diff --git a/.github/workflows/tauri-build.yml b/.github/workflows/tauri-build.yml
index f70e85cfc0..48d2a83e1b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tauri-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tauri-build.yml
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ jobs:
           # ARM64: NSIS only (WiX MSI has no arm64 support in Tauri) and no JPDFium
           # natives yet - flip jpdfium_platforms to windows-arm64 once JPDFium ships it.
           WINDOWS_ARM64='{"platform":"windows-11-arm","args":"--target aarch64-pc-windows-msvc --bundles nsis","name":"windows-arm64","jpdfium_platforms":"none"}'
-          MACOS='{"platform":"macos-26","args":"--target universal-apple-darwin --verbose","name":"macos-universal","jpdfium_platforms":"darwin-arm64,darwin-x64"}'
+          MACOS='{"platform":"macos-26","args":"--target universal-apple-darwin","name":"macos-universal","jpdfium_platforms":"darwin-arm64,darwin-x64"}'
           LINUX='{"platform":"ubuntu-22.04","args":"","name":"linux-x86_64","jpdfium_platforms":"linux-x64"}'
 
           case "$PLATFORM" in
@@ -178,27 +178,6 @@ jobs:
           xcodebuild -version
           command -v actool
 
-      # TEMPORARY DIAGNOSTIC - hidden vs visible parent directory.
-      # Tauri compiles from tempfile::tempdir(), which defaults to a ".tmp"
-      # prefix. If actool skips hidden paths, that is an upstream bug.
-      - name: PROBE hidden parent directory
-        if: runner.os == 'macOS'
-        continue-on-error: true
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          try_dir() {
-            local dir="$1" label="$2"
-            rm -rf "$dir"; mkdir -p "$dir/out"
-            cp -R frontend/editor/src-tauri/icons/macos/app.icon "$dir/Icon.icon"
-            echo "########## $label -> $dir"
-            actool "$dir/Icon.icon" --compile "$dir/out"               --output-format human-readable-text --notices --warnings               --output-partial-info-plist "$dir/out/assetcatalog_generated_info.plist"               --app-icon Icon --include-all-app-icons               --accent-color AccentColor --enable-on-demand-resources NO               --development-region en --target-device mac               --minimum-deployment-target 26.0 --platform macosx 2>&1 | tail -6
-            echo "########## $label exit=${PIPESTATUS[0]} car=$(ls -1 "$dir/out/Assets.car" 2>/dev/null || echo NONE)"
-          }
-          T="${TMPDIR%/}"
-          try_dir "$T/visible-parent" VISIBLE
-          try_dir "$T/.tmpHIDDEN1" HIDDEN
-          try_dir "$T/.hidden-parent/nested" HIDDEN-ANCESTOR
-
       - name: Setup Rust
         uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@4be9e76fd7c4901c61fb841f559994984270fce7 # stable
         with:
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4b34350f67..58ca1938e5 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -305,3 +305,6 @@ docs/type3/signatures/
 
 # Local screenshot artifacts from *-screenshots.spec.ts
 frontend/editor/screenshots/
+
+# Compiled by `task desktop:assets-car` from icons/macos/app.icon
+frontend/editor/src-tauri/icons/macos/Assets.car
diff --git a/.taskfiles/desktop.yml b/.taskfiles/desktop.yml
index 555e252a4e..536573389b 100644
--- a/.taskfiles/desktop.yml
+++ b/.taskfiles/desktop.yml
@@ -35,6 +35,29 @@ tasks:
       - task: ":frontend:prepare"
         vars: { MODE: desktop }
       - provisioner
+      - assets-car
+
+  assets-car:
+    desc: "Compile the macOS Liquid Glass app icon"
+    platforms: [darwin]
+    cmds:
+      # Tauri can compile icons/macos/app.icon itself, but its own actool call
+      # fails inside the bundler; compiling here and handing it the finished
+      # Assets.car takes the supported prebuilt-.car path instead.
+      - cmd: |
+          set -eu
+          ICONS=frontend/editor/src-tauri/icons/macos
+          WORK=$(mktemp -d)/build
+          mkdir -p "$WORK/out"
+          cp -R "$ICONS/app.icon" "$WORK/Icon.icon"
+          actool "$WORK/Icon.icon" --compile "$WORK/out" \
+            --output-format human-readable-text --notices --warnings \
+            --output-partial-info-plist "$WORK/out/assetcatalog_generated_info.plist" \
+            --app-icon Icon --include-all-app-icons \
+            --enable-on-demand-resources NO --development-region en \
+            --target-device mac --minimum-deployment-target 26.0 --platform macosx
+          cp "$WORK/out/Assets.car" "$ICONS/Assets.car"
+          echo "Compiled $ICONS/Assets.car ($(wc -c < "$ICONS/Assets.car") bytes)"
 
   provisioner:
     desc: "Build installer provisioner"
diff --git a/frontend/editor/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json b/frontend/editor/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
index 7a6afe26c4..cdd29e708f 100644
--- a/frontend/editor/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
+++ b/frontend/editor/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@
     "icon": [
       "icons/windows/app.ico",
       "icons/macos/app.icns",
-      "icons/macos/app.icon",
       "icons/macos/app-512.png"
     ],
     "resources": ["libs/*.jar", "runtime/jre/**/*"],
diff --git a/frontend/editor/src-tauri/tauri.macos.conf.json b/frontend/editor/src-tauri/tauri.macos.conf.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6e56a5284b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/editor/src-tauri/tauri.macos.conf.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "bundle": {
+    "icon": [
+      "icons/macos/app.icns",
+      "icons/macos/app-512.png",
+      "icons/macos/Assets.car"
+    ]
+  }
+}