# Distributing Connect Desk

The installers live in `dist/` after a build:

| File | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `Connect Desk Setup 1.9.0.exe` | Windows 10/11 (x64) | NSIS installer — runs on any normal Intel/AMD PC, and on Windows-on-ARM via emulation |
| `Connect Desk-1.9.0-arm64.dmg` | macOS (Apple Silicon) | Drag-to-Applications DMG |
| `Connect Desk-1.9.0.dmg` | macOS (Intel) | Drag-to-Applications DMG |

Rebuild any time:

```sh
npm run dist            # Mac arm64 + Intel DMGs, and Windows x64 NSIS
npm run dist:mac        # both Mac DMGs
npm run dist:win        # Windows x64 installer (always --x64; this Mac is Apple Silicon)
```

## What recipients do

**Windows:** run `Connect Desk Setup 1.9.0.exe`, pick an install folder, finish. A desktop and
Start-menu shortcut named "Connect Desk" are created; the app lives in the chosen folder as
`Connect Desk.exe`.

**macOS:** open the DMG, drag **Connect Desk** into **Applications**, launch from there.

Each installation starts empty: the recipient adds their accounts with **+ Add account** and signs in
with their own Connect credentials. Nothing from your machine — no accounts, no sessions, no
cookies — is inside the installer; only the app code ships.

## The unsigned-app warnings (tell recipients this up front)

These builds are not code-signed — there is no paid Apple Developer ID or Windows signing
certificate behind them — so both OSes show a one-time scare prompt:

- **Windows SmartScreen**: "Windows protected your PC" → click **More info** → **Run anyway**.
- **macOS Gatekeeper**: "cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified" →
  **right-click the app → Open → Open**. Once is enough.

This is expected for unsigned software and does not indicate a problem with the app. If you later
want prompt-free installs, that requires purchasing certificates: an Apple Developer ID
(~$99/year, plus notarization) and a Windows code-signing certificate — the config is ready for
both; only the certificates are missing.

## Architecture cheat sheet

- The build machine's CPU decides the default target. This Mac is Apple Silicon, so a plain
  `--win nsis` build silently produced an **arm64** exe that ordinary PCs cannot run — always pass
  `--x64` for Windows.
- For an Intel-Mac DMG: `npx electron-builder --mac dmg --x64`. For one DMG that runs on both:
  `--universal` (roughly doubles the file size).