diff --git a/.changeset/build-react-production-mode.md b/.changeset/build-react-production-mode.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cb766b0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/build-react-production-mode.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"playground-cli": patch
+---
+
+Build the compiled CLI binary with `process.env.NODE_ENV=production` so React ships in production mode. This removes the spurious React development warnings (e.g. "Cannot update a component while rendering a different component") that surfaced during `playground deploy`, and makes React faster and smaller in the shipped binary.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/dev-release.yml b/.github/workflows/dev-release.yml
index 3115668f..2b936446 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/dev-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/dev-release.yml
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ jobs:
 
             - name: Compile CLI binaries
               run: |
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-linux-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-x64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-linux-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-arm64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-darwin-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-x64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-darwin-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-arm64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-linux-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-x64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-linux-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-arm64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-darwin-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-x64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-darwin-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-arm64
 
             - name: Ensure gh CLI
               run: type gh >/dev/null 2>&1 || (sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y gh)
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-contract-manifest.yml b/.github/workflows/release-contract-manifest.yml
index 96d0e90f..9c7b4052 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-contract-manifest.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-contract-manifest.yml
@@ -130,10 +130,10 @@ jobs:
             - name: Compile CLI binaries
               if: steps.manifest.outputs.changed == 'true' || steps.current_release.outputs.missing == 'true'
               run: |
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-linux-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-x64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-linux-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-arm64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-darwin-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-x64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-darwin-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-arm64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-linux-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-x64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-linux-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-arm64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-darwin-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-x64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-darwin-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-arm64
 
             - name: Commit release changes
               if: steps.manifest.outputs.changed == 'true'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 39597ca7..f24b0500 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -59,10 +59,10 @@ jobs:
             - name: Compile CLI binaries
               if: steps.changesets.outputs.found == 'true'
               run: |
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-linux-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-x64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-linux-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-arm64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-darwin-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-x64
-                  bun build --compile --target=bun-darwin-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-arm64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-linux-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-x64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-linux-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-linux-arm64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-darwin-x64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-x64
+                  bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='"production"' --target=bun-darwin-arm64 src/index.ts --outfile dot-darwin-arm64
 
             - name: Generate release tag
               if: steps.changesets.outputs.found == 'true'
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 99183c6b..68ba41a1 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@
         "format:check": "biome format .",
         "lint:license": "./scripts/check-license-headers.sh",
         "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
-        "build": "bun build --compile src/index.ts --outfile ./dist/playground",
-        "cli:install": "bun build --compile src/index.ts --outfile ~/.polkadot/bin/playground && ln -sf ~/.polkadot/bin/playground ~/.polkadot/bin/pg",
+        "build": "bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='\"production\"' src/index.ts --outfile ./dist/playground",
+        "cli:install": "bun build --compile --define process.env.NODE_ENV='\"production\"' src/index.ts --outfile ~/.polkadot/bin/playground && ln -sf ~/.polkadot/bin/playground ~/.polkadot/bin/pg",
         "test": "vitest run",
         "test:watch": "vitest",
         "test:e2e": "vitest run --config e2e/vitest.config.ts",