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  YT Live Streamer v2.2.6 — Windows Build Instructions
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REQUIREMENTS
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• Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
• Python 3.10 or newer  →  https://python.org/downloads
  ✔ Tick "Add Python to PATH" when installing!
• Internet connection (to install PyInstaller via pip)

QUICK BUILD (one double-click)
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1. Unzip this folder somewhere on your Windows machine.
2. Double-click  build_windows.bat
3. Wait ~60 seconds.
4. Find your ready-to-run app at:
     dist\YT_Live_Streamer\YT_Live_Streamer.exe

MANUAL BUILD (if the batch file doesn't work)
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Open a Command Prompt in this folder and run:

    pip install pyinstaller
    pyinstaller streamer_windows.spec
    xcopy /e /i streamer_plugins dist\YT_Live_Streamer\streamer_plugins

DISTRIBUTING TO OTHER PCs
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Zip the entire  dist\YT_Live_Streamer\  folder.
The recipient does NOT need Python installed — everything is
bundled inside the folder.

Do NOT distribute just the .exe on its own — it needs all the
other files in that folder to run.

PLUGINS
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The app loads plugins dynamically from  %USERPROFILE%\streamer_plugins\
(i.e. C:\Users\YourName\streamer_plugins\) at startup.

The build script copies the plugin .py files into the dist folder
for convenience.  On first run the app will read from that location.

WINDOWS-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES FROM LINUX
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• The "Open Plugins Folder" button opens File Explorer instead of
  a Linux file manager — this works automatically on Windows.
• Config files are still stored in the user's home folder
  (%USERPROFILE%) just like on Linux (~/).
• ffmpeg / yt-dlp need to be on the Windows PATH (or placed in the
  same folder as the .exe) for streaming features to work.
  Download ffmpeg: https://ffmpeg.org/download.html  (Windows builds)
  Download yt-dlp: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/releases

TROUBLESHOOTING
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• "Windows protected your PC" SmartScreen warning on first run:
  Click "More info" → "Run anyway".  This is normal for unsigned apps.

• App crashes immediately with no window:
  Open a Command Prompt, navigate to dist\YT_Live_Streamer\ and run:
      YT_Live_Streamer.exe
  This shows any error messages in the console.

• Plugins not loading:
  Make sure  %USERPROFILE%\streamer_plugins\  exists and contains the
  .py plugin files.

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