diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 6289ea57515f..e9b4084fd206 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ endif()
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-function(set_default_warning_settings target)
+function(rerun_strict_warning_settings target)
     if(MSVC)
         # TODO(andreas): Try to enable /Wall
         target_compile_options(${target} PRIVATE /W4)
@@ -151,9 +151,9 @@ if(NOT WIN32)
     set(LOGURU_STACKTRACES 1)
 endif()
 
-
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-add_subdirectory(rerun_cpp) # The Rerun C++ SDK library
+add_subdirectory(crates/rerun_c) # The Rerun C SDK library, must be included before the C++ SDK.
+add_subdirectory(rerun_cpp) # The Rerun C++ SDK library.
 add_subdirectory(examples/cpp)
 add_subdirectory(tests/cpp)
 add_subdirectory(docs/code-examples)
diff --git a/crates/rerun_c/CMakeLists.txt b/crates/rerun_c/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4c3fcca9f16a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/rerun_c/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Builds rerun_c from source.
+
+# Determine Rust's librerun path.
+if(APPLE)
+    set(RERUN_C_BUILD_ARTIFACT ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../../target/release/librerun_c.a)
+elseif(UNIX) # if(LINUX) # CMake 3.25
+    set(RERUN_C_BUILD_ARTIFACT ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../../target/release/librerun_c.a)
+elseif(WIN32)
+    set(RERUN_C_BUILD_ARTIFACT ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../../target/release/rerun_c.lib)
+else()
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform.")
+endif()
+
+# Setup rerun_c library
+add_library(rerun_c STATIC IMPORTED GLOBAL)
+set_target_properties(rerun_c PROPERTIES IMPORTED_LOCATION ${RERUN_C_BUILD_ARTIFACT})
+
+# Just depend on all rust and toml files, it's hard to know which files exactly are relevant.
+file(GLOB_RECURSE RERUN_C_SOURCES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../crates/*.rs" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../crates/*.toml")
+add_custom_command(
+    OUTPUT ${RERUN_C_BUILD_ARTIFACT}
+    DEPENDS ${RERUN_C_SOURCES}
+    COMMAND cargo build --release -p rerun_c
+    COMMENT "Building rerun_c from source"
+    WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../..
+)
+
+# In CMake you can't depend on an output file directly. We have to wrap this in a target that rerun_c then depends on.
+add_custom_target(rerun_c_build DEPENDS "${RERUN_C_BUILD_ARTIFACT}")
+add_dependencies(rerun_c rerun_c_build)
+
+# Put `rerun.h` into the same place where it's on a user's machine and apply CMake variables like version number.
+configure_file(
+    "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/rerun.h"
+    "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../../rerun_cpp/src/rerun/c/rerun.h"
+    NEWLINE_STYLE LF # Specify line endings, otherwise CMake wants to change them on Windows.
+)
diff --git a/docs/code-examples/CMakeLists.txt b/docs/code-examples/CMakeLists.txt
index 602cbc3cb187..2b207eb46b3b 100644
--- a/docs/code-examples/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/docs/code-examples/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ foreach(SOURCE_PATH ${sources_list})
 
     add_executable(${EXAMPLE_TARGET} ${SOURCE_PATH})
 
-    set_default_warning_settings(${EXAMPLE_TARGET})
+    rerun_strict_warning_settings(${EXAMPLE_TARGET})
     target_link_libraries(${EXAMPLE_TARGET} PRIVATE rerun_sdk)
 
     add_dependencies(doc_examples ${EXAMPLE_TARGET})
diff --git a/examples/cpp/clock/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/cpp/clock/CMakeLists.txt
index 158f89eac651..aeca4f0f25e9 100644
--- a/examples/cpp/clock/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/cpp/clock/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16...3.27)
 # This can be done by passing `-DRERUN_CPP_URL=<path to rerun_sdk_cpp zip>` to cmake.
 if(DEFINED RERUN_REPOSITORY)
     add_executable(example_clock main.cpp)
-    set_default_warning_settings(example_clock)
+    rerun_strict_warning_settings(example_clock)
 else()
     project(example_clock LANGUAGES CXX)
 
diff --git a/examples/cpp/custom_component_adapter/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/cpp/custom_component_adapter/CMakeLists.txt
index db01338415d3..827140a47d18 100644
--- a/examples/cpp/custom_component_adapter/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/cpp/custom_component_adapter/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16...3.27)
 # This can be done by passing `-DRERUN_CPP_URL=<path to rerun_sdk_cpp zip>` to cmake.
 if(DEFINED RERUN_REPOSITORY)
     add_executable(example_custom_component_adapter main.cpp)
-    set_default_warning_settings(example_custom_component_adapter)
+    rerun_strict_warning_settings(example_custom_component_adapter)
 else()
     project(example_custom_component_adapter LANGUAGES CXX)
 
diff --git a/examples/cpp/dna/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/cpp/dna/CMakeLists.txt
index b6531daea233..81995d33edda 100644
--- a/examples/cpp/dna/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/cpp/dna/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16...3.27)
 # This can be done by passing `-DRERUN_CPP_URL=<path to rerun_sdk_cpp zip>` to cmake.
 if(DEFINED RERUN_REPOSITORY)
     add_executable(example_dna main.cpp)
-    set_default_warning_settings(example_dna)
+    rerun_strict_warning_settings(example_dna)
 else()
     project(example_dna LANGUAGES CXX)
 
diff --git a/examples/cpp/minimal/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/cpp/minimal/CMakeLists.txt
index 7512a7f5d5b1..350f36e33d27 100644
--- a/examples/cpp/minimal/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/cpp/minimal/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16...3.27)
 # This can be done by passing `-DRERUN_CPP_URL=<path to rerun_sdk_cpp zip>` to cmake.
 if(DEFINED RERUN_REPOSITORY)
     add_executable(example_minimal main.cpp)
-    set_default_warning_settings(example_minimal)
+    rerun_strict_warning_settings(example_minimal)
 else()
     project(example_minimal LANGUAGES CXX)
 
diff --git a/examples/cpp/spawn_viewer/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/cpp/spawn_viewer/CMakeLists.txt
index bc73373c2cf2..2c13800d18ff 100644
--- a/examples/cpp/spawn_viewer/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/cpp/spawn_viewer/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16...3.27)
 # This can be done by passing `-DRERUN_CPP_URL=<path to rerun_sdk_cpp zip>` to cmake.
 if(DEFINED RERUN_REPOSITORY)
     add_executable(example_spawn_viewer main.cpp)
-    set_default_warning_settings(example_spawn_viewer)
+    rerun_strict_warning_settings(example_spawn_viewer)
 else()
     project(example_spawn_viewer LANGUAGES CXX)
 
diff --git a/rerun_cpp/CMakeLists.txt b/rerun_cpp/CMakeLists.txt
index b1d408ae54da..6256592bc34a 100644
--- a/rerun_cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/rerun_cpp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Rerun C++ SDK
+#
+# For more information check README.md
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16...3.27)
 
 message("Compiler: ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID} ${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_VERSION} (${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER})")
 
-# NOTE: CMake docs strongly discourages using GLOB, and instead suggests
-# manually listing all the files, like it's 1972.
-# However, that won't work for use since we auto-generate the source tree.
-# See https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/command/file.html#glob
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Base setup for rerun_sdk C++ library.
+
 file(GLOB_RECURSE rerun_sdk_SRC CONFIGURE_DEPENDS
     "src/*.hpp"
     "src/*.cpp"
@@ -24,44 +29,18 @@ if(MSVC)
     target_compile_options(rerun_sdk PRIVATE "/MP")
 endif()
 
-# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Rerun development setup only:
-if(DEFINED RERUN_REPOSITORY)
-    # TODO(andreas): use add_custom_command instead so this runs at build time! https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/command/add_custom_command.html#command:add_custom_command
-    execute_process(COMMAND cargo build --release -p rerun_c RESULT_VARIABLE ret) # We link against this, so must be up-to-date
-
-    # execute process doesn't fail if the process fails.
-    # `COMMAND_ERROR_IS_FATAL ANY` parameter fixes this but is only available in CMake 3.19
-    if(NOT(ret EQUAL "0"))
-        message(FATAL_ERROR "Failed to build rerun_c.")
-    endif()
-
-    # Overwrite where to find rerun_c library.
-    if(APPLE)
-        set(RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../target/release/librerun_c.a)
-    elseif(UNIX) # if(LINUX) # CMake 3.25
-        set(RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../target/release/librerun_c.a)
-    elseif(WIN32)
-        set(RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../target/release/rerun_c.lib)
-    else()
-        message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform.")
-    endif()
-
-    # Set very strict warning settings when we're testing the SDK.
-    # We don't want to force this on any user!
-    set_default_warning_settings(rerun_sdk)
-
-    # Put `rerun.h` into the same place where it's on a user's machine and apply CMake variables like version number.
-    configure_file(
-        "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/../crates/rerun_c/src/rerun.h"
-        "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/rerun/c/rerun.h"
-        NEWLINE_STYLE LF # Specify line endings, otherwise CMake wants to change them on Windows.
-    )
+# Set default warning settings if defined.
+if (COMMAND rerun_strict_warning_settings)
+    message("Building Rerun C++ SDK with strict compilation warnings.")
+    rerun_strict_warning_settings(rerun_sdk)
 endif()
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Setup rerun_c dependency:
-if(NOT DEFINED RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT)
+# Setup rerun_c dependency if it wasn't set up already.
+if(NOT TARGET rerun_c)
+    add_library(rerun_c STATIC IMPORTED GLOBAL)
+
+    # Inside the repo build ourselves, otherwise default to a local `lib` folder.
     set(RERUN_C_DEFAULT_LIB_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/lib/)
 
     if(APPLE)
@@ -81,21 +60,18 @@ if(NOT DEFINED RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT)
     else()
         message(WARNING "Unsupported platform ${RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT}, can't find rerun_c library.")
     endif()
-endif()
 
-set(RERUN_C_LIB ${RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT} CACHE PATH "\
-Where to find the rerun_c library.\n\
-If not specified, a local rerun_c with the current system architecture will be used."
-)
+    set(RERUN_C_LIB ${RERUN_C_LIB_DEFAULT} CACHE PATH "\
+        Where to find the rerun_c library.\n\
+        If not specified, a local rerun_c with the current system architecture will be used."
+    )
 
-if("${RERUN_C_LIB}" STREQUAL "")
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "RERUN_C_LIB is not set.")
-endif()
+    if("${RERUN_C_LIB}" STREQUAL "")
+        message(FATAL_ERROR "RERUN_C_LIB is not set.")
+    endif()
 
-# For cleanliness, create a rerun_c target with the correct dependencies.
-# This allows other targets to depend on rerun_c directly if they need to.
-add_library(rerun_c STATIC IMPORTED)
-set_target_properties(rerun_c PROPERTIES IMPORTED_LOCATION ${RERUN_C_LIB})
+    set_target_properties(rerun_c PROPERTIES IMPORTED_LOCATION ${RERUN_C_LIB})
+endif()
 
 if(APPLE)
     target_link_libraries(rerun_c INTERFACE "-framework CoreFoundation" "-framework IOKit")
@@ -108,7 +84,7 @@ endif()
 target_link_libraries(rerun_sdk PRIVATE rerun_c)
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Arrow:
+# Arrow dependency.
 # This makes the setup a lot easier on Windows where we otherwise need to put Arrow.dll either in path or copy it with the executable.
 # Additionally reduces risk of picking up system libraries on Mac / Linux.
 set(RERUN_ARROW_LINK_SHARED_DEFAULT OFF)
@@ -116,151 +92,24 @@ option(RERUN_ARROW_LINK_SHARED "Link to the Arrow shared library" ${RERUN_ARROW_
 option(RERUN_DOWNLOAD_AND_BUILD_ARROW "If enabled, arrow will be added as an external project and built with the minimal set required by the Rerun C++ SDK" ON)
 
 if(RERUN_DOWNLOAD_AND_BUILD_ARROW)
-    include(ExternalProject)
-
-    set(ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/arrow)
-
-    if(RERUN_ARROW_LINK_SHARED)
-        set(ARROW_BUILD_SHARED ON)
-        set(ARROW_BUILD_STATIC OFF)
-
-        if(APPLE)
-            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.dylib)
-        elseif(UNIX) # if(LINUX) # CMake 3.25
-            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.so)
-        elseif(WIN32)
-            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/bin/arrow.dll)
-        else()
-            message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform.")
-        endif()
-    else()
-        set(ARROW_BUILD_SHARED OFF)
-        set(ARROW_BUILD_STATIC ON)
-
-        if(APPLE)
-            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.a)
-            set(ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow_bundled_dependencies.a)
-        elseif(UNIX) # if(LINUX) # CMake 3.25
-            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.a)
-            set(ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow_bundled_dependencies.a)
-        elseif(WIN32)
-            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/arrow_static.lib)
-            set(ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/arrow_bundled_dependencies.lib)
-        else()
-            message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform.")
-        endif()
-    endif()
-
-
-    if(MSVC)
-        # Enable multithreaded compiling of Arrow on MSVC.
-        set(ARROW_CXXFLAGS "/MP")
-        # ASAN doesn't work with arrow (yet?)
-        set(ARROW_ASAN OFF)
-    else()
-        set(ARROW_CXXFLAGS "")
-        set(ARROW_ASAN ${RERUN_USE_ASAN})
-    endif()
-
-    # Workaround for https://github.com/apache/arrow/issues/36117
-    # This works around linking issues on Windows we got after enabling mimalloc.
-    if(MSVC)
-        file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/src/arrow_cpp-build/debug/)
-        file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/src/arrow_cpp-build/relwithdebinfo/)
-        file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/src/arrow_cpp-build/release/)
-    endif()
-
-    if(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug")
-        set(ARROW_CMAKE_PRESET ninja-debug-minimal)
-    else()
-        set(ARROW_CMAKE_PRESET ninja-release-minimal)
-    endif()
-
-    ExternalProject_Add(
-        arrow_cpp
-        PREFIX ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}
-        GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/apache/arrow.git
-        GIT_TAG apache-arrow-10.0.1
-        GIT_SHALLOW ON
-        GIT_PROGRESS OFF # Git progress sounds like a nice idea but is in practive very spammy.
-
-        # LOG_X ON means that the output of the command will
-        # be logged to a file _instead_ of printed to the console.
-        LOG_CONFIGURE ON
-        LOG_BUILD ON
-        LOG_INSTALL ON
-
-        CMAKE_ARGS
-        --preset ${ARROW_CMAKE_PRESET}
-        -DARROW_BOOST_USE_SHARED=OFF
-        -DARROW_BUILD_SHARED=${ARROW_BUILD_SHARED}
-        -DARROW_BUILD_STATIC=${ARROW_BUILD_STATIC}
-        -DARROW_CXXFLAGS=${ARROW_CXXFLAGS}
-        -DARROW_IPC=ON
-        -DARROW_JEMALLOC=OFF # We encountered some build issues with jemalloc, use mimalloc instead.
-        -DARROW_MIMALLOC=ON
-        -DARROW_USE_ASAN=${ARROW_ASAN}
-        -DARROW_USE_TSAN=OFF
-        -DARROW_USE_UBSAN=OFF
-        -DBOOST_SOURCE=BUNDLED
-        -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}
-        -Dxsimd_SOURCE=BUNDLED
-        -DBOOST_SOURCE=BUNDLED
-        -DARROW_BOOST_USE_SHARED=OFF
-        -DARROW_CXXFLAGS=${DARROW_CXXFLAGS}
-        SOURCE_SUBDIR cpp
-        BUILD_BYPRODUCTS ${ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE} ${ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE}
-    )
-
-    # arrow_cpp target is not a library. Assemble one from it.
-    if(RERUN_ARROW_LINK_SHARED)
-        add_library(RerunArrowTarget SHARED IMPORTED)
-
-        # For windows we need to know both the dll AND the import library.
-        if(WIN32)
-            set_target_properties(RerunArrowTarget PROPERTIES IMPORTED_IMPLIB ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/arrow.lib)
-        endif()
-    else()
-        add_library(RerunArrowTarget STATIC IMPORTED)
-
-        # Need to set the ARROW_STATIC define, otherwise arrow functions are dllimport decorated on Windows.
-        target_compile_definitions(RerunArrowTarget INTERFACE ARROW_STATIC)
-
-        # We have to explicitly opt in the arrow bundled dependencies, otherwise we're missing the symbols for mimalloc.
-        add_library(RerunArrowTargetBundledDeps STATIC IMPORTED)
-        add_dependencies(RerunArrowTargetBundledDeps arrow_cpp)
-        set_target_properties(RerunArrowTargetBundledDeps PROPERTIES
-            IMPORTED_LOCATION ${ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE}
-        )
-        target_link_libraries(RerunArrowTarget INTERFACE RerunArrowTargetBundledDeps)
-    endif()
-
-    add_dependencies(RerunArrowTarget arrow_cpp)
-    set_target_properties(RerunArrowTarget PROPERTIES
-        IMPORTED_LOCATION ${ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE}
-        INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/include
-    )
-
-    # Hack to propagate INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES.
-    # via https://stackoverflow.com/a/47358004
-    file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/include)
+    include(download_and_build_arrow.cmake)
+    download_and_build_arrow() # populates `rerun_arrow_target`
 else()
     find_package(Arrow REQUIRED)
 
     if(RERUN_ARROW_LINK_SHARED)
-        message(STATUS "Arrow SO version: ${ARROW_FULL_SO_VERSION}")
-        add_library(RerunArrowTarget ALIAS Arrow::arrow_shared)
+        add_library(rerun_arrow_target ALIAS Arrow::arrow_shared)
     else()
-        message(STATUS "Arrow version: ${ARROW_VERSION}")
-        add_library(RerunArrowTarget ALIAS Arrow::arrow_static)
+        add_library(rerun_arrow_target ALIAS Arrow::arrow_static)
     endif()
 endif()
 
-target_link_libraries(rerun_sdk PRIVATE RerunArrowTarget)
+target_link_libraries(rerun_sdk PRIVATE rerun_arrow_target)
+
 
 # -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Add test subfolder if we're inside the Rerun repository
-# (we don't ship them in our fetch-content bundle)
-if(DEFINED RERUN_REPOSITORY)
+# Add tests if they exist (they are not part of the distribution zip).
+# Has direct dpeendency to arrow, so needs to happen last.
+if(EXISTS tests)
     add_subdirectory(tests)
 endif()
diff --git a/rerun_cpp/README.md b/rerun_cpp/README.md
index 4a10dac89c23..d6e42d3d5880 100644
--- a/rerun_cpp/README.md
+++ b/rerun_cpp/README.md
@@ -1,10 +1,61 @@
 # Rerun C++ SDK
 
-Read our [getting-started guide](https://www.rerun.io/docs/getting-started/cpp) for information on how to use the Rerun C++ SDK.
+The Rerun C++ SDK allows logging data to Rerun directly from C++.
 
-## Development
-### Requirements
-Run `scripts/setup.sh`.
+Read the [getting started guide](https://www.rerun.io/docs/getting-started/cpp) for information on how to use the Rerun C++ SDK.
 
-### Test it
-`just cpp-test`
+## Build & Distribution
+
+### Overview
+
+To avoid compatibility issues across different platforms, compiler versions and C++ standard library versions
+the C++ SDK is expected to be built from source.
+
+From a build system perspective, the SDK consists of three dependencies:
+
+* [SDK source](https://github.com/rerun-io/rerun/tree/latest/rerun_cpp/src/)
+  * this includes **both** source and header files!
+* [rerun_c](https://github.com/rerun-io/rerun/tree/latest/crates/rerun_c/) static libraries
+  * Rerun C is a minimal C SDK and forms the bridge to the shared Rust codebase
+  * due to the rigidity of the C ABI and lack of complex standard library types in the interface,
+    compatibility issues between compilers are less of a concern
+    which is why offer pre-built libraries with every release for all major platforms
+* [Apache Arrow C++ library](https://arrow.apache.org/docs/cpp/index.html)
+  * The SDK uses this library to perform all serialization before handing data over to rerun_c
+  * See [Install arrow-cpp](https://www.rerun.io/docs/howto/arrow-cpp-install) for how to install this library
+
+
+### SDK bundle (`rerun_cpp_sdk.zip`)
+
+For convenience, Rerun provides a C++ SDK bundle with every release.
+(this includes our regular [Development Builds](https://github.com/rerun-io/rerun/releases/tag/prerelease)!)
+
+This is a simple zip archive containing the SDK the [repository](https://github.com/rerun-io/rerun/tree/latest/rerun_cpp)
+(excluding the tests folder) and a `lib` folder with prebuilt rerun_c libraries for all major desktop platforms.
+The rerun_c libraries follow a simple name schema that the CMake script can pick up.
+
+
+### Building with CMake
+
+See [C++ SDK CMake](https://www.rerun.io/docs/reference/cpp-sdk-cmake) for deeper dive on
+how to use the SDK's `CMakeLists.txt` and an overview over all CMake configuration options.
+
+### Without CMake
+
+In order to build without CMake, you have to add all files from the [src/](https://github.com/rerun-io/rerun/tree/latest/rerun_cpp/src/) folder
+either directly to your project or a library.
+In addition, you need to link the `rerun_c` libraries and the [Arrow C++ library](https://arrow.apache.org/docs/cpp/index.html).
+
+Make sure to compile with C++17 or newer.
+
+For more information on how to install Arrow, see [Install arrow-cpp](https://www.rerun.io/docs/howto/arrow-cpp-install).
+
+
+## Development in the Rerun repository
+
+Refer to the [build instruction](https://github.com/rerun-io/rerun/tree/latest/BUILD.md) at the repo root.
+
+Keep in mind that all archetypes/components/datatypes are mostly generated by the [Rerun types builder](https://github.com/rerun-io/rerun/tree/latest/crates/re_types_builder).
+Use `just codegen` to run code generation. Generally, all generated code files are part of the repository,
+so you only have to do that if you change the data definition or make changes to `_ext.cpp` files which
+extend generated types.
diff --git a/rerun_cpp/download_and_build_arrow.cmake b/rerun_cpp/download_and_build_arrow.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..8a16da82b168
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rerun_cpp/download_and_build_arrow.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+# Downloads and builds Apache Arrow from source.
+#
+# Populates `rerun_arrow_target` with the final arrow target.
+# Tries to build an as small as possible version of Arrow that is compatible with the Rerun C++ SDK.
+function(download_and_build_arrow)
+    include(ExternalProject)
+
+    set(ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/arrow)
+
+    if(RERUN_ARROW_LINK_SHARED)
+        set(ARROW_BUILD_SHARED ON)
+        set(ARROW_BUILD_STATIC OFF)
+
+        if(APPLE)
+            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.dylib)
+        elseif(UNIX) # if(LINUX) # CMake 3.25
+            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.so)
+        elseif(WIN32)
+            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/bin/arrow.dll)
+        else()
+            message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform.")
+        endif()
+    else()
+        set(ARROW_BUILD_SHARED OFF)
+        set(ARROW_BUILD_STATIC ON)
+
+        if(APPLE)
+            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.a)
+            set(ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow_bundled_dependencies.a)
+        elseif(UNIX) # if(LINUX) # CMake 3.25
+            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow.a)
+            set(ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/libarrow_bundled_dependencies.a)
+        elseif(WIN32)
+            set(ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/arrow_static.lib)
+            set(ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/arrow_bundled_dependencies.lib)
+        else()
+            message(FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported platform.")
+        endif()
+    endif()
+
+    # Enable multithreaded compiling of Arrow on MSVC.
+    if(MSVC)
+        # Enable multithreaded compiling of Arrow on MSVC.
+        set(ARROW_CXXFLAGS "/MP")
+        # ASAN doesn't work with arrow (yet?)
+        set(ARROW_ASAN OFF)
+    else()
+        set(ARROW_CXXFLAGS "")
+        set(ARROW_ASAN ${RERUN_USE_ASAN})
+    endif()
+
+    # Workaround for https://github.com/apache/arrow/issues/36117
+    # This works around linking issues on Windows we got after enabling mimalloc.
+    if(MSVC)
+        file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/src/arrow_cpp-build/debug/)
+        file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/src/arrow_cpp-build/relwithdebinfo/)
+        file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/src/arrow_cpp-build/release/)
+    endif()
+
+    if(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug")
+        set(ARROW_CMAKE_PRESET ninja-debug-minimal)
+    else()
+        set(ARROW_CMAKE_PRESET ninja-release-minimal)
+    endif()
+
+    ExternalProject_Add(
+        arrow_cpp
+        PREFIX ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}
+        GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/apache/arrow.git
+        GIT_TAG apache-arrow-10.0.1
+        GIT_SHALLOW ON
+        GIT_PROGRESS OFF # Git progress sounds like a nice idea but is in practive very spammy.
+
+        # LOG_X ON means that the output of the command will
+        # be logged to a file _instead_ of printed to the console.
+        LOG_CONFIGURE ON
+        LOG_BUILD ON
+        LOG_INSTALL ON
+
+        CMAKE_ARGS
+        --preset ${ARROW_CMAKE_PRESET}
+        -DARROW_BOOST_USE_SHARED=OFF
+        -DARROW_BUILD_SHARED=${ARROW_BUILD_SHARED}
+        -DARROW_BUILD_STATIC=${ARROW_BUILD_STATIC}
+        -DARROW_CXXFLAGS=${DARROW_CXXFLAGS}
+        -DARROW_IPC=ON
+        -DARROW_JEMALLOC=OFF # We encountered some build issues with jemalloc, use mimalloc instead.
+        -DARROW_MIMALLOC=ON
+        -DARROW_USE_ASAN=${RERUN_USE_ASAN}
+        -DARROW_USE_TSAN=OFF
+        -DARROW_USE_UBSAN=OFF
+        -DBOOST_SOURCE=BUNDLED
+        -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}
+        -Dxsimd_SOURCE=BUNDLED
+        -DBOOST_SOURCE=BUNDLED
+        -DARROW_BOOST_USE_SHARED=OFF
+        -DARROW_CXXFLAGS=${DARROW_CXXFLAGS}
+        SOURCE_SUBDIR cpp
+        BUILD_BYPRODUCTS ${ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE} ${ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE}
+    )
+
+    # arrow_cpp target is not a library. Assemble one from it.
+    if(RERUN_ARROW_LINK_SHARED)
+        add_library(rerun_arrow_target SHARED IMPORTED GLOBAL)
+
+        # For windows we need to know both the dll AND the import library.
+        if(WIN32)
+            set_target_properties(rerun_arrow_target PROPERTIES IMPORTED_IMPLIB ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/lib/arrow.lib)
+        endif()
+    else()
+        add_library(rerun_arrow_target STATIC IMPORTED GLOBAL)
+
+        # Need to set the ARROW_STATIC define, otherwise arrow functions are dllimport decorated on Windows.
+        target_compile_definitions(rerun_arrow_target INTERFACE ARROW_STATIC)
+
+        # We have to explicitly opt in the arrow bundled dependencies, otherwise we're missing the symbols for mimalloc.
+        add_library(arrow_targetBundledDeps STATIC IMPORTED)
+        add_dependencies(arrow_targetBundledDeps arrow_cpp)
+        set_target_properties(arrow_targetBundledDeps PROPERTIES
+            IMPORTED_LOCATION ${ARROW_BUNDLED_DEPENDENCIES_FILE}
+        )
+        target_link_libraries(rerun_arrow_target INTERFACE arrow_targetBundledDeps)
+    endif()
+
+    add_dependencies(rerun_arrow_target arrow_cpp)
+    set_target_properties(rerun_arrow_target PROPERTIES
+        IMPORTED_LOCATION ${ARROW_LIBRARY_FILE}
+        INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/include
+    )
+
+    # Hack to propagate INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES.
+    # via https://stackoverflow.com/a/47358004
+    file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${ARROW_DOWNLOAD_PATH}/include)
+endfunction()
diff --git a/rerun_cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/rerun_cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index d32a4ba7c8d0..ac2734480013 100644
--- a/rerun_cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/rerun_cpp/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ file(GLOB_RECURSE rerun_sdk_tests_SRC CONFIGURE_DEPENDS
 )
 add_executable(rerun_sdk_tests ${rerun_sdk_tests_SRC})
 
-set_default_warning_settings(rerun_sdk_tests)
+rerun_strict_warning_settings(rerun_sdk_tests)
 
 # Include arrow explicitly again, otherwise the arrow headers won't be found.
-target_link_libraries(rerun_sdk_tests PRIVATE loguru::loguru Catch2::Catch2 rerun_sdk RerunArrowTarget)
+target_link_libraries(rerun_sdk_tests PRIVATE loguru::loguru Catch2::Catch2 rerun_sdk rerun_arrow_target)
diff --git a/scripts/ci/bundle_and_upload_rerun_cpp.py b/scripts/ci/bundle_and_upload_rerun_cpp.py
index 71e85ac4f9cc..346423799ffd 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/bundle_and_upload_rerun_cpp.py
+++ b/scripts/ci/bundle_and_upload_rerun_cpp.py
@@ -102,8 +102,9 @@ def main() -> None:
         download_rerun_c(package_dir + "/lib", git_hash, args.platform_filter)
 
         logging.info("Copying files…")
-        shutil.copy("rerun_cpp/CMakeLists.txt", package_dir + "/CMakeLists.txt")
-        shutil.copytree("rerun_cpp/src/", package_dir + "/src/")
+        shutil.copytree(
+            src="rerun_cpp/", dst=package_dir + "/", ignore=shutil.ignore_patterns("tests"), dirs_exist_ok=True
+        )
 
         logging.info(f"Packaging {package_dir}.zip…")
         rerun_zip = shutil.make_archive(
diff --git a/tests/cpp/roundtrips/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/cpp/roundtrips/CMakeLists.txt
index 2cd9e55f352c..9d45e3c13a3e 100644
--- a/tests/cpp/roundtrips/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/cpp/roundtrips/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ foreach(DIR ${sources_list})
         set(ROUNDTRIP_TARGET roundtrip_${ARCHETYPE})
 
         add_executable(${ROUNDTRIP_TARGET} ${DIR}/main.cpp)
-        set_default_warning_settings(${ROUNDTRIP_TARGET})
+        rerun_strict_warning_settings(${ROUNDTRIP_TARGET})
         target_link_libraries(${ROUNDTRIP_TARGET} PRIVATE rerun_sdk)
     ELSE()
         CONTINUE()