changelog.md

Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

[2025-08-18] - Feature: Input Validation and Error Handling

Summary of Changes

• Feature: Comprehensive Error Handling:

  • Implemented robust error handling for the entire application, focusing on the "Create VM" tab.
  • The application now provides clear, user-friendly feedback for both invalid user input and backend script failures.

• Frontend: Input Validation:

  • Added a new validators.py module with functions to validate user input (e.g., checking for empty fields, valid integers, IP addresses, etc.).
  • The "Create VM" form in CreateVMTab.py now uses these validators to check all fields before attempting to run the creation script.
  • If validation fails, an informative error message is displayed to the user, preventing invalid data from being processed.

• Backend: Script Error Handling:

  • Created a new exceptions.py module with a custom ScriptError exception.
  • Refactored the PowerShell script execution functions in lib/functions.py to be more robust. They now check the script's exit code and capture stderr.
  • If a PowerShell script fails, it now raises a ScriptError, which is caught by the UI.
  • The user is now shown a detailed error message, including the error output from the script, which is critical for debugging issues like missing Hyper-V modules or incorrect permissions.

• Code Quality:

  • The changes make the application more reliable and user-friendly by preventing silent failures and providing clear guidance to the user when things go wrong.

[2025-08-18] - Fix: Automatic Window Resizing

Summary of Changes

• Fix: Automatic Window Resizing:
  • The application window now automatically resizes at startup to be large enough to accommodate the largest tab (Create VM tab).
  • This prevents UI elements from being cut off and removes the need for users to manually resize the window.
  • The implementation calculates the required size by inspecting all tabs before the main window is drawn.

[2025-08-18] - Refactor: UI Library and Theming Engine

Summary of Changes

• Major Refactor: Replaced ttkthemes with customtkinter:

  • The entire UI theming engine has been migrated from the ttkthemes and standard tkinter.ttk libraries to the more modern customtkinter library. This provides a more consistent and visually appealing look and feel across all components, with better support for light and dark modes.
  • All UI components (App.py, Statusbar.py, Notebook.py, and all its tabs) have been refactored to use customtkinter widgets (e.g., CTkButton, CTkFrame) instead of their ttk counterparts.

• Code Cleanup:

  • Removed the now-obsolete lib/ui_helpers.py, components/AdminButton.py, and style.py files, as their functionality is now handled directly by customtkinter.
  • Updated requirements.txt to remove ttkthemes and add customtkinter.

• Bug Fixes:

  • Resolved several bugs that arose during the refactoring process, including:
    • A ValueError on startup caused by passing unsupported arguments (relief, border) to CTkFrame widgets.
    • An issue where the main window would close immediately after starting.
    • A bug where the "Edition" ComboBox in the "Create VM" tab was clickable before being populated, which has been fixed by disabling the widget until it is ready.

• Documentation:

  • The UI_STYLE_GUIDE.md has been completely rewritten to reflect the new design system based on customtkinter.

[2025-08-12] - Fix: PyInstaller Build and Theme Toggling

Summary of Changes

• Fix: PyInstaller Theme Asset Bundling:
  • Resolved a critical runtime error in the compiled executable where theme assets (.png files) were not found.
  • The ttkthemes library's data files are now correctly bundled with the application.
• Build: Introduced PyInstaller Hook for ttkthemes:
  • The build process now uses a custom PyInstaller hook (hooks/hook-ttkthemes.py) to correctly bundle the ttkthemes data files.
  • The hook uses collect_data_files to ensure all theme assets are found and included in the final executable, which is a more robust method than manually specifying paths in the build.spec file.
  • The build.spec has been updated to use the new hook.

[2025-08-11] - Implemented ttkthemes

Summary of Changes

• Feature: ttkthemes Integration:
  • Integrated the ttkthemes library to allow for more advanced and modern UI theming.
  • The application now uses the "arc" theme as its default, providing a cleaner and more modern look and feel.
• Refactor: Theming Engine:
  • The main application window in App.py was updated to inherit from ttkthemes.ThemedTk.
  • The custom styling in style.py was adapted to layer on top of the ttkthemes theme, preserving custom widget styles while leveraging the new base theme.

[2025-08-10] - UI Reorganization of Notebook Tabs

Summary of Changes

• Refactor: Relocated Buttons for Better Organization:
  • The buttons from the "General" tab have been reorganized into more contextually appropriate tabs to improve user experience and logical grouping.
  • "Domain Management" buttons (Join Domain, Install AD) have been moved to the AD Tab.
  • "System & Access" and "Machine Configuration" buttons have been moved to the Advanced Tab.
  • The "General" tab now retains only the "PowerShell" buttons for launching consoles, serving as a more focused "Tools" or "Quick Actions" tab.
  • The ADTab.py and AdvancedTab.py components were updated from empty placeholders to fully functional tabs containing the relocated controls.

[2025-08-09] - Documentation and Repository Cleanup

Summary of Changes

• Docs: Enhanced README.md: The project's README.md has been completely overhauled to provide a comprehensive overview of the application. The new README includes a clear description of the project, a detailed list of key features, technology stack, and clear instructions for setup and usage.
• Chore: Branch Cleanup: Attempted to clean up stale remote branches. This action was not completed due to repository permission issues.

[2025-08-09] - UI/UX and Architectural Alignment

Summary of Changes

This update focuses on a comprehensive refactoring of the codebase to ensure all components and elements align with the official style guide and documentation. The goal was to improve code quality, visual consistency, and maintainability.

• Refactor: Full UI Component Styling:

  • All UI components have been refactored to use the central styling system and helper functions from lib/ui_helpers.py.
  • Manually styled ttk widgets in CreateVMTab.py, QuickShellTab.py, and Statusbar.py have been replaced with their Styled* equivalents.
  • This ensures a consistent look and feel across the entire application, adhering to the UI_STYLE_GUIDE.md.

• Refactor: Architectural Styling Improvements:

  • The style.py module was refactored to remove duplicated color and font constants, and now imports them from the single source of truth at lib/material_constants.py.
  • The custom canvas-based RoundedButton was removed from lib/ui_helpers.py to improve performance and maintainability.
  • The StyledButton helper now creates a standard ttk.Button with the primary theme style, making it consistent with the AdminButton component.
  • The AdminButton component is now styled with the standard TButton style, making it visually consistent with other buttons.

• Documentation: Script Updates:

  • The script documentation at documentation/scripts.md has been updated to include previously undocumented scripts that are used by the UI (setComputerName.ps1, installBGInfo.ps1, setupAD.ps1).

• Fix: Application Startup Error:

  • Fixed a critical ImportError caused by the missing DARK_PALETTE constant in lib/material_constants.py.
  • Fixed a TypeError on startup caused by component classes incorrectly inheriting from a UI helper function instead of a ttk.Frame.
  • Refactored all UI helper functions in lib/ui_helpers.py to correctly handle keyword arguments, fixing a TypeError when using textvariable with StyledLabel.

[2025-08-09] - Azure Integration and New Scripts

Summary of Changes

This update introduces a new "Azure" tab to the application for managing Azure resources, adds several new local administration scripts, and improves user feedback in existing scripts.

• Feature: Azure Integration:

  • A new "Azure" tab has been added to the notebook interface.
  • New PowerShell scripts for Azure automation have been created in scripts/Azure-Automation/, including:
    • Connect-Azure.ps1
    • Get-AzureResourceGroup.ps1
    • Get-AzureStorageAccount.ps1
    • New-AzureVM.ps1
  • A new UI component, components/Notebook/AzureTab.py, was created to house the buttons for the Azure scripts.

• Feature: New Local Admin Scripts:

  • Added three new scripts for common local administrative tasks:
    • Get-DiskSpace.ps1
    • Get-RunningServices.ps1
    • Create-LocalUser.ps1

• Enhancement: Script User Feedback:

  • Added Write-Host messages to several existing scripts in the scripts/ directory to provide better user feedback on their execution status.
  • The activateRDP.ps1 script has been updated to function as a toggle, enabling or disabling RDP based on its current state.

• Documentation:

  • Updated documentation/components.md and documentation/scripts.md to reflect the new Azure components and scripts.

[2025-08-09] - General Tab Layout Restructure

Summary of Changes

• Feature: Structured Layout in General Tab: The "General" tab has been significantly restructured for better organization and usability. The previous single-column list of buttons has been replaced with a two-column grid layout.
• Refactor: Grouped Controls: Buttons are now grouped into logical categories (System & Access, PowerShell, Machine Configuration, Domain Management) using StyledLabelframe components. This makes it easier for users to find related functions.
• Refactor: Grid-based Layout: The layout now uses tkinter's grid manager instead of pack, following the best practices outlined in the UI Style Guide for structured content.

[2025-08-09] - Statusbar Visibility Fix

Summary of Changes

• Fix: Statusbar Layout: Fixed a bug where items in the status bar would get cut off and become invisible when the window was resized. The layout logic has been corrected to ensure the status bar container expands vertically to fit all content as it wraps to new lines.
• Refactor: Layout Management: The Statusbar and its child FlowFrame now use tkinter's pack options (fill='both', expand=True) to manage their size, which is a more robust solution than manual height calculation. The FlowFrame's repack logic was also simplified to prevent it from incorrectly hiding widgets.

[2025-08-09] - New UI Style Guide (Material Design)

Summary of Changes

This update introduces a comprehensive, Material Design-based UI style guide to ensure visual consistency and improve the application's overall look and feel.

• Feature: Material Design Theme: A new theme, style_material.py, has been created to give the application a modern, professional appearance based on Google's Material Design principles. The application now uses this theme by default.
• Feature: UI Style Guide: A new UI_STYLE_GUIDE.md has been added to the project root. This document outlines the color palette, typography, spacing, and other design rules for all developers to follow.
• Feature: UI Helper Functions: A new module, lib/ui_helpers.py, has been created. It provides a set of helper functions (e.g., StyledButton, StyledLabel) for easily creating widgets that conform to the new design system.
• New Constants: A lib/material_constants.py file was added to centralize the color and font definitions for the new theme.
• Documentation: Updated AGENTS.md to instruct agents on using the new style guide and created documentation/technical_considerations.md to document the decision.

[2025-08-09] - Statusbar Refactor and Enhancement

Summary of Changes

This update introduces a complete overhaul of the Statusbar component to provide more valuable information in a clean, responsive, and user-friendly manner.

• Feature: Enhanced System Information: The status bar now displays a wider range of valuable information for administrators, including CPU Usage, Memory Usage, Disk Usage, and whether the system is a Virtual Machine.
• Feature: Responsive and Organized Layout: The status bar has been redesigned to be fully responsive. Information is logically grouped into System, Hardware, and Network categories. The layout automatically wraps to new lines when the window is resized, and hides less critical information to prevent clutter in very narrow windows.
• Feature: Compact Network Information: To handle systems with many network interfaces, the NIC information is now presented in a clean, space-saving dropdown menu (Combobox).
• Refactor: Modular Architecture: The Statusbar code was completely refactored. Data-gathering logic has been moved into a dedicated SystemInfo class, separating it from the UI. The UI now updates periodically without recreating widgets, resulting in a smoother user experience.

[2025-08-09] - Admin Rights Indicator

Summary of Changes

• Feature: Admin Rights Indicator: Added a visual indicator (a shield icon) to buttons that execute scripts requiring administrator privileges. This provides immediate feedback to the user about the permission level of each action.
• New Component: AdminButton: Created a new reusable AdminButton class in components/AdminButton.py. This custom button handles the logic for displaying the icon next to the text.
• Refactor: GeneralTab updated: The GeneralTab was refactored to use the new AdminButton for all its actions, as analysis showed all its scripts require elevation.
• Fix: Missing Pillow Dependency: Added Pillow to requirements.txt. This dependency was introduced to handle image manipulation for the icon and was missed in the initial commit, causing a ModuleNotFoundError.

[2025-08-09] - Admin Rights Notification

Summary of Changes

• Added an admin rights notification: A pop-up message is now displayed to the user on the first launch of the application, informing them that administrative privileges are required for most scripts. This message is only shown once and is managed through a config.json file.
• Created a Config class: A new Config class was introduced in lib/Config.py to handle loading and saving application settings.
• Updated App.py: The main application class now uses the Config class to check whether the admin rights message has been shown and displays it if necessary.

[2025-08-09] - Refactoring

This release focuses on a significant refactoring of the Python codebase to improve its quality, readability, and maintainability. No new features have been added, and the existing functionality remains unchanged.

Summary of Changes

The main goal of this refactoring was to address several code quality issues, including large and complex functions, duplicated code, and poor organization. The following is a summary of the key changes:

1. Utility Function Abstraction

• Change: The construct_path and resource_path utility functions, which were originally methods of the App class, have been moved to a new lib/utils.py module.
• Reasoning: These functions are a general-purpose utility and did not belong in the main App class. Moving them to a separate module improves separation of concerns and makes them easier to reuse.

2. Style Code Reorganization

• Change: The monolithic init_style function in style.py has been broken down into several smaller, private functions, each responsible for styling a specific type of widget (e.g., _configure_button_styles, _configure_entry_styles).
• Reasoning: The original init_style function was very long and difficult to navigate. This change makes the styling code more modular, readable, and easier to maintain.

3. CreateVMTab Component Refactoring

The CreateVMTab.py component, being one of the most complex parts of the application, received a major overhaul:

• __init__ Method Decomposition: The large __init__ method was broken down into smaller methods (_initialize_state, _create_widgets, _pack_widgets, _bind_events) for better organization.
• Dictionary-based Mapping: The get_validate_set_string method, which used a long and cumbersome if/elif chain to map Windows editions to version names, was refactored to use a dictionary lookup. This makes the code cleaner, more efficient, and easier to update.
• Code Deduplication: A generic helper function, _populate_combobox_from_ps, was created to eliminate the redundant code between the get_windows_image_editions and load_switches methods.
• Parameter Consolidation: The create_vm method was refactored to gather all VM parameters into a single dictionary, making the code cleaner and the process of passing arguments to the PowerShell script more robust.

4. Code Cleanup

• Change: Unnecessary print statements, which were likely used for debugging, were removed from the _on_tab_change method in components/Notebook/Notebook.py.
• Reasoning: Removing debug code makes the application cleaner and avoids unnecessary output to the console.