diff --git a/core/build-cli.sh b/core/build-cli.sh
index de1a4d421..16de9f1a6 100755
--- a/core/build-cli.sh
+++ b/core/build-cli.sh
@@ -5,50 +5,60 @@ cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")"
 set -ea
 shopt -s expand_aliases
 
-if [ -z "$ARCH" ]; then
-	ARCH=$(uname -m)
+if [ -z "${ARCH:-}" ]; then
+  ARCH=$(uname -m)
 fi
 if [ "$ARCH" = "arm64" ]; then
   ARCH="aarch64"
 fi
 
-if [ -z "$KERNEL_NAME" ]; then
-	KERNEL_NAME=$(uname -s)
+if [ -z "${KERNEL_NAME:-}" ]; then
+  KERNEL_NAME=$(uname -s)
 fi
 
-if [ -z "$TARGET" ]; then
-	if [ "$KERNEL_NAME" = "Linux" ]; then
-		TARGET="$ARCH-unknown-linux-musl"
-	elif [ "$KERNEL_NAME" = "Darwin" ]; then
-		TARGET="$ARCH-apple-darwin"
-	else
-		>&2 echo "unknown kernel $KERNEL_NAME"
-		exit 1
-	fi
+if [ -z "${TARGET:-}" ]; then
+  if [ "$KERNEL_NAME" = "Linux" ]; then
+    TARGET="$ARCH-unknown-linux-musl"
+  elif [ "$KERNEL_NAME" = "Darwin" ]; then
+    TARGET="$ARCH-apple-darwin"
+  else
+    >&2 echo "unknown kernel $KERNEL_NAME"
+    exit 1
+  fi
 fi
 
 USE_TTY=
 if tty -s; then
-	USE_TTY="-it"
+  USE_TTY="-it"
 fi
 
 cd ..
-FEATURES="$(echo $ENVIRONMENT | sed 's/-/,/g')"
-RUSTFLAGS=""
 
-if [[ "${ENVIRONMENT}" =~ (^|-)unstable($|-) ]]; then
-	RUSTFLAGS="--cfg tokio_unstable"
+# Ensure GIT_HASH.txt exists if not created by higher-level build steps
+if [ ! -f GIT_HASH.txt ] && command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  git rev-parse HEAD > GIT_HASH.txt || true
 fi
 
-if which zig > /dev/null && [ "$ENFORCE_USE_DOCKER" != 1 ]; do
-	echo "FEATURES=\"$FEATURES\""
-	echo "RUSTFLAGS=\"$RUSTFLAGS\""
-	RUSTFLAGS=$RUSTFLAGS sh -c "cd core && cargo zigbuild --release --no-default-features --features cli,$FEATURES --locked --bin start-cli --target=$TARGET"
-else
-	alias 'rust-zig-builder'='docker run $USE_TTY --rm -e "RUSTFLAGS=$RUSTFLAGS" -v "$HOME/.cargo/registry":/root/.cargo/registry -v "$HOME/.cargo/git":/root/.cargo/git -v "$(pwd)":/home/rust/src -w /home/rust/src -P messense/cargo-zigbuild'
-	RUSTFLAGS=$RUSTFLAGS rust-zig-builder sh -c "cd core && cargo zigbuild --release --no-default-features --features cli,$FEATURES --locked --bin start-cli --target=$TARGET"
+FEATURES="$(echo "${ENVIRONMENT:-}" | sed 's/-/,/g')"
+FEATURE_ARGS="cli"
+if [ -n "$FEATURES" ]; then
+  FEATURE_ARGS="$FEATURE_ARGS,$FEATURES"
+fi
 
-	if [ "$(ls -nd core/target/$TARGET/release/start-cli | awk '{ print $3 }')" != "$UID" ]; then
-		rust-zig-builder sh -c "cd core && chown -R $UID:$UID target && chown -R $UID:$UID /root/.cargo"
-	fi
+RUSTFLAGS=""
+if [[ "${ENVIRONMENT:-}" =~ (^|-)unstable($|-) ]]; then
+  RUSTFLAGS="--cfg tokio_unstable"
+fi
+
+if command -v zig >/dev/null 2>&1 && [ "${ENFORCE_USE_DOCKER:-0}" != "1" ]; then
+  echo "FEATURES=\"$FEATURES\""
+  echo "RUSTFLAGS=\"$RUSTFLAGS\""
+  RUSTFLAGS=$RUSTFLAGS sh -c "cd core && cargo zigbuild --release --no-default-features --features $FEATURE_ARGS --locked --bin start-cli --target=$TARGET"
+else
+  alias 'rust-zig-builder'='docker run '"$USE_TTY"' --rm -e "RUSTFLAGS=$RUSTFLAGS" -v "$HOME/.cargo/registry":/root/.cargo/registry -v "$HOME/.cargo/git":/root/.cargo/git -v "$(pwd)":/home/rust/src -w /home/rust/src -P messense/cargo-zigbuild'
+  RUSTFLAGS=$RUSTFLAGS rust-zig-builder sh -c "cd core && cargo zigbuild --release --no-default-features --features $FEATURE_ARGS --locked --bin start-cli --target=$TARGET"
+
+  if [ "$(ls -nd "core/target/$TARGET/release/start-cli" | awk '{ print $3 }')" != "$UID" ]; then
+    rust-zig-builder sh -c "cd core && chown -R $UID:$UID target && chown -R $UID:$UID /root/.cargo"
+  fi
 fi
\ No newline at end of file