diff --git a/TODOS.md b/TODOS.md
index 1b0480a..fe2ccd5 100644
--- a/TODOS.md
+++ b/TODOS.md
@@ -9,6 +9,14 @@
 
 Remember to polish existing features before moving on to new ones.
 
+- [ ] Bake the default `layouts` into the binary at compile time via
+      `#load_directory` so the binary is self-contained and doesn't read
+      `DEFAULTS_PATH` from disk at runtime.
+  - `#load_directory` is NOT recursive and its `name` is the base filename
+    only, so `defaults/layouts` and `defaults/layouts/partials` must be loaded
+    separately and mounted into the VFS with `data` set (not `fs_path`).
+  - Removes the runtime dependency on `THOR_DEFAULTS_PATH` / `#directory` and
+    the need to ship `defaults/` alongside the binary (see `flake.nix`).
 - [ ] `build` command alias of default
 - [ ] `new site` command to set up new project
 - [ ] Some render errors blank the entire page instead of scoping to the failing tag.
diff --git a/defaults.odin b/defaults.odin
index 757b79b..3261a74 100644
--- a/defaults.odin
+++ b/defaults.odin
@@ -2,4 +2,17 @@ package main
 
 import "core:os"
 
-DEFAULTS_PATH :: #directory + os.Path_Separator_String + "defaults"
+// Path to the built-in default layouts, resolved at runtime.
+//
+// The default points at the `defaults` directory next to the source tree (via
+// `#directory`), which works for local `odin run`/`odin build` from the repo.
+// Packaged builds install `defaults/` to a fixed location and override this
+// with `-define:THOR_DEFAULTS_PATH=<path>` (see flake.nix).
+//
+// TODO: bake these into the binary at compile time via `#load_directory` so the
+// binary is self-contained and this runtime path goes away entirely. See
+// TODOS.md.
+DEFAULTS_PATH :: #config(
+	THOR_DEFAULTS_PATH,
+	#directory + os.Path_Separator_String + "defaults",
+)
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index b4072e1..5195c5a 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -141,13 +141,20 @@
 
             buildPhase = ''
               runHook preBuild
-              odin build . -o:speed -no-bounds-check -out:${pname}-keep
+              odin build . -o:speed -no-bounds-check \
+                -define:THOR_DEFAULTS_PATH=$out/share/thor/defaults \
+                -out:${pname}-keep
               runHook postBuild
             '';
 
             installPhase = ''
               runHook preInstall
               install -Dm755 ${pname}-keep $out/bin/${pname}
+              # Ship the built-in default layouts alongside the binary. The
+              # binary reads these at runtime from THOR_DEFAULTS_PATH (baked in
+              # above). Keep in sync with defaults.odin.
+              mkdir -p $out/share/thor
+              cp -r defaults $out/share/thor/defaults
               runHook postInstall
             '';
           };