diff --git a/Dockerfile.alpine-musl b/Dockerfile.alpine-musl
index c1988e8..890e0cc 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.alpine-musl
+++ b/Dockerfile.alpine-musl
@@ -8,41 +8,58 @@ FROM alpine:3.19 AS builder
 # Re-declare build argument in this stage
 ARG DEBUG_BUILD=false
 
-# Install build dependencies
-RUN apk add --no-cache \
-    build-base \
-    musl-dev \
-    git \
-    cmake \
-    pkgconfig \
-    autoconf \
-    automake \
-    libtool \
-    openssl-dev \
-    openssl-libs-static \
-    zlib-dev \
-    zlib-static \
-    curl-dev \
-    curl-static \
-    nghttp2-dev \
-    nghttp2-static \
-    c-ares-dev \
-    c-ares-static \
-    libpsl-dev \
-    libpsl-static \
-    libidn2-dev \
-    libidn2-static \
-    libunistring-dev \
-    libunistring-static \
-    brotli-dev \
-    brotli-static \
-    zstd-dev \
-    zstd-static \
-    sqlite-dev \
-    sqlite-static \
-    linux-headers \
-    wget \
-    bash
+# Install build dependencies (with retry logic for transient mirror/network failures)
+RUN set -eux; \
+    printf '%s\n' \
+      'https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.19/main' \
+      'https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.19/community' \
+      > /etc/apk/repositories; \
+    APK_OK=0; \
+    for attempt in 1 2 3 4 5; do \
+      if apk update && apk add --no-cache \
+        build-base \
+        musl-dev \
+        git \
+        cmake \
+        pkgconfig \
+        autoconf \
+        automake \
+        libtool \
+        openssl-dev \
+        openssl-libs-static \
+        zlib-dev \
+        zlib-static \
+        curl-dev \
+        curl-static \
+        nghttp2-dev \
+        nghttp2-static \
+        c-ares-dev \
+        c-ares-static \
+        libpsl-dev \
+        libpsl-static \
+        libidn2-dev \
+        libidn2-static \
+        libunistring-dev \
+        libunistring-static \
+        brotli-dev \
+        brotli-static \
+        zstd-dev \
+        zstd-static \
+        sqlite-dev \
+        sqlite-static \
+        linux-headers \
+        wget \
+        bash; then \
+        APK_OK=1; \
+        break; \
+      fi; \
+      echo "apk dependency install failed (attempt ${attempt}/5), retrying..."; \
+      sleep $((attempt * 2)); \
+    done; \
+    if [ "$APK_OK" -ne 1 ]; then \
+      echo "ERROR: failed to install Alpine dependencies after 5 attempts"; \
+      exit 33; \
+    fi
 
 # Set working directory
 WORKDIR /build
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 8757fbe..1e25b00 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -55,11 +55,11 @@ Skills compose by adoption-list order (`10123`) and trigger tags carry runtime e
 
 Didactyl will support local inference, which is very privacy preserving. Remote inference does however have it's advantages, and in those cases Didactyl supports using Bitcoin Lightning and eCash inference providers.
 
-## Current Status — v0.0.88
+## Current Status — v0.0.89
 
 **Active build — this project is barely working. Experiment at your own risk.**
 
-> Last release update: v0.0.88 — Add full static ARM64 build support for didactyl and c-relay with dynamic nostr lib resolution and --platform override
+> Last release update: v0.0.89 — Fix and validate fully static ARM64 Docker builds for didactyl and c-relay with reliable cross-arch context and toolchain handling
 
 - Connects to configured relays with auto-reconnect and relay state transition logging
 - Publishes configured startup events per relay as each relay becomes connected
diff --git a/build_static.sh b/build_static.sh
index d586aee..f41a996 100755
--- a/build_static.sh
+++ b/build_static.sh
@@ -121,6 +121,34 @@ echo "Building for platform: $PLATFORM"
 echo "Output binary: $OUTPUT_NAME"
 echo ""
 
+# Verify Docker can execute the requested target platform (QEMU/binfmt for cross-arch)
+HOST_ARCH=$(uname -m)
+case "$HOST_ARCH" in
+    x86_64) HOST_PLATFORM="linux/amd64" ;;
+    aarch64|arm64) HOST_PLATFORM="linux/arm64" ;;
+    armv7l) HOST_PLATFORM="linux/arm/v7" ;;
+    armv6l) HOST_PLATFORM="linux/arm/v6" ;;
+    *) HOST_PLATFORM="unknown" ;;
+esac
+
+if [ "$HOST_PLATFORM" != "$PLATFORM" ]; then
+    echo "Cross-architecture build detected: host=$HOST_PLATFORM target=$PLATFORM"
+    echo "Checking Docker emulation support for $PLATFORM..."
+    if ! $DOCKER_CMD run --rm --platform "$PLATFORM" alpine:3.19 uname -m > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+        echo ""
+        echo "ERROR: Docker cannot execute $PLATFORM containers on this host"
+        echo "This usually means QEMU/binfmt is not configured."
+        echo "Run this once, then retry:"
+        echo "  docker run --rm --privileged multiarch/qemu-user-static --reset -p yes"
+        echo "Optional verify command:"
+        echo "  docker run --rm --platform $PLATFORM alpine:3.19 uname -m"
+        echo ""
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    echo "✓ Docker emulation for $PLATFORM is available"
+    echo ""
+fi
+
 # Check if Alpine base image is cached
 echo "Checking for cached Alpine Docker image..."
 if ! docker images alpine:3.19 --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}" | grep -q "alpine:3.19"; then
@@ -150,6 +178,7 @@ echo "  - Compile didactyl with full static linking"
 echo ""
 
 $DOCKER_CMD build \
+    --network host \
     --platform "$PLATFORM" \
     --build-arg DEBUG_BUILD=$DEBUG_BUILD \
     -f "$DOCKERFILE" \
diff --git a/didactyl_static_arm64 b/didactyl_static_arm64
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0afc013
Binary files /dev/null and b/didactyl_static_arm64 differ
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index 37a8e97..2a8c730 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@
 // Using DIDACTYL_ prefix to avoid conflicts with nostr_core_lib VERSION macros
 #define DIDACTYL_VERSION_MAJOR 0
 #define DIDACTYL_VERSION_MINOR 0
-#define DIDACTYL_VERSION_PATCH 88
-#define DIDACTYL_VERSION "v0.0.88"
+#define DIDACTYL_VERSION_PATCH 89
+#define DIDACTYL_VERSION "v0.0.89"
 
 // Agent metadata
 #define DIDACTYL_NAME "Didactyl"