diff --git a/.github/workflows/linux-appimage.yml b/.github/workflows/linux-appimage.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..55f9b57e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/linux-appimage.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+# The Linux AppImage of each release (tools/make_appimage.py), built on a Linux runner and attached to the release
+# itself: the release is assembled on Windows (tools/make_release.py), and the AppImage needs Linux (the translator's
+# NativeAOT build for linux-x64, appimagetool). It holds the build kit only, no game files, as the setup does.
+name: Linux AppImage
+
+on:
+  release:
+    types: [published]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: 'Release tag to build the AppImage for (it replaces one already attached)'
+        required: true
+
+permissions:
+  contents: write   # gh release upload
+
+concurrency:
+  group: linux-appimage-${{ github.event.release.tag_name || inputs.tag }}
+
+jobs:
+  appimage:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    env:
+      TAG: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name || inputs.tag }}
+      GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name || inputs.tag }}
+      - uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v4
+        with:
+          dotnet-version: '10.0.x'
+      - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@v6
+      - name: Shader compilers
+        # make_appimage.py compiles the runtime's own shaders (tools/build_shaders.py: glslc, spirv-as, spirv-val)
+        run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y glslc spirv-tools
+      - name: Shader translator and VMA
+        run: |
+          uv venv -q --python 3.12 .venv
+          uv pip install -q --python .venv/bin/python pillow
+          .venv/bin/python tools/build_xlate.py
+          .venv/bin/python -c 'import sys; sys.path.insert(0, "tools"); import build_game; print("VMA:", build_game.vma_include())'
+      - name: Button art from the release's app zip
+        run: |
+          # make_release.py uploads the zip with the release; wait for it if the release was published first
+          for i in $(seq 1 20); do
+            gh release download "$TAG" -p 'NX2navi-app-*.zip' -D "$RUNNER_TEMP/app" && break
+            echo "no app zip on $TAG yet ($i)"; sleep 30
+          done
+          unzip -q "$RUNNER_TEMP"/app/NX2navi-app-*.zip 'prompt-art/*' -d "$RUNNER_TEMP/app" || true
+          ls -d "$RUNNER_TEMP/app/prompt-art" 2>/dev/null || echo "::warning::no prompt-art in the app zip: the AppImage's builds keep the Switch prompts"
+      - name: AppImage
+        run: |
+          uv python install -q 3.14
+          py=$(find "$(uv python dir)" -maxdepth 1 -type d -name 'cpython-3.14.*-linux-x86_64-gnu' | sort -V | tail -1)
+          curl -fsSL -o "$RUNNER_TEMP/appimagetool" \
+            https://github.com/AppImage/appimagetool/releases/download/continuous/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage
+          chmod +x "$RUNNER_TEMP/appimagetool"
+          art=(); [ -d "$RUNNER_TEMP/app/prompt-art" ] && art=(--prompt-art "$RUNNER_TEMP/app/prompt-art")
+          APPIMAGE_EXTRACT_AND_RUN=1 .venv/bin/python tools/make_appimage.py --python "$py" \
+            --appimagetool "$RUNNER_TEMP/appimagetool" --out dist "${art[@]}"
+          appimage=$(ls dist/NX2navi-Linux-*-x86_64.AppImage)
+          APPIMAGE_EXTRACT_AND_RUN=1 "$appimage" --help | head -3
+          (cd dist && sha256sum NX2navi-Linux-*-x86_64.AppImage > SHA256SUMS-linux.txt && cat SHA256SUMS-linux.txt)
+      - name: Attach to the release
+        run: gh release upload "$TAG" --clobber dist/NX2navi-Linux-*-x86_64.AppImage dist/SHA256SUMS-linux.txt
diff --git a/tools/make_appimage.py b/tools/make_appimage.py
index 646224f6..55d4d619 100644
--- a/tools/make_appimage.py
+++ b/tools/make_appimage.py
@@ -5,9 +5,12 @@ player's PC from their own dump with tools/make_game.py, as NX2navi-Setup.exe do
 
 The AppImage holds no game files: the kit's tools/, recomp/, runtime/ and docs, the shader translator built by
 tools/build_xlate.py (bin/nx2navi_xlate), the pinned Vulkan Memory Allocator header, and a relocatable CPython 3.14
-(python-build-standalone, as `uv python install 3.14` puts in ~/.local/share/uv/python) with numpy, lz4, zstandard and
-fonttools. zbic, the GPL package that unpacks the game's program files, is not bundled: the AppImage installs it with
-pip into ~/.local/share/nx2navi/pydeps the first time it runs, as the Windows launcher downloads it.
+(python-build-standalone, as `uv python install 3.14` puts in ~/.local/share/uv/python) with numpy, lz4, zstandard,
+fonttools and pillow, and with --prompt-art the button art make_game.py's prompts step draws from (as make_kit.py
+--prompt-art: the pictures tools/prompt_art.py art_files names, into the kit's prompt-art folder; without it that step
+is skipped and the game keeps the Switch prompts). zbic, the GPL package that unpacks the game's program files, is not
+bundled: the AppImage installs it with pip into ~/.local/share/nx2navi/pydeps the first time it runs, as the Windows
+launcher downloads it.
 
 The compiler and the libraries come from the system (README-BuildKit.md, "Linux"): the AppImage checks for clang,
 clang++, lld and the headers before it starts, and names the packages for Arch, Fedora and Debian/Ubuntu.
@@ -24,7 +27,7 @@ ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 KIT_DIRS = ('recomp', 'runtime')
 KIT_FILES = ('VERSION', 'LICENSE', 'LICENSE-ADDITIONS', 'THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md', 'nx2navi.ini.example')
 TOOLS_SKIP = ('vendor', 'xlate', '__pycache__')   # the translator ships built (bin/); its sources stay out
-PACKAGES = ('numpy==2.5.4', 'lz4==4.4.5', 'zstandard==0.25.0', 'fonttools==4.68.0')
+PACKAGES = ('numpy==2.5.4', 'lz4==4.4.5', 'zstandard==0.25.0', 'fonttools==4.68.0', 'pillow==12.3.0')
 
 APPRUN = r'''#!/bin/bash
 # NX2navi build kit for Linux: builds Ocarina of Time (Switch 2, game 1.1.1) from the player's own dump.
@@ -132,6 +135,9 @@ def main():
                     help='a relocatable CPython 3.14 folder (python-build-standalone, ~/.local/share/uv/python/cpython-3.14*)')
     ap.add_argument('--appimagetool', type=Path, required=True, help='appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage')
     ap.add_argument('--out', type=Path, default=ROOT / 'dist', help='where the AppImage goes (default dist/)')
+    ap.add_argument('--prompt-art', type=Path, nargs='+', metavar='FOLDER',
+                    help='folders holding XGamepad, P5Gamepad and Keyboard_Mouse (or those folders): the button art, as '
+                         'make_kit.py --prompt-art takes it (a release zip\'s prompt-art folder does too)')
     a = ap.parse_args()
 
     version = (ROOT / 'VERSION').read_text(encoding='utf-8').strip()
@@ -160,6 +166,10 @@ def main():
         shutil.copy2(xlate / f, kit / 'bin' / f)
     (kit / 'toolchain' / 'vma').mkdir(parents=True)
     shutil.copy2(ROOT / 'toolchain' / 'vma' / 'vk_mem_alloc.h', kit / 'toolchain' / 'vma' / 'vk_mem_alloc.h')
+    if a.prompt_art:
+        import prompt_art
+        n, size = prompt_art.copy_art(a.prompt_art, kit / prompt_art.FOLDER)
+        print(f'button art: {n} files, {size / 1e6:.1f} MB')
 
     py = app / 'usr' / 'python'
     shutil.copytree(a.python, py, symlinks=True)