Release: remove the Tauri macOS app build

.gitignore

@@ -17,6 +17,3 @@ yarn-error.log*
 
 # typescript
 *.tsbuildinfo
-
-# staged Tauri backend bundle (built by scripts/prepare-server-bundle.sh)
-/server-bundle

README.md

@@ -90,8 +90,7 @@ Local persistence (SQLite via Prisma) and project CRUD are built and in
 use. The app is a Vite React SPA (`client/`) talking to a Bun/Hono
 backend (`server/`) — the two run as separate processes, kept in one
 piece by `pnpm run dev` from the repo root. This split (no server-side
-rendering, one deployable backend unit) is also what makes the native
-macOS app possible — see [Download](#download) below — and see the
+rendering, one deployable backend unit) keeps deployment simple — see the
 [issue tracker](https://github.com/amide-init/transcriptcut/issues)
 for the full breakdown of what's done vs. planned.
 
@@ -161,39 +160,13 @@ Open [http://localhost:5173](http://localhost:5173). See
 [`server/.env.example`](./server/.env.example) for what each variable
 does, and [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](./CONTRIBUTING.md) for more.
 
-Two things to know during development:
+One thing to know during development:
 
-- **The dev server and the Mac app both use port 3001**, so quit one
-  before starting the other. If the app shows "404 Not Found", a dev
-  server is still running.
 - **`bun --watch` leaks a few file handles on every reload.** After a long
   session with many server edits, FFmpeg can fail to start with
   `EBADF: bad file descriptor, posix_spawn`. Restart `pnpm run dev` to
   clear it.
 
-### Download
-
-A native macOS app is also available (Apple Silicon only) — no need to
-clone the repo or run anything. Grab it from the
-**[docs download page](https://transcriptcut.aamin.me/download)**,
-which also covers the one-time Gatekeeper step (this build is ad-hoc
-signed, not signed with a paid Apple Developer account) and the
-first-launch API key setup.
-
-To build it yourself instead:
-
-```bash
-cd client
-pnpm exec tauri build
-```
-
-Produces `client/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/{macos,dmg}/`. Installing
-a newer build over an older one keeps your projects: the server upgrades
-the app's database on launch. See
-`claude.md` section 35 for how it's wired together, and
-[`.github/workflows/build-macos-app.yml`](./.github/workflows/build-macos-app.yml)
-for how CI builds and releases it on a version tag push.
-
 ## Testing
 
 Deterministic unit tests (Vitest) cover the core editing logic — timeline

claude.md

@@ -729,15 +729,14 @@ The app is two local processes, not one: a Vite-built React SPA
 (`client/`, no server-side rendering) and a Bun/Hono backend (`server/`)
 that owns the database, filesystem, FFmpeg, and AI calls. `pnpm run dev`
 from the repo root runs both together; in production the built client is
-served as static files, optionally by the same Bun process. This split —
-no server rendering, one deployable backend unit with a clear entrypoint
-— exists so the backend can later run as a Tauri sidecar for a native Mac
-app release; nothing about "no cloud account" or "local-first" changes,
-it's still one machine, one data directory, no accounts.
+served as static files, optionally by the same Bun process
+(`CLIENT_DIST_DIR`). This split — no server rendering, one deployable
+backend unit with a clear entrypoint — keeps deployment simple; it's
+still one machine, one data directory, no accounts.
 
 * **Database:** SQLite via Prisma, using the `@prisma/adapter-libsql`
   driver adapter (chosen over `better-sqlite3` specifically to avoid
-  native-binding packaging pain under Bun/Tauri). Still a single file, no
+  native-binding packaging pain under Bun). Still a single file, no
   server process, no connection string to configure.
 * **Storage:** the local filesystem, under a configurable data directory
   (see section 15).
@@ -1475,113 +1474,21 @@ with the same care as the code itself.
 
 ---
 
-# 35. Mac App Packaging (Tauri)
-
-A native macOS `.app` build exists at `client/src-tauri/`, wrapping the
-Vite client + Bun backend with Tauri v2, built and released via CI
-(`.github/workflows/build-macos-app.yml`) and downloadable from the
-docs site. **Scope: ad-hoc signed (no paid Apple Developer account),
-Apple Silicon (arm64) only, no notarization** — a deliberate choice,
-not an oversight: downloaders hit Gatekeeper's "unidentified
-developer" warning and need to right-click → Open once (documented on
-the download page). Real Developer ID signing + notarization + a
-universal (Intel) build are legitimate future steps, not something to
-add speculatively.
-
-## Architecture
-
-Rather than a compiled standalone sidecar binary (Tauri's usual
-pattern), the app spawns the **system-installed `bun`** to run a staged
-copy of the backend, for one specific reason: `bun build --compile`
-(the mechanism for a self-contained sidecar binary) has a known,
-unresolved upstream bug with `@libsql`, this project's SQLite driver —
-confirmed via `oven-sh/bun` issue #18909. Compiling would need a much
-bigger rewrite (dropping `@prisma/adapter-libsql` entirely); spawning
-the already-installed runtime instead sidesteps the bug completely,
-at the cost of requiring Bun to already be on the machine running the
-app — a non-issue for this personal-use-only scope.
-
-* `scripts/prepare-server-bundle.sh` stages a self-contained copy of
-  the backend at repo-root `server-bundle/` (gitignored): server
-  source (unbundled — Bun runs `.ts` directly), a **hoisted** (flat,
-  npm-style, zero symlinks) `node_modules`, the generated Prisma
-  client, the built Vite client, and a pre-migrated empty
-  `app.db.template`. The node-linker choice matters: pnpm's default
-  nested/symlinked `node_modules` (even via `pnpm deploy`, which does
-  correctly resolve the full dependency graph) breaks once Tauri's own
-  resource-bundler copies it into the `.app` — confirmed empirically
-  that Tauri's copy step silently drops directories only reachable via
-  a symlink. `pnpm install --config.node-linker=hoisted` avoids the
-  problem at the source instead of working around Tauri's copier.
-  **`server/.env` is deliberately never copied into the bundle** — see
-  the OpenAI API key note below.
-* `client/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json`'s `build.frontendDist` is a URL
-  (`http://localhost:3001`), not a static path — the packaged app's
-  window loads directly from the spawned Bun server, which serves both
-  the built static client and the `/api/*` routes on one origin,
-  exactly like the dev proxy does. `beforeBuildCommand` builds the
-  client and runs the staging script (`cd .. && pnpm --filter client
-  build && bash scripts/prepare-server-bundle.sh`) — Tauri hook
-  commands run from the frontend package directory (`client/`), so
-  `cd ..` alone reaches the repo root; an earlier version of this
-  config had an absolute machine-specific path here instead, which
-  worked locally but would have failed on any CI runner.
-* `client/src-tauri/src/lib.rs`'s `setup()` hook resolves
-  `resource_dir()`/`app_data_dir()`, seeds the database from
-  `app.db.template` on first launch only (never overwrites existing
-  data), spawns `bun run src/index.ts` from the staged bundle via
-  `tauri-plugin-shell` with `DATABASE_URL`/`DATA_DIR`/`PORT`/
-  `FFMPEG_PATH` pointed at the right places, creates the main window
-  hidden and reveals it once the server's own "server listening" log
-  line appears (avoids a startup race against the window trying to
-  load a server that isn't up yet), and kills the spawned process on
-  `RunEvent::Exit` (not `ExitRequested` — a normal macOS quit skips
-  straight to `Exit`).
-
-## Building it
-
-```bash
-cd client
-pnpm exec tauri build
-```
+# 35. Web Only (no native app)
+
+The app ships as the web setup only: `pnpm run dev` locally, or the Bun
+server serving the built client in production. A Tauri-wrapped macOS
+`.app` (and its CI release workflow) existed earlier and was deliberately
+removed to keep the project to one supported setup; don't re-add native
+packaging speculatively.
+
+Two pieces that started with the Mac app stay, because they're useful to
+any deployment:
 
-Produces both `client/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/AI Video
-Editor.app` and a `.dmg` alongside it (`bundle.targets` includes both).
-Since it's ad-hoc signed rather than signed with a real Developer ID,
-launch it with right-click → Open the first time (a plain double-click
-triggers Gatekeeper's "unidentified developer" block) — this applies
-whether you built it yourself or downloaded a release.
-
-CI (`.github/workflows/build-macos-app.yml`) runs this same command on
-`macos-latest` for every `v*.*.*` tag push, uploads the result as a
-workflow artifact on every run (including manual `workflow_dispatch`,
-for testing without touching anything public), and additionally
-attaches it to the matching GitHub Release when the run was a real tag
-push. No Apple secrets needed — ad-hoc signing requires no certificate
-or notarization credentials.
-
-## The OpenAI API key
-
-Not baked into the build. Each person who runs the app (whether built
-locally or downloaded) is asked for their own key on first launch —
-see `server/src/lib/settings.ts` (`DATA_DIR/settings.json`, checked
-before falling back to `server/.env`'s `OPENAI_API_KEY` for local dev)
-and `client/src/routes/SetupRoute.tsx`. An earlier version of this
-build did copy `server/.env` — including a real key — into every
-bundle; that was fine while builds never left the developer's own
-machine, but had to change once the app became publicly downloadable,
-since anyone could otherwise have extracted the key from the bundle.
-
-## Known constraints
-
-* App data lives at `~/Library/Application Support/com.local.aivideoeditor/`,
-  separate from whatever's in `server/data/` during local dev — the
-  packaged app starts with an empty project list on first launch, not
-  a copy of your dev data.
-* `FFMPEG_PATH` and the `bun` executable path are hardcoded in
-  `lib.rs` to the standard Homebrew/Bun install locations on any
-  Apple Silicon Mac (`/opt/homebrew/opt/ffmpeg-full/bin/ffmpeg`,
-  `~/.bun/bin/bun`) — not this-machine-specific, but they are real
-  prerequisites: anyone running the app (built locally or downloaded)
-  needs Bun and Homebrew's `ffmpeg-full` already installed, documented
-  on the docs site's download page.
+* `server/src/lib/db/migrate.ts` applies pending Prisma migrations at
+  server startup, so an existing data directory upgrades without the
+  Prisma CLI.
+* The OpenAI API key can be entered on first run through
+  `client/src/routes/SetupRoute.tsx`, stored in `DATA_DIR/settings.json`
+  (`server/src/lib/settings.ts`), which is checked before falling back to
+  `server/.env`'s `OPENAI_API_KEY`.

client/eslint.config.mjs

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import reactRefresh from "eslint-plugin-react-refresh";
 import globals from "globals";
 
 export default defineConfig([
-  globalIgnores([".next/**", "dist/**", "src/generated/**", "src-tauri/**"]),
+  globalIgnores([".next/**", "dist/**", "src/generated/**"]),
   js.configs.recommended,
   ...tseslint.configs.recommended,
   reactRefresh.configs.vite,

client/package.json

@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
   "devDependencies": {
     "@eslint/js": "^9.39.5",
     "@tailwindcss/postcss": "^4",
-    "@tauri-apps/cli": "^2.11.5",
     "@types/node": "^26.6.2",
     "@types/react": "^19",
     "@types/react-dom": "^19",