MelodyMatrix First Release LIVE: JavaFX App Distribution with jDeploy, GitHub Actions & Auto-Update

MelodyMatrix V1.0.0 is out! In this video, jDeploy creator Steve Hannah joins me to prepare and trigger the first official release of MelodyMatrix, a JavaFX application for musicians, live on camera.

We walk through the full setup: jDeploy configuration, GitHub Actions workflow improvements, version tagging, multi-platform installers (Windows .exe, macOS .dmg, Linux), auto-update, JVM bundling, and best practices for releasing a JavaFX desktop app. And then we actually do the release, right there in the video.

If you are building a Java or JavaFX desktop app and wondering how to distribute it, this is the video to watch. jDeploy handles the hard parts and it is free.

Previous interview with Steve about jDeploy:
https://webtechie.be/post/2024-12-12-jfxinaction-steve-hannah-jdeploy/

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
00:48 Who is Steve Hannah and why he created jDeploy
05:42 Demo of MelodyMatrix and how jDeploy is used
07:26 jDeploy configuration, JavaFX preview features, GitHub Actions
08:32 How new versions get distributed: npm vs Maven vs GitHub
10:56 GitHub Actions flow for MelodyMatrix
13:38 Why Maven is not used for application distribution
16:38 Why the Windows installer is an .exe file
23:13 JVM runtimes used by a jDeploy application
26:05 Modifying the splash screen of the installer and app
28:23 The jDeploy desktop app to configure your project
31:46 Preparing MelodyMatrix for the first release: version numbers and workflow improvements
40:45 Open-source part of MelodyMatrix and the Gradle vs Maven struggle
42:59 GitHub Actions for the release and preventing simultaneous workflows
45:39 Best practices for git tags
48:42 Starting the build of MelodyMatrix V1.0.0!
49:40 Experimenting with jDeploy locally while the build runs
54:34 Side step: LottieFiles, Lottie4J, and the jDeploy splash screen
57:41 First release is ready. Installing and trying it live.
01:00:40 jDeploy is free: Steve just wants Java to be easy to deploy
01:02:31 Conclusion

Links

MelodyMatrix website: https://melodymatrix.rocks/
MelodyMatrix open-source viewers: https://github.com/codewriterbv/melodymatrix-app-views
MelodyMatrix download packages: https://github.com/codewriterbv/melodymatrix-app-releases/releases

jDeploy website: https://www.jdeploy.com/
jDeploy on GitHub: https://github.com/shannah/jdeploy
jDeploy newsletter: https://jdeploy.substack.com/
jDeploy vs jpackage: https://jdeploy.substack.com/p/jdeploy-vs-jpackage
Deploy as DMG: https://jdeploy.substack.com/p/now-you-can-deploy-your-app-as-a
Claude Code plugin for jDeploy: https://github.com/shannah/jdeploy-claude
Custom splash screen skill: https://github.com/shannah/jdeploy-claude/tree/main/plugins/jdeploy/skills/custom-launcher-splash

Lottie4J: https://lottie4j.com/
Lottie4J on GitHub: https://github.com/lottie4j/

Steve Hannah:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjhannah/
Twitter: https://x.com/shannah78
Blog: https://sjhannah.com/blog/

Видео MelodyMatrix First Release LIVE: JavaFX App Distribution with jDeploy, GitHub Actions & Auto-Update канала Frank Delporte