diff --git a/.github/workflows/_ci-desktop.yml b/.github/workflows/_ci-desktop.yml
index 90eacc59f1..bcdb3b63d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/_ci-desktop.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/_ci-desktop.yml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ jobs:
   desktop-tauri:
     name: Desktop Tauri (${{ matrix.lane }})
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    # A lane needs up to ~15m. ci-apt-retry.sh bounds the apt step at ~34m worst
+    # A lane needs up to ~15m. ci-apt-retry.sh bounds the apt steps at ~34m worst
     # case (update ~8.5m + install ~25m); 55m fits both, so a degraded mirror
     # fails with the wrapper's error instead of the job timeout.
     timeout-minutes: 55
@@ -93,6 +93,22 @@ jobs:
             run: just desktop-tauri-test-compiled-flags
     permissions:
       contents: read
+    env:
+      # Resolved and installed by the steps below; the .deb cache key hashes
+      # what apt resolves for this list.
+      TAURI_APT_PACKAGES: >-
+        build-essential
+        curl
+        file
+        libasound2-dev
+        libayatana-appindicator3-dev
+        libgtk-3-dev
+        librsvg2-dev
+        libssl-dev
+        libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev
+        libxdo-dev
+        patchelf
+        wget
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10 # v6.0.3
         with:
@@ -104,24 +120,70 @@ jobs:
           workspaces: desktop/src-tauri
           shared-key: ${{ matrix.cache }}
           save-if: ${{ matrix.save-cache && github.event_name != 'pull_request' }}
+      # A degraded Ubuntu mirror serves .debs at ~50 KB/s, and the ~62 MB
+      # Tauri download (one 25.5 MB libwebkit2gtk .deb) then outlasts every
+      # ci-apt-retry.sh attempt. Cache the .debs in the Actions cache so the
+      # mirror only serves `apt-get update` and packages Ubuntu has updated
+      # since main last saved.
+      - name: Resolve Tauri apt archives
+        id: tauri-debs
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          CI_APT_ATTEMPT_SECONDS=90 scripts/ci-apt-retry.sh sudo apt-get update
+          read -ra packages <<< "$TAURI_APT_PACKAGES"
+          # Name, size and SHA256 (from the signed index) of each .deb the
+          # install will fetch. The mirror URI is left out so the key doesn't
+          # depend on which mirror answered. Runs before the restore:
+          # --print-uris omits files that are already in
+          # /var/cache/apt/archives.
+          sudo apt-get install --print-uris -qq -y --no-install-recommends \
+            -o Acquire::ForceHash=SHA256 "${packages[@]}" |
+            awk '{print $2, $3, $4}' | sort > "$RUNNER_TEMP/tauri-debs.txt"
+          . /etc/os-release
+          prefix="tauri-debs-${ID}${VERSION_ID}-"
+          echo "prefix=$prefix" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "key=$prefix$(sha256sum "$RUNNER_TEMP/tauri-debs.txt" | cut -c1-16)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+      - name: Restore Tauri apt archives
+        id: tauri-debs-cache
+        uses: actions/cache/restore@caa296126883cff596d87d8935842f9db880ef25 # v5
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cache/tauri-debs
+          key: ${{ steps.tauri-debs.outputs.key }}
+          restore-keys: ${{ steps.tauri-debs.outputs.prefix }}
       - name: Install Tauri dependencies (Linux)
+        id: tauri-debs-install
         env:
           DEBIAN_FRONTEND: noninteractive
         run: |
-          CI_APT_ATTEMPT_SECONDS=90 scripts/ci-apt-retry.sh sudo apt-get update
-          scripts/ci-apt-retry.sh sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
-            build-essential \
-            curl \
-            file \
-            libasound2-dev \
-            libayatana-appindicator3-dev \
-            libgtk-3-dev \
-            librsvg2-dev \
-            libssl-dev \
-            libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
-            libxdo-dev \
-            patchelf \
-            wget
+          set -euo pipefail
+          debs=~/.cache/tauri-debs
+          mkdir -p "$debs"
+          # apt reuses an archived .deb of the expected size without checking
+          # its hash, so seed only restored files whose SHA256 matches the
+          # signed index. apt downloads and verifies the rest. sha256sum exits
+          # non-zero when a file fails or none is restored; neither is fatal.
+          awk '{sub(/^SHA256:/, "", $3); print $3 "  " $1}' "$RUNNER_TEMP/tauri-debs.txt" > "$RUNNER_TEMP/tauri-debs.sha256"
+          (cd "$debs" && { sha256sum --check --ignore-missing "$RUNNER_TEMP/tauri-debs.sha256" || true; }) |
+            sed -n 's/: OK$//p' | (cd "$debs" && xargs -r sudo cp -t /var/cache/apt/archives/)
+          read -ra packages <<< "$TAURI_APT_PACKAGES"
+          scripts/ci-apt-retry.sh sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends "${packages[@]}"
+          # Keep exactly the resolved files, so a restore-keys fallback can't
+          # pile up superseded versions. The packages are installed by now, so
+          # a failure here only warns and skips the save.
+          if rm -rf "$debs" && mkdir -p "$debs" &&
+            awk '{print "/var/cache/apt/archives/" $1}' "$RUNNER_TEMP/tauri-debs.txt" | xargs -r cp -t "$debs"; then
+            echo "rebuilt=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          else
+            echo "::warning::Could not rebuild the Tauri apt archive cache; not saving it."
+          fi
+      # Like the other caches here, only pushes save; PR runs restore. All
+      # three lanes resolve the same key, so one lane saves it.
+      - name: Save Tauri apt archives
+        if: matrix.lane == 'core' && github.event_name == 'push' && steps.tauri-debs-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' && steps.tauri-debs-install.outputs.rebuilt == 'true'
+        uses: actions/cache/save@caa296126883cff596d87d8935842f9db880ef25 # v5
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cache/tauri-debs
+          key: ${{ steps.tauri-debs.outputs.key }}
       - name: Desktop Tauri ${{ matrix.lane }}
         run: ${{ matrix.run }}
         env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/_ci-rust.yml b/.github/workflows/_ci-rust.yml
index 3190d877ae..e536e13162 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/_ci-rust.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/_ci-rust.yml
@@ -111,9 +111,12 @@ jobs:
   windows-rust:
     name: Windows Rust (x86_64-pc-windows-msvc)
     runs-on: windows-latest
-    # Windows runners are slow and this compiles the workspace + Tauri crate
-    # cold across four steps; budget generously.
-    timeout-minutes: 45
+    # With no rust-cache (after a toolchain bump or eviction), the steps take
+    # 39-41m on main (2026-10-22..26): clippy 17-18m, Tauri check ~6m, Tauri
+    # tests 10-11m, the rest ~5m. The cache save that follows takes ~4.5m and
+    # runs inside this cap. If the cap kills it, nothing is saved and the next
+    # push is cold again. 60m leaves ~15m over that; warm runs take 15-23m.
+    timeout-minutes: 60
     if: inputs.lane == 'required' && (github.event_name == 'push' || inputs.rust || inputs.desktop_rust)
     permissions:
       contents: read
@@ -144,10 +147,10 @@ jobs:
           for bin in buzz-acp buzz-agent buzz-dev-mcp git-credential-nostr buzz; do
             touch "desktop/src-tauri/binaries/${bin}-${TARGET}.exe"
           done
+      # Clippy type-checks everything `cargo check` would, so no separate
+      # workspace check step.
       - name: Clippy (workspace)
         run: cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --target $env:TARGET -- -D warnings
-      - name: Check (workspace)
-        run: cargo check --workspace --all-targets --target $env:TARGET
       - name: Test (buzz-dev-mcp)
         # The Windows-only bash resolver lives in buzz-dev-mcp; its unit tests
         # only gate if this crate is tested ON Windows.
diff --git a/scripts/flake-check.test.mjs b/scripts/flake-check.test.mjs
index 79739d2b45..5688a91478 100644
--- a/scripts/flake-check.test.mjs
+++ b/scripts/flake-check.test.mjs
@@ -1079,14 +1079,20 @@ test("repeat invocations mirror the lanes they stand in for", () => {
       runner,
     );
   // The Tauri lane builds what the Desktop Tauri core lane does: the same
-  // workspace cache, system packages and sidecar stubs.
+  // workspace cache, system packages and sidecar stubs. The core lane lists
+  // its packages in TAURI_APT_PACKAGES, which its .deb cache key hashes.
   const desktop = read("../.github/workflows/_ci-desktop.yml");
-  const packages = (text) =>
-    /apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \\\n((?: {12}\S+(?: \\)?\n)+)/.exec(
-      text,
-    )?.[1];
-  assert.ok(packages(desktop), "Desktop Tauri apt packages");
-  assert.equal(packages(flake), packages(desktop));
+  const desktopPackages = /^ {6}TAURI_APT_PACKAGES: >-\n((?: {8}\S+\n)+)/m
+    .exec(desktop)?.[1]
+    .split(/\s+/)
+    .filter(Boolean);
+  const flakePackages =
+    /apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \\\n((?: {12}\S+(?: \\)?\n)+)/
+      .exec(flake)?.[1]
+      .split(/[\s\\]+/)
+      .filter(Boolean);
+  assert.ok(desktopPackages?.length, "Desktop Tauri apt packages");
+  assert.deepEqual(flakePackages, desktopPackages);
   assert.match(
     flake,
     /flake-tauri:\n(?: {4}.*\n)*? {6}- uses: Swatinem\/rust-cache@\w+\n {8}with:\n {10}workspaces: desktop\/src-tauri\n {10}shared-key: desktop-core\n {10}save-if: false\n/,