#386 feat(windows): explain a missing WebView2 runtime at startup

[Anonymous]

Originally created by: kristofferR

The Windows installer bootstraps the Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime, but the portable .zip cannot, and some LTSC, Server and stripped Windows images ship without it. Carrier then failed to start with no useful message.

At startup (after the GUI-free --build-info probe), Carrier now checks whether WebView2 can load:

1. Microsoft's documented registry check for the Evergreen runtime (EdgeUpdate client key under HKLM 32/64-bit views and HKCU, with a real version).
2. Otherwise the WebView2 loader itself (tauri::webview_version()), which also finds Edge Beta, Dev or Canary, the loader's documented fallback.

If neither finds a runtime, a message box explains it and offers Microsoft's download page, then Carrier exits.

Manual check still needed: run the portable build on a Windows VM with WebView2 removed (prompt appears, link opens) and on a normal machine (no change).

Ref [#365]

CodeRabbit reviews this change in the combined PR [#394].

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by: chatgpt-codex-connector[bot]

Codex Review Summary: ✅ Completed

This comment shows the latest Codex review activity on this pull request. | Review | Status | Commit | Review trigger | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 📝 **Code Review** | ✅ **Completed** <relative-time datetime="2026-11-07T17:06:30.659393Z">2026-11-07T17:06:30.659393Z</relative-time> | `f357c51` | Manual request |

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[Anonymous]

Originally posted by: chatgpt-codex-connector[bot]

Codex Review: Didn't find any major issues. 👍

Reviewed commit: f357c517a4

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

[Your team has set up Codex to review pull requests in this repo](https://chatgpt.com/codex/cloud/settings/general). Reviews are triggered when you - Open a pull request for review - Mark a draft as ready - Comment "@codex review". If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍. Codex can also answer questions or update the PR. Try commenting "@codex address that feedback".

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by: kristofferR

⏸️ crq will not request further automated reviews for this pull request.

Reason: CodeRabbit reviews these changes once, in combined PR [#394]

Resume with crq unhold kristofferr/carrier 386.

[Anonymous]

Ticket changed by: kristofferR

• status: open --> closed

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by: kristofferR

✅ The administrative hold has been retired because this pull request merged. crq will not request further automated reviews.