Fix UpdateChecker on GitHub Actions

.github/workflows/build-linux-flatpak.yml

@@ -46,6 +46,12 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
+          fetch-tags: true
+
+      - name: Populate Git Info for Sandboxed Build
+        run: |
+          echo "GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TSTAMP=$(git log -1 --format=%ct 2>/dev/null || echo '0')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TAG=$(git describe --tags --exact-match 2>/dev/null || echo '')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
       - name: Install Build Dependencies
         run: |

.github/workflows/build-linux.yml

@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
+          fetch-tags: true
 
       - name: Cache vcpkg
         id: cache-vcpkg

.github/workflows/build-macos.yml

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
+          fetch-tags: true
 
       - name: Cache brew packages
         id: cache-brew

Core/GameEngine/Source/Common/UpdateChecker.cpp

@@ -209,20 +209,28 @@ static int SDLCALL threadFunc(void* /*userData*/)
     }
     else
     {
-        const bool hasCommitTimestamp = GitCommitTimeStamp > 0;
-        char publishedAt[64] = {0};
-        if (hasCommitTimestamp && extractPublishedAt(responseBody, publishedAt, sizeof(publishedAt)))
+        // First check if the tag matches exactly. If it does, we are definitely on the latest version.
+        if (GitTag[0] != '\0' && strcmp(latestTag, GitTag) == 0)
         {
-            time_t remoteTime = parseISO8601(publishedAt);
-            // Signal update only when the remote release was published strictly
-            // AFTER the commit this binary was built from.
-            if (remoteTime != (time_t)-1 && remoteTime > GitCommitTimeStamp)
-                hasUpdate = true;
+            hasUpdate = false;
         }
-        else if (GitTag[0] != '\0')
+        else
         {
-            // No usable published_at comparison; fall back to tag string comparison.
-            hasUpdate = (strcmp(latestTag, GitTag) != 0);
+            const bool hasCommitTimestamp = GitCommitTimeStamp > 0;
+            char publishedAt[64] = {0};
+            if (hasCommitTimestamp && extractPublishedAt(responseBody, publishedAt, sizeof(publishedAt)))
+            {
+                time_t remoteTime = parseISO8601(publishedAt);
+                // Signal update only when the remote release was published strictly
+                // AFTER the commit this binary was built from.
+                if (remoteTime != (time_t)-1 && remoteTime > GitCommitTimeStamp)
+                    hasUpdate = true;
+            }
+            else if (GitTag[0] != '\0')
+            {
+                // No usable published_at comparison; fall back to tag string comparison.
+                hasUpdate = (strcmp(latestTag, GitTag) != 0);
+            }
         }
     }
 

docs/WORKLOG/2026-07-DIARY.md

@@ -38,3 +38,7 @@ Both issues have been resolved by adding proper counting filters in MiniAudio an
 - Preserved bone positioning logic in `SlavedUpdate.cpp` and fixed pointer dereferencing for `Coord3D` operations (`*obj->getPosition()`).
 - Accepted the upstream re-organization of GameClient UI code and removed deprecated ControlBar files.
 - Ensured deterministic math usage and successfully built the macOS target (`macos-vulkan`).
+## 13/07/2026
+### Update Checker Fixes for GitHub Actions
+- Fixed `UpdateChecker` not showing up in GitHub Actions deployments due to missing Git metadata in Flatpak builds and `actions/checkout` not fetching tags.
+- Fixed a logic bug where a newly compiled release would immediately flag itself as outdated.

resources/gitinfo/git_watcher.cmake

@@ -125,6 +125,33 @@ function(GetGitState _working_dir)
     # RunGitCommand ever returns a non-zero exit code.
     set(ENV{GIT_RETRIEVED_STATE} "true")
 
+    # Allow passing override variables from CI or sandboxed environments via file
+    include("${_working_dir}/.git-override.cmake" OPTIONAL)
+
+    if(DEFINED GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TSTAMP OR DEFINED GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TAG)
+        set(ENV{GIT_IS_DIRTY} "false")
+        if(DEFINED GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_IS_DIRTY)
+            set(ENV{GIT_IS_DIRTY} "${GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_IS_DIRTY}")
+        endif()
+        set(ENV{GIT_HEAD_SHA1} "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000")
+        set(ENV{GIT_AUTHOR_NAME} "GitHub Actions")
+        set(ENV{GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL} "actions@github.com")
+        set(ENV{GIT_COMMIT_DATE_ISO8601} "")
+        set(ENV{GIT_COMMIT_SUBJECT} "Override")
+        set(ENV{GIT_COMMIT_BODY} "\"\"")
+        set(ENV{GIT_COMMIT_TSTAMP} "0")
+        if(DEFINED GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TSTAMP)
+            set(ENV{GIT_COMMIT_TSTAMP} "${GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TSTAMP}")
+        endif()
+        set(ENV{GIT_HEAD_SHORT_SHA1} "00000000")
+        set(ENV{GIT_REV_LIST_COUNT} "0")
+        set(ENV{GIT_TAG} "")
+        if(DEFINED GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TAG)
+            set(ENV{GIT_TAG} "${GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TAG}")
+        endif()
+        return()
+    endif()
+
     if(GIT_EXECUTABLE)
         # Get whether or not the working tree is dirty.
         RunGitCommand(status --porcelain)

scripts/build/linux/build-linux-flatpak.sh

@@ -94,6 +94,15 @@ BUILDER_ARGS=(
     --install-deps-from=flathub
 )
 
+if [[ -n "${GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TAG:-}" ]] || [[ -n "${GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TSTAMP:-}" ]]; then
+    cat > "${PROJECT_ROOT}/.git-override.cmake" <<EOF
+set(GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TAG "${GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TAG:-}")
+set(GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TSTAMP "${GENERALS_GIT_OVERRIDE_TSTAMP:-0}")
+EOF
+else
+    rm -f "${PROJECT_ROOT}/.git-override.cmake"
+fi
+
 if [[ "${GENERALSX_FLATPAK_USE_CCACHE}" == "1" ]]; then
     BUILDER_ARGS+=(--ccache)
     echo "[$(ts)] flatpak-builder ccache enabled (GENERALSX_FLATPAK_USE_CCACHE=1)."