diff --git a/crates/rnote-ui/build.rs b/crates/rnote-ui/build.rs
index 9e5c07e..cd7baa5 100644
--- a/crates/rnote-ui/build.rs
+++ b/crates/rnote-ui/build.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    compile_gresources()?;
+    let is_cross_compiling = detect_cross_compilation();
+
+    if !is_cross_compiling {
+        println!("cargo:rustc-cfg=feature=\"use_glib_build_tools\"");
+    }
+
+    compile_gresources(is_cross_compiling)?;

     #[cfg(windows)]
     compile_icon_winres()?;
@@ -18,11 +24,64 @@ fn compile_icon_winres() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         .context("Failed to compile winresource resource")
 }

-fn compile_gresources() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    glib_build_tools::compile_resources(
-        &["data"],
-        "data/resources.gresource.xml",
-        "compiled.gresource",
-    );
-    Ok(())
+fn detect_cross_compilation() -> bool {
+    let host = std::env::var("HOST").unwrap_or_default();
+    let target = std::env::var("TARGET").unwrap_or_default();
+    host != target
+}
+
+fn compile_gresources(is_cross_compiling: bool) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    use std::env;
+    use std::path::PathBuf;
+    use std::process::Command;
+
+    let out_dir = env::var("OUT_DIR").expect("OUT_DIR not set");
+    let output_path = PathBuf::from(&out_dir).join("compiled.gresource");
+
+    // First, try using the system's glib-compile-resources
+    let system_result = Command::new("glib-compile-resources")
+        .args(&[
+            "--sourcedir=data",
+            "data/resources.gresource.xml",
+            &format!("--target={}", output_path.display()),
+        ])
+        .status();
+
+    match system_result {
+        Ok(status) if status.success() => return Ok(()),
+        Ok(_) => println!("glib-compile-resources command failed, trying fallback method..."),
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+            println!("glib-compile-resources not found, trying fallback method...")
+        }
+        Err(e) => println!(
+            "Error executing glib-compile-resources: {}, trying fallback method...",
+            e
+        ),
+    }
+
+    // If cross-compiling, don't use glib_build_tools
+    if is_cross_compiling {
+        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "Failed to compile gresources: system glib-compile-resources failed and we're cross-compiling. \
+            Please ensure you have glib development tools installed on your target system."
+        ));
+    }
+
+    // If not cross-compiling and system command fails, fall back to glib_build_tools if available
+    #[cfg(feature = "use_glib_build_tools")]
+    {
+        println!("Attempting to use glib_build_tools::compile_resources...");
+        glib_build_tools::compile_resources(
+            &["data"],
+            "data/resources.gresource.xml",
+            output_path.to_str().unwrap(),
+        );
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(not(feature = "use_glib_build_tools"))]
+    Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+        "Failed to compile gresources: system glib-compile-resources failed and glib_build_tools is not available. \
+        Please ensure you have glib development tools installed on your system."
+    ))
 }

diff --git a/crates/rnote-ui/Cargo.toml b/crates/rnote-ui/Cargo.toml
index 426d8e9..55447fc 100644
--- a/crates/rnote-ui/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/rnote-ui/Cargo.toml
@@ -58,7 +58,10 @@ url = { workspace = true }

 [build-dependencies]
 anyhow = { workspace = true }
-glib-build-tools = { workspace = true }
+glib-build-tools = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+
+[features]
+use_glib_build_tools = ["glib-build-tools"]

 [target.'cfg(windows)'.build-dependencies]
 winresource = { workspace = true }