SonyDev Bypass

Open-source Windows desktop client for syncing a remote catalog, checking releases, and downloading packaged files through a single launcher UI.

What This Repository Contains

• The current WPF/.NET 8 desktop application
• Release packaging scripts for Velopack and Inno Setup
• A safe public source drop with no production API secrets
• Documentation for self-hosting the catalog and update endpoints

This repository does not include:

• production X-Secret-Key values
• private server credentials
• live infrastructure secrets
• internal-only test releases

Project Status

The source code is published so users can inspect the application, verify what it does, and contribute improvements. The official production backend is not bundled here. To run the app against your own infrastructure, create a local runtime config from sonydev.runtime.example.json.

Stack

• .NET 8
• WPF
• Velopack for update packaging
• Inno Setup for the wrapper installer

Repository Layout

• SonyDevBypass.App - main desktop application
• Installer - Inno Setup wrapper and helper scripts
• Releases - release metadata such as latest.json
• docs/self-hosting - example deployment and backend notes

Quick Start

1. Install prerequisites

• .NET 8 SDK
• Velopack CLI: dotnet tool update -g vpk --version 0.0.1298
• Inno Setup 6 if you want to build the installer wrapper

2. Create local runtime config

Copy sonydev.runtime.example.json to sonydev.runtime.json and replace the placeholder endpoints with your own.

The file is intentionally ignored by git. Release builds do not auto-bundle your local sonydev.runtime.json, so copy it next to the published app only when you explicitly intend to ship that config.

3. Build the app

dotnet build .\SonyDevBypass.sln

4. Run a release publish

dotnet publish .\SonyDevBypass.App\SonyDevBypass.App.csproj `
  -c Release `
  -r win-x64 `
  --self-contained true `
  -o .\artifacts\publish

If you want the published app to target a real backend, copy an explicit runtime file into the publish folder yourself, for example Copy-Item .\sonydev.runtime.json .\artifacts\publish\sonydev.runtime.json. This is now a manual step on purpose.

Runtime Configuration

The app reads runtime settings from sonydev.runtime.json. It also supports these environment variables:

• SONYDEV_RUNTIME_CONFIG
• SONYDEV_CATALOG_API_URL
• SONYDEV_GAMES_BASE_URL
• SONYDEV_UPDATES_BASE_URL
• SONYDEV_SECRET_KEY
• SONYDEV_PACKAGE_ID
• SONYDEV_PACKAGE_TITLE
• SONYDEV_UPDATE_CHANNEL
• SONYDEV_INSTALL_DIR
• SONYDEV_OFFICIAL_WEBSITE

Default values in the public repository point to example.invalid on purpose so the open-source build cannot accidentally target private infrastructure. For public open-source releases, do not ship a real shared secret in the client runtime config. Prefer a public read-only catalog/update endpoint or a real per-user server-side auth flow.

Self-Hosting

The app expects:

• a catalog endpoint exposed either through catalog_api_url or a legacy directory listing under games_base_url
• an update endpoint that serves latest.json, Velopack metadata, and setup packages
• optional header-based protection if you want to require a shared secret

Start with:

• docs/self-hosting/README.md
• docs/self-hosting/nginx.example.conf

Release Workflow

Build packages

vpk pack `
  --outputDir .\Releases `
  --channel win-x64-beta `
  --runtime win-x64 `
  --packId SonyDevBypass `
  --packVersion 1.2.6-beta `
  --packDir .\artifacts\publish `
  --mainExe SonyDevBypass.exe `
  --packTitle "SonyDev Bypass" `
  --packAuthors "SonyDev" `
  --icon .\SonyDevBypass.App\Assets\icon.ico

Build the Inno Setup wrapper

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Installer\build-inno.ps1

If you want Windows metadata patched on the published executable, place rcedit-x64.exe into Installer before running Installer/patch-apphost-metadata.ps1.

Open Source, License, and Branding

Source code in this repository is released under GPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE.

Brand names, logos, icons, and official project identity are handled separately. If you redistribute a modified build, keep the copyright and license notices, mark your changes, and do not present the result as an official SonyDev release.

Relevant files:

• NOTICE
• TRADEMARKS.md
• SonyDevBypass.App/Assets/README.md

Contributing and Security

• Contribution guide: CONTRIBUTING.md
• Security reporting: SECURITY.md

Official Links

• Website: sonydev.de
• Releases: github.com/SonyDew/SonyDev-Bypass/releases
• Issues: github.com/SonyDew/SonyDev-Bypass/issues