diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 7059c3b65..fa32f5821 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ description = "Terminal workspace (WIP)"
 license = "MIT"
 repository = "https://github.com/zellij-org/zellij"
 
-include = ["target/*.wasm"]
+[features]
+publish = []
 
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
 
diff --git a/publish.sh b/publish.sh
index e84c0c0e7..d6e22da8b 100755
--- a/publish.sh
+++ b/publish.sh
@@ -20,4 +20,4 @@ wasm-opt -O target/wasm32-wasi/release/status-bar.wasm -o assets/plugins/status-
 wasm-opt -O target/wasm32-wasi/release/strider.wasm -o assets/plugins/strider.wasm
 wasm-opt -O target/wasm32-wasi/release/tab-bar.wasm -o assets/plugins/tab-bar.wasm
 echo "Publishing zellij (6/$total)..."
-cargo publish $@
+cargo publish --features publish $@
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index c4123e556..716acb91c 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -31,13 +31,23 @@ pub fn main() {
     // First run installation of default plugins & layouts
     let project_dirs = ProjectDirs::from("org", "Zellij Contributors", "Zellij").unwrap();
     let data_dir = project_dirs.data_dir();
-    let assets = asset_map! {
-        "target/status-bar.wasm" => "plugins/status-bar.wasm",
-        "target/tab-bar.wasm" => "plugins/tab-bar.wasm",
-        "target/strider.wasm" => "plugins/strider.wasm",
+    let mut assets = asset_map! {
         "assets/layouts/default.yaml" => "layouts/default.yaml",
         "assets/layouts/strider.yaml" => "layouts/strider.yaml",
     };
+    // FIXME: This is a hideous hack and I hate it (a lot)
+    #[cfg(not(feature = "publish"))]
+    assets.extend(asset_map! {
+        "target/status-bar.wasm" => "plugins/status-bar.wasm",
+        "target/tab-bar.wasm" => "plugins/tab-bar.wasm",
+        "target/strider.wasm" => "plugins/strider.wasm",
+    });
+    #[cfg(feature = "publish")]
+    assets.extend(asset_map! {
+        "assets/plugins/status-bar.wasm" => "plugins/status-bar.wasm",
+        "assets/plugins/tab-bar.wasm" => "plugins/tab-bar.wasm",
+        "assets/plugins/strider.wasm" => "plugins/strider.wasm",
+    });
 
     for (path, bytes) in assets {
         let path = data_dir.join(path);