Fix Studio app metadata for Linux software stores by gavande1 · Pull Request #3335 · Automattic/studio

gavande1 · 2026-05-04T15:29:03Z

Related issues

Fixes RSM-1313

How AI was used in this PR

Used AI to:

Pull the canonical Microsoft Store description copy from the Store API and adapt it for the Linux package metadata.
Walk through electron-installer-debian's defaults and template logic to identify why the synopsis and extended description were duplicating in the .deb control file.

I reviewed each diff and pushed back on changes I didn't think were right (e.g. an earlier draft used genericName for Name=, which mismatched the runtime WMClass).

Proposed Changes

forge.config.ts MakerDeb options: set explicit productName: 'WordPress Studio' and description (synopsis) + productDescription (long, mirrors MS Store copy in ASCII-safe punctuation). Without these, both fields fall back to package.json.description, producing a duplicated Description block.
desktop.ejs: hardcode StartupWMClass=Studio so the launcher entry stays linked to Electron's runtime WMClass even though Name= is now WordPress Studio. Without this, the launcher icon would not group with the running window.

Testing Instructions

On a Linux VM:

Build the .deb: npm run make.
Purge any prior install (for a clean slate): sudo apt purge studio.
Verify package metadata:
- dpkg-deb -I apps/studio/out/make/deb/<arch>/studio_*.deb
- dpkg-deb --fsys-tarfile apps/studio/out/make/deb/<arch>/studio_*.deb | tar -xO ./usr/share/applications/studio.desktop
Confirm title and description in the output above:
- control Description: — new synopsis ("Meet Studio - ...") followed by the 3-paragraph long description.
- .desktop — Name=WordPress Studio, Comment=Meet Studio - ..., StartupWMClass=Studio.
Open the .deb in the app center (double-click in Files, or xdg-open apps/studio/out/make/deb/<arch>/studio_*.deb).
Confirm title and description in the app center preview match the new copy. (See Known limitation re: title.)

Known limitation

The pre-install software-store preview shows the lowercase Debian package name (studio) as the title, not WordPress Studio. PackageKit's local-deb plugin doesn't read AppStream metainfo from inside .deb files, only the control fields, and Package: must be lowercase per Debian policy. Renaming the package to wordpress-studio would address this but cascades into install paths, postinst probes, and rc-state migrations for users with existing studio installs — leaving for a follow-up issue.

Pre-merge Checklist

Verified the rebuilt .deb's control + .desktop files
Verified software-store listing renders proper metadata after install

Pre-install previewers (PackageKit GetDetailsLocal) don't read embedded metainfo, and post-install AppStream merging didn't move the needle on the snap-store/gnome-software listing. Reverting to focus this PR on the description and StartupWMClass fixes alone.

gavande1 · 2026-05-05T07:26:52Z

+				// software stores. Without these, electron-installer-debian falls
+				// back to package.json.description for both, producing a duplicated
+				// Description block. Copy mirrors the Microsoft Store listing.
+				description: 'Meet Studio - a fast, free way to develop locally with WordPress.',


Now that productName is WordPress Studio, should this open with "Meet WordPress Studio" for consistency with the launcher/store name? The counter-argument is keeping it verbatim with the Microsoft Store copy. No strong opinion — what do you think? cc @ivan-ottinger

Good catch!

I think for now we could keep Meet Studio - a fast, free way to develop locally with WordPress. - since otherwise we would have WordPress mentioned two times there:

Meet WordPress Studio - a fast, free way to develop locally with WordPress.

We could later decide to improve the description and change it on both Microsoft Store and App Center at once.

Makes sense — the doubled "WordPress" would read awkwardly. Happy to keep it as Meet Studio … and revisit alongside the MS Store copy when we next touch it. Thanks!

wpmobilebot · 2026-05-05T07:55:31Z

📊 Performance Test Results

Comparing 2ed197e vs trunk

app-size

Metric	trunk	`2ed197e`	Diff	Change
App Size (Mac)	1667.60 MB	1667.60 MB	+0.00 MB	⚪ 0.0%

site-editor

Metric	trunk	`2ed197e`	Diff	Change
load	1524 ms	1513 ms	11 ms	⚪ 0.0%

site-startup

Metric	trunk	`2ed197e`	Diff	Change
siteCreation	8090 ms	8114 ms	+24 ms	⚪ 0.0%
siteStartup	4934 ms	4956 ms	+22 ms	⚪ 0.0%

Results are median values from multiple test runs.

Legend: 🟢 Improvement (faster) | 🔴 Regression (slower) | ⚪ No change (<50ms diff)

ivan-ottinger

Thank you for the fix, Rahul! The changes look good and work as expected. 👍🏼

One thing I noticed is that the Developer website link does not work. What I think we could do is to use the Studio site link there:

--- a/apps/studio/package.json
+++ b/apps/studio/package.json
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
      "productName": "Studio",
      "version": "1.8.2",
       "description": "Local WordPress development environment u
Playgrounds",
+     "homepage": "https://developer.wordpress.com/studio/",
      "license": "GPL-2.0-or-later",
      "main": "dist/main/index.js",

I left two comments below as well.

ivan-ottinger · 2026-05-05T08:46:00Z

 <% } %>Type=Application
 StartupNotify=true
-StartupWMClass=<%= productName %>
+StartupWMClass=Studio


What if we added a short comment like this one? Just to ensure this won't get changed accidentally in the future:

Suggested change

StartupWMClass=Studio

# Must match package.json productName, or the launcher icon won't group with the running window.

StartupWMClass=Studio

Good idea — pushed the comment on the branch. One small tweak to the wording: the value needs to match Electron's runtime WMClass (derived from app.getName(), which defaults to package.json.name), not productName. That's actually why this had to be hardcoded — when Name= flipped to WordPress Studio, templating from productName would have broken the launcher grouping.

Final form:

# Must match Electron's runtime WMClass (derived from app.getName(), i.e. package.json.name). # Don't template from productName — the launcher icon won't group with the running window. StartupWMClass=Studio

ivan-ottinger · 2026-05-05T09:13:26Z

+				// software stores. Without these, electron-installer-debian falls
+				// back to package.json.description for both, producing a duplicated
+				// Description block. Copy mirrors the Microsoft Store listing.
+				description: 'Meet Studio - a fast, free way to develop locally with WordPress.',


Good catch!

I think for now we could keep Meet Studio - a fast, free way to develop locally with WordPress. - since otherwise we would have WordPress mentioned two times there:

Meet WordPress Studio - a fast, free way to develop locally with WordPress.

We could later decide to improve the description and change it on both Microsoft Store and App Center at once.

….com:Automattic/studio into rsm-1313-fix-studio-app-description-on-linux

ivan-ottinger · 2026-05-05T10:53:40Z

Thanks for the updates, Rahul!

What do you think about adding that Studio site link as well?

One thing I noticed is that the Developer website link does not work. What I think we could do is to use the Studio site link there:

--- a/apps/studio/package.json
+++ b/apps/studio/package.json
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
      "productName": "Studio",
      "version": "1.8.2",
       "description": "Local WordPress development environment u
Playgrounds",
+     "homepage": "https://developer.wordpress.com/studio/",
      "license": "GPL-2.0-or-later",
      "main": "dist/main/index.js",

… populated

gavande1 · 2026-05-05T11:08:14Z

Thanks for spotting that, @ivan-ottinger — good catch, we missed it in the previous round. Applied in a5728af exactly as you suggested. Putting it in package.json (vs. MakerDeb.options) also means any future Linux packaging — Snap, Flatpak, RPM — will pick the homepage up automatically.

Fix Studio app metadata for Linux software stores

f0f6a9e

github-actions Bot assigned gavande1 May 4, 2026

gavande1 added 2 commits May 4, 2026 22:18

Use ASCII punctuation in Linux package metadata

577c9a3

gavande1 requested a review from ivan-ottinger May 5, 2026 07:25

gavande1 commented May 5, 2026

View reviewed changes

gavande1 requested a review from a team May 5, 2026 07:31

gavande1 marked this pull request as ready for review May 5, 2026 07:31

Merge branch 'trunk' into rsm-1313-fix-studio-app-description-on-linux

02f0619

ivan-ottinger approved these changes May 5, 2026

View reviewed changes

gavande1 added 2 commits May 5, 2026 15:51

Document StartupWMClass invariant in desktop.ejs

5bdad85

Merge branch 'rsm-1313-fix-studio-app-description-on-linux' of github…

618ca05

….com:Automattic/studio into rsm-1313-fix-studio-app-description-on-linux

Set homepage in studio package.json so .deb Homepage control field is…

a5728af

… populated

Merge branch 'trunk' into rsm-1313-fix-studio-app-description-on-linux

2ed197e

gavande1 merged commit 91d6449 into trunk May 5, 2026
10 checks passed

gavande1 deleted the rsm-1313-fix-studio-app-description-on-linux branch May 5, 2026 12:30

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Fix Studio app metadata for Linux software stores#3335

Fix Studio app metadata for Linux software stores#3335
gavande1 merged 8 commits into
trunkfrom
rsm-1313-fix-studio-app-description-on-linux

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	StartupWMClass=Studio
	# Must match package.json productName, or the launcher icon won't group with the running window.
	StartupWMClass=Studio

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Related issues

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Testing Instructions

Known limitation

Pre-merge Checklist

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📊 Performance Test Results

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