diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index ec2ce880ca..521129d92d 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
-# Using Cargo's workspace feature to build all the Rust code in
-# into a single package.
-# TODO(alan) notes about rust version requirements. Undecided yet.
+# This is the root Cargo [workspace](https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/workspaces.html)
+# and the root package for all the rust code that are statically linked into ruby. Rust tooling
+# limitations means all Rust code need to share a single archive library (staticlib) at the
+# integration point with non-rust code. (See rustlang/rust#44322 and #104707 for a taste of
+# the linking challenges.)
+#
+# Do not add required dependencies. This is a policy that helps downstream consumers and give
+# us tight control over what we ship. All of the optional dependencies are used exclusively
+# during development.
+#
+# Release builds avoid Cargo entirely because offline builds can fail even when none of the
+# optional dependencies are built (rust-lang/cargo#10352).
 
 [workspace]
 members = ["zjit", "yjit", "jit"]
diff --git a/common.mk b/common.mk
index 35c2315980..50abfeab8a 100644
--- a/common.mk
+++ b/common.mk
@@ -268,9 +268,8 @@ MAKE_LINK = $(MINIRUBY) -rfileutils -e "include FileUtils::Verbose" \
 
 # For release builds
 YJIT_RUSTC_ARGS = --crate-name=yjit \
-	--crate-type=staticlib \
+	$(JIT_RUST_FLAGS) \
 	--edition=2021 \
-	--cfg 'feature="stats_allocator"' \
 	-g \
 	-C lto=thin \
 	-C opt-level=3 \
@@ -279,9 +278,8 @@ YJIT_RUSTC_ARGS = --crate-name=yjit \
 	'$(top_srcdir)/yjit/src/lib.rs'
 
 ZJIT_RUSTC_ARGS = --crate-name=zjit \
-	--crate-type=staticlib \
+	$(JIT_RUST_FLAGS) \
 	--edition=2024 \
-	--cfg 'feature="stats_allocator"' \
 	-g \
 	-C lto=thin \
 	-C opt-level=3 \
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 14b0234ef0..ef4b76e537 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -3896,7 +3896,6 @@ AC_SUBST(INSTALL_STATIC_LIBRARY)
 
 [begin]_group "JIT section" && {
 AC_CHECK_PROG(RUSTC, [rustc], [rustc], [no]) dnl no ac_tool_prefix
-AC_CHECK_TOOL(CARGO, [cargo], [no])
 
 dnl check if rustc is recent enough to build YJIT (rustc >= 1.58.0)
 JIT_RUSTC_OK=no
@@ -3963,11 +3962,7 @@ AC_ARG_ENABLE(zjit,
             # 1.85.0 is the first stable version that supports the 2024 edition.
             AS_IF([test "$RUSTC" != "no" && echo "#[cfg(target_arch = \"$JIT_TARGET_ARCH\")] fn main() {}" |
                     $RUSTC - --edition=2024 --emit asm=/dev/null 2>/dev/null],
-                AS_IF([test "$gnumake" = "yes" -a  \( "$YJIT_SUPPORT" = "no" -o "$CARGO" != "no" \)], [
-                    # When only building ZJIT, we don't need cargo; it's required for YJIT+ZJIT build.
-                    # Assume that if rustc is new enough, then cargo is also.
-                    # TODO(alan): Get rid of dependency on cargo in YJIT+ZJIT build. Cargo's offline mode
-                    #             still too unreliable: https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/issues/10352
+                AS_IF([test "$gnumake" = "yes"], [
                     rb_zjit_build_possible=yes
                 ])
             )
@@ -4053,36 +4048,49 @@ AS_CASE(["${ZJIT_SUPPORT}"],
     AC_DEFINE(USE_ZJIT, 0)
 ])
 
-# if YJIT+ZJIT release build, or any build that requires Cargo
-AS_IF([test x"$JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT" != "xno" -o \( x"$YJIT_SUPPORT" != "xno" -a x"$ZJIT_SUPPORT" != "xno" \)], [
-    AS_IF([test x"$CARGO" = "xno"],
-        AC_MSG_ERROR([this build configuration requires cargo. Installation instructions available at https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install]))
+JIT_RUST_FLAGS='--crate-type=staticlib --cfg feature=\"stats_allocator\"'
+RLIB_DIR=
+AS_CASE(["$JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT:$YJIT_SUPPORT:$ZJIT_SUPPORT"],
+    [no:yes:yes], [ # release build of YJIT+ZJIT
+        YJIT_LIBS=
+        ZJIT_LIBS=
+        JIT_RUST_FLAGS="--crate-type=rlib"
+        RLIB_DIR="target/release"
+        RUST_LIB="target/release/libruby.a"
+    ],
+    [no:*], [],
+    [*], [ # JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT not "no" -- cargo required.
+        AC_CHECK_TOOL(CARGO, [cargo], [no])
+        AS_IF([test x"$CARGO" = "xno"],
+            AC_MSG_ERROR([this build configuration requires cargo. Installation instructions available at https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install]))
 
-    YJIT_LIBS=
-    ZJIT_LIBS=
+        YJIT_LIBS=
+        ZJIT_LIBS=
 
-    # There's more processing below to get the feature set for the
-    # top-level crate, so capture at this point for feature set of
-    # just the zjit crate.
-    ZJIT_TEST_FEATURES="${rb_cargo_features}"
+        # There's more processing below to get the feature set for the
+        # top-level crate, so capture at this point for feature set of
+        # just the zjit crate.
+        ZJIT_TEST_FEATURES="${rb_cargo_features}"
+
+        AS_IF([test x"${YJIT_SUPPORT}" != x"no"], [
+            rb_cargo_features="$rb_cargo_features,yjit"
+        ])
+        AS_IF([test x"${ZJIT_SUPPORT}" != x"no"], [
+            AC_SUBST(ZJIT_TEST_FEATURES)
+            rb_cargo_features="$rb_cargo_features,zjit"
+        ])
+        # if YJIT and ZJIT release mode
+        AS_IF([test "${YJIT_SUPPORT}:${ZJIT_SUPPORT}" = "yes:yes"], [
+            JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT=release
+        ])
+        CARGO_BUILD_ARGS="--profile ${JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT} --features ${rb_cargo_features}"
+        AS_IF([test "${JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT}" = "dev"], [
+            RUST_LIB="target/debug/libruby.a"
+        ], [
+            RUST_LIB="target/${JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT}/libruby.a"
+        ])
+    ],
 
-    AS_IF([test x"${YJIT_SUPPORT}" != x"no"], [
-        rb_cargo_features="$rb_cargo_features,yjit"
-    ])
-    AS_IF([test x"${ZJIT_SUPPORT}" != x"no"], [
-        AC_SUBST(ZJIT_TEST_FEATURES)
-        rb_cargo_features="$rb_cargo_features,zjit"
-    ])
-    # if YJIT and ZJIT release mode
-    AS_IF([test "${YJIT_SUPPORT}:${ZJIT_SUPPORT}" = "yes:yes"], [
-        JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT=release
-    ])
-    CARGO_BUILD_ARGS="--profile ${JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT} --features ${rb_cargo_features}"
-    AS_IF([test "${JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT}" = "dev"], [
-        RUST_LIB="target/debug/libruby.a"
-    ], [
-        RUST_LIB="target/${JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT}/libruby.a"
-    ])
 ])
 
 # In case either we're linking rust code
@@ -4098,6 +4106,7 @@ AS_IF([test -n "$RUST_LIB"], [
 
 dnl These variables end up in ::RbConfig::CONFIG
 AC_SUBST(RUSTC)dnl Rust compiler command
+AC_SUBST(JIT_RUST_FLAGS)dnl the common rustc flags for JIT crates such as zjit
 AC_SUBST(CARGO)dnl Cargo command for Rust builds
 AC_SUBST(CARGO_BUILD_ARGS)dnl for selecting Rust build profiles
 AC_SUBST(YJIT_SUPPORT)dnl what flavor of YJIT the Ruby build includes
@@ -4108,6 +4117,7 @@ AC_SUBST(ZJIT_LIBS)dnl path to the .a library of ZJIT
 AC_SUBST(ZJIT_OBJ)dnl for optionally building the C parts of ZJIT
 AC_SUBST(JIT_OBJ)dnl for optionally building C glue code for Rust FFI
 AC_SUBST(RUST_LIB)dnl path to the rust .a library that contains either or both JITs
+AC_SUBST(RLIB_DIR)dnl subpath of build directory for .rlib files
 AC_SUBST(JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT)dnl "no" or the cargo profile of the rust code
 }
 
diff --git a/defs/jit.mk b/defs/jit.mk
index 67cc6fdce7..e893098ca2 100644
--- a/defs/jit.mk
+++ b/defs/jit.mk
@@ -30,6 +30,31 @@ $(RUST_LIB): $(srcdir)/ruby.rs
 	    MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=11.0 \
 	    $(CARGO) $(CARGO_VERBOSE) build --manifest-path '$(top_srcdir)/Cargo.toml' $(CARGO_BUILD_ARGS)
 	$(RUST_LIB_TOUCH)
+else ifneq ($(strip $(RLIB_DIR)),) # combo build
+
+$(RUST_LIB): $(srcdir)/ruby.rs
+	$(ECHO) 'building $(@F)'
+	$(Q) $(RUSTC) --edition=2024 \
+	    '-L$(@D)' \
+	    --extern=yjit \
+	    --extern=zjit \
+	    --crate-type=staticlib \
+	    --cfg 'feature="yjit"' \
+	    --cfg 'feature="zjit"' \
+	    '--out-dir=$(@D)' \
+	    '$(top_srcdir)/ruby.rs'
+
+# Absolute path to avoid VPATH ambiguity
+JIT_RLIB = $(TOP_BUILD_DIR)/$(RLIB_DIR)/libjit.rlib
+$(YJIT_RLIB): $(JIT_RLIB)
+$(ZJIT_RLIB): $(JIT_RLIB)
+$(JIT_RLIB):
+	$(ECHO) 'building $(@F)'
+	$(Q) $(RUSTC) --crate-name=jit \
+	    --edition=2024 \
+	    $(JIT_RUST_FLAGS) \
+	    '--out-dir=$(@D)' \
+	    '$(top_srcdir)/jit/src/lib.rs'
 endif # ifneq ($(JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT),no)
 
 RUST_LIB_SYMBOLS = $(RUST_LIB:.a=).symbols
diff --git a/template/Makefile.in b/template/Makefile.in
index 7bc40b9d01..fd41ddca9d 100644
--- a/template/Makefile.in
+++ b/template/Makefile.in
@@ -114,6 +114,8 @@ JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT=@JIT_CARGO_SUPPORT@
 CARGO_TARGET_DIR=@abs_top_builddir@/target
 CARGO_BUILD_ARGS=@CARGO_BUILD_ARGS@
 ZJIT_TEST_FEATURES=@ZJIT_TEST_FEATURES@
+JIT_RUST_FLAGS=@JIT_RUST_FLAGS@
+RLIB_DIR=@RLIB_DIR@
 RUST_LIB=@RUST_LIB@
 RUST_LIBOBJ = $(RUST_LIB:.a=.@OBJEXT@)
 LDFLAGS = @STATIC@ $(CFLAGS) @LDFLAGS@
diff --git a/yjit/Cargo.toml b/yjit/Cargo.toml
index e2f1d84ffd..d3124e608c 100644
--- a/yjit/Cargo.toml
+++ b/yjit/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ rust-version = "1.58.0" # Minimally supported rust version
 publish = false         # Don't publish to crates.io
 
 [dependencies]
-# No required dependencies to simplify build process. TODO: Link to yet to be
-# written rationale. Optional For development and testing purposes
+# No required dependencies to simplify build process.
+# Optional For development and testing purposes.
 capstone = { version = "0.13.0", optional = true }
 jit = { version = "0.1.0", path = "../jit" }
 
diff --git a/yjit/yjit.mk b/yjit/yjit.mk
index 777dcdd43e..22d256fee7 100644
--- a/yjit/yjit.mk
+++ b/yjit/yjit.mk
@@ -19,7 +19,16 @@ yjit-libs: $(BUILD_YJIT_LIBS)
 $(BUILD_YJIT_LIBS): $(YJIT_SRC_FILES)
 	$(ECHO) 'building Rust YJIT (release mode)'
 	$(Q) $(RUSTC) $(YJIT_RUSTC_ARGS)
-endif
+else ifneq ($(strip $(RLIB_DIR)),) # combo build
+# Absolute path to avoid VPATH ambiguity
+YJIT_RLIB = $(TOP_BUILD_DIR)/$(RLIB_DIR)/libyjit.rlib
+
+$(YJIT_RLIB): $(YJIT_SRC_FILES)
+	$(ECHO) 'building $(@F)'
+	$(Q) $(RUSTC) '-L$(@D)' --extern=jit $(YJIT_RUSTC_ARGS)
+
+$(RUST_LIB): $(YJIT_RLIB)
+endif # ifneq ($(strip $(YJIT_LIBS)),)
 
 ifneq ($(YJIT_SUPPORT),no)
 $(RUST_LIB): $(YJIT_SRC_FILES)
diff --git a/zjit/Cargo.toml b/zjit/Cargo.toml
index c97c845a6e..ef656c5252 100644
--- a/zjit/Cargo.toml
+++ b/zjit/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ rust-version = "1.85.0" # Minimally supported rust version
 publish = false         # Don't publish to crates.io
 
 [dependencies]
-# No required dependencies to simplify build process. TODO: Link to yet to be
-# written rationale. Optional For development and testing purposes
+# No required dependencies to simplify build process.
+# Optional For development and testing purposes.
 capstone = { version = "0.13.0", optional = true }
 jit = { version = "0.1.0", path = "../jit" }
 
diff --git a/zjit/zjit.mk b/zjit/zjit.mk
index 68fc5778ec..2116775a91 100644
--- a/zjit/zjit.mk
+++ b/zjit/zjit.mk
@@ -23,7 +23,16 @@ ifneq ($(strip $(ZJIT_LIBS)),)
 $(BUILD_ZJIT_LIBS): $(ZJIT_SRC_FILES)
 	$(ECHO) 'building Rust ZJIT (release mode)'
 	$(Q) $(RUSTC) $(ZJIT_RUSTC_ARGS)
-endif
+else ifneq ($(strip $(RLIB_DIR)),) # combo build
+# Absolute path to avoid VPATH ambiguity
+ZJIT_RLIB = $(TOP_BUILD_DIR)/$(RLIB_DIR)/libzjit.rlib
+
+$(ZJIT_RLIB): $(ZJIT_SRC_FILES)
+	$(ECHO) 'building $(@F)'
+	$(Q) $(RUSTC) '-L$(@D)' --extern=jit $(ZJIT_RUSTC_ARGS)
+
+$(RUST_LIB): $(ZJIT_RLIB)
+endif # ifneq ($(strip $(ZJIT_LIBS)),)
 
 # By using ZJIT_BENCH_OPTS instead of RUN_OPTS, you can skip passing the options to `make install`
 ZJIT_BENCH_OPTS = $(RUN_OPTS) --enable-gems