📝 Some important Feedback: Kooha Source Builds Are Broken Across Tags and Releases

I'm a Ubuntu user and instructor seeking a lightweight, privacy-respecting screen recorder that:

Outputs .webm
Supports Wayland + PipeWire
Records both microphone and system audio
Allows for direct source builds (no Flatpak, no Snap)

After reviewing various options, I chose to try building Kooha from source, assuming a stable and professional toolchain.
❗ Summary of Issues Encountered

1. Cargo.lock Compatibility Errors

After cloning the repository and running cargo build --release, I immediately ran into:

lock file version 4 requires -Znext-lockfile-bump

This required installing a modern Rust toolchain via rustup, as the system Rust version (from apt) was too old.
❌ 2. Missing config.rs in All Tags

Even after checking out stable tags like v2.2.2 and v2.3.0, the build failed with:

error[E0583]: file not found for module config

Manual inspection confirmed src/config.rs is missing in both the master and release tarballs!!

I manually created src/config.rs with the following values to proceed:

pub const VERSION: &str = "2.3.0";
pub const PROFILE: &str = "release";
pub const APP_ID: &str = "com.github.seadve.Kooha";
pub const PKGDATADIR: &str = "/usr/share/kooha";
pub const RESOURCES_FILE: &str = "/usr/share/kooha/resources.gresource";
pub const GETTEXT_PACKAGE: &str = "kooha";
pub const LOCALEDIR: &str = "/usr/share/locale";

3. Missing GResource Manifest / Runtime Assets

Upon successfully building, running the executable failed with:

Could not load gresource file: /usr/share/kooha/resources.gresource: No such file or directory

There is no resources.xml in the repository or the release tarball !! (come on!!)

I attempted:

find . -name "resources.xml"

Nothing was found. Therefore, it's impossible to compile resources.gresource.

4. Release Tarballs on GitHub Are Also Incomplete

I downloaded kooha-2.3.0.tar.gz from the GitHub releases page, assuming that it would contain pre-generated build files.

It does not.

It’s missing both config.rs and the required resources.xml.

Why I Avoid Flatpak

I intentionally avoid Flatpak (and Snap) for reasons that matter to many serious Linux users:

Full control over system packages
Avoid duplicated sandboxed runtimes
Easier integration with low-level CLI tools and scripting
Better alignment with Unix philosophy and reproducibility

Building from source should be a first-class supported path — especially for a GNOME app aimed at the open-source community.

Request to the Kooha Team (please):

Please consider:

Include config.rs and resources.xml in all tagged releases
Or provide a build.rs script that dynamically generates config.rs
Or at least add a minimal Meson-based build option for GResource generation
Or document required post-cargo build steps clearly in README.md
Ensure the release tarballs include all necessary runtime files

Since the build was unsuccessful and I’m pivoting to other tools, I’ll:

Remove ~/Kooha and all build artifacts
Clear any manually patched libadwaita-1.pc files
Restore /usr/share/kooha if anything was created

I may revisit Kooha in the future if source builds are treated as stable, complete, and user-respecting.

Context you may need:
Platform: Ubuntu 24.04 (Wayland + PipeWire)
Rust: via rustup (1.70+)
GTK / Adwaita: via system libraries (libadwaita-1.5)
Flatpak refused for philosophical/system reasons (are you serious we're gonna turn like Microsoft soon the way things are going)...