Desktop app: update in place, optional development builds (1.14.0)

.github/workflows/desktop-app.yml

@@ -4,19 +4,29 @@
 # When it runs:
 # - an official release is published (v1.13.0, …) → build both, smoke-test
 #   them, attach the .dmg and the Setup.exe to that release;
+# - a development build is tagged (dev-build.yml calls this with its tag) →
+#   the same, attached to that pre-release, for app users who opted into
+#   development builds (the app's update check only offers a build once its
+#   files are attached);
 # - by hand (Actions → Desktop app → Run workflow) → build both, keep them as
 #   downloadable workflow artifacts;
 # - a pull request that touches the packaging → build and smoke-test, so a
 #   broken build is found before the release that needs it.
-# Not on every merge: development builds are hundreds of MB each, and the
-# dev-build workflow tags with GITHUB_TOKEN, which starts no other workflow.
+# The dev-build workflow is a caller rather than a trigger because it tags with
+# GITHUB_TOKEN, whose releases start no other workflow.
 
 name: Desktop app
 
 on:
   release:
     types: [published]
   workflow_dispatch:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      tag:
+        description: The development build's tag, to attach the apps to
+        required: true
+        type: string
   pull_request:
     paths:
       - "packaging/**"
@@ -156,7 +166,8 @@ jobs:
           retention-days: 14
 
       - name: Attach to the release
-        if: github.event_name == 'release'
+        if: github.event_name == 'release' || inputs.tag != ''
         env:
           GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-        run: gh release upload "${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}" "$ASSET" --clobber
+          TAG: ${{ inputs.tag || github.event.release.tag_name }}
+        run: gh release upload "$TAG" "$ASSET" --clobber

.github/workflows/dev-build.yml

@@ -24,15 +24,18 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: write
 
-concurrency:
-  # One at a time, in order: two merges in quick succession must not race for
-  # the same number.
-  group: dev-build
-  cancel-in-progress: false
-
 jobs:
   tag:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    concurrency:
+      # One at a time, in order: two merges in quick succession must not race
+      # for the same number. (The tagging only: the app builds below take ~20
+      # minutes and need not hold up the next merge's tag.)
+      group: dev-build
+      cancel-in-progress: false
+    outputs:
+      tag: ${{ steps.name.outputs.tag }}
+      skip: ${{ steps.name.outputs.skip }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
@@ -80,3 +83,37 @@ jobs:
             --generate-notes \
             --notes-start-tag "$PREV" \
             --notes "Automatic development build of main since $BASE. Not an official release: it has not been through release testing, and its changes are listed below as pull requests rather than written up. Official releases are the ones marked Latest."
+
+  # The desktop apps, for app users who opted into development builds.
+  apps:
+    needs: tag
+    if: needs.tag.outputs.skip == 'false'
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/desktop-app.yml
+    with:
+      tag: ${{ needs.tag.outputs.tag }}
+
+  prune-apps:
+    # Each build's apps are ~500 MB, one set per merge. Only the newest are
+    # ever offered to update to, so older development builds lose theirs (the
+    # tag, notes and source stay). Official releases are never touched.
+    needs: apps
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    env:
+      GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+      KEEP: 5
+    steps:
+      - name: Remove the apps of older development builds
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          gh release list -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --limit 100 \
+              --json tagName,isPrerelease,createdAt \
+              --jq '[.[] | select(.isPrerelease and (.tagName | test("-dev\\.[0-9]+$")))]
+                    | sort_by(.createdAt) | reverse | .[env.KEEP | tonumber:] | .[].tagName' |
+          while read -r tag; do
+            gh release view "$tag" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --json assets \
+                --jq '.assets[].name | select(startswith("MEA-NAP-"))' |
+            while read -r name; do
+              echo "$tag: removing $name"
+              gh release delete-asset "$tag" "$name" -R "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" --yes
+            done
+          done

docs/python/installation.md

@@ -58,8 +58,9 @@ what makes it safe to click through.
    need administrator rights. Tick **Create a desktop shortcut** if you want one.
 4. Start MEA-NAP from the Start menu (or the desktop shortcut).
 
-To update, download the newer installer and run it: it replaces the old
-version and keeps your settings. To uninstall: **Settings → Apps → Installed
+To update, use **Update** in MEA-NAP itself (see [Updates](#good-to-know)
+below), or download the newer installer and run it: either way it replaces
+the old version and keeps your settings. To uninstall: **Settings → Apps → Installed
 apps → MEA-NAP → Uninstall**.
 
 ### Installing on a Mac
@@ -79,8 +80,10 @@ apps → MEA-NAP → Uninstall**.
    again.
 4. From then on MEA-NAP opens normally.
 
-To update, download the newer `.dmg` and drag MEA-NAP into Applications
-again, replacing the old one. To uninstall, drag MEA-NAP from Applications to
+To update, use **Update** in MEA-NAP itself (see [Updates](#good-to-know)
+below; this needs MEA-NAP to be in Applications), or download the newer
+`.dmg` and drag MEA-NAP into Applications again, replacing the old one. To
+uninstall, drag MEA-NAP from Applications to
 the Bin.
 
 If macOS instead says MEA-NAP **"is damaged and can't be opened"**, the
@@ -100,8 +103,16 @@ time. On Windows, antivirus software may also scan the app the first time it
 starts, so the window can take a minute to appear.
 
 **Updates.** The version number in the toolbar, beside the **Mode**
-selector, shows **⬆ update** when a newer release is out. Click it, then
-**Download**.
+selector, shows **⬆ update** when a newer version is out. Click it, then
+**Update to …**: MEA-NAP downloads the new version, closes, installs it and
+opens again, about a minute in all, with no browser and none of the warnings
+above. Your settings and results are kept. (Version 1.13.0 doesn't have this
+button yet: update from it once by downloading, as above.)
+
+Tick **Also offer development builds** in the same window to get every fix as
+soon as it is made (usually within half an hour), rather than waiting for the
+next official release. These haven't been through release testing; untick
+the box to go back to official releases from the next one on.
 
 **What the app doesn't include.** Running MATLAB or switching between
 MEA-NAP versions from inside the GUI, CAT-NAP's cell tracking across days

packaging/windows/meanap.iss

@@ -60,3 +60,12 @@ Name: "{autodesktop}\MEA-NAP"; Filename: "{app}\MEA-NAP.exe"; Tasks: desktopicon
 
 [Run]
 Filename: "{app}\MEA-NAP.exe"; Description: "{cm:LaunchProgram,MEA-NAP}"; Flags: nowait postinstall skipifsilent
+; The app updating itself runs this installer with /SILENT /RELAUNCH=1
+; (meanap.app_update), and the tick box above is skipped when silent.
+Filename: "{app}\MEA-NAP.exe"; Flags: nowait runasoriginaluser; Check: RelaunchAfterUpdate
+
+[Code]
+function RelaunchAfterUpdate: Boolean;
+begin
+  Result := WizardSilent and (ExpandConstant('{param:relaunch|0}') = '1');
+end;

python/DESKTOP_APP_PLAN.md

@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@ it, and gets the MEA-NAP GUI. Today's route — git clone, `uv sync`,
 | Left out | CAT-NAP **cell tracking** (needs `roicat` → PyTorch, not a declared dependency); **Kilosort**; **launching MATLAB / old MATLAB-only releases**; switching between versions in place. |
 | Distribution | `.dmg` (macOS) and a setup `.exe` (Windows, Inno Setup), built by GitHub Actions on each **official** release tag (and on demand) and attached to the GitHub release. Not on every dev build: hundreds of MB per merge. |
 | Download links | Asset names carry **no version** (`MEA-NAP-Windows-x64-Setup.exe`, `MEA-NAP-macOS-AppleSilicon.dmg`, `MEA-NAP-macOS-Intel.dmg`) so the install page can link to `releases/latest/download/<name>`, one click, always the newest. README → the docs site's install page (MyST doesn't render on GitHub). |
-| Updates | The app checks GitHub's releases (public repo, no git, no login) and offers a link to download the newer one. |
+| Updates | The app checks GitHub's releases (public repo, no git, no login) and **updates itself in place** (1.14.0, `meanap.app_update`): downloads this computer's file (size + SHA-256 checked), quits, and the Windows installer (`/SILENT /RELAUNCH=1`) or a macOS shell script swaps it in and reopens it. Fetched by the app, not a browser, so no Chrome / Gatekeeper warnings. Falls back to the download page when it can't (Mac app not in Applications / translocated / folder not writable; files not built yet). The next start reports success or failure (`pending-update.json`). |
+| Update channels | Official releases by default; a tick box **"Also offer development builds"** adds the per-merge pre-releases. `dev-build.yml` calls `desktop-app.yml` (`workflow_call`) to attach apps to each one (~20 min after the merge; a build is only offered once its file is there), and prunes the apps of all but the newest 5 dev builds. |
 
 ## What has to change in the code
 
@@ -88,6 +89,10 @@ the package and, on Windows, no console. Each of these breaks something today:
 - Source-only extensions (isosplit6; OASIS on Intel) are compiled in CI with
   `MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=12.0`, or they'd only load on the runner's macOS.
 - No macOS/Windows machine locally: real-device testing depends on the user.
+- **Self-update untested on real machines.** The macOS script is tested on
+  Linux with stand-ins for hdiutil/ditto/open; the Windows silent install not
+  at all. First real test: install 1.14.0 by hand, tick development builds,
+  update to the next dev build. Users on 1.13.0 must download once by hand.
 
 ## Status