Merge pull request 'SPL Meter 0.5.0: the capture tool ships prebuilt, for Apple silicon and Intel' (#38) from claude/spl-prebuilt-helper into main

Same move as Timers 1.7.0. The capture tool existed only where the macOS
app build had compiled it, with the module trying swiftc on the booth as a
fallback — NA has been logging "spawn spl-capture ENOENT" since its
catalog install. Under the module guide's rule it now ships built:
bin/spl-capture-macos-arm64 and bin/spl-capture-macos-x86_64, signed with
the Developer ID (hardened runtime, audio-input entitlement), from
native/spl-capture.swift via native/build.sh. captureTool() picks the
binary for this platform; where there is none — Windows, until a Windows
implementation exists — measurement reports itself off in the health line
and the device picker while the module stays mounted. The runtime build
and its "building…" state are gone, and the old top-level binary is no
longer gitignored.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitignore

@@ -8,12 +8,8 @@ dist/
 config/modules.json
 config/layouts/
 
-# compiled per-machine, source sits next to it
-modules/propresenter-timers/ltc-capture
-
 # the launcher's build output, and its cache of the Node runtime it embeds
 launcher/macos/build/
 launcher/macos/.cache/
-
+launcher/windows/build/
-# Compiled per-machine, source sits next to it (see spl-capture.swift).
+launcher/windows/.cache/
-modules/spl-meter/spl-capture

CLAUDE.md

@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 Modular production dashboard web app for Waters Church, developed in this repo.
 The app lives at the repo root and is built: zero-dependency Node server
 (`server.js`, Node 18+), dashboard shell client in `public/`, admin page at
-`/admin`, modules in `modules/`, and a native macOS menu-bar launcher in
+`/admin`, modules in `modules/` (the repo's copies — a packaged install ships
+none and installs them from the admin page's catalog), and a native macOS menu-bar launcher in
 `launcher/macos/` (Swift, no dependencies — the shipped macOS app: it carries
 the server and its own Node runtime, supervises them, and owns the macOS
 permissions modules declare; see its README). Runtime state (module

README.md

@@ -30,11 +30,23 @@ and a clear degraded state, then recover on their own.
 
 ## Run it
 
+Ready-made builds are on the
+[Releases page](http://chronicles-ab.waterschurch.org:3000/michael/ProdDash/releases);
+the files themselves live in
+[ProdDash-releases](http://chronicles-ab.waterschurch.org:3000/michael/ProdDash-releases).
+There is a disk image for Apple silicon Macs, one for Intel Macs, and a
+bundle for 64-bit Windows. Every build updates itself afterwards from the
+admin page, so the download only has to be recent, not current.
+
 ### macOS — the app
 
-Open the disk image and drag **ProdDash** to Applications. That's the whole
+Download the disk image for your Mac — `ProdDash-<version>-arm64.dmg` for
+Apple silicon, `ProdDash-<version>-x86_64.dmg` for Intel — open it and drag
+**ProdDash** to Applications. That's the whole
 installation: the app carries the dashboard and its own Node runtime, so
-nothing else has to be installed and nothing can be missing. It lives in the
+nothing else has to be installed. It carries no modules — open **Admin →
+Available modules**, tick the ones this machine needs and press **Install
+selected**; each updates on its own from then on. It lives in the
 menu bar, starts and stops the server, can open at login, and holds the
 permissions the modules need — the microphone the LTC listener reads, and
 local network access for ProdCom and ProPresenter. macOS grants those to the
@@ -43,12 +55,26 @@ a launchd job) simply doesn't have them, and an LTC input goes silently to
 zeroes.
 
 Build the disk image from a checkout with
-[launcher/macos](launcher/macos)/`build.sh`:
+[launcher/macos](launcher/macos)/`build.sh` (`ARCH=x86_64` in front of it
+for Intel):
 
 ```bash
 cd launcher/macos && ./build.sh --dmg
 ```
 
+### Windows — the bundle
+
+Download `ProdDash-<version>-win-x64.zip`, unzip it somewhere you can write
+to — `C:\ProdDash`, say, not Program Files, because updates write into the
+folder — and double-click **ProdDash.bat**. The window it opens is the
+dashboard running: it stays open, and it starts the server again when the
+admin page applies an update. Allow `node.exe` on private networks when the
+firewall asks, so other screens can reach it. Settings and layouts live in
+`%APPDATA%\ProdDash`, so a new bundle never loses them. To start with
+Windows, put a shortcut to `ProdDash.bat` in `shell:startup`. There is no
+menu-bar-style launcher for Windows yet; the bundle is built with
+[launcher/windows](launcher/windows)/`build.sh`.
+
 ### Anywhere else, or from a checkout
 
 Requires [Node.js](https://nodejs.org) 18 or newer.
@@ -179,13 +205,15 @@ below. Nothing is installed without someone clicking.
 - **Available modules** lists modules in the repo that aren't installed
   here. **Install** downloads the module into the data directory's `modules/`
   and starts it right away — nothing is written into the app folder, and no
-  restart is needed. Modules that ship with your copy of ProdDash are
+  restart is needed. Tick several and press **Install selected** to fetch
-  "bundled"; ones you installed are "installed"; if both exist, the newer
+  them in one go. A packaged ProdDash (the app, the Windows bundle) ships
-  version runs.
+  with no modules at all: this list is how every one of them arrives, and a
+  ProdDash update never brings one along. A git checkout also runs the
+  modules in its own tree ("bundled"); if both exist, the newer version runs.
 - **Uninstall** on a module card removes an installed module's files. For a
-  bundled module (its folder belongs to the app) it hides the module from
+  checkout's bundled module (its folder belongs to the repo) it hides the
-  every dashboard instead; it reappears under Available modules and can be
+  module from every dashboard instead; it reappears under Available modules
-  brought back without downloading. Settings are kept either way.
+  and can be brought back without downloading. Settings are kept either way.
 - **Module updates**: when the repo has a newer version of an installed
   module, its card shows **Update to vX**.
 - **Version requirements**: every module declares the ProdDash versions it

docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md

@@ -96,13 +96,16 @@ modules/<id>/
 **Installation is exactly this:** in the admin page, open **Available
 modules** and press **Install** — the module is downloaded from the ProdDash
 repo into the server's data directory (`<data dir>/modules/<id>/`) and starts
-immediately. Developing locally? Drop the folder into `modules/` (bundled
+immediately. A packaged ProdDash — the macOS app, the Windows bundle — ships
-with the checkout) or into the data directory's `modules/` and restart. No
+with **no modules at all**: every one of them arrives this way, and the
-shell code changes, ever. Modules bundled with a checkout and modules
+shell's own update never brings one along, so what is in git is exactly what
-installed from the admin page live side by side; when both have the same id
+runs on a booth. Developing locally? A git checkout runs whatever is in its
-the newer version runs. **Uninstall** in the admin page removes an installed
+own `modules/` folder (the repo's copies, "bundled"), or drop a folder into
-module's files (a bundled one is hidden instead, since its folder belongs to
+the data directory's `modules/` and restart. No shell code changes, ever. In
-the app); its settings are kept for a later reinstall.
+a checkout the two live side by side; when both have the same id the newer
+version runs. **Uninstall** in the admin page removes an installed module's
+files (in a checkout, the tree's copy is hidden instead, since that folder
+belongs to the repo); its settings are kept for a later reinstall.
 
 ### Native helpers
 

launcher/macos/README.md

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ the cycle rather than spinning forever.
 ```bash
 ./build.sh                 # build/ProdDash.app — the whole application
 ./build.sh --dmg           # …and build/ProdDash-<version>-arm64.dmg
+ARCH=x86_64 ./build.sh --dmg   # the same for Intel Macs (…-x86_64.dmg)
 ./build.sh --install       # …and copy it to /Applications
 ./build.sh --run           # …and open it
 ./build.sh --notarize      # with --dmg: notarise and staple (Developer ID)
@@ -68,9 +69,10 @@ Builds for **Apple Silicon**. To change that, or to move to a newer Node, edit
 against nodejs.org's published checksums either way.
 
 The app icon is built from `public/icons/icon-512.png`, so ProdDash's own icon
-is the app's icon. A module's native helper is compiled during the build
+is the app's icon. The app carries no modules: they are installed from the
-(`<name>.swift` beside a module's files becomes `<name>`), so the Mac running
+admin page's catalog into the data directory, and a module's native helper
-ProdDash never needs a compiler.
+ships prebuilt inside it (see the module guide), so the Mac running ProdDash
+never needs a compiler.
 
 ## Signing
 

launcher/macos/build.sh

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/zsh
 # Build ProdDash.app — the whole application: launcher, server and its own
-# Node runtime, with nothing to install first.
+# Node runtime, with nothing to install first. It carries no modules: those
+# come from the admin page's catalog into the data directory, and a module's
+# native helper ships prebuilt inside it (docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md).
 #
 #   ./build.sh                 build/ProdDash.app, self-contained
 #   ./build.sh --dmg           …and build/ProdDash-<version>-arm64.dmg
@@ -11,6 +13,8 @@
 #   ./build.sh --dev           launcher only — no Node, no server payload, so
 #                              it runs against the checkout. Seconds, not
 #                              minutes, while working on the launcher itself.
+#   ARCH=x86_64 ./build.sh     the same for Intel Macs (default: arm64, Apple
+#                              silicon); the Node it embeds follows.
 #
 # Signing: a "Developer ID Application" certificate is used when one is
 # installed (override with CODESIGN_IDENTITY). Without one the app is signed
@@ -27,8 +31,13 @@ LAUNCHER_VERSION="1.0.0"
 # The Node the app ships. Bump it here; the download is checksum-verified
 # against nodejs.org's own SHASUMS256.txt and cached in .cache/.
 NODE_VERSION="v24.21.0"
-ARCH="arm64"
+ARCH="${ARCH:-arm64}"   # arm64 (Apple silicon) or x86_64 (Intel)
 DEPLOYMENT_TARGET="13.0"
+case "$ARCH" in
+  arm64) NODE_ARCH="arm64" ;;
+  x86_64) NODE_ARCH="x64" ;;   # nodejs.org's name for it
+  *) echo "build.sh: ARCH must be arm64 or x86_64, not $ARCH" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+esac
 
 REPO_ROOT="../.."
 OUT_DIR="build"
@@ -106,7 +115,7 @@ fi
 
 # ── the server, and the Node that runs it ────────────────────────────────
 if [[ $DEV -eq 0 ]]; then
-  TARBALL="node-$NODE_VERSION-darwin-$ARCH.tar.gz"
+  TARBALL="node-$NODE_VERSION-darwin-$NODE_ARCH.tar.gz"
   mkdir -p "$CACHE_DIR"
   if [[ ! -f "$CACHE_DIR/$TARBALL" ]]; then
     echo "  fetching Node $NODE_VERSION (~50 MB, cached for next time)"
@@ -125,25 +134,16 @@ if [[ $DEV -eq 0 ]]; then
   echo "  embedding Node $NODE_VERSION"
   mkdir -p "$CONTENTS/Resources/node/bin"
   tar -xzf "$CACHE_DIR/$TARBALL" -C "$CONTENTS/Resources/node/bin" --strip-components 2 \
-    "node-$NODE_VERSION-darwin-$ARCH/bin/node"
+    "node-$NODE_VERSION-darwin-$NODE_ARCH/bin/node"
 
-  echo "  embedding ProdDash $VERSION"
+  echo "  embedding ProdDash $VERSION (no modules — the catalog installs them)"
   mkdir -p "$PAYLOAD/config"
   cp "$REPO_ROOT/server.js" "$REPO_ROOT/package.json" "$PAYLOAD/"
-  cp -R "$REPO_ROOT/public" "$REPO_ROOT/modules" "$PAYLOAD/"
+  cp -R "$REPO_ROOT/public" "$PAYLOAD/"
   # Only the checked-in defaults: config/ also holds this machine's own
   # modules.json and layouts when ProdDash has ever run from the checkout.
   cp "$REPO_ROOT/config/proddash.json" "$PAYLOAD/config/"
   find "$PAYLOAD" -name '.DS_Store' -delete
-
-  # A module's native helper is built here, so the Mac running ProdDash needs
-  # no compiler: <name>.swift beside a module's files becomes <name>.
-  for source in "$PAYLOAD"/modules/*/*.swift; do
-    [[ -e "$source" ]] || continue
-    helper="${source%.swift}"
-    echo "  compiling $(basename "$(dirname "$source")")/$(basename "$helper")"
-    swiftc -O -target "$ARCH-apple-macos$DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" -o "$helper" "$source"
-  done
 fi
 
 # ── signing ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -165,16 +165,6 @@ fi
 if [[ -f "$CONTENTS/Resources/node/bin/node" ]]; then
   codesign "${SIGN[@]}" --entitlements Resources/node.entitlements "$CONTENTS/Resources/node/bin/node"
 fi
-if [[ $DEV -eq 0 ]]; then
-  for helper in "$PAYLOAD"/modules/*/*; do
-    # A compiled helper is the extensionless executable beside a module's
-    # sources — test the name, not the path, which has dots all over it.
-    name=$(basename "$helper")
-    [[ -f "$helper" && -x "$helper" && "$name" != *.* ]] || continue
-    echo "  signing $name"
-    codesign "${SIGN[@]}" --entitlements Resources/helper.entitlements "$helper"
-  done
-fi
 codesign "${SIGN[@]}" --entitlements Resources/ProdDash.entitlements --identifier "$BUNDLE_ID" "$APP"
 codesign --verify --deep --strict "$APP" && echo "  signature verifies"
 

launcher/windows/build.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+# Build the Windows bundle — ProdDash-<version>-win-x64.zip: the dashboard,
+# its own Node runtime and a start script, so nothing has to be installed on
+# the Windows machine. Unzip, double-click ProdDash.bat, done. It carries no
+# modules: those come from the admin page's catalog into %APPDATA%\ProdDash.
+#
+#   ./build.sh                 build/ProdDash-<version>-win-x64.zip
+#
+# Builds on macOS or Linux (zsh, curl, shasum, unzip, zip). Node for Windows
+# comes from nodejs.org, checksum-verified against its SHASUMS256.txt and
+# cached in .cache/. There is no Windows launcher app yet: ProdDash.bat keeps
+# the server running and starts it again when the admin page applies an
+# update (the server exits with code 75 to ask for that).
+set -e -u
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+
+APP_NAME="ProdDash"
+# The Node the bundle ships — keep in step with launcher/macos/build.sh.
+NODE_VERSION="v24.21.0"
+NODE_DIST="node-$NODE_VERSION-win-x64"
+
+REPO_ROOT="../.."
+OUT_DIR="build"
+CACHE_DIR=".cache"
+
+for tool in curl shasum unzip zip; do
+  command -v "$tool" >/dev/null || { echo "build.sh: $tool not found" >&2; exit 1; }
+done
+
+VERSION=$(sed -n 's/.*"version" *: *"\([^"]*\)".*/\1/p' "$REPO_ROOT/package.json" | head -1)
+[[ -n "$VERSION" ]] || { echo "build.sh: can't read the version from package.json" >&2; exit 1; }
+NAME="$APP_NAME-$VERSION-win-x64"
+STAGE="$OUT_DIR/$NAME"
+
+echo "ProdDash $VERSION — building the Windows bundle"
+rm -rf "$OUT_DIR"
+mkdir -p "$STAGE/node" "$STAGE/config" "$CACHE_DIR"
+
+# ── Node for Windows ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+ZIPFILE="$NODE_DIST.zip"
+if [[ ! -f "$CACHE_DIR/$ZIPFILE" ]]; then
+  echo "  fetching Node $NODE_VERSION for Windows (~30 MB, cached for next time)"
+  curl -fsSL --retry 3 -o "$CACHE_DIR/$ZIPFILE.part" "https://nodejs.org/dist/$NODE_VERSION/$ZIPFILE"
+  mv "$CACHE_DIR/$ZIPFILE.part" "$CACHE_DIR/$ZIPFILE"
+fi
+SUMS="$CACHE_DIR/SHASUMS256-$NODE_VERSION.txt"
+[[ -f "$SUMS" ]] || curl -fsSL --retry 3 -o "$SUMS" "https://nodejs.org/dist/$NODE_VERSION/SHASUMS256.txt"
+# This binary ships under ProdDash's name — check it every build.
+WANT=$(awk -v f="$ZIPFILE" '$2 == f {print $1}' "$SUMS")
+GOT=$(shasum -a 256 "$CACHE_DIR/$ZIPFILE" | awk '{print $1}')
+if [[ -z "$WANT" || "$WANT" != "$GOT" ]]; then
+  echo "build.sh: $ZIPFILE does not match nodejs.org's checksum — refusing to ship it" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+echo "  embedding Node $NODE_VERSION (node.exe and its licence)"
+unzip -q -j "$CACHE_DIR/$ZIPFILE" "$NODE_DIST/node.exe" "$NODE_DIST/LICENSE" -d "$STAGE/node"
+
+# ── ProdDash ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "  embedding ProdDash $VERSION (no modules — the catalog installs them)"
+cp "$REPO_ROOT/server.js" "$REPO_ROOT/package.json" "$STAGE/"
+cp -R "$REPO_ROOT/public" "$STAGE/"
+# Only the checked-in defaults: config/ also holds this machine's own
+# modules.json and layouts when ProdDash has ever run from the checkout.
+cp "$REPO_ROOT/config/proddash.json" "$STAGE/config/"
+find "$STAGE" -name '.DS_Store' -delete
+
+# ── the start script and the read-me, with Windows line endings ──────────
+crlf() { awk '{ printf "%s\r\n", $0 }' > "$1"; }
+
+crlf "$STAGE/ProdDash.bat" <<'BAT'
+@echo off
+rem ProdDash - double-click to start. Keep this window open: closing it stops the dashboard.
+title ProdDash
+cd /d "%~dp0"
+rem The server exits with code 75 after applying an update from the admin page; start it again.
+set PRODDASH_LAUNCHER=1
+:run
+"%~dp0node\node.exe" server.js
+set CODE=%ERRORLEVEL%
+if %CODE% EQU 75 goto run
+echo.
+echo ProdDash stopped (exit code %CODE%). Press any key to close this window.
+pause >nul
+BAT
+
+crlf "$STAGE/README.txt" <<README
+ProdDash $VERSION for Windows (64-bit)
+=======================================
+
+Nothing to install. This folder holds the dashboard and its own copy of Node.
+
+1. Move this folder somewhere you can write to, for example C:\ProdDash
+   (not Program Files: updates write into this folder).
+2. Double-click ProdDash.bat. A window opens and stays open while the
+   dashboard runs; closing it stops the dashboard.
+   - If Windows warns about the file, choose More info, then Run anyway.
+   - When Windows Defender Firewall asks about node.exe, allow it on
+     private networks so other screens can reach the dashboard.
+3. Open http://localhost:24500 on this PC. Other devices on the network use
+   http://<this PC's IP address>:24500. Settings are on the admin page,
+   http://localhost:24500/admin.
+4. The bundle ships without modules. On the admin page, tick the ones this
+   PC needs under Available modules and press Install selected; each one
+   updates on its own from then on.
+
+Your settings and layouts live in %APPDATA%\ProdDash, not in this folder,
+so unzipping a new version or updating never loses them.
+
+Start with Windows: press Win+R, type shell:startup, press Enter, and put a
+shortcut to ProdDash.bat in the folder that opens.
+
+Updates: the admin page's Update now fetches the new version into this
+folder and restarts the dashboard; the window stays open. A copy of the
+version it replaced is kept for a short while in case the new one will not
+start.
+README
+
+# ── zip ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo "  zipping"
+(cd "$OUT_DIR" && zip -q -r -X "$NAME.zip" "$NAME")
+echo "built $OUT_DIR/$NAME.zip ($(du -sh "$OUT_DIR/$NAME.zip" | awk '{print $1}'))"

modules/propresenter-timers/ltc-listener.js

@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
 /**
  * Built-in LTC listener — capture child + in-process decode.
  *
- * Spawns the module's native capture tool (ltc-capture, compiled from
+ * Spawns the module's native capture tool (bin/ltc-capture-macos-<arch>,
- * ltc-capture.swift beside it) for the admin-configured audio device, reads
+ * shipped prebuilt; source in native/) for the admin-configured audio device, reads
  * the interleaved s16le stream, extracts the configured channel, and decodes
  * SMPTE LTC with ltc.js — all inside the module server. Reports upward via
  * onUpdate roughly 4×/s:
@@ -16,17 +16,13 @@
  * shows (short — "Not configured — see Admin"), `detail` is the full story
  * for the admin health line and the log.
  *
- * The capture binary is per-machine (gitignored), and a catalog install or
+ * The capture tool ships prebuilt inside the module, one binary per
- * update ships source only — the update even wipes a previously built
+ * platform under bin/ (module guide, "Native helpers"): nothing is ever
- * binary. ensureCaptureBinary() therefore rebuilds it with swiftc in the
+ * built on the machine running ProdDash. captureTool() picks the binary for
- * background as part of coming up: kicked when the LTC source starts and by
+ * this platform; when there is none, timecode reports itself off and the
- * the admin device picker, never on the event loop (a blocking build once
+ * rest of the module carries on. A dead capture child is restarted with
- * froze the whole server — see spl-meter's history), built to a temp name
+ * backoff — fast for a crash, slow for config-shaped failures (unknown
- * and renamed so a killed build can't leave a half-written "binary", and
+ * device, ambiguity) that never fix themselves.
- * rebuilt when a module update leaves the source newer than the binary.
- * A dead capture child is restarted with backoff — fast for a crash, slow
- * for config-shaped failures (unknown device, ambiguity) that never fix
- * themselves.
  *
  * macOS gotcha this file can't fix: microphone permission. A ProdDash
  * server launched over SSH or from a bare launchd job gets SILENT ZEROS
@@ -51,107 +47,43 @@ const RUNNING_WINDOW_MS = 400;
 /** stderr line the capture prints once the device is open. */
 const CAPTURING_RE = /capturing "(.+)": (\d+) channels @ (\d+) Hz/;
 
-/* ── the capture tool: build it when the install didn't bring one ──────── */
+/* ── the capture tool: prebuilt, one binary per platform ───────────────── */
 
 /** Tile-facing words (short); the detail goes to admin health and the log. */
-const TOOL_BUILDING = 'Capture tool building…';
 const TOOL_MISSING = 'Capture tool unavailable — see Admin';
-const BUILD_HELP = 'LTC capture tool could not be built here — build it on any Mac of the '
-  + 'same architecture with `swiftc -O -o ltc-capture ltc-capture.swift` (both files are in '
-  + 'the module folder) and copy the binary next to ltc-capture.swift';
 
-let building = false;
+/** What the module ships in bin/, by platform and architecture. */
-let buildFailed = false;
+const HELPERS = {
+  darwin: { arm64: 'ltc-capture-macos-arm64', x64: 'ltc-capture-macos-x86_64' },
+  win32: { x64: 'ltc-capture-win-x64.exe' },
+};
 
 /**
- * Make sure the capture tool exists, building it in the background when it
+ * The capture tool for this machine. It is never built here and never
- * does not — module scope, so the LTC source can kick it the moment it
+ * looked for anywhere else: the module ships it, or timecode is off on this
- * starts and the admin device picker can kick it before any device is
+ * platform and says so. `ready` means a usable binary at `bin`; otherwise
- * configured (a listener-only build would deadlock: no tool → no device
+ * `error` is the short tile text and `detail` names the platform.
- * list → no device → no listener). A catalog install ships source only and
- * a catalog update deletes the module folder (old binary included), so this
- * IS the install step for the tool.
  *
- * Never blocks (a synchronous build once held the whole server's event loop
+ * @returns {{ready:boolean, bin:string, error:string, detail:string}}
- * — every module — for the duration). Builds to a temp name and renames, so
- * a killed or crashed build can't leave a truncated file that looks like a
- * ready binary. A binary older than the source (a module update over an
- * existing folder) keeps serving while a replacement builds behind it.
- *
- * @returns {{ready:boolean, error:string, detail:string}} `ready` = a binary
- *   is usable right now; otherwise `error` is the short tile text and
- *   `detail` the full one.
  */
-function ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log, onReady }) {
+function captureTool(moduleDir, platform = process.platform, arch = process.arch) {
-  const bin = path.join(moduleDir, 'ltc-capture');
+  const name = HELPERS[platform]?.[arch] || '';
-  const src = bin + '.swift';
+  const bin = name ? path.join(moduleDir, 'bin', name) : '';
-  const ok = { ready: true, error: '', detail: '' };
+  if (bin && fs.existsSync(bin)) return { ready: true, bin, error: '', detail: '' };
-  let haveBin = false;
+  const here = `${platform === 'darwin' ? 'macOS' : platform === 'win32' ? 'Windows' : platform} ${arch}`;
-  let stale = false;
+  return {
-  try {
-    haveBin = fs.existsSync(bin);
-    if (haveBin && fs.existsSync(src)) stale = fs.statSync(src).mtimeMs > fs.statSync(bin).mtimeMs;
-  } catch { /* treat as missing */ }
-  if (haveBin && !stale) return ok;
-  if (!fs.existsSync(src)) {
-    return haveBin ? ok : { ready: false, error: TOOL_MISSING, detail: 'ltc-capture.swift is missing from the module folder' };
-  }
-  const notYet = haveBin ? ok : {
     ready: false,
-    error: building || !buildFailed ? TOOL_BUILDING : TOOL_MISSING,
+    bin: '',
-    detail: building || !buildFailed ? 'Building the LTC capture tool — ready in a moment' : BUILD_HELP,
+    error: TOOL_MISSING,
+    detail: `The module ships no LTC capture tool for ${here}${name ? ` (bin/${name} is missing)` : ''} — timecode is off on this machine`,
   };
-  if (building || buildFailed) return notYet;
-
-  building = true;
-  const tmp = bin + '.building';
-  log(stale ? 'ltc-capture is older than its source — rebuilding it in the background'
-    : 'ltc-capture binary missing — building it in the background');
-  const build = spawn('swiftc', ['-O', '-o', tmp, src], { stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'pipe'] });
-  let buildErr = '';
-  build.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
-  build.stderr.on('data', (t) => { buildErr = (buildErr + t).slice(-800); });
-  const giveUp = setTimeout(() => {
-    try { build.kill('SIGKILL'); } catch { /* already gone */ }
-  }, 300000);
-  giveUp.unref?.();
-  build.on('error', (err) => {
-    clearTimeout(giveUp);
-    building = false;
-    buildFailed = true;
-    try { fs.rmSync(tmp, { force: true }); } catch { /* nothing to clean */ }
-    log(`swiftc could not be run: ${err.message}`);
-  });
-  build.on('exit', (code) => {
-    clearTimeout(giveUp);
-    building = false;
-    if (code === 0 && fs.existsSync(tmp)) {
-      try {
-        fs.renameSync(tmp, bin);
-      } catch (err) {
-        buildFailed = true;
-        log(`ltc-capture built but could not be moved into place: ${err.message}`);
-        return;
 }
-      buildFailed = false;
-      log('ltc-capture built');
-      if (typeof onReady === 'function') onReady();
-      return;
-    }
-    buildFailed = true;
-    try { fs.rmSync(tmp, { force: true }); } catch { /* nothing to clean */ }
-    log(`ltc-capture build failed (exit ${code})` + (buildErr ? `: ${buildErr.trim().split('\n').pop()}` : ''));
-  });
-  return notYet;
-}
-
 /**
  * @param {{device:string, channel:number, moduleDir:string, log:Function,
  *          onUpdate:(u:object)=>void}} opts
  * @returns {{stop:()=>void}}
  */
 function createLtcListener({ device, channel, moduleDir, log, onUpdate }) {
-  const bin = path.join(moduleDir, 'ltc-capture');
   let child = null;
   let stopped = false;
   let restartTimer = null;
@@ -181,22 +113,11 @@ function createLtcListener({ device, channel, moduleDir, log, onUpdate }) {
 
   function start() {
     if (stopped) return;
-    const tool = ensureCaptureBinary({
+    const tool = captureTool(moduleDir);
-      moduleDir,
-      log,
-      onReady() {
-        // The build this start() was waiting on landed — go now.
-        if (!stopped) { clearTimeout(restartTimer); restartTimer = null; start(); }
-      },
-    });
     if (!tool.ready) {
+      // No binary for this platform: say so and look again later — a module
+      // update remounts us anyway, this is only belt and braces.
       report({ error: tool.error, detail: tool.detail });
-      // onReady is only the FAST path (a successful build restarts us at
-      // once). The slow retry must stay armed regardless: a failed build
-      // never calls back, and a binary can also arrive from outside — scp'd
-      // in on a machine whose toolchain can't build (AB's broken CLT).
-      // Waiting on onReady alone deadlocked exactly that way in production:
-      // "Capture tool building…" forever, with a working binary on disk.
       scheduleRestart(BAD_CONFIG_RETRY_MS);
       return;
     }
@@ -206,7 +127,7 @@ function createLtcListener({ device, channel, moduleDir, log, onUpdate }) {
     let decoder = null;
     let stderrTail = '';
 
-    child = spawn(bin, ['--device', device], { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
+    child = spawn(tool.bin, ['--device', device], { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
 
     child.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
     child.stderr.on('data', (text) => {
@@ -298,4 +219,4 @@ function createLtcListener({ device, channel, moduleDir, log, onUpdate }) {
   };
 }
 
-module.exports = { createLtcListener, ensureCaptureBinary };
+module.exports = { createLtcListener, captureTool };

modules/propresenter-timers/module.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "propresenter-timers",
   "name": "Timers",
-  "version": "1.6.0",
+  "version": "1.7.0",
   "proddash": ">=1.4.0",
   "description": "Timers, Clocks, and LTC From configured Modules",
   "provides": [

modules/propresenter-timers/native/build.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+# Build this module's native helper for every macOS architecture it ships —
+#   ../bin/ltc-capture-macos-arm64 and ../bin/ltc-capture-macos-x86_64 —
+# from ltc-capture.swift beside this script. Run it on any Mac with the
+# Xcode command line tools; both architectures cross-compile from either.
+# The binaries are committed: a machine running ProdDash never builds
+# anything (docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md, "Native helpers").
+#
+# Signed with a Developer ID Application certificate when one is installed
+# (override with CODESIGN_IDENTITY) — hardened runtime plus the audio-input
+# entitlement, which a helper that reads a microphone needs under the
+# hardened runtime — and ad-hoc otherwise, which is fine on your own Macs.
+#
+# Windows is not built here: there is no Windows implementation of this
+# tool yet, so on Windows the module reports timecode off.
+set -e -u
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+
+NAME="ltc-capture"
+DEPLOYMENT_TARGET="13.0"
+
+command -v swiftc >/dev/null || {
+  echo "build.sh: swiftc not found — install the Xcode command line tools: xcode-select --install" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+IDENTITY="${CODESIGN_IDENTITY:-}"
+if [[ -z "$IDENTITY" ]]; then
+  IDENTITY=$(security find-identity -v -p codesigning 2>/dev/null \
+    | awk -F'"' '/Developer ID Application/ {print $2; exit}')
+fi
+if [[ -n "$IDENTITY" ]]; then
+  echo "signing as $IDENTITY"
+  SIGN=(--force --sign "$IDENTITY" --options runtime --timestamp)
+else
+  echo "signing ad-hoc (no Developer ID installed — fine on your own Macs)"
+  SIGN=(--force --sign - --options runtime)
+fi
+
+mkdir -p ../bin
+for ARCH in arm64 x86_64; do
+  OUT="../bin/$NAME-macos-$ARCH"
+  echo "  compiling $OUT"
+  swiftc -O -whole-module-optimization -target "$ARCH-apple-macos$DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" -o "$OUT" "$NAME.swift"
+  codesign "${SIGN[@]}" --entitlements helper.entitlements "$OUT"
+  codesign --verify --strict "$OUT"
+  echo "  built $OUT ($(du -h "$OUT" | awk '{print $1}'))"
+done

modules/propresenter-timers/native/helper.entitlements

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+<dict>
+	<!-- The helper reads an audio input; under the hardened runtime that
+	     needs saying. The permission itself comes from the launcher. -->
+	<key>com.apple.security.device.audio-input</key>
+	<true/>
+</dict>
+</plist>

modules/propresenter-timers/native/ltc-capture.swift

@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@
 // The module decodes LTC in-process (ltc.js) and spawns this to move
 // samples from an input device to a pipe. Production machines rarely have
 // ffmpeg/sox, and shipping a third-party binary for that one job is
-// overkill — this is the whole job, natively. The module compiles it on
+// overkill — this is the whole job, natively. It ships prebuilt in the
-// first use when swiftc is available; otherwise build it once on any
+// module's bin/ (one binary per platform, committed — a booth never
-// same-architecture Mac and copy the binary next to this source:
+// builds anything). To rebuild after a change here, on any Mac with the
+// Xcode command line tools:
 //
-//   swiftc -O -o modules/propresenter-timers/ltc-capture \
+//   modules/propresenter-timers/native/build.sh       (both architectures, ~10 s)
-//     modules/propresenter-timers/ltc-capture.swift          (once, ~5 s)
 //
 //   ltc-capture --list
 //       every input-capable device: name, input channels, sample rate

modules/propresenter-timers/server.js

@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@
 const http = require('http');
 const path = require('path');
 const { spawn } = require('child_process');
-const { createLtcListener, ensureCaptureBinary } = require('./ltc-listener');
+const { createLtcListener, captureTool } = require('./ltc-listener');
 const { createTimerPhase } = require('./phase');
 const manifest = require('./module.json');
 
@@ -660,11 +660,8 @@ function createLtcSource({ config, log, moduleDir }) {
     kind: 'ltc',
     start(e) {
       emit = e;
-      // Kick the capture-tool build right away: a catalog install ships
+      // The capture tool ships prebuilt in the module; the listener picks
-      // source only and a catalog update wipes any previously built binary,
+      // it for this platform when it starts and says so when there is none.
-      // so coming up after an install/update must rebuild it without
-      // waiting for a device to be picked or a listener to need it.
-      ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log });
       if (!device) {
         word = {
           error: 'Not configured — see Admin',
@@ -1359,23 +1356,21 @@ module.exports = {
       },
 
       // The admin device picker asks this machine what it can hear. The
-      // options shape matches the admin select's optionsRoute contract.
+      // options shape matches the admin select's optionsRoute contract. The
-      // Opening the picker also kicks the capture-tool build when a catalog
+      // capture tool ships prebuilt in the module (bin/); with none for this
-      // install/update left only the source — without this, no tool meant
+      // platform the list is empty and the error says so.
-      // no device list, and no device meant nothing would ever build it.
       'GET /ltc/devices': (req, res) => {
-        const tool = ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir: __dirname, log });
+        const tool = captureTool(__dirname);
         if (!tool.ready) {
-          sendJson(res, 200, { options: [], error: tool.detail || tool.error });
+          sendJson(res, 200, { options: [], error: tool.detail });
           return;
         }
-        const bin = path.join(__dirname, 'ltc-capture');
+        const child = spawn(tool.bin, ['--list'], { stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'pipe'], timeout: 4000 });
-        const child = spawn(bin, ['--list'], { stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'pipe'], timeout: 4000 });
         let err = '';
         child.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
         child.stderr.on('data', (t) => { err += t; });
-        child.on('error', () => {
+        child.on('error', (e) => {
-          sendJson(res, 200, { options: [], error: 'LTC capture tool missing — see modules/propresenter-timers/ltc-capture.swift' });
+          sendJson(res, 200, { options: [], error: `LTC capture tool could not be run: ${e.message}` });
         });
         child.on('exit', () => {
           if (res.writableEnded) return;

modules/spl-meter/module.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "spl-meter",
   "name": "SPL Meter",
-  "version": "0.4.3",
+  "version": "0.5.0",
   "proddash": ">=1.5.0",
   "description": "Calibrated sound level, Leq and RTA from an audio input on this machine",
   "permissions": [

modules/spl-meter/native/build.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+# Build this module's native helper for every macOS architecture it ships —
+#   ../bin/spl-capture-macos-arm64 and ../bin/spl-capture-macos-x86_64 —
+# from spl-capture.swift beside this script. Run it on any Mac with the
+# Xcode command line tools; both architectures cross-compile from either.
+# The binaries are committed: a machine running ProdDash never builds
+# anything (docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md, "Native helpers").
+#
+# Signed with a Developer ID Application certificate when one is installed
+# (override with CODESIGN_IDENTITY) — hardened runtime plus the audio-input
+# entitlement, which a helper that reads a microphone needs under the
+# hardened runtime — and ad-hoc otherwise, which is fine on your own Macs.
+#
+# Windows is not built here: there is no Windows implementation of this
+# tool yet, so on Windows the module reports measurement off.
+set -e -u
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+
+NAME="spl-capture"
+DEPLOYMENT_TARGET="13.0"
+
+command -v swiftc >/dev/null || {
+  echo "build.sh: swiftc not found — install the Xcode command line tools: xcode-select --install" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+IDENTITY="${CODESIGN_IDENTITY:-}"
+if [[ -z "$IDENTITY" ]]; then
+  IDENTITY=$(security find-identity -v -p codesigning 2>/dev/null \
+    | awk -F'"' '/Developer ID Application/ {print $2; exit}')
+fi
+if [[ -n "$IDENTITY" ]]; then
+  echo "signing as $IDENTITY"
+  SIGN=(--force --sign "$IDENTITY" --options runtime --timestamp)
+else
+  echo "signing ad-hoc (no Developer ID installed — fine on your own Macs)"
+  SIGN=(--force --sign - --options runtime)
+fi
+
+mkdir -p ../bin
+for ARCH in arm64 x86_64; do
+  OUT="../bin/$NAME-macos-$ARCH"
+  echo "  compiling $OUT"
+  swiftc -O -whole-module-optimization -target "$ARCH-apple-macos$DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" -o "$OUT" "$NAME.swift"
+  codesign "${SIGN[@]}" --entitlements helper.entitlements "$OUT"
+  codesign --verify --strict "$OUT"
+  echo "  built $OUT ($(du -h "$OUT" | awk '{print $1}'))"
+done

modules/spl-meter/native/helper.entitlements

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+<dict>
+	<!-- The helper reads an audio input; under the hardened runtime that
+	     needs saying. The permission itself comes from the launcher. -->
+	<key>com.apple.security.device.audio-input</key>
+	<true/>
+</dict>
+</plist>

modules/spl-meter/native/spl-capture.swift

@@ -8,10 +8,11 @@
 // measurement is done here and only the answers cross the pipe.
 //
 // Everything below uses Accelerate, which ships with macOS. No third-party
-// code, no package manager, ~2 s to build:
+// code, no package manager. It ships prebuilt in the module's bin/ (one
+// binary per platform, committed — a booth never builds anything). To
+// rebuild after a change here, on any Mac with the Xcode command line tools:
 //
-//   swiftc -O -o modules/spl-meter/spl-capture \
+//   modules/spl-meter/native/build.sh       (both architectures)
-//     modules/spl-meter/spl-capture.swift
 //
 //   spl-capture --list
 //       every input-capable device: name, input channels, sample rate

modules/spl-meter/server.js

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
  */
 
 const path = require('path');
-const { createSplListener, ensureCaptureBinary } = require('./spl-listener');
+const { createSplListener, captureTool } = require('./spl-listener');
 
 /** Reference level of a sound level calibrator. Effectively always 94 dB. */
 const CALIBRATOR_DB = 94;
@@ -120,12 +120,9 @@ module.exports = {
       pinger: null,
     };
 
-    // Before anything else: the device picker shells out to this tool, so a
+    // The capture tool ships prebuilt in the module (bin/); with none for
-    // machine that installed the module from the catalog (source only — the
+    // this platform every reading is off and the health line says so.
-    // binary is gitignored) needs the build kicked off here. Waiting for a
+    state.toolMissing = captureTool(moduleDir).missing;
-    // listener would never happen: no tool means no device list, and no
-    // device means no listener.
-    state.toolMissing = ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log });
 
     if (!config.enabled) {
       state.error = 'Sound level measurement is off — turn it on in ProdDash settings';
@@ -185,9 +182,7 @@ module.exports = {
     return {
       stop() { teardown(); },
       health() {
-        if (state.toolMissing && !fsExists(path.join(moduleDir, 'spl-capture'))) {
+        if (state.toolMissing) return { status: 'error', message: state.toolMissing };
-          return { status: 'error', message: state.toolMissing };
-        }
         if (state.error) return { status: 'error', message: state.error };
         if (!state.frame) return { status: 'connecting', message: 'waiting for the first reading' };
         const quiet = silentMs();
@@ -311,11 +306,10 @@ module.exports = {
       /** Device list for the admin page. Runs the capture tool's --list,
           which is the only thing that knows what CoreAudio can see. */
       'GET /devices': async (req, res) => {
-        const missing = ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir: __dirname, log });
+        const tool = captureTool(__dirname);
-        if (missing) {
+        if (tool.missing) {
-          if (state) state.toolMissing = missing;
+          log(`device list unavailable — ${tool.missing}`);
-          log(`device list unavailable — ${missing}`);
+          json(res, 200, { options: [], error: tool.missing });
-          json(res, 200, { options: [] });
           return;
         }
         try {
@@ -447,7 +441,7 @@ function teardown() {
 function listDevices() {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     const { execFile } = require('child_process');
-    execFile(path.join(__dirname, 'spl-capture'), ['--list'], { timeout: 10000 },
+    execFile(captureTool(__dirname).bin, ['--list'], { timeout: 10000 },
       (err, stdout) => {
         if (err && !stdout) { reject(err); return; }
         try { resolve(JSON.parse(stdout).devices || []); }
@@ -456,10 +450,6 @@ function listDevices() {
   });
 }
 
-function fsExists(p) {
-  try { return require('fs').existsSync(p); } catch { return false; }
-}
-
 function json(res, code, body) {
   const text = JSON.stringify(body);
   res.writeHead(code, {

modules/spl-meter/spl-listener.js

@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 /**
  * Sound level listener — owns the native capture child.
  *
- * Spawns spl-capture (compiled from spl-capture.swift beside it) for the
+ * Spawns spl-capture (bin/spl-capture-macos-<arch>, shipped prebuilt;
+ * source in native/) for the
  * admin-configured device and channels, reads its JSON lines, and hands the
  * latest frame upward. All measurement happens in the child; this file is
  * plumbing and supervision, nothing more.
@@ -13,12 +14,11 @@
  *   { frame: {...}, meta: {...} }     measuring
  *   { error: '<what is wrong and how to fix it>' }   not measuring
  *
- * The capture binary is per-machine and gitignored, exactly like the Timers
+ * The capture tool ships prebuilt inside the module, one binary per
- * module's ltc-capture. It normally arrives already built — compiled beside
+ * platform under bin/ (module guide, "Native helpers"), exactly like the
- * the app, or copied from any Mac of the same architecture. When it is
+ * Timers module's ltc-capture: nothing is ever built on the machine running
- * missing this will build it, but in the background and never on the event
+ * ProdDash. captureTool() picks the binary for this platform; when there is
- * loop, and from module scope so the device picker can trigger it too — see
+ * none, measurement reports itself off and the rest of the module carries on.
- * ensureCaptureBinary for what both of those cost the first time round.
  *
  * The same macOS gotcha applies as for LTC, and is worth repeating because
  * it costs an afternoon every time: a ProdDash launched over SSH or from a
@@ -31,72 +31,31 @@ const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs');
 const { spawn } = require('child_process');
 
-const BUILD_HELP = 'Sound level capture tool missing — build it on any Apple Silicon Mac with '
+/* ── the capture tool: prebuilt, one binary per platform ───────────────── */
-  + '`swiftc -O -o modules/spl-meter/spl-capture modules/spl-meter/spl-capture.swift` '
+
-  + 'and copy it next to spl-capture.swift';
+/** What the module ships in bin/, by platform and architecture. */
-const BUILDING = 'Building the capture tool — this takes a minute or two';
+const HELPERS = {
+  darwin: { arm64: 'spl-capture-macos-arm64', x64: 'spl-capture-macos-x86_64' },
+  win32: { x64: 'spl-capture-win-x64.exe' },
+};
 
 /**
- * Build the capture tool if it is missing, WITHOUT blocking, and shared by
+ * The capture tool for this machine. It is never built here and never
- * everything that needs it.
+ * looked for anywhere else: the module ships it, or measurement is off on
+ * this platform and says so. `bin` is the usable binary; otherwise
+ * `missing` is what to tell the admin page and the tiles.
  *
- * This lives at module scope rather than inside a listener because of a trap
+ * @returns {{bin:string, missing:string}}
- * the first version walked into: the admin page's device picker runs the tool
- * with --list, but the build only ran when a listener started, and a listener
- * only starts once a device has been picked. On a machine that got the module
- * from the catalog — source only, the binary being gitignored — the picker
- * was empty, and nothing would ever fill it.
- *
- * It also must never block. It was a spawnSync once, copied from the LTC
- * listener where the source is a third the size and builds in seconds. Here
- * it took nearly two minutes on the production Mac and held the Node event
- * loop for all of it, freezing every other module, then did it again on the
- * next retry.
- *
- * The binary should normally already be there: built beside the app, or
- * copied from any Mac of the same architecture. This is the fallback.
- *
- * @returns {string} '' when the tool is ready, otherwise what to say.
  */
-let building = false;
+function captureTool(moduleDir, platform = process.platform, arch = process.arch) {
-let buildFailed = false;
+  const name = HELPERS[platform]?.[arch] || '';
-
+  const bin = name ? path.join(moduleDir, 'bin', name) : '';
-function ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log, onReady }) {
+  if (bin && fs.existsSync(bin)) return { bin, missing: '' };
-  const bin = path.join(moduleDir, 'spl-capture');
+  const here = `${platform === 'darwin' ? 'macOS' : platform === 'win32' ? 'Windows' : platform} ${arch}`;
-  if (fs.existsSync(bin)) return '';
+  return {
-  const src = bin + '.swift';
+    bin: '',
-  if (!fs.existsSync(src)) return 'spl-capture.swift is missing from the module folder';
+    missing: `The module ships no sound level capture tool for ${here}${name ? ` (bin/${name} is missing)` : ''} — measurement is off on this machine`,
-  if (building) return BUILDING;
+  };
-  if (buildFailed) return BUILD_HELP;
-
-  building = true;
-  log('spl-capture binary missing — building it in the background');
-  const build = spawn('swiftc', ['-O', '-o', bin, src], { stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'pipe'] });
-  let buildErr = '';
-  build.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
-  build.stderr.on('data', (t) => { buildErr = (buildErr + t).slice(-800); });
-  const giveUp = setTimeout(() => {
-    try { build.kill('SIGKILL'); } catch { /* already gone */ }
-  }, 300000);
-  build.on('error', (err) => {
-    clearTimeout(giveUp);
-    building = false; buildFailed = true;
-    log(`swiftc could not be run: ${err.message}`);
-  });
-  build.on('exit', (code) => {
-    clearTimeout(giveUp);
-    building = false;
-    if (code === 0 && fs.existsSync(bin)) {
-      log('spl-capture built');
-      buildFailed = false;
-      if (typeof onReady === 'function') onReady();
-      return;
-    }
-    buildFailed = true;
-    log(`spl-capture build failed (exit ${code})`
-      + (buildErr ? `: ${buildErr.trim().split('\n').pop()}` : ''));
-  });
-  return BUILDING;
 }
 
 const RESTART_MS = 5000;
@@ -114,7 +73,6 @@ const STALL_MS = 3000;
  */
 function createSplListener(opts) {
   const { device, channels, weighting, bands, calibration, moduleDir, log, onUpdate } = opts;
-  const bin = path.join(moduleDir, 'spl-capture');
 
   let child = null;
   let stopped = false;
@@ -124,13 +82,6 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
   let meta = null;
   let lastFrameWall = 0;
 
-  /** '' when the tool is ready, otherwise what to say about it. */
-  function ensureBinary() {
-    return ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log, onReady() {
-      if (!stopped) { clearTimeout(restartTimer); restartTimer = null; start(); }
-    } });
-  }
-
   function scheduleRestart(ms) {
     if (stopped || restartTimer) return;
     restartTimer = setTimeout(() => { restartTimer = null; start(); }, ms);
@@ -150,15 +101,11 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
   function start() {
     if (stopped) return;
 
-    const missing = ensureBinary();
+    const tool = captureTool(moduleDir);
-    if (missing) {
+    if (tool.missing) {
-      onUpdate({ error: missing });
+      // No binary for this platform: say so and look again later — a module
-      // onReady is only the FAST path (a successful build restarts us at
+      // update remounts us anyway, this is only belt and braces.
-      // once). The slow retry must stay armed regardless: a failed build
+      onUpdate({ error: tool.missing });
-      // never calls back, and a binary can also arrive from outside — scp'd
-      // in on a machine whose toolchain can't build (AB's broken CLT).
-      // Waiting on onReady alone deadlocked exactly that way in the Timers
-      // module: "building…" forever, with a working binary on disk.
       scheduleRestart(BAD_CONFIG_RETRY_MS);
       return;
     }
@@ -175,7 +122,7 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
     let stderrTail = '';
     let buf = '';
 
-    child = spawn(bin, args, { stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
+    child = spawn(tool.bin, args, { stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
 
     child.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
     child.stderr.on('data', (text) => {
@@ -258,4 +205,4 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
   };
 }
 
-module.exports = { createSplListener, ensureCaptureBinary };
+module.exports = { createSplListener, captureTool };

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "proddash",
-  "version": "1.9.2",
+  "version": "1.10.0",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Modular production dashboard for Waters Church \u2014 zero-dependency Node server + vanilla client",
   "license": "UNLICENSED",

public/admin/admin.css

@@ -443,6 +443,7 @@ a.btn { text-decoration: none; }
   margin-bottom: 10px;
 }
 .catalog-main { flex: 1; min-width: 0; }
+.catalog-pick { margin: 5px 10px 0 0; flex: none; }
 .catalog-title { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 8px; }
 .catalog-row .module-desc { margin: 4px 0 2px; }
 .catalog-row .module-health { margin-top: 2px; }

public/admin/admin.js

@@ -962,6 +962,13 @@ async function loadState() {
   for (const mod of state.modules || []) {
     modulesList.appendChild(buildModuleCard(mod));
   }
+  if (!(state.modules || []).length) {
+    // A packaged ProdDash starts like this: the catalog below is the way in.
+    const none = document.createElement('div');
+    none.className = 'layouts-empty';
+    none.textContent = 'Nothing installed yet — pick from Available modules below.';
+    modulesList.appendChild(none);
+  }
   renderPin(state);
   loadTheme();
   loadLayouts();
@@ -1163,6 +1170,7 @@ function renderAvailable(cat) {
     els.updateSlot.appendChild(btn);
   }
   const available = cat.available || [];
+  installSelectedBtn.hidden = available.filter((a) => a.compatible).length < 2;
   if (!available.length) {
     const none = document.createElement('div');
     none.className = 'layouts-empty';
@@ -1205,11 +1213,46 @@ function renderAvailable(cat) {
     btn.disabled = !item.compatible;
     btn.title = item.compatible ? '' : item.reason;
     btn.addEventListener('click', () => installFromCatalog(item, btn));
+    if (item.compatible) {
+      const pick = document.createElement('input');
+      pick.type = 'checkbox';
+      pick.className = 'catalog-pick';
+      pick.dataset.id = item.id;
+      pick.dataset.name = item.name;
+      pick.title = 'Tick several, then Install selected';
+      row.append(pick);
+    }
     row.append(main, btn);
     availableList.appendChild(row);
   }
 }
 
+const installSelectedBtn = document.getElementById('install-selected');
+
+/** The ticked modules, in one request; the answer says which ones landed. */
+async function installSelected() {
+  const picks = [...availableList.querySelectorAll('.catalog-pick:checked')];
+  if (!picks.length) return toast('Tick the modules to install first', true);
+  installSelectedBtn.disabled = true;
+  installSelectedBtn.textContent = `Installing ${picks.length}…`;
+  try {
+    const r = await api('/api/admin/modules/install', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ ids: picks.map((p) => p.dataset.id) }) });
+    const done = (r.results || []).filter((x) => x.ok).length;
+    const failed = (r.results || []).filter((x) => !x.ok);
+    toast(failed.length
+      ? `${done} installed; ${failed.map((f) => `${f.id}: ${f.error}`).join(' · ')}`
+      : `${done} module${done === 1 ? '' : 's'} installed`, failed.length > 0);
+    await loadState();
+  } catch (e) {
+    if (e.authRequired) showLogin();
+    else toast(e.message, true);
+  } finally {
+    installSelectedBtn.disabled = false;
+    installSelectedBtn.textContent = 'Install selected';
+  }
+}
+installSelectedBtn.addEventListener('click', installSelected);
+
 async function installFromCatalog(item, btn) {
   btn.disabled = true;
   const label = btn.textContent;

public/admin/index.html

@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@
     <section id="available-section" hidden>
       <h1 class="admin-h1">Available modules</h1>
       <div class="catalog-toolbar">
+        <button class="btn small primary" id="install-selected" hidden>Install selected</button>
         <button class="btn small" id="catalog-refresh">Check again</button>
         <span class="admin-status" id="catalog-status"></span>
       </div>

public/shell.js

@@ -510,6 +510,7 @@ function reconcileOfferedTiles() {
   }
   if (changed) rebuildDividers();
   scheduleOfferedRecheck();
+  refreshEmptyState(); // the registry may have gone from nothing to something
 }
 
 /* A module's entry list can change without anyone saving admin config: PCO
@@ -676,6 +677,15 @@ function buildTile(tile) {
 
 function refreshEmptyState() {
   emptyEl.hidden = tiles.length > 0;
+  if (emptyEl.hidden) return;
+  // Two different empties: a bare board, and a ProdDash with nothing to put
+  // on one — a packaged install starts without modules until Admin adds some.
+  const noModules = registry.size === 0;
+  if (noModules === emptyEl.classList.contains('no-modules')) return;
+  emptyEl.classList.toggle('no-modules', noModules);
+  emptyEl.innerHTML = noModules
+    ? 'No modules yet — <a href="/admin">open Admin</a> and install some under Available modules.'
+    : 'No tiles yet — use “＋ Add tile” to build this dashboard.<br>Every browser keeps its own layout.';
 }
 
 /* ── drag to move ───────────────────────────────────────────────────── */

server.js

@@ -277,6 +277,52 @@ function isUninstalled(id) {
   return moduleState(id).uninstalled === true;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A packaged install that still carries modules in its app folder — every
+ * install made before 1.10.0 does — moves them into the data directory
+ * once, as installed copies, and drops the app-folder copies. Nothing
+ * changes for the operator: the same modules run with the same settings
+ * (config is keyed by module id), and from now on each updates on its own
+ * from the catalog. A compiled helper sitting in a bundled folder travels
+ * with it. A module the operator had uninstalled is simply dropped — the
+ * catalog still offers it, and its settings stay in modules.json.
+ */
+function unbundleModules() {
+  if (!PACKAGED || !fs.existsSync(BUNDLED_MODULES_DIR)) return;
+  const installed = new Map(readManifests(INSTALLED_MODULES_DIR, 'installed').map((m) => [m.id, m]));
+  let moved = 0;
+  let failed = 0;
+  for (const man of readManifests(BUNDLED_MODULES_DIR, 'bundled')) {
+    if (isUninstalled(man.id)) continue;
+    const copy = installed.get(man.id);
+    if (copy && compareVersions(copy.version, man.version) >= 0) continue; // the data directory already has as good or better
+    const dest = path.join(INSTALLED_MODULES_DIR, man.id);
+    const staging = path.join(INSTALLED_MODULES_DIR, `.${man.id}.moving`);
+    try {
+      fs.mkdirSync(INSTALLED_MODULES_DIR, { recursive: true });
+      fs.rmSync(staging, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      fs.cpSync(man.dir, staging, { recursive: true }); // keeps modes: a compiled helper stays executable
+      fs.rmSync(dest, { recursive: true, force: true });
+      fs.renameSync(staging, dest);
+      moved += 1;
+      console.log(`[proddash] moved bundled module "${man.id}" v${man.version} into the data directory${copy ? ` (over the installed v${copy.version})` : ''}`);
+    } catch (err) {
+      failed += 1;
+      console.error(`[proddash] could not move bundled module "${man.id}" into the data directory:`, err?.message || err);
+    }
+  }
+  if (failed) {
+    console.warn(`[proddash] ${failed} bundled module${failed === 1 ? '' : 's'} stay in the app folder for now — tried again at the next start`);
+    return;
+  }
+  try {
+    fs.rmSync(BUNDLED_MODULES_DIR, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    console.log(`[proddash] the app folder carries no modules now${moved ? ` — ${moved} moved into the data directory` : ''}; the admin page's catalog installs and updates them`);
+  } catch (err) {
+    console.warn("[proddash] could not remove the app folder's modules:", err?.message || err);
+  }
+}
+
 function moduleState(id) {
   const s = modulesConfig[id];
   return s && typeof s === 'object' ? s : {};
@@ -1235,9 +1281,18 @@ const DATA_DIR_INSIDE_ROOT = (() => {
   return rel.split(path.sep).join('/') + '/';
 })();
 
+/* A packaged install — the macOS app, the Windows bundle: anything that is
+   not a git checkout, the same test the updater uses to choose the archive
+   over git pull — carries no modules of its own. Every module comes from
+   the catalog into the data directory, and the shell's own update never
+   brings one along. A checkout keeps running the modules in its tree, which
+   is what development wants. */
+const PACKAGED = !fs.existsSync(path.join(ROOT, '.git'));
+
 function isKeptOnUpdate(rel) {
   if (rel.startsWith('.git/')) return true;
   if (rel === 'config/modules.json' || rel.startsWith('config/layouts/')) return true;
+  if (PACKAGED && (rel === 'modules' || rel.startsWith('modules/'))) return true;
   return Boolean(DATA_DIR_INSIDE_ROOT) && `${rel}/`.startsWith(DATA_DIR_INSIDE_ROOT);
 }
 
@@ -1580,6 +1635,29 @@ async function handleAdminApi(req, res, urlPath) {
     return;
   }
 
+  // Several at once — a fresh install picking its set. One result per id;
+  // a failure stops nothing else.
+  if (urlPath === '/api/admin/modules/install' && req.method === 'POST') {
+    if (refuseAdminWrite(req, res)) return;
+    let body = {};
+    try {
+      body = JSON.parse((await readBody(req)) || '{}');
+    } catch {
+      return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Malformed request.' });
+    }
+    const ids = Array.isArray(body.ids) ? [...new Set(body.ids.map((id) => String(id)))] : [];
+    if (!ids.length) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Nothing to install.' });
+    const results = [];
+    for (const id of ids) {
+      try {
+        results.push({ ok: true, ...(await installModule(id)) });
+      } catch (err) {
+        results.push({ ok: false, id, error: err?.message || String(err) });
+      }
+    }
+    return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: results.every((r) => r.ok), results });
+  }
+
   const install = urlPath.match(/^\/api\/admin\/modules\/([^/]+)\/install$/);
   if (install && req.method === 'POST') {
     if (refuseAdminWrite(req, res)) return;
@@ -2074,6 +2152,7 @@ server.requestTimeout = 0;
 
 /* ── boot ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
+unbundleModules();
 discoverModules();
 mountAllModules();
 

tools/unbundled.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * A packaged ProdDash carries no modules. This drives a packaged copy of the
+ * shell — server.js and its client in a folder with no .git — through the
+ * three things that make that true:
+ *
+ *   1. an install made before 1.10.0 still has modules in its app folder:
+ *      at boot they move into the data directory once, executables keeping
+ *      their mode, an uninstalled one is dropped, and the app folder's
+ *      modules/ is gone;
+ *   2. a shell update from an archive that carries modules/ never writes
+ *      them into the app folder — they show up in the catalog instead;
+ *   3. a fresh install lists everything the repo offers, and installing
+ *      several at once lands them in the data directory and mounts them.
+ *
+ *   node tools/unbundled.test.js
+ *
+ * Plain Node, no dependencies: a mock forge, a temp app folder, a temp data
+ * directory. Exits non-zero on the first failure and cleans up after itself.
+ */
+
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { spawn, execFileSync } = require('node:child_process');
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const http = require('node:http');
+const net = require('node:net');
+const os = require('node:os');
+const path = require('node:path');
+
+const REPO = path.join(__dirname, '..');
+
+function freePort() {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const probe = net.createServer();
+    probe.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', () => {
+      const { port } = probe.address();
+      probe.close(() => resolve(port));
+    });
+    probe.on('error', reject);
+  });
+}
+
+async function waitFor(url, ms = 15000) {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + ms;
+  let last = '';
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    try {
+      const r = await fetch(url);
+      if (r.ok) return;
+      last = 'HTTP ' + r.status;
+    } catch (err) {
+      last = err.message;
+    }
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 200));
+  }
+  throw new Error('server did not come up: ' + last);
+}
+
+function writeModule(dir, id, version, extra = {}) {
+  fs.mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, 'module.json'), JSON.stringify({ id, name: id[0].toUpperCase() + id.slice(1), version, client: 'client.js', ...extra }));
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, 'client.js'), 'export default function () {}\n');
+}
+
+/** The repo as a forge would archive it: one top-level folder, the shell files, and modules/. */
+function buildArchive(dir) {
+  const top = path.join(dir, 'ProdDash-main');
+  fs.mkdirSync(top, { recursive: true });
+  fs.copyFileSync(path.join(REPO, 'server.js'), path.join(top, 'server.js'));
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(top, 'package.json'), JSON.stringify({ name: 'proddash', version: '9.9.9' }));
+  writeModule(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo'), 'demo', '2.0.0');
+  writeModule(path.join(top, 'modules', 'other'), 'other', '1.0.0');
+  writeModule(path.join(top, 'modules', 'third'), 'third', '1.0.0');
+  const out = path.join(dir, 'main.tar.gz');
+  execFileSync('tar', ['-czf', out, '-C', dir, 'ProdDash-main']);
+  return fs.readFileSync(out);
+}
+
+/** A packaged install as it was before 1.10.0: the shell plus bundled modules, no .git. */
+function buildPackagedApp(app) {
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.join(app, 'config'), { recursive: true });
+  fs.copyFileSync(path.join(REPO, 'server.js'), path.join(app, 'server.js'));
+  fs.copyFileSync(path.join(REPO, 'package.json'), path.join(app, 'package.json'));
+  fs.cpSync(path.join(REPO, 'public'), path.join(app, 'public'), { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(app, 'config', 'proddash.json'), JSON.stringify({ port: 24500 }));
+  writeModule(path.join(app, 'modules', 'demo'), 'demo', '1.0.0');
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.join(app, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin'));
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(app, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin', 'demo-helper'), '#!/bin/sh\necho helper\n');
+  fs.chmodSync(path.join(app, 'modules', 'demo', 'bin', 'demo-helper'), 0o755);
+  writeModule(path.join(app, 'modules', 'gone'), 'gone', '1.0.0');
+}
+
+(async () => {
+  const work = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'proddash-unbundled-'));
+  const app = path.join(work, 'app');
+  const dataDir = path.join(work, 'data');
+  fs.mkdirSync(dataDir);
+  buildPackagedApp(app);
+  // The operator had uninstalled "gone" before this update.
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dataDir, 'modules.json'), JSON.stringify({ gone: { uninstalled: true } }));
+  const archive = buildArchive(path.join(work, 'forge'));
+
+  const forge = http.createServer((req, res) => {
+    if (req.url.startsWith('/michael/ProdDash/archive/main.tar.gz')) {
+      res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'application/gzip' });
+      return res.end(archive);
+    }
+    res.writeHead(404);
+    res.end();
+  });
+  const forgePort = await freePort();
+  await new Promise((r) => forge.listen(forgePort, '127.0.0.1', r));
+
+  const port = await freePort();
+  const base = `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
+  const env = {
+    ...process.env,
+    PRODDASH_DATA_DIR: dataDir,
+    PORT: String(port),
+    PRODDASH_FORGE: `http://127.0.0.1:${forgePort}`,
+    PRODDASH_REPO: 'michael/ProdDash',
+    PRODDASH_NO_REMOTE_CHECK: '1',
+    PRODDASH_LAUNCHER: '1', // a supervisor is watching: an update exits 75 instead of respawning
+  };
+  let log = '';
+  let child = null;
+  const start = () => {
+    child = spawn(process.execPath, ['server.js'], { cwd: app, env, stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
+    child.stdout.on('data', (d) => { log += d; });
+    child.stderr.on('data', (d) => { log += d; });
+    return child;
+  };
+  const exited = (proc) => new Promise((resolve) => proc.on('exit', resolve));
+  const api = async (p, init = {}) => {
+    const r = await fetch(base + p, { headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, ...init });
+    return { status: r.status, body: await r.json().catch(() => ({})) };
+  };
+  const moduleIds = async () => (await api('/api/modules')).body.modules.map((m) => m.id).sort();
+
+  let failed = false;
+  try {
+    // ── 1. the move ──
+    start();
+    await waitFor(base + '/api/theme');
+    const moved = path.join(dataDir, 'modules', 'demo');
+    assert.ok(fs.existsSync(path.join(moved, 'module.json')), 'demo moved into the data directory');
+    const helper = path.join(moved, 'bin', 'demo-helper');
+    assert.ok(fs.existsSync(helper), 'its compiled helper came along');
+    assert.ok(fs.statSync(helper).mode & 0o111, 'and is still executable');
+    assert.equal(fs.existsSync(path.join(dataDir, 'modules', 'gone')), false, 'an uninstalled module is dropped, not moved');
+    assert.equal(fs.existsSync(path.join(app, 'modules')), false, "the app folder's modules/ is gone");
+    assert.deepEqual(await moduleIds(), ['demo'], 'demo runs, gone does not');
+    assert.match(log, /moved bundled module "demo" v1\.0\.0 into the data directory/);
+    assert.match(log, /the app folder carries no modules now/);
+    const state = (await api('/api/admin/state')).body;
+    assert.equal(state.modules.find((m) => m.id === 'demo')?.source, 'installed', 'demo is an installed copy now');
+
+    // The catalog sees the repo's modules/ — as offers, not as a bundle.
+    let cat = (await api('/api/admin/catalog?refresh=1')).body;
+    assert.equal(cat.shell.remote.error, '', 'the mock forge answers: ' + cat.shell.remote.error);
+    assert.deepEqual(cat.updates.map((u) => `${u.id} ${u.installedVersion}->${u.version}`), ['demo 1.0.0->2.0.0']);
+    assert.deepEqual(cat.available.map((a) => a.id).sort(), ['gone', 'other', 'third'].filter((id) => id !== 'gone'), 'other and third are on offer');
+
+    // ── 2. a shell update carries no modules ──
+    const running = child;
+    const up = await api('/api/admin/update', { method: 'POST', body: '{}' });
+    assert.equal(up.status, 200, 'update: ' + JSON.stringify(up.body));
+    assert.equal(await exited(running), 75, 'the server asks its supervisor for a restart');
+    assert.equal(fs.existsSync(path.join(app, 'modules')), false, 'the archive\'s modules/ was not written into the app folder');
+    assert.equal(JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(app, 'package.json'), 'utf8')).version, '9.9.9', 'but the shell itself was updated');
+
+    log = '';
+    start();
+    await waitFor(base + '/api/theme');
+    assert.doesNotMatch(log, /moved bundled module/, 'nothing left to move on the second start');
+    assert.deepEqual(await moduleIds(), ['demo'], 'still just demo, from the data directory');
+    cat = (await api('/api/admin/catalog')).body;
+    assert.deepEqual(cat.available.map((a) => a.id).sort(), ['other', 'third'], 'the new modules are offers, not installs');
+
+    // ── 3. several at once ──
+    const many = await api('/api/admin/modules/install', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ ids: ['other', 'third', 'nope'] }) });
+    assert.equal(many.status, 200);
+    assert.equal(many.body.ok, false, 'one of them does not exist');
+    assert.deepEqual(many.body.results.map((r) => `${r.id}:${r.ok}`), ['other:true', 'third:true', 'nope:false']);
+    assert.ok(fs.existsSync(path.join(dataDir, 'modules', 'other', 'module.json')), 'other landed in the data directory');
+    assert.deepEqual(await moduleIds(), ['demo', 'other', 'third'], 'and both are mounted');
+    const empty = await api('/api/admin/modules/install', { method: 'POST', body: '{}' });
+    assert.equal(empty.status, 400, 'nothing to install is said');
+
+    console.log('unbundled shell: every check passed');
+  } catch (err) {
+    failed = true;
+    console.error('FAIL:', err.message);
+    console.error('--- last of the server log ---\n' + log.slice(-2500));
+  } finally {
+    try { child?.kill('SIGTERM'); } catch { /* gone */ }
+    forge.close();
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 400));
+    fs.rmSync(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+  process.exit(failed ? 1 : 0);
+})();