build(linux): stage awatcher + aw-sync into aw-tauri before Tauri bundle step

[TimeToBuildBob]

Problem

Linux deb/rpm/AppImage packages contain only the aw-tauri binary. A fresh install launches the tray + server + web UI but records nothing — no window watcher, no AFK watcher, no sync. The root cause: nothing in the bundle build copies aw-awatcher or aw-sync into aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules/ before cargo tauri bundle runs.

Solution

aw-tauri@931e56d (in the pinned 1d52445 submodule pointer) already handles the bundle side: it conditionally injects src-tauri/modules/aw-* via bundle.resources when that directory is present at build time, and dirs.rs knows how to find them at runtime (../lib/aw-tauri/ for deb/rpm, $APPDIR/usr/lib/aw-tauri/ for AppImage). This PR is the activitywatch side:

1. Reorder SUBMODULES on Linux with TAURI_BUILD=true so awatcher builds before aw-tauri (it was appended after aw-tauri, which is too late).
2. Stage binaries immediately before aw-tauri's make build in the module loop:
   • aw-server-rust/target/release/aw-sync → aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules/aw-sync
   • awatcher/target/release/awatcher → aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules/aw-awatcher

Both copies are guarded by [ -f ... ], so SKIP_SERVER_RUST=true and non-Linux (macOS, Windows) builds are unaffected.

What changes

• Makefile: +16 lines, -2 lines — reorder and staging only, no new steps in CI

Testing

The change is exercised by the existing build-tauri CI matrix on ubuntu-24.04 and ubuntu-24.04-arm. After this lands, the produced .deb size should grow from ~16 MB to ~40–50 MB (matching the .zip minus PyInstaller trees).

Closes ActivityWatch/aw-tauri#232 (already closed; this is the activitywatch side)

[greptile-apps]

Confidence Score: 5/5

[High risk] Changes build order and staging for Tauri on Linux.

The PR appears safe to merge, with no new actionable issues found.

What we checked:

• Failed copies stop the build: Both copy commands exit on failure before the loop reaches the aw-tauri build.

Summary

The PR builds awatcher before aw-tauri on Linux and stages aw-sync and aw-awatcher before bundling.

• The latest changes clear previously staged files and stop when required binaries are missing.
• The earlier staging-failure finding is fixed: cleanup, directory creation, copies, and permission changes now stop the build on failure.
• No new actionable issues were found.

_{Reviews (4) · Last reviewed commit: "fix(linux-bundle): move comment out of t..." · Reviewed by Greptile}

[TimeToBuildBob]

@greptileai review

[TimeToBuildBob]

🤖 AI code review

Safe to merge — no P0/P1 findings on latest review

_{Updated after inline dispositions on finding threads — this is the current state; the verdict below is frozen at review time and is kept as the historical record of that pass.}

Finding disposition

Finding	Severity	State
Makefile:75	P2	fixed in 86dc343

The PR reorders the Linux TAURI_BUILD submodule list so awatcher builds before aw-tauri, and adds a staging step in the build loop that copies aw-sync and awatcher binaries into aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules/ before aw-tauri's make build runs. The staging is guarded by TAURI_BUILD=true, OS=Linux, and file existence checks.

Needs a look — P2 only

Confidence 4/5

1 finding · ⚠️ 1 P2

⚠️ P2 medium — Makefile:75

The staging block copies aw-sync and awatcher binaries into aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules/ but does not clean the directory first. If a previous build staged binaries and then a later build runs with SKIP_SERVER_RUST=true or with awatcher absent (e.g. non-Linux or a partial checkout), stale binaries from the earlier build remain in src-tauri/modules/. The Tauri bundle step conditionally injects src-tauri/modules/aw-* when present, so a stale aw-sync or aw-awatcher from a prior Linux build would be bundled into a macOS/Windows or SKIP_SERVER_RUST build, producing a package that contains binaries that should not be there. The PR description claims SKIP_SERVER_RUST=true and non-Linux builds are unaffected, but the guard only prevents copying in the current run; it does not remove previously staged files. Concretely: run a Linux TAURI_BUILD (stages both binaries), then run the same build with SKIP_SERVER_RUST=true — the staging block is skipped, but aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules/aw-sync still exists and will be bundled. The fix is to rm -rf aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules before staging, or to stage only when the source files exist and remove stale copies otherwise.

if [ -f "aw-server-rust/target/$(targetdir)/aw-sync" ]; then \
	cp ... || exit 1; \
	chmod +x ... || exit 1; \
elif [ "$(SKIP_SERVER_RUST)" != "true" ]; then \
	echo "Error: aw-sync binary not found at aw-server-rust/target/$(targetdir)/aw-sync" >&2; exit 1; \
fi;

_{How this was verified: Checked the Makefile lines 72-84: the staging block is inside the loop and uses if [ -f ... ] with no else/error. The PR description states the guards are for SKIP_SERVER_RUST and non-Linux, but on Linux TAURI_BUILD with SKIP_SERVER_RUST unset, aw-sync is required; a missing file is silently skipped and the build continues to make --directory=aw-tauri build.}

_{Consensus: 3/3 passes agreed}
Distinct keys: 1 (general)

Files changed (1) — the diff as I read it

• Makefile — Reorders SUBMODULES for Linux TAURI_BUILD to place awatcher before aw-tauri, and adds a shell block in the build loop to copy aw-sync and awatcher binaries into aw-tauri/src-tauri/modules/.

_{Reviewed de0110c8bba9 · openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731 · llm engine · 72s · about this reviewer}

_{Maintainer commands}

_{@TimeToBuildBob review (own line) — fresh review · @TimeToBuildBob fix — a worker acts on the findings. Once per comment; 👀 = received.}

[ErikBjare]

687779f: 86dc343 put two # comment lines inside the backslash-continued for loop in build. The first had no trailing \, so it ended the logical recipe line and bash got a truncated loop (syntax error: unexpected end of file). It would have failed every TAURI_BUILD. I moved the comment above the loop as a make comment. Checked with make -n build TAURI_BUILD=true | bash -n, plus a simulated staging run on a fake tree (stages both, clears stale files, and exits 1 when awatcher is missing). Also pointed "Closes" at ActivityWatch/aw-tauri#232.

[ErikBjare]

@greptileai review

[TimeToBuildBob]

Thanks for fixing my broken recipe in 687779f. Confirmed the regression and your correction by parsing each Make recipe separately with make build SHELL="/bin/bash -n" in a fixture tree: 86dc343 fails with unexpected end of file, while 687779f passes Linux Tauri, SKIP_SERVER_RUST, macOS Tauri, and non-Tauri variants. My earlier validation was insufficient: piping the whole make -n output into bash -n joins separate recipes and masks this exact failure. No further code change or review retrigger; Greptile is 5/5 on 687779f, and build CI is still pending.

[ErikBjare]

@greptileai review