Switch PyInstaller backend build from --onefile to --onedir

.github/workflows/build-and-release.yml

@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ jobs:
           draft: false
           prerelease: ${{ contains(env.APP_VERSION, '-beta') || contains(env.APP_VERSION, '-alpha') || contains(env.APP_VERSION, '-rc') }}
           files: |
-            dist/stasis-backend-v*.exe
+            dist/stasis-backend-v*.zip
             frontend/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/nsis/*.exe
             frontend/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/nsis/*.msi
             frontend/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/zip/*.zip

README.md

@@ -303,16 +303,16 @@ From PowerShell in the project root:
 |---|---|
 | **1** | Syncs the version string into `tauri.conf.json`, `package.json`, and `Cargo.toml` |
 | **2** | Generates `file_version_info.txt` for Windows EXE metadata |
-| **3** | Runs PyInstaller using `stasis-backend.spec` → `dist/stasis-backend.exe` |
-| **4** | Copies the backend EXE to `frontend/src-tauri/bin/` |
+| **3** | Runs PyInstaller using `stasis-backend.spec` → `dist/stasis-backend/` (onedir) |
+| **4** | Copies the backend directory to `frontend/src-tauri/bin/stasis-backend/` |
 | **5** | Runs `npm install` inside `frontend/` |
 | **6** | Runs `npm run tauri:build` (Vite + Rust + NSIS bundling) |
 
 **Output artifacts:**
 
 ```
 dist/
-  stasis-backend-v<version>.exe          # Standalone backend (≈100 MB)
+  stasis-backend-v<version>.zip          # Standalone backend directory (zipped)
 frontend/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/
   nsis/
     Stasis-<version>-setup.exe           # Full installer

build.ps1

@@ -20,8 +20,9 @@ $ProjectRoot = $PSScriptRoot
 $FrontendDir = Join-Path $ProjectRoot "frontend"
 $BinDir = Join-Path $ProjectRoot "frontend\src-tauri\bin"
 $SpecFile = Join-Path $ProjectRoot "stasis-backend.spec"
-$BackendExe = Join-Path $BinDir "stasis-backend.exe"
-$DistExe = Join-Path $ProjectRoot "dist\stasis-backend.exe"
+$BackendDir = Join-Path $BinDir "stasis-backend"
+$DistDir = Join-Path $ProjectRoot "dist\stasis-backend"
+$DistExe = Join-Path $DistDir "stasis-backend.exe"
 
 $TauriConf = Join-Path $FrontendDir "src-tauri\tauri.conf.json"
 $PkgJson = Join-Path $FrontendDir "package.json"
@@ -196,16 +197,19 @@ if (-not (Test-Path $DistExe)) {
     exit 1
 }
 
-Write-Host "  Copying EXE to src-tauri/bin/ ..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
-Copy-Item -Force $DistExe $BackendExe
+Write-Host "  Copying backend directory to src-tauri/bin/ ..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+if (Test-Path $BackendDir) {
+    Remove-Item -Recurse -Force $BackendDir
+}
+Copy-Item -Recurse -Force $DistDir $BackendDir
 
-$exeSize = [math]::Round((Get-Item $BackendExe).Length / 1MB, 1)
-Write-Host "  [OK] stasis-backend.exe copied ($exeSize MB)" -ForegroundColor Green
+$dirSizeMB = [math]::Round((Get-ChildItem $BackendDir -Recurse | Measure-Object -Property Length -Sum).Sum / 1MB, 1)
+Write-Host "  [OK] stasis-backend dir copied ($dirSizeMB MB)" -ForegroundColor Green
 
-$VersionedExeName = "stasis-backend-v$Version.exe"
-$VersionedExePath = Join-Path $ProjectRoot "dist\$VersionedExeName"
-Rename-Item -Path $DistExe -NewName $VersionedExeName -Force
-Write-Host "  [OK] Standalone backend saved as dist\$VersionedExeName" -ForegroundColor Green
+$VersionedZipName = "stasis-backend-v$Version.zip"
+$VersionedZipPath = Join-Path $ProjectRoot "dist\$VersionedZipName"
+Compress-Archive -Path $DistDir -DestinationPath $VersionedZipPath -Force
+Write-Host "  [OK] Standalone backend saved as dist\$VersionedZipName" -ForegroundColor Green
 
 # -------------------------------------------------------
 # 3. npm install (if needed)
@@ -257,8 +261,9 @@ else {
     Write-Host "  Bundle directory not found. Check Tauri build output above." -ForegroundColor Yellow
 }
 
-if (Test-Path $VersionedExePath) {
-    Write-Host "    $VersionedExePath  ($exeSize MB)" -ForegroundColor Green
+if (Test-Path $VersionedZipPath) {
+    $zipSizeMB = [math]::Round((Get-Item $VersionedZipPath).Length / 1MB, 1)
+    Write-Host "    $VersionedZipPath  ($zipSizeMB MB)" -ForegroundColor Green
 }
 
 # Cleanup

docs/architecture.md

@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ Stasis uses a **dual-process architecture**: a compiled Python telemetry engine
 
 ## Python backend
 
-The backend is a single compiled `.exe` (PyInstaller) that spawns several daemon threads on startup.
+The backend is a compiled directory (PyInstaller `--onedir`) that spawns several daemon threads on startup.
 
 ### Entry point (`src/main.py`)
 
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ frontend/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/
 
 ## Process communication
 
-The Tauri shell launches `stasis-backend.exe` as a **sidecar process** (configured in `tauri.conf.json`). The React frontend communicates with the backend exclusively via HTTP requests to `http://127.0.0.1:7432`. There are no Tauri IPC commands used for data retrieval — the HTTP API is the single source of truth.
+The Tauri shell launches `stasis-backend.exe` (from `bin/stasis-backend/`) as a **sidecar process** (configured in `tauri.conf.json`). The React frontend communicates with the backend exclusively via HTTP requests to `http://127.0.0.1:7432`. There are no Tauri IPC commands used for data retrieval — the HTTP API is the single source of truth.
 
 This design means the Python backend can be run and tested independently of the Tauri shell.
 

docs/developer-guide.md

@@ -99,16 +99,16 @@ The `build.ps1` script automates the entire release pipeline.
 |---|---|
 | **Version sync** | Updates the version string in `tauri.conf.json`, `package.json`, and `Cargo.toml` |
 | **Win32 metadata** | Generates `file_version_info.txt` so the compiled EXE has correct version metadata in Windows Explorer |
-| **PyInstaller** | Runs `pyinstaller stasis-backend.spec` → `dist/stasis-backend.exe` |
-| **Copy sidecar** | Moves backend EXE to `frontend/src-tauri/bin/` so Tauri bundles it |
+| **PyInstaller** | Runs `pyinstaller stasis-backend.spec` → `dist/stasis-backend/` (onedir) |
+| **Copy sidecar** | Copies backend directory to `frontend/src-tauri/bin/stasis-backend/` so Tauri bundles it |
 | **npm install** | Installs frontend dependencies (skipped if `node_modules` is up to date) |
 | **Tauri build** | Runs `npm run tauri:build` inside `frontend/` — compiles Vite + Rust + generates NSIS installer |
 
 ### Output artifacts
 
 ```
 dist/
-  stasis-backend-v1.2.3.exe                          ← Standalone backend (~100 MB)
+  stasis-backend-v1.2.3.zip                         ← Standalone backend directory (zipped)
 frontend/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/
   nsis/
     Stasis-1.2.3-setup.exe                            ← Full NSIS installer
@@ -124,10 +124,10 @@ Key settings in the spec file:
 | Setting | Value | Reason |
 |---|---|---|
 | `console = False` | Windowed mode | No terminal window pops up |
-| `upx = True` | Compress with UPX | Reduces EXE size (requires UPX in PATH) |
+| `upx = True` | Compress with UPX | Reduces binary sizes (requires UPX in PATH) |
 | `hidden_imports` | flask, psutil, win32api, … | Ensure PyInstaller bundles all dynamic imports |
 | `excludes` | unittest, matplotlib, scipy, pandas, … | Strips unused heavy libraries |
-| `datas` | `app_categories.json`, `ignored_apps.json` | Bundle config JSONs into the EXE |
+| `datas` | `app_categories.json`, `ignored_apps.json` | Bundle config JSONs into the output dir |
 
 ---
 

frontend/src-tauri/src/main.rs

@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ fn start_backend(app: &AppHandle) {
     // Resolve the bundled backend EXE path relative to the Resources dir
     let resource_path = app
         .path()
-        .resolve("bin/stasis-backend.exe", tauri::path::BaseDirectory::Resource)
+        .resolve("bin/stasis-backend/stasis-backend.exe", tauri::path::BaseDirectory::Resource)
         .expect("Failed to resolve backend EXE path");
 
     #[cfg(not(debug_assertions))]

frontend/src-tauri/tauri.conf.json

@@ -47,9 +47,9 @@
                                                               "silent":  true
                                                           }
                                },
-                   "resources":  {
-                                     "bin/stasis-backend.exe":  "bin/stasis-backend.exe"
-                                 },
+                   "resources":  [
+                                     "bin/stasis-backend/**/*"
+                                 ],
                    "icon":  [
                                 "icons/32x32.png",
                                 "icons/128x128.png",

stasis-backend.spec

@@ -37,8 +37,6 @@ pyz = PYZ(a.pure)
 exe = EXE(
     pyz,
     a.scripts,
-    a.binaries,
-    a.datas,
     [],
     name='stasis-backend',
     icon='backend-app-icon.ico',
@@ -48,12 +46,20 @@ exe = EXE(
     strip=False,
     upx=True,
     upx_exclude=[],
-    runtime_tmpdir=None,
     console=False,
     disable_windowed_traceback=False,
     argv_emulation=False,
     target_arch=None,
     codesign_identity=None,
     entitlements_file=None,
-
+)
+
+coll = COLLECT(
+    exe,
+    a.binaries,
+    a.datas,
+    strip=False,
+    upx=True,
+    upx_exclude=[],
+    name='stasis-backend',
 )