Release readiness is evidence, not a launch date
What Side Whisper verifies before a Microsoft Store submission, and why packaging, policy, clean-device, and owner gates stay visible until they are complete.
A green build is only one signal
A production build proves that the current source can be compiled. It does not prove that the package identity matches Partner Center, that installation and removal behave correctly on a clean Windows device, or that Microsoft certification will accept the submission.
Side Whisper treats those as separate release gates. Unit tests, Electron smoke tests, TypeScript, package inspection, production dependency audits, and website builds can be verified in the repository. Partner identity, WACK results, listing assets, account review, and legal sign-off require their own evidence.
What the Store package must preserve
- The exact Package Identity Name, Publisher, and Publisher Display Name copied from Partner Center.
- The x64 full-trust capability needed by the current Electron desktop architecture.
- Store-managed updates without activating the direct-download updater inside the Store build.
- Bundled notices, native Whisper resources, Windows FFmpeg, renderer preloads, and no development-only harness assets.
Honest blockers are useful
A blocked preflight is safer than a plausible-looking package with placeholder identity. The same principle applies to legal copy, support ownership, live transactional e-mail delivery, and account recovery: unknowns stay named until the responsible owner verifies them.