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TidyWindow Tech Stack

This document lists the primary technologies, libraries, and tooling that power TidyWindow.

Application Layers

Layer Technology Purpose
UI WPF (.NET 8) Desktop shell, navigation, dialogs, animations.
ViewModel CommunityToolkit.Mvvm Observable properties, RelayCommand, dependency injection-friendly MVVM plumbing.
Core Services .NET 8 class libraries Cleanup engine, install orchestrators, registry management, automation scheduling.
Automation PowerShell 7 scripts + modules OS-level work (repairs, installs, diagnostics).
Data YAML / JSON Catalog definitions (install bundles, process catalog), persisted state snapshots, automation reports.
Installer Inno Setup Generates distributable .exe installers for releases.

Key Libraries & Packages

  • CommunityToolkit.Mvvm – MVVM helpers (observable properties, commands, messaging).
  • Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection – DI container for WPF composition.
  • System.Text.Json – JSON serialization (reports, activity log details, automation payloads).
  • YamlDotNet – Catalog parsing (bundles, process metadata, registry definitions).
  • FluentValidation (select components) – Input validation where strong constraints are required.
  • Windows APIs – Via P/Invoke for recycle bin operations, privilege adjustments, scheduled tasks.

PowerShell Environment

  • TidyWindow.Automation module under automation/modules/ centralises logging, error handling, JSON output helpers, and elevation utilities.
  • Scripts use pwsh by default but gracefully fall back to Windows PowerShell if 7.x is unavailable.
  • Automation is convention-driven: every script returns structured objects that PowerShellInvoker parses.

Build & Packaging

  • dotnet build/test – Standard .NET CLI workflows managed via Directory.Build.props/targets.
  • CI – GitHub Actions (not shown here) run builds and tests; release pipelines produce signed installers.
  • Inno Setup – installer/TidyWindowInstaller.iss packages binaries, resources, and automation assets for distribution.
  • Versioning – Assembly version and installer version track the app release (current: 2.9.0).

Runtime Services

  • PowerShellInvoker – Executes scripts with runspace pooling, JSON capture, and fallback to external pwsh processes.
  • ActivityLogService – In-memory structured logging with UI integration and PulseGuard signals.
  • PulseGuardService – Notification engine driving toast alerts and high-friction prompts.
  • CleanupService – Low-level file management (preview/deletion) written entirely in C# for speed and safety.
  • ProcessAutoStopEnforcer – Windows service controller wrapper for Known Processes automation.
  • MaintenanceAutoUpdateScheduler – Queues winget/Chocolatey/Scoop updates via PowerShell.

Data Storage & State

  • Preferences – JSON persisted under %AppData%/TidyWindow/ (user scope) via UserPreferencesService.
  • Automation State – Stored in %ProgramData%/TidyWindow/ for machine-wide visibility (cleanup automation, process enforcement, registry restore points).
  • Catalogs – YAML/JSON definitions under data/catalog/ (bundles, processes, cleanup definitions).

Testing Infrastructure

  • xUnit – Unit tests across tests/ projects.
  • Moq / NSubstitute – Mocking frameworks (where applicable) for ViewModel/service tests.
  • PowerShell Harnesses – Helper scripts under tools/ to validate catalog integrity and script execution in isolation.

Tooling & Developer Experience

  • VS Code / Visual Studio – Both supported; XAML hot reload works best in Visual Studio 2022.
  • EditorConfig – Enforces code style and consistent formatting across C# and PowerShell.
  • Git Hooks (optional) – Recommended to run dotnet format before committing.

Operating System Integration

  • Windows Task Scheduler – Manages startup tasks for background mode.
  • Windows Notifications – PulseGuard toasts via Win32 APIs and AppUserModelID declarations.
  • System Restore / Recycle Bin – Registry optimizer and cleanup flows leverage restore points and the recycle bin for safety.

Observability

  • Activity Log + PulseGuard – Real-time logging and actionable toasts.
  • CrashLogService – Captures unhandled exceptions (dispatcher, task scheduler, AppDomain) to %LocalAppData%/TidyWindow/logs.
  • High-Friction Prompts – Guidance UI for risky operations (registry tweaks, forced deletes).

Release Artifacts

  • Installer – Versioned Inno Setup executable.
  • Portable Build – Unzipped binaries (out/ folder) for manual deployment.
  • Documentation – Markdown under docs/ shipped with the repo and packaged releases.