Versionless installer asset names, stable latest-download README links

- DEVMODE removed; FASTAPI_VUE=MEDIAHIVE is set at entrypoints and
  fastapi_vue.env drives dev-mode checks
- CLI roots now reach the server via fastapi-vue's env(Config) teleport
  (mediahive.config.config) instead of MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS
- Legacy media_folder config field and migration removed
- mediahive.* logger level set via log_config (DEBUG in dev, INFO in prod)
  in both server.run() and winmain's patched uvicorn config

.gitea/workflows/release.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+name: release
+
+on:
+  push:
+    tags:
+      - "v*"
+
+# Runner host prerequisites: git, uv, node/npm, .NET SDK.
+jobs:
+  gui-build:
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - os: macos
+            shell: bash
+          - os: windows
+            shell: cmd
+          - os: linux
+            shell: bash
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    steps:
+      # Plain git clone: full history so setuptools_scm sees tags, and both
+      # shells work. Windows uses cmd: bash resolves to WSL (refuses SYSTEM
+      # accounts) and powershell hits the script execution policy under SYSTEM.
+      - name: Checkout
+        shell: ${{ matrix.shell }}
+        run: |
+          git clone "${{ gitea.server_url }}/${{ gitea.repository }}.git" .
+          git checkout -f "${{ gitea.sha }}"
+
+      - name: Build GUI app and dist packages
+        shell: ${{ matrix.shell }}
+        run: uv run --extra gui scripts/guibuild.py
+
+      # Every platform converges on the one release for the tag; release.py
+      # reuses an existing release and skips already-uploaded assets.
+      # Only the linux job publishes the wheel/sdist (identical across platforms).
+      - name: Create Gitea release and upload assets
+        if: matrix.os == 'linux'
+        shell: ${{ matrix.shell }}
+        env:
+          GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITEA_TOKEN }}
+        run: uv run scripts/release.py
+
+      # Wheel/sdist are platform-independent; the linux job also pushes them
+      # to PyPI. Token is the PYPI_TOKEN repository secret.
+      - name: Publish to PyPI
+        if: matrix.os == 'linux'
+        shell: ${{ matrix.shell }}
+        env:
+          UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.PYPI_TOKEN }}
+        run: uv publish
+
+      - name: Attach platform artifact to the Gitea release
+        if: matrix.os != 'linux'
+        shell: ${{ matrix.shell }}
+        env:
+          GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITEA_TOKEN }}
+        run: uv run scripts/release.py --no-dist

.gitignore

@@ -19,3 +19,4 @@ package-lock.json
 # Dotfiles
 .*
 !.gitignore
+!.gitea/

README.md

@@ -4,12 +4,24 @@
 
 Netflix style browsing of your local media archive. Supports keyboard, mouse and gamepad navigation. Uses your favorite movie player.
 
-**[Windows and Mac portable ZIP downloads](https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive/releases)**
+## Downloads
 
-## Getting Started
+- **Windows**: [Installer](https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive/releases/download/latest/MediaHive-win64-setup.exe) · [Portable ZIP](https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive/releases/download/latest/MediaHive-win64-portable.zip)
+- **macOS**: [Installer](https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive/releases/download/latest/MediaHive-macos.pkg)
+- **Linux**: [AppImage](https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive/releases/download/latest/MediaHive-linux.AppImage)
 
-- Windows and macOS: Download the portable ZIP from the releases page, extract it anywhere, and run `MediaHive`.
-- Linux and other platforms: Install [UV](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/) and run directly with `uvx --from mediahive[gui] mediahive`.
+### Linux
+
+```
+wget https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive/releases/download/latest/MediaHive-linux.AppImage
+chmod +x MediaHive-linux.AppImage && ./MediaHive-linux.AppImage
+```
+
+You may also run without installing via
+
+```
+uvx --from mediahive[gui] mediahive
+```
 
 ## What It Does
 
@@ -19,7 +31,7 @@ Netflix style browsing of your local media archive. Supports keyboard, mouse and
 - Remembers per-episode playback positions and offers series continue points
 - Hand off playback to your preferred system player
 
-Windows and macOS builds are currently portable-only (no installer). On first startup, the app asks for your media folder, which you can later change using the in-app folder icon.
+On first startup, the app asks for your media folder, which you can later change using the in-app folder icon.
 
 Note that `.mediahive` folder is created in your media folder to hold all the metadata and preview clips, avoiding the lengthy processing that you will see on initial startup.
 

docs/API.md

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ All media paths are scoped to a **root**, identified by a friendly `root_id`
 - `GET /api/assets/{root_id}/{asset_type}/{asset_path:path}` is constrained to `<root>/.mediahive/{asset_type}` where `asset_type` is one of `movies`, `series`, `people`.
 - `GET /api/meta/{root_id}/{meta_key}` supports metadata keys currently limited to `playback-state` and `scanignore`.
 - `GET /api/player/status` returns `{ "remote": true|false }`.
-- Roots may also be provided at startup via the `MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS` environment variable (JSON dict of name → path), which overrides the persisted configuration.
+- Roots may also be provided at startup via CLI arguments (`mediahive /path/to/media ...`), which are passed to the server through fastapi-vue's env config (`mediahive.config.config`) and override the persisted configuration.
 - Assumed playback: after `POST /api/play/{root_id}` the launched item is assumed to be playing while the frontend reports no input activity. On the next `POST /api/activity` the guessed position (`resume base + elapsed`, capped at the TMDb runtime) is written once; watches under 5 minutes are discarded (a peek is not progress). A resume entry written by another tracker (e.g. the GUI's MPC-BE tracker) during the session overrides the guess. The MPC-BE tracker likewise ignores sessions shorter than 5 minutes.
 
 ## WebSocket

docs/development.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Development
 
-This document covers the developer-facing ways to run MediaHive locally. The main [README.md](../README.md) covers end-user startup across platforms (portable ZIPs on Windows/macOS, `uvx --from mediahive[gui] mediahive` on Linux/other).
+This document covers the developer-facing ways to run MediaHive locally. The main [README.md](../README.md) covers end-user startup across platforms (installer/AppImage downloads, `uvx --from mediahive[gui] mediahive` on Linux/other).
 
 ## Requirements
 
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ This launches the same pywebview-based desktop flow used by the Windows build.
 
 The helper scripts are directly executable via their `uv run` shebang (on Windows, run them with `uv run scripts/<name>.py`):
 
-- `./scripts/guibuild.py` builds the PyInstaller desktop app and a versioned portable ZIP under `build/`.
-- `./scripts/release.py` publishes a release to the Gitea releases page.
+- `./scripts/guibuild.py` builds the PyInstaller desktop app and packages it with Velopack under `build/`: per-user `Setup.exe` (Windows), `.pkg` installer (macOS), `.AppImage` (Linux), plus the update feed in `build/velopack/`. On Windows it also creates a `-win64-portable.zip` (no auto-updates). Requires node/npm and the .NET SDK (>= 10 runtime) installed on the build host; `vpk` and ffmpeg are downloaded once into a persistent user cache (`~/.cache/mediahive-build`, `%LOCALAPPDATA%\mediahive-build` on Windows).
+- `./scripts/release.py` publishes a release to the Gitea releases page, uploading the platform artifacts and the Velopack update feed files — installed apps auto-update from the latest release.
 
 Python packaging builds the frontend automatically through the hatch build hook `scripts/fastapi-vue/buildhook.py` (see `pyproject.toml`), so wheels and sdists always ship a fresh `mediahive/frontend-build`.
 

frontend/src/api.ts

@@ -190,9 +190,7 @@ export async function fetchResumePositions(): Promise<Record<string, ResumePosit
       const rawEpisodes = (entry as { episodes?: unknown }).episodes
       if (rawEpisodes && typeof rawEpisodes === "object") {
         const watches: Record<string, EpisodeWatchEntry> = {}
-        for (const [key, watch] of Object.entries(
-          rawEpisodes as Record<string, unknown>,
-        )) {
+        for (const [key, watch] of Object.entries(rawEpisodes as Record<string, unknown>)) {
           if (!watch || typeof watch !== "object") continue
           const w = watch as { pos?: unknown; done?: unknown }
           if (typeof w.pos !== "number" || !Number.isFinite(w.pos)) continue

frontend/src/components/Header.vue

@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@
         <!-- Detail mode: show current category + Details -->
         <template v-else>
           <button class="header-nav-item" v-bind="navAttrs(navRow, 0)" @focus="goToCategory">
-            {{ currentView === "search" ? "Search" : currentView === "movies" ? "Movies" : "Series" }}
+            {{
+              currentView === "search" ? "Search" : currentView === "movies" ? "Movies" : "Series"
+            }}
           </button>
           <button class="header-nav-item active" v-bind="navAttrs(navRow, 1, 1)">Details</button>
         </template>
@@ -208,7 +210,9 @@
 
           <section class="settings-section">
             <h2 class="settings-section-title">Preferred Format</h2>
-            <p class="settings-section-desc">Preferred format when multiple versions are available.</p>
+            <p class="settings-section-desc">
+              Preferred format when multiple versions are available.
+            </p>
 
             <div class="format-grid">
               <div class="format-row format-row-stack">
@@ -295,6 +299,16 @@
               </div>
             </div>
           </section>
+
+          <section class="settings-section">
+            <h2 class="settings-section-title">Diagnostics</h2>
+            <p class="settings-section-desc">Application log for troubleshooting.</p>
+
+            <div class="diag-log-header">
+              <span class="diag-label">Application log</span>
+            </div>
+            <pre ref="logEl" class="diag-log" @scroll="onLogScroll">{{ appLog }}</pre>
+          </section>
         </div>
       </div>
     </div>
@@ -302,7 +316,7 @@
 </template>
 
 <script setup lang="ts">
-import { ref, watch, computed, onMounted, onUnmounted } from "vue"
+import { ref, watch, computed, onMounted, onUnmounted, nextTick } from "vue"
 import { useRouter, useRoute } from "vue-router"
 import { navAttrs } from "../composables/useKeyboardNavigation"
 import logoUrl from "../assets/mediahive.webp"
@@ -409,6 +423,41 @@ async function refreshPlayers() {
   }
 }
 
+const appLog = ref("")
+const logEl = ref<HTMLElement | null>(null)
+let logSocket: WebSocket | null = null
+let pinnedToBottom = true
+
+function onLogScroll() {
+  const el = logEl.value
+  if (!el) return
+  pinnedToBottom = el.scrollHeight - el.scrollTop - el.clientHeight < 48
+}
+
+function connectLogSocket() {
+  if (logSocket) return
+  const proto = location.protocol === "https:" ? "wss" : "ws"
+  const ws = new WebSocket(`${proto}://${location.host}/api/log/ws`)
+  logSocket = ws
+  pinnedToBottom = true
+  ws.onmessage = async (ev) => {
+    appLog.value = String(ev.data)
+    await nextTick()
+    const el = logEl.value
+    if (el && pinnedToBottom) el.scrollTop = el.scrollHeight
+  }
+  ws.onclose = () => {
+    if (logSocket === ws) logSocket = null
+    if (showSettings.value) setTimeout(connectLogSocket, 3000)
+  }
+}
+
+function disconnectLogSocket() {
+  const ws = logSocket
+  logSocket = null
+  ws?.close()
+}
+
 async function removeRoot(rootId: string) {
   const filtered = roots.value.filter((r) => r.root_id !== rootId)
   const newRoots = Object.fromEntries(filtered.map((r) => [r.root_id, r.path]))
@@ -438,6 +487,9 @@ async function addRoot() {
 watch(showSettings, (visible) => {
   if (visible) {
     void refreshPlayers()
+    connectLogSocket()
+  } else {
+    disconnectLogSocket()
   }
 })
 
@@ -551,6 +603,7 @@ onMounted(() => {
 onUnmounted(() => {
   window.removeEventListener("keydown", handleKeydown)
   window.removeEventListener("mediahive:gamepad-action", onGamepadAction)
+  disconnectLogSocket()
 })
 </script>
 
@@ -868,4 +921,31 @@ onUnmounted(() => {
   font-size: 0.8rem;
   color: #22c55e;
 }
+
+.diag-label {
+  font-size: 0.75rem;
+  color: var(--text-secondary);
+}
+
+.diag-log-header {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: space-between;
+  margin-bottom: 6px;
+}
+
+.diag-log {
+  font-family: ui-monospace, Menlo, Consolas, monospace;
+  font-size: 0.75rem;
+  white-space: pre-wrap;
+  word-break: break-all;
+  width: 100%;
+  max-height: 320px;
+  overflow-y: auto;
+  margin: 0;
+  padding: 10px;
+  background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.05);
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  color: var(--text-secondary);
+}
 </style>

frontend/src/main.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,38 @@ import { installKeyboardNavigation } from "./composables/useKeyboardNavigation"
 import { installGamepadNavigation } from "./composables/useGamepadNavigation"
 import { installInputModalityTracking } from "./composables/useInputModality"
 
+function postClientError(payload: {
+  message: string
+  stack: string | null
+  source: string | null
+}) {
+  fetch("/api/client-log", {
+    method: "POST",
+    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+    body: JSON.stringify(payload),
+  }).catch(() => {})
+}
+
+function installErrorCapture() {
+  window.addEventListener("error", (event) => {
+    const source =
+      event.filename != null ? `${event.filename}:${event.lineno ?? 0}:${event.colno ?? 0}` : null
+    postClientError({
+      message: event.message || String(event.error ?? "Unknown error"),
+      stack: event.error?.stack ?? null,
+      source,
+    })
+  })
+  window.addEventListener("unhandledrejection", (event) => {
+    const reason = event.reason
+    postClientError({
+      message: reason instanceof Error ? reason.message : `Unhandled rejection: ${String(reason)}`,
+      stack: reason instanceof Error ? (reason.stack ?? null) : null,
+      source: "unhandledrejection",
+    })
+  })
+}
+
 function installReloadShortcut() {
   document.addEventListener(
     "keydown",
@@ -27,6 +59,7 @@ installInputModalityTracking()
 installKeyboardNavigation()
 installGamepadNavigation()
 installReloadShortcut()
+installErrorCapture()
 
 // Unregister any legacy service workers — MediaHive no longer uses a PWA/SW.
 if ("serviceWorker" in navigator) {

frontend/vite-plugin-fastapi.js

@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@
  * - Disables Vite's screen clearing on startup
  *
  * Options:
- *   paths - Array of paths to proxy (default: ["/api"])
+ *   paths - Array of paths to proxy (default: ['/api'])
  */
 
-export default function fastapiVue({ paths = ["/api"] } = {}) {
-  const backendUrl = process.env.MEDIAHIVE_BACKEND_URL || "http://localhost:8421"
+export default function fastapiVue({ paths = ['/api'] } = {}) {
+  const backendUrl = process.env.MEDIAHIVE_BACKEND_URL || 'http://localhost:8421'
 
   // Build proxy configuration for each path
   const proxy = {}
@@ -25,12 +25,12 @@ export default function fastapiVue({ paths = ["/api"] } = {}) {
   }
 
   return {
-    name: "vite-plugin-fastapi-mediahive",
+    name: 'vite-plugin-fastapi-mediahive',
     config: () => ({
       clearScreen: false,
       server: { proxy },
       build: {
-        outDir: "../mediahive/frontend-build",
+        outDir: '../mediahive/frontend-build',
         emptyOutDir: true,
       },
     }),

mediahive/__main__.py

@@ -1,16 +1,20 @@
 """MediaHive CLI entrypoint."""
 
+import os
+
+# Must be set before fastapi_vue env bindings are created (mediahive.config).
+os.environ["FASTAPI_VUE"] = "MEDIAHIVE"
+
 import argparse
 import asyncio
-import json
-import os
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
-from fastapi_vue import server
+from fastapi_vue import env, server
+
+from mediahive.config import config
 
 DEFAULT_PORT = 8420
-DEVMODE = os.getenv("MEDIAHIVE_DEV") == "1"
 
 
 def _configure_windows_event_loop_policy() -> None:
@@ -140,10 +144,11 @@ def main() -> None:
                 name = f"{base_name}{suffix}"
                 suffix += 1
             roots[name] = p.as_posix()
-        os.environ["MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS"] = json.dumps(roots)
+        # Teleported to the server process by fastapi-vue's server.run().
+        config.roots = roots
 
     if (
-        DEVMODE
+        env.dev
         and sys.platform == "win32"
         and os.environ.get("MEDIAHIVE_DEV_CHILD") != "1"
     ):
@@ -156,7 +161,12 @@ def main() -> None:
         default_port=DEFAULT_PORT,
         server_header=False,
         loop="none" if sys.platform == "win32" else "auto",
-        reload=Path(__file__).parent if DEVMODE and sys.platform != "win32" else False,
+        reload=Path(__file__).parent if env.dev and sys.platform != "win32" else False,
+        # fastapi-vue routes the root logger at INFO in dev / WARNING in prod;
+        # keep our own loggers visible in production too.
+        log_config={
+            "loggers": {"mediahive": {"level": "DEBUG" if env.dev else "INFO"}}
+        },
     )
 
 

mediahive/assets/macos-installer-welcome.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+Welcome to the MediaHive installer.
+
+During installation and on first launch, macOS may ask you to allow
+permissions (for example, access to your media folders or the local
+network). Please allow these so MediaHive can find and play your media.
+
+Click Continue to begin.

mediahive/config.py

@@ -1,57 +1,53 @@
 r"""Platform-appropriate config persistence for MediaHive.
 
-Config file location:
-  Windows:  %APPDATA%\mediahive\config.toml
-  macOS:    ~/Library/Application Support/mediahive/config.toml
-  Linux:    $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mediahive/config.toml  (~/.config/mediahive/config.toml)
+Locations (via platformdirs):
+  Config — Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\mediahive\config.toml
+           macOS:   ~/Library/Application Support/mediahive/config.toml
+           Linux:   $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mediahive/config.toml
+  Logs   — Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\mediahive\mediahive.log
+           macOS:   ~/Library/Logs/mediahive/mediahive.log
+           Linux:   $XDG_STATE_HOME/mediahive/mediahive.log
 """
 
-import os
-import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import msgspec
 import msgspec.toml
+from fastapi_vue import env
+from platformdirs import user_config_path, user_log_path
 
 
 class Config(msgspec.Struct, omit_defaults=True):
-    media_folder: str | None = None
     roots: dict[str, str] | None = None
 
 
+# Runtime config shared between the CLI entrypoint and the server process via
+# fastapi-vue's env teleport (MEDIAHIVE_CONFIG). Values set here take
+# precedence over the persisted config file.
+config = env(Config)
+
+
 def config_dir() -> Path:
-    if sys.platform == "win32":
-        base = Path(os.environ.get("APPDATA") or Path.home())
-    elif sys.platform == "darwin":
-        base = Path.home() / "Library" / "Application Support"
-    else:
-        base = Path(os.environ.get("XDG_CONFIG_HOME") or (Path.home() / ".config"))
-    return base / "mediahive"
+    # appauthor=False: avoid the doubled %LOCALAPPDATA%\mediahive\mediahive.
+    # roaming=False: config is machine-specific state, not something to sync
+    # across a domain profile.
+    return user_config_path("mediahive", appauthor=False, roaming=False)
+
+
+def log_dir() -> Path:
+    # opinion=False: no extra Logs/ subdir; mediahive.log sits beside config.
+    return user_log_path("mediahive", appauthor=False, opinion=False)
 
 
 def config_path() -> Path:
     return config_dir() / "config.toml"
 
 
-def _migrate_legacy_media_folder(cfg: Config) -> Config:
-    """If roots is empty but media_folder exists, seed roots with it."""
-    if cfg.roots:
-        return cfg
-    if not cfg.media_folder:
-        return cfg
-    path = Path(cfg.media_folder)
-    name = path.name or path.anchor.strip("/\\").lower() or "media"
-    # Resolve collisions simply by using the basename; if user had weird layout
-    # they can rename via the UI later.
-    return msgspec.structs.replace(cfg, roots={name: cfg.media_folder})
-
-
 def load_config() -> Config:
     path = config_path()
     if path.exists():
         try:
-            cfg = msgspec.toml.decode(path.read_bytes(), type=Config)
-            return _migrate_legacy_media_folder(cfg)
+            return msgspec.toml.decode(path.read_bytes(), type=Config)
         except OSError, msgspec.DecodeError, msgspec.ValidationError:
             return Config()
     return Config()

mediahive/hivescan/__main__.py

@@ -1,13 +1,18 @@
 """Hivescan CLI entrypoint."""
 
+import os
+
+# Must be set before fastapi_vue env bindings are created (mediahive.config).
+os.environ.setdefault("FASTAPI_VUE", "MEDIAHIVE")
+
 import argparse
 import asyncio
-import json
 import logging
-import os
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
+from mediahive.config import config
+
 
 def _configure_windows_event_loop_policy() -> None:
     """Ensure Windows uses Proactor loop so asyncio subprocess APIs are available."""
@@ -55,11 +60,9 @@ The server exposes a unified endpoint:
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
-    # Defer filesystem validation to the server; pass raw path via env.
+    # Defer filesystem validation to the server; pass raw path via env config.
     media_root = Path(args.media_folder).expanduser()
-    os.environ["MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS"] = json.dumps({
-        media_root.name or "media": media_root.as_posix()
-    })
+    config.roots = {media_root.name or "media": media_root.as_posix()}
 
     logging.basicConfig(
         level=logging.INFO,

mediahive/server.py

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
 import ctypes
+import importlib.metadata
 import json
 import logging
 import mimetypes
@@ -30,11 +31,15 @@ import aiofiles
 import msgspec
 from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, Request, WebSocket, WebSocketDisconnect
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
-from fastapi.responses import FileResponse, Response, StreamingResponse
-from fastapi_vue import Frontend
+from fastapi.responses import (
+    FileResponse,
+    PlainTextResponse,
+    Response,
+    StreamingResponse,
+)
+from fastapi_vue import Frontend, env
 
-from mediahive.__main__ import DEVMODE
-from mediahive.config import load_config
+from mediahive.config import config, load_config, log_dir
 from mediahive.hivescan.images import close_image_client
 from mediahive.hivescan.scanner import RootScanner
 from mediahive.hivescan.tmdb_client import close_http_client
@@ -968,23 +973,14 @@ async def _activate_all_roots() -> None:
     """
     desired: dict[str, str] = {}
 
-    # 1. CLI roots via MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS (JSON dict)
-    env_roots_raw = os.environ.get("MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS")
-    env_roots: dict[str, str] | None = None
-    if env_roots_raw:
-        try:
-            parsed = json.loads(env_roots_raw)
-            if isinstance(parsed, dict):
-                env_roots = parsed
-        except Exception:
-            logger.exception("Failed to parse MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS")
-
+    # 1. CLI roots (teleported via fastapi-vue's env config) take precedence
     # 2. Persisted config roots (used only when CLI roots are not provided)
-    cfg = load_config()
-    if env_roots is not None:
-        desired.update(env_roots)
-    elif cfg.roots:
-        desired.update(cfg.roots)
+    if config.roots:
+        desired.update(config.roots)
+    else:
+        cfg = load_config()
+        if cfg.roots:
+            desired.update(cfg.roots)
 
     if not desired:
         logger.info("No roots configured; waiting for PUT /api/config/roots")
@@ -1050,7 +1046,7 @@ async def lifespan(_app: FastAPI):
             await close_image_client()
 
 
-app = FastAPI(title="MediaHive Server", lifespan=lifespan, debug=DEVMODE)
+app = FastAPI(title="MediaHive Server", lifespan=lifespan, debug=env.dev)
 
 # Allow CORS for development
 app.add_middleware(
@@ -1073,6 +1069,74 @@ async def health_check():
     return {"status": "ok"}
 
 
+@app.get("/api/version")
+async def get_version():
+    """Return the installed MediaHive package version."""
+    try:
+        version = importlib.metadata.version("mediahive")
+    except importlib.metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
+        version = "dev"
+    return {"version": version}
+
+
+def _read_log() -> str:
+    """Return the full application log file."""
+    path = log_dir() / "mediahive.log"
+    if not path.exists():
+        return ""
+    try:
+        return path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+    except OSError:
+        return ""
+
+
+@app.get("/api/log")
+async def get_log():
+    """Return the full application log file."""
+    return PlainTextResponse(_read_log())
+
+
+@app.websocket("/api/log/ws")
+async def ws_log(ws: WebSocket) -> None:
+    """Stream the application log: full log on connect and on every change."""
+    await ws.accept()
+    last_sent: str | None = None
+    try:
+        while True:
+            current = _read_log()
+            if current != last_sent:
+                last_sent = current
+                await ws.send_text(current)
+            await asyncio.sleep(1.0)
+    except WebSocketDisconnect, OSError, RuntimeError:
+        pass
+
+
+@app.post("/api/client-log", status_code=204)
+async def post_client_log(request: Request):
+    """Append a client-side (webview) error report to client-errors.log."""
+    try:
+        payload = msgspec.json.decode(await request.body())
+    except msgspec.DecodeError:
+        payload = {}
+    message = str(payload.get("message") or "")
+    stack = payload.get("stack")
+    source = payload.get("source")
+    try:
+        dirpath = log_dir()
+        dirpath.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        with (dirpath / "client-errors.log").open("a", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            timestamp = datetime.now().isoformat(timespec="seconds")
+            f.write(f"[{timestamp}] {message}\n")
+            if source:
+                f.write(f"  source: {source}\n")
+            if stack:
+                f.write(f"  stack: {stack}\n")
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+    return Response(status_code=204)
+
+
 @app.get("/api/config")
 async def get_config():
     """Return current server configuration."""

mediahive/winmain.py

@@ -24,11 +24,20 @@ import urllib.request
 from concurrent.futures import Future, ThreadPoolExecutor
 from pathlib import Path
 
+# Must be set before fastapi_vue env bindings are created (mediahive.config);
+# this module is the PyInstaller entry point and may run without __main__.
+os.environ.setdefault("FASTAPI_VUE", "MEDIAHIVE")
+
 import msgspec.structs
 import uvicorn
+import velopack
 import webview
+from fastapi_vue import env
+from fastapi_vue.logging import patch_log_config
+from fastapi_vue.startupbox import print_box
+from tracerite.html import html_traceback
 
-from mediahive.config import load_config, save_config
+from mediahive.config import config, load_config, log_dir, save_config
 from mediahive.volume_control import get_volume, set_volume, volume_max
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("mediahive.winmain")
@@ -39,6 +48,7 @@ HEALTH_TIMEOUT = 2  # seconds
 BACKEND_HEALTH_REQUEST_TIMEOUT = 2  # seconds
 BACKEND_HEALTH_POLL_SECONDS = 0.25
 MPC_BE_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:13579"
+VELOPACK_REPO_URL = "https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive"
 GAMEPAD_REPEAT_SECONDS = 0.008
 GAMEPAD_POLL_SECONDS = 0.008
 MPC_BE_FRAME_REPEAT_SECONDS = 0.016
@@ -871,18 +881,16 @@ def _wait_for_previous_instance(log_path: Path, timeout: float = 15.0):
 
 
 def _setup_logging() -> Path:
-    """Redirect stdout/stderr and configure logging to a file in %APPDATA%/mediahive/.
+    """Redirect stdout/stderr and configure logging to a file in the platform log dir.
 
     In a PyInstaller --windowed build there is no console, so any print() or
     unhandled exception traceback would be lost.  This ensures everything ends
     up in a persistent log file the user can send for bug reports.
     Returns the path to the log file.
     """
-    from mediahive.config import config_dir
-
-    log_dir = config_dir()
-    log_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    log_path = log_dir / "mediahive.log"
+    log_directory = log_dir()
+    log_directory.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    log_path = log_directory / "mediahive.log"
 
     try:
         log_file = _rotate_and_open_log(log_path)
@@ -899,7 +907,7 @@ def _setup_logging() -> Path:
             log_file = _wait_for_previous_instance(log_path)
         if log_file is None:
             # Never fail startup over logging: fall back to a per-process file.
-            log_path = log_dir / f"mediahive-{os.getpid()}.log"
+            log_path = log_directory / f"mediahive-{os.getpid()}.log"
             with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
                 fd = os.open(log_path, os.O_WRONLY | os.O_CREAT | os.O_TRUNC)
                 log_file = os.fdopen(fd, "w", encoding="utf-8", buffering=1)
@@ -958,26 +966,53 @@ def _show_fatal_error(exc: BaseException) -> None:
     Frozen --windowed builds otherwise surface crashes only as PyInstaller's
     plain-text error dialog (or nothing at all).
     """
-    try:
-        from tracerite.html import html_traceback
-
-        fragment = str(html_traceback(exc))
-    except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 - error reporting must never raise
-        return
+    fragment = str(html_traceback(exc))
     page = (
         "<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><meta charset='utf-8'>"
         "<title>MediaHive — Error</title></head>"
         f"<body style='margin:1.5rem'>{fragment}</body></html>"
     )
+    webview.create_window("MediaHive — Error", html=page, width=1100, height=750)
+    webview.start(icon=_icon_path(), **_webview_start_kwargs())
+
+
+def _velopack_startup() -> None:
+    """Handle Velopack install/update/uninstall hooks and pending updates.
+
+    Must be the first thing at startup: when Velopack launches the app with
+    --veloapp-* hook arguments (during install/update/uninstall), run()
+    executes the hook and exits the process, so the GUI never starts.
+    Applies downloaded-but-pending updates. No-op in development and
+    portable-ZIP runs.
+    """
+    velopack.App().run()
+
+
+def _check_for_updates() -> None:
+    """Download available updates in the background.
+
+    Downloaded updates are applied automatically by Velopack on the next app
+    start (via _velopack_startup), so the running session is never
+    interrupted. Not a Velopack install (dev/portable) and network failures
+    are expected and skipped quietly.
+    """
     try:
-        webview.create_window("MediaHive — Error", html=page, width=1100, height=750)
-        webview.start(icon=_icon_path(), **_webview_start_kwargs())
-    except Exception:
-        logger.exception("Could not display the error window")
+        mgr = velopack.UpdateManager(velopack.GiteaSource(VELOPACK_REPO_URL))
+        info = mgr.check_for_updates()
+        if info is None:
+            logger.info("Velopack: no update available")
+            return
+        version = info.TargetFullRelease.Version
+        logger.info("Velopack: downloading update %s", version)
+        mgr.download_updates(info)
+        logger.info("Velopack: update %s staged, applies on next launch", version)
+    except (RuntimeError, OSError) as exc:
+        logger.info("Velopack update check skipped: %s", exc)
 
 
 def gui_main() -> None:
     """Run the GUI, rendering fatal exceptions as a TraceRite HTML window."""
+    _velopack_startup()
     try:
         winmain()
     except Exception as exc:
@@ -1126,8 +1161,26 @@ def _configure_windows_event_loop_policy() -> None:
     asyncio.set_event_loop_policy(policy_cls())
 
 
+def _strip_mark_of_the_web() -> None:
+    """Remove Zone.Identifier streams from bundled DLLs (frozen Windows only).
+
+    Files extracted from a downloaded ZIP carry the Mark-of-the-Web, and the
+    .NET Framework CLR refuses to load such assemblies — pythonnet then fails
+    with "Failed to resolve Python.Runtime.Loader.Initialize from
+    .../Python.Runtime.dll". Strip the mark from the bundled DLLs before
+    pywebview loads the CLR.
+    """
+    if not getattr(sys, "frozen", False) or sys.platform != "win32":
+        return
+    meipass = Path(sys._MEIPASS)  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+    for dll in meipass.rglob("*.dll"):
+        with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
+            Path(f"{dll}:Zone.Identifier").unlink()
+
+
 def winmain() -> None:
     _configure_windows_event_loop_policy()
+    _strip_mark_of_the_web()
 
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="MediaHive")
     parser.add_argument(
@@ -1154,10 +1207,6 @@ def winmain() -> None:
         initial_roots[name] = p.as_posix()
     elif cfg.roots:
         initial_roots = cfg.roots
-    elif cfg.media_folder:
-        p = _normalize_media_root_input(cfg.media_folder)
-        name = p.name or "media"
-        initial_roots[name] = p.as_posix()
 
     if not initial_roots:
         folder = _run_initial_setup()
@@ -1171,8 +1220,9 @@ def winmain() -> None:
     if cfg.roots != initial_roots:
         save_config(msgspec.structs.replace(cfg, roots=initial_roots))
 
-    # Pass roots to the server via env (validation deferred to server startup)
-    os.environ["MEDIAHIVE_ROOTS"] = json.dumps(initial_roots)
+    # Pass roots to the in-process server via the shared env config
+    # (validation deferred to server startup)
+    config.roots = initial_roots
 
     backend_port = _reserve_backend_port()
     backend_url = f"http://{BACKEND_HOST}:{backend_port}"
@@ -1180,8 +1230,6 @@ def winmain() -> None:
 
     # Startup banner, same as fastapi-vue's server.run() prints in CLI mode.
     # Goes to stderr, which frozen builds redirect to the log file.
-    from fastapi_vue.startupbox import print_box
-
     try:
         version = importlib.metadata.version("mediahive")
     except importlib.metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
@@ -1192,9 +1240,13 @@ def winmain() -> None:
     # log config wires up its access-log middleware, emoji level prefixes and
     # tracerite tracebacks (colors are auto-disabled when stderr is not a tty,
     # e.g. redirected to the log file in frozen builds).
-    from fastapi_vue.logging import patch_log_config
-
-    config = uvicorn.Config(
+    log_config = patch_log_config(uvicorn.config.LOGGING_CONFIG)
+    # fastapi-vue routes the root logger at INFO in dev / WARNING in prod;
+    # keep our own loggers visible in production too.
+    log_config.setdefault("loggers", {})["mediahive"] = {
+        "level": "DEBUG" if env.dev else "INFO"
+    }
+    uvicorn_config = uvicorn.Config(
         "mediahive.server:app",
         host=BACKEND_HOST,
         port=backend_port,
@@ -1202,9 +1254,9 @@ def winmain() -> None:
         server_header=False,
         timeout_graceful_shutdown=0,
         access_log=False,  # fastapi-vue's middleware replaces uvicorn's
-        log_config=patch_log_config(uvicorn.config.LOGGING_CONFIG),
+        log_config=log_config,
     )
-    server = uvicorn.Server(config)
+    server = uvicorn.Server(uvicorn_config)
     backend_thread = threading.Thread(
         target=server.run, daemon=True, name="mediahive-backend"
     )
@@ -1228,6 +1280,10 @@ def winmain() -> None:
         server.should_exit = True
         raise RuntimeError(f"Backend did not become ready within {HEALTH_TIMEOUT}s")
 
+    threading.Thread(
+        target=_check_for_updates, daemon=True, name="mediahive-update-check"
+    ).start()
+
     api = JsApi()
     logger.info("Configured pywebview backend: %s", _selected_webview_backend())
     window = webview.create_window(

pyproject.toml

@@ -8,11 +8,12 @@ dependencies = [
     "aiofiles>=25.1.0",
     "aiopathlib>=0.6.0",
     "bencodepy>=0.9.5",
-    "fastapi-vue>=1.4.1",
+    "fastapi-vue~=1.7.2",
     "fastapi[standard]>=0.128.0",
     "httpx[http2]>=0.28.1",
     "msgspec>=0.19",
     "parse-torrent-title>=2.8.1",
+    "platformdirs>=4.0",
     "tomli-w>=1.2.0",
     "uvicorn[standard]>=0.40.0",
 ]
@@ -50,10 +51,11 @@ parse-torrent-title = { git = "https://github.com/platelminto/parse-torrent-titl
 
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 gui = [
+    # pywebview's qt extra is Qt6-only (QtPy + PyQt6 + PyQt6-WebEngine);
+    # Qt5 would come from its separate qt5 extra, which we do not use.
     "pywebview[qt]>=6.2.1; platform_system != 'Windows'",
     "pywebview>=6.2.1; platform_system == 'Windows'",
-    "qtpy>=2.4.1; platform_system == 'Darwin'",
-    "PyQt5>=5.15.11; platform_system == 'Darwin'",
+    "velopack>=1.2",
     "pythonnet>=3.1.0rc0; platform_system == 'Windows' and python_version >= '3.14'",
     "pyinstaller>=6.0",
 ]

scripts/MediaHive.spec

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 #     pyinstaller --noconfirm --clean scripts/MediaHive.spec
 #
 # Or use the build script (recommended—handles versioning and packaging):
-#   uv run scripts/winbuild.py
+#   uv run scripts/guibuild.py
 
 import sys
 import mediahive.winmain
@@ -20,7 +20,15 @@ _frontend_build = _pkg / "frontend-build"
 _logo_webp = _pkg / "assets" / "mediahive.webp"
 _icon_win = _pkg / "assets" / "mediahive.ico"
 _icon_mac = _pkg / "assets" / "mediahive.icns"
-_tools_dir = Path(SPECPATH).parent / "build" / "ffmpeg"
+# ffmpeg staging lives in the persistent build cache (same logic as
+# scripts/guibuild.py); fall back to the legacy build/ffmpeg location.
+from platformdirs import user_cache_path
+
+_tools_dir = (
+    user_cache_path("mediahive-build", appauthor=False, opinion=False) / "ffmpeg"
+)
+if not _tools_dir.exists():
+    _tools_dir = Path(SPECPATH).parent / "build" / "ffmpeg"
 _tool_names = ["ffmpeg.exe"] if sys.platform == "win32" else ["ffmpeg"]
 
 _binaries = []
@@ -80,11 +88,12 @@ if sys.platform == "darwin":
             # pywebview Qt backend selected dynamically via webview.start(gui="qt")
             "webview.platforms.qt",
             "qtpy",
-            "PyQt5",
-            "PyQt5.QtCore",
-            "PyQt5.QtGui",
-            "PyQt5.QtWidgets",
-            "PyQt5.QtWebEngineWidgets",
+            "PyQt6",
+            "PyQt6.QtCore",
+            "PyQt6.QtGui",
+            "PyQt6.QtWidgets",
+            "PyQt6.QtWebEngineCore",
+            "PyQt6.QtWebEngineWidgets",
         ]
     )
 
@@ -123,6 +132,11 @@ exe = EXE(
     windowed=True,
 )
 
+# UPX breaks .NET assemblies: packing Python.Runtime.dll strips/corrupts its
+# CLR metadata and pythonnet then fails with "Failed to resolve
+# Python.Runtime.Loader.Initialize from .../Python.Runtime.dll".
+_upx_exclude = ["Python.Runtime.dll"] if sys.platform == "win32" else []
+
 coll = COLLECT(
     exe,
     a.binaries,
@@ -130,7 +144,7 @@ coll = COLLECT(
     a.datas,
     strip=False,
     upx=True,
-    upx_exclude=[],
+    upx_exclude=_upx_exclude,
     name="MediaHive",
 )
 

scripts/devserver.py

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 import argparse
 import asyncio
 import os
+import subprocess
 import sys
-from contextlib import suppress
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import tracerite
@@ -48,11 +48,11 @@ async def run_devserver(
     os.environ["MEDIAHIVE_DEV"] = "1"
 
     async with ProcessGroup() as pg:
+        pg.create_task(check_ports_free(viteurl, backurl))
         npm_i = await pg.spawn(*npm_install, cwd=front)
-        await check_ports_free(viteurl, backurl)
-        await pg.spawn(*mediahive, *(extra_args or []))
+        await pg.spawn(*mediahive, *(extra_args or []), vital=True)
         await pg.wait(npm_i, ready(backurl, path=HEALTH))
-        await pg.spawn(*vite, cwd=front)
+        await pg.spawn(*vite, cwd=front, vital=True)
 
 
 def main() -> None:
@@ -75,8 +75,12 @@ def main() -> None:
         help=f"FastAPI (default: localhost:{DEFAULT_DEV_PORT})",
     )
     args, extra_args = parser.parse_known_args()
-    with suppress(KeyboardInterrupt):
+    try:
         asyncio.run(run_devserver(args.listen, args.backend, extra_args))
+    except* KeyboardInterrupt:
+        pass  # user stopped the devserver: normal exit
+    except* subprocess.SubprocessError, RuntimeError:
+        raise SystemExit(1) from None  # logged in devutil already; exit 1
 
 
 HELP_EPILOG = """

scripts/fastapi-vue/buildutil.py

@@ -10,20 +10,27 @@ from pathlib import Path
 MIN_NODE_VERSION = 20
 
 
-class _PrefixFormatter(logging.Formatter):
-    """Formatter that adds prefix based on log level."""
+class _Formatter(logging.Formatter):
+    """Prefix formatter, intentionally different from fastapi_vue.logging.
+
+    INFO and below pass through unprefixed so messages can use their own
+    markings (>>>, ###); WARNING and above get an emoji prefix.
+    """
 
     def format(self, record: logging.LogRecord) -> str:
+        if record.levelno >= logging.ERROR:
+            return f"🛑 {record.getMessage()}"
         if record.levelno >= logging.WARNING:
-            return f"⚠️  {record.getMessage()}"
+            return f"💣 {record.getMessage()}"
         return record.getMessage()
 
 
 _handler = logging.StreamHandler()
-_handler.setFormatter(_PrefixFormatter())
+_handler.setFormatter(_Formatter())
 logger = logging.getLogger("fastapi-vue")
 logger.addHandler(_handler)
 logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)
+logger.propagate = False  # own handler; do not double-print via a configured root
 
 
 def _check_node_version(node_path: str) -> None:

scripts/fastapi-vue/devutil.py

@@ -1,110 +1,89 @@
 """Utilities meant for devserver script, used only in source repository with dev deps."""
 
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import asyncio
-import subprocess
 import sys
+from asyncio.subprocess import Process
 from contextlib import suppress
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Self
+from subprocess import CalledProcessError
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 from urllib.parse import urlsplit
 
 from buildutil import find_dev_tool, find_install_tool, logger
 from fastapi_vue.hostutil import parse_endpoint
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
-    from collections.abc import Coroutine
+    from collections.abc import Awaitable
 
 
-class ProcessGroup:
-    """Manage async subprocesses with automatic cleanup, like TaskGroup for processes."""
+class ProcessGroup(asyncio.TaskGroup):
+    """TaskGroup with structured ownership of async subprocesses."""
 
-    def __init__(self) -> None:
-        """Initialize empty process tracking."""
-        self._procs: list[asyncio.subprocess.Process] = []
-        self._cmds: dict[int, str] = {}  # pid -> command name
+    def __init__(self, *, terminate_timeout: float = 10) -> None:
+        """Set the grace period before terminate() escalates to kill()."""
+        super().__init__()
+        self._terminate_timeout = terminate_timeout
+        self._cmds: dict[Process, tuple[str, ...]] = {}
 
     async def spawn(
-        self,
-        *cmd: str,
-        cwd: str | None = None,
-    ) -> asyncio.subprocess.Process:
-        """Spawn a subprocess and track it."""
-        cmd_name = Path(cmd[0]).stem
-        logger.info(">>> %s", " ".join([cmd_name, *cmd[1:]]))
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(*cmd, cwd=cwd)
-        self._procs.append(proc)
-        self._cmds[proc.pid] = cmd_name
-        return proc
+        self, *cmd: str, cwd: str | None = None, vital: bool = False
+    ) -> Process:
+        """Spawn and own a subprocess. If a vital process exits, the group cancels."""
 
-    async def wait(
-        self,
-        *waitables: asyncio.subprocess.Process | Coroutine[Any, Any, Any],
-    ) -> None:
-        """Wait for processes/coroutines to complete, raise SystemExit on failure."""
+        async def run() -> None:
+            name = Path(cmd[0]).stem
+            logger.info(">>> %s", " ".join([name, *cmd[1:]]))
+            try:
+                proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(*cmd, cwd=cwd)
+                self._cmds[proc] = cmd
+                started.set_result(proc)
+            except Exception as e:  # ruff: ignore[blind-except]
+                started.set_exception(e)
+                return
 
-        async def wait_proc(proc: asyncio.subprocess.Process) -> None:
-            returncode = await proc.wait()
-            if returncode != 0:
-                cmd_name = self._cmds.get(proc.pid, "unknown")
-                raise subprocess.CalledProcessError(returncode, cmd_name)
-
-        tasks = [
-            wait_proc(w) if isinstance(w, asyncio.subprocess.Process) else w
-            for w in waitables
-        ]
-        try:
-            await asyncio.gather(*tasks)
-        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
-            logger.warning("%s failed with exit status %d", e.cmd, e.returncode)
-            raise SystemExit(1) from None
-
-    async def __aenter__(self) -> Self:
-        """Enter the async context manager."""
-        return self
-
-    async def __aexit__(self, exc_type: type[BaseException] | None, *_: object) -> None:
-        """Wait for one process to exit, terminate others, then wait for all."""
-        await self._cleanup(immediate=exc_type is not None)
-
-    async def _cleanup(self, *, immediate: bool = False) -> None:
-        running = [p for p in self._procs if p.returncode is None]
-        if not running:
-            return
-
-        if not immediate:
-            # Wait for any one process to exit
-            with suppress(asyncio.CancelledError):
-                await asyncio.wait(
-                    [asyncio.create_task(p.wait()) for p in running],
-                    return_when=asyncio.FIRST_COMPLETED,
-                )
-
-        # Terminate remaining processes
-        for p in self._procs:
-            if p.returncode is None:
+            try:
+                returncode = await proc.wait()
+            finally:
                 with suppress(ProcessLookupError):
-                    p.terminate()
-
-        # Wait for all to finish (with overall timeout), shielded from cancellation
-        still_running = [p for p in self._procs if p.returncode is None]
-        if still_running:
-            with suppress(asyncio.CancelledError):
+                    proc.terminate()
                 try:
-                    await asyncio.shield(
-                        asyncio.wait_for(
-                            asyncio.gather(*[p.wait() for p in still_running]),
-                            timeout=10,
-                        ),
-                    )
+                    await asyncio.wait_for(proc.wait(), self._terminate_timeout)
                 except TimeoutError:
-                    for p in self._procs:
-                        if p.returncode is None:
-                            with suppress(ProcessLookupError):
-                                p.kill()
-                            await p.wait()
+                    with suppress(ProcessLookupError):
+                        proc.kill()
+                    await proc.wait()
+
+            if vital:
+                logger.warning("Vital process %s exited", name)
+                raise CalledProcessError(returncode, cmd)
+
+        started = asyncio.get_running_loop().create_future()
+        self.create_task(run())
+        return await asyncio.shield(started)
+
+    async def wait(self, *waitables: Process | Awaitable) -> tuple[Any, ...]:
+        """Wait concurrently and return results in argument order."""
+
+        async def task(w: Process | Awaitable) -> Any:
+            if not isinstance(w, Process):
+                return await w
+            if retcode := await w.wait():
+                cmd = self._cmds[w]
+                logger.warning(
+                    "Process %s exited with status %d", Path(cmd[0]).stem, retcode
+                )
+                raise CalledProcessError(retcode, cmd)
+            return retcode
+
+        async with asyncio.TaskGroup() as group:
+            tasks = [group.create_task(task(w)) for w in waitables]
+
+        return tuple(task.result() for task in tasks)
 
 
-async def http_get_server(url: str, timeout: float) -> str | None:  # noqa: ASYNC109
+async def http_get_server(url: str, timeout: float) -> str | None:  # ruff: ignore[async-function-with-timeout]
     """GET url with plain asyncio streams, return the response Server header.
 
     Returns an empty string when the server responds without a Server header,
@@ -127,42 +106,43 @@ async def http_get_server(url: str, timeout: float) -> str | None:  # noqa: ASYN
                 writer.close()
     except OSError, EOFError, ValueError, TimeoutError:
         return None
-    for line in data.decode("latin-1").split("\r\n"):
+    for line in data.decode(errors="replace").split("\r\n"):
         if line.lower().startswith("server:"):
-            return line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
+            return line[7:].strip()
     return ""
 
 
 async def check_ports_free(*urls: str) -> None:
-    """Verify URLs are not responding (ports are free). Raise SystemExit if any respond."""
+    """Verify URLs are not responding (ports are free).
 
-    async def check(url: str) -> None:
-        server = await http_get_server(url, timeout=0.1)
+    Meant to run as a task inside a TaskGroup. Logs the conflict and raises
+    RuntimeError (handled like a failed process) if any URL responds.
+    """
+    servers = await asyncio.gather(*(http_get_server(url, timeout=0.1) for url in urls))
+    for url, server in zip(urls, servers, strict=True):
         if server is not None:
-            logger.warning(
+            logger.error(
                 "Conflicting %s already running at %s", server or "server", url
             )
-            raise SystemExit(1)
-
-    await asyncio.gather(*[check(url) for url in urls])
+            raise RuntimeError(url)
 
 
 async def ready(url: str, path: str = "", max_attempts: int = 50) -> None:
     """Wait for the server to be ready by polling an endpoint.
 
     Use empty path to disable the check and make this return immediately.
-    Raises SystemExit(1) if server doesn't start in time.
+    Logs, then raises RuntimeError if the server doesn't start in time.
     """
     if not path:
         return
 
     for attempt in range(max_attempts):
         if await http_get_server(f"{url}{path}", timeout=1.0) is not None:
-            logger.info("✓ Backend ready!")
+            logger.info("🟢 Backend ready!")
             return
         if attempt == max_attempts - 1:
-            logger.warning("Backend didn't start in time")
-            raise SystemExit(1)
+            logger.error("Backend at %s didn't start in time", url)
+            raise RuntimeError(url)
         await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
 
 

scripts/guibuild.py

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env -S uv run
-"""Build the desktop GUI application and package it as a version-numbered ZIP.
+"""Build the desktop GUI application and package it with Velopack.
 
 Usage:
-    uv run scripts/winbuild.py
+    uv run scripts/guibuild.py
 
 This runs in the project environment where dependencies
 are available via pyproject.toml.
@@ -10,14 +10,18 @@ are available via pyproject.toml.
 This script:
     1. Reads the version from pyproject.toml
     2. Runs `uv build` to produce the wheel/sdist
-    3. On Windows, downloads the latest ffmpeg.exe for bundling
-    4. On macOS arm64, downloads a prebuilt ffmpeg binary for bundling
+    3. On Windows/macOS, downloads the ffmpeg binary for bundling
     4. Builds MediaHive using PyInstaller
-    5. Creates a ZIP file with the version number
+    5. Packages with Velopack: Setup.exe (Windows), .pkg (macOS),
+       .AppImage (Linux), plus the update feed in build/velopack/
+       that release.py uploads for in-app auto-updates
+    6. On Windows, also creates a portable ZIP (no auto-updates)
 """
 
 import io
+import os
 import platform
+import re
 import shutil
 import stat
 import subprocess
@@ -25,8 +29,10 @@ import sys
 import urllib.request
 import zipfile
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import NamedTuple
 
 import setuptools_scm
+from platformdirs import user_cache_path
 
 # BtbN automated builds always publish a 'latest' tag with this asset.
 _FFMPEG_URL = (
@@ -36,29 +42,62 @@ _FFMPEG_URL = (
 _MACOS_ARM64_TOOL_URLS = {
     "ffmpeg": "https://www.osxexperts.net/ffmpeg81arm.zip",
 }
-_FFMPEG_STAGING = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "build" / "ffmpeg"
 _REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
 _ASSETS_DIR = _REPO_ROOT / "mediahive" / "assets"
 
 
-def _platform_zip_suffix() -> str:
-    machine = platform.machine().lower()
-    arch = {
-        "x86_64": "x64",
-        "amd64": "x64",
-        "arm64": "arm64",
-        "aarch64": "arm64",
-    }.get(machine, machine or "unknown")
+def _build_cache_dir() -> Path:
+    """Return the persistent cross-build cache dir for downloaded tools (CI wipes build/)."""
+    return user_cache_path("mediahive-build", appauthor=False, opinion=False)
 
+
+_FFMPEG_STAGING = _build_cache_dir() / "ffmpeg"
+
+# Velopack CLI (dotnet tool package). Runs on the machine's .NET runtime; the
+# produced Setup.exe/Update.exe are native and need no runtime on end-user
+# machines. Pin a version whose tools target an installed .NET major.
+_VPK_VERSION = "1.2.158"
+_VPK_URL = (
+    f"https://api.nuget.org/v3-flatcontainer/vpk/{_VPK_VERSION}"
+    f"/vpk.{_VPK_VERSION}.nupkg"
+)
+_VPK_STAGING = _build_cache_dir() / f"vpk-{_VPK_VERSION}"
+
+
+class _Platform(NamedTuple):
+    """Per-platform naming/packaging constants.
+
+    tag is the release artifact suffix. Only Windows keeps an arch marker
+    (win64); macOS builds are arm64-only and we ship one Linux flavor.
+    """
+
+    tag: str  # win64 / macos / linux
+    channel: str  # Velopack update channel: win / osx / linux
+    rid: str  # Velopack runtime id
+    dist_dir: str  # PyInstaller output dir under build/
+    icon: str  # file in mediahive/assets
+    main_exe: str
+    setup_ext: str
+
+
+def _platform() -> _Platform:
     if sys.platform == "win32":
-        return "win64"
+        return _Platform("win64", "win", "win-x64", "MediaHive", "mediahive.ico", "MediaHive.exe", ".exe")
     if sys.platform == "darwin":
-        return f"macos-{arch}"
-    return f"linux-{arch}"
+        return _Platform("macos", "osx", "osx-arm64", "MediaHive.app", "mediahive.icns", "MediaHive", ".pkg")
+    return _Platform("linux", "linux", "linux-x64", "MediaHive", "mediahive.png", "MediaHive", ".AppImage")
+
+
+def setup_artifact_name() -> str:
+    """Versionless name so releases/download/latest/<name> links stay valid."""
+    p = _platform()
+    # Windows keeps the -setup suffix: a bare .exe isn't self-explanatory.
+    suffix = "-setup" if sys.platform == "win32" else ""
+    return f"MediaHive-{p.tag}{suffix}{p.setup_ext}"
 
 
 def fetch_ffmpeg() -> Path:
-    """Download latest ffmpeg.exe from BtbN builds into build/ffmpeg/."""
+    """Download latest ffmpeg.exe from BtbN builds into the persistent build cache."""
     dest = _FFMPEG_STAGING / "ffmpeg.exe"
     if dest.exists():
         print(f"ffmpeg already staged at {dest}, skipping download.")
@@ -83,7 +122,7 @@ def fetch_ffmpeg() -> Path:
 
 
 def fetch_macos_arm64_binaries() -> dict[str, Path]:
-    """Download prebuilt macOS arm64 ffmpeg binary into build/ffmpeg/."""
+    """Download prebuilt macOS arm64 ffmpeg binary into the persistent build cache."""
     if sys.platform != "darwin" or platform.machine().lower() not in {
         "arm64",
         "aarch64",
@@ -180,6 +219,262 @@ def ensure_macos_icon() -> Path:
     return icon_icns
 
 
+_VPK_TFM = "net10.0"
+_VPK_REQUIRED_DOTNET_MAJOR = int(re.fullmatch(r"net(\d+)\.0", _VPK_TFM).group(1))
+
+
+def fetch_vpk() -> Path:
+    """Download the Velopack CLI package into the persistent build cache.
+
+    Returns the path to vpk.dll, runnable with `dotnet vpk.dll ...`.
+    """
+    vpk_dll = _VPK_STAGING / "tools" / _VPK_TFM / "any" / "vpk.dll"
+    if vpk_dll.exists():
+        print(f"vpk already staged at {_VPK_STAGING}, skipping download.")
+        return vpk_dll
+
+    _VPK_STAGING.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    print(f"Downloading vpk from {_VPK_URL} ...")
+    with urllib.request.urlopen(_VPK_URL) as resp:
+        data = resp.read()
+
+    with zipfile.ZipFile(io.BytesIO(data)) as zf:
+        zf.extractall(_VPK_STAGING)
+
+    if not vpk_dll.exists():
+        raise RuntimeError(f"vpk.dll not found in package at {vpk_dll}")
+    print(f"vpk staged at {_VPK_STAGING}")
+    return vpk_dll
+
+
+def _dotnet_runtime_major(exe: Path) -> int | None:
+    """Return the highest installed Microsoft.NETCore.App major version, or None."""
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [str(exe), "--list-runtimes"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=30
+        )
+    except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired):
+        return None
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        return None
+    majors = []
+    for line in result.stdout.splitlines():
+        parts = line.split()
+        if len(parts) >= 2 and parts[0] == "Microsoft.NETCore.App":
+            try:
+                majors.append(int(parts[1].split(".")[0]))
+            except ValueError:
+                continue
+    return max(majors, default=None)
+
+
+def fetch_dotnet() -> str:
+    """Resolve a system dotnet host able to run vpk (needs .NET >= 10).
+
+    The .NET SDK is a build prerequisite installed on the build machine —
+    downloading a runtime per build is slow and flaky. Several dotnet
+    installations may coexist (PATH may resolve to a runtime-only .NET 8
+    while scoop holds the SDK 10), so probe known locations and pick the
+    newest runtime rather than the first that runs.
+    """
+    exe_name = "dotnet.exe" if sys.platform == "win32" else "dotnet"
+    candidates: list[Path] = []
+    root = os.environ.get("DOTNET_ROOT")
+    if root:
+        candidates.append(Path(root) / exe_name)
+    which = shutil.which("dotnet")
+    if which:
+        candidates.append(Path(which))
+    if sys.platform == "win32":
+        candidates += [
+            Path(r"C:\ProgramData\scoop\apps\dotnet-sdk\current") / exe_name,
+            Path(r"C:\Program Files\dotnet") / exe_name,
+        ]
+    elif sys.platform == "darwin":
+        candidates += [
+            Path("/opt/homebrew/bin") / exe_name,
+            Path("/usr/local/share/dotnet") / exe_name,
+        ]
+    else:
+        candidates += [
+            Path("/usr/share/dotnet") / exe_name,
+            Path("/usr/lib/dotnet") / exe_name,
+            Path.home() / ".dotnet" / exe_name,
+        ]
+
+    best: tuple[int, Path] | None = None
+    for exe in candidates:
+        if not exe.exists():
+            continue
+        major = _dotnet_runtime_major(exe)
+        if major is not None and (best is None or major > best[0]):
+            best = (major, exe)
+
+    if best is not None and best[0] >= _VPK_REQUIRED_DOTNET_MAJOR:
+        print(f"Using dotnet at {best[1]} (.NET {best[0]})")
+        return str(best[1])
+
+    found = f"newest found is .NET {best[0]} at {best[1]}" if best else "none found"
+    raise RuntimeError(
+        f"vpk requires Microsoft.NETCore.App >= {_VPK_REQUIRED_DOTNET_MAJOR} ({found}). "
+        "Install the current .NET SDK on this build machine "
+        "(Windows: `scoop install dotnet-sdk`; macOS: `brew install dotnet-sdk`; "
+        "Linux: distro `dotnet-sdk` package or the dotnet-install script)."
+    )
+
+
+def build_velopack(version: str) -> Path:
+    """Build the Velopack installer/bundle for this platform.
+
+    Windows: per-user Setup.exe. macOS: .pkg installer. Linux: .AppImage.
+    Also produces the update feed (releases.<channel>.json, *.nupkg) in
+    build/velopack/ for release.py to upload — in-app auto-updates read it
+    from the Gitea release. Velopack installs carry no Mark-of-the-Web, so
+    the .NET CLR loads pythonnet/pywebview assemblies that it refuses from
+    a downloaded ZIP.
+    """
+    plat = _platform()
+    dist_folder = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / plat.dist_dir
+    if not dist_folder.exists():
+        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Distribution folder not found: {dist_folder}")
+
+    vpk_dll = fetch_vpk()
+    releases_dir = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "velopack"
+
+    cmd = [
+        fetch_dotnet(),
+        str(vpk_dll),
+        "pack",
+        "--packId",
+        "MediaHive",
+        "--packVersion",
+        version,
+        "--packDir",
+        str(dist_folder),
+        "--mainExe",
+        plat.main_exe,
+        "--packAuthors",
+        "MediaHive",
+        "--packTitle",
+        "MediaHive",
+        "--icon",
+        str(_ASSETS_DIR / plat.icon),
+        "--runtime",
+        plat.rid,
+        "--outputDir",
+        str(releases_dir),
+    ]
+    if sys.platform == "darwin":
+        cmd += ["--instWelcome", str(_ASSETS_DIR / "macos-installer-welcome.txt")]
+    print(f"Running: {' '.join(cmd)}")
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=_REPO_ROOT, capture_output=True, text=True)
+    except OSError as exc:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"vpk failed to start: {exc}") from exc
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"vpk pack failed with exit code {result.returncode}\n"
+            f"stdout:\n{result.stdout}\nstderr:\n{result.stderr}"
+        )
+
+    setup = next(iter(sorted(releases_dir.glob(f"*Setup*{plat.setup_ext}"))), None)
+    if setup is None:
+        setup = next(iter(sorted(releases_dir.glob(f"*{plat.setup_ext}"))), None)
+    if setup is None:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"vpk produced no *{plat.setup_ext} in {releases_dir}")
+    if sys.platform == "darwin":
+        force_macos_user_install(setup)
+    artifact = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / setup_artifact_name()
+    artifact.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+    setup.rename(artifact)
+    rename_feed_package(releases_dir, version, plat.channel)
+    return artifact
+
+
+def rename_feed_package(releases_dir: Path, version: str, channel: str) -> None:
+    """Rename this platform's update-feed nupkg in place.
+
+    vpk hardcodes MediaHive-{ver}[-{channel}]-full.nupkg (Windows, the legacy
+    default channel, gets no marker). Rename all to the uniform
+    mediahive-{ver}-{channel}-full.nupkg: lowercase groups them with the
+    wheel/sdist below the capitalized user downloads on the release page,
+    and every platform carries its channel. releases.<channel>.json
+    references the filename, so patch it too.
+    """
+    old_name = f"MediaHive-{version}-full.nupkg"
+    if not (releases_dir / old_name).exists():
+        old_name = f"MediaHive-{version}-{channel}-full.nupkg"
+    nupkg = releases_dir / old_name
+    if not nupkg.exists():
+        raise RuntimeError(f"vpk produced no {old_name} in {releases_dir}")
+
+    new_name = f"mediahive-{version}-{channel}-full.nupkg"
+    manifest = releases_dir / f"releases.{channel}.json"
+    text = manifest.read_text()
+    if old_name not in text:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"{manifest.name} does not reference {old_name}")
+    manifest.write_text(text.replace(old_name, new_name))
+    nupkg.rename(nupkg.with_name(new_name))
+
+
+def force_macos_user_install(pkg: Path) -> None:
+    """Restrict the Velopack-generated pkg to per-user installs (~/Applications).
+
+    Velopack hardcodes two install domains (currentUserHome + localSystem) in
+    the distribution XML. System installs land in /Applications, which the
+    user may not own — Velopack's UpdateMac then cannot replace the .app on
+    auto-update. With a single domain, macOS Installer skips the Destination
+    Select page and installs to ~/Applications without admin rights.
+
+    Also drops the `sudo -u "$USER"` prefix from Velopack's postinstall
+    script: under a per-user install the script already runs as the
+    installing user, and sudo would fail for lack of a tty.
+
+    NB: only ever use `pkgutil --expand` (which keeps component Payloads
+    archived) — `--expand-full` flattens payloads to loose files that
+    `--flatten` cannot repack, producing a pkg that "installs" nothing.
+    """
+    expanded = pkg.with_name(pkg.stem + "-expanded")
+    shutil.rmtree(expanded, ignore_errors=True)
+    subprocess.run(["pkgutil", "--expand", str(pkg), str(expanded)], check=True)
+
+    dist_xml = expanded / "Distribution"
+    xml = dist_xml.read_text()
+    new_xml, count = re.subn(
+        r"<domains [^>]*/>",
+        '<domains enable_anywhere="false" enable_currentUserHome="true" enable_localSystem="false" />',
+        xml,
+    )
+    if count != 1:
+        raise RuntimeError("Unexpected distribution.xml: <domains> not found")
+    dist_xml.write_text(new_xml)
+
+    # Edit postinstall inside the component pkg. Depending on the macOS
+    # version, --expand leaves the component as an archived file (needs a
+    # nested expand/flatten round) or as an already-expanded directory.
+    components = list(expanded.glob("*.pkg"))
+    if len(components) != 1:
+        contents = sorted(p.name for p in expanded.iterdir())
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Unexpected pkg layout: components={components} in {contents}")
+    component = components[0]
+    if component.is_dir():
+        comp_dir = component
+    else:
+        comp_dir = expanded / (component.stem + "-component")
+        subprocess.run(["pkgutil", "--expand", str(component), str(comp_dir)], check=True)
+    postinstall = comp_dir / "Scripts" / "postinstall"
+    script = postinstall.read_text()
+    if 'sudo -u "$USER" ' not in script:
+        raise RuntimeError("Unexpected postinstall script: sudo prefix not found")
+    postinstall.write_text(script.replace('sudo -u "$USER" ', ""))
+    if comp_dir is not component:
+        subprocess.run(["pkgutil", "--flatten", str(comp_dir), str(component)], check=True)
+        shutil.rmtree(comp_dir)
+
+    subprocess.run(["pkgutil", "--flatten", str(expanded), str(pkg)], check=True)
+    shutil.rmtree(expanded)
+
+
 def read_version() -> str:
     """Read version via setuptools_scm (same logic as hatch-vcs)."""
     return setuptools_scm.get_version(root=str(_REPO_ROOT))
@@ -217,18 +512,18 @@ def build_executable() -> None:
         raise RuntimeError(f"PyInstaller failed with exit code {result.returncode}")
 
 
-def create_zip(version: str) -> Path:
-    """Create a version-numbered ZIP file of the build/MediaHive folder."""
-    repo_root = _REPO_ROOT
-    dist_folder = repo_root / "build" / "MediaHive"
+def create_portable_zip() -> Path:
+    """Create the Windows portable ZIP of the build/MediaHive folder.
 
+    Velopack-less plain-folder distribution for users who cannot or do not
+    want to run Setup.exe. No auto-updates; the app strips Mark-of-the-Web
+    from bundled DLLs at first run instead.
+    """
+    dist_folder = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "MediaHive"
     if not dist_folder.exists():
         raise FileNotFoundError(f"Distribution folder not found: {dist_folder}")
 
-    zip_name = f"MediaHive-{version}-{_platform_zip_suffix()}.zip"
-    zip_path = repo_root / "build" / zip_name
-    zip_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-
+    zip_path = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "MediaHive-win64-portable.zip"
     print(f"Creating {zip_path}...")
     shutil.make_archive(
         str(zip_path.with_suffix("")),  # removes .zip so make_archive can add it
@@ -258,10 +553,14 @@ def main() -> None:
             )
         build_wheel()
         build_executable()
-        zip_path = create_zip(version)
 
-        print(f"✓ Built successfully: {zip_path}")
-        print(f"  Size: {zip_path.stat().st_size / (1024 * 1024):.1f} MB")
+        artifacts = [build_velopack(version)]
+        if sys.platform == "win32":
+            artifacts.append(create_portable_zip())
+
+        for artifact_path in artifacts:
+            print(f"✓ Built successfully: {artifact_path}")
+            print(f"  Size: {artifact_path.stat().st_size / (1024 * 1024):.1f} MB")
     except (FileNotFoundError, OSError, RuntimeError, ValueError) as e:
         print(f"✗ Build failed: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)

scripts/release.py

@@ -9,10 +9,15 @@ Reads from [project.urls] Repository in pyproject.toml.
 Token: GITEA_TOKEN environment variable
 
 Steps:
-    1. Find clean-versioned ZIPs in build/ and matching dist/ wheels/sdists
-    2. Abort if any dist files are missing for a found ZIP version
-    3. Create a Gitea release for each version and upload all assets
+    1. Read the clean tag version via setuptools_scm, find platform artifacts
+       in build/ and matching dist/ wheels/sdists
+    2. Abort if any dist files are missing
+    3. Create a Gitea release for each version (or reuse the existing one
+       for the tag, skipping already-uploaded assets) and upload all assets
     4. Remind the user to run: uv publish
+
+Parallel CI platform builds converge on one release per tag; pass --no-dist
+on all but one platform so only it uploads the wheel/sdist.
 """
 
 import argparse
@@ -24,6 +29,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
 
 import httpx
+import setuptools_scm
 
 REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
 
@@ -63,20 +69,27 @@ def load_token() -> str:
 # ZIP + dist helpers
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-# Matches MediaHive-1.2.3-win64.zip, MediaHive-1.2.3-macos-arm64.zip, etc.
-# Rejects dev/dirty versions like MediaHive-1.2.3.dev0+gabcd-win64.zip
-_CLEAN_ZIP_RE = re.compile(r"^MediaHive-(\d+(?:\.\d+)*)-([A-Za-z0-9._-]+)\.zip$")
+# Installer artifacts are versionless (MediaHive-win64-setup.exe,
+# MediaHive-macos-setup.pkg, MediaHive-linux-setup.AppImage,
+# MediaHive-win64-portable.zip) so /releases/download/latest/<name> links
+# stay valid. The version comes from setuptools_scm instead.
+_ARTIFACT_RE = re.compile(r"^MediaHive-(?!\d)[A-Za-z0-9._-]+\.(?:zip|dmg|exe|pkg|AppImage)$")
 
 
-def find_releasable_zips() -> list[tuple[Path, str, str]]:
-    """Return (path, version, platform_tag) for clean-versioned ZIPs in build/."""
+def read_version() -> str:
+    """Read version via setuptools_scm, refusing dev/dirty versions."""
+    version = setuptools_scm.get_version(root=str(REPO_ROOT))
+    if not re.fullmatch(r"\d+(?:\.\d+)*", version):
+        raise RuntimeError(
+            f"Refusing to release non-clean version {version!r}. Tag a release first."
+        )
+    return version
+
+
+def find_releasable_artifacts() -> list[Path]:
+    """Return platform artifact paths in build/."""
     build_dir = REPO_ROOT / "build"
-    results = []
-    for p in sorted(build_dir.glob("MediaHive-*.zip")):
-        m = _CLEAN_ZIP_RE.match(p.name)
-        if m:
-            results.append((p, m.group(1), m.group(2)))
-    return results
+    return [p for p in sorted(build_dir.glob("MediaHive-*")) if _ARTIFACT_RE.match(p.name)]
 
 
 def find_dist_files(version: str) -> list[Path]:
@@ -108,6 +121,23 @@ def find_dist_files(version: str) -> list[Path]:
     return [wheel, sdist]
 
 
+def find_velopack_feed_files() -> list[Path]:
+    """Velopack update feed files produced by vpk pack in build/velopack/.
+
+    Only what the in-app updater (GiteaSource) reads from the latest
+    release: this channel's releases.<channel>.json index and the nupkg
+    payload it points to. The legacy RELEASES and assets.*.json manifests
+    (Squirrel compat / setup bootstrap) are not uploaded.
+    """
+    releases_dir = REPO_ROOT / "build" / "velopack"
+    if not releases_dir.exists():
+        return []
+    files: list[Path] = []
+    for pattern in ("releases.*.json", "*.nupkg"):
+        files.extend(sorted(releases_dir.glob(pattern)))
+    return files
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Gitea API helpers
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -117,6 +147,18 @@ def gitea_headers(token: str) -> dict:
     return {"Authorization": f"token {token}", "Accept": "application/json"}
 
 
+def get_release_by_tag(
+    client: httpx.Client, base_url: str, repo: str, tag: str
+) -> dict | None:
+    """Return the existing release for a tag, or None."""
+    url = f"{base_url}/api/v1/repos/{repo}/releases/tags/{tag}"
+    resp = client.get(url)
+    if resp.status_code == 404:
+        return None
+    resp.raise_for_status()
+    return resp.json()
+
+
 def create_release(
     client: httpx.Client,
     base_url: str,
@@ -125,8 +167,12 @@ def create_release(
     version: str,
     notes: str,
     draft: bool,
-) -> int:
-    """Create a Gitea release and return its id."""
+) -> tuple[int, set[str]]:
+    """Create a Gitea release, or reuse the existing one for the tag.
+
+    Returns (release_id, names of assets already attached), so parallel
+    platform builds can converge on one release without conflicts.
+    """
     url = f"{base_url}/api/v1/repos/{repo}/releases"
     payload = {
         "tag_name": tag,
@@ -137,11 +183,17 @@ def create_release(
     }
     resp = client.post(url, json=payload)
     if resp.status_code == 409:
-        raise RuntimeError(f"A release for tag '{tag}' already exists on Gitea.")
+        existing = get_release_by_tag(client, base_url, repo, tag)
+        if existing is None:
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Release for tag '{tag}' conflicts but cannot be read.")
+        release_id = existing["id"]
+        assets = {a["name"] for a in existing.get("assets", [])}
+        print(f"Release for tag '{tag}' already exists (id={release_id}), reusing it.")
+        return release_id, assets
     resp.raise_for_status()
     release_id = resp.json()["id"]
     print(f"Created release id={release_id} (draft={draft})")
-    return release_id
+    return release_id, set()
 
 
 def upload_asset(
@@ -154,7 +206,10 @@ def upload_asset(
     """Upload a file to the release and return the download URL."""
     url = f"{base_url}/api/v1/repos/{repo}/releases/{release_id}/assets"
     size_mb = path.stat().st_size / (1024 * 1024)
-    mime = "application/zip" if path.suffix == ".zip" else "application/octet-stream"
+    mime = {
+        ".zip": "application/zip",
+        ".dmg": "application/x-apple-diskimage",
+    }.get(path.suffix, "application/octet-stream")
     print(f"Uploading {path.name} ({size_mb:.1f} MB) ...")
     with Path(path).open("rb") as fh:
         resp = client.post(
@@ -185,46 +240,59 @@ def main() -> None:
     parser.add_argument(
         "--notes", default="", metavar="TEXT", help="Release notes body"
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--no-dist",
+        action="store_true",
+        help="Skip wheel/sdist upload (for parallel platform builds; one job uploads them)",
+    )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     try:
         cfg = load_gitea_config()
         token = load_token()
+        version = read_version()
 
-        zips = find_releasable_zips()
-        if not zips:
+        artifacts = find_releasable_artifacts()
+        if not artifacts:
             print(
-                "No clean-versioned ZIPs found in build/.\n"
+                "No platform artifacts found in build/.\n"
                 "Run scripts/guibuild.py first.",
                 file=sys.stderr,
             )
             sys.exit(1)
 
         # Validate all dist files exist before touching Gitea
-        dist_files: dict[str, list[Path]] = {}
-        for _, version, _platform_tag in zips:
-            dist_files[version] = find_dist_files(version)
+        dist_files: list[Path] = [] if args.no_dist else find_dist_files(version)
 
         base_url = cfg["url"].rstrip("/")
         repo = cfg["repo"]
 
         with httpx.Client(headers=gitea_headers(token)) as client:
-            release_ids_by_version: dict[str, int] = {}
-            for zip_path, version, platform_tag in zips:
-                print(f"\nReleasing {version} ...")
-                tag = f"v{version}"
-                release_id = release_ids_by_version.get(version)
-                if release_id is None:
-                    release_id = create_release(
-                        client, base_url, repo, tag, version, args.notes, args.draft
-                    )
-                    release_ids_by_version[version] = release_id
-                    for path in dist_files[version]:
-                        upload_asset(client, base_url, repo, release_id, path)
+            print(f"\nReleasing {version} ...")
+            tag = f"v{version}"
+            release_id, uploaded = create_release(
+                client, base_url, repo, tag, version, args.notes, args.draft
+            )
+            for path in dist_files:
+                if path.name in uploaded:
+                    print(f"Skipping {path.name}, already on the release.")
+                    continue
+                upload_asset(client, base_url, repo, release_id, path)
 
-                print(f"Uploading platform artifact: {platform_tag}")
-                upload_asset(client, base_url, repo, release_id, zip_path)
-                print(f"  ✓ {tag} published")
+            for artifact_path in artifacts:
+                if artifact_path.name in uploaded:
+                    print(f"Skipping {artifact_path.name}, already on the release.")
+                    continue
+                print(f"Uploading platform artifact: {artifact_path.name}")
+                upload_asset(client, base_url, repo, release_id, artifact_path)
+                uploaded.add(artifact_path.name)
+                for feed_file in find_velopack_feed_files():
+                    if feed_file.name in uploaded:
+                        print(f"Skipping {feed_file.name}, already on the release.")
+                        continue
+                    upload_asset(client, base_url, repo, release_id, feed_file)
+                    uploaded.add(feed_file.name)
+            print(f"  ✓ {tag} published")
 
         print("\nDone. To publish to PyPI, run:")
         print("  uv publish")