diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-fast.yml b/.github/workflows/release-fast.yml
index c43ab7f..c8dcf49 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-fast.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-fast.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ on:
       reddb_version:
         description: "Pinned RedDB release tag to smoke-package with"
         required: true
-        default: "v1.11.0"
+        default: "v1.13.1"
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 2d960ec..03dc799 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -18,11 +18,14 @@ concurrency:
 
 env:
   # RedDB sidecar pinned for reproducible builds — bump when adopting a newer reddb.
-  # v1.13.0-rc.12: persists collection contracts (declared_model) in the single-file
-  # artifact, so KV collections survive a server restart (reddb fix a8139467). v1.11.0
-  # lost the model on reopen → "model mismatch: expected kv, got table" on every project
-  # reopen. Bump to v1.13.0 once reddb publishes that tag's release binaries.
-  REDDB_VERSION: v1.13.0-rc.12
+  # v1.13.1: first stable to publish the fully *static* (musl) `red-linux-<arch>-static`
+  # assets, which fetch-reddb.mjs now prefers. The dynamic `red-linux-x86_64` links the
+  # build host's glibc and fails to start on older distros ("GLIBC_2.39 not found") → the
+  # reddb sidecar crash-loops and the app hangs on a black/loading screen. The static build
+  # runs on any glibc. v1.13.x also persists collection contracts (declared_model) so KV
+  # collections survive a server restart (reddb fix a8139467); v1.11.0 lost the model on
+  # reopen → "model mismatch: expected kv, got table".
+  REDDB_VERSION: v1.13.1
   # Run AppImage tooling (linuxdeploy) without FUSE, which CI runners lack.
   APPIMAGE_EXTRACT_AND_RUN: "1"
   # linuxdeploy's strip pass chokes on some shared objects under the no-FUSE extract path
diff --git a/scripts/check-reddb-release-assets.mjs b/scripts/check-reddb-release-assets.mjs
index 96c9ff3..9157b37 100644
--- a/scripts/check-reddb-release-assets.mjs
+++ b/scripts/check-reddb-release-assets.mjs
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@
 // The desktop app cannot be packaged for Linux/Windows unless the pinned RedDB
 // release exposes the prebuilt `red-<os>-<arch>` assets that fetch-reddb.mjs
 // downloads. Check that up front so release jobs fail before runner setup,
-// dependency install, and Tauri packaging work.
+// dependency install, and Tauri packaging work. Mirrors fetch-reddb.mjs's
+// candidate logic: linux x86_64/aarch64 prefer the static (musl) `-static` asset
+// and fall back to the glibc one, so the preflight passes iff the fetch will.
 //
 //   REDDB_VERSION=v1.11.0 node scripts/check-reddb-release-assets.mjs \
 //     x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
@@ -12,7 +14,8 @@ import { env, exit } from "node:process";
 
 const REPO = "reddb-io/reddb";
 
-function assetName(triple) {
+// Candidate asset names for this triple in preference order (see fetch-reddb.mjs).
+function assetCandidates(triple) {
   const [arch] = triple.split("-");
   const os = triple.includes("linux")
     ? "linux"
@@ -23,7 +26,10 @@ function assetName(triple) {
         : null;
   if (!os) throw new Error(`unsupported target triple: ${triple}`);
   const ext = os === "windows" ? ".exe" : "";
-  return `red-${os}-${arch}${ext}`;
+  const glibc = `red-${os}-${arch}${ext}`;
+  const preferStatic =
+    os === "linux" && (arch === "x86_64" || arch === "aarch64");
+  return preferStatic ? [`red-${os}-${arch}-static`, glibc] : [glibc];
 }
 
 async function ghJson(path) {
@@ -52,7 +58,6 @@ if (targets.length === 0) {
   exit(2);
 }
 
-const required = targets.map(assetName);
 const tag = env.REDDB_VERSION;
 
 let release;
@@ -69,13 +74,21 @@ try {
 }
 
 const available = new Set((release.assets ?? []).map((asset) => asset.name));
-const missing = required.filter((name) => !available.has(name));
+// Each target is satisfied if ANY of its candidates is published; record the one
+// fetch-reddb.mjs would actually download (the first available, static-preferred).
+const resolved = targets.map((triple) => {
+  const names = assetCandidates(triple);
+  return { triple, names, chosen: names.find((n) => available.has(n)) ?? null };
+});
+const missing = resolved.filter((r) => r.chosen === null);
 
 if (missing.length > 0) {
   console.error(
     `RedDB ${release.tag_name} is missing required release assets:`
   );
-  for (const name of missing) console.error(`  - ${name}`);
+  for (const { triple, names } of missing) {
+    console.error(`  - ${triple} (need one of: ${names.join(", ")})`);
+  }
   console.error("");
   console.error("Available assets:");
   for (const name of [...available].sort()) console.error(`  - ${name}`);
@@ -83,5 +96,5 @@ if (missing.length > 0) {
 }
 
 console.log(
-  `RedDB ${release.tag_name} has required assets: ${required.join(", ")}`
+  `RedDB ${release.tag_name} has required assets: ${resolved.map((r) => r.chosen).join(", ")}`
 );
diff --git a/scripts/fetch-reddb.mjs b/scripts/fetch-reddb.mjs
index 5883240..d3fc2cc 100755
--- a/scripts/fetch-reddb.mjs
+++ b/scripts/fetch-reddb.mjs
@@ -41,7 +41,13 @@ function hostTriple() {
   return `${a}-unknown-linux-gnu`;
 }
 
-function assetName(triple) {
+// Candidate asset names for this triple, in preference order. Linux x86_64/aarch64 ship a
+// fully *static* (musl) `red` as `<asset>-static`; prefer it. The dynamic `red-linux-<arch>`
+// links the build host's glibc, so it fails to start on any host with an older glibc
+// ("GLIBC_2.xx not found") — which black-screens the desktop app (the reddb sidecar
+// crash-loops, the UI waits on it forever). The static build runs on any glibc. Fall back to
+// the glibc asset for older reddb releases that predate the static one. Mirrors install.sh.
+function assetCandidates(triple) {
   const [arch] = triple.split("-");
   const os = triple.includes("linux")
     ? "linux"
@@ -52,7 +58,11 @@ function assetName(triple) {
         : null;
   if (!os) throw new Error(`Unsupported target triple: ${triple}`);
   const ext = os === "windows" ? ".exe" : "";
-  return { name: `red-${os}-${arch}${ext}`, ext, os };
+  const glibc = `red-${os}-${arch}${ext}`;
+  // The static variant is published only for the linux x86_64 / aarch64 sidecars.
+  const preferStatic = os === "linux" && (arch === "x86_64" || arch === "aarch64");
+  const names = preferStatic ? [`red-${os}-${arch}-static`, glibc] : [glibc];
+  return { names, ext, os };
 }
 
 async function ghJson(url) {
@@ -74,7 +84,7 @@ async function download(url) {
 }
 
 const triple = hostTriple();
-const { name, ext, os } = assetName(triple);
+const { names, ext, os } = assetCandidates(triple);
 
 const tag =
   process.env.REDDB_VERSION ||
@@ -83,8 +93,27 @@ const tag =
 if (!tag) throw new Error("could not determine a reddb release tag");
 
 const base = `https://github.com/${REPO}/releases/download/${tag}`;
-console.log(`Fetching RedDB ${name} from ${REPO}@${tag} …`);
-const bin = await download(`${base}/${name}`);
+
+// Download the first candidate that exists. Fall back to the next ONLY on a 404 (asset not
+// published in this release) — a real network/auth error still propagates instead of being
+// masked by a fallback that would also fail.
+let name, bin;
+for (let i = 0; i < names.length; i++) {
+  const candidate = names[i];
+  console.log(`Fetching RedDB ${candidate} from ${REPO}@${tag} …`);
+  try {
+    bin = await download(`${base}/${candidate}`);
+    name = candidate;
+    break;
+  } catch (e) {
+    const last = i === names.length - 1;
+    if (String(e).includes("→ 404") && !last) {
+      console.log(`  (${candidate} not published in ${tag} — trying ${names[i + 1]})`);
+      continue;
+    }
+    throw e;
+  }
+}
 
 // Verify the published .sha256 sidecar when present (best-effort). Pull the hash out by
 // regex so we don't care about the format: `<hash>  file` (sha256sum), `SHA256(file)= <hash>`