Ship via Setup.exe only and share servers.json across users#961
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Tester feedback: after running the bare-ZIP "install" the app didn't
appear in Start Menu / Apps & Features, and a second DBA on the same
machine couldn't see the server list the first DBA had configured.
Installer:
- Drop the Dashboard/Lite portable ZIPs from CI and local build scripts.
Velopack Setup.exe stays as the only Dashboard/Lite release artifact;
its defaults already create Start Menu + Desktop shortcuts and register
the app under HKCU\...\Uninstall (so it shows in Apps & Features).
- Keep the Installer ZIP (it bundles the CLI installer + SQL scripts —
a different artifact).
- Update README Quick Start to direct users at Setup.exe with a note
about shortcuts and Apps & Features registration.
Shared server list:
- Move servers.json from %APPDATA%/%LOCALAPPDATA% to
%ProgramData%\PerformanceMonitor{Dashboard,Lite}\ so every Windows
user on the machine sees the same server list.
- On first directory creation, grant Authenticated Users Modify with
container+object inheritance so other users can edit the file.
- One-time migration: if a per-user servers.json exists and no shared
one does, copy old -> new. The legacy file is left in place as a
backup.
- Other config stays per-user — Lite settings.json, schedules,
collector preferences, the DuckDB database, and the Parquet archive
all remain in %LOCALAPPDATA% (collection data is single-instance and
Velopack-managed).
- Credentials remain per-user in Windows Credential Manager: each DBA
will need to re-enter SQL passwords on first connect. Windows Auth
works without re-entry.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Setup.exe (Velopack) remains the README-promoted install path, but the portable ZIPs are still produced in both the local build scripts and the CI release pipeline (including the signing path) so advanced and air-gapped users have an explicit fallback. The README change made in the previous commit still steers end users at Setup.exe — only the release artifacts and local build outputs change here. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
servers.json now lives under %ProgramData% (shared across users); the other Lite config files stay in %LOCALAPPDATA% per-user. Add a Location column to the config table and a short note about the cross-user behavior so the storage split matches the code. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Summary
Two tester-reported issues, fixed in one PR.
Issue 1 — App didn't appear in Apps & Features / Start Menu. The tester downloaded the bare ZIP, extracted it, and pinned the EXE to the taskbar; nothing registered with Windows so the app was effectively invisible after install. Velopack's
Setup.exealready does the right thing (Start Menu + Desktop shortcuts, registers under HKCU\…\Uninstall, install location, auto-update), so this PR makes Setup.exe the README-promoted install path. The portable ZIPs continue to ship as an explicit fallback for advanced and air-gapped users.Issue 2 — Second DBA on the same Windows machine couldn't see the first DBA's server list.
servers.jsonlived in per-user%APPDATA%/%LOCALAPPDATA%. Moves it to%ProgramData%\PerformanceMonitor{Dashboard,Lite}\, grants Authenticated Users Modify on first directory creation, and migrates an existing per-user file in if no shared file exists yet (legacy file left in place as a backup).Changes
Installer / packaging
README.md— Quick Start now describesSetup.exe, what it does (shortcuts, Apps & Features registration, auto-update), and where it installs (%LocalAppData%). The portable ZIPs are intentionally not advertised in Quick Start..github/workflows/build.yml,build-dashboard.cmd,build-lite.cmd— unchanged in behavior; only comments added documenting that the portable ZIP is a deliberate fallback and the README points users at Setup.exe.Shared server list (Dashboard)
Dashboard/Services/ServerManager.cs—_configFilePathnow resolves to%ProgramData%\PerformanceMonitorDashboard\servers.json. New private helpersResolveSharedServersJsonPathandTryGrantAuthenticatedUsersModifyhandle directory creation, ACL grant (FileSystemRights.Modify | Synchronize,ContainerInherit | ObjectInherit), and one-time migration from%APPDATA%. Other Dashboard services (EmailAlertService,MuteRuleService,UserPreferencesService) keep their per-user paths.Shared server list (Lite)
Lite/App.xaml.cs— newSharedConfigDirectorystatic, resolved afterAppLogger.Initialize(so migration and ACL events are logged). SameResolveSharedConfigDirectory+TryGrantAuthenticatedUsersModifypattern as Dashboard. Per-userConfigDirectory(settings.json, schedules, perfmon_counters.json, MCP settings) stays in%LOCALAPPDATA%. DuckDB, archive, and logs also stay per-user.Lite/MainWindow.xaml.cs:73— passApp.SharedConfigDirectorytoServerManagerinstead ofApp.ConfigDirectory.Velopack defaults confirmed
vpk packfor Windows defaults--shortcutstoDesktop,StartMenuRootand--instLocationtoEither(perWindowsPackCommand.cs). No new flags are needed; the currentvpk pack -u … -e …invocations already produce a properly-registered installer. The--channel dashboard/--channel litestructure that auto-update depends on is unchanged.Caveat — passwords
Credentials remain per-user in Windows Credential Manager (that store is Windows-bounded to the user profile and not something this PR moves). Effect for the tester's two-DBA scenario:
Cross-machine sharing (network share, DB-backed config) is intentionally out of scope here.
Test plan
dotnet build Dashboard/Dashboard.csproj -c Debug— cleandotnet build Lite/PerformanceMonitorLite.csproj -c Debug— cleanSetup.exeon a clean VM (or fresh Windows profile); confirm Start Menu + Desktop shortcuts appear and the app is listed under Apps & Features%ProgramData%\PerformanceMonitor{Dashboard,Lite}\servers.jsonis created with Authenticated Users Modify%APPDATA%\PerformanceMonitorDashboard\servers.json(or%LOCALAPPDATA%\PerformanceMonitorLite\config\servers.json), confirm migration kicks in and the legacy file is left behind as a backup🤖 Generated with Claude Code