TidyWindow

Windows maintenance companion for builders who prioritize safety, repeatability, and observability. TidyWindow coordinates PowerShell 7 automations through managed .NET services so every action is guarded, logged, and reversible.

At a Glance

• Latest stable: 4.6.1 (data/catalog/latest-release.json)
• Docs: docs/
• Roadmap: roadmap.md
• Press: Press-and-Reviews.md

Core Capabilities

• Essentials repair center (docs/essentials.md): Curated fixes for networking, Defender, printing, and Windows Update with dry-run previews, sequential execution, restore points, and transcripts.
• Cleanup and storage hygiene (docs/cleanup.md): Preview clutter, apply risk-aware deletions with recycle-bin-first flows, and schedule recurring sweeps.
• Registry optimizer (docs/registry-optimizer.md): Stage presets or custom tweaks with JSON restore points, rollback countdowns, baseline tracking, and preset customization alerts.
• Install and maintain software (docs/install-hub.md, docs/maintenance.md): Drive winget, Scoop, and Chocolatey from one queue and keep curated bundles current.
• PathPilot and process intelligence (docs/pathpilot.md, docs/known-processes.md): Safely manage PATH edits, monitor running processes, and escalate Threat Watch findings with remediation guidance.
• Startup controller (docs/startup-controller.md): Inventory Run/RunOnce, Startup folders, logon tasks, and services with accurate enabled/disabled states, reversible backups, delays, and guardrails.
• PulseGuard observability (docs/activity-log.md, docs/settings.md): Turn significant Activity Log events into actionable notifications, prompts, and searchable transcripts.
• Backup & Restore (Reset Rescue) (docs/backup.md): Archive and restore user/app data and registry ahead of OS resets or migrations, with manifest-based integrity, VSS snapshot support, and granular restore options. See data/backup/README.md for storage layout and samples.

Safety by Design

• Restore-point enforcement for high-risk flows, with pruning to stay within disk budgets.
• Cleanup guardrails: protected roots, skip-recent filters, recycle-bin preference, lock inspection, and permission-repair fallbacks.
• Sequential automation queues with cancellation hooks, deterministic logging, and retry policies.
• PulseGuard notification gating that respects user toggles, window focus, and cooldown windows.
• Activity Log plus JSON/Markdown transcripts for audits, with direct "View log" actions.
• PathPilot safeguards that validate, diff, and checkpoint PATH changes before applying them.

Architecture Overview

• Frontend: WPF (.NET 8) views with CommunityToolkit.Mvvm view models (src/TidyWindow.App).
• Services: C# services for cleanup, registry state, automation scheduling, PowerShell invocation, and tray presence (src/TidyWindow.Core, src/TidyWindow.App/Services).
• Automation: PowerShell 7 scripts in automation/ for essentials, cleanup, registry, and diagnostics; YAML/JSON catalogs describe tweaks, presets, processes, and bundles.
• Packaging: Inno Setup installer (installer/TidyWindowInstaller.iss) plus self-contained release artifacts in GitHub Releases.

Install and Run

Prerequisites: Windows 10 or later, .NET SDK 8.0+, PowerShell 7 on PATH.

git clone https://github.com/Cosmos-0118/TidyWindow.git
cd TidyWindow

dotnet restore src/TidyWindow.sln
dotnet build src/TidyWindow.sln -c Debug

dotnet run --project src/TidyWindow.App/TidyWindow.App.csproj

See docs/getting-started.md for optional dependencies, troubleshooting, and installer usage. Latest installer: 4.6.1 (stable). Inside the app, open Settings ▸ Updates to read the hosted manifest and jump to the newest release notes without a manual download.

Test Suite

dotnet test tests/TidyWindow.Core.Tests/TidyWindow.Core.Tests.csproj
dotnet test tests/TidyWindow.Automation.Tests/TidyWindow.Automation.Tests.csproj
dotnet test tests/TidyWindow.App.Tests/TidyWindow.App.Tests.csproj

• Tools in tools/ validate catalog consistency (tools/check_duplicate_packages.py, tools/suggest_catalog_fixes.py) and PowerShell flows (tools/test-process-catalog-parser.ps1).
• PulseGuard and the Activity Log surface runtime confirmation for long-running automations.

Documentation Map

• docs/cleanup.md – Cleanup workflow, risk model, and scheduler.
• docs/essentials.md – Repair catalog, queues, and safety features.
• docs/deep-scan.md – Diagnostics, heuristics, and Threat Watch scanners.
• docs/backup.md – Backup/restore archive format, manifest schema, and automation helper.
• docs/install-hub.md / docs/maintenance.md – Package installation and upkeep cockpit.
• docs/pathpilot.md – PATH governance with diff previews and rollback plans.
• docs/registry-optimizer.md – Restore-point-backed registry tuning.
• docs/startup-controller.md – Startup sources, toggles, delays, backups, guardrails, and rollback guidance.
• docs/known-processes.md – Process catalog, classifications, and Threat Watch signals.
• docs/activity-log.md – Observability pipeline, transcripts, and PulseGuard integration.
• docs/settings.md – Preference system, PulseGuard toggles, and background presence.
• docs/tech-stack.md – Full technology breakdown.

Support, Roadmap, and Press

• Open issues with Activity Log snippets, cleanup reports, or automation transcripts for faster triage.
• Track work in roadmap.md.
• Press and listings live in Press-and-Reviews.md.

License and Credits

TidyWindow ships under the MIT License (see LICENSE).

Built with GitHub Copilot assistance alongside contributions from the Windows, PowerShell, winget, Scoop, and Chocolatey ecosystems.