diff --git a/common/src/lib.rs b/common/src/lib.rs
index da1eed9f..04c1dd4c 100644
--- a/common/src/lib.rs
+++ b/common/src/lib.rs
@@ -188,7 +188,9 @@ pub fn default_applications() -> HashMap<String, ApplicationAttributes> {
     let flmping_cmd = "${FLAME_HOME}/bin/flmping-service".to_string();
     let uv_cmd = "${FLAME_HOME}/bin/uv".to_string();
     let flmping_url = "file://${FLAME_HOME}/bin/flmping-service".to_string();
-    let flamepy_sdk_path = "file://${FLAME_HOME}/sdk/python".to_string();
+    // Use pre-built wheel from wheels directory to avoid rebuild on every run
+    // The wheel is built during installation via "flmadm install"
+    let flamepy_wheels_dir = "${FLAME_HOME}/wheels".to_string();
 
     HashMap::from([
         (
@@ -227,10 +229,12 @@ pub fn default_applications() -> HashMap<String, ApplicationAttributes> {
                 command: Some(uv_cmd),
                 arguments: vec![
                     "run".to_string(),
+                    "--find-links".to_string(),
+                    flamepy_wheels_dir,
                     "--with".to_string(),
                     "pip".to_string(),
                     "--with".to_string(),
-                    format!("flamepy @ {}", flamepy_sdk_path),
+                    "flamepy".to_string(),
                     "python".to_string(),
                     "-m".to_string(),
                     "flamepy.runner.runpy".to_string(),
diff --git a/flmadm/src/managers/installation.rs b/flmadm/src/managers/installation.rs
index 9482f8c1..ef721fd9 100644
--- a/flmadm/src/managers/installation.rs
+++ b/flmadm/src/managers/installation.rs
@@ -193,21 +193,72 @@ impl InstallationManager {
         }
 
         // Copy SDK source to the installation directory, excluding development artifacts
-        // uv will use this directly with --with "flamepy @ file://..."
         self.copy_sdk_excluding_artifacts(&sdk_src, &paths.sdk_python)
             .context("Failed to copy SDK to installation directory")?;
 
-        println!("✓ Copied Python SDK to: {}", paths.sdk_python.display());
+        println!("  ✓ Copied Python SDK to: {}", paths.sdk_python.display());
 
-        // Create a note in the sdk_python directory for reference
-        let readme_path = paths.sdk_python.join("README.txt");
-        std::fs::write(
-            &readme_path,
-            "Python SDK source copied to this directory.\n\
-             Applications use 'uv run --with \"flamepy @ file://...\"' to access it.\n\
-             No separate installation required.\n",
-        )
-        .ok(); // Ignore errors for this informational file
+        // Build wheel for faster runtime loading
+        // uv always rebuilds local directory dependencies, but wheel files are cached
+        self.build_python_wheel(paths)?;
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Build Python wheel from SDK source and pre-cache dependencies
+    fn build_python_wheel(&self, paths: &InstallationPaths) -> Result<()> {
+        println!("  📦 Building Python wheel...");
+
+        // Create wheels directory
+        fs::create_dir_all(&paths.wheels).context("Failed to create wheels directory")?;
+
+        // Find uv binary
+        let uv_path = paths.bin.join("uv");
+        if !uv_path.exists() {
+            println!("  ⚠️  uv not found, skipping wheel build (will build at runtime)");
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+
+        // Build wheel using uv
+        let output = std::process::Command::new(&uv_path)
+            .arg("build")
+            .arg("--wheel")
+            .arg("--out-dir")
+            .arg(&paths.wheels)
+            .arg(&paths.sdk_python)
+            .output()
+            .context("Failed to execute uv build")?;
+
+        if !output.status.success() {
+            let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+            anyhow::bail!("Failed to build wheel: {}", stderr);
+        }
+
+        println!("  ✓ Built wheel to: {}", paths.wheels.display());
+
+        // Pre-cache dependencies by downloading them to the wheels directory
+        // This way "uv run --find-links <wheels>" can use cached packages
+        println!("  📥 Downloading dependencies...");
+
+        let output = std::process::Command::new(&uv_path)
+            .arg("pip")
+            .arg("download")
+            .arg("--dest")
+            .arg(&paths.wheels)
+            .arg(&paths.sdk_python)
+            .output()
+            .context("Failed to execute uv pip download")?;
+
+        if !output.status.success() {
+            let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+            // Don't fail installation if download fails (might be offline)
+            println!(
+                "  ⚠️  Failed to download dependencies (will fetch at runtime): {}",
+                stderr.lines().next().unwrap_or(&stderr)
+            );
+        } else {
+            println!("  ✓ Downloaded dependencies to: {}", paths.wheels.display());
+        }
 
         Ok(())
     }
@@ -402,6 +453,12 @@ impl InstallationManager {
             println!("  ✓ Removed Python SDK");
         }
 
+        // Remove wheels
+        if paths.wheels.exists() {
+            fs::remove_dir_all(&paths.wheels).context("Failed to remove wheels directory")?;
+            println!("  ✓ Removed wheels");
+        }
+
         // Remove migrations
         if paths.migrations.exists() {
             fs::remove_dir_all(&paths.migrations)
diff --git a/flmadm/src/types.rs b/flmadm/src/types.rs
index dc068f93..a592c1d9 100644
--- a/flmadm/src/types.rs
+++ b/flmadm/src/types.rs
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ pub struct InstallationPaths {
     pub prefix: PathBuf,
     pub bin: PathBuf,
     pub sdk_python: PathBuf,
+    pub wheels: PathBuf,
     pub work: PathBuf,
     pub logs: PathBuf,
     pub conf: PathBuf,
@@ -108,6 +109,7 @@ impl InstallationPaths {
         Self {
             bin: prefix.join("bin"),
             sdk_python: prefix.join("sdk/python"),
+            wheels: prefix.join("wheels"),
             work: prefix.join("work"),
             logs: prefix.join("logs"),
             conf: prefix.join("conf"),