Connect-Desk-Project/DISTRIBUTION.md

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# 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).