devtools-hub-installer

# DevTools Hub Installer > Skill by [ara.so](https://ara.so) — Devtools Skills collection. DevTools Hub is a Windows desktop application and CLI for installing and managing developer tools. It provides a unified interface for provisioning development machines with version control, runtimes, package managers, editors, databases, containers, and system dependencies. ## Installation Download the latest release from [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/lszdeveloping/devtoolshub/releases): ```bash # Download and run the installer DevTools Hub Setup 1.2.0.exe ``` The installer requires Windows 10/11 (x64). Most operations require administrator permissions for system-level tool installation and PATH updates. ## Desktop Application Launch DevTools Hub from the Start menu or desktop shortcut. The GUI provides: - **Tool Discovery**: Browse available developer tools by category - **Status Detection**: Real-time installed/not-installed status from registry PATH - **Batch Installation**: Select multiple tools and install in parallel - **Developer Profiles**: One-click installation of curated tool sets - **Install Logs**: Troubleshooting output for failed installations The app uses UAC elevation for install/uninstall operations and streams stdout progress in real-time. ## CLI Usage After building the project, the CLI is available at `dist/cli/cli.js`. Link it globally or invoke directly: ```bash # List all available tools devtoolshub list # Install single or multiple tools devtoolshub install git devtoolshub install node python docker # Check installation status devtoolshub status # Show detailed diagnostics devtoolshub diagnose # Export current configuration devtoolshub export-config > devtools-config.json # Update installed tools (via winget) devtoolshub update git devtoolshub update --all # Uninstall tools (UAC-elevated) devtoolshub uninstall docker ``` ## Available Tools DevTools Hub includes installers for: **Version Control** - `git`, `github-desktop`, `git-lfs` **CLI Tools** - `github-cli`, `codex-cli`, `claude-cli` **Runtimes** - `node`, `python`, `go`, `rust`, `deno`, `bun`, `java` **Package Managers** - `yarn`, `maven`, `gradle` **Editors** - `vscode` **Databases** - `postgresql`, `mongodb`, `redis`, `mysql`, `mariadb`, `sqlserver-express` **DevOps** - `docker`, `docker-compose` **API Testing** - `postman` **Web Server Stack** - `wampserver`, `apache`, `php`, `phpmyadmin`, `adminer`, `xdebug` **System Libraries** - `vcredist` (Visual C++ Redistributables) ## Development Setup Clone and build the project: ```bash # Clone repository git clone https://github.com/lszdeveloping/devtoolshub.git cd devtoolshub # Install dependencies npm install # Run in development mode npm run dev # Build renderer, main process, and CLI npm run build # Create distributable npm run dist ``` Requires Node.js >= 18. ## Project Structure ``` src/ cli/ # Command-line interface main/ # Electron main process and IPC handlers renderer/ # React application (Vite + Tailwind CSS) shared/ # Shared tool metadata and types installers/ windows/ # PowerShell installers (asar-unpacked) resources/ # App icons and packaged assets ``` ## Adding New Tools To add a new tool to the catalog: 1. **Update Tool Metadata** (`src/shared/tools.ts`): ```typescript export interface Tool { id: string; name: string; category: string; description: string; installer: string; // PowerShell script filename wingetId?: string; // For update support } export const tools: Tool[] = [ // ... existing tools { id: 'newtool', name: 'New Tool', category: 'Runtimes', description: 'Description of the tool', installer: 'newtool.ps1', wingetId: 'Publisher.NewTool' } ]; ``` 2. **Create PowerShell Installer** (`installers/windows/newtool.ps1`): ```powershell # newtool.ps1 param( [string]$InstallPath = "C:\Program Files\NewTool" ) Write-Host "Installing New Tool..." try { # Download installer $url = "https://example.com/newtool-installer.exe" $installer = "$env:TEMP\newtool-installer.exe" Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $installer # Run installer Start-Process -FilePath $installer -ArgumentList "/S" -Wait # Add to PATH if needed $currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "Machine") if ($currentPath -notlike "*$InstallPath*") { [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable( "Path", "$currentPath;$InstallPath", "Machine" ) } Write-Host "New Tool installed successfully" exit 0 } catch { Write-Error "Installation failed: $_" exit 1 } ``` 3. **Update Tool Detection** (`src/main/detection.ts`): ```typescript export async function detectInstalledTools(): Promise<Map<string, boolean>> { const installed = new Map<string, boolean>(); for (const tool of tools) { try { // Check PATH, registry, or filesystem const isInstalled = await checkToolInstalled(tool.id); installed.set(tool.id, isInstalled); } catch { installed.set(tool.id, false); } } return installed; } async function checkToolInstalled(toolId: string): Promise<boolean> { // Check common installation indicators const checks = [ () => checkPath(toolId), () => checkRegistry(toolId), () => checkFileSystem(toolId) ]; for (const check of checks) { if (await check()) return true; } return false; } ``` ## Configuration Export Export current tool configuration for reproducible environments: ```bash devtoolshub export-config > my-dev-setup.json ``` Example output: ```json { "version": "1.2.0", "platform": "win32", "installed": [ "git", "node", "python", "docker", "vscode" ], "timestamp": "2026-05-17T12:34:56.789Z" } ``` ## Batch Installation Install multiple tools from a profile or custom list: ```typescript // src/renderer/profiles.ts export interface Profile { id: string; name: string; description: string; tools: string[]; } export const profiles: Profile[] = [ { id: 'web-dev', name: 'Web Development', description: 'Essential tools for web development', tools: ['git', 'node', 'vscode', 'docker', 'postgresql'] }, { id: 'python-dev', name: 'Python Development', description: 'Python development environment', tools: ['git', 'python', 'vscode', 'postgresql'] } ]; ``` From CLI: ```bash # Install all tools from a profile (requires custom implementation) devtoolshub install git node vscode docker postgresql ``` ## Error Handling The install queue uses per-tool try/catch — one failure doesn't abort the batch: ```typescript // src/main/installer.ts export async function installTools(toolIds: string[]): Promise<InstallResult[]> { const results: InstallResult[] = []; for (const toolId of toolIds) { try { const tool = tools.find(t => t.id === toolId); if (!tool) { results.push({ toolId, success: false, error: 'Tool not found' }); continue; } // Execute PowerShell installer with elevated privileges const scriptPath = path.join(installersDir, tool.installer); const result = await execElevated(scriptPath); results.push({ toolId, success: true, output: result.stdout }); } catch (error) { results.push({ toolId, success: false, error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error) }); } } return results; } ``` ## Troubleshooting **Installation fails silently** - Check install logs in the app's log viewer - Run CLI with verbose output: `devtoolshub diagnose` - Verify UAC elevation was granted **Tool not detected after install** - Restart the app to refresh PATH detection - Manually check registry: `HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment` - Verify tool executable is in PATH: `where <tool-name>` **PowerShell execution policy errors** ```powershell # Allow script execution (run as Administrator) Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope LocalMachine ``` **Missing dependencies** - Install Visual C++ Redistributables: `devtoolshub install vcredist` - Ensure Windows 10/11 x64 - Check Node.js >= 18 for development builds **Build failures** ```bash # Clean and rebuild rm -rf node_modules dist npm install npm run build ``` ## Security DevTools Hub implements hardened Electron security: - Sandbox mode enabled: `sandbox: true` - Content Security Policy enforced - External navigation guard prevents malicious redirects - UAC elevation for privileged operations - Installers bundled in `asar.unpacked` (no runtime downloads) All installer scripts should be reviewed before execution. The app does not download executables at runtime — all installers are packaged with the application.