diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 7be35eb..274ac73 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -74,6 +74,14 @@ CRAWLER_DOWNLOAD_ALLOWLIST=
 CRAWLER_ALLOW_ANY_HOST=false
 # Hard cap on a single image body. Default 32 MiB.
 CRAWLER_MAX_IMAGE_BYTES=33554432
+# Path to a system Chromium binary. When set, the crawler skips the
+# bundled-fetcher download. Required on platforms without a usable
+# upstream Chromium build (notably Linux_arm64 / Raspberry Pi). On
+# Debian: /usr/bin/chromium-headless-shell or /usr/bin/chromium. On
+# Ubuntu the package is chromium-browser (different path). Pair with
+# `docker compose build --build-arg INSTALL_CHROMIUM=true backend` so
+# the image actually contains the binary.
+CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY=
 
 # ----- Frontend -----
 # The frontend container runs SvelteKit's Node adapter on :3000 and
diff --git a/backend/Cargo.lock b/backend/Cargo.lock
index d41e0a2..920feaa 100644
--- a/backend/Cargo.lock
+++ b/backend/Cargo.lock
@@ -1470,7 +1470,7 @@ checksum = "c41e0c4fef86961ac6d6f8a82609f55f31b05e4fce149ac5710e439df7619ba4"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "mangalord"
-version = "0.44.0"
+version = "0.45.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "argon2",
diff --git a/backend/Cargo.toml b/backend/Cargo.toml
index 33a8ddb..b826569 100644
--- a/backend/Cargo.toml
+++ b/backend/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "mangalord"
-version = "0.44.0"
+version = "0.45.0"
 edition = "2021"
 default-run = "mangalord"
 
diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index fd4f87c..065269e 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -25,8 +25,23 @@ FROM debian:trixie-slim
 # binary ("GLIBC_2.39 not found"). Keep these two in lockstep on bumps.
 # `curl` is for the container HEALTHCHECK; `ca-certificates` is for
 # outbound HTTPS (crawler covers/pages).
+#
+# INSTALL_CHROMIUM is an opt-in for deployments that can't use the
+# chromiumoxide fetcher path (notably Linux_arm64 / Raspberry Pi, where
+# the upstream snapshot bucket has no usable build). When `true`, adds
+# Debian's apt-packaged headless chromium plus a baseline font set —
+# pair with `CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY=/usr/bin/chromium-headless-shell`
+# at runtime so the launcher uses it. Default `false` keeps cloud/x86
+# images slim.
+#
+# Build the Pi image with:
+#   docker compose build --build-arg INSTALL_CHROMIUM=true backend
+ARG INSTALL_CHROMIUM=false
 RUN apt-get update \
  && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates curl \
+ && if [ "$INSTALL_CHROMIUM" = "true" ]; then \
+      apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends chromium-headless-shell fonts-liberation; \
+    fi \
  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Non-root runtime user. The API binary doesn't need any root
diff --git a/backend/src/crawler/browser.rs b/backend/src/crawler/browser.rs
index 08ea598..c9981ea 100644
--- a/backend/src/crawler/browser.rs
+++ b/backend/src/crawler/browser.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
 //! Chromium launcher and lifecycle.
 //!
-//! Uses `chromiumoxide`'s `fetcher` feature so we don't depend on a
-//! system Chrome install — first call downloads a known-good revision
-//! into a cache dir and reuses it forever after. `BrowserMode` toggles
-//! headed vs headless; the headed path needs a display (real `$DISPLAY`
-//! or `xvfb-run`).
+//! By default uses `chromiumoxide`'s `fetcher` feature — first call
+//! downloads a known-good revision into a cache dir and reuses it
+//! forever after. Set `CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY` to skip the fetcher
+//! and use a system-installed Chromium instead; required on platforms
+//! where the upstream snapshot bucket has no usable build (notably
+//! `Linux_arm64` / Raspberry Pi). Debian's package is at
+//! `/usr/bin/chromium` or `/usr/bin/chromium-headless-shell`; Ubuntu
+//! ships it as `chromium-browser` at a different path — don't paste
+//! the wrong one.
+//!
+//! `BrowserMode` toggles headed vs headless; the headed path needs a
+//! display (real `$DISPLAY` or `xvfb-run`).
 //!
 //! Extra Chromium command-line flags can be supplied through
 //! [`LaunchOptions::extra_args`] in code, or via the
@@ -165,31 +172,41 @@ where
     }
 }
 
-/// Launches Chromium. Downloads it on first run via the `fetcher`
-/// feature; subsequent runs hit the cache. The cache dir is
+/// Launches Chromium. If `CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY` is set, uses that
+/// path directly. Otherwise downloads via the `fetcher` feature on
+/// first run and hits the cache after that. The fetcher cache dir is
 /// `$CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_DIR` if set, else `$HOME/.cache/mangalord/chromium`,
 /// else `./.chromium-cache` as a last-resort repo-local fallback.
 pub async fn launch(options: LaunchOptions) -> anyhow::Result<Handle> {
-    let cache = cache_dir()?;
-    tokio::fs::create_dir_all(&cache)
-        .await
-        .with_context(|| format!("create cache dir {}", cache.display()))?;
+    let executable = match system_chromium_path_from_env() {
+        Some(path) => {
+            tracing::info!(path = %path.display(), "using system chromium (CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY)");
+            path
+        }
+        None => {
+            let cache = cache_dir()?;
+            tokio::fs::create_dir_all(&cache)
+                .await
+                .with_context(|| format!("create cache dir {}", cache.display()))?;
 
-    let fetcher = BrowserFetcher::new(
-        BrowserFetcherOptions::builder()
-            .with_path(&cache)
-            .build()
-            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("fetcher options: {e}"))?,
-    );
-    tracing::info!(path = %cache.display(), "ensuring chromium revision is present");
-    let info = fetcher
-        .fetch()
-        .await
-        .context("download chromium via fetcher")?;
-    tracing::info!(executable = %info.executable_path.display(), "chromium ready");
+            let fetcher = BrowserFetcher::new(
+                BrowserFetcherOptions::builder()
+                    .with_path(&cache)
+                    .build()
+                    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("fetcher options: {e}"))?,
+            );
+            tracing::info!(path = %cache.display(), "ensuring chromium revision is present");
+            let info = fetcher
+                .fetch()
+                .await
+                .context("download chromium via fetcher")?;
+            tracing::info!(executable = %info.executable_path.display(), "chromium ready");
+            info.executable_path
+        }
+    };
 
     let mut builder = BrowserConfig::builder()
-        .chrome_executable(info.executable_path)
+        .chrome_executable(executable)
         // Linux containers / CI commonly lack the user namespaces
         // Chromium's sandbox wants. Disable it; the crawler runs in its
         // own container anyway.
@@ -246,6 +263,24 @@ fn cache_dir() -> anyhow::Result<PathBuf> {
     Ok(PathBuf::from("./.chromium-cache"))
 }
 
+/// Reads `CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY` and delegates to the pure helper.
+/// Thin wrapper kept separate so the decision logic can be unit-tested
+/// without mutating the process environment.
+fn system_chromium_path_from_env() -> Option<PathBuf> {
+    system_chromium_path_from_value(std::env::var_os("CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY").as_deref())
+}
+
+/// Returns `Some(path)` only when the value is set and non-empty. An
+/// exported-but-blank var (common in compose `${VAR:-}` patterns when
+/// the operator didn't fill it in) must behave like "unset" — otherwise
+/// we'd hand chromiumoxide an empty path and fail launch in a confusing
+/// way.
+pub(crate) fn system_chromium_path_from_value(
+    raw: Option<&std::ffi::OsStr>,
+) -> Option<PathBuf> {
+    raw.filter(|v| !v.is_empty()).map(PathBuf::from)
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
@@ -273,6 +308,33 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(parse_args("   \t\n").is_empty());
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn system_chromium_path_returns_some_when_value_set() {
+        let raw = std::ffi::OsString::from("/usr/bin/chromium-headless-shell");
+        assert_eq!(
+            system_chromium_path_from_value(Some(raw.as_os_str())),
+            Some(PathBuf::from("/usr/bin/chromium-headless-shell"))
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn system_chromium_path_returns_none_when_unset() {
+        assert_eq!(system_chromium_path_from_value(None), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn system_chromium_path_treats_empty_as_unset() {
+        // Compose's `${VAR:-}` substitution produces an exported-but-empty
+        // env var when the operator left it blank. Treat it as unset so
+        // the launcher falls back to the fetcher path instead of handing
+        // chromiumoxide an empty path.
+        let raw = std::ffi::OsString::from("");
+        assert_eq!(
+            system_chromium_path_from_value(Some(raw.as_os_str())),
+            None
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn default_launch_options_are_headless() {
         // Headless is the production-safe default — no display required,
diff --git a/backend/tests/crawler_browser_smoke.rs b/backend/tests/crawler_browser_smoke.rs
index 1323618..b2df9cf 100644
--- a/backend/tests/crawler_browser_smoke.rs
+++ b/backend/tests/crawler_browser_smoke.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@
 //!
 //! Override the cache location with `CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_DIR=/some/path` if
 //! `$HOME/.cache/mangalord/chromium` isn't writable.
+//!
+//! Set `CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY=/usr/bin/chromium-headless-shell` (or
+//! another system chromium path) to exercise the system-chromium
+//! launch path instead of the fetcher download — this is the path the
+//! Raspberry Pi deployment takes.
 
 use mangalord::crawler::browser::{self, LaunchOptions};
 
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index f9257e0..a02a992 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,11 @@ services:
       # Upload limits.
       MAX_REQUEST_BYTES: ${MAX_REQUEST_BYTES:-209715200}
       MAX_FILE_BYTES: ${MAX_FILE_BYTES:-20971520}
+      # System-chromium override for the crawler. Leave blank to use the
+      # bundled fetcher; set to e.g. /usr/bin/chromium-headless-shell on
+      # arm64 deployments. Pair with `--build-arg INSTALL_CHROMIUM=true`
+      # so the image actually contains the binary.
+      CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY: ${CRAWLER_CHROMIUM_BINARY:-}
     volumes:
       - storage-data:/var/lib/mangalord/storage
     # No host port mapping in the default setup — the frontend proxies
diff --git a/frontend/package.json b/frontend/package.json
index 66eb934..52180a0 100644
--- a/frontend/package.json
+++ b/frontend/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "mangalord-frontend",
-  "version": "0.44.0",
+  "version": "0.45.0",
   "private": true,
   "type": "module",
   "scripts": {