Build, Packaging, and CI/CD

Gens-Launcher relies on electron-builder to produce production-grade installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

---

1. Development Prerequisites

• Node.js: Version 20 LTS or 24 recommended.
• Package Manager: npm (version 10 or newer).
• Target OS Nuances:
  • Windows builds (.exe NSIS) can be generated natively on Windows or via Wine/Docker.
  • macOS builds (.dmg) require macOS or GitHub Actions runners (macos-latest).
  • Linux packages (.AppImage, .deb) build natively on Linux distributions.

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2. Local Build Scripts

The root package.json provides standard automation commands:

# Start the launcher in development mode
npm start

# Run unit tests (Node.js test runner)
npm test

# Build the Windows NSIS installer (.exe in dist/)
npm run dist:win

# Build Linux packages (.deb and .AppImage in dist/)
npm run dist:linux

# Build the macOS disk image (.dmg in dist/)
npx electron-builder --mac

# Compile all available targets
npm run dist:all

---

3. Packaging Configuration

The build object in package.json defines metadata and packaging rules:

{
  "build": {
    "appId": "com.gens.launcher",
    "productName": "Gens Launcher",
    "directories": {
      "output": "dist"
    },
    "win": {
      "target": ["nsis"],
      "icon": "assets/icon.ico"
    },
    "nsis": {
      "oneClick": false,
      "perMachine": false,
      "allowToChangeInstallationDirectory": true,
      "createDesktopShortcut": true
    },
    "linux": {
      "target": ["AppImage", "deb"],
      "category": "Game",
      "icon": "assets/icon-512.png"
    },
    "mac": {
      "target": ["dmg", "zip"],
      "icon": "assets/icon-512.png",
      "category": "public.app-category.games"
    }
  }
}

---

4. CI/CD and Automated APT Workflow (apt.yml)

When a new release tag is published on GitHub, .github/workflows/apt.yml handles repo deployment:

[ GitHub Release Event ]
            |
            v
 [ Download compiled .deb package ]
            |
            v
 [ Prepare apt-workspace/ staging area ]
   - Copy GPG public key (public.key)
   - Copy showcase website and compiled docs (website/*)
            |
            v
 [ Build Debian APT index ]
   - dpkg-scanpackages --multiversion . > Packages
   - gzip -k -f Packages
   - apt-ftparchive release . > Release
            |
            v
 [ GPG Cryptographic Signatures ]
   - gpg -abs -o Release.gpg Release
   - gpg --clearsign -o InRelease Release
            |
            v
 [ Deploy to GitHub Pages ]
   - Atomically published at williambossard.github.io/Gens-Launcher/

This workflow ensures Debian and Ubuntu users receive updates directly via apt upgrade.