Slopsmith Desktop v0.2.9-alpha.2

This is v0.2.9-alpha.2, the second testing pre-release of the 0.2.9 cycle. It
incorporates fixes merged after alpha.1 in the desktop native layer, the slopsmith
core, and several bundled plugins.

Pre-release / alpha quality. This build is for early testing only. Expect
rough edges. Do not use as your primary installation.

What to test

• Sandbox async plugin load (Windows): AmpliTube-class VST3 plugins routed
  through the out-of-process sandbox (slopsmith-vst-host.exe) previously
  crashed on editor open. Confirm a known problem plugin now loads, its editor
  renders, and a fast plugin (e.g. Guitar Rig) shows no added latency. (#195)
• macOS VST scan stability: Confirm the app no longer crashes during the
  startup VST plugin scan on macOS. (#177)
• Windows per-machine MSI install: If you are on Windows and the previous
  MSI required admin elevation on every run, confirm the new installer applies
  cleanly without repeated elevation prompts. (#190)
• jumpingtab plugin — black screen fix: Open a song with the jumpingtab
  overlay; confirm the highway is visible (was black-screened previously).
  (slopsmith-plugin-jumpingtab #4)
• Editor YouTube audio import: Verify the editor can import audio from a
  YouTube URL (requires yt-dlp now declared as a dependency). (slopsmith
  core #354)

slopsmith-desktop

Fixes

• Fix sandbox: async plugin load in the vst-host child — applies the same
  async-load fix to slopsmith-vst-host.exe that #173 applied in-process;
  heartbeat keeps the ready-handshake watchdog alive during slow first-run loads
  (#195, closes #178)
• Fix audio: prevent crash on macOS when scanning VST plugins (#177)
• Fix updater: per-machine MSI only on Windows — removes the per-user MSI target
  that caused repeated elevation prompts (#190)
• Fix CI: stop uploading uncompressed win-unpacked tree as a build artifact
  (#186)

Build / chore

• Emit PDBs for Release Windows builds so crash dumps from testers are
  symbolizable; PDBs are archived as workflow artifacts, not shipped to users
  (#196)
• Clone jumpingtab from the byrongamatos fork in build-common.sh (#194)
• Bump version to 0.2.9-alpha.2 (#197)

slopsmith core

Features

• Add yt-dlp as a declared dependency for editor YouTube audio import (#354)
• Add Lyrics Karaoke plugin to the Available Plugins documentation table (#350)

Docs

• Add user-facing sloppak hand-editing guide (#346)
• Add keybindings plugin to README (#345)

slopsmith-plugin-jumpingtab

Fixes

• Overlay #highway instead of hiding it — fixes the black screen regression
  introduced in the previous build (#4)

slopsmith-plugin-sloppak-converter (topkoa)

Docs

• Link to the new core sloppak hand-editing user guide from the plugin UI (#26)

slopsmith-update-manager (masc0t)

Fixes

• Auto-advance the core marker after a manual git pull + rebuild, so the update
  manager no longer thinks the core is outdated immediately after a user-driven
  update (#12)

Contributors

@ConnRaus, @NixCyRy, @byrongamatos, @jackipicco, @kornbed, @masc0t, @topkoa

Full changelog: v0.2.9-alpha.1...v0.2.9-alpha.2