diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 92a1d8c1897..9d67886ba86 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ jobs:
         cargo fmt --check
         rustfmt --check build_system/mod.rs
 
+
   build:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     timeout-minutes: 60
@@ -112,23 +113,6 @@ jobs:
         TARGET_TRIPLE: ${{ matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE }}
       run: ./y.rs test
 
-    - name: Package prebuilt cg_clif
-      run: tar cvfJ cg_clif.tar.xz dist
-
-    - name: Upload prebuilt cg_clif
-      if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest' || matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE != 'x86_64-pc-windows-gnu'
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-      with:
-        name: cg_clif-${{ matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE }}
-        path: cg_clif.tar.xz
-
-    - name: Upload prebuilt cg_clif (cross compile)
-      if: matrix.os != 'windows-latest' && matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE == 'x86_64-pc-windows-gnu'
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
-      with:
-        name: cg_clif-${{ runner.os }}-cross-x86_64-mingw
-        path: cg_clif.tar.xz
-
 
   abi_cafe:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
@@ -186,6 +170,7 @@ jobs:
         TARGET_TRIPLE: ${{ matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE }}
       run: ./y.rs abi-cafe
 
+
   bench:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 60
@@ -223,7 +208,89 @@ jobs:
       run: ./y.rs prepare
 
     - name: Build
-      run: ./y.rs build --sysroot none
+      run: CI_OPT=1 ./y.rs build --sysroot none
 
     - name: Benchmark
-      run: ./y.rs bench
+      run: CI_OPT=1 ./y.rs bench
+
+
+  dist:
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+
+    defaults:
+      run:
+        shell: bash
+
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - os: ubuntu-20.04 # FIXME switch to ubuntu-22.04 once #1303 is fixed
+            env:
+              TARGET_TRIPLE: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
+          - os: macos-latest
+            env:
+              TARGET_TRIPLE: x86_64-apple-darwin
+          # cross-compile from Linux to Windows using mingw
+          - os: ubuntu-latest
+            env:
+              TARGET_TRIPLE: x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
+          - os: windows-latest
+            env:
+              TARGET_TRIPLE: x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
+          - os: windows-latest
+            env:
+              TARGET_TRIPLE: x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
+
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+    - name: Cache cargo target dir
+      uses: actions/cache@v3
+      with:
+        path: build/cg_clif
+        key: ${{ runner.os }}-${{ matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE }}-dist-cargo-build-target-${{ hashFiles('rust-toolchain', '**/Cargo.lock') }}
+
+    - name: Set MinGW as the default toolchain
+      if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest' && matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE == 'x86_64-pc-windows-gnu'
+      run: rustup set default-host x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
+
+    - name: Install MinGW toolchain and wine
+      if: matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest' && matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE == 'x86_64-pc-windows-gnu'
+      run: |
+        sudo apt-get update
+        sudo apt-get install -y gcc-mingw-w64-x86-64 wine-stable
+
+    - name: Use sparse cargo registry
+      run: |
+        cat >> ~/.cargo/config.toml <<EOF
+        [unstable]
+        sparse-registry = true
+        EOF
+
+    - name: Prepare dependencies
+      run: ./y.rs prepare
+
+    - name: Build backend
+      run: CI_OPT=1 ./y.rs build --sysroot none
+
+    - name: Build sysroot
+      run: CI_OPT=1 ./y.rs build
+
+    - name: Package prebuilt cg_clif
+      run: tar cvfJ cg_clif.tar.xz dist
+
+    - name: Upload prebuilt cg_clif
+      if: matrix.os == 'windows-latest' || matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE != 'x86_64-pc-windows-gnu'
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
+      with:
+        name: cg_clif-${{ matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE }}
+        path: cg_clif.tar.xz
+
+    - name: Upload prebuilt cg_clif (cross compile)
+      if: matrix.os != 'windows-latest' && matrix.env.TARGET_TRIPLE == 'x86_64-pc-windows-gnu'
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
+      with:
+        name: cg_clif-${{ runner.os }}-cross-x86_64-mingw
+        path: cg_clif.tar.xz
diff --git a/build_system/build_backend.rs b/build_system/build_backend.rs
index 514404305a3..4b740fa2db6 100644
--- a/build_system/build_backend.rs
+++ b/build_system/build_backend.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ use std::path::PathBuf;
 
 use super::path::{Dirs, RelPath};
 use super::rustc_info::get_file_name;
-use super::utils::{is_ci, CargoProject, Compiler};
+use super::utils::{is_ci, is_ci_opt, CargoProject, Compiler};
 
 pub(crate) static CG_CLIF: CargoProject = CargoProject::new(&RelPath::SOURCE, "cg_clif");
 
@@ -26,7 +26,9 @@ pub(crate) fn build_backend(
         // Disabling incr comp reduces cache size and incr comp doesn't save as much on CI anyway
         cmd.env("CARGO_BUILD_INCREMENTAL", "false");
 
-        cmd.env("CARGO_PROFILE_RELEASE_DEBUG_ASSERTIONS", "true");
+        if !is_ci_opt() {
+            cmd.env("CARGO_PROFILE_RELEASE_DEBUG_ASSERTIONS", "true");
+        }
     }
 
     if use_unstable_features {
diff --git a/build_system/mod.rs b/build_system/mod.rs
index 8dcbe8de189..8a53acdf7e3 100644
--- a/build_system/mod.rs
+++ b/build_system/mod.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ use std::env;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::process;
 
-use self::utils::{is_ci, Compiler};
+use self::utils::{is_ci, is_ci_opt, Compiler};
 
 mod abi_cafe;
 mod bench;
@@ -53,8 +53,10 @@ pub fn main() {
         // Disabling incr comp reduces cache size and incr comp doesn't save as much on CI anyway
         env::set_var("CARGO_BUILD_INCREMENTAL", "false");
 
-        // Enable the Cranelift verifier
-        env::set_var("CG_CLIF_ENABLE_VERIFIER", "1");
+        if !is_ci_opt() {
+            // Enable the Cranelift verifier
+            env::set_var("CG_CLIF_ENABLE_VERIFIER", "1");
+        }
     }
 
     let mut args = env::args().skip(1);
diff --git a/build_system/utils.rs b/build_system/utils.rs
index bdff1abeb27..abc5bab4942 100644
--- a/build_system/utils.rs
+++ b/build_system/utils.rs
@@ -279,5 +279,9 @@ pub(crate) fn copy_dir_recursively(from: &Path, to: &Path) {
 }
 
 pub(crate) fn is_ci() -> bool {
-    env::var("CI").as_deref() == Ok("true")
+    env::var("CI").is_ok()
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn is_ci_opt() -> bool {
+    env::var("CI_OPT").is_ok()
 }