fix: Replace Unicode symbols with ASCII for Windows CI compatibility (v1.0.2)

Fixes Unicode encoding errors in GitHub Actions Windows runners that
use cp1252 encoding which cannot handle Unicode checkmarks and crosses.

Changes:
- Replaced all ✓ with [OK] in install_ffmpeg.py and build.py
- Replaced all ✗ with [ERROR] in install_ffmpeg.py and build.py
- Replaced ⚠ with [WARNING] in build.py
- Added PYTHONIOENCODING=utf-8 to workflow FFmpeg install step
- Bumped version to 1.0.2
- Updated CHANGELOG.md with fix details

This ensures the build scripts work correctly on Windows GitHub Actions
runners without encoding errors.

Fixes the UnicodeEncodeError that was blocking automated releases.

Author: Adam

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install FFmpeg
         run: |
           python install_ffmpeg.py --auto
+        env:
+          PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8'
         continue-on-error: false
 
       - name: Build executable with PyInstaller

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -5,6 +5,14 @@ All notable changes to TranscribAIr will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [1.0.2] - 2025-11-13
+
+### Fixed
+- CI/CD workflow: Fixed Unicode encoding errors in Windows GitHub Actions (cp1252 codec)
+- Replaced all Unicode checkmarks (✓) and crosses (✗) with ASCII equivalents ([OK], [ERROR])
+- Added UTF-8 encoding environment variable to workflow steps
+- Build and installation scripts now work correctly on Windows CI runners
+
 ## [1.0.1] - 2025-11-13
 
 ### Fixed

README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # TranscribAIr
 
-[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.0.1-blue.svg)](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases)
+[![Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/version-1.0.2-blue.svg)](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases)
 [![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green.svg)](LICENSE)
 [![Python](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.9%2B-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
 
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ A desktop application for audio transcription powered by OpenAI's Whisper model.
 
 **Download the pre-built installer from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr/releases)**
 
-1. Download `TranscribAIr-1.0.1-Setup.exe`
+1. Download `TranscribAIr-1.0.2-Setup.exe`
 2. Run the installer
 3. Follow the installation wizard
 4. Launch TranscribAIr from Start Menu or Desktop shortcut

__version__.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 TranscribAIr version information.
 """
 
-__version__ = "1.0.1"
+__version__ = "1.0.2"
 __version_info__ = tuple(int(i) for i in __version__.split("."))
 
 # Application metadata

build.py

@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ def check_requirements():
     """Check if required tools are installed."""
     try:
         import PyInstaller
-        print("✓ PyInstaller found")
+        print("[OK] PyInstaller found")
     except ImportError:
-        print("✗ PyInstaller not found")
+        print("[ERROR] PyInstaller not found")
         print("  Install with: pip install pyinstaller")
         return False
 
@@ -46,10 +46,10 @@ def install_ffmpeg():
         if installer.install():
             return installer.get_ffmpeg_path()
         else:
-            print("\n✗ FFmpeg installation failed!")
+            print("\n[ERROR] FFmpeg installation failed!")
             return None
     else:
-        print("\n✗ Build requires FFmpeg to be installed.")
+        print("\n[ERROR] Build requires FFmpeg to be installed.")
         return None
 
 
@@ -100,22 +100,22 @@ def build_executable(ffmpeg_path: str):
         exe_size = get_size_mb(exe_path)
 
         print("\n" + "=" * 50)
-        print("✓ Build successful!")
+        print("[OK] Build successful!")
         print("=" * 50)
         print(f"\nExecutable: {exe_path}")
         print(f"Size: {exe_size:.2f} MB")
         print("\nOptimizations applied:")
-        print("  ✓ Excluded unused packages")
-        print("  ✓ UPX compression enabled")
-        print("  ✓ Debug symbols stripped")
-        print("  ✓ FFmpeg bundled ({} executables)".format(
+        print("  [OK] Excluded unused packages")
+        print("  [OK] UPX compression enabled")
+        print("  [OK] Debug symbols stripped")
+        print("  [OK] FFmpeg bundled ({} executables)".format(
             len([f for f in (Path(ffmpeg_path).parent if Path(ffmpeg_path).is_file() else Path(ffmpeg_path)).glob('*.exe')])
         ))
         print("\nNote: FFmpeg is bundled in the executable.")
         print("      First run will download the selected Whisper model.")
         print("      Models are cached in: %USERPROFILE%\\.transcribair\\models")
     else:
-        print("\n✗ Build failed!")
+        print("\n[ERROR] Build failed!")
         return False
 
     return True
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ def update_spec_with_ffmpeg(ffmpeg_path: str):
             ffmpeg_files.append((str(exe_path), 'ffmpeg'))
 
     if not ffmpeg_files:
-        print("⚠ Warning: No FFmpeg executables found to bundle")
+        print("[WARNING] No FFmpeg executables found to bundle")
         return
 
     # Read current spec
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ def update_spec_with_ffmpeg(ffmpeg_path: str):
     with open(spec_file, 'w') as f:
         f.write(spec_content)
 
-    print(f"✓ Bundling {len(ffmpeg_files)} FFmpeg executables")
+    print(f"[OK] Bundling {len(ffmpeg_files)} FFmpeg executables")
 
 
 def main():

install_ffmpeg.py

@@ -31,13 +31,13 @@ def is_installed(self) -> bool:
         """Check if FFmpeg is already available."""
         # Check in PATH
         if shutil.which("ffmpeg"):
-            print("✓ FFmpeg already installed in system PATH")
+            print("[OK] FFmpeg already installed in system PATH")
             return True
 
         # Check in our install directory
         ffmpeg_exe = self.install_dir / ("ffmpeg.exe" if self.system == "Windows" else "ffmpeg")
         if ffmpeg_exe.exists():
-            print(f"✓ FFmpeg found in {self.install_dir}")
+            print(f"[OK] FFmpeg found in {self.install_dir}")
             self._add_to_path()
             return True
 
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def install(self):
         print("-" * 50)
 
         if self.system not in self.FFMPEG_URLS:
-            print(f"✗ Automatic installation not supported for {self.system}")
+            print(f"[ERROR] Automatic installation not supported for {self.system}")
             print("  Please install FFmpeg manually:")
             print("  https://ffmpeg.org/download.html")
             return False
@@ -74,15 +74,15 @@ def install(self):
 
             # Verify
             if self._verify_installation():
-                print("\n✓ FFmpeg installed successfully!")
+                print("\n[OK] FFmpeg installed successfully!")
                 self._add_to_path()
                 return True
             else:
-                print("\n✗ FFmpeg installation verification failed")
+                print("\n[ERROR] FFmpeg installation verification failed")
                 return False
 
         except Exception as e:
-            print(f"\n✗ Installation failed: {str(e)}")
+            print(f"\n[ERROR] Installation failed: {str(e)}")
             return False
 
     def _download_with_progress(self, url: str, output_path: Path):

installer.iss

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 ; The installer will be created in the Output directory
 
 #define MyAppName "TranscribAIr"
-#define MyAppVersion "1.0.1"
+#define MyAppVersion "1.0.2"
 #define MyAppPublisher "Swansea University"
 #define MyAppURL "https://github.com/otherworld-dev/TranscribAIr"
 #define MyAppExeName "Transcribair.exe"