A store registry record needs no repository

The client only ever took identity from a store repository — a slug, a name, a catalog —
and the store engine's own defaults cover everything else: the host-to-asset mapping, the
install modes, the platforms, the behaviour. So `store_repository_url` is now optional:
nullable in the schema, no presence validation, the format check only when a value is
given, and the serializer answers null rather than an empty string, because the client
branches on its absence.

Adding a store is therefore a row with two fields filled in. Given a repository the
client still reads its config.json, and that file remains the authority on how the store
behaves — the admin form and the endpoint's documentation say so.

The frontend's /stores page gains a section of its own for the graphical client on the
desktop tab: what it does, that it sets the store up itself, that it is the way in on
Windows where `curl … | sh` does not exist, and links to the releases, the repository and
the documentation — now under stores/warp-engine-client, which is where that repository
lives after the rename.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

apps/api/app/admin/stores.rb

@@ -35,8 +35,10 @@ ActiveAdmin.register Store do
       row :updated_at
     end
     para do
-      "Listed by GET /api/stores, which the desktop client reads on first run: it " \
-        "takes the config from the store repository and points it at the catalog above."
+      "Listed by GET /api/stores, which the desktop client reads on first run. With a " \
+        "store repository the client takes that config and points it at the catalog " \
+        "above; without one it uses the store engine's defaults, which need nothing " \
+        "but the name and the catalog."
     end
   end
 
@@ -45,8 +47,10 @@ ActiveAdmin.register Store do
       f.input :name, hint: "What the client shows in its store picker"
       f.input :catalog_url, hint: "Base URL of the WarpEngine catalog, e.g. https://teletypegames.org"
       f.input :store_repository_url,
-              hint: "Repository holding the store's config.json, e.g. " \
-                    "https://git.teletypegames.org/stores/ttg-desktop-store"
+              hint: "Optional. A repository holding the store's config.json, e.g. " \
+                    "https://git.teletypegames.org/stores/ttg-desktop-store. Leave it " \
+                    "empty and the client uses the engine's defaults with the name and " \
+                    "catalog above"
     end
     f.actions
   end

apps/api/app/controllers/api/stores_controller.rb

@@ -6,13 +6,19 @@ class Api::StoresController < ApiController
   api :GET, "/api/stores", "List the stores a client can install from"
   desc <<~DESC
     The registry the graphical desktop client reads on first run: which catalogs
-    exist, and where each one's store configuration lives. Public on purpose —
-    a client has nobody to log in as.
+    exist, and — where there is one — the repository holding a store's own
+    configuration. Public on purpose: a client has nobody to log in as.
+
+    A record needs a name and a catalog URL. `storeRepositoryUrl` is optional and
+    answers `null` when there is none; a client then takes identity from this
+    record and everything else from the store engine's built-in defaults, so no
+    repository has to exist for a store to be installable.
   DESC
   returns code: 200, desc: "Array of stores" do
     property :name, String, desc: "Display name of the store"
     property :catalogUrl, String, desc: "Base URL of the WarpEngine catalog it serves"
-    property :storeRepositoryUrl, String, desc: "Repository holding the store's config.json"
+    property :storeRepositoryUrl, [String, nil],
+             desc: "Repository holding the store's config.json, or null when it has none"
   end
   def index
     render json: StoreService.new.index

apps/api/app/models/store.rb

@@ -1,15 +1,22 @@
-# A store a client can install from: a WarpEngine catalog, and the repository
-# holding the store's own configuration.
+# A store a client can install from: a WarpEngine catalog, and — optionally — a
+# repository holding that store's own configuration.
 #
 # This is deliberately not part of WarpEngine. The engine serves one catalog and
 # has no business knowing which stores exist for it; the registry is a property of
 # this site, which is what the graphical client asks.
+#
+# The repository is optional because a store does not need one. A client takes
+# identity from this record — the name, the catalog and a slug derived from it —
+# and everything else from the store engine's built-in defaults. A repository is
+# still honoured when given: it remains the authority on how that store behaves,
+# which platforms it offers and where things land.
 class Store < ApplicationRecord
   URL = %r{\Ahttps?://\S+\z}
 
   validates :name, presence: true
   validates :catalog_url, presence: true, format: { with: URL, message: "must be an http(s) URL" }
-  validates :store_repository_url, presence: true, format: { with: URL, message: "must be an http(s) URL" }
+  validates :store_repository_url, format: { with: URL, message: "must be an http(s) URL" },
+                                   allow_blank: true
 
   default_scope { where(deleted_at: nil) }
 

apps/api/app/serializers/store_serializer.rb

@@ -5,5 +5,7 @@ class StoreSerializer < Blueprinter::Base
   # camelCase, as the catalog's own payloads use — one convention for a client
   # that reads both.
   field(:catalogUrl) { |store| store.catalog_url }
-  field(:storeRepositoryUrl) { |store| store.store_repository_url }
+  # Null rather than an empty string when there is no repository: the client
+  # branches on its absence, and "" is not an absence a JSON reader can trust.
+  field(:storeRepositoryUrl) { |store| store.store_repository_url.presence }
 end

apps/api/db/migrate/20260818120000_allow_stores_without_a_repository.rb

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+class AllowStoresWithoutARepository < ActiveRecord::Migration[8.1]
+  # A store repository is now optional. The client only ever needed identity from
+  # it — a name, a catalog and a slug — and the engine's own defaults cover
+  # everything else, so a record with a catalog URL is a complete store. A
+  # repository is still honoured when there is one: it stays the authority on how
+  # that store behaves.
+  def change
+    change_column_null :stores, :store_repository_url, true
+  end
+end

apps/api/db/schema.rb

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema[8.1].define(version: 2026_08_18_000001) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema[8.1].define(version: 2026_08_18_120000) do
   create_table "admin_users", charset: "utf8mb4", collation: "utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.datetime "created_at", null: false
     t.datetime "deleted_at", precision: 3
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ ActiveRecord::Schema[8.1].define(version: 2026_08_18_000001) do
     t.datetime "created_at", precision: 3, null: false
     t.datetime "deleted_at", precision: 3
     t.string "name", null: false
-    t.string "store_repository_url", null: false
+    t.string "store_repository_url"
     t.datetime "updated_at", precision: 3, null: false
     t.index ["deleted_at"], name: "idx_stores_deleted_at"
     t.index ["name"], name: "idx_stores_name"

apps/api/spec/controllers/stores_controller_spec.rb

@@ -24,6 +24,14 @@ RSpec.describe Api::StoresController, type: :request do
       expect(store["storeRepositoryUrl"]).to end_with("/stores/ttg-desktop-store")
     end
 
+    it "answers null for a store with no repository" do
+      create(:store, store_repository_url: nil)
+
+      get "/api/stores"
+
+      expect(JSON.parse(response.body).first["storeRepositoryUrl"]).to be_nil
+    end
+
     it "leaves out soft-deleted stores" do
       create(:store, name: "Gone").update!(deleted_at: Time.current)
 

apps/api/spec/models/store_spec.rb

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ require "rails_helper"
 RSpec.describe Store, type: :model do
   it { should validate_presence_of(:name) }
   it { should validate_presence_of(:catalog_url) }
-  it { should validate_presence_of(:store_repository_url) }
 
   it "rejects a catalog url that is not http(s)" do
     store = build(:store, catalog_url: "git@example.org:thing.git")
@@ -15,6 +14,13 @@ RSpec.describe Store, type: :model do
     expect(build(:store, store_repository_url: "not a url")).not_to be_valid
   end
 
+  # A store without a repository is a complete store: the client takes identity
+  # from the record and everything else from the engine's defaults.
+  it "accepts a store with no repository at all" do
+    expect(build(:store, store_repository_url: nil)).to be_valid
+    expect(build(:store, store_repository_url: "")).to be_valid
+  end
+
   describe ".ordered" do
     it "lists stores by name" do
       later = create(:store, name: "Zed Games")

apps/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en.ts

@@ -203,6 +203,13 @@ export default {
     subtitle: 'Our games on your own machine, kept up to date.',
     lead: 'Two stores put our catalog on the two things that play it: a Batocera box, and RetroArch on anything else — desktop Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, a Steam Deck or a handheld. Both download the games straight from this site with box art, add them to the device\'s own library, and can be re-run any time to pick up new releases. Python 3 standard library only — nothing to install alongside them.',
     gui: 'Graphical client',
+    clientTitle: 'A window, if you would rather not type',
+    clientDesc: 'WarpEngine Store is a small desktop application that does everything the command line does: the catalog as a grid of cards, one click to install a game into your own application menu, one to play it, one to remove it. It is also the way in on Windows, where `curl … | sh` does not exist.',
+    clientPointSetup: 'Sets the store up itself on first run — nothing to install beforehand.',
+    clientPointBrowse: 'Filter by platform, by what is installed, or by what has an update.',
+    clientPointSame: 'The same store underneath, so the command line keeps working on the same games.',
+    clientDownload: 'Download the app',
+    clientNote: 'Python 3 has to be on the machine, as it does for the command line — the store itself is a Python program and the window drives it. The macOS build is signed but not notarised, so macOS asks before opening it the first time; the download page says how.',
     chooseTitle: 'Pick your device',
     repo: 'Git repository',
     docs: 'Documentation',

apps/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu.ts

@@ -203,6 +203,13 @@ export default {
     subtitle: 'A játékaink a saját gépeden, mindig frissen.',
     lead: 'Két store teszi fel a katalógusunkat arra a kettőre, ami le is játssza: egy Batocera gépre, és RetroArch-ra minden máson — asztali Linuxon, Windowson, macOS-en, Androidon, Steam Decken vagy egy kézikonzolon. Mindkettő közvetlenül erről az oldalról tölti le a játékokat borítóképpel, felveszi őket a gép saját könyvtárába, és bármikor újrafuttatható az új kiadásokért. Csak a Python 3 alapkönyvtárát használják — nem kell mellé semmit telepíteni.',
     gui: 'Grafikus kliens',
+    clientTitle: 'Ablak, ha nem szeretnél gépelni',
+    clientDesc: 'A WarpEngine Store egy kis asztali alkalmazás, ami mindent tud, amit a parancssor: a katalógus kártyákban, egy kattintás a telepítés a saját alkalmazásmenüdbe, egy az indítás, egy az eltávolítás. Windowson ez az egyetlen út is, mert ott a `curl … | sh` nem létezik.',
+    clientPointSetup: 'Első indításkor magát a store-t is beállítja — előre semmit nem kell telepíteni.',
+    clientPointBrowse: 'Szűrhetsz platformra, a telepítettekre vagy arra, amihez frissítés van.',
+    clientPointSame: 'Alatta ugyanaz a store, tehát a parancssor ugyanazokon a játékokon dolgozik tovább.',
+    clientDownload: 'Alkalmazás letöltése',
+    clientNote: 'Python 3 kell a gépre, ugyanúgy, mint a parancssorhoz — a store maga egy Python program, az ablak csak vezérli. A macOS-csomag aláírt, de nem notarizált, ezért a rendszer az első megnyitás előtt rákérdez; a letöltési oldal leírja, hogyan.',
     chooseTitle: 'Válaszd ki a gépedet',
     repo: 'Git tároló',
     docs: 'Dokumentáció',

apps/frontend/src/page/stores/StoresIndexPage.vue

@@ -49,6 +49,33 @@
       </div>
     </section>
 
+    <!-- The window is a product of its own, not a footnote to the install command:
+         on Windows it is the only way in, because `curl … | sh` does not exist there. -->
+    <section v-if="client" class="st-section st-client">
+      <h2 class="st-section-title">
+        <i class="fa-solid fa-window-maximize st-engine-icon"></i> {{ t('stores.clientTitle') }}
+      </h2>
+      <p class="st-section-desc">{{ t('stores.clientDesc') }}</p>
+      <ul class="st-client-points">
+        <li><i class="fa-solid fa-check"></i> {{ t('stores.clientPointSetup') }}</li>
+        <li><i class="fa-solid fa-check"></i> {{ t('stores.clientPointBrowse') }}</li>
+        <li><i class="fa-solid fa-check"></i> {{ t('stores.clientPointSame') }}</li>
+      </ul>
+      <div class="st-links">
+        <a :href="client.releasesUrl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"
+           class="st-link st-link-emerald">
+          <i class="fa-solid fa-download"></i> {{ t('stores.clientDownload') }}
+        </a>
+        <a :href="client.repoUrl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="st-link st-link-dark">
+          <i class="fa-solid fa-code-branch"></i> {{ t('stores.repo') }}
+        </a>
+        <a :href="client.wikiUrl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="st-link st-link-indigo">
+          <i class="fa-solid fa-book"></i> {{ t('stores.docs') }}
+        </a>
+      </div>
+      <p class="st-note">{{ t('stores.clientNote') }}</p>
+    </section>
+
     <section class="st-section">
       <h2 class="st-section-title">
         <span class="st-step">1</span> {{ t('stores.installTitle') }}
@@ -128,6 +155,15 @@ const router = useRouter()
 const FORGE = 'https://git.teletypegames.org/stores'
 const ENGINES_FORGE = 'https://git.teletypegames.org/engines'
 
+// The graphical client. Its own thing rather than a link on the desktop store: it
+// drives any WarpEngine store the site's registry offers, and on Windows it is the
+// only way in — there is no `curl … | sh` there.
+const CLIENT = {
+  repoUrl: `${FORGE}/warp-engine-client`,
+  releasesUrl: `${FORGE}/warp-engine-client/releases`,
+  wikiUrl: `${CONFIG.wikiBase}/stores/warp-engine-client`,
+}
+
 type DeviceId = 'desktop' | 'batocera' | 'retroarch'
 
 const BATOCERA_CLI = '/userdata/system/batocera-store/ttg-store'
@@ -160,7 +196,7 @@ const devices = [
     wikiUrl: `${CONFIG.wikiBase}/stores/ttg-desktop-store`,
     installCmd: `curl -fsSL ${FORGE}/ttg-desktop-store/raw/branch/master/install.sh | sh`,
     afterInstallCmd: '',
-    guiUrl: `${FORGE}/warp-engine-desktop-gui/releases`,
+    guiUrl: CLIENT.releasesUrl,
     uninstallCmd: `curl -fsSL ${FORGE}/ttg-desktop-store/raw/branch/master/uninstall.sh | sh`,
     cliSnippet: [
       `${DESKTOP_CLI} paths     # where things go on this machine`,
@@ -194,6 +230,9 @@ const initial = devices.some((d) => d.id === route.query.device)
   : 'desktop'
 const device = ref<DeviceId>(initial)
 const current = computed(() => devices.find((d) => d.id === device.value) ?? devices[0])
+// Only the desktop store has a window; the other two run on devices with no desktop
+// to put one on.
+const client = computed(() => (device.value === 'desktop' ? CLIENT : null))
 
 function select(id: DeviceId) {
   device.value = id
@@ -271,6 +310,18 @@ const engines = [
 .st-engine {
   @apply bg-gray-50;
 }
+.st-client {
+  @apply bg-emerald-50/60 border-emerald-100;
+}
+.st-client-points {
+  @apply space-y-2 mb-5;
+}
+.st-client-points li {
+  @apply flex items-start gap-2 text-gray-700;
+}
+.st-client-points i {
+  @apply text-emerald-500 mt-1 text-sm;
+}
 .st-engine-icon {
   @apply text-gray-400 text-lg;
 }