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Register local web projects once and keep profile, variant and packaging metadata without duplicating the source.
Rubra Packager · v1.0.0 · available on itch.io
Rubra Packager
Package. Build. Deploy.
Get Rubra Packager — $3.99+
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Local release engineering
From source to Windows release — not only HTML → EXE.
Rubra Packager is a Windows desktop release workshop for trusted local projects. Beyond turning offline/static web applications into EXE or APK builds, it can start directly from a Python application source tree, validate it, stage dependencies in isolation and build a Windows ONEFILE or ONEDIR artifact.
That artifact can then be passed to Setup Builder and turned into a real Inno Setup Windows installer. This Python source → EXE/ONEDIR → Setup chain is a core part of the product and sets it apart from a narrow HTML-to-EXE converter.
The project started as an internal GVibeDev release tool and, after repeated real-world builds, was separated into an independent product with its own interface, private build runtime, security gates and release tooling.
Web Preflight
Check UTF-8 readability, local references, profile-required files and included/excluded content before packaging.
Web → Windows
Package offline/static web applications as one-file Windows executables using PyWebView and PyInstaller.
Python → Windows
Start from Python source and build ONEFILE or ONEDIR, GUI or console, with icons, metadata, hidden imports, data files and isolated dependencies.
Web → Android
Build device-oriented Android APKs for supported static web projects through Node/npm, Capacitor-style staging and Gradle/Android tooling.
Setup Builder
Take the built ONEFILE EXE or ONEDIR folder and turn it into an Inno Setup installer with stable AppId, shortcuts and uninstall support.
The differentiating workflow
From a Python source project to Windows EXE and Setup.
The Python path is not an add-on to the web converter: it is a separate pipeline. Rubra Packager uses a private Python/PyInstaller engine, runs a dedicated preflight and keeps dependency staging isolated from the application runtime.
- 01 · Source
Select the project folder and Python entry point.
- 02 · Preflight
Check entry point, syntax, dependency metadata, hidden imports, data paths and search paths.
- 03 · Build EXE
Choose ONEFILE or ONEDIR, GUI or console, icon, version, publisher and description; PyInstaller produces the Windows artifact.
- 04 · Setup
Pass the EXE or ONEDIR folder to Setup Builder and generate an Inno Setup installer with shortcuts, stable AppId and uninstall support.
Setup Builder is deliberately a second stage: it does not compile Python source directly, but packages the already-produced and tested Windows artifact. The complete user workflow is still source Python → EXE/ONEDIR → Setup.
Why is there an “Arena Rubra” profile?
Rubra Packager grew out of a real Arena Rubra Digital release problem.
The first workflow that drove the packager was Arena Rubra Digital: a large offline web game with a substantial local asset library and a need to separate FULL and LITE packages without silently dropping files that were actually referenced.
That is why the distribution still includes an Arena Rubra profile. It is not special-case code in the engine: the profile system is data-driven and loads the same JSON rule structure used by Generic Web Game and Generic HTML App.
- The Arena Rubra profile requires index.html, assumes landscape orientation and looks for assets-manifest.json or assets/manifest.json.
- FULL excludes no production folders and can technically work with other compatible static applications.
- LITE is project-specific: it excludes common Arena Rubra music, video and high-resolution artwork paths. On another app those rules could remove required content.
- For unrelated projects, Generic Web Game or Generic HTML App is therefore the safer starting point. Arena Rubra remains a specific preset and a concrete example of the profile-driven architecture.
- Profiles are JSON-defined in the source tree; custom-profile authoring is not yet presented as a polished end-user workflow in v1.0.0.
Real interface
The v1.0.0 build in use.
Current Windows captures covering project registration, preflight, Windows, Python and Android packaging, plus the About workspace.
Dependencies and toolchains
Install only the toolchain required by the target you want to build.
Rubra Packager separates the frozen desktop GUI from its private Python build engine. The private runtime lives under %LOCALAPPDATA%\RubraPackager\runtime\.venv, while external platform toolchains remain explicit system dependencies.
Python 3.11+Source + private build engine
Running Rubra Packager directly from the source repository requires Python 3.11 or newer. The bootstrap helper creates or repairs the private runtime and installs pywebview, PyInstaller and Pillow.
Official downloads: python.org ↗Inno Setup 6 / 7Setup Builder
Inno Setup 6 or 7 is required for Setup Builder and for building Rubra Packager’s Setup release. If it is missing, the application can offer an explicit winget bootstrap after user confirmation.
Official downloads: jrsoftware.org ↗JDK 17+Android
Android builds require JDK 17+, Android SDK and Node.js/npm. Android Studio is the simplest supported route for installing and maintaining the SDK.
Official downloads: Eclipse Temurin ↗Android SDKAndroid
Install Android Studio and use its SDK Manager, or the official command-line tools, to configure the required SDK platforms and tools.
Official downloads: Android Developers ↗Node.js + npmAndroid / web source builds
Required by the Android workflow and by web projects that need an npm build step before packaging.
Official downloads: nodejs.org ↗Product identity
Package. Protect. Deploy.
Limits and security
It is a build tool, not a sandbox.
When dependency installation or source builds are enabled, the selected project can execute code with your Windows user permissions. Use those operations only for sources you know and trust.
- npm install, npm run build, pip install -r requirements.txt and pip install . can execute project-controlled code.
- Python preflight does not execute the selected entry point.
- Python entry points, data paths and search paths are confined to the selected project root; escaping paths are rejected.
- The local UI API is loopback-only, protected by a random per-launch token and rejects foreign browser origins.
- The Python source does not use shell=True for build execution.
- Rubra Packager should be run as a normal user, not as Administrator.
What v1.0.0 does not do
- It does not package macOS or Linux desktop applications.
- Web packaging targets offline/static applications; server backends, SSR servers and runtime APIs are not bundled.
- Dynamically generated asset names that cannot be discovered statically may require a project manifest.
- The validated Android v1 scope is device-oriented APK production; store publishing and distribution-signing workflows remain separate.
- Authenticode signing is optional and requires your own certificate infrastructure.
- Setup Builder by itself does not compile source code: in the Python workflow, Python → Windows creates the EXE/ONEDIR first and Setup Builder packages that artifact afterward.
Distribution
Public source on GitHub. Official purchase and downloads on itch.io.
GitHub remains the public home for source code, documentation, tests, branding and the tooling required to assemble Rubra Packager. Compiled artifacts are intentionally kept out of the source tree.
Official binary distribution is now active on itch.io: checkout, the buyer library and Setup/Portable downloads are handled directly by the platform. A GitHub Release with tested binaries remains planned as an additional future channel.
To build Rubra Packager locally, the repository provides build_release_windows.cmd: it prepares the runtime, builds the ONEDIR application, creates the Portable ZIP and compiles the Inno Setup package, then writes the release manifest and SHA-256 checksums.