VM run 6 still hit the symlink crash even with signtoolOptions.sign=null.
electron-builder 26.8.1 treats null as 'use the default signtool path'
rather than 'skip signing', so the winCodeSign fetch + extraction still
fired for the bundled prebuild re-sign.
The Electron docs (electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/code-signing)
make it clear signing is OPTIONAL and unsigned apps work fine — users
just see SmartScreen on first launch. The electron-builder mechanism
for 'don't actually sign anything' is to supply a custom sign function
(via signtoolOptions.sign: '<path-to-cjs-module>') that resolves
without invoking signtool.
build-noop-sign.cjs is that module — a 5-line async function that
returns undefined. electron-builder calls it for every binary it would
have signed, gets back a resolved promise, and considers each binary
'signed.' No signtool spawn, no winCodeSign fetch, no symlink crash.
When Nous's cert arrives, replace this file with a real signing hook
(@electron/windows-sign-based or a direct signtool invocation). The
architecture's signing-ready and the cutover is a one-file edit.