diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 85022ba..6dc3f4f 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -351,6 +351,52 @@ jobs:
             -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
             --data-binary @"$PKG"
 
+  # [cinny-desktop #36] The .deb / .pkg.tar.zst aren't signed packages, and
+  # the in-app update prompt has users install them by hand. Publish a
+  # SHA256SUMS.txt for the Linux downloads, signed with the updater's minisign
+  # key, so the install command can verify before installing.
+  checksums:
+    needs: [prepare, build-linux, build-arch]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: 20
+
+      - name: Hash, sign and upload SHA256SUMS.txt
+        env:
+          TOKEN: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TOKEN }}
+          RELEASE_ID: ${{ needs.prepare.outputs.release_id }}
+          TAURI_PRIVATE_KEY: ${{ secrets.TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+          TAURI_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD: ''
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          BASE="$GITEA_URL/LotusGuild/cinny-desktop/releases/download/latest"
+          mkdir -p sums && cd sums
+          for f in LotusChat-x86_64.deb LotusChat-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst LotusChat-x86_64.AppImage; do
+            curl -sfL -o "$f" "$BASE/$f"
+          done
+          sha256sum LotusChat-x86_64.deb LotusChat-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst LotusChat-x86_64.AppImage > SHA256SUMS.txt
+          cat SHA256SUMS.txt
+          # The Tauri signer writes <file>.sig (base64 of a minisign signature)
+          # and needs a file extension. Publish the decoded .minisig so users
+          # can run `minisign -Vm` directly.
+          npx --yes @tauri-apps/cli@2.7.1 signer sign SHA256SUMS.txt
+          base64 -d SHA256SUMS.txt.sig > SHA256SUMS.txt.minisig
+          for NAME in SHA256SUMS.txt SHA256SUMS.txt.minisig; do
+            OLD=$(curl -sf "$GITEA_URL/api/v1/repos/$REPO/releases/$RELEASE_ID/assets" \
+              -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+              | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(next((str(a['id']) for a in json.load(sys.stdin) if a['name']=='$NAME'), ''))" 2>/dev/null || true)
+            [ -n "$OLD" ] && curl -sf -X DELETE \
+              "$GITEA_URL/api/v1/repos/$REPO/releases/$RELEASE_ID/assets/$OLD" \
+              -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" || true
+            curl -sf -X POST \
+              "$GITEA_URL/api/v1/repos/$REPO/releases/$RELEASE_ID/assets?name=$NAME" \
+              -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+              -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
+              --data-binary @"$NAME"
+          done
+
   update-manifest:
     needs: [prepare, build-windows, build-linux]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a91da1a..0befde3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -19,6 +19,22 @@ Builds are published on this repo's releases page:
 
 There is no macOS build at the moment.
 
+### Verify a Linux download
+
+Each release has a `SHA256SUMS.txt`, signed with the same key as the updater
+(below). Check the signature, then the file, then install, e.g. for Arch:
+
+```sh
+B=https://code.lotusguild.org/LotusGuild/cinny-desktop/releases/download/latest
+curl -LO $B/LotusChat-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst -LO $B/SHA256SUMS.txt -LO $B/SHA256SUMS.txt.minisig
+minisign -Vm SHA256SUMS.txt -P RWRZZdyii05/NUcz337A5SAbiZK+NPVDWuiL2mM5Jk1p/LfRmNfiZ/6l \
+  && sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS.txt \
+  && sudo pacman -U ./LotusChat-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
+```
+
+For Debian / Ubuntu use `LotusChat-x86_64.deb` and `sudo apt install ./LotusChat-x86_64.deb`.
+`minisign` is in both distributions' repositories.
+
 ### Updates and signatures
 
 The app updates itself from