Status update: struggling with creating .appx distributable to submit to Windows store

[Thavarshan]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share some of the challenges I've been facing while trying to package my Electron-based video converter app, Comet, into an .appx distributable for submission to the Windows Store. It's been a frustrating process, and I'm hoping to get some insights or suggestions from the community.

Background:

Comet is a simple video converter app built with Electron, and I'm currently using Electron Forge to manage the build process. My goal is to create an .appx package that I can submit to the Windows Store. To automate the process, I've set up a GitHub Actions workflow that handles building and signing the app for Windows.

Issues Encountered:

1. Signing Issues:

   • One of the recurring problems I'm facing involves signing the .appx package with my PFX certificate. Despite configuring the CERT_PASSWORD correctly in the GitHub Secrets and setting up the environment variables in the workflow, I keep running into errors like:
     • The specified PFX password is not correct.
     • Error: SignerSign() failed.
   • I've tried re-exporting the PFX file to ensure it's not corrupted and testing the signing process locally. Locally, everything works fine, but the issues persist in the CI environment.

2. Manifest and Versioning Errors:

   • Initially, I encountered errors related to the app manifest, specifically the version format. The .appx packaging process requires a Major.Minor.Build.Revision version format, and my app's version was set to 1.0.0, which caused validation errors. I've since adjusted the versioning, but this was another hurdle.

3. File Handling and Cleanup Errors:

   • After the build process, the workflow often fails during cleanup, with errors like EBUSY: resource busy or locked, unlink. It seems the temporary files are being locked by another process, preventing proper cleanup.
   • I've tried adding delays and manual cleanup steps to the workflow, but the problem persists intermittently.

Current Status:

At this point, I'm feeling a bit stuck. Each time I resolve one issue, another seems to crop up, making the process feel like an endless loop of debugging and trial-and-error. My goal is to get Comet packaged and signed correctly so I can finally submit it to the Windows Store, but these roadblocks are proving to be quite challenging.

Seeking Advice:

Has anyone else experienced similar issues when creating .appx packages with Electron and submitting to the Windows Store? If so, how did you overcome them? Any tips on handling PFX signing in GitHub Actions or dealing with file locking issues during cleanup would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!