fix(desktop): package Windows via NSIS instead of Squirrel (#403)

* fix(desktop): package Windows via NSIS instead of Squirrel (#401)

Squirrel.Windows is a poor fit: per-user install only, no custom install
directory, no proper add/remove-programs uninstaller, and fragile updates.
Replace it with a real NSIS installer (per-user or per-machine, custom
install dir, uninstaller), matching recordly's working Windows setup.

Electron Forge ships no first-party NSIS maker, so add a thin MakerBase
subclass (makers/maker-nsis.ts) that bridges to electron-builder's
buildForge, the same engine electron-builder uses, scoped to win32. The
maker exposes the NSIS knobs the issue calls for (oneClick:false,
allowToChangeInstallationDirectory, per-machine) and defaults to an
assisted installer.

- forge.config.ts: drop maker-squirrel, add the NSIS maker instance.
- testing-build.yml: target "nsis"; smoke-install via /S under out/make;
  drop the Squirrel-specific log capture.
- Rename the package "agent-orchestrator-frontend" -> "agent-orchestrator":
  this repo is the full app, not just a frontend. User-facing naming was
  already "Agent Orchestrator" (productName) / agent-orchestrator.exe.

Deferred (per issue, separate follow-ups): bundling zellij.exe so a fresh
Windows install needs no manual zellij, an actionable "zellij not found"
error at session-create, and Windows code-signing.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore: format with prettier [skip ci]

* fix(desktop): disable electron-builder publish + drop electron-squirrel-startup

CI fix: the NSIS maker's electron-builder run inferred a GitHub publish
target from package.json `repository` and tried to upload (to emit
auto-update info), failing with "GitHub Personal Access Token is not set".
Forge owns publishing (the workflow uploads via `gh release`), so set
`config.publish = null` to disable electron-builder's upload entirely.

Also remove `electron-squirrel-startup`: it only handled Squirrel.Windows
install/update hooks (--squirrel-* flags) and is dead weight under NSIS.
Drop the dependency, its import, the startup quit-block, the whenReady
guard, and the type shim. The EPIPE std-stream guard stays (it covers any
windowless Windows GUI launch, e.g. from a shortcut).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

* chore: gitignore electron-builder's builder-debug.yml dump

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: github-actions[bot] <github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

.github/workflows/desktop-testing.yml

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ name: Desktop testing build
 #
 # Per OS the current electron-forge makers produce:
 #   - macOS   → .zip          (the .dmg maker is a follow-up)
-#   - Windows → Setup.exe + .nupkg + RELEASES (Squirrel)
+#   - Windows → NSIS installer (.exe)
 #   - Linux   → .deb and .rpm
 #
 # Each OS builds on its own native runner because build-daemon.mjs compiles the

.github/workflows/testing-build.yml

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ name: Testing build (all platforms)
 #
 # Per OS:
 #   Linux   -> .deb
-#   Windows -> Setup.exe (+ .nupkg / RELEASES)
+#   Windows -> NSIS installer (.exe)
 #   macOS   -> .zip (arm64; dmg + signing are follow-ups)
 #
 # Unsigned: macOS is quarantined/Gatekeeper-blocked once downloaded
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@ jobs:
           - os: ubuntu-latest
             target: "@electron-forge/maker-deb"
           - os: windows-latest
-            target: "@electron-forge/maker-squirrel"
+            # Our custom NSIS maker's `name` (see makers/maker-nsis.ts); forge
+            # `--targets` matches the configured maker instance by this name.
+            target: "nsis"
           - os: macos-latest
             target: "@electron-forge/maker-zip"
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
@@ -58,10 +60,10 @@ jobs:
         # `npm run make` keeps the premake daemon build; --targets restricts to this
         # platform's maker.
         run: npm run make -- --targets ${{ matrix.target }}
-      # Smoke-install the Squirrel installer on a clean, native x64 Windows runner.
+      # Smoke-install the NSIS installer on a clean, native x64 Windows runner.
       # This is a build-vs-host verdict: if it installs here it proves the artifact
       # is good and a failing user machine is host-side (AV/disk/signing); if it
-      # fails here the build/Squirrel config is wrong. continue-on-error so a failed
+      # fails here the build/NSIS config is wrong. continue-on-error so a failed
       # install never blocks publishing the artifacts. The runner has no real-time
       # AV blocking, so a clean install here does NOT prove SmartScreen/Defender
       # won't reject the unsigned binaries on end-user machines.
@@ -71,33 +73,26 @@ jobs:
         timeout-minutes: 5
         shell: pwsh
         run: |
-          $setup = Get-ChildItem -Path out/make/squirrel.windows -Recurse -Filter '*Setup.exe' | Select-Object -First 1
+          $setup = Get-ChildItem -Path out/make -Recurse -Filter '*.exe' |
-          if (-not $setup) { Write-Host '::error::no Setup.exe produced under out/make/squirrel.windows'; exit 1 }
+            Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*Setup*' } | Select-Object -First 1
-          Write-Host "Running $($setup.FullName) --silent"
+          if (-not $setup) { $setup = Get-ChildItem -Path out/make -Recurse -Filter '*.exe' | Select-Object -First 1 }
-          $proc = Start-Process -FilePath $setup.FullName -ArgumentList '--silent' -PassThru -Wait
+          if (-not $setup) { Write-Host '::error::no NSIS installer (.exe) produced under out/make'; exit 1 }
-          Write-Host "Setup.exe exit code: $($proc.ExitCode)"
+          Write-Host "Running $($setup.FullName) /S (silent)"
-          $installDir = Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA 'AgentOrchestrator'
+          # electron-builder NSIS (assisted installer): /S installs silently.
-          # Update.exe writes SquirrelSetup.log into the app root dir; the Setup.exe
+          $proc = Start-Process -FilePath $setup.FullName -ArgumentList '/S' -PassThru -Wait
-          # bootstrapper only logs to SquirrelTemp for the earliest extraction stage.
+          Write-Host "Installer exit code: $($proc.ExitCode)"
-          # Grab whichever exists and copy it into the workspace for upload.
+          # Per-user assisted install lands under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs; a
-          $log = @(
+          # per-machine install would land under Program Files.
-            (Join-Path $installDir 'SquirrelSetup.log'),
+          $installDir = @(
-            (Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA 'SquirrelTemp\SquirrelSetup.log')
+            (Join-Path $env:LOCALAPPDATA 'Programs\Agent Orchestrator'),
+            (Join-Path ${env:ProgramFiles} 'Agent Orchestrator')
           ) | Where-Object { Test-Path $_ } | Select-Object -First 1
-          if ($log) { Copy-Item $log squirrel-setup.log; Write-Host "captured log: $log" } else { Write-Host '::warning::no SquirrelSetup.log found in install dir or SquirrelTemp' }
+          if ($installDir) {
-          if (Test-Path $installDir) {
             Write-Host "INSTALL OK: $installDir created"
             Get-ChildItem $installDir | Select-Object Name | Format-Table -AutoSize
           } else {
-            Write-Host "::warning::INSTALL FAILED: $installDir was not created"
+            Write-Host "::warning::INSTALL: no known install dir found (checked LOCALAPPDATA\Programs and Program Files)"
           }
-      - name: Upload SquirrelSetup.log
-        if: runner.os == 'Windows'
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: squirrel-setup-log-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: frontend/squirrel-setup.log
-          if-no-files-found: warn
       - name: Publish to a 0.0.0-testing-<sha> prerelease
         shell: bash
         env:
@@ -114,7 +109,7 @@ jobs:
           # "already exists" which is fine (|| true). Distinct asset names + --clobber
           # make uploads idempotent across re-runs.
           gh release create "$TAG" --prerelease --target "$GITHUB_SHA" --title "$TAG" \
-            --notes "Unsigned testing build (Linux .deb / Windows Setup.exe / macOS .zip). Not signed; for testing only." \
+            --notes "Unsigned testing build (Linux .deb / Windows NSIS .exe / macOS .zip). Not signed; for testing only." \
             || true
           # NUL-delimited to survive spaces in the app name ("Agent Orchestrator-...").
           find out/make -type f -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d '' f; do

.gitignore

@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ Thumbs.db
 # electron-forge / vite build output
 .vite/
 dist-electron/
+# electron-builder debug dump, written to the cwd on every NSIS build
+builder-debug.yml
 
 # playwright artifacts
 frontend/test-results/

frontend/docs/desktop-release.md

@@ -32,8 +32,9 @@ checklist.
    - `GITHUB_TOKEN` is provided automatically; the workflow already grants
      `contents: write` to publish the Release.
 3. **(Optional) Windows / Linux** — the `forge.config.ts` makers already include
-   Squirrel (Windows), deb, and rpm. To publish them, add the matching matrix
+   NSIS (Windows, via `makers/maker-nsis.ts`), deb, and rpm. To publish them, add
-   runners to `frontend-release.yml`; Windows signing needs its own certificate.
+   the matching matrix runners to `frontend-release.yml`; Windows code-signing
+   needs its own certificate (still a follow-up, see issue #401).
 
 ## Cutting a release
 

frontend/forge.config.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { ForgeConfig } from "@electron-forge/shared-types";
 import { VitePlugin } from "@electron-forge/plugin-vite";
+import MakerNSIS from "./makers/maker-nsis";
 
 const config: ForgeConfig = {
 	packagerConfig: {
@@ -27,24 +28,25 @@ const config: ForgeConfig = {
 	},
 	rebuildConfig: {},
 	makers: [
-		{
+		// Windows installer: NSIS via electron-builder (see makers/maker-nsis.ts).
-			name: "@electron-forge/maker-squirrel",
+		// Replaces Squirrel.Windows, which only does per-user installs with no
-			config: {
+		// custom install dir or proper uninstaller (issue #401).
-				name: "AgentOrchestrator",
+		new MakerNSIS(
-				// NuGet requires a non-empty <authors>; without it `nuget pack`
+			{
-				// exits 1 and the Squirrel maker fails. Mirror package.json.author.
+				appId: "dev.agent-orchestrator.desktop",
-				authors: "Agent Orchestrator",
+				productName: "Agent Orchestrator",
-				setupIcon: "assets/icon.ico",
+				icon: "assets/icon.ico",
 			},
-		},
+			["win32"],
+		),
 		{ name: "@electron-forge/maker-zip", platforms: ["darwin"], config: {} },
 		{
 			name: "@electron-forge/maker-deb",
 			config: {
 				options: {
-					// Must match packagerConfig.executableName; otherwise the deb
+					// Must match packagerConfig.executableName, or the deb maker
-					// maker looks for `agent-orchestrator-frontend` (the package name)
+					// looks for the package name and fails with "could not find
-					// and fails with "could not find the Electron app binary".
+					// the Electron app binary". (Both are "agent-orchestrator".)
 					bin: "agent-orchestrator",
 					icon: "assets/icon.png",
 					maintainer: "Agent Orchestrator",

frontend/makers/maker-nsis.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+// Capture buildForge's args without pulling in electron-builder's real machinery.
+const buildForge = vi.fn<(forge: { dir: string }, options: any) => Promise<string[]>>(async () => [
+	"/out/make/Agent Orchestrator Setup.exe",
+]);
+vi.mock("app-builder-lib", () => ({ buildForge }));
+
+import MakerNSIS from "./maker-nsis";
+
+const makeOptions = {
+	dir: "/tmp/app/Agent Orchestrator-win32-x64",
+	makeDir: "/tmp/app/make",
+	appName: "Agent Orchestrator",
+	targetPlatform: "win32" as const,
+	targetArch: "x64" as const,
+	forgeConfig: {} as never,
+	packageJSON: {},
+};
+
+describe("MakerNSIS", () => {
+	it("targets win32 and is supported anywhere (cross-build allowed)", () => {
+		const maker = new MakerNSIS();
+		expect(maker.name).toBe("nsis");
+		expect(maker.defaultPlatforms).toEqual(["win32"]);
+		expect(maker.isSupportedOnCurrentPlatform()).toBe(true);
+	});
+
+	it("builds an nsis target for the requested arch and forwards config", async () => {
+		const maker = new MakerNSIS({ appId: "dev.agent-orchestrator.desktop", icon: "assets/icon.ico" }, ["win32"]);
+		// Forge resolves the (possibly arch-dependent) config before make().
+		await maker.prepareConfig(makeOptions.targetArch);
+		const artifacts = await maker.make(makeOptions);
+
+		expect(artifacts).toEqual(["/out/make/Agent Orchestrator Setup.exe"]);
+		const [forgeOptions, options] = buildForge.mock.calls[0];
+		expect(forgeOptions).toEqual({ dir: makeOptions.dir });
+		expect(options.win).toEqual(["nsis:x64"]);
+		// electron-builder must not try to publish; the workflow does that.
+		expect(options.config.publish).toBeNull();
+		expect(options.config.appId).toBe("dev.agent-orchestrator.desktop");
+		// productName falls back to appName when not set on the maker config.
+		expect(options.config.productName).toBe("Agent Orchestrator");
+		expect(options.config.win).toEqual({ icon: "assets/icon.ico" });
+		// A real installer: not Squirrel's silent one-click per-user drop.
+		expect(options.config.nsis.oneClick).toBe(false);
+		expect(options.config.nsis.allowToChangeInstallationDirectory).toBe(true);
+	});
+});

frontend/makers/maker-nsis.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import path from "node:path";
+import { MakerBase, type MakerOptions } from "@electron-forge/maker-base";
+import type { ForgePlatform } from "@electron-forge/shared-types";
+
+// Electron Forge has no first-party NSIS maker, so we bridge to electron-builder's
+// `buildForge`, the same engine recordly's working Windows installer uses. We drop
+// Squirrel.Windows (per-user only, no custom install dir, fragile updates) for a
+// real NSIS installer: per-user or per-machine, custom install directory, and a
+// proper uninstaller. See https://github.com/aoagents/ReverbCode/issues/401.
+//
+// `buildForge` speaks Forge's legacy v5 function API, which Forge 7's class-based
+// maker loader cannot resolve, so this thin MakerBase subclass adapts it.
+
+export type MakerNSISConfig = {
+	// electron-builder appId; required for a well-formed NSIS installer.
+	appId?: string;
+	// Display name for the installer + Start menu shortcut. Defaults to appName.
+	productName?: string;
+	// Path to the Windows .ico used for the app and installer.
+	icon?: string;
+	// Any extra electron-builder `nsis` options, merged over our defaults.
+	nsis?: Record<string, unknown>;
+};
+
+export default class MakerNSIS extends MakerBase<MakerNSISConfig> {
+	name = "nsis";
+	defaultPlatforms: ForgePlatform[] = ["win32"];
+
+	isSupportedOnCurrentPlatform(): boolean {
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	async make({ dir, targetArch, appName }: MakerOptions): Promise<string[]> {
+		const { buildForge } = await import("app-builder-lib");
+		const cfg = this.config ?? {};
+		// Mirror buildForge's own output layout (<dir>/../make) so artifacts land
+		// where Forge's publisher expects them.
+		const output = path.join(path.dirname(path.resolve(dir)), "make");
+		return buildForge(
+			{ dir },
+			{
+				win: [`nsis:${targetArch}`],
+				config: {
+					appId: cfg.appId,
+					productName: cfg.productName ?? appName,
+					directories: { output },
+					// Forge owns publishing (the workflow uploads via `gh release`).
+					// `null` stops electron-builder from inferring a GitHub publish
+					// target from package.json `repository` and trying to upload,
+					// which fails in CI with no GH_TOKEN set.
+					publish: null,
+					...(cfg.icon ? { win: { icon: cfg.icon } } : {}),
+					nsis: {
+						// A real installer, not Squirrel's silent per-user drop.
+						oneClick: false,
+						perMachine: false,
+						allowToChangeInstallationDirectory: true,
+						createDesktopShortcut: true,
+						createStartMenuShortcut: true,
+						...cfg.nsis,
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		);
+	}
+}
+
+export { MakerNSIS };

frontend/package.json

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
-	"name": "agent-orchestrator-frontend",
+	"name": "agent-orchestrator",
 	"productName": "Agent Orchestrator",
 	"version": "0.0.0",
 	"private": true,
@@ -28,9 +28,9 @@
 	},
 	"devDependencies": {
 		"@electron-forge/cli": "^7.8.0",
+		"@electron-forge/maker-base": "^7.8.0",
 		"@electron-forge/maker-deb": "^7.8.0",
 		"@electron-forge/maker-rpm": "^7.8.0",
-		"@electron-forge/maker-squirrel": "^7.8.0",
 		"@electron-forge/maker-zip": "^7.8.0",
 		"@electron-forge/plugin-vite": "^7.8.0",
 		"@electron-forge/publisher-github": "^7.8.0",
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 		"@types/react": "^19.2.17",
 		"@types/react-dom": "^19.2.3",
 		"@vitejs/plugin-react": "^6.0.2",
+		"app-builder-lib": "^26.15.3",
 		"electron": "^33.0.0",
 		"jsdom": "^29.1.1",
 		"openapi-typescript": "^7.13.0",
@@ -68,7 +69,6 @@
 		"@xterm/xterm": "^5.5.0",
 		"class-variance-authority": "^0.7.1",
 		"clsx": "^2.1.1",
-		"electron-squirrel-startup": "^1.0.1",
 		"lucide-react": "^1.17.0",
 		"openapi-fetch": "^0.17.0",
 		"posthog-js": "^1.390.2",

frontend/src/electron-squirrel-startup.d.ts

@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-// electron-squirrel-startup ships no types. Its default export is the boolean
-// result of handling any --squirrel-* startup event (true when the app should
-// quit, false on macOS/Linux or a normal launch).
-declare module "electron-squirrel-startup" {
-	const startup: boolean;
-	export default startup;
-}

frontend/src/main.ts

@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ import {
 	type OpenDialogOptions,
 } from "electron";
 import { updateElectronApp } from "update-electron-app";
-import squirrelStartup from "electron-squirrel-startup";
 import { spawn, type ChildProcessWithoutNullStreams } from "node:child_process";
 import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { readFile } from "node:fs/promises";
@@ -38,8 +37,9 @@ import { createBrowserViewHost, type BrowserViewHost } from "./main/browser-view
 declare const MAIN_WINDOW_VITE_DEV_SERVER_URL: string | undefined;
 declare const MAIN_WINDOW_VITE_NAME: string;
 
-// Windows GUI/Squirrel launches have no attached console, so process.stdout and
+// Windows GUI launches (e.g. from a Start-menu/desktop shortcut) have no attached
-// process.stderr are dead pipes. The daemon-output console.log/console.error calls
+// console, so process.stdout and process.stderr are dead pipes. The daemon-output
+// console.log/console.error calls
 // below then fail with EPIPE, and with no "error" listener that surfaces as an
 // uncaught exception that crashes the main process. Swallow broken-pipe write
 // errors on the std streams: a dropped log line is harmless, the crash is not.
@@ -49,18 +49,6 @@ const ignoreStdStreamError = (err: NodeJS.ErrnoException): void => {
 process.stdout.on("error", ignoreStdStreamError);
 process.stderr.on("error", ignoreStdStreamError);
 
-// Windows Squirrel runs this exe with a --squirrel-{install,updated,uninstall,
-// obsolete} flag during install/update/uninstall. electron-squirrel-startup
-// creates/removes the shortcuts for that event and returns true; we then quit
-// immediately instead of booting the full app. A full launch (window + daemon
-// spawn) would hang the installer, which runs this hook and waits for it to
-// exit — that hang is the Squirrel-side failure. Returns false on macOS/Linux,
-// so this is a no-op there.
-const isSquirrelStartup: boolean = squirrelStartup;
-if (isSquirrelStartup) {
-	app.quit();
-}
-
 // Must run before app ready so the About panel and default-menu role labels use it.
 app.setName("Agent Orchestrator");
 
@@ -691,9 +679,6 @@ function initAutoUpdates(): void {
 }
 
 app.whenReady().then(() => {
-	// A Squirrel install/update hook already called app.quit() above; do no
-	// startup work (no window, no daemon spawn) so the hook exits promptly.
-	if (isSquirrelStartup) return;
 	registerRendererProtocol();
 	createWindow();
 	void startDaemon();

frontend/tsconfig.json

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 		"src/**/*.ts",
 		"src/**/*.tsx",
 		"forge.config.ts",
+		"makers/**/*.ts",
 		"vite.main.config.ts",
 		"vite.preload.config.ts",
 		"vite.renderer.config.ts",