Skip to content

NativeInstallerDecision.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
60 lines (49 loc) · 2.7 KB

NativeInstallerDecision.md

File metadata and controls

60 lines (49 loc) · 2.7 KB
Raw
status landed
summary P6 — decision to defer native .exe/.dmg installers; the one-drop FNSTools.tox bootstrapper is the official rail. Includes revisit triggers.
since 7842401 2026-08-21

P6 — Native Installer Decision (+ pip-rail cleanup)

DECIDED 2026-08-21: Option B — defer. No .exe/.dmg installers for now. The one-drop FNSTools.tox bootstrapper is the official install rail. Strike the native-installer promise from docs and website until it is real.

Rationale

  • The audience already runs TouchDesigner; dragging a .tox into a network is a gesture they know. A native installer adds little friction removal.
  • Code-signing burden is real: Windows cert ≈ $100–400/yr; macOS notarization requires the $99/yr Apple developer account. Unsigned installers throw OS warnings that hurt adoption more than having no installer at all.
  • A second release artifact per version = permanent maintenance overhead.

Revisit triggers

  • Audience extends meaningfully beyond TD-savvy users.
  • Derivative ships a native packaging system (in which case adopt that rail, not a custom installer — the manifest/package contracts are packaging-system-agnostic by design; see ConfiguratorDistribution.md).

Doc edits to execute

All in one pass; no code changes.

  1. docs/ConfiguratorDistribution.md
    • Intro (~lines 9–10): "native .exe/.dmg installers are the bootstrap" → the one-drop FNSTools.tox is the bootstrap; native installers deferred (link this doc).
    • §4.2 revision note (~lines 309–310): same correction — delivery is bucket + one-drop tox; ".exe/.dmg" removed or marked deferred.
    • Owner quote block (~lines 561–572): keep the quote as history, add a dated note that the decision landed as "deferred" (this doc).
  2. Pip-rail cleanup (stale spots that still present pip as live):
    • ~line 339: remove/strike "a pip install fns-tool-a fns-tool-b line (§3 route)".
    • ~line 426: remove/strike "Optional: pip marker-package rail on top (§3)".
    • §3 header already says SUPERSEDED — leave the section as the decision record.
  3. docs/UvPackagingResearch.md: add a tombstone header — research only, the pip/uv rail was rejected 2026-08-13 (ConfiguratorDistribution.md §3/§4.2); revisit only if TD ships a native pip/uv-based packaging system.
  4. Website: audit copy for any .exe/.dmg promise; align with the one-drop rail. (Separate repo/folder: website/.)

Success criteria

  • Zero remaining promises of native installers in docs or website.
  • Zero remaining text presenting pip as a live delivery option.
  • The decision + revisit triggers findable from ConfiguratorDistribution.md.