Ghost FTP 0.99.57 Preview — downloads, documentation and package verification

Publisher: BRENDIGO — https://brendigo.com
Previous published edition: v0.99.56 Preview
Channel: Preview. The Stable gate remains in place until signatures and production acceptance evidence are verifiable.

What's new

• Refreshed the public README with clearer product benefits and a complete Windows/Linux download selector.
• Reused genuine application screenshots with historical capture provenance, without presenting mockups as current native screenshots.
• Reworked desktop and installation documentation so Portable EXE, Setup EXE, MSI, AppImage, DEB, RPM and native Linux archives are easy to distinguish.
• Added checks of native file-format headers before release publication. Checksums and archive format checks do not replace identity-verifying code signatures.
• Synchronized the application runtime, installer, package, dependency-lock and updater metadata for a new immutable release candidate.

Stable readiness

Windows Authenticode, Linux package signing, independent installation/upgrade/rollback validation and real provider acceptance remain separate sign-off requirements. Do not falsely report packages as signed, rename this Preview candidate to Stable or bypass existing release gates.

Release acceptance

On the exact PR commit, CI must confirm TypeScript and Rust/Go quality, tests, security/dead-code audits, protocol end-to-end coverage, real native Windows/Linux builds, installer smoke and complete nonempty artifact inventories with SHA-256 verification. Publishing occurs only after a separately reviewed merge and all required gates pass.

Post-merge protocol CI repair

• Fix a race in Linux Secret Service subprocess output handling: the bounded stdout/stderr reader previously stopped consuming pipe bytes after the capture limit, potentially closing the pipe early and making an otherwise successful child process fail with SIGPIPE.
• Drain both pipes to EOF using a fixed-size buffer, retaining at most the existing credential/error size limit plus one byte. Overflow detection, timeout and credential redaction behavior remain unchanged.
• Add a regression test for one-megabyte stdout and stderr streams to verify successful helper exit without unbounded retention. This repairs the failed post-merge protocol security gate, without bypassing or disabling it.

Linux installation: choose the correct Ghost FTP package

Platform: Linux x86_64 / amd64. These are package-family labels, not
certifications that every distribution/version has been tested. The native
Windows/Linux build currently runs on an Ubuntu 22.04 x86_64 GitHub runner;
installed-device checks across other distributions remain required.

Replace <VERSION> with the exact published tag number. Verify
GhostFTP-v<VERSION>-SHA256SUMS.txt before executing installers. A SHA-256
checksum only verifies integrity against that manifest; it does not prove
publisher identity or replace a cryptographic code signature.

No native package is currently built for Linux ARM64/aarch64,
32-bit x86, musl-only Alpine, or every NixOS/immutable-container configuration.
Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Gentoo, elementary OS and others may be
candidates for AppImage/manual installation, but are not certified based
solely on an Ubuntu runner. Check compatible dependencies first; do not force a
Debian RPM/DEB package onto an unrelated distribution. On Wayland systems,
GTK/WebKit or XWayland availability can affect behavior.

Required acceptance before claiming distribution support

For each distribution and version named as tested, record its exact image
version, x86_64 architecture, display protocol (X11/Wayland), WebKitGTK/GTK
versions, GNOME Keyring/KWallet state, and the native binary hash. Verify:

1. Install, first launch, File Manager/Sites/Transfers/Settings/Sync navigation,
   resize at 1290×852 and 480×600, and correct keyboard focus.
2. FTP warning, verified FTPS TLS and SFTP SSH host-key checks on actual
   endpoints; failed identity checks must not connect.
3. Queue retry/cancel, interrupted upload/download preservation, symlink and
   overwrite safety, and shutdown/restart without losing profile metadata.
4. OS-backed credentials with locked and unavailable Secret Service; no
   plaintext fallback or secret-bearing logs.
5. Uninstall and reinstall without silently deleting stored user documents,
   connection profiles, or keys.

Current GitHub Actions Linux QA produces real Xvfb/WebKit screenshots of
seven core workspaces, not mockups. Those captures prove native rendering under
the CI environment; they do not certify a GNOME/KDE/Wayland distro or pixel
parity with all 29 user-supplied Linux design references.

Related: Linux handbook ·
Native desktop build ·
Published releases.

Operational prerequisites for unsigned desktop builds

Running the native binary does not require a purchased signing certificate. Verify the SHA-256 checksum of your package against the matching official release manifest; this validates file integrity, not cryptographic publisher identity. Saved credentials require an unlocked Secret Service provider and the secret-tool client (the DEB declares libsecret-tools, the RPM declares libsecret). An unavailable vault is a blocking error, not a reason to store plaintext passwords. Before upgrading, create an encrypted backup and ensure all transfers are finished. The desktop Updates screen offers the complete GitHub Releases index because signed auto-updates and manually downloadable package editions are independent.