diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 11e8ac506cd..2df973dfb97 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -428,6 +428,40 @@ jobs:
             - "~/.rustup"
             - "~/.cargo"
 
+  build-appimage:
+    machine:
+      image: ubuntu-2004:202104-01
+    steps:
+      - checkout
+      - attach_workspace:
+          at: "."
+      - run:
+          name: install appimage-builder
+          command: |
+            # docs: https://appimage-builder.readthedocs.io/en/latest/intro/install.html
+            sudo apt update
+            sudo apt install -y python3-pip python3-setuptools patchelf desktop-file-utils libgdk-pixbuf2.0-dev fakeroot strace
+            sudo curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/appimagetool https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/releases/download/continuous/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage
+            sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/appimagetool
+            sudo pip3 install appimage-builder
+      - run:
+          name: install lotus dependencies
+          command: sudo apt install ocl-icd-opencl-dev libhwloc-dev
+      - run:
+          name: build appimage
+          command: |
+            sed -i "s/version: latest/version: ${CIRCLE_TAG:-latest}/" AppImageBuilder.yml
+            make appimage
+      - run:
+          name: prepare workspace
+          command: |
+            mkdir appimage
+            mv Lotus-latest-x86_64.AppImage appimage
+      - persist_to_workspace:
+          root: "."
+          paths:
+            - appimage
+
   gofmt:
     executor: golang
     steps:
@@ -801,10 +835,21 @@ workflows:
             tags:
               only:
                 - /^v\d+\.\d+\.\d+(-rc\d+)?$/
+      - build-appimage:
+          requires:
+            - test-short
+          filters:
+            branches:
+              ignore:
+                - /.*/
+            tags:
+              only:
+                - /^v\d+\.\d+\.\d+(-rc\d+)?$/
       - publish:
           requires:
             - build-all
             - build-macos
+            - build-appimage
           filters:
             branches:
               ignore:
@@ -812,6 +857,7 @@ workflows:
             tags:
               only:
                 - /^v\d+\.\d+\.\d+(-rc\d+)?$/
+
       - build-and-push-image:
           dockerfile: Dockerfile.lotus
           path: .
diff --git a/AppDir/usr/share/icons/icon.svg b/AppDir/usr/share/icons/icon.svg
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..da992296a1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AppDir/usr/share/icons/icon.svg
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+<svg version="1.1" id="Layer_1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0" y="0" viewBox="0 0 127 127" xml:space="preserve" enable-background="new 0 0 127 127"><style type="text/css">.st0{fill:#00d2d6}.st1{fill:#fff}</style><g><path class="st0" d="M63.5,127C28.5,127.1-0.2,98.4,0,63.2C0.2,28.3,28.6-0.2,63.9,0c34.8,0.2,63.3,28.7,63.1,64 C126.7,98.7,98.5,127.1,63.5,127z M71.4,57.6c5.5,0.8,11,1.5,16.5,2.3c0.5-1.7,0.9-3.1,1.3-4.7c-5.7-0.8-11.2-1.7-17.1-2.5 c2-7,3.7-13.7,5.8-20.2c0.7-2.2,2.3-4.2,3.9-5.9c2.1-2.2,5-1.7,6.8,0.7c0.7,1,1.4,2.1,2.3,2.9c1.1,1.1,2.8,1.6,4,0.6 c0.8-0.7,0.7-2.4,0.8-3.6c0-0.5-0.6-1.1-1-1.6c-2-2.3-4.7-3.1-7.5-3.2c-6.3-0.3-10.9,3-14.5,7.8c-3.5,4.8-5.1,10.5-6.8,16.2 c-0.5,1.6-0.9,3.3-1.4,5.1c-6.2-0.9-12.1-1.7-18.2-2.6c-0.2,1.6-0.4,3.2-0.6,4.8c6,0.9,11.8,1.8,17.8,2.7c-0.8,3.4-1.5,6.5-2.3,9.7 c-5.8-0.8-11.4-1.6-17-2.4c-0.2,1.8-0.4,3.2-0.6,4.8c5.6,0.9,11,1.7,16.5,2.5c0,0.6,0.1,1,0,1.3c-1.7,7.4-3.4,14.8-5.3,22.2 c-0.9,3.5-2.4,6.9-5.3,9.3c-2.4,2-5,1.7-6.8-0.8c-0.8-1.1-1.5-2.5-2.6-3.3c-0.8-0.6-2.5-0.9-3.1-0.5c-0.9,0.7-1.5,2.2-1.4,3.3 c0.1,1,1,2.2,1.9,2.8c3,2.3,6.5,2.6,10,1.9c5.9-1.2,10.1-4.9,12.7-10.1c2-4.1,3.6-8.5,5-12.9c1.3-4,2.2-8,3.3-12.2 c5.8,0.8,11.5,1.7,17.3,2.5c0.5-1.7,0.9-3.2,1.4-4.8c-6.1-0.9-11.9-1.7-17.7-2.6C70.1,64,70.7,60.9,71.4,57.6z"/><path class="st1" d="M71.4,57.6c-0.7,3.3-1.3,6.4-2,9.8c5.9,0.9,11.7,1.7,17.7,2.6c-0.5,1.6-0.9,3.1-1.4,4.8 c-5.8-0.8-11.5-1.7-17.3-2.5c-1.1,4.2-2,8.3-3.3,12.2c-1.4,4.4-3,8.7-5,12.9c-2.6,5.2-6.8,8.9-12.7,10.1c-3.5,0.7-7,0.4-10-1.9 c-0.9-0.7-1.8-1.8-1.9-2.8c-0.1-1.1,0.5-2.7,1.4-3.3c0.6-0.5,2.3-0.1,3.1,0.5c1.1,0.8,1.8,2.1,2.6,3.3c1.8,2.5,4.4,2.9,6.8,0.8 c2.9-2.5,4.4-5.8,5.3-9.3c1.9-7.3,3.6-14.8,5.3-22.2c0.1-0.3,0-0.7,0-1.3c-5.4-0.8-10.8-1.7-16.5-2.5c0.2-1.6,0.4-3,0.6-4.8 c5.6,0.8,11.1,1.6,17,2.4c0.8-3.2,1.5-6.4,2.3-9.7c-6-0.9-11.7-1.8-17.8-2.7c0.2-1.6,0.4-3.2,0.6-4.8c6.1,0.9,12,1.7,18.2,2.6 c0.5-1.8,0.9-3.5,1.4-5.1c1.7-5.6,3.2-11.3,6.8-16.2c3.6-4.9,8.1-8.1,14.5-7.8c2.8,0.1,5.5,0.9,7.5,3.2c0.4,0.5,1,1.1,1,1.6 c-0.1,1.2,0,2.9-0.8,3.6c-1.1,1.1-2.8,0.5-4-0.6c-0.9-0.9-1.6-1.9-2.3-2.9c-1.8-2.4-4.7-2.9-6.8-0.7c-1.6,1.7-3.2,3.7-3.9,5.9 C75.7,39.4,74,46,72,53c5.9,0.9,11.4,1.7,17.1,2.5c-0.5,1.6-0.9,3.1-1.3,4.7C82.3,59.1,76.9,58.3,71.4,57.6z"/></g></svg>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/AppImageBuilder.yml b/AppImageBuilder.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..19c74e4a26a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AppImageBuilder.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+version: 1
+AppDir:
+  path: ./AppDir
+  app_info:
+    id: io.filecoin.lotus
+    name: Lotus
+    icon: icon
+    version: latest
+    exec: usr/bin/lotus
+    exec_args: $@
+  apt:
+    arch: amd64
+    allow_unauthenticated: true
+    sources:
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal main restricted
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-updates main restricted
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal universe
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-updates universe
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal multiverse
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-updates multiverse
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ focal-backports main restricted
+        universe multiverse
+    - sourceline: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-security main restricted
+    - sourceline: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-security universe
+    - sourceline: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu focal-security multiverse
+    - sourceline: deb https://cli-assets.heroku.com/apt ./
+    - sourceline: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/openjdk-r/ppa/ubuntu focal main
+    - sourceline: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/git-core/ppa/ubuntu focal main
+    - sourceline: deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu focal partner
+    include:
+    - ocl-icd-libopencl1
+    - libhwloc15
+    exclude: []
+  files:
+    include:
+    - /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgcc_s.so.1
+    - /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread-2.31.so
+    - /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm-2.31.so
+    - /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl-2.31.so
+    - /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc-2.31.so
+    - /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libudev.so.1.6.17
+    exclude:
+    - usr/share/man
+    - usr/share/doc/*/README.*
+    - usr/share/doc/*/changelog.*
+    - usr/share/doc/*/NEWS.*
+    - usr/share/doc/*/TODO.*
+  test:
+    fedora:
+      image: appimagecrafters/tests-env:fedora-30
+      command: ./AppRun
+      use_host_x: true
+    debian:
+      image: appimagecrafters/tests-env:debian-stable
+      command: ./AppRun
+      use_host_x: true
+    arch:
+      image: appimagecrafters/tests-env:archlinux-latest
+      command: ./AppRun
+      use_host_x: true
+    centos:
+      image: appimagecrafters/tests-env:centos-7
+      command: ./AppRun
+      use_host_x: true
+    ubuntu:
+      image: appimagecrafters/tests-env:ubuntu-xenial
+      command: ./AppRun
+      use_host_x: true
+AppImage:
+  arch: x86_64
+  update-information: guess
+  sign-key: None
+
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 93b6479429b..4ae34fd5184 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -335,6 +335,17 @@ api-gen:
 	goimports -w api/apistruct
 .PHONY: api-gen
 
+appimage: $(BUILD_DEPS)
+	rm -rf appimage-builder-cache || true
+	rm AppDir/io.filecoin.lotus.desktop || true
+	rm AppDir/icon.svg || true
+	rm Appdir/AppRun || true
+	mkdir -p AppDir/usr/bin
+	rm -rf lotus
+	go run github.com/GeertJohan/go.rice/rice embed-go -i ./build
+	go build $(GOFLAGS) -o lotus ./cmd/lotus
+	cp ./lotus AppDir/usr/bin/
+	appimage-builder
 docsgen: docsgen-md docsgen-openrpc
 
 docsgen-md-bin: actors-gen
diff --git a/scripts/build-bundle.sh b/scripts/build-bundle.sh
index 7d37edff87e..fe1c886114e 100755
--- a/scripts/build-bundle.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-bundle.sh
@@ -49,4 +49,7 @@ do
 
     ipfs add -q "lotus_${CIRCLE_TAG}_${ARCH}-amd64.tar.gz" > "lotus_${CIRCLE_TAG}_${ARCH}-amd64.tar.gz.cid"
 done
+cp "../appimage/Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage" .
+sha512sum "Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage" > "Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage.sha512"
+ipfs add -q "Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage" > "Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage.cid"
 popd
diff --git a/scripts/publish-release.sh b/scripts/publish-release.sh
index e77a6a9496b..22572de600d 100755
--- a/scripts/publish-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/publish-release.sh
@@ -29,13 +29,20 @@ RELEASE_ID=`echo "${RELEASE_RESPONSE}" | jq '.id'`
 if [ "${RELEASE_ID}" = "null" ]; then
   echo "creating release"
 
+  COND_CREATE_DISCUSSION=""
+  PRERELEASE=true
+  if [[ ${CIRCLE_TAG} =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+    COND_CREATE_DISCUSSION="\"discussion_category_name\": \"announcement\","
+    PRERELEASE=false
+  fi
+
   RELEASE_DATA="{
     \"tag_name\": \"${CIRCLE_TAG}\",
     \"target_commitish\": \"${CIRCLE_SHA1}\",
-    \"discussion_category_name\": \"announcement\",
+    ${COND_CREATE_DISCUSSION}
     \"name\": \"${CIRCLE_TAG}\",
     \"body\": \"\",
-    \"prerelease\": false
+    \"prerelease\": ${PRERELEASE}
   }"
 
   # create it if it doesn't exist yet
@@ -61,6 +68,9 @@ artifacts=(
   "lotus_${CIRCLE_TAG}_darwin-amd64.tar.gz"
   "lotus_${CIRCLE_TAG}_darwin-amd64.tar.gz.cid"
   "lotus_${CIRCLE_TAG}_darwin-amd64.tar.gz.sha512"
+  "Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage"
+  "Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage.cid"
+  "Lotus-${CIRCLE_TAG}-x86_64.AppImage.sha512"
 )
 
 for RELEASE_FILE in "${artifacts[@]}"