diff --git a/ci/release/_build.sh b/ci/release/_build.sh
index 3f8b1663d..02c58f9db 100755
--- a/ci/release/_build.sh
+++ b/ci/release/_build.sh
@@ -4,19 +4,23 @@ cd -- "$(dirname "$0")/../.."
 . ./ci/sub/lib.sh
 
 sh_c mkdir -p "$HW_BUILD_DIR"
-sh_c rsync --recursive --perms --delete \
-  --human-readable --copy-links ./ci/release/template/ "$HW_BUILD_DIR/"
-VERSION=$VERSION sh_c eval "'$HW_BUILD_DIR/README.md.sh'" \> "'$HW_BUILD_DIR/README.md'"
-sh_c rm -f "$HW_BUILD_DIR/README.md.sh"
-sh_c find "$HW_BUILD_DIR" -exec touch {} \\\;
+sh_c cp ./ci/release/template/LICENSE.txt "$HW_BUILD_DIR"
+sh_c cp ./ci/release/template/Makefile "$HW_BUILD_DIR"
+sh_c cp -R ./ci/release/template/man "$HW_BUILD_DIR"
+sh_c cp -Rf ./ci/release/template/scripts "$HW_BUILD_DIR"
+sh_c VERSION="$VERSION" ./ci/release/template/README.md.sh \> "'$HW_BUILD_DIR/README.md'"
 
 ensure_goos
 ensure_goarch
 sh_c mkdir -p "$HW_BUILD_DIR/bin"
-sh_c CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -trimpath \
+sh_c GOOS="$GOOS" GOARCH="$GOARCH" CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -trimpath \
   -ldflags "'-X oss.terrastruct.com/d2/lib/version.Version=$VERSION'" \
   -o "$HW_BUILD_DIR/bin/d2" .
 
+if [ "$GOOS" = windows ]; then
+  sh_c mv "$HW_BUILD_DIR/bin/d2" "$HW_BUILD_DIR/bin/d2.exe"
+fi
+
 ARCHIVE=$PWD/$ARCHIVE
 cd "$(dirname "$HW_BUILD_DIR")"
 sh_c tar -czf "$ARCHIVE" "$(basename "$HW_BUILD_DIR")"
diff --git a/ci/release/template/README.md.sh b/ci/release/template/README.md.sh
index 2c0cdfb35..99411d923 100755
--- a/ci/release/template/README.md.sh
+++ b/ci/release/template/README.md.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 set -eu
+cd -- "$(dirname "$0")/../../.."
+. ./ci/sub/lib.sh
 
 cat <<EOF
 # d2
@@ -7,6 +9,31 @@ cat <<EOF
 For docs, more installation options and the source code see https://oss.terrastruct.com/d2
 
 version: $VERSION
+os: $OS
+arch: $ARCH
+
+Built with $(go version | grep -o 'go[^ ]\+').
+EOF
+
+ensure_os
+if [ "$OS" = windows ]; then
+  cat <<EOF
+
+We currently do not have a .msi for proper installation on Windows so this release is
+structured the same as our Unix releases. You can still install on Windows still though
+with [MSYS2](https://www.msys2.org/) which emulates a Linux shell for Windows. It also
+enables d2 to show colors in its output.
+
+But if you must install on Windows without MSYS2, for now you'll have to add the d2 binary
+in \`./bin/d2.exe\` to your \`\$PATH\` manually. You can also add the \`./bin\` directory
+to your \`\$PATH\`.
+
+See https://www.wikihow.com/Change-the-PATH-Environment-Variable-on-Windows
+See https://github.com/terrastruct/d2/blob/master/docs/INSTALL.md#windows
+EOF
+fi
+
+cat <<EOF
 
 ## Install