diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index b49063a5..ce8c27de 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -116,20 +116,6 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: Determine build profile
-        id: profile
-        shell: bash
-        run: |
-          if [[ "${{ needs.validate.outputs.is_prerelease }}" == "true" ]]; then
-            echo "build_flags=" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            echo "profile_dir=debug" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            echo "Building DEBUG (RC pre-release: logging enabled)"
-          else
-            echo "build_flags=--release --no-default-features --features logging" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            echo "profile_dir=release" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-            echo "Building RELEASE (logging enabled, other defaults stripped)"
-          fi
-
       - name: Install Rust toolchain
         uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
         with:
@@ -143,19 +129,22 @@ jobs:
         if: matrix.cross
         run: cargo install cross --git https://github.com/cross-rs/cross
 
+      # Pre-releases are built exactly like the release they are a candidate for.
+      # Logging is in the default feature set, so `--release` carries it; there is
+      # no reason for an RC to differ from the artifact that ships.
       - name: Build (cross)
         if: matrix.cross
-        run: cross build ${{ steps.profile.outputs.build_flags }} --target ${{ matrix.target }}
+        run: cross build --release --target ${{ matrix.target }}
 
       - name: Build (native)
         if: ${{ !matrix.cross }}
-        run: cargo build ${{ steps.profile.outputs.build_flags }} --target ${{ matrix.target }}
+        run: cargo build --release --target ${{ matrix.target }}
 
       - name: Create archive (Unix)
         if: matrix.archive == 'tar.gz'
         run: |
-          cp config/bootstrap_peers.toml target/${{ matrix.target }}/${{ steps.profile.outputs.profile_dir }}/
-          cd target/${{ matrix.target }}/${{ steps.profile.outputs.profile_dir }}
+          cp config/bootstrap_peers.toml target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/
+          cd target/${{ matrix.target }}/release
           tar -czvf ../../../ant-node-cli-${{ matrix.friendly_name }}.tar.gz ${{ matrix.binary }} bootstrap_peers.toml
           cd ../../..
 
@@ -163,8 +152,8 @@ jobs:
         if: matrix.archive == 'zip'
         shell: pwsh
         run: |
-          Copy-Item "config/bootstrap_peers.toml" "target/${{ matrix.target }}/${{ steps.profile.outputs.profile_dir }}/bootstrap_peers.toml"
-          Push-Location "target/${{ matrix.target }}/${{ steps.profile.outputs.profile_dir }}"
+          Copy-Item "config/bootstrap_peers.toml" "target/${{ matrix.target }}/release/bootstrap_peers.toml"
+          Push-Location "target/${{ matrix.target }}/release"
           Compress-Archive -Path "${{ matrix.binary }}", "bootstrap_peers.toml" -DestinationPath "../../../ant-node-cli-${{ matrix.friendly_name }}.zip"
           Pop-Location
 
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 5c98105f..7cc75571 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -177,9 +177,9 @@ required-features = ["test-utils"]
 [features]
 default = ["logging"]
 # Enable tracing/logging infrastructure.
-# Included in `default` so dev builds (`cargo build`, `cargo test`) get logging
-# automatically. Release builds strip it:
-#   cargo build --release --no-default-features
+# Included in `default`, so every build we ship — dev, release candidate and
+# release alike — has logging. Opt out only for a bespoke build that needs it
+# gone: `cargo build --release --no-default-features`.
 logging = ["tracing", "tracing-subscriber", "tracing-appender"]
 # Expose test helpers (cache_insert, payment_verifier accessor) for
 # integration tests and downstream test harnesses.