diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e2c203a..1bfee04 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.PHONY: all frontend backend backend-epics backend-debug test bench race lint clean run
+.PHONY: all frontend backend backend-epics backend-debug release release-epics test bench race lint clean run
 
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Sources — adding any file here triggers a frontend or backend rebuild        #
@@ -88,6 +88,76 @@ backend-debug: $(FRONTEND_OUT)
 	@mkdir -p dist
 	go build -o $(BINARY) ./cmd/uopi
 
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# Portable release targets                                                     #
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+#
+# Two flavours depending on whether EPICS is needed:
+#
+#   make release            — pure-Go, CGO_ENABLED=0, 100 % static binary.
+#                             No EPICS; works anywhere without extra libs.
+#
+#   make release-epics      — CGO build with EPICS CA.
+#                             Tries to link libca/libCom statically (if .a
+#                             archives are present in $(EPICS_LIBDIR)).
+#                             Falls back to bundled shared libs + $ORIGIN
+#                             rpath when only .so files are available.
+#                             The output directory (dist/release/) contains
+#                             everything needed to run on the target machine.
+#
+# Cross-compilation (no-EPICS only): override RELEASE_OS / RELEASE_ARCH.
+#   make release RELEASE_OS=linux RELEASE_ARCH=arm64
+
+RELEASE_OS   ?= linux
+RELEASE_ARCH ?= amd64
+RELEASE_DIR  := dist/release
+EPICS_LIBDIR := $(EPICS_BASE)/lib/$(EPICS_ARCH)
+
+# Fully static, no CGO — the most portable build possible.
+release: $(FRONTEND_OUT)
+	@mkdir -p $(RELEASE_DIR)
+	CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=$(RELEASE_OS) GOARCH=$(RELEASE_ARCH) \
+	  go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o $(RELEASE_DIR)/uopi ./cmd/uopi
+	@echo "Built: $(RELEASE_DIR)/uopi  (fully static, no EPICS)"
+
+# EPICS release — maximum static linking.
+# Strategy A (preferred): if libca.a + libCom.a exist, embed them directly
+#   → single self-contained binary, no extra files needed.
+# Strategy B (fallback): copy the shared libs next to the binary and set an
+#   $ORIGIN rpath so the OS finds them regardless of installation prefix.
+release-epics: $(FRONTEND_OUT)
+	@if [ -z "$(EPICS_BASE)" ]; then \
+	  echo "ERROR: EPICS_BASE is not set."; \
+	  echo "  export EPICS_BASE=/path/to/epics/base"; \
+	  exit 1; \
+	fi
+	@mkdir -p $(RELEASE_DIR)
+	@echo "Building portable EPICS release"
+	@echo "  EPICS_BASE = $(EPICS_BASE)"
+	@echo "  EPICS_ARCH = $(EPICS_ARCH)"
+	@if [ -f "$(EPICS_LIBDIR)/libca.a" ] && [ -f "$(EPICS_LIBDIR)/libCom.a" ]; then \
+	  echo "  Strategy A: static .a archives found — embedding libca + libCom"; \
+	  CGO_ENABLED=1 GOOS=linux GOARCH=$(RELEASE_ARCH) \
+	    CGO_CFLAGS="$(EPICS_CGO_CFLAGS)" \
+	    CGO_LDFLAGS="-Wl,-Bstatic -L$(EPICS_LIBDIR) -lca -lCom -Wl,-Bdynamic -lm -lpthread -lrt -ldl" \
+	    go build -tags epics \
+	      -ldflags="-s -w -linkmode external" \
+	      -o $(RELEASE_DIR)/uopi ./cmd/uopi; \
+	  echo "Built: $(RELEASE_DIR)/uopi  (EPICS statically embedded)"; \
+	else \
+	  echo "  Strategy B: no .a archives — bundling shared libs with \$$ORIGIN rpath"; \
+	  CGO_ENABLED=1 GOOS=linux GOARCH=$(RELEASE_ARCH) \
+	    CGO_CFLAGS="$(EPICS_CGO_CFLAGS)" \
+	    CGO_LDFLAGS="-L$(EPICS_LIBDIR) -lca -lCom -Wl,-rpath,\$$ORIGIN" \
+	    go build -tags epics \
+	      -ldflags="-s -w" \
+	      -o $(RELEASE_DIR)/uopi ./cmd/uopi; \
+	  cp $(EPICS_LIBDIR)/libca.so*  $(RELEASE_DIR)/; \
+	  cp $(EPICS_LIBDIR)/libCom.so* $(RELEASE_DIR)/; \
+	  echo "Built: $(RELEASE_DIR)/  (deploy the whole directory together)"; \
+	  ls $(RELEASE_DIR)/; \
+	fi
+
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
 # Dev / CI                                                                     #
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
diff --git a/internal/datasource/epics/epics.go b/internal/datasource/epics/epics.go
index ae4ebb2..0f84632 100644
--- a/internal/datasource/epics/epics.go
+++ b/internal/datasource/epics/epics.go
@@ -444,41 +444,105 @@ func (e *EPICS) ListSignals(_ context.Context) ([]datasource.Metadata, error) {
 }
 
 // Write puts a new value onto a CA channel.
-func (e *EPICS) Write(_ context.Context, signal string, value any) error {
+// If the signal is not currently subscribed (e.g. a button in oneshot mode),
+// a temporary CA channel is created, used for the put, then torn down.
+func (e *EPICS) Write(ctx context.Context, signal string, value any) error {
 	e.attachCAContext()
+
+	// Resolve the chid: use an existing subscribed channel if available,
+	// otherwise create a temporary one (mirrors GetMetadata's approach).
 	e.mu.Lock()
 	caCh, ok := e.channels[signal]
 	e.mu.Unlock()
-	if !ok {
-		return datasource.ErrNotFound
+
+	var chid C.chid
+	tempChannel := false
+
+	if ok {
+		chid = caCh.chid
+	} else {
+		// Create a temporary channel for the put.
+		handle := nextHandle()
+		entry := &connEntry{connCh: make(chan struct{}, 1)}
+		handleMu.Lock()
+		connTable[handle] = entry
+		handleMu.Unlock()
+
+		pvName := C.CString(signal)
+		defer C.free(unsafe.Pointer(pvName))
+
+		status := C.caCreateChannel(pvName, C.uintptr_t(handle), &chid)
+		if status != C.ECA_NORMAL {
+			handleMu.Lock()
+			delete(connTable, handle)
+			handleMu.Unlock()
+			return fmt.Errorf("epics: ca_create_channel(%q) failed: status %d", signal, int(status))
+		}
+		C.ca_flush_io()
+
+		select {
+		case <-entry.connCh:
+		case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+			C.ca_clear_channel(chid)
+			handleMu.Lock()
+			delete(connTable, handle)
+			handleMu.Unlock()
+			return fmt.Errorf("epics: timeout connecting to %q for write", signal)
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			C.ca_clear_channel(chid)
+			handleMu.Lock()
+			delete(connTable, handle)
+			handleMu.Unlock()
+			return ctx.Err()
+		}
+
+		handleMu.Lock()
+		delete(connTable, handle)
+		handleMu.Unlock()
+		tempChannel = true
 	}
 
 	var status C.int
 	switch v := value.(type) {
 	case float64:
 		cv := C.double(v)
-		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_DOUBLE, caCh.chid, unsafe.Pointer(&cv))
+		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_DOUBLE, chid, unsafe.Pointer(&cv))
 	case int64:
 		cv := C.long(v)
-		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_LONG, caCh.chid, unsafe.Pointer(&cv))
+		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_LONG, chid, unsafe.Pointer(&cv))
 	case string:
 		cs := C.CString(v)
 		defer C.free(unsafe.Pointer(cs))
-		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_STRING, caCh.chid, unsafe.Pointer(cs))
+		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_STRING, chid, unsafe.Pointer(cs))
 	case bool:
 		var iv C.short
 		if v {
 			iv = 1
 		}
-		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_SHORT, caCh.chid, unsafe.Pointer(&iv))
+		status = C.caPut(C.DBR_SHORT, chid, unsafe.Pointer(&iv))
 	default:
+		if tempChannel {
+			C.ca_clear_channel(chid)
+			C.ca_flush_io()
+		}
 		return fmt.Errorf("epics: unsupported value type %T for Write", value)
 	}
 
 	if status != C.ECA_NORMAL {
+		if tempChannel {
+			C.ca_clear_channel(chid)
+			C.ca_flush_io()
+		}
 		return fmt.Errorf("epics: ca_put(%q) failed: status %d", signal, int(status))
 	}
-	C.ca_flush_io()
+
+	if tempChannel {
+		C.ca_pend_io(3.0) // flush + wait for put completion before tearing down
+		C.ca_clear_channel(chid)
+		C.ca_flush_io()
+	} else {
+		C.ca_flush_io()
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/uopi b/uopi
deleted file mode 100755
index 4908105..0000000
Binary files a/uopi and /dev/null differ