diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e465960..1076864 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 cook/recipes/*.cfg
 cook/dishes/*.cfg
 
+# Generated build products (created by build-image.sh)
+build/
+
 # Python
 __pycache__/
 *.py[cod]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c1bf4fa..63c13b4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,6 +38,34 @@ Creating domain...
 `deploy.sh` regenerates the `recipes` and `dishes` (they are build products) before deploying.
 After a successfull installation, the virtual machine will shutdown and be ready to use when powered on again.
 
+## Building a disk image (no libvirt/virt-install)
+
+`deploy.sh` drives a live `virt-install`/libvirt session. If you just want a
+raw or qcow2 disk image — e.g. to hand to another VM manager such as
+wonder-vm via virtpull's `virtpull local ... --wonder-vm NAME` —
+use `build-image.sh` instead. It runs `livemedia-creator --no-virt
+--make-disk` directly on the host, producing a disk image instead of a
+bootable ISO:
+
+```
+./build-image.sh [--as qcow2] [--root-size MiB] [--extra-ks FILE]
+```
+
+It picks a dish the same way `deploy.sh` does and writes the result under
+`./build/`. Requires `lorax-lmc-novirt` (heavier than `deploy.sh`'s plain
+QEMU/libvirt prerequisites, not installed by
+`deploy/install-prerequisites-on-linux.sh`) and root — the `--no-virt` disk
+install needs real loop-device access (`/dev/loop-control`), which a
+`mock` chroot cannot provide (no live `systemd-udevd` inside it, which
+breaks blivet's device scan) and neither can a rootless container.
+`--root-size` (default 8192 MiB) sizes the root partition, needed because
+livemedia-creator computes the image size up front, unlike virt-install
+which pre-creates the disk at a known size. `--extra-ks FILE` appends
+local content (e.g. a bespoke `user`/`rootpw` override) to the dish before
+building, without touching the tracked ingredients — see the "bespoke
+dish" pattern below; never commit a file used here if it carries real
+credentials.
+
 ## Repository structure
 
 This repository contains such files broken down as:
diff --git a/build-image.sh b/build-image.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..a956669
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-image.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Build a raw (or qcow2) disk image from a dish, without libvirt/virt-install.
+#
+# Runs `livemedia-creator --no-virt --make-disk` directly on the host, so
+# the result is a disk image you can hand to another VM manager directly
+# (e.g. `virtpull local ./build/<dish>.img --wonder-vm NAME`) instead of a
+# bootable ISO.
+#
+# Usage: ./build-image.sh [--as qcow2] [--root-size MiB] [--extra-ks FILE]
+#
+# Requires: lorax-lmc-novirt (livemedia-creator), qemu-img, and root (the
+# --no-virt disk install needs real loop-device access via
+# /dev/loop-control; individual commands below run under sudo — passwordless
+# sudo, or run this whole script as root).
+#
+# Earlier iteration wrapped this in `mock` (mirroring
+# .gitea/workflows/build-iso.yaml's ISO build) to pin the target release's
+# toolchain. That does not work for --make-disk: mock's chroot has no live
+# systemd-udevd, so udev never populates properties for the loop device
+# livemedia-creator creates for the image, and blivet's device scan
+# crashes (blivet/udev.py device_get_name: "TypeError: argument of type
+# 'NoneType' is not a container or iterable") — reproduced identically on
+# Fedora 44 and 43 mock chroots, and confirmed absent when run directly on
+# the host instead. --make-iso never hits this: ISO building doesn't touch
+# block devices at all, only --make-disk (and other disk/appliance modes)
+# does. The consequence: this script now builds using whatever
+# anaconda/lorax the host has installed — the kickstart's own repo/url
+# lines still pin the actual package set to the target Fedora release
+# regardless, same as any other direct (non-mock) livemedia-creator use.
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+AS_FORMAT=""
+ROOT_SIZE=8192
+EXTRA_KS=""
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --as)
+      AS_FORMAT="$2"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --root-size)
+      ROOT_SIZE="$2"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    --extra-ks)
+      EXTRA_KS="$2"
+      shift 2
+      ;;
+    *)
+      echo "Unknown argument: $1"
+      echo "Usage: $0 [--as qcow2] [--root-size MiB] [--extra-ks FILE]"
+      exit 1
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+if [[ -n "$AS_FORMAT" && "$AS_FORMAT" != "qcow2" ]]; then
+  echo "--as only supports 'qcow2' (the build itself always produces raw)"
+  exit 1
+fi
+if ! [[ "$ROOT_SIZE" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+  echo "--root-size must be a whole number of MiB, got '$ROOT_SIZE'"
+  exit 1
+fi
+if [[ -n "$EXTRA_KS" && ! -f "$EXTRA_KS" ]]; then
+  echo "--extra-ks file not found: $EXTRA_KS"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+for tool in livemedia-creator qemu-img; do
+  if ! command -v "$tool" &> /dev/null; then
+    echo "Missing required tool: $tool"
+    echo "Fedora: sudo dnf install lorax-lmc-novirt qemu-img"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+done
+if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]] && ! sudo -n true 2>/dev/null; then
+  echo "This needs root (loop-device access for the --no-virt disk install)."
+  echo "Re-run as root, or ensure passwordless sudo is available."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Regenerate recipes and dishes before building (they are build products)
+if ! (cd cook && make all); then
+  echo "Failed to generate dishes in cook/ (see 'make all' in cook/)"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Pick a dish (shared with deploy/deploy-distro.sh)
+# shellcheck source=./deploy/select-dish.sh
+source "$(dirname "$0")/deploy/select-dish.sh"
+dish="$selected_dish"
+
+# Derive the target release, same convention as
+# deploy/deploy-distro.sh's find_fedora_iso() (used for --releasever, which
+# substitutes @VERSION@ in bootloader/template text — the kickstart's own
+# repo/url lines are what actually pin the package set).
+if [[ "$dish" == *"rawhide"* ]]; then
+  releasever="rawhide"
+elif [[ "$dish" =~ _([0-9]+) ]]; then
+  releasever="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+else
+  echo "Could not determine a Fedora release version from dish name '$dish'."
+  echo "Expected a '_<NN>' segment (e.g. desktop_44_standard...) or 'rawhide'."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+out_dir="./build"
+mkdir -p "$out_dir"
+out_dir="$(cd "$out_dir" && pwd)"
+
+# Adjustments needed only for this --no-virt disk-image path, applied to a
+# scratch copy rather than the shared dish:
+#
+# 1. cook/ingredients/core/base.ks sets `text` for deploy/deploy-distro.sh's
+#    virt-install netinstall console; livemedia-creator manages the display
+#    mode itself and refuses a kickstart that also sets one ("The kickstart
+#    must not set a display mode").
+#
+# 2. cook/ingredients' storage layout uses `part / --grow` with no explicit
+#    --size: fine for virt-install, which pre-creates the disk at a known
+#    size for anaconda to grow into. livemedia-creator instead computes the
+#    total image size up front by summing partition sizes, and crashes
+#    (TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'NoneType')
+#    on a --grow partition with no size to add. Give it one via --root-size
+#    (default 8192 MiB; the desktop dishes likely need more).
+#
+# 3. --extra-ks appends arbitrary local content (e.g. a bespoke `user`/
+#    `rootpw`/`security` override) after the above. Kickstart's singular
+#    commands take the last occurrence, so this can override anything the
+#    dish already set without touching the shared ingredients — see the
+#    README's "bespoke dish not part of the matrix" pattern. Never commit
+#    a file used here if it carries real credentials.
+disk_ks="$(mktemp "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/${dish}.disk-build.XXXXXX.cfg")"
+trap 'rm -f "$disk_ks"' EXIT
+grep -v -E '^(text|cmdline|graphical)([[:space:]]|$)' "cook/dishes/${dish}.cfg" \
+  | awk -v size="$ROOT_SIZE" '
+      /^part / && /--grow/ && !/--size=/ { $0 = $0 " --size=" size }
+      { print }
+    ' > "$disk_ks"
+if [[ -n "$EXTRA_KS" ]]; then
+  {
+    echo
+    cat "$EXTRA_KS"
+  } >> "$disk_ks"
+fi
+
+if command -v ksvalidator &> /dev/null; then
+  echo "Validating kickstart (informational; a build failure is the real test)..."
+  ksvalidator "$disk_ks" || true
+fi
+
+resultdir="$(mktemp -u "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/lmc-result.XXXXXX")"
+
+echo "Building disk image for '$dish' (target release $releasever)..."
+sudo livemedia-creator --ks "$disk_ks" --no-virt --resultdir "$resultdir" \
+  --make-disk --image-name "${dish}.img" --releasever "$releasever"
+
+# livemedia-creator's exact output filename depends on the installed lorax
+# version; don't assume --image-name is honored verbatim, take whatever
+# single disk image landed in the resultdir.
+produced=$(sudo find "$resultdir" -maxdepth 1 -type f \( -iname '*.img' -o -iname '*disk*' \) | head -n 1)
+if [[ -z "$produced" ]]; then
+  echo "livemedia-creator did not produce a recognizable disk image under $resultdir"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+raw_out="${out_dir}/${dish}.img"
+sudo cp --reflink=auto "$produced" "$raw_out"
+sudo chown "$(id -u):$(id -g)" "$raw_out"
+sudo rm -rf "$resultdir"
+echo "Built: $raw_out"
+
+if [[ "$AS_FORMAT" == "qcow2" ]]; then
+  qcow2_out="${out_dir}/${dish}.qcow2"
+  qemu-img convert -O qcow2 "$raw_out" "$qcow2_out"
+  echo "Converted: $qcow2_out"
+  final="$qcow2_out"
+else
+  final="$raw_out"
+fi
+
+echo
+echo "Next: virtpull local $final --wonder-vm <NAME>"
diff --git a/deploy/deploy-distro.sh b/deploy/deploy-distro.sh
index 861d2aa..d10ef94 100755
--- a/deploy/deploy-distro.sh
+++ b/deploy/deploy-distro.sh
@@ -141,35 +141,10 @@ fi
 # Display the selected option (optional)
 echo "You selected: $uri"
 
-# Get a list of files in "dishes" directory
-mapfile -t dish_name < <(find "cook/dishes/" -maxdepth 1 -type f \( -name "*guest-agents*" \) -printf "%f\n" | sed 's/\.[^.]*$//')
-
-# Check if there are any files
-if [ ${#dish_name[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
-  echo "No files found in the directory ../dishes."
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-# Display the files with numbered options
-echo "Available files:"
-for i in "${!dish_name[@]}"; do
-  echo "$((i + 1)). ${dish_name[$i]}"
-done
-
-# Prompt the user to select a file
-read -r -p "Enter the number of the file you want to select: " choice
-
-# Validate the user's choice
-if ! [[ "$choice" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || (( choice < 1 )) || (( choice > ${#dish_name[@]} )); then
-  echo "Invalid choice. Please enter a number from 1 to ${#dish_name[@]}."
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-# Get the selected filename
-vm_name="${dish_name[$((choice - 1))]}"
-
-# Output the selected filename
-echo "You selected: $vm_name"
+# Pick a dish (shared with build-image.sh)
+# shellcheck source=./select-dish.sh
+source "$(dirname "$0")/select-dish.sh"
+vm_name="$selected_dish"
 
 # Find Fedora ISO based on the dish name
 fedora_iso=$(find_fedora_iso "$vm_name")
diff --git a/deploy/select-dish.sh b/deploy/select-dish.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0851cdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/select-dish.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Lists cook/dishes/*guest-agents*.cfg and prompts the user to pick one.
+# Meant to be sourced (not executed) from repo root, after `cook && make all`
+# has regenerated dishes. Sets $selected_dish to the chosen dish's basename
+# (no extension) on success, or exits non-zero.
+
+mapfile -t dish_name < <(find "cook/dishes/" -maxdepth 1 -type f \( -name "*guest-agents*" \) -printf "%f\n" | sed 's/\.[^.]*$//')
+
+if [ ${#dish_name[@]} -eq 0 ]; then
+  echo "No files found in cook/dishes/."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Available dishes:"
+for i in "${!dish_name[@]}"; do
+  echo "$((i + 1)). ${dish_name[$i]}"
+done
+
+read -r -p "Enter the number of the dish you want to select: " choice
+
+if ! [[ "$choice" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || (( choice < 1 )) || (( choice > ${#dish_name[@]} )); then
+  echo "Invalid choice. Please enter a number from 1 to ${#dish_name[@]}."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+selected_dish="${dish_name[$((choice - 1))]}"
+echo "You selected: $selected_dish"