From 1d7a87ec315fc1fafbf9f10d077f348184a2115a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Labib-Bin-Salam <Labibsalam0@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2026 06:50:23 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Warn when an app description exceeds the recommended length

A `description` longer than 256 characters silently corrupts the shortcut
icon path in Windows MSI installers (the path prefix is truncated by the
overflow amount). Descriptions are meant to be short, single-line summaries;
longer text belongs in `long_description`.

Briefcase now emits a warning during config parsing when an app's
`description` is longer than 80 characters, pointing the user at
`long_description`. The value is still preserved as-is.

Refs #2864.
---
 changes/2864.bugfix.md            |  1 +
 src/briefcase/config.py           | 20 ++++++++++
 tests/config/test_parse_config.py | 62 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 83 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 changes/2864.bugfix.md

diff --git a/changes/2864.bugfix.md b/changes/2864.bugfix.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..39c008cd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changes/2864.bugfix.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Briefcase now warns when an app's `description` is longer than 80 characters, as overly long descriptions can be truncated by some packaging formats (such as Windows MSI shortcut icons).
diff --git a/src/briefcase/config.py b/src/briefcase/config.py
index 11cad0623..792001a99 100644
--- a/src/briefcase/config.py
+++ b/src/briefcase/config.py
@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@
     "and cannot end with '-' or '_')."
 )
 
+# The `description` is a short, single-line summary of the app. Longer values
+# belong in `long_description`. Some packaging formats embed the description in
+# length-limited fields (e.g. Windows MSI shortcuts truncate at 256 characters,
+# corrupting the icon path), so Briefcase warns when it exceeds this length.
+MAX_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH = 80
+
 
 def is_valid_pep508_name(app_name):
     """Determine if the name is valid by PEP508 rules."""
@@ -1463,6 +1469,20 @@ def parse_config(config_file: Path, platform, output_format, console):
         # Normalize license fields to PEP 639 representation.
         normalize_license_config(config, app_name, base_path, console)
 
+        # The description should be a short, single-line summary. Warn (but don't
+        # fail) if it's too long, as some packaging formats embed it in
+        # length-limited fields; for example, an over-long description corrupts
+        # the shortcut icon path in Windows MSI installers.
+        description = config.get("description")
+        if isinstance(description, str) and len(description) > MAX_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH:
+            console.warning(
+                f"The description for {app_name!r} is {len(description)} characters "
+                f"long. Briefcase recommends a description of no more than "
+                f"{MAX_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH} characters; longer descriptions may be "
+                f"truncated when packaging for some platforms. Move any detailed "
+                f"text into the `long_description` field."
+            )
+
         # Construct a configuration object, and add it to the list
         # of configurations that are being handled.
         app_configs[app_name] = config
diff --git a/tests/config/test_parse_config.py b/tests/config/test_parse_config.py
index 91f197534..e8254dd42 100644
--- a/tests/config/test_parse_config.py
+++ b/tests/config/test_parse_config.py
@@ -754,6 +754,68 @@ def test_pep_621_merge(tmp_path):
     }
 
 
+def test_long_description_warning(tmp_path):
+    """A description longer than the recommended length raises a warning."""
+    long_description = "This is a needlessly long app description " + ("x" * 50)
+    assert len(long_description) > 80
+
+    config_file = create_file(
+        tmp_path / "pyproject.toml",
+        f"""
+        [tool.briefcase]
+        license = "MIT"
+
+        [tool.briefcase.app.my_app]
+        description = "{long_description}"
+        """,
+    )
+
+    console = Mock()
+    _, apps = parse_config(
+        config_file,
+        platform="macOS",
+        output_format="Xcode",
+        console=console,
+    )
+
+    # The description is preserved as-is...
+    assert apps["my_app"]["description"] == long_description
+    # ...but the user is warned that it's too long.
+    console.warning.assert_called_once()
+    warning_text = console.warning.call_args[0][0]
+    assert "my_app" in warning_text
+    assert str(len(long_description)) in warning_text
+    assert "long_description" in warning_text
+
+
+def test_short_description_no_warning(tmp_path):
+    """A description at the recommended length doesn't raise a warning."""
+    # A description that is exactly at the limit is acceptable.
+    description = "x" * 80
+    assert len(description) == 80
+
+    config_file = create_file(
+        tmp_path / "pyproject.toml",
+        f"""
+        [tool.briefcase]
+        license = "MIT"
+
+        [tool.briefcase.app.my_app]
+        description = "{description}"
+        """,
+    )
+
+    console = Mock()
+    parse_config(
+        config_file,
+        platform="macOS",
+        output_format="Xcode",
+        console=console,
+    )
+
+    console.warning.assert_not_called()
+
+
 def test_license_pep621_table_with_files_is_error(tmp_path):
     """PEP 621 table format mixed with license-files raises an error."""
     config_file = create_file(