diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/build.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/build.mjs
index 19208563e..cba01edfd 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/scripts/build.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/build.mjs
@@ -331,7 +331,14 @@ for (const entry of sideCarResources) {
   }
   fs.cpSync(src, dest, {
     recursive: true,
-    filter: (source) => !EXCLUDE_DIRS.has(path.basename(source)),
+    filter: (source) => {
+      const base = path.basename(source);
+      if (EXCLUDE_DIRS.has(base)) return false;
+      // Top-level `_` dirs are non-content conventions (plugins/_archive,
+      // worlds/_archive): never loaded at runtime, dead weight in the app.
+      if (base.startsWith("_") && path.dirname(source) === src) return false;
+      return true;
+    },
   });
 }
 console.log("  ✓ plugins/prompts/worlds copied (node_modules/dist excluded)");
diff --git a/apps/desktop/scripts/verify-release.mjs b/apps/desktop/scripts/verify-release.mjs
index e767b48f2..5cadd3f91 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/scripts/verify-release.mjs
+++ b/apps/desktop/scripts/verify-release.mjs
@@ -68,7 +68,9 @@ function mustHaveBundledPlugins(resourcesDir) {
   }
   const pluginDirs = fs
     .readdirSync(pluginsDir, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter((e) => e.isDirectory());
+    // `_`-prefixed dirs (plugins/_archive) are excluded from staging; tolerate
+    // one slipping through an older build rather than failing the release.
+    .filter((e) => e.isDirectory() && !e.name.startsWith("_"));
   if (pluginDirs.length === 0) {
     throw new Error(`No bundled plugins present under ${pluginsDir} `);
   }