diff --git a/.cargo/config.toml b/.cargo/config.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac08325
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cargo/config.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+[target.x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu]
+linker = "clang"
+rustflags = ["-C", "link-arg=-fuse-ld=lld"]
+
+[target.aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu]
+linker = "clang"
+rustflags = ["-C", "link-arg=-fuse-ld=lld"]
diff --git a/flake-modules/devshell/default.nix b/flake-modules/devshell/default.nix
index 8805950..187f30f 100644
--- a/flake-modules/devshell/default.nix
+++ b/flake-modules/devshell/default.nix
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ localFlake: { ... }: {
         # dependencies for local rust builds
         pkg-config
         openssl
-        gcc
+        clang lld # faster linking + gcc for some crates
       ];
 
       motd = "\n  Welcome to the {2}picturepro{reset} dev shell. Run {1}menu{reset} for commands.\n";
diff --git a/flake-modules/rust-builds/leptos.nix b/flake-modules/rust-builds/leptos.nix
index 76ab037..270c8a6 100644
--- a/flake-modules/rust-builds/leptos.nix
+++ b/flake-modules/rust-builds/leptos.nix
@@ -3,20 +3,22 @@
     inherit (rust-workspace.workspace-base-args) src;
     inherit (rust-toolchain) craneLib;
 
+    # get the leptos options from the Cargo.toml
     workspace-cargo-manifest = builtins.fromTOML (builtins.readFile ../../Cargo.toml);
     leptos-options = builtins.elemAt workspace-cargo-manifest.workspace.metadata.leptos 0;
 
+    # get the style node_modules for the frontend
     js2nix = pkgs.callPackage (pkgs.fetchgit {
       url = "https://github.com/canva-public/js2nix";
       hash = "sha256-Bmv0ERVeb6vjYzy4MuCDgSiz9fSm/Bhg+Xk3AxPisBw=";
     }) { };
     style-root = ../../crates/site-app/style/tailwind;
-
     style-node-env = (js2nix {
       package-json = style-root + "/package.json";
       yarn-lock = style-root + "/yarn.lock";
     }).nodeModules;
 
+    # options for both the frontend and server builds
     common-args = {
       inherit src;
       pname = leptos-options.bin-package;
@@ -24,14 +26,14 @@
 
       doCheck = false;
 
-      nativeBuildInputs = [
-        pkgs.pkg-config
-        pkgs.binaryen # provides wasm-opt for cargo-leptos
-      ] ++ pkgs.lib.optionals (system == "x86_64-linux") [
+      nativeBuildInputs = (with pkgs; [
+        pkg-config
+        binaryen # provides wasm-opt for cargo-leptos
+        clang lld
+      ]) ++ pkgs.lib.optionals (system == "x86_64-linux") [
         pkgs.nasm # wasm compiler only for x86_64-linux
       ];
-      buildInputs = [
-      ];
+      buildInputs = [ ];
     };
       # build the deps for the frontend bundle, and export the target folder
       site-frontend-deps = craneLib.mkCargoDerivation (common-args // {
@@ -78,7 +80,7 @@
             ./crates/site-app/style/tailwind/node_modules
         '';
         
-        # enable hash_files again
+        # enable hash_files again, so we generate `hash.txt`
         buildPhaseCargoCommand = ''
           LEPTOS_HASH_FILES=true cargo leptos build --release -vvv
         '';
diff --git a/flake-modules/rust-builds/workspace.nix b/flake-modules/rust-builds/workspace.nix
index 7125189..cea15ef 100644
--- a/flake-modules/rust-builds/workspace.nix
+++ b/flake-modules/rust-builds/workspace.nix
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 
       # inputs assumed to be relevant for all crates
       nativeBuildInputs = with pkgs; [
-        pkg-config
+        pkg-config clang lld
       ];
       buildInputs = [ ];
     };