diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index a2ccc39..f31f447 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1927,6 +1927,7 @@ dependencies = [
 name = "icepick"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
+ "bincode",
  "chrono",
  "clap",
  "icepick-module",
@@ -1940,6 +1941,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_yaml",
+ "smex",
  "thiserror 2.0.11",
  "toml 0.8.19",
 ]
diff --git a/crates/icepick/Cargo.toml b/crates/icepick/Cargo.toml
index 204f1ba..1ad0bc4 100644
--- a/crates/icepick/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/icepick/Cargo.toml
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 edition = "2021"
 
 [dependencies]
+bincode = "1.3.3"
 chrono = { version = "0.4.39", default-features = false, features = ["now", "serde", "std"] }
 clap = { version = "4.5.20", features = ["cargo", "derive", "string"] }
 icepick-module = { version = "0.1.0", path = "../icepick-module" }
@@ -17,9 +18,12 @@ miniquorum = { version = "0.1.0", path = "../miniquorum", default-features = fal
 serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = { workspace = true, features = ["arbitrary_precision"] }
 serde_yaml = "0.9.34"
+smex = { version = "0.1.0", registry = "distrust" }
 thiserror = "2.0.3"
 toml = "0.8.19"
 
 [build-dependencies]
+bincode = "1.3.3"
 icepick-workflow = { version = "0.1.0", path = "../icepick-workflow" }
 serde_yaml = "0.9.34"
+smex = { version = "0.1.0", registry = "distrust" }
diff --git a/crates/icepick/build.rs b/crates/icepick/build.rs
index 50c1471..d508a9b 100644
--- a/crates/icepick/build.rs
+++ b/crates/icepick/build.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 use icepick_workflow::Workflow;
 use std::{collections::HashMap, path::{PathBuf, Path}};
+use smex;
+use bincode;
 
 fn env_var(var: &'static str) -> String {
     println!("cargo::rerun-if-env-changed={var}");
@@ -10,19 +12,8 @@ fn track_path(path: &Path) {
     println!("cargo::rerun-if-changed={}", path.to_str().unwrap());
 }
 
-fn out_dir() -> PathBuf {
-    // example: [("OUT_DIR", "/tmp/cargo-target/debug/build/wat-c321129a1ce97284/out")]
-    // this gives us: /tmp/cargo-target/debug
-    let out_dir = env_var("OUT_DIR");
-    let mut out_dir_path = PathBuf::from(out_dir);
-    out_dir_path.pop();
-    out_dir_path.pop();
-    out_dir_path.pop();
-    out_dir_path
-}
-
 fn main() {
-    let out_dir = out_dir();
+    let out_dir = env_var("OUT_DIR");
     let crate_dir = env_var("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR");
     let workflows_dir = PathBuf::from(crate_dir).join("workflows");
     track_path(&workflows_dir);
@@ -55,7 +46,8 @@ fn main() {
             workflows,
         );
     }
-    let out_path = out_dir.join("workflows.yaml");
-    let out_file = std::fs::File::create(&out_path).unwrap();
-    serde_yaml::to_writer(out_file, &workflows_by_module).unwrap();
+    let out_path = PathBuf::from(out_dir).join("workflows.hex");
+    let result = bincode::serialize(&workflows_by_module).unwrap();
+    let hexed = smex::encode(&result);
+    std::fs::write(out_path, hexed).unwrap();
 }
diff --git a/crates/icepick/src/cli/mod.rs b/crates/icepick/src/cli/mod.rs
index f45b548..f029535 100644
--- a/crates/icepick/src/cli/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/icepick/src/cli/mod.rs
@@ -113,6 +113,11 @@ struct Config {
 // command name, invocable binary, operations
 type Commands<'a> = &'a [(String, String, Vec<Operation>)];
 
+fn default_workflows() -> HashMap<String, Vec<icepick_workflow::Workflow>> {
+    let workflows_hex = include_str!(concat!(env!("OUT_DIR"), "/workflows.hex"));
+    bincode::deserialize(&smex::decode(workflows_hex).unwrap()).unwrap()
+}
+
 pub fn do_cli_thing() {
     /* parse config file to get module names */
     let config_file = std::env::vars().find_map(|(k, v)| {
@@ -135,6 +140,13 @@ pub fn do_cli_thing() {
         workflows: Default::default(),
     });
 
+    let workflows = default_workflows();
+    for module in &mut config.modules {
+        if let Some(module_workflows) = workflows.get(&module.name) {
+            module.workflows.extend(module_workflows.iter().cloned());
+        }
+    }
+
     let workflows_file = std::env::vars().find_map(|(k, v)| {
         if k == "ICEPICK_WORKFLOWS_FILE" {
             return Some(v);
@@ -142,13 +154,14 @@ pub fn do_cli_thing() {
         None
     });
     let workflows_path = workflows_file.unwrap_or_else(|| "workflows.yaml".to_string());
-    let workflows_content = std::fs::read(&workflows_path).expect("can't read workflows from file");
-    let workflows: HashMap<String, Vec<icepick_workflow::Workflow>> =
-        serde_yaml::from_slice(&workflows_content).unwrap();
 
-    for module in &mut config.modules {
-        if let Some(module_workflows) = workflows.get(&module.name) {
-            module.workflows.extend(module_workflows.iter().cloned());
+    if let Ok(content) = std::fs::read(&workflows_path) {
+        let workflows: HashMap<String, Vec<icepick_workflow::Workflow>> =
+        serde_yaml::from_slice(&content).unwrap();
+        for module in &mut config.modules {
+            if let Some(module_workflows) = workflows.get(&module.name) {
+                module.workflows.extend(module_workflows.iter().cloned());
+            }
         }
     }