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Installer Creation Guide

This guide covers how to create installers for all platforms.

Overview

Platform Status Method Location
Windows ✅ Implemented Inno Setup Local (Windows)
macOS ❌ Not Implemented DMG/PKG Requires macOS
Linux ❌ Not Implemented AppImage/DEB Requires Linux

Windows Installer

Prerequisites

  1. Inno Setup installed

  2. Plugin built successfully

    • VST3 and Standalone targets compiled

Creating the Installer

# Navigate to project root
# Run the installer creation script
.\scripts\installer\create-windows-installer.ps1 -PluginName [Plugin Name] -Version "1.0.0"

Parameters

Parameter Required Default Description
PluginName Yes - Plugin folder name
Version Yes - Version number (e.g., "1.0.0")
CompanyName No "APC" Company name
PluginURL No GitHub URL Plugin website

Output

  • Location: dist\{PluginName}-{Version}-Windows-Setup.exe
  • Size: ~5-20 MB (depends on plugin)

Installer Features

  • ✅ License agreement (EULA)
  • ✅ Custom installation path
  • ✅ Component selection (VST3, Standalone, Presets, Docs)
  • ✅ Start Menu shortcuts
  • ✅ Desktop shortcut option
  • ✅ Uninstaller

Installation Paths

VST3:     C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\{PluginName}.vst3
Standalone: C:\Program Files\{PluginName}\{PluginName}.exe
Presets:  C:\ProgramData\{PluginName}\Presets\

macOS Installer (NOT IMPLEMENTED)

Status

❌ Cannot be created on Windows

Why

macOS installers require macOS-specific tools:

  • hdiutil - DMG creation
  • pkgbuild - PKG component creation
  • productbuild - PKG distribution creation
  • codesign - Code signing
  • Apple Developer certificate

What You Can Do

  1. Build on GitHub Actions

    • Workflow creates macOS binaries
    • Download artifacts to a Mac

  2. Manual Creation on macOS

    # Create component packages
pkgbuild --component Plugin.vst3 \
    --install-location "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3" \
    Plugin-VST3.pkg

# Create DMG
hdiutil create -volname "Plugin Installer" \
    -srcfolder Plugin.app \
    -ov -format UDZO \
    Plugin.dmg

Future Enhancement

Add macOS installer creation to GitHub Actions workflow (requires macOS runner with signing certificates).

Linux Packages (NOT IMPLEMENTED)

Status

❌ Cannot be created on Windows

Why

Linux packages require Linux-specific tools:

  • appimagetool - AppImage creation
  • dpkg-deb - DEB package creation

What You Can Do

  1. Build on GitHub Actions

    • Workflow creates Linux binaries
    • Download artifacts to a Linux machine

  2. Manual Creation on Linux

    # Create AppImage
appimagetool AppDir/ Plugin.AppImage

# Create DEB
dpkg-deb --build deb-package/ Plugin.deb

Future Enhancement

Add Linux package creation to GitHub Actions workflow.

GitHub Actions Alternative

Currently, GitHub Actions creates ZIP distributions only:

  • Plugin-v1.0.0-Windows.zip
  • Plugin-v1.0.0-macOS.zip
  • Plugin-v1.0.0-Linux.zip

To Create Installers in CI/CD

Update .github/workflows/build-release.yml to:

  1. Windows: Add Inno Setup step
  2. macOS: Add DMG/PKG creation step
  3. Linux: Add AppImage/DEB creation step

This would enable fully automated releases with installers.

Troubleshooting

"Inno Setup not found"

Solution: Install Inno Setup from https://jrsoftware.org/isdl.php

"Build artifacts not found"

Solution: Build the plugin first:

.\scripts\build-and-install.ps1 -PluginName CloudWash

"Permission denied"

Solution: Run PowerShell as Administrator

Summary

Task Status How To
Windows Installer ✅ Ready Use create-windows-installer.ps1
macOS Installer ❌ Not Ready Requires macOS
Linux Packages ❌ Not Ready Requires Linux
Automated CI/CD ⚠️ Partial ZIPs only, installers need implementation