[dev-doc] Move documents from mp-dev-wiki - #5126
Open
chrisndbg wants to merge 6 commits into
Open
Conversation
chrisndbg
force-pushed
the
resolve-mp-dev-wiki
branch
2 times, most recently
from
August 13, 2026 11:59
49cdc5f to
bacf6fe
Compare
chrisndbg
marked this pull request as ready for review
August 13, 2026 12:02
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Pull request overview
This PR introduces a new dev-docs/ section in the main Multipass repository by migrating development-focused documentation previously hosted in the (now outdated) mp-dev-wiki, with minor updates along the way.
Changes:
- Added Windows-focused development docs covering MSI packaging and running Multipass in a Windows guest with nested virtualization.
- Added internal process docs for releases, PR-built packages, Flutter maintenance, and building/using a locally built QEMU.
- Introduced a
dev-docs/README.mdindex to organize the new documentation section.
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 7 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 14 comments.
Show a summary per file
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| dev-docs/windows-msi-packaging.md | Documents MSI build/install behavior and a Windows packaging test checklist. |
| dev-docs/running-multipass-on-a-windows-libvirt-qemu-guest.md | Guidance for nested virtualization setup to run Multipass on Windows guests under libvirt/QEMU. |
| dev-docs/release-process.md | Internal release workflow for feature, patch, RC, and final releases. |
| dev-docs/README.md | Landing page linking to the new development documentation set. |
| dev-docs/pr-packages.md | Instructions for consuming CI-built artifacts from PRs across platforms. |
| dev-docs/managing-flutter.md | Process notes for updating Flutter and related dependencies/forks. |
| dev-docs/building-and-using-a-locally-built-QEMU.md | Steps for building and installing a custom QEMU for local testing with Multipass. |
💡 Add a code-review agent skill or configure MCP servers for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.
|
|
||
| ### Building: | ||
|
|
||
| `ninja package` will build the Multipass installer, but will place the package under `<build-dir>\packages\en-US\`. The contents of the msi package can be inspected with [Orca](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/orca-exe). MSI packages are at their core a relational database. Actions and properties are placed in appropriate tables. Some tables of interest are the `InstallExecuteSequence` and `InstallUISequence` tables. Sorting by `Sequence` will also you to visualize the order of events/actions during the respective sequence. |
Comment on lines
+32
to
+33
| - Firstly, during a silent installation, it would impossible to ask the user this. | ||
| - Secondly, since enabling (or even querying the status of) Hyper-V requires elevated privileges, it must take place during the execution phase of the installation during a deferred custom action (See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/installation-mechanism for more info). Deferred custom actions like this cannot set installer properties such as the the driver selection property, meaning that subsequent custom actions (such as the action that pre-populates the Multipass service config file) would not be able to act on any user selection (See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/obtaining-context-information-for-deferred-execution-custom-actions for more info). |
| - [ ] Event Viewer | ||
| - [ ] Multipass logs show up | ||
| - [ ] Install Directory | ||
| - [ ] Correct directory and appropriate files (default is `C:\Program Files\Multipass') |
Comment on lines
+79
to
+80
| - [ ] Key store created in `C:\ProgramData\Multipass\data\authenticated- | ||
| certs\multipass_client_certs.pem` |
+ resolved whitespace issues
and merge together
Updating based on Copilot review comments
chrisndbg
force-pushed
the
resolve-mp-dev-wiki
branch
from
August 19, 2026 07:55
bacf6fe to
00bcf72
Compare
Contributor
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Pull request overview
Copilot reviewed 7 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.
Suppressed comments (4)
dev-docs/windows-msi-packaging.md:70
- The default install directory path is wrapped in inline code but the closing delimiter is a single quote instead of a backtick, which breaks Markdown rendering.
- [ ] Correct directory and appropriate files (default is `C:\Program Files\Multipass')
dev-docs/windows-msi-packaging.md:80
- The inline-code path for the authenticated certs key store is split across two lines, which breaks the path and Markdown formatting. Keep it on a single line (the directory is
authenticated-certs).
- [ ] Key store created in `C:\ProgramData\Multipass\data\authenticated-
certs\multipass_client_certs.pem`
dev-docs/release-process.md:80
- "ATTOW" is an uncommon acronym and isn't expanded here, which makes the instruction harder to understand for new contributors. Spell it out (or expand it on first use).
3. Get win/mac packages from the run that is triggered by the _release branch_ (not the tag where the version is incorrect ATTOW).
dev-docs/running-multipass-on-a-windows-libvirt-qemu-guest.md:13
- Typo in CPU vendor name: "ntel" should be "Intel" (and the line has an extra leading space).
ntel processors support nested virtualization starting in the Haswell series; some AMD processors also support it.
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Description
This PR moves relevant documents from the outdated mp-dev-wiki to the main repository.
It contains documents related to development of Multipass and is not part of the product documentation in
docs, thus, these documents were added to a newdev-docsfolder.Additionally, some documents were slightly updated.
Checklist
Additional Notes
After approval, the mp-dev-wiki repository can be archived.