Phase 15: Distribution and Releases

This phase is still ahead.

Ships

v0.15.0

Lesson

Release engineering, code signing and supply-chain hygiene

Depends on

Phase 14

• Release workflow on v* tags: export every platform in CI, embed the version, package (zip for Windows, dmg or zip for macOS, tar.gz for Linux) and write SHA-256 checksums.
• Owner Decide on macOS signing and notarization (the Apple Developer Program costs money) and Windows code signing, or choose to ship unsigned with clear instructions.
• If signing was approved, sign and notarize in CI using secrets.
• Pinned export templates and recorded build metadata for every release.

• Publish to GitHub Releases and Codeberg releases, and self-host the files on lorehallow.com with checksums (copied to the host by hand, like every deploy).
• Each release updates web/data/releases.json, and the next make deploy-web publishes it, so /downloads shows the latest build, checksums and older versions.
• /downloads/latest.json manifest for the client update check.
• /patch-notes built from docs/releases/.

• The client checks latest.json at startup and shows “New version available” with a download link, mandatory below the server’s minimum version.
• Decision Launcher or auto-updater for v1, or the update prompt alone (the prompt alone is recommended for v1).

• Owner Decide whether to also list Lorehallow on itch.io.
• If yes, upload with butler from the release workflow.

• Install guides per platform on the website (including any unsigned-app warnings) and final system requirements.

• Decision Godot web export: a single-threaded build (no SharedArrayBuffer, so no cross-origin isolation headers) of the same client, connecting over wss://, with no rewrite of game code.
• The release workflow exports the web build, and lorehallow.com/play serves it with correct MIME types, compression and caching.
• A browser smoke test in CI loads the web build headless and connects to a local server.

• docs/walkthroughs/phase-15-distribution.md: the release pipeline, checksums, signing and update checks.
• Devlog draft, release notes and tag v0.15.0 through the new pipeline.

• Pushing a release tag produces builds for all three platforms, publishes them everywhere and updates /downloads with no manual steps.
• Owner Fresh installs from the downloads page work on Windows, macOS and Linux (owner or friends verify).
• An outdated client is told to update.
• The web build at lorehallow.com/play connects and plays like the desktop client.