Windows ARM64 installer

Status

Proposed for review on 2026-09-24.

Context

Pebrel already builds and validates a native Windows ARM64 application and portable ZIP, but automatic installation still has no ARM64 installer asset.

Evidence

The native ARM64 application, Hook and console runtime already build and pass ARM64 conformance.
The existing Windows update handoff is architecture-independent once the selected installer and installed payload are native.
Inno Setup documents ArchitecturesAllowed=arm64 for installers shipping ARM64 binaries.

Decision

Parameterize the existing Inno installer by architecture instead of creating a second installer path. The ARM64 release job reuses its already-built native payload, validates that payload as ARM64, builds windows-arm64-setup.exe, and publishes it beside the ZIP. Release discovery selects that exact asset on ARM64; Windows x64 behavior is unchanged.

Pebrel 1.9.0 remains the historical ARM64 portable-only release. Later stable manifests require the ARM64 installer.

Rejected alternatives

A separate ARM64 installer script and a second updater transaction were rejected because the existing installer and handoff contracts are architecture-independent once the payload and release asset are native.

Consequences

Windows ARM64 gains the same installer-managed update path as x64 without introducing a second transaction or migration implementation. Stable releases after 1.9.0 gain one additional asset.

Validation

Run the existing packaging tests, stable-release contracts, and native Windows ARM64 CI, including actual Inno installer generation.

Supersedes

None.

Revisit when

Revisit only if Windows ARM64 requires installer behavior that cannot share the existing x64 migration and update handoff.

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