DorkNet/easy-app/README.md

DorkNet Easy App

The unified desktop app for hosts and guests. One binary, two modes.

Project layout

easy-app/
├── Shell/        PhotinoNET window host, mode router, settings store,
│                 auto-updater, system tray, log viewer.
├── HostMode/     Tunnel manager (cloudflared wrapper), server lifecycle
│                 (start/stop the in-process ASP.NET Core), share-code
│                 generation.
├── JoinMode/     Join-code parser (dorknet:// URL handler), connection
│                 sanity-check, server reachability ping.
├── Shared/       Patcher library (port of tools/patch-client.ps1 to C#),
│                 ConfigManager, RecRoomInstallFinder (Steam library scan),
│                 ImageSigningKeyManager (auto-generate on first run).
└── Resources/    Icons, admin-ui dist (bundled at build time),
                  cloudflared.exe, MelonLoader/, mod DLLs.

Build flow

Resources/admin-ui-dist/ is the production build output from ../admin-ui/ — copied in by a pre-build task so the Photino webview can serve it as the host-mode admin tab.

# One-shot dev build
pwsh tools/build-easy-app.ps1

# Release artifact
dotnet publish easy-app -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained \
  -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:PublishTrimmed=false
# → bin/Release/net9.0/win-x64/publish/dorknet.exe (~80 MB)

Why PhotinoNET

• The admin UI is already a webview-friendly React SPA. Embedding it in a Photino window is essentially free.
• Single .NET project. No Node toolchain in the desktop build, no Electron.
• Bundled binary ~50 MB before the runtime, ~80 MB with self-contained .NET. Acceptable for one-time downloads.

Why not Electron / Tauri / Avalonia

• Electron: doubles the binary size, adds Node into the supply chain.
• Tauri: Rust dependency we don't otherwise need; mixing it with the existing .NET server complicates the build matrix.
• Avalonia: native, beautiful, but means re-implementing the admin UI a second time. The point of unified Host mode is reuse the admin SPA verbatim.

Modes — first-run decision

Shared/ConfigManager writes %APPDATA%\DorkNet\mode.json:

{ "mode": "host" }

Shell reads this on startup. Missing or null → first-run wizard. Settings → "Switch mode" sets mode to the other value, restarts the process clean (Photino re-init).

Host mode lifecycle

1. User clicks Start server.
2. HostMode.ServerLauncher boots the ASP.NET Core host in-process, wired to a SQLite DB at %APPDATA%\DorkNet\dorknet.db.
3. HostMode.TunnelManager spawns cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:5000, reads the public URL off stderr.
4. UI surfaces the URL + a "Copy join code" button. Join code is base64({host, photonAppId, photonRegion, name}).

Join mode lifecycle

1. User pastes a join code (or clicks a dorknet:// URL — the installer registers the protocol handler).
2. JoinMode.CodeParser decodes, ping-checks the host, shows a "Connecting to X" preview.
3. User points at their Rec Room install (auto-detected via RecRoomInstallFinder if Steam owns it).
4. Shared.Patcher patches global-metadata.dat, drops MelonLoader, writes dorknet-clientmod.json with the decoded host + Photon AppId.
5. UI offers a "Launch Rec Room" button — runs Recroom_Release.exe directly, no Steam intermediary needed.

Auto-updates

Velopack is the path of least resistance for .NET desktop. Drop-in: declare a GitHub Release feed, ship updates as deltas.

Testing

QA matrix to maintain:

• Fresh Windows 10 VM, no Rec Room → install Steam → buy / depot-download the 2020 build → DorkNet host mode → patch + start + tunnel → connect from a second VM via Join mode. End-to-end smoke test.
• Mac M1 + Linux: deferred. PhotinoNET supports them but we need separate cloudflared binaries and a packaging step per OS.

Open questions

• Code-signing cert. SmartScreen warning is a major adoption friction. EV cert is ~$200/yr; standard cert is cheaper but takes longer to build reputation.
• Crash reporting. Sentry has a generous free tier and a clean .NET SDK.
• Telemetry — opt-in? Off by default? Right now: no plans, but document the position so contributors know.