covenant-setup/authoring-ui

Covenant Setup Authoring UI

WinUI 3 desktop app for creating install.toml manifests for covenant-setup.

Run from the repository root:

dotnet run --project .\authoring-ui\Covenant.Setup.Authoring.csproj

Run unit tests from the repository root:

dotnet test .\authoring-ui.Tests\Covenant.Setup.Authoring.Tests.csproj

Build a release publish from the repository root:

dotnet publish .\authoring-ui\Covenant.Setup.Authoring.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true -o .\dist\authoring-ui

The published app entry point is:

.\dist\authoring-ui\Covenant.Setup.Authoring.exe

Keep the full dist\authoring-ui folder together when copying it to another Windows machine. The release output includes the WinUI, Windows App SDK, and .NET runtime files required by the app.

Build the Inno Setup installer from the repository root:

iscc .\authoring-ui\Covenant.Setup.Authoring.iss

The installer output is:

.\dist\inno\covenant-setup-authoring-installer.exe

The app edits the current manifest schema:

• app_name
• directories
• files
• registry
• shortcuts
• scripts
• purge

It keeps a live TOML preview, validates required fields locally, warns when a manifest appears to require elevation, and saves a TOML file through the Windows file picker.

Installer EXE Generation

The Installer EXE section is enabled only when the app finds covenant-setup.exe. It checks:

• next to the authoring app
• the current working directory
• target\release and target\debug under nearby repo roots
• directories on PATH

When enabled, Generate Installer EXE writes the current TOML to the selected install.toml location and runs:

covenant-setup.exe --json package install.toml --output <output-directory>

The manifest should be saved in the payload source root so relative file sources package correctly.