diff --git a/docs/CHANGELOG.md b/docs/CHANGELOG.md
index 924d0c2..2d4dfec 100644
--- a/docs/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/docs/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,27 @@
 
 ---
 
+## V44 2026-03-21 01:30:00
+
+**Fix zlib chicken-and-egg: bootstrap host libz.so.1 into chroot before building**
+
+### Changes:
+- Updated `023a-chroot-build-all.sh`: Before entering the chroot, copies the host
+  system's `libz.so.1` into `$LFS/usr/lib/`. This breaks the circular dependency:
+  ld needs libz.so.1 → can't link without it → can't build zlib without linking.
+  The temporary copy lets ld work, so zlib's configure tests pass, and the real
+  zlib build (024a-zlib.sh) replaces the temporary copy with a proper one.
+
+### Plan deviation/changes:
+- None
+
+### What is missing/needs polish:
+- The host-copied libz.so.1 is a temporary hack. It gets replaced by the real
+  zlib build immediately. If the host doesn't have zlib, the user needs to
+  install it first (pacman -S zlib on Arch).
+
+---
+
 ## V43 2026-03-21 01:15:00
 
 **Add zlib build to chroot phase — ld needs libz.so.1 at runtime**
diff --git a/toolchain/scripts/023a-chroot-build-all.sh b/toolchain/scripts/023a-chroot-build-all.sh
index 792bca1..7252686 100644
--- a/toolchain/scripts/023a-chroot-build-all.sh
+++ b/toolchain/scripts/023a-chroot-build-all.sh
@@ -38,6 +38,30 @@ echo " DarkForge Linux — Chroot Build Phase (Chapter 7)"
 echo "============================================================"
 echo ""
 
+# --- Bootstrap libz.so.1 from host -------------------------------------------
+# Chicken-and-egg problem: the linker (ld) from binutils pass 2 was built with
+# zlib support and dynamically links against libz.so.1. But zlib isn't installed
+# in the chroot yet. Without libz.so.1, ld can't run, so nothing can link, so
+# we can't even build zlib properly. Fix: copy the host's libz into the chroot
+# temporarily. The real zlib build (024a-zlib.sh) will replace it.
+warn "Bootstrapping libz.so.1 from host into chroot..."
+HOST_LIBZ=$(find /usr/lib /usr/lib64 /lib /lib64 -name 'libz.so.1*' -type f 2>/dev/null | head -1)
+if [ -z "${HOST_LIBZ}" ]; then
+    # Try ldconfig cache
+    HOST_LIBZ=$(ldconfig -p 2>/dev/null | grep 'libz.so.1 ' | awk '{print $NF}' | head -1)
+fi
+if [ -n "${HOST_LIBZ}" ]; then
+    cp -Lv "${HOST_LIBZ}" "${LFS}/usr/lib/libz.so.1"
+    # Also create the .so symlink for the linker
+    ln -sfv libz.so.1 "${LFS}/usr/lib/libz.so"
+    ok "Copied host libz.so.1 → ${LFS}/usr/lib/libz.so.1"
+    ok "ld should now be able to link inside the chroot"
+else
+    warn "Could not find host libz.so.1 — zlib build in chroot may fail"
+    warn "Install zlib on the host: sudo pacman -S zlib"
+fi
+echo ""
+
 # Build a script that runs inside the chroot
 # We write it to a temp file inside $LFS so the chroot can see it
 cat > "${LFS}/tmp/chroot-build-runner.sh" << 'CHROOT_EOF'