diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 7e4973a..d5f9568 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 /build/
+/dist/
 /**/target/
 __pycache__/
 *.py[cod]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b47154f..2b6f9a5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -63,6 +63,23 @@ bash scripts/build-release.sh
 Der Befehl führt die Rust-, Python- und Rauchtests aus, baut alle drei Programme im
 Release-Modus und erzeugt `build/release.json` mit Build-ID und SHA-256-Prüfsummen.
 
+## Eigenständige Anwendung
+
+Für einen normalen x86-64-Linux-Rechner kann eine einzelne ausführbare Datei gebaut
+werden. Sie enthält GUI und Hardware-Scanner und verwendet standardmäßig
+`~/.local/share/csr-intake` für Berichte und Einstellungen:
+
+```bash
+bash scripts/build-release.sh
+bash scripts/build-standalone.sh
+./dist/csr-intake-x86_64.run
+```
+
+Ein anderer Datenordner kann mit `--data /pfad/zum/ordner` gewählt werden. Das Paket
+ist für die Linux-Version des Build-Rechners bestimmt und benötigt Python 3, SQLite,
+NetworkManager sowie die jeweiligen Diagnoseprogramme. `--check-bundle` prüft die
+eingebetteten Dateien, ohne die Oberfläche zu starten.
+
 ## ISO erstellen
 
 Das Zielverzeichnis muss neu und leer sein:
diff --git a/gui/src/main.rs b/gui/src/main.rs
index 286ab73..23c6a5b 100644
--- a/gui/src/main.rs
+++ b/gui/src/main.rs
@@ -121,6 +121,18 @@ fn setup(data: &Path) -> Result<(), String> {
     fs::remove_file(data.join(".write-test")).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
     workflow::init_index(data)
 }
+fn default_data_dir() -> PathBuf {
+    std::env::var_os("XDG_DATA_HOME")
+        .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
+        .map(PathBuf::from)
+        .or_else(|| {
+            std::env::var_os("HOME")
+                .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
+                .map(|home| PathBuf::from(home).join(".local/share"))
+        })
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("."))
+        .join("csr-intake")
+}
 fn label(key: &str, en: bool) -> String {
     match key {
         "display" => tr(en, "Bildschirm", "Display"),
@@ -1845,12 +1857,20 @@ fn main() -> eframe::Result<()> {
         println!("CS-R Intake {} · {BUILD}", env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"));
         return Ok(());
     }
+    if args.iter().any(|a| a == "--help" || a == "-h") {
+        println!(
+            "CS-R Intake {}\nUsage: intake-gui [--data DIRECTORY] [--version]\nDefault data directory: {}",
+            env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"),
+            default_data_dir().display()
+        );
+        return Ok(());
+    }
     let data = args
         .iter()
         .position(|a| a == "--data")
         .and_then(|i| args.get(i + 1))
         .map(PathBuf::from)
-        .unwrap_or_else(|| PathBuf::from("/mnt/intake-data"));
+        .unwrap_or_else(default_data_dir);
     eframe::run_native(
         "CS-R Intake",
         eframe::NativeOptions {
diff --git a/scripts/build-standalone.sh b/scripts/build-standalone.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e6e461f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/build-standalone.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -Eeuo pipefail
+
+ROOT=$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/.." && pwd)
+OUT=${1:-$ROOT/dist/csr-intake-x86_64.run}
+GUI="$ROOT/gui/target/release/intake-gui"
+SCANNER="$ROOT/scanner/target/release/pc-intake"
+MANIFEST="$ROOT/build/release.json"
+
+for file in "$GUI" "$SCANNER" "$MANIFEST"; do
+  [[ -f $file ]] || {
+    echo 'Release files are missing. Run bash scripts/build-release.sh first.' >&2
+    exit 2
+  }
+done
+
+BUILD_ID=$(python3 "$ROOT/scripts/release-manifest.py" --source-id)
+GUI_VERSION=$("$GUI" --version)
+grep -qF "$BUILD_ID" <<< "$GUI_VERSION" || {
+  echo 'Release binaries are stale. Run bash scripts/build-release.sh first.' >&2
+  exit 2
+}
+VERSION=$(sed -E 's/^CS-R Intake ([^ ]+).*/\1/' <<< "$GUI_VERSION")
+
+TMP=$(mktemp -d)
+cleanup() {
+  find "$TMP" -depth -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+mkdir -p "$TMP/app" "$(dirname "$OUT")"
+install -m755 "$GUI" "$TMP/app/intake-gui"
+install -m755 "$SCANNER" "$TMP/app/pc-intake"
+install -m644 "$MANIFEST" "$TMP/app/release.json"
+(
+  cd "$TMP/app"
+  sha256sum intake-gui pc-intake release.json > SHA256SUMS
+)
+tar -C "$TMP/app" -czf "$TMP/payload.tar.gz" .
+
+cat > "$TMP/launcher" <<EOF
+#!/bin/sh
+set -eu
+BUILD_ID='$BUILD_ID'
+VERSION='$VERSION'
+PAYLOAD_LINE=__PAYLOAD_LINE__
+
+cache_root=\${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-\${HOME:-\$PWD}/.cache}/csr-intake
+app_dir=\$cache_root/\$BUILD_ID
+
+extract_bundle() {
+  bundle_valid() {
+    [ -x "\$app_dir/intake-gui" ] && [ -x "\$app_dir/pc-intake" ] &&
+      (cd "\$app_dir" && sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS >/dev/null 2>&1)
+  }
+  if ! bundle_valid; then
+    if [ -e "\$app_dir" ]; then
+      find "\$app_dir" -depth -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    temp_dir=\$cache_root/.extract-\$BUILD_ID-\$\$
+    mkdir -p "\$temp_dir"
+    trap 'find "\$temp_dir" -depth -delete 2>/dev/null || true' EXIT HUP INT TERM
+    tail -n +"\$PAYLOAD_LINE" "\$0" | gzip -dc | tar -xf - -C "\$temp_dir"
+    (cd "\$temp_dir" && sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS >/dev/null)
+    mkdir -p "\$cache_root"
+    if ! mv -T "\$temp_dir" "\$app_dir" 2>/dev/null; then
+      find "\$temp_dir" -depth -delete 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    trap - EXIT HUP INT TERM
+  fi
+  bundle_valid
+}
+
+case \${1:-} in
+  --version)
+    printf 'CS-R Intake %s · %s\n' "\$VERSION" "\$BUILD_ID"
+    exit 0
+    ;;
+  --check-bundle)
+    extract_bundle
+    printf 'Standalone bundle verified: %s\n' "\$BUILD_ID"
+    exit 0
+    ;;
+esac
+
+extract_bundle
+data_dir=\${XDG_DATA_HOME:-\${HOME:-\$PWD}/.local/share}/csr-intake
+has_data=0
+for argument in "\$@"; do
+  [ "\$argument" = '--data' ] && has_data=1
+done
+export CSR_SCANNER="\$app_dir/pc-intake"
+if [ "\$has_data" -eq 1 ]; then
+  exec "\$app_dir/intake-gui" "\$@"
+fi
+exec "\$app_dir/intake-gui" "\$@" --data "\$data_dir"
+EOF
+
+payload_line=$(( $(wc -l < "$TMP/launcher") + 1 ))
+sed -i "s/__PAYLOAD_LINE__/$payload_line/" "$TMP/launcher"
+cat "$TMP/launcher" "$TMP/payload.tar.gz" > "$OUT"
+chmod 755 "$OUT"
+"$OUT" --check-bundle
+echo "Standalone executable created: $OUT"