WinUI 3 desktop app for creating ${AppName}-install.toml manifests for covenant-setup. Manifest paths must not contain spaces; spaces in the app name are removed from the suggested file name. In manifest content, only app_name and shortcut description may contain spaces.

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.paths
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. Shortcut path, target, and working directory values are generated from the Files entries; only the shortcut description is directly edited. Purge paths are generated from file destinations and path-like Registry values, and purge registry branches are generated from the Registry entries.

Installer EXE Generation

The Installer Config button opens installer generation settings. Automatic tool detection checks:

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

If the tool is not found automatically, enter or browse to covenant-setup.exe; the app runs its --help command before accepting a manually selected path. The top-level Save and Build button is enabled when an installer engine is detected, writes the current TOML to the selected ${AppName}-install.toml location, and runs:

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

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