diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-fonts.yml b/.github/workflows/release-fonts.yml
index 0fcf9874..86bf5fb2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-fonts.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-fonts.yml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "metadata=$(python3 -c 'from cpfont_version import FONTS_MANIFEST_VERSION; print(FONTS_MANIFEST_VERSION)')" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
       - name: Build SD card fonts
-        run: python3 lib/EpdFont/scripts/build-sd-fonts.py --clean
+        run: python3 lib/EpdFont/scripts/build-sd-fonts.py --clean --verbose -j 1
 
       - name: Flatten output for release assets
         run: |
diff --git a/lib/EpdFont/scripts/build-sd-fonts.py b/lib/EpdFont/scripts/build-sd-fonts.py
index 9f29c00d..8f981fbe 100755
--- a/lib/EpdFont/scripts/build-sd-fonts.py
+++ b/lib/EpdFont/scripts/build-sd-fonts.py
@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@ Usage:
 
     # Generate only specific families
     python3 build-sd-fonts.py --only Literata,IBMPlexMono
+
+    # Stream child process output for debugging
+    python3 build-sd-fonts.py --verbose
+
+    # Override the per-family timeout (default: 600s)
+    python3 build-sd-fonts.py --timeout 1200
 """
 
 import argparse
@@ -25,6 +31,8 @@ import shutil
 import subprocess
 import sys
 import tempfile
+import threading
+import time
 import urllib.request
 from concurrent.futures import ProcessPoolExecutor, as_completed
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -141,7 +149,16 @@ def resolve_font_path(style_spec: dict, family_name: str, style_name: str) -> Pa
     return resolved
 
 
-def build_family(family: dict, output_base: Path) -> tuple[str, bool, str]:
+def _stream_pipe(pipe, prefix: str, dest: list[str]):
+    """Read lines from a pipe, print with prefix, and accumulate into dest."""
+    for line in pipe:
+        dest.append(line)
+        print(f"  [{prefix}] {line}", end="", flush=True)
+
+
+def build_family(
+    family: dict, output_base: Path, verbose: bool = False, timeout: int = 600
+) -> tuple[str, bool, str]:
     """Build a single font family. Returns (name, success, message)."""
     name = family["name"]
     output_dir = output_base / name
@@ -185,18 +202,52 @@ def build_family(family: dict, output_base: Path) -> tuple[str, bool, str]:
         cmd.append("--force-autohint")
 
     # Run fontconvert_sdcard.py
+    start = time.monotonic()
     try:
-        result = subprocess.run(
-            cmd,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            timeout=600,
-        )
-        if result.returncode != 0:
-            return name, False, result.stderr.strip() or f"Exit code {result.returncode}"
-        return name, True, ""
-    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-        return name, False, "Timed out after 600s"
+        if verbose:
+            proc = subprocess.Popen(
+                cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE, text=True
+            )
+            stdout_lines: list[str] = []
+            stderr_lines: list[str] = []
+            t_out = threading.Thread(
+                target=_stream_pipe, args=(proc.stdout, name, stdout_lines)
+            )
+            t_err = threading.Thread(
+                target=_stream_pipe, args=(proc.stderr, f"{name}/err", stderr_lines)
+            )
+            t_out.start()
+            t_err.start()
+            try:
+                proc.wait(timeout=timeout)
+            except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+                proc.kill()
+                proc.wait()
+                elapsed = time.monotonic() - start
+                return name, False, f"Timed out after {elapsed:.0f}s"
+            finally:
+                t_out.join()
+                t_err.join()
+
+            if proc.returncode != 0:
+                err = "".join(stderr_lines).strip()
+                return name, False, err or f"Exit code {proc.returncode}"
+            return name, True, ""
+        else:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                cmd, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=timeout,
+            )
+            if result.returncode != 0:
+                return name, False, result.stderr.strip() or f"Exit code {result.returncode}"
+            return name, True, ""
+    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired as e:
+        elapsed = time.monotonic() - start
+        tail = ""
+        captured = getattr(e, "stderr", None) or getattr(e, "stdout", None)
+        if captured:
+            lines = captured.strip().splitlines()
+            tail = "\n    Last output:\n" + "\n".join(f"    | {l}" for l in lines[-20:])
+        return name, False, f"Timed out after {elapsed:.0f}s{tail}"
     except Exception as e:
         return name, False, str(e)
 
@@ -252,6 +303,14 @@ def main():
         help="Max parallel jobs (default: number of families)"
     )
     parser.add_argument("--clean", action="store_true", help="Clean output directory before building")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--verbose", "-v", action="store_true",
+        help="Stream child process output in real time (useful for debugging timeouts)"
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--timeout", type=int, default=600,
+        help="Per-family timeout in seconds (default: 600)"
+    )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     if args.manifest and not args.base_url:
@@ -303,12 +362,14 @@ def main():
 
     # Build phase (parallel)
     max_workers = args.jobs or len(families)
-    print(f"\n=== Building {len(families)} families ({max_workers} parallel jobs) ===\n")
+    verbose = args.verbose
+    timeout = args.timeout
+    print(f"\n=== Building {len(families)} families ({max_workers} parallel jobs, timeout {timeout}s) ===\n")
 
     failed = []
     with ProcessPoolExecutor(max_workers=max_workers) as executor:
         futures = {
-            executor.submit(build_family, family, output_base): family["name"]
+            executor.submit(build_family, family, output_base, verbose, timeout): family["name"]
             for family in families
         }
         for future in as_completed(futures):