MemerGamer · Oct 5, 2026 · Oct 5, 2026 · Oct 5, 2026 · Oct 5, 2026 · Oct 5, 2026
diff --git a/.github/README.md b/.github/README.md
@@ -32,6 +32,14 @@ cd LinuxFiles
 scripts/linux/install-local.sh
 ```
 
+### Nightly builds
+
+Every merge to `main` publishes a tarball and AppImage to the rolling [nightly pre-release](https://github.com/MemerGamer/LinuxFiles/releases/tag/nightly). Run it with:
+
+```sh
+curl -LO https://github.com/MemerGamer/LinuxFiles/releases/download/nightly/LinuxFiles-nightly-x86_64.AppImage && chmod +x LinuxFiles-nightly-x86_64.AppImage && ./LinuxFiles-nightly-x86_64.AppImage
+```
+
 See [docs/linux-port/packaging.md](../docs/linux-port/packaging.md) for packaging details and [docs/linux-port/PLAN.md](../docs/linux-port/PLAN.md) for the roadmap.
 
 ## Reporting bugs

diff --git a/.github/SECURITY.md b/.github/SECURITY.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Security Policy
 
-LinuxFiles is an unofficial, community-maintained Linux port of [Files](https://github.com/files-community/Files). It is in alpha, and only the latest release and the `linux/main` branch receive fixes.
+LinuxFiles is an unofficial, community-maintained Linux port of [Files](https://github.com/files-community/Files). It is in alpha, and only the latest release and the `main` branch receive fixes.
 
 ## Reporting a vulnerability in LinuxFiles
 

diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-linux.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-linux.yml
@@ -71,9 +71,17 @@ jobs:
     - name: Build Files.App.Storage (Uno desktop)
       run: dotnet build src/Files.App.Storage/Files.App.Storage.csproj -c Release -f net10.0-desktop
 
-    # Informational until the Phase 2 error inventory (docs/linux-port/phase2-errors.md) reaches zero.
-    - name: Build Files.App (Uno desktop)
-      run: dotnet build src/Files.App/Files.App.csproj -c Release -f net10.0-desktop
+    # Blocking: Win32 compat mode is off (the default since P4-Z), so no Win32/Shell code and no CsWin32 assembly may be needed.
+    - name: Build Files.App (Uno desktop, Win32 compat off)
+      run: dotnet build src/Files.App/Files.App.csproj -c Release -f net10.0-desktop -p:FilesWin32Compat=false
+
+    - name: Verify the desktop build did not build CsWin32
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        if [ -d src/Files.App.CsWin32/bin ] || [ -d src/Files.App.CsWin32/obj ]; then
+          echo "::error::Files.App.CsWin32 was built for the desktop target; something still depends on Win32 compat mode."
+          exit 1
+        fi
 
     - name: Build and test platform test projects (if any)
       shell: bash

diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly-linux.yml b/.github/workflows/nightly-linux.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+# Copyright (c) Files Community
+# Licensed under the MIT License.
+
+# Abstract:
+#   Builds the self-contained linux-x64 tarball and AppImage on every push to main and publishes them to
+#   one rolling "nightly" GitHub pre-release with stable asset names. Pull requests targeting main get the
+#   same build as workflow artifacts only (read-only token). The Flatpak is left to package-linux.yml.
+
+name: Nightly Linux
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - main
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.ref || 'nightly' }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+
+  build-linux-x64:
+
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+
+    - name: Checkout the repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v6
+
+    - name: Setup .NET
+      uses: actions/setup-dotnet@v5
+      with:
+        global-json-file: global.json
+
+    - name: Cache NuGet packages
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
+      with:
+        path: ~/.nuget/packages
+        key: ${{ runner.os }}-nuget-${{ hashFiles('**/Directory.Packages.props') }}
+        restore-keys: |
+          ${{ runner.os }}-nuget-
+
+    - name: Publish self-contained linux-x64
+      run: scripts/linux/publish.sh --rid linux-x64 --tarball
+
+    - name: Build AppImage
+      run: packaging/linux/appimage/build-appimage.sh
+
+    - name: Stage assets with stable names
+      run: |
+        mkdir -p dist
+        cp artifacts/files-linux-x64.tar.gz dist/LinuxFiles-nightly-linux-x64.tar.gz
+        cp artifacts/Files-x86_64.AppImage dist/LinuxFiles-nightly-x86_64.AppImage
+
+    - name: Upload packages
+      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      with:
+        name: linuxfiles-nightly-linux-x64
+        path: dist/*
+        if-no-files-found: error
+
+  publish-nightly:
+
+    if: github.event_name != 'pull_request' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
+    needs: build-linux-x64
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+
+    steps:
+
+    - name: Checkout the repository
+      uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      with:
+        fetch-depth: 0
+
+    - name: Download packages
+      uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+      with:
+        name: linuxfiles-nightly-linux-x64
+        path: dist
+
+    - name: Replace the nightly release
+      env:
+        GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
+        REPO: ${{ github.repository }}
+        SHA: ${{ github.sha }}
+      run: |
+        short="${SHA:0:7}"
+
+        # Commit list since the previous nightly (falls back to the last 20 commits).
+        prev="$(gh api "repos/$REPO/git/ref/tags/nightly" --jq '.object.sha' 2>/dev/null || true)"
+        if [ -n "$prev" ] && git cat-file -e "$prev^{commit}" 2>/dev/null; then
+          range="$prev..$SHA"
+        else
+          range="-20 $SHA"
+        fi
+        {
+          echo "Rolling build of \`main\` at $SHA. Replaced on every push; not for production use."
+          echo
+          echo "Run the AppImage: \`chmod +x LinuxFiles-nightly-x86_64.AppImage && ./LinuxFiles-nightly-x86_64.AppImage\`"
+          echo
+          echo "### Changes since the previous nightly"
+          # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+          git log --no-merges --format='- %h %s' $range
+        } > notes.md
+
+        gh release delete nightly -R "$REPO" --cleanup-tag --yes 2>/dev/null || true
+        gh release create nightly -R "$REPO" --target "$SHA" --prerelease \
+          --title "Nightly (main @ $short)" --notes-file notes.md \
+          dist/LinuxFiles-nightly-linux-x64.tar.gz dist/LinuxFiles-nightly-x86_64.AppImage
diff --git a/Directory.Build.props b/Directory.Build.props
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@
     <WindowsSdkPackageVersion>10.0.26100.67-preview</WindowsSdkPackageVersion>
     <WindowsTargetFramework>$(BaseTargetFramework)-windows$(TargetWindowsVersion)</WindowsTargetFramework>
     <DesktopTargetFramework>$(BaseTargetFramework)-desktop</DesktopTargetFramework>
-    <!-- Linux bring-up: compile existing Win32 code against CsWin32 types until it is replaced by Files.Platform services. -->
-    <FilesWin32Compat Condition="'$(FilesWin32Compat)' == ''">true</FilesWin32Compat>
+    <!-- Opt-in (-p:FilesWin32Compat=true): compiles the leftover Win32 code on the desktop TFM against CsWin32 types, for inventory only. -->
+    <FilesWin32Compat Condition="'$(FilesWin32Compat)' == ''">false</FilesWin32Compat>
     <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>
     <!-- Uno's nullability annotations differ from WinUI's; keep nullable diagnostics as warnings on the Linux desktop build for now. -->
     <WarningsAsErrors Condition="!$(TargetFramework.EndsWith('-desktop'))">nullable</WarningsAsErrors>

diff --git a/Directory.Packages.props b/Directory.Packages.props
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
     <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.WindowsAppSDK.Widgets" Version="2.0.5" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Microsoft.Graphics.Win2D" Version="1.4.0" />
     <PackageVersion Include="TagLibSharp" Version="2.3.0" />
+    <PackageVersion Include="Krafs.Publicizer" Version="2.3.0" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Uno.WinUI" Version="6.7.135" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Uno.WinUI.Runtime.Skia.X11" Version="6.7.135" />
     <PackageVersion Include="Uno.Microsoft.Xaml.Behaviors.WinUI.Managed" Version="2.4.2" />

diff --git a/docs/linux-port/AGENT-RULES.md b/docs/linux-port/AGENT-RULES.md
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ Read this first, then `PLAN.md` §0, then `CLAUDE.md`.
 - Never commit anything from the real home directory.
 
 ## Git / GitHub
-- Branch from `origin/linux/main`: `git fetch origin && git switch -c linux/<wp> origin/linux/main`.
+- Branch from `origin/main` (the single integration branch; releases are tags: `nightly` rolling, `linux-v*` stable): `git fetch origin && git switch -c linux/<wp> origin/main`.
 - Commit trailer: `Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>`.
 - Push: `git -c credential.helper='!gh auth git-credential' push -u origin linux/<wp>`.
-- PR: `gh pr create -R MemerGamer/LinuxFiles --base linux/main --head linux/<wp> ...`. The body ends with `🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)`.
+- PR: `gh pr create -R MemerGamer/LinuxFiles --base main --head linux/<wp> ...`. The body ends with `🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)`.
 - Never target, push to, or comment on upstream `files-community/Files`.
 
 ## Code

diff --git a/docs/linux-port/PLAN.md b/docs/linux-port/PLAN.md
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # Files on Linux — Porting Plan
 
+> **Branching (2026-10-05):** `main` is the single integration branch. `linux/main` is retired (frozen at the last merge). Releases are tags: the rolling `nightly` pre-release (every push to `main`) and stable `linux-v*` tags.
+
 Status: draft v1 · 2026-10-04 · fork base `0e3c17ca4` (in sync with `files-community/Files` main)
 
 ## 0. Revision 2 (2026-10-04): Linux-first
@@ -43,7 +45,7 @@ The owner decided to focus on Linux first. Windows support is revisited only aft
 | 1 | Abstraction skeleton (`Files.Platform.*`, tests, DI) | serial, small |
 | 2 | **Linux bring-up: make `Files.App` compile and launch on Uno `net10.0-desktop`.** Retarget Controls + App to Uno. Exclude Windows-only folders (`Compile Remove`). Replace Win32/WinRT calls with interface calls, backed by stub or simple Linux implementations. Fix compile errors folder by folder. **✅ Done (2026-10-05):** the app compiles, launches and runs on Linux; the compat-off criterion moved to Phase 4. | parallel by folder ownership |
 | 3 | Real Linux backends per interface (enumeration, watcher, file ops, trash, launcher, thumbnails, drives, clipboard…), with unit tests | parallel, one agent per interface |
-| 4 | Replace the legacy WinRT storage layer (`BaseStorageFile`/`Folder`) with OwlCore storables, then switch Win32 compat mode off (moved from Phase 2) | parallel work packages (see Phase 4 plan, Revision 3) |
+| 4 | Replace the legacy WinRT storage layer (`BaseStorageFile`/`Folder`) with OwlCore storables, then switch Win32 compat mode off (moved from Phase 2). **✅ Done (2026-10-05, P4-Z):** compat mode is off by default and the desktop build has 0 errors, which also meets Phase 2's criterion | parallel work packages (see Phase 4 plan, Revision 3) |
 | 5 | UI blockers and UX parity: L-DND, SpeedGraph, StickyHeader, title bar, previews, single instance | parallel |
 | 6 | Desktop integration and packaging (FileManager1 D-Bus, `.desktop`, Flatpak/AppImage/AUR) | parallel |
 | 7 | Hardening (performance, HiDPI, themes, localisation) | parallel |
@@ -53,7 +55,7 @@ The Phase 2 workstreams in §7.3 still define folder ownership. Their goal is no
 not "Windows code wrapped without behaviour change".
 
 ### Phase 2 build decisions (2026-10-04)
-- **Win32 compat mode is the default** (`FilesWin32Compat=true` in `Directory.Build.props`). Existing Win32/Shell code compiles on Linux against the CsWin32 assembly, which is built automatically for Platform=x64. It cannot run on Linux, so any call that is reached at runtime must be replaced by a `Files.Platform` service. Switching compat mode off was Phase 2's exit criterion; since 2026-10-05 it is Phase 4's (P4-Z), because it depends on removing the legacy storage layer.
+- **Win32 compat mode is off by default since P4-Z (2026-10-05)** (`FilesWin32Compat=false` in `Directory.Build.props`). The desktop build no longer compiles Win32/Shell code or builds the CsWin32 assembly. `-p:FilesWin32Compat=true` still works as an opt-in inventory lens: it compiles the Windows-only folders against CsWin32 and defines `FILES_WIN32_COMPAT`. Nothing compiled that way runs on Linux. Linux CI builds with compat off and fails on any error. (Until P4-Z compat mode was the default. Switching it off was Phase 2's exit criterion and became Phase 4's on 2026-10-05.)
 - **Nullable diagnostics are warnings on `-desktop`**, because Uno's annotations differ from WinUI's. Re-enable once the build is clean.
 - Stubbed behaviour is tagged `// LINUX-TODO(<area>)`. Use `rg -n LINUX-TODO src` to find the backlog.
 
@@ -247,7 +249,8 @@ Each workstream: define its interface methods from real call sites, implement th
   (`Files.Core.Storage`) + the Phase 2 interfaces. `ShellViewModel` first, then properties, search, archives (`Zip*`),
   FTP, virtual folders.
 - Kept on a single owner (or a strictly serialized queue), because almost everything touches `ShellViewModel`.
-- **Exit:** `Utils/Storage/StorageItems/*` is no longer referenced by the Linux build.
+- **Exit:** `Utils/Storage/StorageItems/*` is no longer referenced by the Linux build. *Superseded by the Revision 3 exit below, which is met. The legacy items
+  (`FtpStorage*`, `SystemStorage*`, `ZipStorageFolder.IsZipPath`, `BaseStorage*`) still compile on Linux behind `LINUX-TODO(storage)` and remain follow-up work.*
 
 #### Phase 4 plan, Revision 3 (2026-10-05): drop the legacy storage layer, then switch Win32 compat off
 The two are one project: the legacy items (`Zip*`, `NativeStorageFile`, `VirtualStorageItem`, `Shell*`, `SystemStorageFolder`) call
@@ -287,6 +290,8 @@ Add first, delete last; default build stays green. Contracts (P4-0, then frozen)
 | P4-Z | 1–2 | Flip `FilesWin32Compat=false`, fix leftovers, delete `#if WINDOWS` IStorageItem members, CI job blocking | all | strong |
 
 Order: P4-0 → wave 1a (K, A, B, C, H, I) → wave 1b (F, D, G, J) → E → Z. Critical path ≈ 10 working days.
+**Status (2026-10-05):** all 14 packages are merged or in review; P4-E (#73) and P4-Z close the phase. Compat off by default, 0 errors, headless smoke
+test passed (browse, copy/move, trash/restore, browse into a zip, Properties, search, live updates), and the Linux CI compat-off build is blocking.
 Gate after every merge: normal desktop build passes; `-p:FilesWin32Compat=false` error count ratchets down vs
 `docs/linux-port/compat-off-baseline.txt`; `rg --no-ignore 'BaseStorage|StorageItems\.|Windows\.Win32|PInvoke\.|Win32Helper\.'` on the WP's
 files (outside `*.Windows.cs`) → 0. Exit: compat off by default, 0 errors, headless smoke run passes, CI compat-off job blocking.
@@ -356,8 +361,8 @@ files (outside `*.Windows.cs`) → 0. Exit: compat off by default, 0 errors, hea
    unit tests, and an `rg --no-ignore` coupling check against the WP's owned files. It reports pass/fail plus a
    capped log.
 4. **Opus** reviews the diff (correctness, CRLF, `.editorconfig`, AOT rules, no scope creep), then merges into
-   `linux/main` in dependency order.
-5. **Haiku** merges `upstream/main` into `linux/main` weekly and reports conflicts. **Opus** resolves non-trivial ones.
+   `main` in dependency order.
+5. **Haiku** merges `upstream/main` into `main` (via a sync PR) weekly and reports conflicts. **Opus** resolves non-trivial ones.
 
 Windows builds can't run locally on Linux. Validate them through GitHub Actions on `windows-2025-vs2026`, with a
 Haiku agent polling `gh run` results.