From 3863809ae85321866c4bc3692fe8816c38a646c6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kelorastus <108483685+Kelorastus@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:36:14 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] new console

---
 src-tauri/src/commands.rs            |   5 +
 src-tauri/src/launcher.rs            |  20 ++-
 src-tauri/src/lib.rs                 |   1 +
 src-tauri/src/release.rs             | 207 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 src/App.svelte                       |   8 +-
 src/components/ActionPanel.svelte    |  19 ++-
 src/components/ReleaseConsole.svelte | 166 +++++++++++++++++++++
 src/lib/backend.ts                   |   2 +
 src/lib/launcher.svelte.ts           |  52 +++++++
 src/lib/mock.ts                      |  35 ++++-
 src/lib/types.ts                     |  12 ++
 11 files changed, 513 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 src/components/ReleaseConsole.svelte

diff --git a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
index 0b4c82c..4d3cb48 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/commands.rs
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ pub async fn release_run(
   launcher.release_run(password, with_api, with_mcp).await
 }
 
+#[tauri::command]
+pub fn release_console(launcher: State<'_, Launcher>, since: usize) -> CmdResult<crate::release::ConsoleTail> {
+  Ok(launcher.release_console(since))
+}
+
 #[tauri::command]
 pub async fn get_status(launcher: State<'_, Launcher>) -> CmdResult<Status> {
   Ok(launcher.status().await)
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/launcher.rs b/src-tauri/src/launcher.rs
index 41f0bd2..fd30b47 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/launcher.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/launcher.rs
@@ -254,6 +254,8 @@ pub struct Launcher {
   stack_states: std::sync::Mutex<Vec<StackEvent>>,
   sign_in_cancel: Notify,
   install_cancel: std::sync::Mutex<Option<CancellationToken>>,
+  /// What the running release has printed, for the console panel.
+  release_console: crate::release::Shared,
 }
 
 /// What an operator picked when installing from a drive: the site store an ODIAN drive
@@ -414,6 +416,7 @@ impl Launcher {
       stack_states: std::sync::Mutex::new(Vec::new()),
       sign_in_cancel: Notify::new(),
       install_cancel: std::sync::Mutex::new(None),
+      release_console: Default::default(),
     })
   }
 
@@ -2338,8 +2341,13 @@ impl Launcher {
     )
   }
 
-  /// Start a release in its own console. Returns once it has started, not when it is done.
+  /// Start a release. Returns once it has started, not when it is done: its output arrives
+  /// in the console panel, which reads `release_console` as it fills.
   pub async fn release_run(&self, password: String, with_api: bool, with_mcp: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
+    // Two at once would interleave into one buffer and fight over the same build dirs.
+    if self.release_console.lock().is_ok_and(|c| c.is_running()) {
+      return Err("A release is already running: wait for it to finish.".to_string());
+    }
     let plan = self.release_plan().await;
     if let Some(why) = plan.blocked {
       return Err(why);
@@ -2373,10 +2381,20 @@ impl Launcher {
       with_api && plan.docker,
       with_mcp && plan.docker,
       &password,
+      &self.release_console,
     )
     .map(|_| ())
   }
 
+  /// Everything the release has printed since line `since`.
+  pub fn release_console(&self, since: usize) -> crate::release::ConsoleTail {
+    match self.release_console.lock() {
+      Ok(c) => c.tail(since),
+      // A poisoned lock must not take the window down with it.
+      Err(e) => e.into_inner().tail(since),
+    }
+  }
+
   // ── operator-data sync ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
   /// Sync, unless this run is pretending to be another operator. Whatever it authored is
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
index 0f1855b..a77efc1 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/lib.rs
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ pub fn run() {
       commands::get_status,
       commands::release_plan,
       commands::release_run,
+      commands::release_console,
       commands::get_market,
       commands::apply_market,
       commands::check_market,
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/release.rs b/src-tauri/src/release.rs
index 69df9de..5bab2f4 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/release.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/release.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 //! Comparing versions would not do: a version says what was cut, not from what.
 use serde::Serialize;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
-use std::process::Command;
+use std::process::{Command, Stdio};
 
 /// What a release could do right now, and what stops it.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize)]
@@ -160,7 +160,101 @@ pub fn plan(
   ReleasePlan { docker, online, scripts, items, blocked }
 }
 
-/// Cut and publish, in its own console.
+/// The Release console's buffer: filled by the running release, read by the window.
+///
+/// It sits behind a plain (not async) lock because the threads draining the child's pipes
+/// have no async context to lock from.
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct Console {
+  lines: Vec<String>,
+  /// How many lines fell off the front, so indices stay stable while it trims.
+  dropped: usize,
+  running: bool,
+  exit: Option<i32>,
+}
+
+pub type Shared = std::sync::Arc<std::sync::Mutex<Console>>;
+
+/// A release prints a great deal (cargo, npm, docker); keep the tail, not all of it.
+const MAX_LINES: usize = 4000;
+
+/// What the window asks for: everything it has not seen yet.
+#[derive(Serialize, Clone)]
+pub struct ConsoleTail {
+  /// Index of the first line returned.
+  pub from: usize,
+  pub lines: Vec<String>,
+  pub total: usize,
+  pub running: bool,
+  pub exit: Option<i32>,
+}
+
+impl Console {
+  fn start(&mut self) {
+    self.lines.clear();
+    self.dropped = 0;
+    self.running = true;
+    self.exit = None;
+  }
+
+  fn push(&mut self, line: String) {
+    self.lines.push(line);
+    if self.lines.len() > MAX_LINES {
+      let cut = self.lines.len() - MAX_LINES;
+      self.lines.drain(..cut);
+      self.dropped += cut;
+    }
+  }
+
+  fn finish(&mut self, exit: Option<i32>) {
+    self.running = false;
+    self.exit = exit;
+  }
+
+  pub fn is_running(&self) -> bool {
+    self.running
+  }
+
+  /// Everything from `since` on. A `since` already trimmed away starts at the oldest line
+  /// still held, rather than pretending the dropped ones are still coming.
+  pub fn tail(&self, since: usize) -> ConsoleTail {
+    let total = self.dropped + self.lines.len();
+    let from = since.clamp(self.dropped, total);
+    ConsoleTail {
+      from,
+      lines: self.lines[from - self.dropped..].to_vec(),
+      total,
+      running: self.running,
+      exit: self.exit,
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/// Drain one of the child's streams into the console, a line at a time.
+fn pump(stream: impl std::io::Read, console: Shared) {
+  use std::io::BufRead;
+  let mut reader = std::io::BufReader::new(stream);
+  let mut raw = Vec::new();
+  loop {
+    raw.clear();
+    match reader.read_until(b'\n', &mut raw) {
+      Ok(0) | Err(_) => return,
+      Ok(_) => {
+        let text = String::from_utf8_lossy(&raw);
+        let text = text.trim_end_matches('\n').trim_end_matches('\r');
+        // A terminal shows only what follows the last carriage return, so a progress line
+        // that kept rewriting itself does not become a thousand lines in the panel.
+        let shown = text.rsplit('\r').next().unwrap_or(text);
+        match console.lock() {
+          Ok(mut c) => c.push(shown.to_string()),
+          Err(_) => return,
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/// Cut and publish, into the launcher's own console panel.
 ///
 /// The three scripts are run as a person runs them, in order, and each decides for itself
 /// whether it has anything to do: `release_pack.ps1` stops with "nothing changed" when the
@@ -178,6 +272,7 @@ pub fn run_release(
   with_api: bool,
   with_mcp: bool,
   sudo: &str,
+  console: &Shared,
 ) -> Result<PathBuf, String> {
   let scripts = mcp_repo.join("scripts");
   let log = work_dir.join("release.log");
@@ -229,24 +324,32 @@ pub fn run_release(
 
   // Everything inside try/finally, and everything recorded. A step that throws used to
   // take the window with it - the release simply vanished, with nothing to read.
+  //
+  // No `pause` here any more: this runs into the launcher's own panel, where there is no
+  // console to press Enter in. The exit code carries the verdict instead - swallowing a
+  // failure and exiting 0 would make a failed release look like a finished one.
   let ps = format!(
     "$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
+     # The pipe gets UTF-8 or Windows' own French messages arrive as mojibake.
+     [Console]::OutputEncoding = New-Object System.Text.UTF8Encoding $false
      $pw = $env:ODIAN_NODE_SUDO
      $env:ODIAN_NODE_SUDO = $null
      Start-Transcript -Path '{}' -Force | Out-Null
+     $ok = $true
      try {{
 {}
   Write-Host ''
-  Write-Host 'Release finished.' -ForegroundColor Green
+  Write-Host 'Release finished.'
      }} catch {{
   Write-Host ''
-  Write-Host \"FAILED: $_\" -ForegroundColor Red
+  Write-Host \"FAILED: $_\"
+  $ok = $false
      }} finally {{
   Stop-Transcript | Out-Null
   Write-Host ''
   Write-Host 'Log: {}'
-  pause
 }}
+if (-not $ok) {{ exit 1 }}
 ",
     log.display(),
     body,
@@ -260,15 +363,50 @@ pub fn run_release(
   let mut cmd = Command::new("powershell");
   cmd.args(["-NoProfile", "-ExecutionPolicy", "Bypass", "-File"]).arg(&file);
   cmd.env("ODIAN_NODE_SUDO", sudo);
+  // Nothing can type into this, so stdin is closed: a script that ever asks a question
+  // then fails at once instead of hanging forever with no window to answer in.
+  cmd.stdin(Stdio::null()).stdout(Stdio::piped()).stderr(Stdio::piped());
   #[cfg(windows)]
   {
     use std::os::windows::process::CommandExt;
-    cmd.creation_flags(0x0000_0010); // CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE: the developer watches it run
+    cmd.creation_flags(0x0800_0000); // CREATE_NO_WINDOW: the output belongs in the panel
   }
-  cmd.spawn().map_err(|e| format!("cannot start the release: {e}"))?;
+  let mut child = cmd.spawn().map_err(|e| format!("cannot start the release: {e}"))?;
+  console.lock().map_err(|_| "the release console is unusable")?.start();
+
+  // Both streams, kept separate: merging them with `2>&1` inside PowerShell wraps every
+  // stderr line from a native exe in a NativeCommandError and makes a clean run look failed.
+  let mut pumps = Vec::new();
+  for stream in [child.stdout.take().map(Either::Out), child.stderr.take().map(Either::Err)] {
+    if let Some(s) = stream {
+      let c = console.clone();
+      pumps.push(std::thread::spawn(move || match s {
+        Either::Out(r) => pump(r, c),
+        Either::Err(r) => pump(r, c),
+      }));
+    }
+  }
+  let c = console.clone();
+  std::thread::spawn(move || {
+    let code = child.wait().ok().and_then(|s| s.code());
+    // Drain what is still sitting in the pipes BEFORE saying it finished: the window stops
+    // asking once running goes false, and the last lines are the ones that say why.
+    for p in pumps {
+      let _ = p.join();
+    }
+    if let Ok(mut c) = c.lock() {
+      c.finish(code);
+    }
+  });
   Ok(file)
 }
 
+/// The two pipes have different types; this lets one thread body handle either.
+enum Either {
+  Out(std::process::ChildStdout),
+  Err(std::process::ChildStderr),
+}
+
 /// Where the Engine API deploy script is: beside the other release scripts, or in the
 /// release skill that carries it.
 fn api_script(scripts: &Path) -> Option<PathBuf> {
@@ -363,4 +501,59 @@ mod tests {
 
     let _ = std::fs::remove_dir_all(&dir);
   }
+
+  #[test]
+  fn the_console_hands_over_only_what_the_window_has_not_seen() {
+    let mut c = Console::default();
+    c.start();
+    for i in 0..3 {
+      c.push(format!("line {i}"));
+    }
+    let first = c.tail(0);
+    assert_eq!(first.from, 0);
+    assert_eq!(first.total, 3);
+    assert_eq!(first.lines.len(), 3);
+    assert!(first.running, "a started console is running");
+
+    // Asking again from where it got to yields nothing, not the whole buffer again.
+    let again = c.tail(first.total);
+    assert!(again.lines.is_empty());
+    assert_eq!(again.total, 3);
+
+    c.push("line 3".into());
+    let more = c.tail(3);
+    assert_eq!(more.lines, vec!["line 3".to_string()]);
+
+    c.finish(Some(1));
+    let done = c.tail(4);
+    assert!(!done.running);
+    assert_eq!(done.exit, Some(1), "a failed release must not look finished");
+  }
+
+  #[test]
+  fn trimming_a_long_release_keeps_indices_honest() {
+    let mut c = Console::default();
+    c.start();
+    for i in 0..(MAX_LINES + 500) {
+      c.push(format!("line {i}"));
+    }
+    let t = c.tail(0);
+    assert_eq!(t.total, MAX_LINES + 500, "total counts every line ever printed");
+    assert_eq!(t.lines.len(), MAX_LINES, "only the tail is kept");
+    assert_eq!(t.from, 500, "it says where it really starts, not 0");
+    assert_eq!(t.lines[0], "line 500");
+    // A window that asked from beyond the end gets nothing rather than a panic.
+    assert!(c.tail(t.total + 99).lines.is_empty());
+  }
+
+  #[test]
+  fn a_progress_line_that_rewrites_itself_stays_one_line() {
+    let stream: &[u8] = b"first\r\nbuilding 10%\rbuilding 90%\rbuilt\nplain\n";
+    let c: Shared = Default::default();
+    c.lock().unwrap().start();
+    pump(stream, c.clone());
+    let got = c.lock().unwrap().tail(0);
+    // CRLF is an ending, not content; a lone CR overwrites, exactly as a terminal shows it.
+    assert_eq!(got.lines, vec!["first".to_string(), "built".to_string(), "plain".to_string()]);
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/App.svelte b/src/App.svelte
index 1a3420d..3efc662 100644
--- a/src/App.svelte
+++ b/src/App.svelte
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
   import KeyArt from "./components/KeyArt.svelte";
   import MarketplaceDrawer from "./components/MarketplaceDrawer.svelte";
   import NewsPanel from "./components/NewsPanel.svelte";
+  import ReleaseConsole from "./components/ReleaseConsole.svelte";
   import ReleasePanel from "./components/ReleasePanel.svelte";
   import SettingsDrawer from "./components/SettingsDrawer.svelte";
   import SyncPanel from "./components/SyncPanel.svelte";
@@ -18,6 +19,9 @@
   // Dev mode drops the patch notes: they describe the INSTALLED version, which is not what
   // a dev run starts. With that column gone the art has the whole window to sit in.
   const dev = $derived(launcher.devOn);
+  // A release takes that column back while it runs: its output is the one thing worth
+  // reading there, and it is where a developer is already looking.
+  const showConsole = $derived(dev && launcher.consoleOpen);
 
   onMount(() => launcher.start());
 </script>
@@ -26,9 +30,11 @@
   <KeyArt />
   <TitleBar onOpenSettings={() => (settingsOpen = true)} onOpenMarket={() => launcher.openMarket()} />
 
-  <main class="hub" class:dev>
+  <main class="hub" class:dev={dev && !showConsole}>
     {#if !dev}
       <div class="news-slot"><NewsPanel /></div>
+    {:else if showConsole}
+      <div class="news-slot"><ReleaseConsole /></div>
     {/if}
     <div class="hero-slot"><Hero /></div>
     <div class="action-slot"><ActionPanel /></div>
diff --git a/src/components/ActionPanel.svelte b/src/components/ActionPanel.svelte
index 0c77cd5..bd82a09 100644
--- a/src/components/ActionPanel.svelte
+++ b/src/components/ActionPanel.svelte
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@
     await launcher.loadRelease();
   }
 
+  // While one runs, this button is the way BACK to its output rather than a way to start a
+  // second: closing the console otherwise left a running release with nowhere to be seen.
+  const releasing = $derived(launcher.consoleRunning);
+  const hasOutput = $derived(launcher.consoleLines.length > 0 && !launcher.consoleOpen);
+
   async function browseCheckout() {
     const path = await launcher.pickFolder();
     if (path) await launcher.setDev({ dev_root: path });
@@ -304,10 +309,16 @@
         </div>
 
         <div class="dev-row">
-          <button class="btn dev-release" disabled={blocked || !s?.online} onclick={openRelease}>
-            Build &amp; deploy…
-          </button>
-          {#if !s?.online}
+          {#if releasing}
+            <button class="btn dev-release" onclick={() => launcher.showConsole()}>Release running…</button>
+          {:else}
+            <button class="btn dev-release" disabled={blocked || !s?.online} onclick={openRelease}>
+              Build &amp; deploy…
+            </button>
+          {/if}
+          {#if hasOutput && !releasing}
+            <button class="btn-link" onclick={() => launcher.showConsole()}>last output</button>
+          {:else if !s?.online}
             <span class="dev-note">needs the DHP</span>
           {/if}
         </div>
diff --git a/src/components/ReleaseConsole.svelte b/src/components/ReleaseConsole.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..420c339
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/ReleaseConsole.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+  import Icon from "./Icon.svelte";
+  import { launcher } from "../lib/launcher.svelte";
+
+  let scroller: HTMLElement | undefined = $state();
+
+  const lines = $derived(launcher.consoleLines);
+  const running = $derived(launcher.consoleRunning);
+  const exit = $derived(launcher.consoleExit);
+
+  // Follow the output, but only while the reader is already at the bottom: scrolling back to
+  // read an error must not be yanked away by the next line that arrives.
+  let follow = $state(true);
+  function onScroll() {
+    const el = scroller;
+    if (!el) return;
+    follow = el.scrollHeight - el.scrollTop - el.clientHeight < 24;
+  }
+  $effect(() => {
+    void lines.length;
+    if (follow && scroller) scroller.scrollTop = scroller.scrollHeight;
+  });
+
+  // A step header is worth picking out of a wall of build output, as is a failure.
+  function kind(line: string): string {
+    if (/^\s*={3}/.test(line)) return "step";
+    if (/^FAILED:|^\s*Erreur|error[: ]/i.test(line)) return "bad";
+    if (/nothing to (release|deploy)|No pack cut|Release finished/i.test(line)) return "note";
+    return "";
+  }
+</script>
+
+<section class="console glass" aria-label="Release output">
+  <header class="head">
+    <h2 class="eyebrow">Release</h2>
+    <span class="state mono" class:live={running} class:bad={!running && exit !== null && exit !== 0}>
+      {#if running}
+        running
+      {:else if exit === null}
+        idle
+      {:else if exit === 0}
+        finished
+      {:else}
+        failed ({exit})
+      {/if}
+    </span>
+    <span class="grow"></span>
+    <span class="total mono">{lines.length}</span>
+    <button class="icon-btn" aria-label="Close release output" onclick={() => launcher.closeConsole()}>
+      <Icon name="close" size={14} />
+    </button>
+  </header>
+
+  <!-- Both are deliberate: `log` is the role for streamed output, and it has to be
+       focusable or a keyboard cannot scroll back through a failed build. -->
+  <!-- svelte-ignore a11y_no_noninteractive_tabindex -->
+  <div bind:this={scroller} class="body mono selectable" onscroll={onScroll} tabindex="0" role="log">
+    {#if lines.length}
+      {#each lines as line, i (i)}
+        <div class="line {kind(line)}">{line || " "}</div>
+      {/each}
+    {:else}
+      <p class="empty">Waiting for the first line…</p>
+    {/if}
+  </div>
+
+  {#if !running && exit !== null}
+    <footer class="foot">
+      {exit === 0 ? "Closing this keeps the output until the next release." : "The full transcript is in state\\release\\release.log."}
+    </footer>
+  {/if}
+</section>
+
+<style>
+  .console {
+    display: flex;
+    flex: 1;
+    flex-direction: column;
+    min-height: 0;
+    background: var(--glass-strong);
+  }
+
+  .head {
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: 10px;
+    padding: 8px 8px 8px 16px;
+    border-bottom: 1px solid var(--line);
+  }
+
+  .grow {
+    flex: 1;
+  }
+
+  .total,
+  .state {
+    color: var(--muted);
+    font-size: var(--text-xs);
+  }
+
+  /* The dot earns its place: from across the desk it is the only thing that says whether a
+     release is still going. */
+  .state.live::before,
+  .state.bad::before {
+    display: inline-block;
+    width: 6px;
+    height: 6px;
+    margin-right: 6px;
+    border-radius: 50%;
+    background: var(--accent, #4ade80);
+    content: "";
+    vertical-align: middle;
+  }
+  .state.live {
+    color: var(--ink-2);
+  }
+  .state.bad {
+    color: var(--danger);
+  }
+  .state.bad::before {
+    background: var(--danger);
+  }
+
+  .body {
+    flex: 1;
+    padding: 8px 0;
+    overflow-y: auto;
+    min-height: 0;
+    font-size: var(--text-xs);
+    line-height: 1.55;
+  }
+
+  .line {
+    padding: 0 16px;
+    color: var(--ink-2);
+    white-space: pre-wrap;
+    overflow-wrap: anywhere;
+  }
+
+  .line.step {
+    margin-top: 6px;
+    color: var(--ink);
+    font-weight: 600;
+  }
+
+  .line.bad {
+    color: var(--danger);
+  }
+
+  .line.note {
+    color: var(--warn);
+  }
+
+  .empty {
+    padding: 8px 16px;
+    color: var(--muted);
+    font-size: var(--text-sm);
+  }
+
+  .foot {
+    padding: 8px 16px;
+    border-top: 1px solid var(--line);
+    color: var(--muted);
+    font-size: var(--text-xs);
+  }
+</style>
diff --git a/src/lib/backend.ts b/src/lib/backend.ts
index 507e302..c39c8db 100644
--- a/src/lib/backend.ts
+++ b/src/lib/backend.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import type {
   SignInResult,
   StackEvent,
   Status,
+  ReleaseConsoleTail,
   ReleasePlan,
   RemoveProgress,
   SyncConflict,
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ function createTauriBackend(): Backend {
     onInstallProgress: (handler) => subscribe<InstallProgress>("install-progress", handler),
     releasePlan: () => invoke<ReleasePlan>("release_plan"),
     releaseRun: (password, withApi, withMcp) => invoke<void>("release_run", { password, withApi, withMcp }),
+    releaseConsole: (since) => invoke<ReleaseConsoleTail>("release_console", { since }),
     onTileSyncProgress: (handler) => subscribe<TileSyncProgress>("tile-sync-progress", handler),
     onRemoveProgress: (handler) => subscribe<RemoveProgress>("remove-progress", handler),
     onStack: (handler) => subscribe<StackEvent>("stack", handler),
diff --git a/src/lib/launcher.svelte.ts b/src/lib/launcher.svelte.ts
index d56d618..7ca6eff 100644
--- a/src/lib/launcher.svelte.ts
+++ b/src/lib/launcher.svelte.ts
@@ -418,9 +418,61 @@ class Launcher {
     return this.run("release", async () => {
       await backend.releaseRun(password, withApi, withMcp);
       this.releaseOpen = false;
+      // Straight into the console: the release is running with nowhere else to show itself.
+      this.consoleLines = [];
+      this.consoleTotal = 0;
+      this.consoleExit = null;
+      this.consoleRunning = true;
+      this.consoleOpen = true;
+      this.pollConsole();
     });
   }
 
+  // ---- the release console -------------------------------------------------------------
+  /** Shown in the notes column in dev mode, where the patch notes sit otherwise. */
+  consoleOpen = $state(false);
+  consoleLines = $state<string[]>([]);
+  consoleRunning = $state(false);
+  consoleExit = $state<number | null>(null);
+  /** How many lines have been taken, so each poll asks only for what is new. */
+  private consoleTotal = 0;
+  private polling = false;
+
+  /** Polled rather than pushed: reopening the panel then needs no replay, and a slow window
+   *  cannot fall behind a build that prints thousands of lines. */
+  private async pollConsole() {
+    if (this.polling) return;
+    this.polling = true;
+    try {
+      for (;;) {
+        const tail = await backend.releaseConsole(this.consoleTotal);
+        if (tail.from > this.consoleTotal && this.consoleLines.length) {
+          this.consoleLines.push(`... ${tail.from - this.consoleTotal} earlier lines dropped`);
+        }
+        if (tail.lines.length) this.consoleLines.push(...tail.lines);
+        this.consoleTotal = tail.total;
+        this.consoleRunning = tail.running;
+        this.consoleExit = tail.exit;
+        if (!tail.running) return;
+        await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 400));
+      }
+    } catch {
+      this.consoleRunning = false;
+    } finally {
+      this.polling = false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Reopen it after it was closed; a finished release keeps its output to be read. */
+  showConsole() {
+    this.consoleOpen = true;
+    if (this.consoleRunning) this.pollConsole();
+  }
+
+  closeConsole() {
+    this.consoleOpen = false;
+  }
+
   /** Change part of the settings and save, for the dev controls on the hub. */
   setDev(change: Partial<Settings>) {
     const current = this.settings;
diff --git a/src/lib/mock.ts b/src/lib/mock.ts
index 5240fc1..546277a 100644
--- a/src/lib/mock.ts
+++ b/src/lib/mock.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import {
   type MarketItem,
   type MockControls,
   type MockScenario,
+  type ReleaseConsoleTail,
   type ReleasePlan,
   type Settings,
   type SignInResult,
@@ -786,7 +787,39 @@ class MockBackend implements Backend {
   async releaseRun(password: string, withApi: boolean, withMcp: boolean): Promise<void> {
     await this.wait(400);
     if (!password.trim()) throw "The node's sudo password is needed to cut a pack and to roll the API.";
-    this.log("info", `Release started in its own window (browser mock: nothing runs). API ${withApi}, MCP ${withMcp}`);
+    // Nothing runs in the browser, so play a short script into the console instead: enough
+    // to see the panel fill, scroll and finish.
+    this.consoleLines = ["=== ODIAN pack 0.74.0 ===", "", "=== Preflight ==="];
+    this.consoleDone = null;
+    const rest = [
+      "engine at 1255873...",
+      "Nothing that ships has changed. No pack cut.",
+      "pack: nothing to release",
+      `=== Launcher 0.1.40 === (API ${withApi}, MCP ${withMcp})`,
+      "npx tauri build ...",
+      "Release finished.",
+    ];
+    void (async () => {
+      for (const line of rest) {
+        await this.wait(700);
+        this.consoleLines.push(line);
+      }
+      this.consoleDone = 0;
+    })();
+  }
+
+  private consoleLines: string[] = [];
+  private consoleDone: number | null = 0;
+
+  async releaseConsole(since: number): Promise<ReleaseConsoleTail> {
+    await this.wait(60);
+    return {
+      from: Math.min(since, this.consoleLines.length),
+      lines: this.consoleLines.slice(since),
+      total: this.consoleLines.length,
+      running: this.consoleDone === null,
+      exit: this.consoleDone,
+    };
   }
 
   async syncNow(): Promise<void> {
diff --git a/src/lib/types.ts b/src/lib/types.ts
index 2f472ff..f72d773 100644
--- a/src/lib/types.ts
+++ b/src/lib/types.ts
@@ -306,6 +306,17 @@ export interface ReleasePlan {
   blocked: string | null;
 }
 
+/** A slice of the running release's output: what the window has not shown yet. */
+export interface ReleaseConsoleTail {
+  /** Index of the first line returned; higher than asked for when older lines were trimmed. */
+  from: number;
+  lines: string[];
+  total: number;
+  running: boolean;
+  /** Null while running; 0 means it finished, anything else means it failed. */
+  exit: number | null;
+}
+
 export const DEV_TARGETS = ["client", "web", "both"] as const;
 export type DevTarget = (typeof DEV_TARGETS)[number];
 
@@ -375,6 +386,7 @@ export interface Backend {
   syncTiles(): Promise<void>;
   releasePlan(): Promise<ReleasePlan>;
   releaseRun(password: string, withApi: boolean, withMcp: boolean): Promise<void>;
+  releaseConsole(since: number): Promise<ReleaseConsoleTail>;
   /** What the operator has to decide, oldest first. */
   getSyncConflicts(): Promise<SyncConflict[]>;
   /** Records one decision; resolves with what is left to decide. */