revert(macos): drop PodTui.app / bundled-mpv Now Playing attribution

The pinned mpv binary breaks on brew ffmpeg major drift (libavcodec.62 vs
.63 shipped a dead player); making it self-contained costs ~100MB for an
app icon. Removing the whole machinery: build.ts app-bundle assembly,
audio-player bundled-binary resolver + probe (spawns PATH mpv again),
CI mpv install + bundle smoke checks, AppIcon.icns, README note.
Cover-art staging (curl + --cover-art-files) is unrelated and stays.

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -50,10 +50,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install fftw (cavacore build dependency)
         run: |
           if uname -s | grep -qi darwin; then
-            # mpv is required for the release bundle: build.ts copies it into
+            brew install fftw
-            # PodTui.app (signed with the podtui bundle identifier) so macOS
-            # Now Playing shows the PodTui icon instead of a blank placeholder.
-            brew install fftw mpv
           else
             sudo apt-get update
             sudo apt-get install -y libfftw3-dev
@@ -79,16 +76,6 @@ jobs:
           printf 'preload = ["./definitely-missing.ts"]\n' > "$SMOKE_DIR/bunfig.toml"
           cd "$SMOKE_DIR"
           ./podtui-*/podtui --version
-          # macOS tarballs must ship PodTui.app with a working bundled mpv
-          # carrying the podtui bundle identifier — otherwise Now Playing
-          # attribution silently regresses to a blank icon.
-          if [ "${{ matrix.plat }}" = "darwin" ]; then
-            MPV=./podtui-*/PodTui.app/Contents/MacOS/mpv
-            test -x $MPV || { echo "PodTui.app missing bundled mpv"; exit 1; }
-            $MPV --version >/dev/null || { echo "bundled mpv does not launch"; exit 1; }
-            codesign -dvv $MPV 2>&1 | grep -q "Identifier=com.mikefreno.podtui" \
-              || { echo "bundled mpv lacks podtui signing identifier"; exit 1; }
-          fi
 
       - name: Upload artifact
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6

README.md

@@ -54,14 +54,6 @@ Linux (arm64/x64). Pick whichever fits your platform.
 brew install mikefreno/tap/podtui
 ```
 
-On macOS the tarball also ships a `PodTui.app` bundle. PodTui plays audio
-through a copy of mpv that lives **inside the bundle**, so macOS attributes
-the Now Playing session to PodTui — the Control Center / lock-screen entry
-shows the PodTui name and icon, and podcast cover art as its artwork —
-rather than a blank placeholder for an unbundled binary. Installers can drop
-`PodTui.app` into `/Applications`; the `podtui` entry point should point at
-`PodTui.app/Contents/MacOS/podtui` so the bundled mpv is used.
-
 ### 2. Standalone tarball (all platforms)
 
 Grab `podtui-<platform>-<arch>.tar.gz` from the latest

build.ts

@@ -131,130 +131,6 @@ if (COMPILE) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// macOS app bundle: PodTui.app. We run our audio backend (mpv) from
-	// INSIDE the bundle (Contents/MacOS/mpv) so macOS attributes its Now
-	// Playing session to PodTui — the source-app icon + name in Control
-	// Center / lock screen — instead of a blank placeholder for an
-	// unbundled binary. AudioPlayer's resolver prefers this sibling.
-	if (platform === "darwin") {
-		const appRoot = join(tarRoot, "PodTui.app");
-		const macosDir = join(appRoot, "Contents", "MacOS");
-		const resDir = join(appRoot, "Contents", "Resources");
-		mkdirSync(macosDir, { recursive: true });
-		mkdirSync(resDir, { recursive: true });
-
-		copyFileSync(outfile, join(macosDir, "podtui"));
-		for (const lib of [`libopentui.${libExt}`, cavacoreLib]) {
-			const s = join("dist", lib);
-			if (existsSync(s)) copyFileSync(s, join(macosDir, lib));
-		}
-
-		const mpvResolve = Bun.spawnSync(["which", "mpv"]);
-		const mpvPath =
-			mpvResolve.exitCode === 0 ? mpvResolve.stdout.toString().trim() : "";
-		if (mpvPath) {
-			copyFileSync(mpvPath, join(macosDir, "mpv"));
-		} else {
-			// A darwin release tarball without a bundled mpv silently ships
-			// without Now Playing attribution (blank icon). Fail loudly so CI
-			// can't produce it — the runner must have mpv installed.
-			console.error(
-				"Error: mpv not found in PATH — PodTui.app requires a bundled mpv for macOS Now Playing attribution (brew install mpv on the build machine)",
-			);
-			process.exit(1);
-		}
-
-		const icnsSrc = join("assets", "App Icon", "AppIcon.icns");
-		if (existsSync(icnsSrc)) {
-			copyFileSync(icnsSrc, join(resDir, "AppIcon.icns"));
-		} else {
-			console.warn(
-				"Warning: assets/App Icon/AppIcon.icns missing — app bundle has no icon",
-			);
-		}
-
-		// Version for the bundle comes from src/index.tsx (single source of
-		// truth — release.yml requires bumping it in the tag commit).
-		const srcIndex = await Bun.file(join("src", "index.tsx")).text();
-		const versionMatch = srcIndex.match(/const VERSION = "([^"]+)"/);
-		const bundleVersion = versionMatch?.[1];
-		if (!bundleVersion) {
-			console.error("Error: could not read VERSION from src/index.tsx");
-			process.exit(1);
-		}
-
-		Bun.write(
-			join(appRoot, "Contents", "Info.plist"),
-			`<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
-<plist version="1.0">
-<dict>
-	<key>CFBundleName</key>
-	<string>PodTui</string>
-	<key>CFBundleDisplayName</key>
-	<string>PodTui</string>
-	<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
-	<string>com.mikefreno.podtui</string>
-	<key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
-	<string>podtui</string>
-	<key>CFBundlePackageType</key>
-	<string>APPL</string>
-	<key>CFBundleIconFile</key>
-	<string>AppIcon</string>
-	<key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key>
-	<string>${bundleVersion}</string>
-	<key>CFBundleVersion</key>
-	<string>${bundleVersion}</string>
-	<key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key>
-	<string>12.0</string>
-</dict>
-</plist>
-`,
-		);
-
-		// Ad-hoc sign so the bundle launches cleanly on fresh machines.
-		// Identity overridable via PODTUI_CODESIGN_IDENTITY (e.g. a Developer
-		// ID cert for release builds); default ad-hoc.
-		const signIdentity = process.env.PODTUI_CODESIGN_IDENTITY || "-";
-		const sign = Bun.spawnSync([
-			"codesign",
-			"--force",
-			"--deep",
-			"-s",
-			signIdentity,
-			appRoot,
-		]);
-		if (sign.exitCode !== 0) {
-			console.warn(
-				`Warning: codesign failed (${sign.stderr.toString().trim()}) — app bundle unsigned`,
-			);
-		}
-
-		// Sign the nested mpv LAST with our bundle identifier. mediaremoted
-		// resolves the Now Playing client from the registering process's
-		// code-signing identifier — without an explicit --identifier codesign
-		// stamps "mpv" (its basename) and the audio center shows a blank
-		// placeholder. Must run after the bundle sign above (a later bundle
-		// re-seal would re-derive the basename identifier).
-		const signMpv = Bun.spawnSync([
-			"codesign",
-			"--force",
-			"-s",
-			signIdentity,
-			"--identifier",
-			"com.mikefreno.podtui",
-			join(macosDir, "mpv"),
-		]);
-		if (signMpv.exitCode !== 0) {
-			console.warn(
-				`Warning: nested mpv signing failed (${signMpv.stderr
-					.toString()
-					.trim()}) — Now Playing attribution won't work`,
-			);
-		}
-		console.log(`App bundle: ${appRoot}`);
-	}
-
 	const tar = Bun.spawnSync([
 		"tar",
 		"-czf",

src/utils/audio-player.ts

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 import { platform } from "os";
 import { existsSync, unlinkSync } from "fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "os";
-import { dirname, join } from "path";
+import { join } from "path";
 import type { Socket, Subprocess } from "bun";
 
 // ── Types ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -115,53 +115,13 @@ function mpvSocketPath(): string {
 	// Per-instance, not just per-pid: tests (and backend switching) create
 	// several MpvBackend objects in ONE bun process — a pid-only path makes
 	// every daemon bind the same socket, so later daemons unlink the path
-	// out from under earlier ones and IPC cross-talks between backends.
+	// out from under each other.
 	return join(
 		tmpdir(),
 		`podtui-mpv-${process.pid}-${mpvInstance++}.sock`,
 	);
 }
 
-/**
- * mpv executable to use. Prefers a sibling `mpv` inside the app bundle
- * (macOS PodTui.app/Contents/MacOS/mpv): running mpv from inside the bundle
- * makes macOS attribute its Now Playing session to PodTui — source-app icon
- * and name in Control Center — instead of a blank placeholder for an
- * unbundled binary.
- *
- * The bundled copy is verified to actually launch: it links against brew's
- * dylibs by absolute path, and a Homebrew ffmpeg major upgrade can break it
- * (dylib gone → immediate non-zero exit). If the bundled binary can't run,
- * fall back to PATH mpv so audio keeps working — the icon degrades to blank
- * rather than playback dying. Probed once per process.
- */
-let resolvedMpv: string | null | undefined; // undefined = not yet probed
-
-function mpvLaunches(binary: string): boolean {
-	try {
-		const proc = Bun.spawnSync([binary, "--version"], { timeout: 3000 });
-		return proc.exitCode === 0;
-	} catch {
-		return false;
-	}
-}
-
-function resolveMpvBinary(): string | null {
-	if (resolvedMpv !== undefined) return resolvedMpv;
-	let resolved: string | null = null;
-	try {
-		const bundled = join(dirname(process.execPath), "mpv");
-		if (existsSync(bundled) && mpvLaunches(bundled)) {
-			resolved = bundled;
-		}
-	} catch {
-		/* process.execPath unusable — fall through to PATH */
-	}
-	if (!resolved) resolved = which("mpv");
-	resolvedMpv = resolved;
-	return resolved;
-}
-
 // ── mpv JSON IPC connection ─────────────────────────────────────────
 //
 // One persistent Unix-socket connection to the resident mpv daemon. Lines
@@ -377,7 +337,7 @@ export class MpvBackend implements AudioBackend {
 
 		this.proc = Bun.spawn(
 			[
-				resolveMpvBinary() ?? "mpv",
+				"mpv",
 				"--no-video",
 				"--no-terminal",
 				"--really-quiet",
@@ -799,7 +759,7 @@ export interface DetectedPlayer {
 export function detectPlayers(): DetectedPlayer[] {
 	const players: DetectedPlayer[] = [];
 
-	const mpvPath = resolveMpvBinary();
+	const mpvPath = which("mpv");
 	if (mpvPath) {
 		players.push({
 			name: "mpv",
@@ -833,13 +793,13 @@ export function createAudioBackend(preferred?: BackendName): AudioBackend {
 		if (backend) return backend;
 	}
 
-	return resolveMpvBinary() ? new MpvBackend() : new NoopBackend();
+	return which("mpv") ? new MpvBackend() : new NoopBackend();
 }
 
 function createBackendByName(name: BackendName): AudioBackend | null {
 	switch (name) {
 		case "mpv":
-			return resolveMpvBinary() ? new MpvBackend() : null;
+			return which("mpv") ? new MpvBackend() : null;
 		case "none":
 			return new NoopBackend();
 	}