TownReporter 0.6.27 — Windows installation and local-test fixes

TownReporter 0.6.27 — Windows installation and local-test fixes

Download the Windows x64 ZIP below, extract it completely, and run Install TownReporter.cmd. The package installs private pinned Node and PostgreSQL runtimes, browser retrieval support, persistent data and owned start/stop controls. It does not install a global service or expose the newspaper to the internet. An already usable AI provider is a separate prerequisite. macOS/Linux source setup remains available.

Download Windows x64 ZIP · SHA256 checksum · Windows installation guide · Source setup

Fixed

• Server maintenance and restart target only this installation. Startup checks actual HTTP/database readiness and refuses stale source or compiled output.
• Supplied-material drafting is explicit and preserved across jobs/retries. Edited reporting bodies require evidence review before publication, including the alternate Opinion path; obsolete public evidence can be removed while retaining private history.
• Trailing-slash-only page redirects no longer masquerade as moved pages. Unchanged captures no longer create Changed cards.
• Investigative prompts use the configured town/county. Reddit checks require an accepted subreddit source in that newsroom instead of assuming Longmont.
• Windows port preflight catches both occupied ports and OS bind refusal. New database default is 15432; existing saved ports stay unchanged. Hidden AppData directories are supported without permitting junctions.

Verification and limits

Source/tag target: 7421e7e. This is the exact merge commit packaged and tested by the release checks.
Application CI: 14/14 jobs passed. npm test: 1,697 passed, zero failed, 46 explicitly skipped; typecheck, lint and builds passed. The 46 skips are environment/opt-in exclusions in the standard suite, not counted as passes; dedicated real-PostgreSQL and browser jobs passed separately. Pre-existing lint warnings remain.
Windows ZIP: 6,895,604 bytes, SHA256 afe61f51b525cc000c14775614535c7fe7ce2b5e42b320040ca180aa9311b9a1. The ZIP and both sidecars are the actual CI artifacts; they were not repackaged for release.
Fresh Windows installation, manual publishing, restart persistence and native contracts completed in 680.53 seconds (11 minutes 20 seconds). All five native checks passed, zero failed or skipped. Fresh Windows evidence.

Fresh Windows automation disables AI and exercises prerequisite downloads, first-owner setup, manual article publication, stale-build refusal, idempotent stop/start, fresh sign-in and persistent data. It runs on a clean GitHub Windows Server 2025 runner using the package's private runtimes. Windows 11 was additionally exercised on the travel machine, including actual Claude supplied-material drafting (51 seconds with an already available provider), evidence review, real page captures, and owned restart. These results do not measure first-time AI account creation or a fresh-machine real source scan; under an hour remains a conditional installation target, not a guarantee for every machine, connection or model.

This is a GitHub software release. Halo production was not accessed or promoted. The owner directs a Halo-local operator separately.

Published-download acceptance passed: the actual release ZIP and sidecars were downloaded and verified, then installed on a fresh Windows runner. First-owner setup, manual publication, stale-build refusal, restart persistence and all five native checks passed in 838.71 seconds (13 minutes 59 seconds). Published-asset run. Main-commit application CI also passed all 14 jobs with the same test totals. The public ZIP was additionally rebuilt on the existing Windows 11 test installation; the saved editor session and published test article survived. This closes the bounded installation release checks; the AI and platform limits above still apply.