Call for contributors: Linux (x64) support for ScreenForge (Avalonia + FFmpeg)

[Hangell]

Call for contributors: Linux (x64) support for ScreenForge (Avalonia + FFmpeg)

ScreenForge currently builds and runs on Windows. We want to add Linux (x64) support next.
If you’ve run Avalonia on Linux (X11/Wayland) and know your way around FFmpeg, your help would be amazing!

Tracking issue: https://github.com/Hangell/ScreenForge/issues/XXXX

What we need

• Implement cross-platform FFmpeg discovery (env var → user tools dir → app tools dir → PATH).
• Ensure Linux build works on .NET 8: dotnet publish ScreenForge.App -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained false.
• Guard/remove Windows-only assumptions (paths, Win32 specifics).
• Update README with Linux install/build/run steps.
• (Nice to have) Add a Linux CI job; consider AppImage/Flatpak later.

Getting started

• Prereqs:
  • .NET 8 SDK (dotnet --list-sdks shows 8.x)
  • FFmpeg installed (ffmpeg -version works on terminal)
• Install examples:
  • Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt update && sudo apt install ffmpeg
  • Fedora: sudo dnf install ffmpeg
  • Arch: sudo pacman -S ffmpeg

Acceptance criteria

• ✅ App builds on linux-x64 (.NET 8) without Windows-only assumptions.
• ✅ With FFmpeg on PATH, recording works (manual smoke test: select region, start/stop, file created).
• ✅ FFmpeg path resolution covers:
  • SCREENFORGE_FFMPEG absolute path,
  • user tools dir fallback,
  • system PATH via which.
• ✅ README updated (install, build, run, troubleshooting).
• ✅ No binary artifacts committed (**/bin, **/obj, **/runtimes ignored).

How to contribute

• Comment here if you want to take a subtask; Draft PRs welcome.
• Labels on the issue: help wanted, platform:linux, avalonia, ffmpeg.
• If you are new to the repo, feel free to ask questions—happy to help you get started!

Thanks in advance for helping bring ScreenForge to Linux! 🙌