diff --git a/contrib/build-linux/appimage/build.sh b/contrib/build-linux/appimage/build.sh
index d687a1928..cf5bd0775 100755
--- a/contrib/build-linux/appimage/build.sh
+++ b/contrib/build-linux/appimage/build.sh
@@ -50,6 +50,15 @@ fi
 # defined in the type2-runtime repo (patched with type2-runtime-reproducible-build.patch)
 "$CONTRIB_APPIMAGE/make_type2_runtime.sh" || fail "Error building type2-runtime."
 
+# if doing fresh clone, copy the runtime from original project to fresh clone
+if [ ! -z "$ELECBUILD_COMMIT" ] ; then
+    info "Copying type2-runtime to fresh clone..."
+    RUNTIME_SRC="$PROJECT_ROOT/contrib/build-linux/appimage/.cache/appimage/type2-runtime"
+    RUNTIME_DST="$FRESH_CLONE/contrib/build-linux/appimage/.cache/appimage/type2-runtime"
+    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$RUNTIME_DST")"
+    cp -r "$RUNTIME_SRC" "$(dirname "$RUNTIME_DST")/" || fail "Failed to copy runtime to fresh clone"
+fi
+
 DOCKER_RUN_FLAGS=""
 if sh -c ": >/dev/tty" >/dev/null 2>/dev/null; then
     info "/dev/tty is available and usable"
diff --git a/contrib/build-linux/appimage/make_type2_runtime.sh b/contrib/build-linux/appimage/make_type2_runtime.sh
index fdf751303..ad54728c1 100755
--- a/contrib/build-linux/appimage/make_type2_runtime.sh
+++ b/contrib/build-linux/appimage/make_type2_runtime.sh
@@ -14,23 +14,48 @@ TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO="https://github.com/AppImage/type2-runtime.git"
 . "$CONTRIB"/build_tools_util.sh
 
 
-TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR="$PROJECT_ROOT_OR_FRESHCLONE_ROOT/contrib/build-linux/appimage/.cache/appimage/type2-runtime"
-if [ -f "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/runtime-x86_64" ]; then
-    info "type2-runtime already built, skipping"
+# Use a shared cache location that persists across fresh clones
+# This is critical for reproducible builds with ELECBUILD_COMMIT
+TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR="$PROJECT_ROOT/contrib/build-linux/appimage/.cache/appimage/type2-runtime"
+if [ -f "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/runtime-x86_64" ] && [ -s "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/runtime-x86_64" ]; then
+    info "type2-runtime already built ($(du -h "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/runtime-x86_64" | cut -f1)), skipping"
     exit 0
 fi
+
+# If directory exists but runtime is missing or invalid, clean it up
+if [ -d "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR" ]; then
+    warn "type2-runtime directory exists but runtime is missing or invalid, cleaning up..."
+    rm -rf "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR"
+fi
+
 clone_or_update_repo "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO" "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_COMMIT" "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR"
 
 # Apply patch to make runtime build reproducible
 info "Applying type2-runtime patch..."
 cd "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR"
-git apply "$CONTRIB_APPIMAGE/patches/type2-runtime-reproducible-build.patch" || fail "Failed to apply runtime repo patch"
+# Check if patch can be applied (it will fail if already applied or incompatible)
+if git apply --check "$CONTRIB_APPIMAGE/patches/type2-runtime-reproducible-build.patch" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    git apply "$CONTRIB_APPIMAGE/patches/type2-runtime-reproducible-build.patch" || fail "Failed to apply runtime repo patch"
+else
+    warn "Patch already applied or cannot be applied, continuing..."
+fi
 
 info "building type2-runtime in build container..."
 cd "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/scripts/docker"
-env ARCH=x86_64 ./build-with-docker.sh
+env ARCH=x86_64 ./build-with-docker.sh || fail "Failed to build type2-runtime with docker"
+
+# Verify the runtime was created in the expected location
+if [ ! -f "./runtime-x86_64" ]; then
+    fail "Runtime binary was not created by docker build (expected at: $TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/scripts/docker/runtime-x86_64)"
+fi
+
 mv "./runtime-x86_64" "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/"
 
+# Verify runtime is valid (not empty)
+if [ ! -s "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/runtime-x86_64" ]; then
+    fail "Runtime binary is empty or invalid"
+fi
+
 # clean up the empty created 'out' dir to prevent permission issues
 rm -rf "$TYPE2_RUNTIME_REPO_DIR/out"