diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/builder-image.yml b/.gitea/workflows/builder-image.yml
index d72a3d7..ef29570 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/builder-image.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/builder-image.yml
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ env:
 
 jobs:
   build-image:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm64
+    # amd64: Google ships the Linux build-tools (aapt2, d8) for x86_64 only,
+    # so the toolchain must be built for and run on amd64.
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -43,12 +45,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
 
-      - name: Build and push (linux/arm64)
+      - name: Build and push (linux/amd64)
         uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./Dockerfile
-          platforms: linux/arm64
+          platforms: linux/amd64
           push: true
           tags: ${{ steps.tags.outputs.tags }}
           # Bump these here if you want to override the Dockerfile defaults
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index bfa0a69..4c81adf 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
-# Native linux/arm64 Android build toolchain for CI.
+# Native linux/amd64 Android build toolchain for CI.
 # Builds release artifacts only — no emulator, no test/system images.
-# eclipse-temurin publishes a native linux/arm64 manifest, so this runs
-# without emulation on an OCI Ampere (aarch64) runner.
+# Must be amd64: Google publishes the Linux build-tools (aapt2, d8, …) for
+# x86_64 only — there is no arm64 Linux build-tools package — so packaging
+# cannot run natively on an aarch64 runner. The APK output is architecture-
+# neutral regardless of the build host.
 FROM eclipse-temurin:21-jdk-noble
 
 # --- Version pins (bump deliberately; this is what your app repos trust) ---
@@ -40,9 +42,8 @@ RUN mkdir -p ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools && \
 ENV PATH=${PATH}:${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/platform-tools
 
 # Accept licenses and bake the SDK packages into the image so prod builds
-# don't depend on Google's endpoint at job time.
-# aapt2 and the build-tools binaries ship native arm64 for 35.x, so APK/AAB
-# packaging runs natively on aarch64.
+# don't depend on Google's endpoint at job time. The build-tools binaries
+# (aapt2, d8) are x86_64 ELF — this is why the image must be amd64.
 RUN yes | sdkmanager --licenses >/dev/null && \
     sdkmanager --install \
       "platform-tools" \
@@ -51,7 +52,10 @@ RUN yes | sdkmanager --licenses >/dev/null && \
     rm -rf ${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/.android
 
 # Sanity: fail the image build if the toolchain isn't actually usable.
+# Execute aapt2 (not just --version a tool) so an arch mismatch in the
+# build-tools binaries fails the image build here, not in every app build.
 RUN java -version && sdkmanager --version && node --version && \
+    "${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/build-tools/${BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION}/aapt2" version && \
     test -d "${ANDROID_SDK_ROOT}/platforms/${PLATFORM_VERSION}"
 
 WORKDIR /workspace
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 29e1af2..316f3a8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,18 +1,23 @@
 # android-builder
 
-Native `linux/arm64` Android build toolchain for CI, published to the Gitea
+Native `linux/amd64` Android build toolchain for CI, published to the Gitea
 container registry at `git.helu.ca/r/android`.
 
 App repos consume this image to build signed release artifacts. Instrumented
 tests are **not** part of this toolchain — by design, CI builds are promotions
 of code already tested in Dev (on Apple silicon, where the emulator runs
-natively). The OCI Ampere (aarch64) runner has no `/dev/kvm` (the guest VM
-boots at EL1, so KVM can't access HYP/EL2), so there's no accelerated emulator
-here — and we don't need one.
+natively).
+
+**Why amd64:** Google publishes the Linux Android build-tools (`aapt2`, `d8`,
+…) for **x86_64 only** — there is no arm64 Linux build-tools package. Running
+the toolchain on an aarch64 runner fails at resource packaging
+(`aapt2: Syntax error: newline unexpected`, an x86_64 binary the kernel can't
+exec). The produced APK/AAB is architecture-neutral regardless of build host,
+so building on amd64 costs nothing on the output side.
 
 ## What's in the image
 
-- Eclipse Temurin JDK 21 (native arm64)
+- Eclipse Temurin JDK 21 (native amd64)
 - Android cmdline-tools, platform, and build-tools — **baked in**, so prod
   builds don't depend on Google's download endpoint at job time
 - `git`, `curl`, `unzip`
@@ -27,8 +32,8 @@ Pinned versions live as `ARG`s at the top of the `Dockerfile`:
 | `BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION`   | `36.0.0`    | SDK Manager / release notes |
 | `PLATFORM_VERSION`      | `android-36`| your app's `compileSdk` |
 
-`aapt2` and the build-tools binaries ship native arm64 for 36.x, so packaging
-runs without emulation.
+The build-tools binaries (`aapt2`, `d8`) are x86_64 ELF — this is why the
+image is amd64 (see "Why amd64" above).
 
 ## Tagging model
 
@@ -63,7 +68,7 @@ app and pin the toolchain:
 ```yaml
 jobs:
   build:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm64
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     container:
       image: git.helu.ca/r/android:2026.06
       credentials:
diff --git a/templates/build.yml b/templates/build.yml
index 5d9a208..052c122 100644
--- a/templates/build.yml
+++ b/templates/build.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,9 @@ env:
 
 jobs:
   build:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm64
+    # amd64: the toolchain image carries x86_64 Android build-tools (Google
+    # ships no arm64 Linux build-tools), so run it on an amd64 runner.
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     container:
       image: git.helu.ca/r/android:2026.06
       credentials: