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DISPATCH — Handoff Notes

Pick-up notes for continuing this project (for a future dev / Claude session). As of v1.1.0, 2026-07-20.

What this is

A one-click installer + launcher for a GTA V LSPDFR police-mod setup. It turns the infamous "40 mods, 30 config files" manual install into: download one Setup.exe, pick a preset, install, and launch through RagePluginHook — with every keybind/setting editable in-app and written back to the real .ini files.

Stack: .NET 8 (targets net8.0-windows), Avalonia UI (MVVM, CommunityToolkit.Mvvm), Velopack (packaging + self-update). Build with .NET 10 SDK is fine. Directory.Build.props enforces TreatWarningsAsErrors + code-style analyzers — keep builds at 0 warnings.

Repos (IMPORTANT — two of them, kept in sync)

Repo Visibility Role
Jackmod/DISPATCHPRIV private primary source repo (this folder came from here)
Jackmod/DISPATCH public source mirror + hosts all releases + hosts the mod pack

Both main branches are kept identical. Workflow used all session:

  1. branch off main, commit, push to DISPATCHPRIV, open PR, gh pr merge --squash --delete-branch.
  2. git reset --hard origin/main, then git push public main:main (fast-forward) — where remote public = https://github.com/Jackmod/DISPATCH.git.

git identity + gh are already authenticated on the owner's machine (account Jackmod).

The distribution model (the key design — read this)

Thin installer. The shipped Setup.exe does not bundle the ~2 GB of mods. It carries a small remote-pack.json (mod → download-URL index) and downloads only the mods the user ticks, on demand.

  • Mods are hosted as assets on the modpack-v1 release of Jackmod/DISPATCH (73 archives, ~1.5 GB), plus remote-pack.json itself as an asset.
  • tools/Publish-ModPack.ps1 -Repo Jackmod/DISPATCH uploads/updates the archives and the manifest (resumable, clobbers, BOM-free). Re-run it whenever a mod changes.
  • Live manifest: on startup the app fetches the hosted remote-pack.json (see RemotePackRefresher) into a cache the loader prefers over the bundled copy. So adding or renaming a mod reaches installed copies automatically on next launch — no reinstall.
  • App self-update: VelopackAppUpdater (in Dispatch.App) checks Jackmod/DISPATCH releases on startup and stages a newer version to apply on next close. Requires releases to carry the Velopack feed (RELEASES + releases.win.json + full .nupkg), which vpk upload github produces.

Net effect: users never re-download the installer — mods and app versions both flow automatically. A fat build (bundles the whole pack) still exists via -p:IncludeModPack=true (the default) but the thin build is what ships.

Build / test / release

# Build (must be 0 warnings)
dotnet build Dispatch.slnx -c Release

# Full test suite (583 tests as of v1.1.0)
dotnet test Dispatch.slnx -c Release

# Thin installer build by hand
dotnet publish src/Dispatch.App/Dispatch.App.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 \
  --self-contained true -p:IncludeModPack=false -o publish-thin
vpk pack -u Dispatch -v <version> -p publish-thin -e Dispatch.exe -o releases

# Cut a real release (build + pack + publish WITH self-update feed):
./tools/Publish-App.ps1 -Version 1.2.0        # needs dotnet, vpk, gh (authed)

# Update the hosted mod pack (after changing modpack/ archives):
./tools/Publish-ModPack.ps1 -Repo Jackmod/DISPATCH

Tooling: .NET SDK, vpk (dotnet tool install -g vpk, v1.2.0 used), gh CLI (signed in). The modpack/ archives are gitignored — a fresh clone has an empty pack; the master copy lives in dispatch-modpack-backup.zip (owner's Downloads) and on the modpack-v1 release.

What was built recently (v1.1.0 session)

  1. Thin installer + on-demand mod downloads (RemotePackSource, Acquisition/*).
  2. Full config editing: the scanner classifies every .ini key as keyboard-bind / controller-bind / plain-setting (folding <bind>Modifier companions), so one file feeds the keyboard tab, controller tab, and Plugin Settings. Controls screen reads real .inis on open; edits write back in place (IniScanner, ControlsViewModel, ControlWriter).
  3. Launch via RagePluginHook with real feedback + double-launch guard (IGameLauncher → LaunchOutcome, DashboardViewModel.GoOnDuty).
  4. Live manifest (RemotePackRefresher) and app self-update (VelopackAppUpdater).

Design docs of intent live in the XML-doc comments — the code is heavily commented on why.

Open items / decisions for next time

  • Grammar Police keybind: F4 vs F7 (unresolved — owner's call). The guide's auto-config (ConfigCatalogue) writes GP Interface = F4, which is the RagePluginHook console key ("never rebind"). The app's ControlCatalogue.Suggested scheme resolves it to F7 and a test enforces "Suggested never takes F4". Options: (A) change the auto-config to F7 (clash-free, deviates from guide), (B) add a Controls-screen warning that flags any bind on F4, (C) leave as guide-faithful. Not changed because writing a bad GP bind unattended was riskier than the known caveat.
  • Code signing: Setup.exe is unsigned → SmartScreen "unknown publisher" on first run. A cert would remove it.
  • Reserved-key (F4) warning in Controls, and an Epic-vs-Steam launch hint — minor polish, not done.
  • CI: .github/workflows/ci.yml builds/tests, and its package job builds from a plain checkout — so a CI-built release would have an empty pack. Real releases are cut locally with Publish-App.ps1. Wiring CI to fetch the pack (or use the thin model) is a follow-up.

Gotchas learned

  • PowerShell 5.1 (Windows): non-ASCII chars (em-dash) in a .ps1 mis-parse as ANSI → keep scripts ASCII. Set-Content -Encoding utf8 adds a BOM — write manifests with [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText(..., UTF8Encoding($false)); the app strips a leading BOM too. Native-command stderr under $ErrorActionPreference='Stop' becomes terminating — the scripts use 'Continue' + explicit $LASTEXITCODE checks.
  • gh release upload globs file args — filenames with [ ] (e.g. [SP ONLY]) fail; Publish-ModPack.ps1 sanitizes those. The runtime matcher normalizes names anyway.
  • GitHub 100 MB/file limit → the pack can't live in the repo tree; it lives on a Release.
  • Velopack self-update only works if the release carries the feed files — a bare Setup.exe is not enough. Use vpk upload github (what Publish-App.ps1 does).