Fix nightly AppImage, default to Adobe Animate UI, in-app Discord/Website links, README rewrite

.github/workflows/nightly.yml

@@ -400,15 +400,23 @@ jobs:
             rmdir appdir/usr/share/flare 2>/dev/null || true
           fi
 
-          base_url="https://github.com/linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy/releases/download/continuous"
+          # Each linuxdeploy tool lives in its OWN GitHub repo. Downloading the
+          # qt / appimage plugins from linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy returns 404, which
+          # is exactly why the AppImage was silently missing from nightly builds.
           TOOLS_OK=1
-          for tool in linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage linuxdeploy-plugin-qt-x86_64.AppImage linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage-x86_64.AppImage; do
-            if ! (wget -q "${base_url}/${tool}" || wget -q "${base_url}/${tool}" || wget -q "${base_url}/${tool}"); then
-              echo "Warning: failed to download ${tool}; skipping AppImage"
-              TOOLS_OK=0; break
-            fi
-            chmod +x "${tool}"
-          done
+          download_tool() {
+            repo="$1"; file="$2"
+            url="https://github.com/${repo}/releases/download/continuous/${file}"
+            for attempt in 1 2 3; do
+              if wget -q "${url}" -O "${file}"; then chmod +x "${file}"; return 0; fi
+              sleep 3
+            done
+            echo "::warning::failed to download ${file} from ${repo}"
+            return 1
+          }
+          download_tool linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy                 linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage                 || TOOLS_OK=0
+          download_tool linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-qt       linuxdeploy-plugin-qt-x86_64.AppImage       || TOOLS_OK=0
+          download_tool linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage-x86_64.AppImage || TOOLS_OK=0
 
           if [ -d appdir/usr/lib/flare ]; then
             export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="appdir/usr/lib/flare:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:-}"
@@ -422,10 +430,21 @@ jobs:
             ./linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage --appdir=appdir \
               --desktop-file=appdir/io.github.Flare.desktop \
               --icon-file=appdir/io.github.Flare.png \
-              --plugin=qt --output=appimage --custom-apprun=apprun.sh || true
+              --plugin=qt --output=appimage --custom-apprun=apprun.sh \
+              || echo "::warning::linuxdeploy failed; AppImage will be absent for this build"
+          else
+            echo "::warning::linuxdeploy tools unavailable; skipping AppImage generation"
           fi
 
-          if ls Flare*.AppImage >/dev/null 2>&1; then mv Flare*.AppImage artifact/Flare.AppImage; fi
+          # Expose the AppImage both inside the tarball AND as a standalone asset
+          if ls Flare*.AppImage >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            APPIMAGE_FILE=$(ls Flare*.AppImage | head -n1)
+            cp "${APPIMAGE_FILE}" "${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/Flare-x86_64.AppImage"
+            mv "${APPIMAGE_FILE}" artifact/Flare.AppImage
+            echo "AppImage created: ${APPIMAGE_FILE}"
+          else
+            echo "::warning::No AppImage was produced for this build (see download/linuxdeploy warnings above)"
+          fi
           ARTIFACT_NAME=Flare-Linux-nightly
           mv artifact ${ARTIFACT_NAME} || true
           tar zcf ${ARTIFACT_NAME}.tar.gz ${ARTIFACT_NAME} || true
@@ -467,6 +486,13 @@ jobs:
           path: flare/build/Flare-Linux-nightly.tar.gz
           if-no-files-found: ignore
 
+      - name: Upload standalone AppImage
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: Flare-Linux-AppImage
+          path: Flare-x86_64.AppImage
+          if-no-files-found: warn
+
       - name: Upload smoke test log
         if: always()
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
@@ -684,7 +710,7 @@ jobs:
             )
           fi
 
-          find dist -type f \( -name '*.tar.gz' -o -name '*.dmg' \) -exec cp -f {} release-assets/ \;
+          find dist -type f \( -name '*.tar.gz' -o -name '*.dmg' -o -name '*.AppImage' \) -exec cp -f {} release-assets/ \;
           find release-assets -type f | sort
 
       - name: Publish / update rolling nightly release
@@ -706,7 +732,7 @@ jobs:
             | Platform | Package | Requirements |
             |----------|---------|--------------|
             | **Windows** | `Flare-Windows-Portable-nightly.zip` | Windows 10/11 **64-bit (x86_64/AMD64)** — ARM is not supported |
-            | **Linux** | `Flare-Linux-nightly.tar.gz` | x86_64 Linux, glibc 2.35+ (Ubuntu 22.04 or newer) |
+            | **Linux** | `Flare-x86_64.AppImage` (standalone) or `Flare-Linux-nightly.tar.gz` | x86_64 Linux, glibc 2.35+ (Ubuntu 22.04 or newer) |
             | **macOS** | `Flare.dmg` | macOS 13+ Intel (Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2) |
 
             ## Windows usage
@@ -727,8 +753,16 @@ jobs:
 
             ## Linux usage
 
-            1. Extract: `tar xzf Flare-Linux-nightly.tar.gz`
-            2. Inside the `Flare-Linux-nightly/` folder run `./Flare.AppImage` (or the `Flare` binary if AppImage creation was skipped).
+            **Easiest:** download `Flare-x86_64.AppImage`, then:
+            ```
+            chmod +x Flare-x86_64.AppImage
+            ./Flare-x86_64.AppImage
+            ```
+
+            **Or the tarball:** extract `tar xzf Flare-Linux-nightly.tar.gz`, then inside the
+            `Flare-Linux-nightly/` folder run `./Flare.AppImage` (or the `Flare` binary if
+            AppImage creation was skipped). If the standalone AppImage asset is absent, the
+            build's AppImage step failed — check the [CI run](https://github.com/Flare-Animate/Flare/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}) for `::warning::` lines.
 
             See the [CI run](https://github.com/Flare-Animate/Flare/actions/runs/${{ github.run_id }}) for build logs and smoke test results.
           files: |

.github/workflows/workflow_linux.yml

@@ -187,18 +187,23 @@ jobs:
           rmdir appdir/usr/share/flare 2>/dev/null || true
         fi
 
-        base_url="https://github.com/linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy/releases/download/continuous"
+        # Each linuxdeploy tool lives in its OWN GitHub repo; the qt / appimage
+        # plugins are NOT in linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy (downloading them from there
+        # 404s and silently skips AppImage generation).
         APPIMAGE_TOOLS_OK=1
-        for tool in linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage linuxdeploy-plugin-qt-x86_64.AppImage linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage-x86_64.AppImage; do
-          if ! (wget -q --show-progress "${base_url}/${tool}" || \
-                wget -q --show-progress "${base_url}/${tool}" || \
-                wget -q --show-progress "${base_url}/${tool}"); then
-            echo "Warning: failed to download ${tool}; skipping AppImage generation for this run."
-            APPIMAGE_TOOLS_OK=0
-            break
-          fi
-          chmod +x "${tool}"
-        done
+        download_tool() {
+          repo="$1"; file="$2"
+          url="https://github.com/${repo}/releases/download/continuous/${file}"
+          for attempt in 1 2 3; do
+            if wget -q "${url}" -O "${file}"; then chmod +x "${file}"; return 0; fi
+            sleep 3
+          done
+          echo "::warning::failed to download ${file} from ${repo}"
+          return 1
+        }
+        download_tool linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy                 linuxdeploy-x86_64.AppImage                 || APPIMAGE_TOOLS_OK=0
+        download_tool linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-qt       linuxdeploy-plugin-qt-x86_64.AppImage       || APPIMAGE_TOOLS_OK=0
+        download_tool linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage linuxdeploy-plugin-appimage-x86_64.AppImage || APPIMAGE_TOOLS_OK=0
 
         if [ -d appdir/usr/lib/flare ]; then
           export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="appdir/usr/lib/flare:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:-}"

README.md

@@ -2,62 +2,115 @@
 
 <img width="663" height="400" alt="FlareBanner" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/73e4050f-f248-419e-8e61-fe8814ab984d" />
 
+**Flare** is a free, open-source 2D animation studio — a community-driven fork of
+[OpenToonz](https://opentoonz.github.io/) reworked to feel like **Adobe Animate**
+and to open the Flash/Animate file formats Adobe left behind (`.fla`, `.xfl`,
+`.swf`, and friends).
 
-A fork of OpenToonz rebranded as Flare — focused on providing an Adobe Animate-like
-user experience and improving interoperability with Flash assets (.swf/.fla).
+The goal is simple: give the Flash/Animate community a modern, actively
+maintained, cross-platform home that reads their existing projects — without a
+subscription and without a dead runtime.
 
-This repository is a fork of OpenToonz and retains the original licensing and
-attribution. See the Licensing section below for details.
+[![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/1500316971802296430?label=Discord&logo=discord&logoColor=white&color=5865F2)](https://discord.com/invite/JpeScW8Awa)
+[![Website](https://img.shields.io/badge/website-flare--animate-orange)](https://flare-animate.github.io/website/)
+[![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-BSD--3--Clause-blue)](./LICENSE.txt)
 
-[![Discord Server](https://discord.com/api/guilds/1500316971802296430/widget.png?style=banner2)](https://discord.gg/JpeScW8Awa)
+➡️ **Website:** https://flare-animate.github.io/website/ · **Discord:** https://discord.com/invite/JpeScW8Awa
 
+[日本語](./doc/README_ja.md) · [简体中文](./doc/README_chs.md)
 
-[日本語](./doc/README_ja.md) [简体中文](./doc/README_chs.md)
+---
 
-## What is Flare?
+## Why Flare?
 
-Flare is a community-driven fork of OpenToonz that ships a revamped UI layout
-inspired by Adobe Animate and adds built-in Flash ecosystem import support for
-FLA/XFL/SWC/SWF/FLV/F4V/AS workflows.
+Adobe Animate is proprietary, subscription-only, and Flash is end-of-life — yet
+huge amounts of animation, games, and educational content still live in `.fla`
+and `.swf` files. OpenToonz is a powerful production tool but its UI is
+unfamiliar to Flash/Animate artists. Flare bridges the two:
 
-For the original Flare project and its history, see the Flare website:
-https://flare-animate.github.io/website
+- **Familiar UI** — the default workspace is laid out like Adobe Animate
+  (Drawing / Animation / Rigging / Compositing rooms), with an Adobe-style theme.
+- **Open your old work** — built-in import for the Flash/Animate file family.
+- **OpenToonz power underneath** — vector + raster levels, a full xsheet/timeline,
+  plastic/skeleton rigging, FX, and the OpenToonz rendering pipeline.
 
-## Program Requirements
+## Features
 
-To enable SWF import features, install FFmpeg and ensure it is available on your PATH.
+### Adobe Animate-style workspace (default)
+Flare ships with the **Adobe Animate** workspace selected out of the box — no
+configuration needed. Prefer the classic layout? Open **Preferences → Interface →
+Rooms** and switch to **OpenToonz** (or **StudioGhibli**).
 
-Flare uses CMake as its build system.  You must have CMake (version 3.10 or later)
-installed and available on your PATH before attempting to configure or build the
-project.  On Windows you can install CMake via the official installer or
-[Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/).  On macOS use Homebrew (`brew install cmake`),
-and on Linux use your distribution's package manager (`apt`, `dnf`, etc.).
+### Flash / Adobe Animate file support *(work in progress)*
+Built-in, native C++ import — no Java, JPEXS, or external runtime required.
 
-## Installation
+| Format | Extension | Status |
+|--------|-----------|--------|
+| Flash project (ZIP) | `.fla` | Import (XFL extraction + parse) |
+| XFL project | `.xfl` | Import (directory or ZIP) |
+| Compiled Flash | `.swf` | Header + embedded bitmap extraction |
+| Component library | `.swc` | Catalog + embedded bitmaps |
+| Flash Video | `.flv` / `.f4v` | Raster level via FFmpeg |
+| ActionScript | `.as` | Imported as reference text |
 
-Please see the `doc/` folder for platform-specific build and installation
-instructions.
+> ⚠️ Flash import is actively being developed and **not yet production-ready** —
+> complex documents will not round-trip cleanly. See [`doc/FLASH_SUPPORT.md`](./doc/FLASH_SUPPORT.md)
+> for the architecture and current limitations, and please file bugs with a sample
+> file. Tracking issues: [#16](https://github.com/Flare-Animate/Flare/issues/16),
+> [#47](https://github.com/Flare-Animate/Flare/issues/47).
 
-## How to Build Locally
+### Inherited from OpenToonz / Tahoma2D
+Flare keeps the OpenToonz feature set and continues to pull improvements from
+OpenToonz and the [Tahoma2D](https://tahoma2d.org/) community fork:
+vector & raster drawing, the xsheet and timeline, plastic & skeleton rigging,
+the GTS scanning tools, the effects (FX) schematic, motion tracking, and the
+script console.
 
-⚠️ **IMPORTANT:** Building Flare is memory-intensive. On systems with limited RAM (< 8GB), limit parallel jobs to avoid system freezes. See platform-specific guides below for details.
+### Merging with Next2Flash
+The Flare-Animate org is consolidating its Flash tooling by merging
+[Next2Flash](https://github.com/SSF2-Mods-Official/Next2Flash) — an MIT-licensed
+SWF round-trip editor with a native AS3 decompiler — into Flare. The native SWF
+reader/writer pieces are being ported, while AS3 round-tripping is bridged as an
+optional helper. See [`doc/NEXT2FLASH_INTEGRATION.md`](./doc/NEXT2FLASH_INTEGRATION.md).
 
-You can configure a build directory from the repository root with a command such as:
+## Download
 
-```sh
-cmake -S flare/sources -B build -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
-```
+Pre-built nightly binaries for **Windows**, **Linux** (AppImage + tarball), and
+**macOS** (DMG) are published automatically on every push to `master`:
+
+➡️ **[Latest nightly release](https://github.com/Flare-Animate/Flare/releases/tag/nightly)**
+
+| Platform | Asset | Requirements |
+|----------|-------|--------------|
+| Windows | `Flare-Windows-Portable-nightly.zip` | Windows 10/11, 64-bit |
+| Linux | `Flare-x86_64.AppImage` | x86_64, glibc 2.35+ (Ubuntu 22.04+) |
+| macOS | `Flare.dmg` | macOS 13+ Intel (Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2) |
+
+These are pre-release builds and may be unstable.
+
+## Program Requirements
+
+To enable FFmpeg-based `.swf`/`.flv`/`.f4v` playback, install **FFmpeg** and make
+sure it is on your `PATH`. The Flash *import* commands themselves need no external
+tools.
 
-and then build (limit parallel jobs on low-memory systems):
+Building requires **CMake 3.10+** on your `PATH`. Install it via the official
+installer or [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/) on Windows, Homebrew
+(`brew install cmake`) on macOS, or your package manager on Linux.
+
+## How to Build Locally
+
+> ⚠️ Building Flare is memory-intensive. On systems with < 8 GB RAM, limit
+> parallel jobs to avoid freezes.
 
 ```sh
-# For systems with < 4GB RAM, use: cmake --build build -j1
-# For systems with 4-8GB RAM, use: cmake --build build -j2
-# For systems with > 8GB RAM, use: cmake --build build --parallel
+cmake -S flare/sources -B build -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
+
+# < 4GB RAM: -j1   |   4-8GB RAM: -j2   |   > 8GB RAM: --parallel
 cmake --build build -j2
 ```
 
-For more detailed, platform‑specific guidance follow the links below:
+Platform-specific guides:
 
 - [Windows](./doc/how_to_build_win.md)
 - [macOS](./doc/how_to_build_macosx.md)
@@ -66,42 +119,34 @@ For more detailed, platform‑specific guidance follow the links below:
 
 ## Community & Contribution
 
-This fork aims to stay compatible with OpenToonz where possible while
-introducing new features. When contributing, please keep the original project's
+- 💬 **Discord:** https://discord.com/invite/JpeScW8Awa — the fastest way to ask
+  questions, report bugs, and follow development.
+- 🌐 **Website:** https://flare-animate.github.io/website/
+- 🗳️ **Discussions:** [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/orgs/Flare-Animate/discussions)
+  for proposals and ideas.
+- 🐛 **Issues:** [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/Flare-Animate/Flare/issues).
+
+Contributions are welcome — see [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md). Flare aims to
+stay compatible with OpenToonz where possible; please keep the original project's
 licensing and attribution in mind.
 
 ## Licensing
 
-Files outside of the `thirdparty` and `stuff/library/mypaint brushes`
-directories are based on the Modified BSD License.
-- [modified BSD license](./LICENSE.txt).
+Files outside `thirdparty/` and `stuff/library/mypaint brushes/` are under the
+[Modified BSD License](./LICENSE.txt). Third-party components retain their
+original licenses — see `thirdparty/` and
+`stuff/library/mypaint brushes/Licenses.txt`.
 
-Third-party components retain their original licenses. See the relevant
-documentation in `thirdparty/` and `stuff/library/mypaint brushes/Licenses.txt`.
-
-### Adobe Animate-style Workspace & Theme
-
-Flare includes an "Adobe Animate" workspace and an Adobe-like color theme by
-default. To switch to the Adobe Animate workspace, open the Room (Workspace)
-menu and choose "Adobe Animate".
-
-### Importing SWF files
-
-Flare provides a built-in Flash import workflow for `.fla`, `.xfl`, `.swc`,
-`.swf`, `.flv`, `.f4v`, and `.as`. Native metadata/asset extraction works
-without external helper tools; when FFmpeg exposes direct readers for
-`.swf`/`.flv`/`.f4v` on your system, Flare can also load those containers as
-scene levels automatically.
+Flare is a fork of [OpenToonz](https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz) (© DWANGO,
+based on Toonz © Digital Video / Studio Ghibli) and retains its licensing and
+attribution.
 
 ## Development helper scripts
 
-To make it easier to follow build and test output you can run the included
-`log_watcher.py` script.  It watches `*.log` files underneath the build
-directory and prints the last few lines whenever they are modified.  This is
-also the script that the autonomous chat mode will launch automatically:
+`scripts/log_watcher.py` watches `*.log` files under the build directory and
+prints the tail whenever they change (also wired to the "watch logs" task in
+VS Code, `Ctrl+Shift+B`):
 
 ```sh
 python scripts/log_watcher.py    # defaults to flare/build
 ```
-
-You can run the same command via the "watch logs" task in VS Code (`Ctrl+Shift+B`).

doc/FLASH_SUPPORT.md

@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ video playback if it is installed).
 
 | Format | Extension | Support |
 |--------|-----------|---------|
-| Flash project (ZIP) | `.fla` | Extract with minizip → parse XFLReader |
+| Flash project (XFL-based, CS5+) | `.fla` | Extract with minizip → parse XFLReader |
+| Flash project (legacy binary, CS4-) | `.fla` | OLE2 compound document — detected, embedded bitmaps recovered (QImage-validated); full timeline import not yet supported (re-save as CS5+/XFL) |
 | XFL project | `.xfl` | Directory or ZIP → parse XFLReader |
 | Compiled Flash | `.swf` | Header + embedded bitmap extraction |
 | Component library | `.swc` | ZIP + catalog.xml + library.swf bitmaps |
@@ -95,3 +96,12 @@ flash.writeMovie(fp);
 | [Apache Flex SDK](https://github.com/apache/flex-sdk) | SWC `catalog.xml` schema | Apache 2.0 |
 | [lifeart/fla-viewer](https://github.com/lifeart/fla-viewer) | XFL DOMDocument.xml structure | MIT |
 | FLV / ISO BMFF public spec | FLV 9-byte header, `ftyp` box layout | Public spec |
+
+## Roadmap: Next2Flash merge
+
+The Flare-Animate org is consolidating its Flash tooling by merging
+[Next2Flash](https://github.com/SSF2-Mods-Official/Next2Flash) (an MIT-licensed
+SWF round-trip editor with a native AS3 decompiler) into Flare. Because the two
+projects use different stacks (C++/Qt vs Python/JS/Electron), the merge ports the
+native-friendly pieces and bridges AS3 as an optional helper. See
+[`NEXT2FLASH_INTEGRATION.md`](./NEXT2FLASH_INTEGRATION.md) for the full plan.