Migrate from Actual Installer to Inno Setup for headless Windows installer build

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -9,15 +9,20 @@ on:
 env:
   PYTHON_VERSION: '3.14'
 
-# Required for creating a new GitHub release
-permissions:
-    contents: write
-
 jobs:
   build-app-packages:
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
+        include:
+          - os: ubuntu-latest
+            dist_name: linux
+            assets_path: dist/naturtag/_internal/assets/data
+          - os: macos-latest
+            dist_name: macos
+            assets_path: dist/naturtag.app/Contents/Resources/assets/data
+          - os: windows-latest
+            dist_name: windows
+            assets_path: dist/naturtag/_internal/assets/data
       fail-fast: false
     defaults:
       run:
@@ -46,32 +51,22 @@ jobs:
         run: uv run pyinstaller -y packaging/naturtag.spec
 
       # Include taxon FTS db, compress, and set platform name
-      - name: Finish pyinstaller package (Linux)
-        if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'ubuntu')
-        run: |
-          ASSETS=dist/naturtag/_internal/assets/data
-          tar -xvzf $ASSETS/taxonomy.tar.gz --directory $ASSETS/
-          rm $ASSETS/taxonomy.tar.gz
-          tar -C dist/naturtag/ -czvf naturtag-linux.tar.gz .
-          echo 'DIST_NAME=linux' >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-      - name: Finish pyinstaller package (macOS)
-        if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'macos')
+      - name: Finish pyinstaller package
         run: |
-          ASSETS=dist/naturtag.app/Contents/Resources/assets/data
+          ASSETS=${{ matrix.assets_path }}
           tar -xvzf $ASSETS/taxonomy.tar.gz --directory $ASSETS/
           rm $ASSETS/taxonomy.tar.gz
-          tar -C dist/naturtag/ -czvf naturtag-macos.tar.gz .
-          echo 'DIST_NAME=macos' >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          tar -C dist/naturtag/ -czvf naturtag-${{ matrix.dist_name }}.tar.gz .
 
-      - name: Finish pyinstaller package (Windows)
+      # Build Windows installer with Inno Setup
+      - name: Install Inno Setup
+        if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'windows')
+        run: choco install innosetup -y
+      - name: Build Windows installer
         if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'windows')
         run: |
-          ASSETS=dist/naturtag/_internal/assets/data
-          tar -xvzf $ASSETS/taxonomy.tar.gz --directory $ASSETS/
-          rm $ASSETS/taxonomy.tar.gz
-          tar -C dist/naturtag/ -czvf naturtag-windows.tar.gz .
-          echo 'DIST_NAME=windows' >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          APP_VERSION=$(uv run python packaging/get_version.py)
+          iscc //DAppVersion=$APP_VERSION packaging/naturtag.iss
 
       # Build deb, rpm, and pacman packages
       - name: Build Linux packages with FPM
@@ -105,50 +100,58 @@ jobs:
 
       # Upload workflow artifacts
       - name: Upload pyinstaller package
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
-          name: naturtag-${{ env.DIST_NAME }}.tar.gz
-          path: naturtag-${{ env.DIST_NAME }}.tar.gz
+          name: naturtag-${{ matrix.dist_name }}.tar.gz
+          path: naturtag-${{ matrix.dist_name }}.tar.gz
 
       - name: Upload disk image (macOS)
         if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'macos')
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: naturtag.dmg
           path: dist/naturtag.dmg
 
       - name: Upload FPM workflow artifacts (Linux)
         if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'ubuntu')
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: naturtag-fpm
           path: dist/naturtag.*
 
       - name: Upload AppImage (Linux)
         if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'ubuntu')
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: naturtag.AppImage
           path: dist/naturtag.AppImage
 
+      - name: Upload Windows installer
+        if: startsWith(matrix.os, 'windows')
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
+        with:
+          name: naturtag-installer.exe
+          path: dist/naturtag-installer.exe
+
   # Create a release with all workflow artifacts attached
   release-app-packages:
     if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: build-app-packages
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
     steps:
       - uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
-      - name: Collect artifacts from workflow subdirs
-        run: |
-          find . -type d -depth -name 'naturtag*' -exec mv {} {}_dir \;
-          find . -type f -mindepth 2 -exec mv -- {} . \;
-          rmdir *_dir
-          ls -ARl
+        with:
+          pattern: naturtag*
+          path: release-assets
+          merge-multiple: true
+      - run: ls -l release-assets/
 
       - name: Create release
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
         with:
-          files: 'naturtag*'
+          files: 'release-assets/naturtag*'
           body: |
             See changelog for release details: https://github.com/pyinat/naturtag/blob/main/HISTORY.md
             See docs for installation instructions: https://naturtag.readthedocs.io/en/stable/installation.html

HISTORY.md

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 **Packaging:**
 * Build pacman package for Arch Linux
 * Build AppImage package for other Linux distros not covered by other formats (replaces snap package)
+* Automate Windows installer build with Inno Setup (replaces Actual Installer)
 * Include locale data in PyInstaller packages
 * Update packaged taxonomy db with iNaturalist data from February 2026
 * Upgrade to Qt 6.10

packaging/README.md

@@ -21,14 +21,8 @@ This directory contains scripts and config for building Naturtag packages in the
 * Export full db with `export_taxa_full.sh`
   * This will create a file `taxonomy-full.tar.gz` to upload later
 
-## Windows Installer
-* Update version in `pyproject.toml` and Actual Installer config (`naturtag.aip`)
-* On a Windows machine or VM, build the project locally and create an installer with Actual Installer.
-* See steps in `build_win.ps1` for details (not fully automated; requires GUI interaction)
-
 ## Release
 * Create and push new git tag. This will trigger jobs to build packages and create a new GitHub release.
 * Most release assets will be built by the CI job, except for the following, which must be uploaded manually:
   * Full taxonomy db (`taxonomy-full.tar.gz`)
-  * Windows installer (`naturtag-installer.exe`)
 * Publish the GitHub release (by default, it will be created in draft mode)

packaging/build_win.ps1

@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
-# Build pyinstaller package prior to creating Windows installer
-
-# Create virtualenv (if needed)
-# python3.14 -m venv  $env:USERPROFILE\.virtualenvs\naturtag
+# Build pyinstaller package and Windows installer
+# (for local builds; not used by CI)
 
 # Install uv (if needed)
 # Invoke-RestMethod https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | Invoke-Expression
@@ -10,8 +8,6 @@
 uv sync --no-dev
 uv run pyinstaller -y packaging\naturtag.spec
 
-# Launch Actual Installer, then:
-#  1. Run 'Build Project' (F9)
-#  2. Run installer
-#  3. Open Naturtag and test basic features
-Invoke-Item packaging\naturtag.aip
+# Build installer with Inno Setup
+$version = uv run python packaging\get_version.py
+iscc /DAppVersion=$version packaging\naturtag.iss