeRuntime(target, cacheRoot, { fetcher: fetch })
   mkdirSync(dirname(destination), { recursive: true })
   try {
diff --git a/src/shared/appimage-node-runtime.ts b/src/shared/appimage-node-runtime.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..96d7889f70f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/shared/appimage-node-runtime.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/**
+ * The pinned Node a Linux AppImage carries, so what runs outside Electron needs no download.
+ * deb and rpm exclude it at packaging time: their installs never vanish under a running process.
+ *
+ * Keep this file erasable-only TypeScript with no imports — packaging scripts require it directly.
+ */
+
+/** Segments under the app's resources dir, laid out like the upstream archive (`bin/node`). */
+export const APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_SEGMENTS = ['node-runtime', 'bin', 'node'] as const
+/** fpm `--exclude` pattern, matched against each staged path (`*` crosses `/` there). */
+export const APPIMAGE_NODE_RUNTIME_FPM_EXCLUDE = '*/resources/node-runtime'
+
+/** AppImages are glibc builds, so only a glibc host of the same CPU can use the bundled Node. */
+export function appImageNodeRuntimeTarget(
+  arch: string
+): 'linux-x64-glibc' | 'linux-arm64-glibc' | null {
+  if (arch === 'x64') {
+    return 'linux-x64-glibc'
+  }
+  if (arch === 'arm64') {
+    return 'linux-arm64-glibc'
+  }
+  return null
+}