fix(msi): bundle the Visual C++ runtime so the app launches on a clean Windows (v0.3.15)

On a fresh Windows with no VC++ redistributable ever installed, both searchbox.exe and the bundled meilisearch.exe failed to start with STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND (0xC0000135) — surfaced by the winget validator's clean VM. wix/build.ps1 now copies the arch-matched VC++ runtime DLLs (vcruntime140, vcruntime140_1, msvcp140) into the payload, and main.wxs installs them next to the exes, so Windows resolves them app-local with no VCRedist. This is the #1 production blocker (and the gating issue for winget validation).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: Sbussiso

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,16 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+## 0.3.15 — 2026-06-02
+
+### Fixed
+- **The app now launches on a clean Windows.** `searchbox.exe` and the bundled
+  `meilisearch.exe` are MSVC-linked and need the Visual C++ runtime; a fresh
+  Windows that had never installed a VC++ redistributable failed to start either
+  one (`STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND` / 0xC0000135). The MSI now ships the VC++ runtime
+  DLLs app-local, so no separate redistributable is required. (Surfaced by the
+  winget validation pipeline, which tests on a clean VM.)
+
 ## 0.3.14 — 2026-06-02
 
 ### Fixed

Cargo.lock

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "searchbox"
-version = "0.3.14"
+version = "0.3.15"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "SearchBox — local-first document search server"
 license = "AGPL-3.0-or-later"

Cargo.toml

@@ -63,6 +63,40 @@ if (Test-Path $MeiliExe) {
   Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $MeiliUrl -OutFile $MeiliExe -UseBasicParsing
 }
 
+# Bundle the Visual C++ runtime app-local. searchbox.exe + meilisearch.exe are
+# MSVC-linked and need vcruntime140.dll etc.; a fresh Windows without any VC++
+# redistributable doesn't have them, so both exes fail to start with
+# STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND (0xC0000135). Shipping the redist DLLs next to the exes
+# makes Windows find them with no VCRedist install. (Match the build arch; the
+# bundled meilisearch.exe is x64, so it relies on the system's x64 runtime on
+# ARM64 — fine on any machine that's ever installed x64 software.)
+$crtArch = if ($Target -like 'aarch64*') { 'arm64' } else { 'x64' }
+Write-Host "==> Bundling the Visual C++ runtime ($crtArch)"
+$crtNames = @('vcruntime140.dll', 'vcruntime140_1.dll', 'msvcp140.dll')
+$crtSrc   = $null
+$vswhere  = Join-Path ${env:ProgramFiles(x86)} 'Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vswhere.exe'
+if (Test-Path $vswhere) {
+  $vsRoot = (& $vswhere -latest -products * -property installationPath) | Select-Object -First 1
+  if ($vsRoot) {
+    $crtSrc = Get-ChildItem (Join-Path $vsRoot "VC\Redist\MSVC\*\$crtArch\Microsoft.VC*.CRT") -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue `
+      | Sort-Object FullName -Descending | Select-Object -First 1
+  }
+}
+foreach ($dll in $crtNames) {
+  $dst  = Join-Path $PayloadDir $dll
+  $done = $false
+  if ($null -ne $crtSrc) {
+    $src = Join-Path $crtSrc.FullName $dll
+    if (Test-Path $src) { Copy-Item $src $dst -Force; $done = $true }
+  }
+  if (-not $done -and $crtArch -eq 'x64') {
+    $sys = Join-Path $env:WINDIR "System32\$dll"   # fall back to the runner's own x64 runtime
+    if (Test-Path $sys) { Copy-Item $sys $dst -Force; $done = $true }
+  }
+  if (-not $done) { throw "VC++ runtime '$dll' ($crtArch) not found (VS redist$(if ($crtArch -eq 'x64') { ' / System32' })). Cannot build a self-contained MSI." }
+  Write-Host "    + $dll"
+}
+
 Write-Host "==> Generating icon (searchbox.ico)"
 # make-icon.ps1 uses $ErrorActionPreference='Stop' so it throws on
 # failure — no explicit exit-code check needed (and $LASTEXITCODE

wix/build.ps1

@@ -85,6 +85,18 @@
                 KeyPath="yes"/>
             </Component>
 
+            <!-- Visual C++ runtime, shipped app-local so the app launches on a
+                 clean Windows with no VCRedist installed (see wix\build.ps1). -->
+            <Component Id="VCRuntime140" Guid="*" Win64="yes">
+              <File Id="vcruntime140" Name="vcruntime140.dll" DiskId="1" Source="wix\payload\vcruntime140.dll" KeyPath="yes"/>
+            </Component>
+            <Component Id="VCRuntime140_1" Guid="*" Win64="yes">
+              <File Id="vcruntime140_1" Name="vcruntime140_1.dll" DiskId="1" Source="wix\payload\vcruntime140_1.dll" KeyPath="yes"/>
+            </Component>
+            <Component Id="VCRuntimeCpp" Guid="*" Win64="yes">
+              <File Id="msvcp140" Name="msvcp140.dll" DiskId="1" Source="wix\payload\msvcp140.dll" KeyPath="yes"/>
+            </Component>
+
           </Directory>
         </Directory>
       </Directory>
@@ -143,6 +155,9 @@
       <ComponentRef Id="Binary"/>
       <ComponentRef Id="MeiliSidecar"/>
       <ComponentRef Id="License"/>
+      <ComponentRef Id="VCRuntime140"/>
+      <ComponentRef Id="VCRuntime140_1"/>
+      <ComponentRef Id="VCRuntimeCpp"/>
       <ComponentRef Id="StartMenuShortcut"/>
       <ComponentRef Id="DesktopShortcut"/>
     </Feature>