Vessel distribution

Vessel uses one source repository and offers two installer editions. Both editions produce an RPM and a Debian package and use the same app identifier, executable (vessel), and data directory. They are alternative installations of the same app; they are not intended to be installed side by side.

Lite does not depend on the distro’s Wine/Proton packages. Its desktop system libraries (WebKitGTK/GTK etc.) are still normal RPM/DEB dependencies. Users can use installed runners, or set VESSEL_RUNTIME_DIRS to colon-separated parent directories containing custom Proton/Wine installations. A graphical runtime picker is part of future development.

Full also declares Python 3 for the UMU zipapp. GPU drivers, the kernel, and desktop system libraries remain host-provided. A single installer cannot make one graphics-driver build portable across every Linux system.

Runtime versions and repository contents

At release preparation time, select the newest upstream versions that pass our game/tool compatibility tests, then pin their exact versions and checksums for that Vessel release. Avoid floating latest inside a published installer or silently replacing an existing game’s selected runner.

Keep app source, build scripts, manifests, and packaging configuration in this repository. Stage binary and source archives under ignored build/runtime-bundle/; publish packages and matching sources as assets from the same project. Multi-GB runtime payloads are not checked into Git history.

Preparing Full

Stage this layout before running npm run bundle:full:

build/runtime-bundle/
  manifest.json
  binaries/      # Versioned upstream runtime archives
  licenses/      # Exact upstream notices / combined notice files
  sources/       # Matching source archives and required build materials

The manifest has format_version: 1, architecture: "x86_64", and a components array. Each record has these fields (the hash values below are placeholders):

{
  "id": "wine",
  "version": "PINNED_RELEASE_VERSION",
  "upstream_url": "https://upstream.example/releases/PINNED_RELEASE_VERSION",
  "archive": "binaries/wine-PINNED_RELEASE_VERSION.tar.xz",
  "archive_sha256": "64-lowercase-hex-characters",
  "license": "licenses/wine-NOTICES.txt",
  "license_sha256": "64-lowercase-hex-characters",
  "source_archive": "sources/wine-PINNED_RELEASE_VERSION-source.tar.xz",
  "source_archive_sha256": "64-lowercase-hex-characters"
}

Required IDs are wine, proton, umu, and steam-runtime. Additional entries, such as winetricks, can use the same format. Preserve every upstream component’s licensing materials in its payload/source distribution; a manifest notice record does not replace nested licenses. Source material must correspond to the exact binary build, including any downstream patches and submodules.

npm run bundle:check checks required entries, pinned versions, contained file paths, and SHA-256 hashes for all binary/notice/source files. It fails when the staging directory is missing or incomplete. It is a packaging integrity check, not an audit of source completeness or legal compliance.

packaging/tauri.full.conf.json adds the validated staged bundle as application resources. Base configuration always includes Vessel’s LICENSE, NOTICE, and third-party notice policy. For a debug packaging check use:

npm run bundle:lite -- --debug
npm run bundle:full -- --debug

The output folders are src-tauri/target/{release,debug}/bundle/{rpm,deb}. Tag published filenames with -lite or -full to distinguish editions; the installed application’s identity stays the same.

Current implementation boundary

Lite is buildable now. Full has a guarded packaging configuration; actual redistributable Wine/Proton/runtime archives and matching source materials have not been staged, so no complete Full installer has been produced. Selecting, unpacking, and executing bundled runners at app startup is part of the runtime development milestone. Do not publish a Full package as playable before that integration and game testing are complete.

License and publication

Vessel original work is MIT. See LICENSE and THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md. Wine remains under its upstream LGPL terms, and Proton has multiple component licenses (Wine LICENSE, Proton LICENSE). Preserve the MIT copyright and permission notice when redistributing Vessel. Distribute corresponding sources and other materials where required by bundled components’ upstream licenses; do not relabel third-party software as MIT code.

The repository is currently local. A public remote and source/download URL must be established before publication; no hosted repository or release has been created by this setup task.