diff --git a/.github/workflows/dirsql-python-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/dirsql-python-ci.yml
index cbffde713..7487aa7c4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dirsql-python-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dirsql-python-ci.yml
@@ -260,8 +260,5 @@ jobs:
       - name: Put maturin on PATH
         run: echo "$PWD/packages/python/.venv/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
 
-      - name: Build dirsql CLI binary
-        run: cargo build -p dirsql --features cli
-
       - name: Run packaging distcheck (build -> pack -> install -> run)
         run: uv run --project internals/distcheck dirsql-distcheck python
diff --git a/internals/distcheck/README.md b/internals/distcheck/README.md
index b1205aa87..45cbb2aea 100644
--- a/internals/distcheck/README.md
+++ b/internals/distcheck/README.md
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ not a behavior test of an SDK, so it lives here rather than in an SDK package's
 subcommand. Run a flow locally:
 
 ```bash
-# build -> pack -> install -> run the published PyPI wheel (needs a cargo dirsql
-# binary + maturin on PATH)
+# build -> pack -> install -> run the published PyPI wheel (needs maturin on
+# PATH)
 uv run --project internals/distcheck dirsql-distcheck python
 
 # build -> pack -> install -> run the published npm artifact set (needs
@@ -26,10 +26,10 @@ tooling, so one tested home matters more than language purity of the harness.
 
 ## What the flows verify
 
-- **`python`** -- stages the cargo-built `dirsql` binary under `dirsql/_binary/`
-  the way the release pipeline's bundle step would, builds the wheel with
-  `maturin build`, `pip install`s it into a fresh venv, and runs the installed
-  `dirsql --version` console script plus `import dirsql`.
+- **`python`** -- builds the wheel with `maturin build`, `pip install`s it into a
+  fresh venv, and runs the installed `dirsql --version` console script plus
+  `import dirsql`. Nothing is staged: since #738 the wheel's extension module
+  carries the CLI and the console script calls it in-process.
 - **`node`** -- packs the main `dirsql` package and a reconstructed host
   `@dirsql/cli-<slug>` sub-package, `npm install`s both into a fresh dir, and
   runs `node_modules/.bin/dirsql --version`, cross-checking the installed
diff --git a/internals/distcheck/tests/integration/python_flow_test.py b/internals/distcheck/tests/integration/python_flow_test.py
index 3ce91752f..de031ecaf 100644
--- a/internals/distcheck/tests/integration/python_flow_test.py
+++ b/internals/distcheck/tests/integration/python_flow_test.py
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 Runs `gate.run` with its default `subprocess.run` / real `FileSystem` -- the
 build -> pack -> install -> run behavior the old per-package packaging
-suite exercised. Skips when the build prerequisites (the cargo `dirsql` binary,
-`maturin`) are absent, since the flow's actual CI execution is the
-`dirsql-distcheck python` job, which builds them first.
+suite exercised. Skips when the build prerequisite (`maturin`) is absent,
+since the flow's actual CI execution is the `dirsql-distcheck python` job,
+which installs it first.
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -20,16 +20,6 @@
 
 
 def test_pip_installed_wheel_builds_installs_and_runs():
-    binary = next(
-        (
-            os.path.join(_REPO, "target", profile, "dirsql")
-            for profile in ("release", "debug")
-            if os.path.exists(os.path.join(_REPO, "target", profile, "dirsql"))
-        ),
-        None,
-    )
-    if binary is None:
-        pytest.skip("dirsql CLI binary not built (cargo build -p dirsql --features cli)")
     if shutil.which("maturin") is None:
         pytest.skip("maturin not on PATH (uv sync in packages/python)")