diff --git a/packaging/windows/package.ps1 b/packaging/windows/package.ps1
index 7f1320c8..e1630b11 100644
--- a/packaging/windows/package.ps1
+++ b/packaging/windows/package.ps1
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
   Produces, in $env:DIST (default: dist/release):
     effectcraft-<version>-windows-<arch>.msi            per-machine installer (WiX v5)
     effectcraft-<version>-windows-<arch>-portable.zip   effectcraft.exe + effectcraft-cli.exe
+    effectcraft-cli-<version>-windows-<arch>.zip        effectcraft-cli.exe standalone
 
   The binaries link the C runtime statically (+crt-static), so neither the MSI nor the portable
   zip needs the Visual C++ redistributable. Signing is delegated to sign.ps1 (skipped with a
@@ -56,6 +57,17 @@ if (-not $env:EFFECTCRAFT_BUILD_DATE) { $env:EFFECTCRAFT_BUILD_DATE = (Get-Date)
 Write-Output "EffectCraft $Version for Windows $Arch ($Target)"
 
 if (-not $SkipBuild) {
+  # Locate rc.exe if not in PATH
+  if (-not (Get-Command rc.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+    $kits = Join-Path ${env:ProgramFiles(x86)} 'Windows Kits\10\bin'
+    $foundRc = Get-ChildItem -Path $kits -Recurse -Filter rc.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+      Where-Object { $_.FullName -match '\\x64\\rc\.exe$' } |
+      Sort-Object FullName -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
+    if ($foundRc) {
+      $env:PATH = "$($foundRc.DirectoryName);$env:PATH"
+    }
+  }
+
   # Static CRT: no VC++ redistributable needed. Scoped to the target so host build scripts and
   # proc-macros are unaffected.
   $flagVar = 'CARGO_TARGET_' + ($Target.ToUpper() -replace '-', '_') + '_RUSTFLAGS'
@@ -114,6 +126,19 @@ $Zip = Join-Path $Dist "effectcraft-$Version-windows-$Arch-portable.zip"
 Remove-Item -Force $Zip -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
 Compress-Archive -Path $Portable -DestinationPath $Zip
 
+# ---- cli zip -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+$CliPortable = Join-Path $TargetDir "windows-package\effectcraft-cli-$Version-windows-$Arch"
+Remove-Item -Recurse -Force $CliPortable -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $CliPortable | Out-Null
+Copy-Item (Join-Path $Stage 'effectcraft-cli.exe') $CliPortable
+foreach ($f in 'README.md', 'LICENSE', 'LICENSE-MIT', 'LICENSE-APACHE') {
+  $p = Join-Path $Root $f
+  if (Test-Path $p) { Copy-Item $p $CliPortable }
+}
+$CliZip = Join-Path $Dist "effectcraft-cli-$Version-windows-$Arch.zip"
+Remove-Item -Force $CliZip -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+Compress-Archive -Path $CliPortable -DestinationPath $CliZip
+
 # Smoke-test the CLI when this machine can run it. An ARM64 build made on an x64 runner can't run
 # here; .github/workflows/windows-arm64.yml installs and runs it on ARM64 instead.
 $HostArch = [System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation]::OSArchitecture.ToString().ToLowerInvariant()
@@ -122,4 +147,4 @@ if ($Arch -ne 'arm64' -or $HostArch -eq 'arm64') {
 } else {
   Write-Output "skipping effectcraft-cli --version: an $Arch build doesn't run on this $HostArch machine"
 }
-Get-Item $Msi, $Zip | Format-Table Name, Length
+Get-Item $Msi, $Zip, $CliZip | Format-Table Name, Length