diff --git a/docs/releases.md b/docs/releases.md
index 26b81a3..33ddb4e 100644
--- a/docs/releases.md
+++ b/docs/releases.md
@@ -50,12 +50,37 @@ Per-platform notes:
 | Platform | Build machine | Command |
 |---|---|---|
 | Linux | any Linux with the toolchain (README: Ubuntu 24.04 + Clang 20) | `./tools/release/release.sh` |
-| Windows | a **Windows** machine (MSVC/clang-cl + Windows SDK, D3D12) | run the same script on Windows (`--os windows`) |
-| macOS | an **Apple Silicon/Intel Mac** (Homebrew LLVM + MoltenVK, per README) | run the same script on macOS |
+| Windows | a **Windows** machine (Visual Studio MSVC + Windows SDK, D3D12) | `tools\release\windows-build.cmd` (see below) |
+| macOS | an **Apple Silicon/Intel Mac** (Homebrew LLVM + MoltenVK, per README) | `./tools/release/release.sh` |
 
 Cross-compiling Windows/macOS from a Linux box is not practical for this
-stack (D3D12 on Windows, Cocoa/MoltenVK on macOS need their native SDKs), so
-each platform's release is built on that platform.
+stack (D3D12 needs the Windows SDK, Cocoa/MoltenVK need a Mac), so each
+platform's release is built on that platform.
+
+### Windows build
+
+On a Windows box, the known build issues (multiple Windows SDKs, Git Bash
+`%LIB%` mangling, missing submodules) are handled by the launcher:
+
+```bat
+tools\release\windows-build.cmd --tag v2.0.2-mp1 --upload
+```
+
+It loads the MSVC environment (`vcvarsall.bat x64 <SDK>`), sets
+`MSYS2_ARG_CONV_EXCL=*` so Git Bash doesn't corrupt `%LIB%`, initializes the
+submodules (including the self-heal), and runs `release.sh`. Config via env:
+
+- `VCVARSALL` — path to `vcvarsall.bat` (default: VS 18 Community x64).
+- `WINSDK` — Windows SDK version (default `10.0.26100.0`; try `10.0.22621.0`
+  if yours differs — a broken SDK default is what causes `kernel32.lib`
+  `LNK1104`).
+- `GITBASH` — path to Git for Windows `bash.exe`.
+
+`release.sh` now auto-detects the Title Update package (repo root or
+`game/`), falls back to PowerShell `Compress-Archive` when `zip` is missing,
+and no longer requires `python3` for the upload JSON parsing. The Windows
+build also needs the game dump (`game/default.xex` + `EAWebkit.xex`) and the
+TU package present on that box (build-time only, never shipped).
 
 ## Option B — automated via Forgejo Actions (optional)
 
diff --git a/tools/release/release.sh b/tools/release/release.sh
index 6742506..f54bf3c 100755
--- a/tools/release/release.sh
+++ b/tools/release/release.sh
@@ -78,14 +78,46 @@ if [ ! -f "$GAME_ROOT/default.xex" ]; then
   exit 1
 fi
 
+# ---- helpers (Windows Git Bash lacks zip/python; provide fallbacks) ---------
+json_id() {  # read JSON on stdin, print the value of "id"
+  if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    python3 -c "import sys,json
+try: print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('id',''))
+except Exception: print('')"
+  elif command -v python >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    python -c "import sys,json
+try: print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('id',''))
+except Exception: print('')"
+  else
+    grep -o '"id":[0-9]*' | head -1 | cut -d: -f2
+  fi
+}
+
+make_zip() {  # make_zip <zipname> <dir>
+  if command -v zip >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    (cd "$(dirname "$2")" && zip -r "$(basename "$1")" "$(basename "$2")")
+  elif command -v 7z >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    7z a -tzip "$1" "$2" >/dev/null
+  elif command -v powershell >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    powershell -NoProfile -Command "Compress-Archive -Path '$2' -DestinationPath '$1' -Force"
+  else
+    echo "ERROR: no zip tool found (install zip, 7z, or use PowerShell)"; exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+# ---- build ------------------------------------------------------------------
 TU_ARGS=""
 if [ -n "$TU" ]; then
   if [ ! -f "$TU" ]; then echo "ERROR: title update package not found: $TU"; exit 1; fi
   TU_ARGS="-DSKATE3_TITLE_UPDATE_PACKAGE=$TU"
+elif [ -n "$(ls "$REPO"/TU_12K2276_* "$GAME_ROOT"/TU_12K2276_* 2>/dev/null | head -1)" ]; then
+  TU="$(ls "$REPO"/TU_12K2276_* "$GAME_ROOT"/TU_12K2276_* 2>/dev/null | head -1)"
+  echo "==> Using title update package: $TU"
+  TU_ARGS="-DSKATE3_TITLE_UPDATE_PACKAGE=$TU"
 fi
 
 echo "==> Release $TAG ($EXT)  preset=$PRESET  game=$GAME_ROOT"
-echo "==> Configure (extra args: ${CMAKE_ARGS:-none})"
+echo "==> Configure"
 cmake --preset "$PRESET" -DSKATE3_GAME_DATA_ROOT="$GAME_ROOT" $TU_ARGS $CMAKE_ARGS
 echo "==> Generate recompiled code"
 cmake --build --preset "$PRESET" --target generate-all --parallel
@@ -116,7 +148,7 @@ if [ -f "$OUT/game/default.xexp" ]; then
 fi
 cp README.md "$STAGE/"
 rm -f "$NAME.zip"
-zip -r "$NAME.zip" "$STAGE"
+make_zip "$NAME.zip" "$STAGE"
 rm -rf "$STAGE"
 echo "==> Packaged: $NAME.zip ($(du -h "$NAME.zip" | cut -f1))"
 sha256sum "$NAME.zip"
@@ -132,15 +164,11 @@ if [ "$UPLOAD" = 1 ]; then
   RELEASE_ID="$(curl -s -X POST "$INSTANCE/api/v1/repos/$REPO_FULL/releases" \
     -H "$AUTH" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d "{\"tag_name\":\"$TAG\",\"name\":\"Skate 3 Recomp $TAG\",\"target_commitish\":\"main\"}" \
-    | python3 -c "import sys,json
-try: print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('id',''))
-except Exception: print('')")"
+    | json_id)"
 
   if [ -z "$RELEASE_ID" ]; then
     RELEASE_ID="$(curl -s "$INSTANCE/api/v1/repos/$REPO_FULL/releases/tags/$TAG" -H "$AUTH" \
-      | python3 -c "import sys,json
-try: print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('id',''))
-except Exception: print('')")"
+      | json_id)"
   fi
   if [ -z "$RELEASE_ID" ]; then
     echo "ERROR: could not create/find release '$TAG'"; exit 1
@@ -148,9 +176,14 @@ except Exception: print('')")"
 
   curl -s -X POST "$INSTANCE/api/v1/repos/$REPO_FULL/releases/$RELEASE_ID/assets" \
     -H "$AUTH" -F "attachment=@$NAME.zip" -F "name=$NAME.zip" \
-    | python3 -c "import sys,json
+    | if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 || command -v python >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        PY=python3; command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 || PY=python
+        "$PY" -c "import sys,json
 try:
     a=json.load(sys.stdin); print('Uploaded asset', a.get('name'), a.get('size'), 'bytes')
 except Exception as e: print('upload response parse failed:', e)"
+      else
+        echo "Upload request sent (no python to parse the response)"
+      fi
   echo "==> Done: https://git.mithraic.cloud/$REPO_FULL/releases/tag/$TAG"
 fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tools/release/windows-build.cmd b/tools/release/windows-build.cmd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..982f10b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/release/windows-build.cmd
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+@echo off
+rem One-click Windows release build for skate3recomp-multiplayer.
+rem
+rem Fixes the known Windows build issues documented in /mnt/archive/Issues.txt
+rem (and mirrored in docs/releases.md):
+rem   1. stable Windows SDK so kernel32.lib resolves (vcvarsall with an SDK
+rem      version instead of the broken default),
+rem   2. Git Bash %LIB% mangling (MSYS2_ARG_CONV_EXCL=*),
+rem   3. missing rexglue submodules (git submodule update --init + self-heal).
+rem
+rem Usage (from a normal cmd.exe / PowerShell prompt):
+rem   tools\release\windows-build.cmd [--tag vX.Y.Z] [--upload]
+rem
+rem Config via environment variables:
+rem   VCVARSALL   path to vcvarsall.bat (default: VS 18 Community x64)
+rem   WINSDK      Windows SDK version (default 10.0.26100.0; try 10.0.22621.0
+rem               if yours is different)
+rem   GITBASH     path to Git for Windows bash.exe
+setlocal
+
+if "%VCVARSALL%"=="" set "VCVARSALL=%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Community\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvarsall.bat"
+if "%WINSDK%"==""    set "WINSDK=10.0.26100.0"
+if "%GITBASH%"==""   set "GITBASH=%ProgramFiles%\Git\bin\bash.exe"
+
+if not exist "%VCVARSALL%" (
+  echo [ERROR] vcvarsall.bat not found: %VCVARSALL%
+  echo         Set VCVARSALL to your Visual Studio install, e.g.
+  echo         "%%ProgramFiles%%\Microsoft Visual Studio\17\Community\VC\Auxiliary\Build\vcvarsall.bat"
+  exit /b 1
+)
+if not exist "%GITBASH%" (
+  echo [ERROR] Git Bash not found: %GITBASH%
+  echo         Install Git for Windows or set GITBASH.
+  exit /b 1
+)
+
+echo [1/3] Loading MSVC environment (x64, SDK %WINSDK%)
+call "%VCVARSALL%" x64 %WINSDK%
+if errorlevel 1 (
+  echo [ERROR] vcvarsall failed. Try a different WINSDK, e.g.
+  echo         set WINSDK=10.0.22621.0
+  exit /b 1
+)
+
+rem Prevent Git Bash from converting/corrupting %LIB% and semicolon paths.
+set "MSYS2_ARG_CONV_EXCL=*"
+
+rem Convert the repo path to forward slashes for Git Bash (%~dp0 is
+rem tools\release\ with a trailing backslash; ..\.. reaches the repo root).
+set "REPO=%~dp0..\.."
+set "REPO=%REPO:\=/%"
+
+echo [2/3] Initializing submodules (rexglue SDK + nested)
+"%GITBASH%" --login -c "cd '%REPO%' && git submodule update --init --jobs 4 && bash tools/ci/init-submodules.sh"
+if errorlevel 1 (
+  echo [ERROR] submodule init failed.
+  exit /b 1
+)
+
+echo [3/3] Building release
+"%GITBASH%" --login -c "cd '%REPO%' && bash tools/release/release.sh %*"
+exit /b %errorlevel%
+endlocal
\ No newline at end of file