chore: modernize CI and packaging

[HTRamsey]

Summary

Modernizes the CI and packaging pipeline across platforms:

Windows / NSIS

• Replace the hand-maintained deploy/windows/nullsoft_installer.nsi + CreateWinInstaller.cmake with CPack's NSIS generator (CreateCPackNSIS.cmake), built via a qgc-package target.
• CI now exercises an install → upgrade-to-a-new-directory → verify flow, checking that the previous install is removed and user settings in %APPDATA%\QGroundControl survive the upgrade.

Linux native packages

• New FinalizeNativePackage.cmake and .github/scripts/validate_native_package.py (with unit tests): validates deb/rpm/pacman payload layout — required paths present, Qt runtime bundled privately under /opt/QGroundControl, and no dev headers/static libs/pkgconfig/cmake metadata or global /usr/lib Qt/GStreamer leakage.
• Docker-based validation script (deploy/docker/validate-native-package.sh) wired into the docker workflow.

Apple

• Rework cmake/platform/Apple.cmake and templated iOS Info.plist.app.in.

General CI

• Readable multi-line runs_on expressions, attestation/upload action updates, GStreamer/analysis/profile/custom-build workflow touch-ups, runs-on.yml runner config.

Test Plan

• Windows workflow: NSIS package builds, install/upgrade/verify steps pass
• Linux workflow: deb/rpm/pacman packages pass validate_native_package.py
• macOS/iOS workflows green
• pytest .github/scripts/tests/test_validate_native_package.py passes

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 31.38%. Comparing base (f29efd3) to head (d20ae7f).
⚠️ Report is 135 commits behind head on master.
✅ All tests successful. No failed tests found.

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##           master   #14600      +/-   ##
==========================================
+ Coverage   25.47%   31.38%   +5.91%     
==========================================
  Files         769      903     +134     
  Lines       65912    81188   +15276     
  Branches    30495    37641    +7146     
==========================================
+ Hits        16788    25480    +8692     
- Misses      37285    38062     +777     
- Partials    11839    17646    +5807     

Flag	Coverage Δ
unittests	31.38% <ø> (+5.91%)	⬆️

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
src/LogManager/LogManager.cc	31.21% <ø> (ø)
src/LogManager/LogManager.h	66.66% <ø> (-33.34%)	⬇️
.../QtLocationPlugin/Providers/GenericMapProvider.cpp	21.95% <ø> (ø)
...rc/QtLocationPlugin/Providers/GenericMapProvider.h	80.73% <ø> (ø)
src/QtLocationPlugin/QGCCachedTileSet.cpp	6.14% <ø> (ø)
src/QtLocationPlugin/QGCCachedTileSet.h	100.00% <ø> (ø)
src/QtLocationPlugin/QGeoFileTileCacheQGC.cpp	20.40% <ø> (ø)
src/QtLocationPlugin/QGeoMapReplyQGC.cpp	18.65% <ø> (ø)
src/QtLocationPlugin/QGeoMapReplyQGC.h	0.00% <ø> (ø)
src/QtLocationPlugin/QGeoTileFetcherQGC.cpp	23.80% <ø> (ø)
... and 3 more

... and 560 files with indirect coverage changes

---

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[github-actions]

Build Results

Platform Status

Platform	Status	Details
Linux	Passed	View
Windows	Passed	View
MacOS	Passed	View
Android	Passed	View

All builds passed.

Pre-commit

Check	Status	Details
pre-commit	Failed (non-blocking)	View

Pre-commit hooks: 32 passed, 8 failed, 0 skipped.

Test Results

linux-coverage-integration: 28 passed, 0 skipped
linux-coverage-unit: 136 passed, 0 skipped
Total: 164 passed, 0 skipped

Code Coverage

Coverage	Baseline	Change
65.9%	66.6%	-0.7%

Artifact Sizes

Artifact	Size	Δ from master
QGroundControl	252.51 MB	+26.20 MB (increase)
QGroundControl-aarch64	179.62 MB	+0.19 MB (increase)
QGroundControl-installer-AMD64	128.24 MB	-10.14 MB (decrease)
QGroundControl-installer-AMD64-ARM64	70.65 MB	-10.02 MB (decrease)
QGroundControl-installer-ARM64	99.39 MB	-9.81 MB (decrease)
QGroundControl-linux	87.10 MB	-78.79 MB (decrease)
QGroundControl-mac	87.09 MB	+0.00 MB (increase)
QGroundControl-windows	86.16 MB	+0.01 MB (increase)
QGroundControl-x86_64	191.43 MB	-0.22 MB (decrease)
Total size decreased by 82.58 MB

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_{Updated: 2026-07-16 05:45:30 UTC • Commit: d20ae7f • Triggered by: Android}

[github-advanced-security]

CodeQL found more than 20 potential problems in the proposed changes. Check the Files changed tab for more details.

[Copilot]

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