diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 1139c82..3a80821 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -27,19 +27,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: npm ci
 
-      - name: Build frontend bundle
-        run: npm run build
-
-      - name: Archive release package
-        run: |
-          tar -czf /tmp/dist.tar.gz \
-            --exclude='.git' \
-            --exclude='.github' \
-            --exclude='.env' \
-            --exclude='chat-sessions.json' \
-            --exclude='public/app.js' \
-            .
-          mv /tmp/dist.tar.gz dist.tar.gz
+      - name: Run tests
+        run: npm test
+
+      - name: Pack release
+        run: npm run pack
 
       - name: Upload build artifact (for workflow logs)
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index eea4524..86e3bbf 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -7,3 +7,5 @@ public/hljs-*.css
 chat-sessions.json
 chat-config.json
 .agent-build
+dist
+dist.tar.gz
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 6d8cd64..f3d6d6e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@
     "deploy:agent:prod": "node scripts/deploy-agent.mjs prod",
     "refresh:model-capabilities": "node scripts/refresh-model-capabilities.mjs",
     "test": "vitest run",
-    "test:watch": "vitest"
+    "test:watch": "vitest",
+    "pack": "node scripts/pack-dist.mjs"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@octavus/client-sdk": "^6.10.0",
diff --git a/scripts/pack-dist.mjs b/scripts/pack-dist.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..40d094a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/pack-dist.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/**
+ * Builds a runnable release tree into dist/ and archives it as dist.tar.gz.
+ *
+ * The tarball is the client bundle + a single-file server bundle + the static
+ * files Express serves. No node_modules. Extract and `node server.js`.
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   node scripts/pack-dist.mjs
+ */
+
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from 'node:url';
+import * as esbuild from 'esbuild';
+
+const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..');
+const DIST = path.join(ROOT, 'dist');
+const TAR = path.join(ROOT, 'dist.tar.gz');
+
+function copy(src, dest, filter) {
+  fs.cpSync(src, dest, { recursive: true, filter });
+}
+
+function bytes(file) {
+  return fs.statSync(file).size;
+}
+
+function formatSize(n) {
+  if (n >= 1024 * 1024) return `${(n / (1024 * 1024)).toFixed(1)} MB`;
+  if (n >= 1024) return `${(n / 1024).toFixed(0)} KB`;
+  return `${n} B`;
+}
+
+function distSize(rel) {
+  const full = path.join(DIST, rel);
+  if (!fs.existsSync(full)) return 0;
+  const st = fs.statSync(full);
+  if (!st.isDirectory()) return st.size;
+  let total = 0;
+  for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(full, { withFileTypes: true })) {
+    const child = path.join(rel, entry.name);
+    total += distSize(child);
+  }
+  return total;
+}
+
+fs.rmSync(DIST, { recursive: true, force: true });
+fs.mkdirSync(path.join(DIST, 'public'), { recursive: true });
+
+await esbuild.build({
+  absWorkingDir: ROOT,
+  entryPoints: ['public/app.js'],
+  bundle: true,
+  outfile: 'dist/public/app.bundle.js',
+  format: 'esm',
+  platform: 'browser',
+  minify: true,
+  logLevel: 'warning',
+});
+
+await esbuild.build({
+  absWorkingDir: ROOT,
+  entryPoints: ['server.js'],
+  bundle: true,
+  outfile: 'dist/server.js',
+  format: 'esm',
+  platform: 'node',
+  minify: true,
+  banner: {
+    js: "import { createRequire } from 'module'; const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);",
+  },
+  logLevel: 'warning',
+});
+
+await esbuild.build({
+  absWorkingDir: ROOT,
+  entryPoints: ['extract-conversations.js'],
+  bundle: true,
+  outfile: 'dist/extract-conversations.js',
+  format: 'esm',
+  platform: 'node',
+  minify: true,
+  banner: {
+    js: "import { createRequire } from 'module'; const require = createRequire(import.meta.url);",
+  },
+  logLevel: 'warning',
+});
+
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'public/index.html'), path.join(DIST, 'public/index.html'));
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'public/app.css'), path.join(DIST, 'public/app.css'));
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'public/Images'), path.join(DIST, 'public/Images'));
+copy(
+  path.join(ROOT, 'node_modules/highlight.js/styles/github-dark.css'),
+  path.join(DIST, 'public/hljs-github-dark.css'),
+);
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'design-system'), path.join(DIST, 'design-system'), (src) => {
+  const rel = path.relative(path.join(ROOT, 'design-system'), src);
+  return !rel.split(path.sep).includes('.git');
+});
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'i18n'), path.join(DIST, 'i18n'));
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'current-models.txt'), path.join(DIST, 'current-models.txt'));
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'model-capabilities.json'), path.join(DIST, 'model-capabilities.json'));
+copy(path.join(ROOT, '.env.example'), path.join(DIST, '.env.example'));
+copy(path.join(ROOT, 'chat-config.example.json'), path.join(DIST, 'chat-config.example.json'));
+
+const pkg = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, 'package.json'), 'utf8'));
+fs.writeFileSync(
+  path.join(DIST, 'package.json'),
+  `${JSON.stringify(
+    {
+      name: pkg.name,
+      version: pkg.version,
+      private: true,
+      type: 'module',
+      scripts: {
+        start: 'node server.js',
+        extract: 'node extract-conversations.js',
+        report: 'node extract-conversations.js --mode report --print-settings',
+      },
+    },
+    null,
+    2,
+  )}\n`,
+);
+
+for (const rel of [
+  'public/app.bundle.js',
+  'public/app.css',
+  'public/index.html',
+  'public/hljs-github-dark.css',
+  'server.js',
+  'extract-conversations.js',
+]) {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(DIST, rel))) throw new Error(`missing ${rel} in dist/`);
+}
+
+process.env.NODE_ENV = 'test';
+const { app } = await import(pathToFileURL(path.join(DIST, 'server.js')).href);
+const server = await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+  const s = app.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', () => resolve(s));
+  s.on('error', reject);
+});
+try {
+  const port = server.address().port;
+  const health = await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${port}/api/health`);
+  if (!health.ok) throw new Error(`health check failed (${health.status})`);
+  await health.json();
+} finally {
+  server.closeAllConnections?.();
+  await new Promise((resolve) => server.close(resolve));
+}
+
+if (fs.existsSync(TAR)) fs.unlinkSync(TAR);
+execFileSync('tar', ['-czf', TAR, '-C', DIST, '.'], { cwd: ROOT });
+
+const entries = [
+  'server.js',
+  'extract-conversations.js',
+  'public/app.bundle.js',
+  'public',
+  'design-system',
+  'i18n',
+];
+console.log('Packed dist/ (no node_modules):');
+for (const rel of entries) {
+  console.log(`  ${rel.padEnd(24)} ${formatSize(distSize(rel))}`);
+}
+console.log(`  ${'dist.tar.gz'.padEnd(24)} ${formatSize(bytes(TAR))}`);
diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index cc651bf..e997a08 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ const PORT = Number.parseInt(process.env.PORT ?? '3000', 10) || 3000;
 
 // ── Octavus client ────────────────────────────────────────────
 const octavus = new OctavusClient({
-  baseUrl: process.env.OCTAVUS_API_URL,
-  apiKey: process.env.OCTAVUS_API_KEY,
+  baseUrl: process.env.OCTAVUS_API_URL || 'https://octavus.ai',
+  apiKey: process.env.OCTAVUS_API_KEY || '',
 });
 
 // Which deployed agent the server talks to. Defaults to "prod" so existing
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ app.use(express.json());
 app.use('/design-system', express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'design-system')));
 app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
 
+// ── Health ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+app.get('/api/health', (_req, res) => {
+  res.json({ ok: true, service: 'chat-cpt' });
+});
+
 // ── Config ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 const readConfig = () => readJsonFile(CONFIG_FILE);