ci: auto-detect patch vs full, control asar upload accordingly

.github/workflows/build-release.yml

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ jobs:
           CHANGED=$(git diff --name-only "$PREV_TAG"..HEAD)
           echo "$CHANGED"
 
-          # Files that require a full (installer) build
+          # Files that require a full (installer-only) release
           FULL_TRIGGERS="electron-builder.yml|scripts/download-electron.js"
 
           if echo "$CHANGED" | grep -qE "^($FULL_TRIGGERS)$"; then
@@ -105,9 +105,8 @@ jobs:
         with:
           node-version: '22'
 
-      # Full build needs wine + system deps for electron-builder
       - name: Install system dependencies
-        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false' && steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE == 'full'
+        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false'
         run: |
           sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
           sudo apt-get update -qq
@@ -123,39 +122,29 @@ jobs:
         if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false'
         run: npm ci --legacy-peer-deps
 
-      # ── Patch release: asar only ──
-
-      - name: Build asar
-        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false' && steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE == 'patch'
-        run: npm run build:asar
-
-      # ── Full release: installer + asar ──
-
       - name: Build source
-        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false' && steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE == 'full'
+        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false'
         run: npm run build
 
       - name: Build Windows distributables
-        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false' && steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE == 'full'
+        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false'
         env:
           WINEDEBUG: "-all"
         run: npx electron-builder --win -c.electronDist=node_modules/electron/dist-win --publish never
 
       - name: Build Linux distributables
-        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false' && steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE == 'full'
+        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false'
         run: npx electron-builder --linux -c.electronDist=node_modules/electron/dist-linux --publish never
 
-      - name: Build asar for full release
+      - name: Build asar for patch updates
-        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false' && steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE == 'full'
+        if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false' && steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE == 'patch'
         run: npm run build:asar
 
       - name: Report build sizes
         if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false'
         run: |
           echo "=== Release type: ${{ steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE }} ==="
-          if [ "${{ steps.release-type.outputs.TYPE }}" = "full" ]; then
           ls -lh out/*.exe out/*.AppImage out/*.deb 2>/dev/null || true
-          fi
           ls -lh out/asar/* 2>/dev/null || true
 
       - name: Generate release notes
@@ -215,7 +204,8 @@ jobs:
             exit 1
           fi
 
-          # Upload asar + checksums (both patch and full releases)
+          # Upload asar + checksums (patch releases only — signals client to use fast path)
+          if [ "$RELEASE_TYPE" = "patch" ]; then
             for file in out/asar/app.asar out/asar/checksums.sha256; do
               [ -f "$file" ] || continue
               FILENAME=$(basename "$file")
@@ -226,9 +216,11 @@ jobs:
                 -F "attachment=@$file" \
                 | jq -r '"  -> \(.name) (\(.size) bytes)"'
             done
+          else
+            echo "Full release — skipping asar upload (forces installer update)"
+          fi
 
-          # Upload installer artifacts (full release only)
+          # Upload installers (always — for new users and major updates)
-          if [ "$RELEASE_TYPE" = "full" ]; then
           for file in out/*.exe out/*.AppImage out/*.deb; do
             [ -f "$file" ] || continue
             FILENAME=$(basename "$file")
@@ -240,9 +232,8 @@ jobs:
               -F "attachment=@$file" \
               | jq -r '"  -> \(.name) (\(.size) bytes)"'
           done
-          fi
 
-          echo "All assets uploaded (release type: $RELEASE_TYPE)"
+          echo "All assets uploaded"
 
       - name: Prune old releases
         if: steps.version-check.outputs.SKIP == 'false'