diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 0f445dba3..72dd29caa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -300,7 +300,11 @@ jobs:
       # GhosttyKit is the framework that is built from Zig for our native
       # Mac app to access.
       - name: Build GhosttyKit
-        run: nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false
+        run: |
+          nix develop -c zig build \
+            --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} \
+            -Doptimize=Debug \
+            -Demit-macos-app=false
 
       # The native app is built with native Xcode tooling. This also does
       # codesigning. IMPORTANT: this must NOT run in a Nix environment.
@@ -350,11 +354,11 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build All
         run: |
-          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=freetype
-          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext
-          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext_freetype
-          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext_harfbuzz
-          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext_noshape
+          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Doptimize=Debug -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=freetype
+          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Doptimize=Debug -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext
+          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Doptimize=Debug -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext_freetype
+          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Doptimize=Debug -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext_harfbuzz
+          nix develop -c zig build --system ${{ steps.deps.outputs.deps }} -Demit-macos-app=false -Doptimize=Debug -Drenderer=metal -Dfont-backend=coretext_noshape
 
   build-snap:
     strategy:
@@ -500,7 +504,10 @@ jobs:
 
       # This relies on the cache being populated by the commands above.
       - name: Test System Build
-        run: nix develop -c zig build --system ${ZIG_GLOBAL_CACHE_DIR}/p
+        run: |
+          nix develop -c zig build \
+            --system ${ZIG_GLOBAL_CACHE_DIR}/p \
+            -Doptimize=Debug
 
   test-gtk:
     strategy:
diff --git a/PACKAGING.md b/PACKAGING.md
index 1483b8591..516aa6216 100644
--- a/PACKAGING.md
+++ b/PACKAGING.md
@@ -81,9 +81,7 @@ ZIG_GLOBAL_CACHE_DIR=/tmp/offline-cache ./nix/build-support/fetch-zig-cache.sh
 DESTDIR=/tmp/ghostty \
 zig build \
   --prefix /usr \
-  --system /tmp/offline-cache/p \
-  -Doptimize=ReleaseFast \
-  -Dcpu=baseline
+  --system /tmp/offline-cache/p
 ```
 
 The build options are covered in the next section, but this will build
@@ -96,8 +94,8 @@ to wherever the package manager expects it).
 ### Build Options
 
 Ghostty uses the Zig build system. You can see all available build options by
-running `zig build --help`. The following are options that are particularly
-relevant to package maintainers:
+running `zig build --help`. The following are options are very important
+and should always be used:
 
 - `--prefix`: The installation prefix. Combine with the `DESTDIR` environment
   variable to install to a temporary directory for packaging.
@@ -106,17 +104,20 @@ relevant to package maintainers:
   any package fetching from the internet. This flag also triggers all
   dependencies to be dynamically linked by default. This flag also makes
   the binary a PIE (Position Independent Executable) by default (override
-  with `-Dpie`).
+  with `-Dpie`). This flag also enables a default baseline CPU and enables
+  all optimizations.
+
+Additional options packagers may find useful:
 
 - `-Doptimize=ReleaseFast`: Build with optimizations enabled and safety checks
   disabled. This is the recommended build mode for distribution. I'd prefer
   a safe build but terminal emulators are performance-sensitive and the
-  safe build is currently too slow. I plan to improve this in the future.
-  Other build modes are available: `Debug`, `ReleaseSafe`, and `ReleaseSmall`.
+  safe build is currently too slow. This is the default when `--system`
+  is specified.
 
 - `-Dcpu=baseline`: Build for the "baseline" CPU of the target architecture.
   This avoids building for newer CPU features that may not be available on
-  all target machines.
+  all target machines. This is the default when `--system` is specified.
 
 - `-Dtarget=$arch-$os-$abi`: Build for a specific target triple. This is
   often necessary for system packages to specify a specific minimum Linux
diff --git a/src/build/Config.zig b/src/build/Config.zig
index fd892f16c..209837e87 100644
--- a/src/build/Config.zig
+++ b/src/build/Config.zig
@@ -66,11 +66,33 @@ emit_webdata: bool = false,
 env: std.process.EnvMap,
 
 pub fn init(b: *std.Build) !Config {
+    // This is set to true when we're building a system package. For now
+    // this is trivially detected using the "system_package_mode" bool
+    // but we may want to make this more sophisticated in the future.
+    const system_package = b.graph.system_package_mode;
+
+    // When we're system packaging, we change our default optimization
+    // to ReleaseFast if it wasn't explicitly set. We do this because we
+    // assume we're building for a release if we're packaging. We use this
+    // over `preferred_optimize_mode` because it still lets people change
+    // it via the `--release` flag.
+    if (system_package) b.release_mode = switch (b.release_mode) {
+        .off, .any => .fast,
+        .fast, .safe, .small => b.release_mode,
+    };
+
     // Setup our standard Zig target and optimize options, i.e.
     // `-Doptimize` and `-Dtarget`.
     const optimize = b.standardOptimizeOption(.{});
     const target = target: {
-        var result = b.standardTargetOptions(.{});
+        var result = b.standardTargetOptions(.{
+            // If we're system packaging, we assume we're creating a package
+            // for general use by other people, so we want to default to
+            // a baseline CPU.
+            .default_target = if (system_package) .{
+                .cpu_model = .baseline,
+            } else .{},
+        });
 
         // If we're building for macOS and we're on macOS, we need to
         // use a generic target to workaround compilation issues.
@@ -89,11 +111,6 @@ pub fn init(b: *std.Build) !Config {
         break :target result;
     };
 
-    // This is set to true when we're building a system package. For now
-    // this is trivially detected using the "system_package_mode" bool
-    // but we may want to make this more sophisticated in the future.
-    const system_package = b.graph.system_package_mode;
-
     // This specifies our target wasm runtime. For now only one semi-usable
     // one exists so this is hardcoded.
     const wasm_target: WasmTarget = .browser;