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diff --git a/packaging/win/README.md b/packaging/win/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d02adca --- /dev/null +++ b/packaging/win/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,90 @@ +# Windows packaging (W4) + +A single per-user installer — `MeshBay-Setup-<version>.exe` — that lays down the +Electron **client** and the Python **node** daemon. No hub (server-only, stays +Linux). `meshbay-common` rides along inside the node runtime. + +## What the installer contains + +``` +%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\meshbay-client\ +├─ MeshBay.exe Electron client +├─ resources\ +│ ├─ app.asar src/ + ui/ (the interface ships in the package) +│ └─ node-runtime\ +│ ├─ meshbay-node.exe frozen daemon (PyInstaller onedir) +│ ├─ _internal\ … its Python + deps (aiortc, av, aioquic, …) +│ └─ ffmpeg.exe, ffprobe.exe only if built with -FfmpegDir +└─ Uninstall MeshBay.exe +``` + +Runtime data stays where the node already puts it: `%LOCALAPPDATA%\meshbay\` +(`node.toml`, `keystore.enc`, `unlock.key`, `data\`). The installer never writes +there and the uninstaller never deletes it — installers place files, not secrets. + +## Build + +On a Windows machine with **Node ≥ 22**, **Python ≥ 3.12** (`py -3.12`) and +**git**: + +```powershell +cd packages\meshbay-client +npm run dist:win +``` + +That runs [`build-win.ps1`](build-win.ps1): + +| Step | | +|---|---| +| 1 | Node ≥ 22 check | +| 2 | `npm ci` + download Electron's Chromium | +| 3 | bump Electron to the latest release (Chromium CVE policy; `-NoElectronBump` to skip) | +| 4 | `npm run sync-ui` — copy the interface from `meshbay-hub/.../static` | +| 5 | [`build-node-runtime.ps1`](build-node-runtime.ps1) — PyInstaller freeze → `packages/meshbay-client/node-runtime/` | +| 6 | `electron-builder --win nsis` → `packages/meshbay-client/dist/MeshBay-Setup-<version>.exe` | + +### ffmpeg + +Not bundled by default — the node resolves `ffmpeg`/`ffprobe` from `PATH` at +startup, and video streaming needs them. To make the installer self-contained: + +```powershell +npm run dist:win -- -FfmpegDir "C:\path\to\ffmpeg\bin" +# or: $env:MESHBAY_FFMPEG_DIR = "C:\path\to\ffmpeg\bin"; npm run dist:win +``` + +They are copied beside `meshbay-node.exe`, which is on the daemon's search path. + +### Iterating + +```powershell +# rebuild only the installer, reuse an existing node-runtime\ +powershell -File ..\..\packaging\win\build-win.ps1 -SkipNodeRuntime + +# build just the frozen daemon, into an existing venv, keep it for next time +powershell -File ..\..\packaging\win\build-node-runtime.ps1 -Python C:\path\python.exe -KeepBuildVenv +``` + +## Why PyInstaller and not the python-embed zip + +The frozen `meshbay-node.exe` is a genuine relocatable single binary. It is what +the client spawns (`findNodeBinary` in `src/main.js`) and what the W3 autostart +launcher points at (`meshbay_node.platform._node_exe`). The python.org +embeddable zip would need pip to make a `meshbay-node.exe` wrapper, and that +wrapper bakes in an **absolute** interpreter path — it stops working the moment +the tree is installed somewhere other than where it was built. + +## Dependency surface that needs watching + +`meshbay-node.spec` pulls the awkward packages in whole (`collect_all`) because +they have C/Rust extensions or do dynamic imports: `aiortc`, `av` (bundles +FFmpeg DLLs), `aioquic`, `pydantic_core`, `uvicorn`, `watchdog`, `guessit`, +`blake3`, `zstandard`, `msgpack`. If a frozen run raises `ModuleNotFoundError`, +add the package to `COLLECT_ALL` / `HIDDEN` / `COPY_META` in the spec — that is +the expected way the list grows. + +## Not done + +- **Authenticode signing** — Phase 13.9. Unsigned installer triggers SmartScreen. +- **CI** — no Windows runner builds this yet (Phase 18.3). Build is manual. +- **Delta updates / auto-update** — `electron-updater` is not wired. |