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SwanSong Desktop Wiki

This is the detailed guide to SwanSong: playing and organizing games, Translation Lab, Analogue Pocket setup, privacy boundaries, architecture, testing, and releases. The repository README is the short product tour; the wiki is where the technical detail lives.

The current source line is the 0.3 beta. It supports macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon and Intel.

Current 0.3 beta status

• SwanSong Open IPL is the only startup path. There is no BIOS picker or original-firmware import, storage, download, or override.
• Local authorized .ws, .wsc, .pc2, .pcv2, and supported one-game ZIP imports work from the Mac.
• The signed first-party Homebrew Catalog installer is implemented but remains Coming Soon, has no production trust key, and makes no network request.
• SwanSong app updates use Sparkle 2 with a signed GitHub-hosted feed and immutable GitHub Release assets. Manual checks are available; automatic checks/downloads and beta versions are opt-in, and system profiling is off.
• Gamepads use the standard controls macOS exposes through GameController. USB and Bluetooth work when the device appears as a compatible controller; raw vendor-specific HID layouts are not guessed.
• Translation Lab can record route-v3 proofs from exact frame/input plans and verify one stored route against Original and Patched into immutable paired Capture Intake evidence.
• Local MCP is off by default and exposes only allowlisted live controls, bounded homebrew playtesting, and guarded Translation Lab automation.
• The Analogue Pocket SD tool can install only an authorized stable SwanSong Core release. None is currently published, so the tool performs no package download or card write.
• SwanSong Desktop and SwanSong Core remain separate products and release lanes. Sparkle never invokes the Pocket installer.

Start here

• Playing and Library covers imports, the managed library, player, display profiles, Time Ribbon, visual save states, Game Confidence, and save exchange.
• Translation Lab documents deterministic route tests, paired evidence, on-device text intake, batch verification, First Visual Change, and privacy.
• Local MCP and Automation documents the opt-in Codex bridge and guarded route/evidence commands.
• Analogue Pocket SD Setup documents release trust, card eligibility, transactional writes, rollback, and preserved content.
• Open IPL documents the BIOS-free 0.2-and-later startup contract and historical boundary.
• Gamepads defines controller discovery, mapping, hotplug, and USB limits.
• Homebrew Catalog distinguishes implemented installer code from the deliberately unpublished production catalog.
• App Updates documents native GitHub app updates, privacy controls, signatures, and stable/beta channels.
• Architecture and Source Ownership explains repository and engine boundaries.
• Build and Test is the contributor command and acceptance reference.
• Signing and Notarization covers the trusted Mac and Apple tooling.
• Release Gates defines source, artifact, app-update, Homebrew, Pocket, and publication requirements.
• 0.3 Beta Testing is the current tester checklist and known-limits page.

Versioned release notes are authoritative for historical behavior. In particular, 0.1.0 required user-supplied startup files and 0.1.1 made Open IPL the default while retaining optional private original-firmware overrides. The override is removed only in 0.2.