Fresh upstream extract (clean, unpatched)

Goal: a pristine unpatched bundle in ./tmp/ so patch work compares against the true upstream. Run from the repo root. ./tmp/ is gitignored.

Critical: scripts/build-patched-tarball.sh runs apply_patches.py - its output is PATCHED. For a clean baseline use the manual fetch + asar flow below.

Steps

1. cd to the repo and read tracked version:

   cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
   cat .upstream-version
   

2. Resolve latest upstream version (GPG + SHA256-verified via the canonical fetcher):

   LATEST_VERSION=$(.github/scripts/apt-fetch-verify.sh poll)
   echo "upstream latest: $LATEST_VERSION"
   

   Report latest vs .upstream-version so the user sees whether this is a new version.

3. Download + verify the official .deb if missing or stale. apt-fetch-verify.sh download resolves the highest amd64 version, downloads the .deb into ./tmp/, and verifies its SHA256 against the signed Packages index (which is itself verified against the GPG-signed Release):

   mkdir -p ./tmp
   DEB=$(.github/scripts/apt-fetch-verify.sh download amd64 ./tmp)
   echo "verified .deb: $DEB"
   

   (~150MB.) If the download or verification fails, stop and report - do NOT trust an unverified .deb.

4. Wipe old extracted bundles (project-local only - never touch ~/.config/Claude):

   rm -rf ./tmp/extract ./tmp/app.asar.contents ./extract ./build/work 2>/dev/null || true
   

   Leave the freshly downloaded ./tmp/claude-desktop_*_amd64.deb in place and leave ./build/ packages alone unless the user asked for a full clean.

5. Extract clean, unpatched to ./tmp/. Crack the .deb (dpkg-deb -x, or ar + tar if dpkg-deb is unavailable), then asar extract the app.asar:

   dpkg-deb -x "$DEB" ./tmp/extract
   asar extract ./tmp/extract/usr/lib/claude-desktop/resources/app.asar ./tmp/app.asar.contents
   

   • Unpatched main bundle: ./tmp/app.asar.contents/.vite/build/index.js
   • Renderer bundles: ./tmp/app.asar.contents/.vite/renderer/*/assets/*.js
   • ion-dist (3P-config SPA): ./tmp/extract/usr/lib/claude-desktop/resources/ion-dist/
   • i18n: ./tmp/extract/usr/lib/claude-desktop/resources/*.json

6. Sanity check and report:

   node --check ./tmp/app.asar.contents/.vite/build/index.js && echo "OK: clean unpatched index.js parses"
   ls -la ./tmp/app.asar.contents/.vite/build/
   

   Report: upstream version extracted, where the unpatched index.js is, whether it's a new version vs .upstream-version. If new, suggest /update. If just refreshing for analysis, suggest /audit.

Notes

• This does NOT patch, build, or bump anything - it only stages a clean bundle.
• Distinguish "clean unpatched" (this skill, manual .deb crack + asar) from "patched build" (./scripts/build-local.sh).
• The official .deb bundles Electron 42.5.1 and prebuilt node-pty for both arches - we do not self-manage either.
• Stale extracts have different minified names → always re-extract before patch debugging if ./tmp is older than today.