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RELEASING

wootc writes Linux onto a stranger's only computer. The release rule follows directly from the North Star (a nervous Windows user must not lose data): the app only ever offers scenarios the E2E matrix has actually proven green. Everything else is hidden until it is proven. Features unlock as the matrix greens; the channel graduates when whole tiers are green.

The single source of truth​

The build/test matrix is authoritative. A combination is green only when the hosted E2E (e2e-matrix.yml / e2e-gui.yml) has passed it end-to-end — Windows seed → deploy → Phase-2 bridge → Phase-3 native disk → seeded file on the native disk.

Two places consume that status, and they must agree:

  • app/data/images.json — each image carries "status": "green" | "experimental". Only green images are offered in alpha.
  • app/app.go GetSupportPolicy() — per-channel gate for the scenario axes (BitLocker/FDE, custom OCI refs, encryption). The frontend reads it to gate the UI; StartInstall enforces it as the authoritative backstop.

When a matrix cell goes green, flip its status (and/or the relevant policy flag) in the same PR that records the green run — never ahead of it.

Channels​

The active channel comes from $WOOTC_CHANNEL, else C:\wootc\channel.txt, else the built-in default (alpha).

ChannelBar to enterOffers
alphaone image green end-to-end (incl. GUI-driven)green images only; encryption off; no BitLocker; no custom refs
betathe full matrix greenall images; custom refs; still gates any axis whose issue is open
stablefull matrix green + a soak period with no data-safety regressionseverything

Alpha deliberately refuses more than it allows. A blocked user with intact Windows is a good outcome; a walked-into-red user with a broken boot is not.

Alpha (now)​

  • Image: ghcr.io/projectbluefin/bluefin:lts — the one combination green end-to-end, including a full GUI-driven run.
  • Encryption: off only. tpm2-luks (Phase-2 regen, #33) and BitLocker FDE (#34) are gated off; the app detects BitLocker and tells the user plainly that it is coming soon rather than proceeding into a known failure.
  • Root filesystem: ext4 (sealed default). btrfs is blocked (#35).
  • No custom OCI refs — only the offered, tested image.

The unlock path to beta​

Each of these flips a gate the moment its matrix row is green:

  • yellowfin / bonito / marlin / flounder full three-phase → status: green
  • composefs-native (dakota) Phase-2/3
  • Windows 10 + Home/Enterprise/LTSC editions
  • BitLocker FDE path (#34) → BitLockerSupported: true
  • tpm2-luks root (#33) → offer encryption
  • btrfs sealed Phase-2 (#35) → offer btrfs
  • custom OCI refs (once the deploy path is family-agnostic green) → CustomImageAllowed: true

When the whole matrix is green, the default channel becomes beta (catalog all-green, custom refs on), and the axis gates open as their issues close.

Cutting a release​

Releases are E2E-gated — tagging publishes nothing until a real Windows VM has migrated to Linux and back on a hosted runner (release.yml → the gate calls the same reusable E2E the nightly proves, on the alpha image, GUI-driven).

git tag v0.1.0-alpha.1 && git push origin v0.1.0-alpha.1
# → tests → E2E gate (real Windows VM, bluefin:lts, GUI-driven) → build + publish

The published artifact is wootc.exe (Wails, Go + web UI; no runtime deps). skip_e2e exists for emergencies and documents itself in the release notes.

User instructions (shipped in the release notes / INSTALL.md)​

  1. Download wootc.exe. It is not code-signed yet (alpha) — SmartScreen will warn; More info → Run anyway.
  2. Requirements the app checks for you: Windows 10/11 64-bit, UEFI + Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, BitLocker off (alpha), ~40 GB free.
  3. Run it, pick Bluefin, set a username + password, click Install. Nothing on your PC changes until you click Reboot Now — and even then Windows and all your files stay put; Linux lives in a file beside them.
  4. First boot shows a calm "Setting up your new Linux system" screen for 5–15 minutes. When it finishes you're in Linux. To go back to Windows, reboot and pick Windows — or uninstall wootc from inside it (deletes a folder and a boot entry).

Uninstalling is always: delete C:\wootc and remove the "wootc" boot entry — the app's Control Panel does both.