diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 57a908b..989f758 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -89,7 +89,13 @@ jobs:
           # Retry transient network errors before failing.
           CARGO_NET_RETRY: '5'
         run: |
-          $env:PATH = "C:\Users\$env:USERNAME\.cargo\bin;$env:PATH"
+          # USERPROFILE is set by Windows directly; more reliable than C:\Users\$USERNAME
+          $env:PATH = "$env:USERPROFILE\.cargo\bin;$env:PATH"
+          # Also add the actual toolchain bin to bypass rustup shim execution issues
+          $toolchain = Get-ChildItem "$env:USERPROFILE\.rustup\toolchains" -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+                       Where-Object { $_.Name -match 'stable' } | Select-Object -First 1
+          if ($toolchain) { $env:PATH = "$($toolchain.FullName)\bin;$env:PATH" }
+          Write-Host "cargo: $((Get-Command cargo -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Source)"
           cargo --version
           npm run tauri -- build --bundles nsis