Windows Cross-Compilation from macOS

What’s Happening

When you run yarn build:windows:cross, it:

1. Builds all JavaScript/TypeScript libraries (5-10 minutes)
   • double-eighteen (domino rendering)
   • warp12-engine (game logic)
   • warp12-react (UI components)
   • warp12-theme (federation skins)
   • bridge app (main Tauri frontend)
   • Cloud Functions
2. Cross-compiles the Rust/Tauri binary for Windows (2-5 minutes)
   • Uses cargo-xwin to compile for x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
   • Downloads Windows SDK components as needed
   • Produces a Windows .exe file

Output

After completion, you’ll have:

apps/Warp12/src-tauri/target/x86_64-pc-windows-msvc/release/
  └── Warp 12.exe   (Windows executable)

What This Gets You

✅ Native Windows executable

• Runs on Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
• No installer, just the .exe
• Can be tested directly on Windows

❌ What’s NOT included:

• No MSI installer
• No MSIX package (for Microsoft Store)
• No NSIS self-extractor

Creating Installers

Installers (MSI, NSIS, MSIX) require Windows-only tooling and cannot be produced by the macOS cross-compile. Build them on Windows instead — the recommended path is CI.

Recommended: GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/build-windows.yml)

Triggered on v* tags or via manual dispatch. The windows-latest runner produces:

• MSI (WiX) and NSIS -setup.exe via yarn tauri:build
• MSIX — a multiarch (x64 + arm64) Warp 12.msixbundle via yarn build:windows:store

Trigger it from macOS without touching Windows:

git tag v0.6.45 && git push origin v0.6.45   # or: gh workflow run build-windows.yml

MSIX details

MSIX packaging is handled by @choochmeque/tauri-windows-bundle (Tauri v2 has no native MSIX bundler). Config lives in apps/Warp12/src-tauri/gen/windows/bundle.config.json and the manifest template alongside it. yarn build:windows:store runs tauri-windows-bundle build --arch x64,arm64 --runner yarn.

Before a Microsoft Store submission, set the reserved identity from Partner Center:

• Identity Name ← override identifier in src-tauri/tauri.windows.conf.json
• publisher (CN=...) and publisherDisplayName ← bundle.config.json

The Store re-signs the uploaded bundle, so it can be unsigned. For sideload testing, sign it: set signing.pfx in bundle.config.json and provide MSIX_PFX_PASSWORD, then install with Add-AppxPackage Warp12.msixbundle. org.digitaldefiance.app.warp12 / CN=Digital Defiance are the defaults for self-signed testing.

Manual alternative

Copy the .exe to Windows and use Inno Setup, NSIS, or Advanced Installer.

Testing the .exe

1. Copy to Windows:

   # On macOS
   cp apps/Warp12/src-tauri/target/x86_64-pc-windows-msvc/release/Warp\ 12.exe ~/Desktop/
   

2. Transfer to Windows (via USB, Parallels shared folder, cloud storage, etc.)

3. Run on Windows:
   • Double-click Warp 12.exe
   • Should launch the app directly

Troubleshooting

Build fails with “linker error”

cargo-xwin needs to download Windows SDK components on first run. This is automatic but requires internet.

.exe won’t run on Windows

• Check Windows version (needs Windows 10 1809+ or Windows 11)
• Install Visual C++ Redistributable if needed
• Check Windows Defender didn’t block it

Build takes forever

First build downloads ~2GB of Windows SDK components. Subsequent builds are much faster (5-10 min total).

Quick Commands

# Full cross-compile (with dependency building)
yarn build:windows:cross

# Quick recompile (assumes libs already built)
./scripts/crosscompile-windows-quick.sh

# Check if still building
ps aux | grep -E "(vite|cargo)" | grep -v grep

Performance

Build Stage	Time (first)	Time (subsequent)
JS/TS libs	5-10 min	2-5 min (if changed)
Rust binary	5-10 min	2-3 min (if changed)
Total	10-20 min	2-8 min

Advantages Over Native Windows Build

✅ Stay on macOS (your main dev environment)
✅ No Parallels/VM needed
✅ Scriptable/automatable
✅ Good for CI/CD

Limitations

❌ Can’t create MSI/MSIX/NSIS installers (Windows-only — use the CI workflow)
❌ Can’t code-sign for Windows
❌ First build downloads large SDK

Recommendation

• For testing: Use cross-compile (this approach)
• For distribution: Use the build-windows.yml GitHub Actions workflow (MSI + NSIS + MSIX)
• For Microsoft Store: Upload the x64 + arm64 .msixbundle from CI (yarn build:windows:store)