diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 637d097..c9989e7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 .env
 .DS_Store
 dist/
-iso/out/
 build-cache/
 audit/bee
diff --git a/iso/builder/build-in-container.sh b/iso/builder/build-in-container.sh
index 38a687c..8cc761e 100755
--- a/iso/builder/build-in-container.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/build-in-container.sh
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ BUILDER_DIR="${REPO_ROOT}/iso/builder"
 CONTAINER_TOOL="${CONTAINER_TOOL:-docker}"
 IMAGE_TAG="${BEE_BUILDER_IMAGE:-bee-iso-builder}"
 BUILDER_PLATFORM="${BEE_BUILDER_PLATFORM:-linux/amd64}"
-CACHE_DIR="${BEE_BUILDER_CACHE_DIR:-${REPO_ROOT}/dist/container-cache}"
+CACHE_DIR="${BEE_BUILDER_CACHE_DIR:-${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache}"
 AUTH_KEYS=""
 CLEAN_CACHE=0
 VARIANT="all"
@@ -54,14 +54,14 @@ if [ "$CLEAN_CACHE" = "1" ]; then
            "${CACHE_DIR:?}/bee" \
            "${CACHE_DIR:?}/lb-packages"
     echo "=== cleaning live-build work dirs ==="
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/live-build-work-nvidia"
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/live-build-work-nvidia-legacy"
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/live-build-work-amd"
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/live-build-work-nogpu"
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/overlay-stage-nvidia"
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/overlay-stage-nvidia-legacy"
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/overlay-stage-amd"
-    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/overlay-stage-nogpu"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/live-build-work-nvidia"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/live-build-work-nvidia-legacy"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/live-build-work-amd"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/live-build-work-nogpu"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/overlay-stage-nvidia"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/overlay-stage-nvidia-legacy"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/overlay-stage-amd"
+    rm -rf "${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache/overlay-stage-nogpu"
     echo "=== caches cleared, proceeding with build ==="
 fi
 
diff --git a/iso/builder/build.sh b/iso/builder/build.sh
index abbe5ab..673ad1e 100755
--- a/iso/builder/build.sh
+++ b/iso/builder/build.sh
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ case "$BUILD_VARIANT" in
         ;;
 esac
 
-BUILD_WORK_DIR="${DIST_DIR}/live-build-work-${BUILD_VARIANT}"
-OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR="${DIST_DIR}/overlay-stage-${BUILD_VARIANT}"
+BUILD_WORK_DIR="${DIST_DIR}/cache/live-build-work-${BUILD_VARIANT}"
+OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR="${DIST_DIR}/cache/overlay-stage-${BUILD_VARIANT}"
 
 export BEE_GPU_VENDOR BEE_NVIDIA_MODULE_FLAVOR BUILD_VARIANT
 
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin"
 
 # Allow git to read the bind-mounted repo (different UID inside container).
 git config --global safe.directory "${REPO_ROOT}"
-mkdir -p "${DIST_DIR}"
+mkdir -p "${DIST_DIR}/cache" "${DIST_DIR}/release"
 mkdir -p "${CACHE_ROOT}"
 : "${GOCACHE:=${CACHE_ROOT}/go-build}"
 : "${GOMODCACHE:=${CACHE_ROOT}/go-mod}"
@@ -1105,7 +1105,7 @@ PROJECT_VERSION_EFFECTIVE="$(resolve_project_version)"
 SQUASHFS_FILENAME="filesystem-v${PROJECT_VERSION_EFFECTIVE}.squashfs"
 ISO_BASENAME="easy-bee-${BUILD_VARIANT}-v${PROJECT_VERSION_EFFECTIVE}-amd64"
 # Versioned output directory: dist/easy-bee-v4.1/ — all final artefacts live here.
-OUT_DIR="${DIST_DIR}/easy-bee-v${PROJECT_VERSION_EFFECTIVE}"
+OUT_DIR="${DIST_DIR}/release/easy-bee-v${PROJECT_VERSION_EFFECTIVE}"
 ISO_VERSION_LABEL_TOKEN="$(printf '%s' "${PROJECT_VERSION_EFFECTIVE}" | tr '[:lower:].-' '[:upper:]__')"
 mkdir -p "${OUT_DIR}"
 LOG_DIR="${OUT_DIR}/${ISO_BASENAME}.logs"
@@ -1290,7 +1290,7 @@ run_step "sync git submodules" "05-git-submodules" \
 
 # --- compile bee binary (static, Linux amd64) ---
 # Shared between variants — built once, reused on second pass.
-BEE_BIN="${DIST_DIR}/bee-linux-amd64"
+BEE_BIN="${DIST_DIR}/cache/bee-linux-amd64"
 NEED_BUILD=1
 if [ -f "$BEE_BIN" ]; then
     NEWEST_SRC=$(find "${REPO_ROOT}/audit" -name '*.go' -newer "$BEE_BIN" | head -1)
@@ -1321,16 +1321,16 @@ else
 fi
 
 # --- NVIDIA-only build steps ---
-GPU_BURN_WORKER_BIN="${DIST_DIR}/bee-gpu-burn-worker-linux-amd64"
+GPU_BURN_WORKER_BIN="${DIST_DIR}/cache/bee-gpu-burn-worker-linux-amd64"
 if [ "$BEE_GPU_VENDOR" = "nvidia" ]; then
     run_step "download cuBLAS/cuBLASLt/cudart ${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION} userspace" "20-cublas" \
         sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-cublas.sh" \
         "${CUBLAS_VERSION}" \
         "${CUDA_USERSPACE_VERSION}" \
         "${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}" \
-        "${DIST_DIR}"
+        "${DIST_DIR}/cache"
 
-    CUBLAS_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/cublas-${CUBLAS_VERSION}+cuda${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}"
+    CUBLAS_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/cache/cublas-${CUBLAS_VERSION}+cuda${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}"
 
     echo "=== bee-gpu-burn FP4 header probe ==="
     fp4_type_match="$(grep -Rsnm 1 'CUDA_R_4F_E2M1' "${CUBLAS_CACHE}/include" 2>/dev/null || true)"
@@ -1456,7 +1456,7 @@ fi
 
 # --- copy bee binary into overlay ---
 mkdir -p "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/bin"
-cp "${DIST_DIR}/bee-linux-amd64" "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/bin/bee"
+cp "$BEE_BIN" "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/bin/bee"
 chmod +x "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/bin/bee"
 
 if [ "$BEE_GPU_VENDOR" = "nvidia" ] && [ -f "$GPU_BURN_WORKER_BIN" ]; then
@@ -1486,10 +1486,10 @@ done
 # --- NVIDIA kernel modules and userspace libs ---
 if [ "$BEE_GPU_VENDOR" = "nvidia" ]; then
     run_step "build NVIDIA ${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION} modules" "40-nvidia-module" \
-        sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-nvidia-module.sh" "${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION}" "${DIST_DIR}" "${DEBIAN_KERNEL_ABI}" "${BEE_NVIDIA_MODULE_FLAVOR}"
+        sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-nvidia-module.sh" "${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION}" "${DIST_DIR}/cache" "${DEBIAN_KERNEL_ABI}" "${BEE_NVIDIA_MODULE_FLAVOR}"
 
     KVER="${DEBIAN_KERNEL_ABI}-amd64"
-    NVIDIA_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/nvidia-${BEE_NVIDIA_MODULE_FLAVOR}-${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION}-${KVER}"
+    NVIDIA_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/cache/nvidia-${BEE_NVIDIA_MODULE_FLAVOR}-${NVIDIA_DRIVER_VERSION}-${KVER}"
 
     # Inject .ko files into overlay at /usr/local/lib/nvidia/
     OVERLAY_KMOD_DIR="${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/lib/nvidia"
@@ -1515,9 +1515,9 @@ if [ "$BEE_GPU_VENDOR" = "nvidia" ]; then
 
     # --- build / download NCCL ---
     run_step "download NCCL ${NCCL_VERSION}+cuda${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}" "50-nccl" \
-        sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-nccl.sh" "${NCCL_VERSION}" "${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}" "${DIST_DIR}" "${NCCL_SHA256:-}"
+        sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-nccl.sh" "${NCCL_VERSION}" "${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}" "${DIST_DIR}/cache" "${NCCL_SHA256:-}"
 
-    NCCL_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/nccl-${NCCL_VERSION}+cuda${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}"
+    NCCL_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/cache/nccl-${NCCL_VERSION}+cuda${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}"
 
     # Inject libnccl.so.* into overlay alongside other NVIDIA userspace libs
     cp "${NCCL_CACHE}/lib/"* "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/lib/"
@@ -1533,19 +1533,19 @@ if [ "$BEE_GPU_VENDOR" = "nvidia" ]; then
         "${NCCL_TESTS_VERSION}" \
         "${NCCL_VERSION}" \
         "${NCCL_CUDA_VERSION}" \
-        "${DIST_DIR}" \
+        "${DIST_DIR}/cache" \
         "${NVCC_VERSION}" \
         "${DEBIAN_VERSION}"
 
-    NCCL_TESTS_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/nccl-tests-${NCCL_TESTS_VERSION}"
+    NCCL_TESTS_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/cache/nccl-tests-${NCCL_TESTS_VERSION}"
     cp "${NCCL_TESTS_CACHE}/bin/all_reduce_perf" "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/bin/all_reduce_perf"
     chmod +x "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/bin/all_reduce_perf"
     cp "${NCCL_TESTS_CACHE}/lib/"* "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/lib/" 2>/dev/null || true
     echo "=== all_reduce_perf injected ==="
 
     run_step "build john jumbo ${JOHN_JUMBO_COMMIT}" "70-john" \
-        sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-john.sh" "${JOHN_JUMBO_COMMIT}" "${DIST_DIR}"
-    JOHN_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/john-${JOHN_JUMBO_COMMIT}"
+        sh "${BUILDER_DIR}/build-john.sh" "${JOHN_JUMBO_COMMIT}" "${DIST_DIR}/cache"
+    JOHN_CACHE="${DIST_DIR}/cache/john-${JOHN_JUMBO_COMMIT}"
     mkdir -p "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/lib/bee/john"
     rsync -a --delete "${JOHN_CACHE}/run/" "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/lib/bee/john/run/"
     ln -sfn ../lib/bee/john/run/john "${OVERLAY_STAGE_DIR}/usr/local/bin/john"
diff --git a/scripts/build.sh b/scripts/build.sh
index a5133e3..dee6987 100755
--- a/scripts/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ BUILDER_HOST="${BUILDER_HOST:-}"
 BUILDER_USER="${BUILDER_USER:-}"
 
 # Cache lives inside the repo under dist/ (gitignored).
-CACHE_DIR="${REPO_ROOT}/dist/container-cache"
+CACHE_DIR="${REPO_ROOT}/dist/cache"
 
 # Forward all arguments as-is to the underlying build script.
 EXTRA_ARGS="$*"
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ screen -S bee-build -X quit 2>/dev/null || true
 
 echo "--- starting build in screen session (survives SSH disconnect) ---"
 echo "--- log: \$LOG ---"
-screen -dmS bee-build sh -c "sh iso/builder/build-in-container.sh --cache-dir \$REPO/dist/container-cache ${EXTRA_ARGS} > \$LOG 2>&1; echo \$? > /tmp/bee-build-exit"
+screen -dmS bee-build sh -c "sh iso/builder/build-in-container.sh --cache-dir \$REPO/dist/cache ${EXTRA_ARGS} > \$LOG 2>&1; echo \$? > /tmp/bee-build-exit"
 
 echo "--- streaming build log (Ctrl+C safe -- build continues on VM) ---"
 tail -n +1 -f "\$LOG" 2>/dev/null &
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ ENDSSH
 
     echo ""
     echo "=== downloading ISO ==="
-    LOCAL_ISO_DIR="${REPO_ROOT}/iso/out"
+    LOCAL_ISO_DIR="${REPO_ROOT}/dist/release"
     mkdir -p "${LOCAL_ISO_DIR}"
     if command -v rsync >/dev/null 2>&1 && ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no "${BUILDER_USER}@${BUILDER_HOST}" command -v rsync >/dev/null 2>&1; then
         rsync -az --progress \