feat(nix): add a stable desktop flake package

[SINGH-RAJVEER]

Problem

Upstream main has no root flake.nix, so NixOS users cannot use this repository as a flake input to install the desktop app.

Change

• Add a root flake for x86_64-linux that exposes t3code (also default) as a package and an app. It wraps the official stable AppImage, installs the launcher, desktop entry and icons, and disables in-app updates.
• Pin the version and SHA-256 in packaging/nix/release.json. Stable release finalization refreshes the pin from the published release's AppImage digest and commits it alongside the existing version bump. Stable prereleases (for example -rc tags) skip the pin update, so finalization still commits their version metadata.
• Document running, installing and upgrading the package on NixOS.

Scope and approval

Related to #15278 and Ideas Discussion #7057. Earlier packaging PRs #2734 and #4699 were closed, including concerns about maintaining another distribution channel.

Explicit maintainer approval of direction and scope has not been obtained. This feature does not qualify for the small bug-fix or configuration exceptions. The contribution guide requires approval; linking the issue or discussion does not satisfy it.

Verification

Environment: Linux x86_64, Nix 2.34.8.

• nix flake check --no-build: passed for packages and apps (default, t3code).
• nix build .#default --no-link: built t3code-0.0.45; the output contains bin/t3code, t3code.desktop and nine icon sizes.
• Running the updater against the real v0.0.45 release produced the committed pin unchanged.
• node --test .github/scripts/update-nix-release.test.cjs: 6 passed.
• nixfmt --check flake.nix, oxfmt --check on the changed files, and git diff --check passed.

The GUI and the authenticated release workflow were not run.

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between a389a48 and 8abed90.

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⛔ Files ignored due to path filters (1)

• flake.lock is excluded by !**/*.lock

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📒 Files selected for processing (7)

• .github/scripts/update-nix-release.cjs
• .github/scripts/update-nix-release.test.cjs
• .github/workflows/ci.yml
• .github/workflows/release.yml
• docs/user/install.md
• flake.nix
• packaging/nix/release.json

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📝 Walkthrough

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

The pull request adds an x86_64-linux Nix flake package, stable-release manifest updates, and NixOS installation instructions. CI tests the release metadata updater, and the release workflow runs it for stable releases.

Changes

Nix packaging and release updates

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Nix package outputs and installation packaging/nix/release.json, flake.nix, docs/user/install.md	The manifest provides the version and SHA-256 digest used by the flake to fetch the AppImage. The flake exposes package and app outputs for x86_64-linux. The guide describes NixOS installation and updates.
Release manifest updater and validation .github/scripts/update-nix-release.cjs, .github/scripts/update-nix-release.test.cjs, .github/workflows/ci.yml	The updater validates stable release metadata and writes the version and digest to a manifest. Tests cover valid metadata and rejection cases, and CI runs those tests.
Release finalization updates .github/workflows/release.yml	For stable releases, the workflow fetches release JSON and runs the updater. The metadata commit checks and stages the Nix manifest with the other release files.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Feature

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant ReleaseWorkflow
  participant GitHubReleases
  participant updateNixRelease
  participant releaseJson
  ReleaseWorkflow->>GitHubReleases: fetch release metadata for the tag
  GitHubReleases-->>ReleaseWorkflow: return release JSON
  ReleaseWorkflow->>updateNixRelease: pass release JSON
  updateNixRelease->>releaseJson: write version and SHA-256 digest
  ReleaseWorkflow->>releaseJson: stage release manifest for metadata commit

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Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to 8abed

The identified packaging concern is incorrect, and the prerelease finalization failure is fixed. No actionable merge-blocking risk remains after normal checks.

Security Architecture Review

Security architecture risk: 🔵 Low · up to 8abed

The package uses a SHA-256-pinned official release and keeps upgrades under Nix control. The release automation reuses its existing credentials and validates metadata before committing the pin. No introduced security vulnerability was established, but the packaged executable, generated launcher, and live release recovery behavior were not independently verified.

Retained concerns
No architecture-level concerns identified.

Security review details

Security Blast Radius

• inferred — A compromised trusted release artifact and corresponding accepted pin could deliver executable code to Nix users selecting that repository revision. Exposure is the new x86_64-linux distribution channel and the application's user-level capabilities, not a newly provisioned service or IAM role. The external executable's complete capabilities were not independently assessed.

Security Findings and Attack Paths

• observed — The inspected updater passes release metadata through parsing and validation into JSON serialization, not shell evaluation. Its CLI writes to a caller-selected local path, while the release workflow uses the fixed default manifest path. The named test declarations do not expose an attacker-callable production endpoint; no metadata-to-command execution bypass was observed in this path.

Trust Boundaries and Controls

• observed — The release API is the trusted producer of asset identity and digest, and Nix checks downloaded bytes against that recorded digest. This provides content integrity relative to the accepted pin, not independent publisher attestation. Finalization reuses the pre-existing release App token, bot identity, and main-branch push path; the PR does not broaden that credential mechanism.

Resilience and Maintainability Implications

• inferred — The version and digest become durable together in the pushed metadata commit, and failed validation cannot publish a partially validated pin through the inspected workflow. Tests exercise stable acceptance and rejection cases, and CI invokes them. Security-update adoption for installed Nix packages nevertheless depends on successful pin finalization and users updating their locked input.

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Pre-merge checks | 4

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Linked Issues check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check		Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Title check		The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: adding a stable Nix desktop flake package.
Description check		The description includes all required sections, explains the problem and change, records the missing maintainer approval, and provides focused verification results and limitations.

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Actionable comments posted: 1

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• 🪄 Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR

🤖 Prompt to fix review comments

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only still-valid issues, skip the rest with a brief reason, keep changes
minimal, and validate.

Inline comments:
Review comments at @.github/workflows/release.yml:
- Line 1306: Add a tag-format condition to the “Update Nix release pins” step so
it runs only for tags supported by updateNixRelease, excluding stable-channel
prereleases. Leave the other release finalization steps unchanged.

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 54b6b66 and cd99549.

⛔ Files ignored due to path filters (1)

• flake.lock is excluded by !**/*.lock

📒 Files selected for processing (9)

• .github/scripts/check-nightly-release.cjs
• .github/scripts/check-nightly-release.test.cjs
• .github/scripts/update-nix-release.cjs
• .github/scripts/update-nix-release.test.cjs
• .github/workflows/ci.yml
• .github/workflows/release.yml
• docs/user/install.md
• flake.nix
• packaging/nix/releases.json

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[maria-rcks]

Note

Written by claude-opus-5-5 on behalf of Maria

Hi! We are cleaning up open PRs, and this one appears to have been created with an older model (gpt-6). If this change is really important, we recommend rebuilding the PR with a newer model if possible.

[maria-rcks]

Note

Written by claude-opus-5-5 on behalf of Maria

Reopening, this was closed by mistake. Sorry for the noise!

[juliusmarminge]

Note

This comment is posted by Julius' dot

This adds an upstream Nix distribution channel and release-driven pin updates. The PR says that direction has not been approved, and #15278 points to an unresolved maintainer decision. Please link explicit approval for the channel and release-workflow ownership under the prior-approval rule. Leaving this open for maintainer decision because Maria has already commented.