diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 1f377397..2aa3301a 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -56,6 +56,16 @@ Tests that require a real LLM key will skip gracefully if the env var is absent.
 cargo build --workspace
 ```
 
+### Fast Release Build (for development)
+
+The default `--release` profile uses full LTO and single-codegen-unit, which produces the smallest/fastest binary but is slow to compile. For iterating locally, use the `release-fast` profile instead:
+
+```bash
+cargo build --profile release-fast -p openfang-cli
+```
+
+This cuts link time significantly (thin LTO, 8 codegen units, `opt-level=2`) while still producing a binary fast enough to run integration tests against. Use `--release` only for final binaries or CI.
+
 ### Run All Tests
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index fb67a8eb..b08de6c7 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -150,3 +150,10 @@ lto = true
 codegen-units = 1
 strip = true
 opt-level = 3
+
+[profile.release-fast]
+inherits = "release"
+lto = "thin"
+codegen-units = 8
+opt-level = 2
+strip = false