README.md

@@ -4,12 +4,13 @@
 
 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)**
+**[Windows, Mac and Linux downloads](https://git.zi.fi/LeoVasanko/mediahive/releases)**
 
 ## Getting Started
 
-- Windows and macOS: Download the portable ZIP from the releases page, extract it anywhere, and run `MediaHive`.
+- Windows: Download `*-win64-setup.exe` from the releases page and run it (no admin needed; auto-updates included). A `-win64-portable.zip` is also available.
-- Linux and other platforms: Install [UV](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/) and run directly with `uvx --from mediahive[gui] mediahive`.
+- macOS: Download `*-macos-arm64-setup.pkg` and install (auto-updates included).
+- Linux: Download the `.AppImage`, `chmod +x` it, and run. Alternatively install [UV](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/getting-started/installation/) and run directly with `uvx --from mediahive[gui] mediahive`.
 
 ## What It Does
 

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/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). `vpk` (and a .NET runtime, if the host lacks one) are downloaded into `build/` automatically.
-- `./scripts/release.py` publishes a release to the Gitea releases page.
+- `./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`.
 

mediahive/winmain.py

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ 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
@@ -976,12 +977,51 @@ def _show_fatal_error(exc: BaseException) -> None:
         logger.exception("Could not display the error window")
 
 
+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.
+    """
+    try:
+        import velopack
+    except ImportError:
+        return
+    try:
+        velopack.App().run()
+    except Exception:
+        logger.exception("Velopack startup hook failed")
+
+
+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.
+    """
+    try:
+        import velopack
+
+        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 Exception as exc:  # not a Velopack install (dev/portable), network, ...
+        logger.info("Velopack update check skipped: %s", exc)
+
+
 def gui_main() -> None:
     """Run the GUI, rendering fatal exceptions as a TraceRite HTML window."""
-    # Velopack runs the app with --veloapp-* hook arguments during install,
+    _velopack_startup()
-    # update, and uninstall; these must exit fast instead of starting the GUI.
-    if any(arg.startswith("--veloapp-") for arg in sys.argv[1:]):
-        return
     try:
         winmain()
     except Exception as exc:
@@ -1250,6 +1290,10 @@ 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

@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ parse-torrent-title = { git = "https://github.com/platelminto/parse-torrent-titl
 gui = [
     "pywebview[qt]>=6.2.1; platform_system != 'Windows'",
     "pywebview>=6.2.1; platform_system == 'Windows'",
+    "velopack>=1.2",
     "qtpy>=2.4.1; platform_system == 'Darwin'",
     "PyQt5>=5.15.11; platform_system == 'Darwin'",
     # pywebview[qt] no longer pulls this in; the macOS Qt backend needs it

scripts/guibuild.py

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env -S uv run
-"""Build the desktop GUI application and package it as a versioned ZIP/DMG.
+"""Build the desktop GUI application and package it with Velopack.
 
 Usage:
     uv run scripts/winbuild.py
@@ -10,10 +10,12 @@ 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
+    3. On Windows/macOS, downloads the ffmpeg binary for bundling
-    4. On macOS arm64, downloads a prebuilt ffmpeg binary for bundling
     4. Builds MediaHive using PyInstaller
-    5. Creates a versioned ZIP (Windows/Linux) or DMG (macOS) artifact
+    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
@@ -23,6 +25,7 @@ import shutil
 import stat
 import subprocess
 import sys
+import tarfile
 import urllib.request
 import zipfile
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -215,36 +218,119 @@ def fetch_vpk() -> Path:
     return vpk_dll
 
 
-def _dotnet() -> str:
+_DOTNET_STAGING = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "dotnet"
-    """Resolve the dotnet host with an SDK/modern runtime.
+# aka.ms latest-runtime archives per platform (vpk needs .NET >= 8).
+_DOTNET_RUNTIME_URLS = {
+    ("win32", "x64"): "https://aka.ms/dotnet/10.0/dotnet-runtime-win-x64.zip",
+    ("darwin", "arm64"): "https://aka.ms/dotnet/10.0/dotnet-runtime-osx-arm64.tar.gz",
+    ("linux", "x64"): "https://aka.ms/dotnet/10.0/dotnet-runtime-linux-x64.tar.gz",
+}
 
-    A plain `dotnet` may resolve to a runtime-only installation (e.g.
+
-    C:\\Program Files\\dotnet), and long-running services (CI runners) may
+def _dotnet_has_runtime(exe: Path) -> bool:
-    carry a stale environment without DOTNET_ROOT or scoop paths — so probe
+    """Check that `exe` runs and has Microsoft.NETCore.App >= 8."""
-    known locations explicitly.
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [str(exe), "--list-runtimes"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=30
+        )
+    except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired):
+        return False
+    if result.returncode != 0:
+        return False
+    for line in result.stdout.splitlines():
+        parts = line.split()
+        if len(parts) >= 2 and parts[0] == "Microsoft.NETCore.App":
+            try:
+                if int(parts[1].split(".")[0]) >= 8:
+                    return True
+            except ValueError:
+                continue
+    return False
+
+
+def fetch_dotnet() -> str:
+    """Resolve a dotnet host with a modern (>= 8) runtime, bootstrapping one
+    into build/dotnet/ if none is found.
+
+    A plain `dotnet` may resolve to a runtime-only installation, and
+    long-running services (CI runners) may carry a stale environment without
+    DOTNET_ROOT or scoop paths — so probe known locations explicitly.
     """
-    candidates = []
+    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))
+        candidates.append(Path(root) / exe_name)
     if sys.platform == "win32":
-        candidates.append(Path(r"C:\ProgramData\scoop\apps\dotnet-sdk\current"))
+        candidates.append(
-    exe_name = "dotnet.exe" if sys.platform == "win32" else "dotnet"
+            Path(r"C:\ProgramData\scoop\apps\dotnet-sdk\current") / exe_name
-    for base in candidates:
+        )
-        exe = base / exe_name
+    which = shutil.which("dotnet")
-        if exe.exists():
+    if which:
+        candidates.append(Path(which))
+    staged = _DOTNET_STAGING / exe_name
+    candidates.append(staged)
+
+    for exe in candidates:
+        if exe.exists() and _dotnet_has_runtime(exe):
+            print(f"Using dotnet at {exe}")
             return str(exe)
-    return "dotnet"
+
+    machine = platform.machine().lower()
+    arch = {"x86_64": "x64", "amd64": "x64", "arm64": "arm64", "aarch64": "arm64"}.get(
+        machine, machine
+    )
+    url = _DOTNET_RUNTIME_URLS.get((sys.platform, arch))
+    if url is None:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"No dotnet runtime download for {sys.platform}/{arch}")
+
+    print(f"Downloading dotnet runtime from {url} ...")
+    with urllib.request.urlopen(url) as resp:
+        data = resp.read()
+
+    _DOTNET_STAGING.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    if url.endswith(".zip"):
+        with zipfile.ZipFile(io.BytesIO(data)) as zf:
+            zf.extractall(_DOTNET_STAGING)
+    else:
+        with tarfile.open(io.BytesIO(data), "r:gz") as tf:
+            tf.extractall(_DOTNET_STAGING)
+    staged.chmod(staged.stat().st_mode | stat.S_IXUSR | stat.S_IXGRP | stat.S_IXOTH)
+
+    if not _dotnet_has_runtime(staged):
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Bootstrapped dotnet at {staged} failed runtime check")
+    print(f"dotnet staged at {_DOTNET_STAGING}")
+    return str(staged)
 
 
-def build_setup(version: str) -> Path:
+def build_velopack(version: str) -> Path:
-    """Build a Velopack per-user Setup.exe from the PyInstaller output folder.
+    """Build the Velopack installer/bundle for this platform.
 
-    Velopack installs to %LOCALAPPDATA% (no admin) and installed files carry
+    Windows: per-user Setup.exe. macOS: .pkg installer. Linux: .AppImage.
-    no Mark-of-the-Web, so the .NET CLR loads pythonnet/pywebview assemblies
+    Also produces the update feed (releases.<channel>.json, *.nupkg) in
-    that it refuses from a downloaded ZIP.
+    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.
     """
+    if sys.platform == "darwin":
+        dist_folder = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "MediaHive.app"
+        icon = _ASSETS_DIR / "mediahive.icns"
+        rid = "osx-arm64"
+        main_exe = "MediaHive"
+        artifact_ext = ".pkg"
+    elif sys.platform == "win32":
         dist_folder = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "MediaHive"
+        icon = _ASSETS_DIR / "mediahive.ico"
+        rid = "win-x64"
+        main_exe = "MediaHive.exe"
+        artifact_ext = ".exe"
+    else:
+        dist_folder = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "MediaHive"
+        icon = _ASSETS_DIR / "mediahive.png"
+        rid = "linux-x64"
+        main_exe = "MediaHive"
+        artifact_ext = ".AppImage"
     if not dist_folder.exists():
         raise FileNotFoundError(f"Distribution folder not found: {dist_folder}")
 
@@ -252,7 +338,7 @@ def build_setup(version: str) -> Path:
     releases_dir = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / "velopack"
 
     cmd = [
-        _dotnet(),
+        fetch_dotnet(),
         str(vpk_dll),
         "pack",
         "--packId",
@@ -262,13 +348,15 @@ def build_setup(version: str) -> Path:
         "--packDir",
         str(dist_folder),
         "--mainExe",
-        "MediaHive.exe",
+        main_exe,
         "--packAuthors",
         "MediaHive",
         "--packTitle",
         "MediaHive",
         "--icon",
-        str(_ASSETS_DIR / "mediahive.ico"),
+        str(icon),
+        "--runtime",
+        rid,
         "--outputDir",
         str(releases_dir),
     ]
@@ -283,10 +371,16 @@ def build_setup(version: str) -> Path:
             f"stdout:\n{result.stdout}\nstderr:\n{result.stderr}"
         )
 
-    setup = next(releases_dir.glob("*-win-Setup.exe"), None)
+    setup = next(iter(sorted(releases_dir.glob(f"*Setup*{artifact_ext}"))), None)
     if setup is None:
-        raise RuntimeError(f"vpk produced no Setup.exe in {releases_dir}")
+        setup = next(iter(sorted(releases_dir.glob(f"*{artifact_ext}"))), None)
-    artifact = _REPO_ROOT / "build" / f"MediaHive-{version}-{_platform_zip_suffix()}-setup.exe"
+    if setup is None:
+        raise RuntimeError(f"vpk produced no *{artifact_ext} in {releases_dir}")
+    artifact = (
+        _REPO_ROOT
+        / "build"
+        / f"MediaHive-{version}-{_platform_zip_suffix()}-setup{artifact_ext}"
+    )
     artifact.unlink(missing_ok=True)
     setup.rename(artifact)
     return artifact
@@ -353,33 +447,6 @@ def create_zip(version: str) -> Path:
     return zip_path
 
 
-def create_dmg(version: str) -> Path:
-    """Create a version-numbered DMG containing MediaHive.app (macOS only)."""
-    repo_root = _REPO_ROOT
-    app_bundle = repo_root / "build" / "MediaHive.app"
-
-    if not app_bundle.exists():
-        raise FileNotFoundError(f"App bundle not found: {app_bundle}")
-
-    dmg_path = repo_root / "build" / f"MediaHive-{version}-{_platform_zip_suffix()}.dmg"
-    dmg_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    dmg_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
-
-    cmd = [
-        "hdiutil", "create",
-        "-volname", "MediaHive",
-        "-srcfolder", str(app_bundle),
-        "-ov",
-        "-format", "UDZO",
-        str(dmg_path),
-    ]
-    print(f"Running: {' '.join(cmd)}")
-    result = subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=repo_root)
-    if result.returncode != 0:
-        raise RuntimeError(f"hdiutil failed with exit code {result.returncode}")
-    return dmg_path
-
-
 def main() -> None:
     # Windows consoles default to cp1252, which can't encode ✓/✗
     sys.stdout.reconfigure(errors="replace")
@@ -400,18 +467,15 @@ def main() -> None:
             )
         build_wheel()
         build_executable()
-        if sys.platform == "darwin":
-            artifact_path = create_dmg(version)
-        else:
-            artifact_path = create_zip(version)
 
+        artifacts = [build_velopack(version)]
+        if sys.platform == "win32":
+            # Velopack-less plain-folder distribution (with MOTW strip)
+            artifacts.append(create_zip(version))
+
+        for artifact_path in artifacts:
             print(f"✓ Built successfully: {artifact_path}")
             print(f"  Size: {artifact_path.stat().st_size / (1024 * 1024):.1f} MB")
-
-        if sys.platform == "win32":
-            setup_path = build_setup(version)
-            print(f"✓ Built successfully: {setup_path}")
-            print(f"  Size: {setup_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

@@ -67,10 +67,12 @@ def load_token() -> str:
 # ZIP + dist helpers
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-# Matches MediaHive-1.2.3-win64.zip, MediaHive-1.2.3-win64-setup.exe,
+# Matches MediaHive-1.2.3-win64-portable.zip, MediaHive-1.2.3-win64-setup.exe,
-# MediaHive-1.2.3-macos-arm64.dmg, etc.
+# MediaHive-1.2.3-macos-arm64-setup.pkg, MediaHive-1.2.3-linux-x64.AppImage, etc.
-# Rejects dev/dirty versions like MediaHive-1.2.3.dev0+gabcd-win64.zip
+# Rejects dev/dirty versions like MediaHive-1.2.3.dev0+gabcd-win64-portable.zip
-_CLEAN_ARTIFACT_RE = re.compile(r"^MediaHive-(\d+(?:\.\d+)*)-([A-Za-z0-9._-]+)\.(?:zip|dmg|exe)$")
+_CLEAN_ARTIFACT_RE = re.compile(
+    r"^MediaHive-(\d+(?:\.\d+)*)-([A-Za-z0-9._-]+)\.(?:zip|dmg|exe|pkg|AppImage)$"
+)
 
 
 def find_releasable_artifacts() -> list[tuple[Path, str, str]]:
@@ -113,6 +115,21 @@ 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/.
+
+    These keep their original names — the feed JSONs reference them — and
+    in-app updates (GiteaSource) download them from the latest release.
+    """
+    releases_dir = REPO_ROOT / "build" / "velopack"
+    if not releases_dir.exists():
+        return []
+    files: list[Path] = []
+    for pattern in ("RELEASES", "releases.*.json", "assets.*.json", "*.nupkg"):
+        files.extend(sorted(releases_dir.glob(pattern)))
+    return files
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Gitea API helpers
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -266,6 +283,13 @@ def main() -> None:
                     continue
                 print(f"Uploading platform artifact: {platform_tag}")
                 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:")