diff --git a/build/configure/src/aqt.rs b/build/configure/src/aqt.rs
index 60316fcd2..6be5adb07 100644
--- a/build/configure/src/aqt.rs
+++ b/build/configure/src/aqt.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ pub fn build_and_check_aqt(build: &mut Build) -> Result<()> {
     build_forms(build)?;
     build_generated_sources(build)?;
     build_data_folder(build)?;
-    build_macos_helper(build)?;
     build_wheel(build)?;
     check_python(build)?;
     Ok(())
@@ -337,27 +336,6 @@ impl BuildAction for BuildThemedIcon<'_> {
     }
 }
 
-fn build_macos_helper(build: &mut Build) -> Result<()> {
-    if cfg!(target_os = "macos") {
-        build.add_action(
-            "qt:aqt:data:lib:libankihelper",
-            RunCommand {
-                command: ":pyenv:bin",
-                args: "$script $out $in",
-                inputs: hashmap! {
-                    "script" => inputs!["qt/mac/helper_build.py"],
-                    "in" => inputs![glob!["qt/mac/*.swift"]],
-                    "" => inputs!["out/env"],
-                },
-                outputs: hashmap! {
-                    "out" => vec!["qt/_aqt/data/lib/libankihelper.dylib"],
-                },
-            },
-        )?;
-    }
-    Ok(())
-}
-
 fn build_wheel(build: &mut Build) -> Result<()> {
     build.add_action(
         "wheels:aqt",
diff --git a/qt/aqt/_macos_helper.py b/qt/aqt/_macos_helper.py
index 9328b1c4a..634d94756 100644
--- a/qt/aqt/_macos_helper.py
+++ b/qt/aqt/_macos_helper.py
@@ -3,50 +3,11 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-import os
 import sys
-from collections.abc import Callable
-from ctypes import CDLL, CFUNCTYPE, c_bool, c_char_p
 
-import aqt
-import aqt.utils
-
-
-class _MacOSHelper:
-    def __init__(self) -> None:
-        path = os.path.join(aqt.utils.aqt_data_folder(), "lib", "libankihelper.dylib")
-
-        self._dll = CDLL(path)
-        self._dll.system_is_dark.restype = c_bool
-
-    def system_is_dark(self) -> bool:
-        return self._dll.system_is_dark()
-
-    def set_darkmode_enabled(self, enabled: bool) -> bool:
-        return self._dll.set_darkmode_enabled(enabled)
-
-    def start_wav_record(self, path: str, on_error: Callable[[str], None]) -> None:
-        global _on_audio_error
-        _on_audio_error = on_error
-        self._dll.start_wav_record(path.encode("utf8"), _audio_error_callback)
-
-    def end_wav_record(self) -> None:
-        "On completion, file should be saved if no error has arrived."
-        self._dll.end_wav_record()
-
-
-# this must not be overwritten or deallocated
-@CFUNCTYPE(None, c_char_p)  # type: ignore
-def _audio_error_callback(msg: str) -> None:
-    if handler := _on_audio_error:
-        handler(msg)
-
-
-_on_audio_error: Callable[[str], None] | None = None
-
-macos_helper: _MacOSHelper | None = None
 if sys.platform == "darwin":
-    try:
-        macos_helper = _MacOSHelper()
-    except Exception as e:
-        print("macos_helper:", e)
+    from anki_mac_helper import (  # pylint:disable=unused-import,import-error
+        macos_helper,
+    )
+else:
+    macos_helper = None
diff --git a/qt/mac/anki_mac_helper/__init__.py b/qt/mac/anki_mac_helper/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a0adb469e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qt/mac/anki_mac_helper/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# Copyright: Ankitects Pty Ltd and contributors
+# License: GNU AGPL, version 3 or later; http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sys
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from ctypes import CDLL, CFUNCTYPE, c_bool, c_char_p
+from pathlib import Path
+
+
+class _MacOSHelper:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        # Look for the dylib in the same directory as this module
+        module_dir = Path(__file__).parent
+        path = module_dir / "libankihelper.dylib"
+
+        self._dll = CDLL(str(path))
+        self._dll.system_is_dark.restype = c_bool
+
+    def system_is_dark(self) -> bool:
+        return self._dll.system_is_dark()
+
+    def set_darkmode_enabled(self, enabled: bool) -> bool:
+        return self._dll.set_darkmode_enabled(enabled)
+
+    def start_wav_record(self, path: str, on_error: Callable[[str], None]) -> None:
+        global _on_audio_error
+        _on_audio_error = on_error
+        self._dll.start_wav_record(path.encode("utf8"), _audio_error_callback)
+
+    def end_wav_record(self) -> None:
+        "On completion, file should be saved if no error has arrived."
+        self._dll.end_wav_record()
+
+
+# this must not be overwritten or deallocated
+@CFUNCTYPE(None, c_char_p)  # type: ignore
+def _audio_error_callback(msg: str) -> None:
+    if handler := _on_audio_error:
+        handler(msg)
+
+
+_on_audio_error: Callable[[str], None] | None = None
+
+macos_helper: _MacOSHelper | None = None
+if sys.platform == "darwin":
+    try:
+        macos_helper = _MacOSHelper()
+    except Exception as e:
+        print("macos_helper:", e)
diff --git a/qt/mac/anki_mac_helper/py.typed b/qt/mac/anki_mac_helper/py.typed
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/qt/mac/build.sh b/qt/mac/build.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..4c14a13f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qt/mac/build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copyright: Ankitects Pty Ltd and contributors
+# License: GNU AGPL, version 3 or later; http://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html
+
+set -e
+
+# Get the project root directory
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJ_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/../.." && pwd)"
+
+# Build the dylib first
+echo "Building macOS helper dylib..."
+"$PROJ_ROOT/out/pyenv/bin/python" "$SCRIPT_DIR/helper_build.py"
+
+# Create the wheel using uv
+echo "Creating wheel..."
+cd "$SCRIPT_DIR"
+"$PROJ_ROOT/out/extracted/uv/uv" build --wheel
+
+echo "Build complete!"
diff --git a/qt/mac/helper_build.py b/qt/mac/helper_build.py
index 0638c9249..aaf997669 100644
--- a/qt/mac/helper_build.py
+++ b/qt/mac/helper_build.py
@@ -7,8 +7,16 @@ import subprocess
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
-out_dylib, *src_files = sys.argv[1:]
-out_dir = Path(out_dylib).parent.resolve()
+# If no arguments provided, build for the anki_mac_helper package
+if len(sys.argv) == 1:
+    script_dir = Path(__file__).parent
+    out_dylib = script_dir / "anki_mac_helper" / "libankihelper.dylib"
+    src_files = list(script_dir.glob("*.swift"))
+else:
+    out_dylib, *src_files = sys.argv[1:]
+
+out_dylib = Path(out_dylib)
+out_dir = out_dylib.parent.resolve()
 src_dir = Path(src_files[0]).parent.resolve()
 
 # Build for both architectures
@@ -29,12 +37,20 @@ for arch in architectures:
         "ankihelper",
         "-O",
     ]
-    args.extend(src_dir / Path(file).name for file in src_files)
+    if isinstance(src_files[0], Path):
+        args.extend(src_files)
+    else:
+        args.extend(src_dir / Path(file).name for file in src_files)
     args.extend(["-o", str(temp_out)])
     subprocess.run(args, check=True, cwd=out_dir)
 
+# Ensure output directory exists
+out_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
 # Create universal binary
-lipo_args = ["lipo", "-create", "-output", out_dylib] + [str(f) for f in temp_files]
+lipo_args = ["lipo", "-create", "-output", str(out_dylib)] + [
+    str(f) for f in temp_files
+]
 subprocess.run(lipo_args, check=True)
 
 # Clean up temporary files
diff --git a/qt/mac/pyproject.toml b/qt/mac/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..93f4e939b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qt/mac/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = ["hatchling"]
+build-backend = "hatchling.build"
+
+[project]
+name = "anki-mac-helper"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = "Small support library for Anki on Macs"
+requires-python = ">=3.9"
+license = { text = "AGPL-3.0-or-later" }
+authors = [
+  { name = "Anki Team" },
+]
+urls = { Homepage = "https://github.com/ankitects/anki" }
+
+[tool.hatch.build.targets.wheel]
+packages = ["anki_mac_helper"]
diff --git a/qt/pyproject.toml b/qt/pyproject.toml
index ab16afc3d..d8b4c4306 100644
--- a/qt/pyproject.toml
+++ b/qt/pyproject.toml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ dependencies = [
   "waitress>=2.0.0",
   "psutil; sys.platform == 'win32'",
   "pywin32; sys.platform == 'win32'",
+  "anki-mac-helper; sys.platform == 'darwin'",
   "pip-system-certs!=5.1",
   "mock",
   "types-decorator",
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index d735e0772..51b16f8ab 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -141,11 +141,20 @@ dev = [
     { name = "wheel" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "anki-mac-helper"
+version = "0.1.0"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/b3/9f/c4d3e635ddbd2c6c24ff5454e96900fd2061b9abbb0198b9283446780d08/anki_mac_helper-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:ed449aba27ea3bc7999054afa10dacf08ef856ed7af46526d9c8599d8179a618", size = 40637, upload-time = "2025-06-19T14:38:07.672Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "aqt"
 version = "0.1.2"
 source = { editable = "qt" }
 dependencies = [
+    { name = "anki-mac-helper", marker = "sys_platform == 'darwin' or (extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt' and extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt66') or (extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt' and extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt67') or (extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt66' and extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt67')" },
     { name = "beautifulsoup4" },
     { name = "flask" },
     { name = "flask-cors" },
@@ -201,6 +210,7 @@ qt67 = [
 [package.metadata]
 requires-dist = [
     { name = "anki-audio", marker = "(sys_platform == 'darwin' and extra == 'audio') or (sys_platform == 'win32' and extra == 'audio')", specifier = "==0.1.0" },
+    { name = "anki-mac-helper", marker = "sys_platform == 'darwin'" },
     { name = "beautifulsoup4" },
     { name = "flask" },
     { name = "flask-cors" },
@@ -572,7 +582,7 @@ name = "importlib-metadata"
 version = "8.7.0"
 source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
 dependencies = [
-    { name = "zipp" },
+    { name = "zipp", marker = "python_full_version < '3.10' or (extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt' and extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt66') or (extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt' and extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt67') or (extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt66' and extra == 'extra-3-aqt-qt67')" },
 ]
 sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/76/66/650a33bd90f786193e4de4b3ad86ea60b53c89b669a5c7be931fac31cdb0/importlib_metadata-8.7.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:d13b81ad223b890aa16c5471f2ac3056cf76c5f10f82d6f9292f0b415f389000", size = 56641, upload-time = "2025-04-27T15:29:01.736Z" }
 wheels = [