.gitea/workflows/build-app-preview.yml

@@ -43,7 +43,13 @@ name: Build App (Preview)
 # prunes previous previews itself, keeping the newest few. Bundles are ~130 MB a
 # release; the point of a preview is the build you are testing now.
 #
-# `sync-release.yml` is workflow_dispatch-only, so nothing here reaches GitHub.
+# Nothing here reaches GitHub: `build-app.yml` is the only workflow that
+# mirrors a release there, and it does so inline, gated on `prerelease: false`
+# — a preview release is never a candidate. (The previous mechanism here,
+# `sync-release.yml`, was `workflow_dispatch`-only and read
+# `gitea.event.release.*` fields that are only ever populated by a `release`
+# trigger, so it could never have actually run; deleted rather than fixed,
+# since build-app.yml's inline mirror already does its job. See triple-c#32.)
 
 env:
   GITEA_URL: ${{ gitea.server_url }}
@@ -70,12 +76,23 @@ jobs:
     outputs:
       version: ${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
       sha: ${{ steps.version.outputs.SHA }}
+      # Everything after the first `-` in VERSION (e.g. `preview.a1b2c3d`).
+      # The bundle version fields never see this — see "Set app version" in
+      # each build job — but it is baked into the binary as
+      # `TRIPLE_C_BUILD_SUFFIX` so `get_app_version()` can still report it.
+      # An installed preview otherwise reports the same bare number a
+      # production build would, indistinguishable in the About panel and to
+      # `check_for_updates`. See triple-c#32.
+      suffix: ${{ steps.version.outputs.SUFFIX }}
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
 
+      - name: Fetch all tags
+        run: git fetch --tags
+
       - name: Compute preview version
         id: version
         run: |
@@ -86,21 +103,38 @@ jobs:
           # is testing and not something to hang a tag on.
           echo "SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-          # The patch number is computed exactly as build-app.yml does it, so a
-          # preview is labelled with the version the release it previews would
-          # carry. This used to be hard-coded `.0`, which made every preview
-          # installer claim to be x.y.0 no matter what it contained.
-          LATEST_TAG=$(git tag -l "v${MAJOR_MINOR}.*" --sort=-v:refname | grep -E "^v${MAJOR_MINOR}\.[0-9]+$" | head -1 || true)
-          if [ -n "$LATEST_TAG" ]; then
-            PATCH=$(git rev-list --count "${LATEST_TAG}..HEAD")
-            echo "Latest matching tag: ${LATEST_TAG} (+${PATCH} commits)"
+          # The patch number must be the same "one past the highest patch
+          # already used" build-app.yml computes for a real release — not a
+          # distance from the latest tag. It used to be
+          # `git rev-list --count <latest tag>..HEAD`, which build-app.yml's
+          # own history section documents as broken for exactly this reason:
+          # it resets to zero on every tag cut, so previews went *backwards*
+          # (0.4.62 -> 0.4.0) the moment a release landed, and nothing stopped
+          # a preview number from later colliding with a real release's.
+          #
+          # Reading the same `v${MAJOR_MINOR}.*` tags (including the `-mac`
+          # / `-win` suffixed ones a partially-published release can leave
+          # behind) means a preview built right before a release computes the
+          # exact number that release is about to take — so semver already
+          # orders `0.4.12-preview.<sha> < 0.4.12`, and a preview user is
+          # offered the real release the moment it ships. See triple-c#32.
+          HIGHEST=$(git tag -l "v${MAJOR_MINOR}.*" \
+            | grep -E "^v${MAJOR_MINOR}\.[0-9]+(-mac|-win)?$" \
+            | sed -E "s/^v${MAJOR_MINOR}\.([0-9]+).*/\1/" \
+            | sort -n | tail -1 || true)
+
+          if [ -n "$HIGHEST" ]; then
+            echo "Highest patch already used on this line: ${HIGHEST}"
+            PATCH=$((HIGHEST + 1))
           else
             echo "No v${MAJOR_MINOR}.* tag yet — starting this line at .0"
             PATCH=0
           fi
 
-          VERSION="${MAJOR_MINOR}.${PATCH}-preview.${SHORT_SHA}"
+          SUFFIX="preview.${SHORT_SHA}"
+          VERSION="${MAJOR_MINOR}.${PATCH}-${SUFFIX}"
           echo "VERSION=${VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "SUFFIX=${SUFFIX}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           echo "Computed preview version: ${VERSION}"
 
   # One release, created once. The three build jobs run concurrently, so
@@ -249,6 +283,13 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build Tauri app
         working-directory: ./app
+        env:
+          # Baked into the binary via `option_env!` in `get_app_version()` —
+          # the bundle version above stays bare (WiX/MSI's ProductVersion has
+          # no room for a suffix), so this is the only place a preview build
+          # can still tell itself apart from a production one. See
+          # triple-c#32.
+          TRIPLE_C_BUILD_SUFFIX: ${{ needs.compute-version.outputs.suffix }}
         run: |
           export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"
           npx tauri build
@@ -361,6 +402,9 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build Tauri app (universal)
         working-directory: ./app
+        env:
+          # See the matching comment on the Linux job's "Build Tauri app" step.
+          TRIPLE_C_BUILD_SUFFIX: ${{ needs.compute-version.outputs.suffix }}
         run: |
           export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"
           npx tauri build --target universal-apple-darwin
@@ -489,6 +533,8 @@ jobs:
         working-directory: ./app
         env:
           TAURI_CONFIG: "{\"build\":{\"beforeBuildCommand\":\"\"}}"
+          # See the matching comment on the Linux job's "Build Tauri app" step.
+          TRIPLE_C_BUILD_SUFFIX: ${{ needs.compute-version.outputs.suffix }}
         run: |
           set "PATH=%USERPROFILE%\.cargo\bin;C:\Program Files\nodejs;%PATH%"
           cargo tauri build

.gitea/workflows/sync-release.yml

@@ -1,59 +0,0 @@
-name: Sync Release to GitHub
-
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-jobs:
-  sync-release:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Mirror release to GitHub
-        env:
-          GH_PAT: ${{ secrets.GH_PAT }}
-          GITHUB_REPO: shadowdao/triple-c
-          RELEASE_TAG: ${{ gitea.event.release.tag_name }}
-          RELEASE_NAME: ${{ gitea.event.release.name }}
-          RELEASE_BODY: ${{ gitea.event.release.body }}
-          IS_PRERELEASE: ${{ gitea.event.release.prerelease }}
-          IS_DRAFT: ${{ gitea.event.release.draft }}
-        run: |
-          set -e
-
-          echo "==> Creating release $RELEASE_TAG on GitHub..."
-
-          RESPONSE=$(curl -sf -X POST \
-            -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_PAT" \
-            -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
-            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-            https://api.github.com/repos/$GITHUB_REPO/releases \
-            -d "{
-              \"tag_name\": \"$RELEASE_TAG\",
-              \"name\": \"$RELEASE_NAME\",
-              \"body\": $(echo "$RELEASE_BODY" | jq -Rs .),
-              \"draft\": $IS_DRAFT,
-              \"prerelease\": $IS_PRERELEASE
-            }")
-
-          UPLOAD_URL=$(echo "$RESPONSE" | jq -r '.upload_url' | sed 's/{?name,label}//')
-          echo "Release created. Upload URL: $UPLOAD_URL"
-
-          echo '${{ toJSON(gitea.event.release.assets) }}' | jq -c '.[]' | while read asset; do
-            ASSET_NAME=$(echo "$asset" | jq -r '.name')
-            ASSET_URL=$(echo "$asset" | jq -r '.browser_download_url')
-
-            echo "==> Downloading asset: $ASSET_NAME"
-            curl -sfL -o "/tmp/$ASSET_NAME" "$ASSET_URL"
-
-            echo "==> Uploading $ASSET_NAME to GitHub..."
-            ENCODED_NAME=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse, sys; print(urllib.parse.quote(sys.argv[1]))" "$ASSET_NAME")
-            curl -sf -X POST \
-              -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_PAT" \
-              -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
-              -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
-              --data-binary "@/tmp/$ASSET_NAME" \
-              "$UPLOAD_URL?name=$ENCODED_NAME"
-
-            echo "  Uploaded: $ASSET_NAME"
-          done
-
-          echo "==> Release sync complete."

TECHNICAL.md

@@ -412,11 +412,10 @@ triple-c/
 │
 ├── .gitea/
 │   └── workflows/
-│       ├── build-app.yml          # Build Tauri app (Linux/macOS/Windows)
+│       ├── build-app.yml          # Build Tauri app (Linux/macOS/Windows); mirrors releases to GitHub inline
 │       ├── build-app-preview.yml  # Preview builds
 │       ├── build.yml              # Build container image (multi-arch)
 │       ├── build-stt.yml          # Build the STT image
-│       ├── sync-release.yml       # Mirror releases to GitHub
 │       ├── backfill-releases.yml  # Bulk copy releases to GitHub
 │       └── cleanup-releases.yml   # Prune old releases
 │

app/src-tauri/src/commands/update_commands.rs

@@ -16,9 +16,27 @@ const REGISTRY_API_BASE: &str =
 const GHCR_TOKEN_URL: &str =
     "https://ghcr.io/token?scope=repository:shadowdao/triple-c-sandbox:pull";
 
+/// `CARGO_PKG_VERSION`, plus a build-time suffix when one was baked in.
+///
+/// The bundle version itself (`tauri.conf.json`, `Cargo.toml`, `package.json`)
+/// is never given a `-preview.<sha>` suffix — `build-app-preview.yml` strips
+/// it before patching those files, because the Windows MSI's `ProductVersion`
+/// is a fixed-width numeric field with no room for one, and nothing here can
+/// verify a change to that without an actual Windows build. `TRIPLE_C_BUILD_SUFFIX`
+/// is the workaround: set as a build-time env var in the preview workflow
+/// only, so `option_env!` bakes it into the binary without the bundle version
+/// ever seeing it. A production build sets nothing, so `option_env!` reads
+/// `None` and this is a no-op — see triple-c#32.
+fn format_app_version(base: &str, build_suffix: Option<&str>) -> String {
+    match build_suffix {
+        Some(suffix) if !suffix.is_empty() => format!("{}-{}", base, suffix),
+        _ => base.to_string(),
+    }
+}
+
 #[tauri::command]
 pub fn get_app_version() -> String {
-    env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION").to_string()
+    format_app_version(env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION"), option_env!("TRIPLE_C_BUILD_SUFFIX"))
 }
 
 #[tauri::command]
@@ -51,30 +69,8 @@ pub async fn check_for_updates() -> Result<Option<UpdateInfo>, String> {
         &[".AppImage", ".deb", ".rpm"]
     };
 
-    // Filter releases that have at least one asset matching the current platform
-    let platform_releases: Vec<&GitHubRelease> = releases
-        .iter()
-        .filter(|r| {
-            r.assets.iter().any(|a| {
-                platform_extensions.iter().any(|ext| a.name.ends_with(ext))
-            })
-        })
-        .collect();
-
-    // Find the latest release with a higher semver version
-    let mut best: Option<(&GitHubRelease, (u32, u32, u32))> = None;
-    for release in &platform_releases {
-        if let Some(ver) = parse_semver_from_tag(&release.tag_name) {
-            if ver > current_semver {
-                if best.is_none() || ver > best.unwrap().1 {
-                    best = Some((release, ver));
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    match best {
-        Some((release, _)) => {
+    match pick_update(&releases, current_semver, platform_extensions) {
+        Some(release) => {
             // Only include assets matching the current platform
             let assets = release
                 .assets
@@ -105,6 +101,37 @@ pub async fn check_for_updates() -> Result<Option<UpdateInfo>, String> {
     }
 }
 
+/// Pick the newest available update out of a release list, or `None` if
+/// nothing beats `current_semver`. Pure and synchronous — split out of
+/// `check_for_updates` so the prerelease/platform/version filtering can be
+/// tested without a live HTTP call.
+///
+/// Three filters, all of which must pass: not a prerelease (see the long
+/// comment on `GitHubRelease::prerelease`), at least one asset for this
+/// platform, and a tag that parses as semver *and* is newer than what is
+/// running. A tag that does not parse — a `-preview.<sha>` suffix, most
+/// realistically — is skipped rather than erroring, the same as it always
+/// has been; nothing here changes what an update tag is expected to look
+/// like, only what channel it is allowed to come from.
+fn pick_update<'a>(
+    releases: &'a [GitHubRelease],
+    current_semver: (u32, u32, u32),
+    platform_extensions: &[&str],
+) -> Option<&'a GitHubRelease> {
+    releases
+        .iter()
+        .filter(|r| !r.prerelease)
+        .filter(|r| {
+            r.assets
+                .iter()
+                .any(|a| platform_extensions.iter().any(|ext| a.name.ends_with(ext)))
+        })
+        .filter_map(|r| parse_semver_from_tag(&r.tag_name).map(|ver| (r, ver)))
+        .filter(|(_, ver)| *ver > current_semver)
+        .max_by_key(|(_, ver)| *ver)
+        .map(|(r, _)| r)
+}
+
 /// Parse a semver string like "0.2.5" -> (0, 2, 5)
 fn parse_semver(version: &str) -> Option<(u32, u32, u32)> {
     let clean = version.trim_start_matches('v');
@@ -131,6 +158,92 @@ fn extract_version_from_tag(tag: &str) -> Option<String> {
     Some(format!("{}.{}.{}", major, minor, patch))
 }
 
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::models::GitHubAsset;
+
+    // ── format_app_version ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_production_build_reports_the_bare_version() {
+        assert_eq!(format_app_version("0.4.12", None), "0.4.12");
+        // An empty env var (set but blank) must not print a trailing dash.
+        assert_eq!(format_app_version("0.4.12", Some("")), "0.4.12");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_preview_build_reports_its_suffix() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            format_app_version("0.4.12", Some("preview.a1b2c3d")),
+            "0.4.12-preview.a1b2c3d"
+        );
+    }
+
+    // ── pick_update ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+    fn release(tag: &str, prerelease: bool, asset_names: &[&str]) -> GitHubRelease {
+        GitHubRelease {
+            tag_name: tag.to_string(),
+            html_url: format!("https://example.invalid/{}", tag),
+            body: String::new(),
+            assets: asset_names
+                .iter()
+                .map(|name| GitHubAsset {
+                    name: name.to_string(),
+                    browser_download_url: String::new(),
+                    size: 0,
+                })
+                .collect(),
+            published_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z".to_string(),
+            prerelease,
+        }
+    }
+
+    const LINUX_EXTENSIONS: &[&str] = &[".AppImage", ".deb", ".rpm"];
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_prerelease_is_never_offered_even_if_its_tag_would_otherwise_win() {
+        let releases = vec![release("v9.9.9", true, &["app-9.9.9.AppImage"])];
+        assert!(pick_update(&releases, (0, 4, 10), LINUX_EXTENSIONS).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_release_with_no_asset_for_this_platform_is_skipped() {
+        let releases = vec![release("v0.4.12", false, &["app-0.4.12.msi"])];
+        assert!(pick_update(&releases, (0, 4, 10), LINUX_EXTENSIONS).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_release_that_is_not_newer_is_not_offered() {
+        let releases = vec![release("v0.4.10", false, &["app.AppImage"])];
+        assert!(pick_update(&releases, (0, 4, 10), LINUX_EXTENSIONS).is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn an_untagged_or_unparseable_release_is_skipped_not_fatal() {
+        // A `-preview.<sha>` tag is exactly the shape this must not choke on
+        // or mistake for an update — it simply never parses as a bare semver.
+        let releases = vec![
+            release("preview-a1b2c3d", false, &["app.AppImage"]),
+            release("v0.4.12", false, &["app.AppImage"]),
+        ];
+        let best = pick_update(&releases, (0, 4, 10), LINUX_EXTENSIONS).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(best.tag_name, "v0.4.12");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_highest_qualifying_version_wins_not_the_first_or_last_in_the_list() {
+        let releases = vec![
+            release("v0.4.11", false, &["app.AppImage"]),
+            release("v0.4.13", false, &["app.AppImage"]),
+            release("v0.4.12", false, &["app.AppImage"]),
+        ];
+        let best = pick_update(&releases, (0, 4, 10), LINUX_EXTENSIONS).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(best.tag_name, "v0.4.13");
+    }
+}
+
 /// Check whether a newer container image is available in the registry.
 ///
 /// Compares the local image digest with the remote registry digest using the

app/src-tauri/src/models/update_info.rs

@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ pub struct GitHubRelease {
     pub body: String,
     pub assets: Vec<GitHubAsset>,
     pub published_at: String,
+    /// Whether GitHub itself has this release marked as a prerelease.
+    /// `#[serde(default)]` rather than required: every response GitHub sends
+    /// carries this, but nothing here should refuse to parse the rest of a
+    /// release over one missing field. No production release is ever
+    /// mirrored with this `true` today — see `check_for_updates`, which
+    /// filters on it explicitly rather than relying on that being an
+    /// accident of what happens to get mirrored.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub prerelease: bool,
 }
 
 /// GitHub API asset response (internal).