diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml
index 54f92542f..1393ce16f 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-name: Build Wownero Core (v4 Actions + FailSafe)
+name: Build Wownero Core (Absolute Path Fix)
 on:
   push:
     branches: [ master, main ]
@@ -29,14 +29,13 @@ jobs:
         run: echo "192.168.88.230 git.such.software" >> /etc/hosts
 
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4  # Upgraded to v4 to fix network 500s
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           submodules: recursive
           token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
-      # Manual config for gitea since checkout@v4 acts differently with self-hosted sometimes
       - name: Configure Git URLs
         run: |
           git config --global --add safe.directory '*'
@@ -57,15 +56,13 @@ jobs:
           echo "$(pwd)/cmake-3.28.1-linux-x86_64/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
 
       # -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-      # 1. BUILD CONFIGURATION (Known Good Logic)
+      # 1. BUILD CONFIGURATION (Portable Mac Logic)
       # -----------------------------------------------------------------------
       - name: Sanitize Makefiles (Stable + Mac Compat)
         run: |
-          # RESTORE UPSTREAM FILES
           curl -L -o contrib/depends/funcs.mk https://codeberg.org/wownero/wownero/raw/branch/master/contrib/depends/funcs.mk
           curl -L -o contrib/depends/packages/packages.mk https://codeberg.org/wownero/wownero/raw/branch/master/contrib/depends/packages/packages.mk
           
-          # INJECT ZLIB/ZSTD
           sed -i 's/^packages :=.*/packages := boost openssl expat libusb hidapi protobuf libiconv sodium zeromq unbound zlib zstd/' contrib/depends/packages/packages.mk
 
           # GENERATE ZLIB.MK
@@ -120,7 +117,6 @@ jobs:
             $(package)_config_opts_debug=variant=debug
             $(package)_config_opts+=--layout=system --user-config=user-config.jam
             $(package)_config_opts+=threading=multi link=static -sNO_BZIP2=1 -sNO_ZLIB=1
-            
             $(package)_config_opts_linux=threadapi=pthread runtime-link=static
             $(package)_config_opts_darwin=target-os=darwin runtime-link=shared
             $(package)_config_opts_mingw32=binary-format=pe target-os=windows threadapi=win32 runtime-link=static
@@ -128,14 +124,11 @@ jobs:
             $(package)_config_opts_i686_mingw32=address-model=32
             $(package)_config_opts_i686_linux=address-model=32 architecture=x86
             $(package)_config_opts_x86_64_darwin=address-model=64
-            
             $(package)_config_opts_aarch64_darwin=address-model=64 architecture=arm binary-format=mach-o abi=aapcs
-            
             $(package)_toolset_$(host_os)=gcc
             $(package)_archiver_$(host_os)=$($(package)_ar)
             $(package)_toolset_darwin=darwin
             $(package)_archiver_darwin=$($(package)_libtool)
-            
             $(package)_config_libraries=atomic,chrono,date_time,filesystem,program_options,regex,serialization,system,thread,locale,context,coroutine
             $(package)_cxxflags=-std=c++17 -fPIC
           endef
@@ -183,15 +176,15 @@ jobs:
           make -j$(nproc)
 
       # -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-      # 2. FAIL-SAFE with MKDIR FIX (Fixes 'cp' crashes)
+      # 3. FAIL-SAFE with ABSOLUTE PATHS (The Real Fix)
       # -----------------------------------------------------------------------
       - name: Ensure Static Libs Exist
         run: |
-          LIB_DIR="contrib/depends/${{ matrix.target }}/lib"
-          INC_DIR="contrib/depends/${{ matrix.target }}/include"
+          # Use $(pwd) to ensure these are ABSOLUTE PATHS
+          LIB_DIR="$(pwd)/contrib/depends/${{ matrix.target }}/lib"
+          INC_DIR="$(pwd)/contrib/depends/${{ matrix.target }}/include"
           TOOLCHAIN="$(pwd)/contrib/depends/${{ matrix.target }}/share/toolchain.cmake"
           
-          # FIX: Create directories so 'cp' doesn't fail
           mkdir -p $LIB_DIR
           mkdir -p $INC_DIR
           
@@ -208,8 +201,10 @@ jobs:
                      -DZSTD_BUILD_STATIC=ON -DZSTD_BUILD_SHARED=OFF \
                      -DZSTD_BUILD_PROGRAMS=OFF -DZSTD_BUILD_TESTS=OFF
              make -j$(nproc)
-             cp lib/libzstd.a $LIB_DIR/
-             cp ../../lib/zstd.h $INC_DIR/
+             
+             # Copy using absolute path destination
+             cp lib/libzstd.a "$LIB_DIR/"
+             cp ../../lib/zstd.h "$INC_DIR/"
              cd ../../..
           fi
           
@@ -225,9 +220,11 @@ jobs:
                      -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
                      -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
              make -j$(nproc)
-             cp libz.a $LIB_DIR/
-             cp zlib.h $INC_DIR/
-             cp zconf.h $INC_DIR/
+             
+             # Copy using absolute path destination
+             cp libz.a "$LIB_DIR/"
+             cp zlib.h "$INC_DIR/"
+             cp zconf.h "$INC_DIR/"
              cd ../..
           fi
 
@@ -240,7 +237,6 @@ jobs:
           find build/bin -type f -exec cp -v {} output/bin/ \;
           cp -v $LIB_DIR/*.a output/lib/
           
-          # Final Verification
           ls -l output/lib/libz*.a
           if [ ! -f output/lib/libzstd.a ]; then echo "FATAL: libzstd.a missing"; exit 1; fi
           if [ ! -f output/lib/libz.a ]; then echo "FATAL: libz.a missing"; exit 1; fi
@@ -251,7 +247,7 @@ jobs:
           tar -czf wownero-core-${{ matrix.target }}.tar.gz -C output .
 
       - name: Upload Artifact
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4  # Upgraded to v4
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
           name: wownero-core-${{ matrix.target }}
           path: wownero-core-${{ matrix.target }}.tar.gz
@@ -262,7 +258,7 @@ jobs:
     if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
     steps:
       - name: Download Artifacts
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4 # Upgraded to v4
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
       - name: Publish Release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
         with: