Condensed changelog. The canonical, fully detailed file is SimpleLauncher\WhatsNew.md (shown in-app via Help → Update History).

• RetroAchievements stability: HTML challenge, rate-limit and maintenance responses are treated as expected external conditions and logged at Information, so they no longer generate bug reports (bugs #68823–#68828).
• Updater: the bootstrapper clears the read-only attribute before overwriting files such as LICENSE.txt; access-denied and file-in-use conditions are logged at Information with actionable guidance (bug #68830).
• Dependencies: Meziantou.Analyzer 3.0.315 and SharpCompress 0.50.7.
• Packaging: Windows and Linux bundles rebuilt as 5.8.4 (framework-dependent single-file, documents included).

• Avalonia game ordering fixed: opening a system and clicking All (or any letter) now applies the configured File Name / Machine Description order before rendering. The scan previously showed the raw directory-enumeration order; it now matches WPF.

• Avalonia system loading fixed: selecting a system no longer leaves the "Loading system..." overlay stuck. The game-card template used runtime type casts (((vm:MainViewModel)DataContext)...) that Avalonia cannot resolve inside deferred templates, so realizing the first card threw on the UI thread; the bindings now use DataContext.Property and the game grid renders normally. The same unsafe cast was removed from the image-pack download window.
• Guard test: XAML binding paths using runtime type casts now fail the Avalonia test suite.
• Packaging: Windows and Linux bundles rebuilt as 5.8.2 (framework-dependent single-file, documents included).

• Faster Avalonia startup: the system-selection grid is shown before the ROM folders are scanned; sidebar count badges refresh in the background and system icons resolve synchronously with a short directory cache.
• Shutdown deadlock: exiting while a RetroAchievements hash scan was running no longer leaves the process alive — the shutdown wait resumes on the thread pool instead of the blocked UI thread.
• Single-instance guard: the shared named mutex is created and owned only by the instance allowed to run, and released only by its owner, so simultaneous WPF/Avalonia launches no longer abandon it or throw ApplicationException on exit (#68430).
• Updater hardening: interrupted .updbak swaps are recovered only for the staged payload's own destinations (never by scanning the install drive), read-only files are replaced and transient access denials retried, archive-viewer temp folders are refused with extract-first guidance, restart access-denied is treated as an expected condition, and a closed updater window falls back to an ownerless dialog (#68272–#68441).
• XISO mount diagnostics: SimpleXisoDrive stdout/stderr and its exit code are captured (thread-safely) and reported at Information level, so unsupported images and missing drivers no longer generate duplicate bug reports (#68434–#68437).
• Avalonia launcher: launch exceptions are classified before logging, keeping elevation-required, UAC-cancel and invalid-executable conditions out of bug reports (#68419).
• Code quality: third InspectCode cleanup batch (unused dependencies/parameters removed, design-time types and typed binding paths in XAML, field-backed properties, ISO9660 root-record validation tightened); builds remain at zero warnings.
• Dependencies: Meziantou.Analyzer 3.0.314, NAudio 3.3.0, SharpCompress 0.50.6, CHDSharp 1.5.0, Markdown.Avalonia 12.0.2, Microsoft.Extensions.Http.Resilience 10.11.0.
• Packaging: every release and updater ZIP now carries LICENSE.txt, README.md and WhatsNew.md; the apps remain single-file framework-dependent builds (the .NET 10 runtime is required and never embedded).
• CI & docs: CI now builds Debug and Release with -warnaserror, compiles the Linux updater, and a four-RID packaging dry run verifies the zips and Linux executable bits; the Pages site and wiki share one side menu and the dark/light theme.
• Tests: 2208 WPF + 704 Avalonia fast tests; 83 WPF + 11 Avalonia slow tests.

• Unified Windows release: one zip ships SimpleLauncher.exe (WPF) and SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.exe (Avalonia) side by side with a single shared Updater.exe that relaunches whichever app started it; single-instance guard shared across both apps.
• Unified SQLite settings database (settings.dat, WPF + Avalonia): favorites, play history, app/emulator settings, per-system play times and system configs in one store; automatic legacy migration (settings.xml, system.xml, favorites.dat, playhistory.dat) with verification + .bak shelving, merge into an existing database, read-only recovery, and cross-app rename/delete consistency.
• WPF top-bar card-size slider for game thumbnails (debounced, synced with the menu and Ctrl+wheel).
• Shared localization packs: one JSON pack set (18 languages, 2671 keys) in SimpleLauncher.Core\Localization; WPF embeds them, Avalonia embeds them in the assembly; old strings.*.xaml packs removed; Avalonia message boxes fully localized.
• Xbox containers via SimpleXisoDrive: xemu and Cxbx-Reloaded open Xbox games in .iso/.xiso/.cso/.zar — and Xbox-ISO .chd (SimpleXisoDrive preferred, CHDMounter fallback) — on Windows (Dokan) and Linux (FUSE 3); xemu receives the virtual image.iso, Cxbx the mounted default.xbe.
• Linux FUSE mounting: ZIP/7Z/RAR launches mount through SimpleZipDrive 3.1.1 and Xbox images through SimpleXisoDrive 1.5.0 instead of extracting to temp; CHDMounter is cross-platform; extraction/conversion remain automatic fallbacks.
• RetroAchievements hashing: batch scans use the bundled CLI's positional interface with resume-after-failure (CurrentHashVersion = 2; existing caches recalculate automatically), system classification follows the CLI's console switch, and hash-support decisions are resolved once per system instead of once per game card (no more thousands of log lines on PS3 libraries).
• Avalonia parity fixes: letter buttons reload the complete library after filtered views; system-icon zoom (Ctrl+wheel / buttons, 50/100/150 px, persisted); Favorites/Play History/Global Search hide the top system bar; Global Statistics buttons auto-size to the localized text; Edit System no longer claims a missing legacy system.xml.
• Updater: the Avalonia updater's OK/Yes/No dialogs now close on click so the update flow resumes; single-file emulator downloads install directly; cancelled downloads delete partial files and stalled transfers retry.
• Reliability/security hardening: Zip-Slip fail-closed extraction without wiping destination folders, partial-file cleanup, download cancel/path sanitization, updater staged-swap rollback, launch gating + invalid executable handling, gamepad/hash-pipe deadlocks, shutdown/tray-icon stall, play-history locking, RA account/system/hash hardening.
• Avalonia fixes: Edit System help rendering, system-selection status bar, RA no-credentials panel, clicked-card load after Edit System, in-app path guard, INI encoding, WPF-matching title; embedded tray/about/link icons, wait overlay for long operations, selected-system info panel, owned message dialogs, background-thread UI sounds (a wedged audio stop can no longer freeze the UI).
• Linux support (beta): framework-dependent single-file Avalonia bundles for linux-x64 / linux-arm64 (the .NET 10 runtime is required) plus the Linux Updater in the same GitHub release; native launch pipeline (temp extraction, managed CHDSharp conversion, DOSBox imgmount, bundled 7zz), XDG data folder, managed MP3/WAV audio, SDL2 gamepad navigation, platform-aware pickers/validation. Windows-only features (Dokan mounting, storefront scanning, RA config injection, screenshot/hotkey, Windows-only Tools menu entries) are hidden/no-ops. Beta — verified on Ubuntu 24.04 x64 and Fedora 44 KDE; ARM64 structurally verified only; please report issues.
• Bundled tools: XISOStudio/CHDStudio/RVZStudio replace the old batch converters; CHDStudio 3.9.4, RomValidator 2.9.2, SimpleZipDrive 3.1.1, FindRomCover 3.3.0 (now also Linux), RetroAchievementsSharp 1.0.0 per-RID CLI; per-RID tool folders; obsolete flat tool payloads are pruned on startup.
• Release packaging: both scripts copy LICENSE.txt / README.md / WhatsNew.md into every payload; the Linux bundles ship framework-dependent single-file binaries.
• Accessibility: every interactive control exposes an accessible name/automation id (Narrator/NVDA on Windows, Orca/AT-SPI on Linux); guardrail tests fail on missing names.
• Tooling: vendored PBPSharp replaced by NuGet 1.1.1 (final: 1.1.4); Avalonia 12.1.4, Roslynator 5.0.1, Meziantou.Analyzer 3.0.303, NetAnalyzers 10.0.402, Microsoft.Extensions.* / Microsoft.Data.Sqlite 10.0.13, MessagePack 3.1.12, Http.Resilience 10.10.0, NAudio 3.1.0, Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk 18.11.0.

• Hash-based RA compatibility filter: matches games by real ROM hash (archive-aware, background scanning with progress toasts) via the bundled RetroAchievementsSharp CLI.
• Update flow: multi-source fallback chain (primary GitHub repo → transferred org → assets.purelogiccode.com), updater process-handle fixes, 5-minute download timeout, toast notifications.
• Launch fixes: actionable dialogs for missing emulator executables and invalid executables (Win32 193), Ymir force-extraction, elevation guidance (both apps), parameter API validation.
• Favorites & play history: rename/remove sync, subfolder resolution, protection against wiping favorites when system.xml fails.
• Other: Easy Mode temp-folder fix, unified log-path resolution, storefront icon extraction fix, Windows/Microsoft folders creation, Raine config null-path fix, Edit System stability, standalone Debug window.
• Tooling: NAudio 3, Markdown.Avalonia 12, Meziantou.Analyzer 3.0.224.

• Update check fallback: when the GitHub API is unreachable, the check falls back to the secondary server (assets.purelogiccode.com version.txt) and resolves both the release and updater packages; the Updater also retries the download from the secondary server when the primary source fails.
• List-view right-click "Launch Game" fix: the context menu now uses the selected emulator (falling back to the system's first emulator) instead of always failing.
• Bug-report noise reduction: expected conditions (GitHub 403/429, image-download timeouts after retry, missing files on launch/delete, updater "process not found", a GitHub release without packages for the current platform (LB-23), context-menu validation, unsupported --language codes) are logged at Information level and no longer sent to the bug report service.
• --language startup argument: launch with a specific language; unsupported codes fall back to English silently.
• Localization fixes: strings.es.xaml and strings.tr.xaml embedded as pack resources (bugs 64899-64904).
• Updater UI: log text and progress bar now white.
• Misc: %ROMSYSTEMFOLDER% documented in parameters.md, Projec(t)64.exe added to the emulator error-check skip list, RetroAchievements matcher addition, stale test filter removed (all tests run by default).

• Parameter Resolver API: "Suggest" buttons in Edit System (AI-powered parameter suggestions with confirmation dialog), Explanation: prefix handling, loading overlay, URL normalization with fixed 60 s timeout.
• Game File Watcher: GameFileWatcherService auto-refreshes the game list on external ROM changes (500 ms debounce, start/stop per system).
• 7za fallback extraction when SharpCompress fails; bundled 7za binaries across conversion tools.
• Batch file path validation before execution; UseShellExecute instead of cmd.exe /c.
• OneDrive error guidance, invalid folder-character validation, CHD support for Kega Fusion + exit-code reporting + Dokan check, CHD mounting on ARM64 (architecture-specific CHDMounter).
• PCSX2 permission-error detection + portable config path resolution.
• History database migration: history.xml → history.dat (MessagePack) with fallback.
• Global search: results count, AND/OR operators, better loading state.
• Downloads: automatic retry with exponential backoff; read-only file handling.
• Startup robustness: fallback logger, improved init order, timeouts for silent update check & stats, temp-folder check first.
• F8 hotkey conflict warning; AI parameter suggestions polish; UI/UX (cancel buttons, tooltips, loading overlays, confirmation dialogs); encrypted RA credentials (Windows Credential Manager/DPAPI); nested emulator settings structure.
• Debug Window restored (constructor + theme), -debug flag, parameters.md path fix; quote trimming.
• GameCoverScraper removed (use Find Rom Cover / Retro Game Cover Downloader).
• Serilog structured logging everywhere (ILogger, sinks for Debug Window, rolling file 7 days, bug reports).
• Massive DI + MVVM refactoring; nullable reference types; Meziantou analyzer; Moq added.
• Dependency updates: SharpCompress 0.50.4, Tomlyn 2.6.0, MessagePack 3.1.8, Sqlite/Extensions 10.0.10, Serilog 4.4.0, Meziantou 3.0.139, Moq 4.20.72, and more.

Commander Genius support with an intelligent launch strategy (extract to Documents\Commander Genius\games\, detect nested game folder, dir= parameter, cleanup after exit).

%ROMSYSTEMFOLDER% placeholder (system folder containing the selected ROM).

• 5.3.3: improved .bat file support.
• 5.3.2: auto-updater refactored into clean service architecture (UpdateService, GitHubService, DownloadService, …).
• 5.3.1: fixed HTTP request timeouts (15 s) for bug reports, stats, support requests.
• 5.3.0: Nintendo Wii support (official RA support).

Virtual-drive system built around Dokan with a custom wrapper tool (SimpleXisoDrive/SimpleZipDrive).

Store Xbox/Xbox 360 ISOs in CHD format and convert back to ISO on the fly at launch.

Replaced the monolithic launcher conditionals with the strategy-based launch pattern (ILaunchStrategy) for extensibility.

• 4.9.1: Microsoft NuGet package updates.
• 4.9.0: Emulator auto-configuration on setup (RetroArch etc.).
• 4.8.0: ScanSteamGames (Steam library integration).

Group Files by Folder for multi-file MAME games (Software List CHDs/ROMs).

Introduced GameCoverScraper (later removed in 5.6.0).

(Error handling / parameter validation / UX improvements.)

• 4.4.2 / 4.4.1: error handling, parameter validation, UX improvements.
• 4.4: Windows-arm64 support introduced.

Multiple System Folders: each system can scan across multiple ROM folders.

(Stability and incremental improvements.)

• 4.0.1: parameter handling overhaul — paths in parameters converted to absolute (ParameterValidator, GameLauncher).
• 4.0: new visual System Selection Screen.

Batch Convert To Compressed File skips already-compressed files.

Per-emulator option to turn off error notifications.

• 3.11.1: file/folder path checks in the parameter field.
• 3.11: Play History Window (games played + duration).

• 3.10.2: fixed List View preview images.
• 3.10: gamepad dead-zone exposed to the user.

• 3.9.1: much faster search engine (main window + global search).
• 3.9: enhanced Xbox + PlayStation controller support.

• 3.8.1: bug fixes.
• 3.8: 17-language translations introduced.

• 3.7.1: bug fixes/exception handling.
• 3.7: BAT file generator for Xbox 360 XBLA games.

• 3.6.3: temp folder moved to the Windows temp folder.
• 3.6.1: relative UserImagePath preview fix.
• 3.6.0: major EditSystem validation refactor.

BAT file generator for Sega Model 3.

• 3.4.1: automatic SystemImageFolder default (.\images\SystemName).
• 3.4: new Tools menu.

• 3.3.2: Edit System input trimming/validation.
• 3.3.1: MAME warning-only output handling fix.
• 3.3.0: Image Packs for several systems.

Image-pack downloads enabled.

File check before launching a favorite game.

Themes introduced.

• 2.15.1: favorite star icons · 2.15: EasyMode emulator updates · 2.14.4: Global Search AND/OR · 2.14.3-1: update-mechanism fixes · 2.14.0: Easy Mode · 2.13.0: experimental parameter checker · 2.12.1: error notifications · 2.12.0: system/image/emulator path checks · 2.11.x: search engine, cover handling · 2.10.0.10: vertical scroll fix · 2.9.0.90: show-all-games option · 2.8.0.5: Edit System menu · 2.7.0.1: gamepad auto-toggle · 2.6.2.3: .bat files as games · 2.4: mame.xml database · 2.3: thumbnail/gamepad menu items · 2.2: .NET 8.0 upgrade · 2.1: system.xml fixes · 2.0: major UI overhaul.

• 1.3: Xbox controller support · 1.2: fixes + CHD support · 1.1 (2023-08-29): initial release.

• 15 — Development (version bumping)
• 16 — Updater
• SimpleLauncher\WhatsNew.md (canonical changelog)

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