diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index abdbdd8..3bc0da1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -26,12 +26,19 @@ carriers are very welcome.
 
 ## Flashing
 
-Download `boot.img` and `fairphone-fp6.img` from the latest release and unlock
-the bootloader ([Fairphone's official process](https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/10492476238737)).
+Download `fp6-img.tar.xz` from the latest release and unlock the bootloader
+([Fairphone's official process](https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/10492476238737)).
 
 **Install**: with the phone in fastboot mode,
-run [`install.sh`](install.sh) (also attached to every release) from the
-directory holding the two images.
+
+```sh
+tar xf fp6-img.tar.xz
+cd fp6-img
+./install.sh
+```
+
+[`install.sh`](install.sh) and this README are attached to every release
+uncompressed as well, so you can read them before committing to the download.
 
 It erases dtbo, flashes the rootfs, **RAM-boots** the kernel (`fastboot
 boot` — verified to write nothing), writes the boot partition from inside
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 473e971..a596a3f 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ if [ "$(id -u)" = 0 ]; then
 	# reads channels.cfg from origin/master (upstream pmaports moved to main).
 	# multipath-tools: kpartx; util-linux: losetup with --json support
 	# (pmbootstrap's host-tool checks + image mounting need both)
-	apk add -q git sudo openssl python3 py3-pip multipath-tools util-linux
+	apk add -q git sudo openssl python3 py3-pip multipath-tools util-linux \
+		tar xz
 	pip install -q --break-system-packages \
 		git+https://gitlab.postmarketos.org/postmarketOS/pmbootstrap.git@3.11.1
 	# The container cannot modprobe (no /lib/modules in here), but it doesn't
@@ -175,8 +176,6 @@ pmbootstrap install --password 147147
 EXPORT=/tmp/postmarketOS-export
 rm -rf "$EXPORT"
 pmbootstrap export "$EXPORT"
-cp -L "$EXPORT/boot.img" dist/boot.img
-cp -L "$EXPORT/fairphone-fp6.img" dist/fairphone-fp6.img
 
 {
 	echo "kernel:        $KERNEL_REPO $KERNEL_BRANCH @ $COMMIT"
@@ -187,5 +186,24 @@ cp -L "$EXPORT/fairphone-fp6.img" dist/fairphone-fp6.img
 cp README.md dist/README.md
 cp install.sh dist/install.sh
 
+# The images ship as one archive, not as loose files: the rootfs is 3.0 GiB
+# raw and 812 MiB under xz -6 (gzip -6 stops at 1144 MiB), and a bundle makes
+# it impossible to pair a boot.img with a rootfs from a different build.
+# README/install.sh/build-info stay loose in dist too, so they can be read
+# before committing to the download.
+#
+# pmbootstrap export writes symlinks into its work dir; tar -h resolves them,
+# so the archive is built without a second 3 GiB copy on disk.
+STAGE="$WORK/stage"
+rm -rf "$STAGE"
+mkdir -p "$STAGE/fp6-img"
+ln -s "$EXPORT/boot.img" "$STAGE/fp6-img/boot.img"
+ln -s "$EXPORT/fairphone-fp6.img" "$STAGE/fp6-img/fairphone-fp6.img"
+cp dist/build-info.txt dist/README.md dist/install.sh "$STAGE/fp6-img/"
+# sums of the extracted contents (the outer sha256sums.txt covers the archive)
+(cd "$STAGE/fp6-img" && sha256sum -- * > sha256sums.txt)
+tar -C "$STAGE" -chf - fp6-img | xz -T0 -6 > dist/fp6-img.tar.xz
+rm -rf "$STAGE"
+
 (cd dist && sha256sum -- * > sha256sums.txt)
 ls -la dist/
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index add2e61..5df2328 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@
 #
 # Requirements on this machine: fastboot, ssh. Phone: bootloader unlocked,
 # in fastboot mode (Vol-down + Power), connected over USB.
-# Run from a directory containing boot.img and fairphone-fp6.img.
+# Run from the directory the release archive extracts to:
+#   tar xf fp6-img.tar.xz && cd fp6-img && ./install.sh
 
 PHONE=172.16.42.1
 BOOT=${BOOT:-boot.img}
@@ -29,8 +30,10 @@ die() { printf 'ERROR: %s\n' "$*" >&2; exit 1; }
 # --- preflight ---------------------------------------------------------------
 command -v fastboot >/dev/null || die "fastboot not found (install android-tools)"
 command -v ssh >/dev/null || die "ssh not found"
-[ -f "$BOOT" ] || die "$BOOT not found (download it from the release)"
-[ -f "$ROOTFS" ] || die "$ROOTFS not found (download it from the release)"
+[ -f "$BOOT" ] || die "$BOOT not found - run this from the extracted fp6-img
+       directory (tar xf fp6-img.tar.xz && cd fp6-img)"
+[ -f "$ROOTFS" ] || die "$ROOTFS not found - run this from the extracted fp6-img
+       directory (tar xf fp6-img.tar.xz && cd fp6-img)"
 # NEVER pipe fastboot into grep -q or anything that exits early: the reader
 # quitting mid-output SIGPIPEs fastboot to death mid-transaction and leaves
 # the bootloader's fastboot state machine wedged - the NEXT command then