diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8d74900..632aef8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,9 +5,8 @@ frontend/node_modules/
 frontend/dist/
 FFmpeg_GUI-res.syso
 
-# ffmpeg binaries (large, not in repo)
-build/bin/ffmpeg*
-build/bin/ffprobe*
+# Bundled ffmpeg (large, gitignored)
+bundled/ffmpeg.zip
 
 # IDE
 .idea/
diff --git a/build.bat b/build.bat
index 6777dd3..54c106a 100644
--- a/build.bat
+++ b/build.bat
@@ -23,11 +23,20 @@ if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
 )
 cd ..
 
-echo [3/3] Cleaning icon cache...
+echo [3/4] Checking ffmpeg binaries for bundling...
+if exist "bundled\ffmpeg.zip" (
+    echo   bundled\ffmpeg.zip found, will be embedded
+) else (
+    echo   WARNING: bundled\ffmpeg.zip NOT found
+    echo   Zip ffmpeg.exe + ffprobe.exe into bundled\ffmpeg.zip to bundle.
+    echo   The app will fall back to system PATH if ffmpeg is installed.
+)
+
+echo [4/4] Cleaning icon cache...
 if exist "build\windows\icon.ico" del /q "build\windows\icon.ico"
 if exist "*-res.syso" del /q "*-res.syso"
 
-echo [4/4] Building Wails application...
+echo [5/5] Building Wails application...
 wails build -clean -platform windows/amd64
 if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
     echo ERROR: wails build failed
@@ -37,6 +46,5 @@ if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
 
 echo.
 echo === Build complete! ===
-echo Output: build\bin\ffmpeg-gui.exe
+echo Output: bundled\ffmpeg-gui.exe
 echo.
-pause