diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yaml b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
index cf3d9c9..f764b7f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
@@ -64,15 +64,16 @@ jobs:
         run: cargo build --release
 
       - name: Acquire Package Version
-        shell: bash
+        id: get_version
+        shell: bash # required to prevent Windows runners from failing
         run: |
-          PACKAGE_VERSION=$(cargo metadata --format-version 1 --no-deps | jq '.packages[0].version' -r)
-          echo "PACKAGE_VERSION=${PACKAGE_VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          set -euo pipefail # exit on error
+          echo "version=$(cargo metadata --format-version 1 --no-deps | jq '.packages[0].version' -r)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
       - name: Upload Artifact
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
-          name: "pacman-${{ env.PACKAGE_VERSION }}-${{ matrix.target }}"
+          name: "pacman-${{ steps.get_version.outputs.version }}-${{ matrix.target }}"
           path: ./target/release/${{ matrix.artifact_name }}
           retention-days: 7
           if-no-files-found: error
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@master
         with:
           target: wasm32-unknown-emscripten
-          toolchain: 1.86.0 # we are unfortunately pinned to 1.86.0 for some reason, bulk-memory-opt related issues
+          toolchain: 1.86.0
 
       - name: Rust Cache
         uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e6737af..8a727aa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -72,6 +72,8 @@ I wanted to hit a log of goals and features, making it a 'perfect' project that
 
 Since this project is still in progress, I'm only going to cover non-obvious build details. By reading the code, build scripts, and copying the online build workflows, you should be able to replicate the build process.
 
+- We use rustc 1.86.0 for the build, due to bulk-memory-opt related issues on wasm32-unknown-emscripten.
+  - Technically, we could probably use stable or even nightly on desktop targets, but using different versions for different targets is a pain, mainly because of clippy warnings changing between versions.
 - Install `cargo-vcpkg` with `cargo install cargo-vcpkg`, then run `cargo vcpkg build` to build the requisite dependencies via vcpkg.
 - For the WASM build, you need to have the Emscripten SDK cloned; you can do so with `git clone https://github.com/emscripten-core/emsdk.git`
   - The first time you clone, you'll need to install the appropriate SDK version with `./emsdk install 3.1.43` and then activate it with `./emsdk activate 3.1.43`. On Windows, use `./emsdk/emsdk.ps1` instead.
diff --git a/rust-toolchain.toml b/rust-toolchain.toml
index 17d5023..79d0262 100644
--- a/rust-toolchain.toml
+++ b/rust-toolchain.toml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 [toolchain]
+# we are unfortunately pinned to 1.86.0 for some reason, bulk-memory-opt related issues on wasm32-unknown-emscripten
 channel = "1.86.0"
 components = ["rustfmt", "llvm-tools-preview", "clippy"]