diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/publish.yml b/.gitea/workflows/publish.yml
index 43c4624..15cbb22 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ on:
     inputs:
       godot_version:
         description: >-
-          Godot version to (re)build, e.g. 4.7.1 — must exist as a
-          barichello/godot-ci tag (https://hub.docker.com/r/barichello/godot-ci/tags).
-          Leave empty to build the newest stable, same as the nightly run.
+          Godot version to (re)build, e.g. 4.7.1 — must exist as a stable release at
+          https://github.com/godotengine/godot-builds/releases. Leave empty to build
+          the newest stable, same as the nightly run.
         required: false
         type: string
 
@@ -40,12 +40,16 @@ jobs:
             UPDATE_LATEST=true
           fi
 
-          if ! docker manifest inspect "barichello/godot-ci:${VERSION}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          # This image no longer depends on barichello/godot-ci as a base — it downloads Godot
+          # directly from godot-builds' own GitHub releases (see Dockerfile), so the gate here
+          # is against *that* release existing, not a third party's Docker tag.
+          RELEASE_URL="https://github.com/godotengine/godot-builds/releases/download/${VERSION}-stable/Godot_v${VERSION}-stable_linux.x86_64.zip"
+          if ! curl -fsSL -o /dev/null -r 0-0 "$RELEASE_URL"; then
             if [ "${{ github.event_name }}" = "workflow_dispatch" ]; then
-              echo "::error::No barichello/godot-ci tag for '${VERSION}'. Check https://hub.docker.com/r/barichello/godot-ci/tags"
+              echo "::error::No godot-builds stable release for '${VERSION}'. Check https://github.com/godotengine/godot-builds/releases"
               exit 1
             fi
-            echo "::notice::Newest Godot stable is ${VERSION} but barichello/godot-ci has no matching tag yet — skipping, will retry tomorrow."
+            echo "::notice::Newest Godot stable is ${VERSION} but its godot-builds release isn't up yet — skipping, will retry tomorrow."
             echo "skip=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
             exit 0
           fi
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index b649d10..782a9c8 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,16 +1,25 @@
-# GODOT_VERSION selects the barichello/godot-ci base tag (Godot 4.0+ only — see
-# docs/handoff/godot-ci-custom-image.md). BLENDER_URL is the tarball to bake in;
+# GODOT_VERSION is a stable Godot release tag (e.g. "4.7.1", no "-stable" suffix — Godot 4.0+
+# only, see docs/handoff/godot-ci-custom-image.md). BLENDER_URL is the tarball to bake in.
 # .gitea/workflows/publish.yml always resolves both at build time via
-# scripts/resolve-godot-version.sh and scripts/resolve-blender-url.sh. The
-# defaults below are only a fallback for a plain local `docker build`.
+# scripts/resolve-godot-version.sh and scripts/resolve-blender-url.sh. The defaults below are
+# only a fallback for a plain local `docker build`.
+#
+# Godot itself is downloaded straight from its official GitHub releases (godot-builds), the same
+# source barichello/godot-ci's own Dockerfile uses — this image no longer depends on that image
+# as a base. Decided via wayfinder map https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/issues/2,
+# ticket https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/issues/7: Alpine was considered and rejected
+# (official Godot/Blender binaries are glibc-only, and Alpine's musl-native alternatives live
+# only on its unpinned `edge` repo); a plain glibc-slim base doesn't cost the compatibility risk.
 ARG GODOT_VERSION=4.7.1
-FROM barichello/godot-ci:${GODOT_VERSION}
+FROM debian:bookworm-slim
 
+ARG GODOT_VERSION
 ARG BLENDER_URL=https://download.blender.org/release/Blender4.2/blender-4.2.3-linux-x64.tar.xz
 
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+    ca-certificates curl unzip xz-utils \
     libfontconfig1 \
-    build-essential scons pkg-config xz-utils curl \
+    build-essential scons pkg-config \
     libx11-dev libxcursor-dev libxinerama-dev libgl1-mesa-dev \
     libasound2-dev libpulse-dev libudev-dev libxi-dev libxrandr-dev libwayland-dev \
     mingw-w64 \
@@ -21,9 +30,19 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
   && update-alternatives --set x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc /usr/bin/x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc-posix \
   && update-alternatives --set x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++ /usr/bin/x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++-posix \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
-  # Blender is not bundled in barichello/godot-ci, and Ubuntu's apt package lags
-  # (stuck on 4.0.2 on noble) — install the resolved tarball straight from
-  # download.blender.org instead of `apt-get install blender`.
+  # Godot editor + export templates, straight from the official release (same URL shape
+  # barichello/godot-ci's own Dockerfile uses) — stable releases only, matching what
+  # scripts/resolve-godot-version.sh resolves.
+  && curl -fsSLO "https://github.com/godotengine/godot-builds/releases/download/${GODOT_VERSION}-stable/Godot_v${GODOT_VERSION}-stable_linux.x86_64.zip" \
+  && curl -fsSLO "https://github.com/godotengine/godot-builds/releases/download/${GODOT_VERSION}-stable/Godot_v${GODOT_VERSION}-stable_export_templates.tpz" \
+  && mkdir -p "/root/.local/share/godot/export_templates/${GODOT_VERSION}.stable" \
+  && unzip -q "Godot_v${GODOT_VERSION}-stable_linux.x86_64.zip" \
+  && mv "Godot_v${GODOT_VERSION}-stable_linux.x86_64" /usr/local/bin/godot \
+  && unzip -q "Godot_v${GODOT_VERSION}-stable_export_templates.tpz" \
+  && mv templates/* "/root/.local/share/godot/export_templates/${GODOT_VERSION}.stable/" \
+  && rm -rf "Godot_v${GODOT_VERSION}-stable_linux.x86_64.zip" "Godot_v${GODOT_VERSION}-stable_export_templates.tpz" templates \
+  # Blender is not bundled anywhere here — install the resolved tarball straight from
+  # download.blender.org instead of an apt package.
   && curl -fsSL "$BLENDER_URL" -o /tmp/blender.tar.xz \
   && mkdir -p /opt/blender \
   && tar -xJf /tmp/blender.tar.xz -C /opt/blender --strip-components=1 \
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 943f6a1..3555d86 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,9 +1,17 @@
 # godot-ci
 
-Custom image extending `barichello/godot-ci` with the Godot export-template toolchain and Blender
+A `debian:bookworm-slim`-based image with Godot, its export-template toolchain, and Blender
 pre-installed, so `Project4x`'s `export-template.yml` doesn't `apt-get install` them on every
 release run.
 
+Godot is downloaded directly from its official [godot-builds
+releases](https://github.com/godotengine/godot-builds/releases) rather than from a base image —
+this repo previously extended `barichello/godot-ci` (Ubuntu-based) but moved off it to shed that
+dependency's weight. Alpine was considered and rejected first: official Godot and Blender
+binaries are glibc-only, and Alpine's musl-native alternatives for both live only on its unpinned
+`edge` repo — not a safe bet for a nightly-rebuilding image. See [wayfinder map
+#2](https://git.arthurerlich.de/haylan/godot-ci/issues/2) for the full research trail.
+
 Built from the handoff spec at `Project4x`'s `docs/handoff/godot-ci-custom-image.md`; scope and
 versioning have since moved on from that spec — see below.
 
@@ -22,13 +30,13 @@ this image's Blender toolchain).
 - **Nightly (midnight, `schedule:`)**: resolves the newest *stable* Godot release
   (`scripts/resolve-godot-version.sh`) and the newest stable Blender
   (`scripts/resolve-blender-url.sh`), and rebuilds+pushes `<version>` + `latest` only if that
-  Godot version isn't already published. If `barichello/godot-ci` hasn't tagged the new Godot
-  version yet, the run skips (with a notice, not a failure) and retries the next night.
+  Godot version isn't already published. If godot-builds hasn't published that release's assets
+  yet, the run skips (with a notice, not a failure) and retries the next night.
 - **Manual (`workflow_dispatch`)**: type a Godot version (e.g. `4.6.3`) to (re)build and push that
   exact tag, always with whatever Blender is newest at build time. Overwrites the tag if it
-  already exists. Does **not** touch `latest`. Fails clearly if `barichello/godot-ci` has no
-  matching tag — check
-  [its tag list](https://hub.docker.com/r/barichello/godot-ci/tags) first.
+  already exists. Does **not** touch `latest`. Fails clearly if godot-builds has no matching
+  release — check its [releases list](https://github.com/godotengine/godot-builds/releases)
+  first.
 
 Blender has no official "latest stable" API — `resolve-blender-url.sh` scrapes
 `download.blender.org/release/`. `scripts/test-lib.sh` is an offline smoke test for the parsing