# Windows Release > Build, verify, and publish the Windows desktop build (NSIS installer + latest.yml) to the murage-releases repo. Use when cutting a release, shipping a new version to Windows users, or when a Windows user reports they are stuck on an old version. Windows only — does not cover the macOS dmg/notarization flow. - Skill: `ferroxlabs/windows-release` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ferroxlabs/windows-release` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ferroxlabs/windows-release/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: FerroxLabs (https://skillmd.com/u/ferroxlabs) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ferroxlabs/windows-release --- # Windows release Ships `Murage--setup.exe` and its update feed to [FerroxLabs/murage-releases](https://github.com/FerroxLabs/murage-releases). **Scope: Windows only.** The macOS build is a separate flow (dmg + notarytool + staple) that must run on a Mac. This skill never touches mac artifacts — but see [Every release ships both](#every-release-ships-both) before you finish. ## Preconditions - **Run on Windows.** NSIS packaging from macOS needs Wine; don't. - **Node 24+** (`package.json` `engines`). Node 23 builds fine but pnpm warns on every step and CI runs 24 — don't debug a runtime oddity on the wrong major. - **pnpm** via `corepack pnpm`. If `corepack enable` fails with EPERM (no admin), drop a `pnpm.cmd` shim containing `@echo off` / `corepack pnpm %*` somewhere on PATH — `package:win` chains `pnpm build && …` and needs bare `pnpm` to resolve. ## 1. Version Bump `version` in `package.json`. It must match the tag on the GitHub release you upload to, and it becomes the version electron-updater compares against. ## 2. Build ```powershell pnpm install pnpm typecheck pnpm package:win ``` `package:win` deliberately omits `build:speech` — the dictation helper is a signed macOS Swift binary and has no Windows counterpart. Output in `release/`: | File | Purpose | |---|---| | `Murage--setup.exe` | the installer | | `latest.yml` | **the update feed** — see step 4 | | `Murage--setup.exe.blockmap` | differential updates | | `Murage--x64.zip` | portable, not used by the updater | ## 3. Verify before uploading Three things silently produce a broken app if wrong. Check all three: ```powershell Test-Path release\win-unpacked\resources\server\index.js # harness server Test-Path release\win-unpacked\resources\ui\index.html # built UI Get-Content release\win-unpacked\resources\app-update.yml # feed config ``` - Missing `server/index.js` → `utilityProcess.fork` fails → the 🔥 "Couldn't start the bot server" page. - Missing `ui/index.html` → server has nothing to serve → black window. - `app-update.yml` must point at `FerroxLabs/murage-releases` and, while the build is unsigned, **must not contain `publisherName`** — electron-updater would reject every update as untrusted. Then smoke-test the installer itself. Run it, and confirm: 1. It installs per-user with no UAC prompt and launches. 2. The chat window renders (not the error page). Server logs land in `%APPDATA%\Murage\logs\server.log`. 3. The model picker lists at least one provider — this exercises the `.cmd`-shim resolution in `server/procs.ts`, which only ever runs for real on Windows. 4. No update popup appears on launch. Background check failures are silent by design; a popup here means that regressed. ## 4. Publish Upload to the **same tag** as the macOS release for that version, so one release carries both platforms. ```powershell Copy-Item release/Murage--setup.exe release/Murage-setup.exe gh release upload v --repo FerroxLabs/murage-releases ` release/Murage--setup.exe ` release/Murage-setup.exe ` release/Murage--setup.exe.blockmap ` release/latest.yml ``` Prefer the repository's **Release** workflow, which builds every platform from one pinned commit, refuses an incomplete asset set, and proves the uploaded bytes match what it staged. This manual path is for emergencies only, and never replaces the bytes of an already-published asset. Both names are required, for different consumers: - **`Murage--setup.exe`** is what `latest.yml` references by name and sha512. The auto-updater downloads exactly this. - **`Murage-setup.exe`** is a byte-identical copy that gives the README's `/releases/latest/download/Murage-setup.exe` button a stable URL. This mirrors `Murage.dmg` sitting beside `Murage-.dmg`. ### latest.yml is not optional Without it every installed Windows app 404s on check and stays on its version forever. It is generated by `package:win` even under `--publish never`. **Never hand-edit it or carry one forward from a previous build.** It pins the installer's sha512; a mismatch makes the updater download and then reject the update, which looks like "updates silently do nothing". ## Every release ships both A version that exists on macOS but not on this release is a Windows user stuck on old code with no signal that anything is wrong — the updater reports "up to date" because `latest.yml` still describes the older build. So: **whenever a new version goes out, this flow runs too.** If Windows can't ship for some reason, don't publish the mac-only release under a new version tag either — or accept that Windows is knowingly frozen and say so in the release notes. Because the two builds must run on two machines, the tag is the join point: cut the release, attach mac artifacts from the Mac, attach Windows artifacts from here. ## Known: the build is unsigned No certificate is configured, so SmartScreen shows "unknown publisher" and users click **More info → Run anyway**. The README documents this. Auto-update still works *because* it's unsigned (no `publisherName` to verify against). If signing is added later, it goes under `win.signtoolOptions` or `win.azureSignOptions` in `electron-builder.yml` — electron-builder 26 nests these; there is no top-level `win.certificateFile`. Once signed, keep the certificate subject stable forever, or list both old and new in `publisherName`; changing it strands every already-installed user.