Repository Atlas: Flow.Launcher

Project Responsibility

Flow.Launcher is a Windows productivity launcher (similar to Alfred/Raycast) built with WPF and Avalonia. It provides fast, extensible search capabilities through a plugin-based architecture, allowing users to launch applications, search files, perform calculations, and execute custom commands via a global hotkey-activated search window.

System Entry Points

Flow.Launcher/: WPF main application entry point (legacy, stable)
Flow.Launcher.Avalonia/: Avalonia UI migration entry point (active development ~35-40%)
Flow.Launcher.sln: Solution file for building all projects
Scripts/post_build.ps1: Packaging script for releases

Technology Stack

.NET 9.0 targeting net9.0-windows10.0.19041.0
WPF (original UI) - Flow.Launcher/
Avalonia (migration in progress) - Flow.Launcher.Avalonia/
CommunityToolkit.Mvvm for MVVM patterns and DI
FluentAvalonia for modern UI in Avalonia version
Squirrel.Windows for application updates
NLog for logging

Repository Directory Map

Directory	Responsibility Summary	Detailed Map
`Flow.Launcher/`	WPF Main Application: Host process orchestrating UI layer, plugin lifecycle, and system integrations (tray, hotkeys). Uses MVVM, DI, and Bridge patterns.	View Map
`Flow.Launcher.Avalonia/`	Avalonia UI Migration: Modern cross-platform UI implementation with WPF compatibility shim for plugin support. Active development target.	View Map
`Flow.Launcher.Core/`	Business Logic Engine: Plugin lifecycle management, internationalization, application updates via Squirrel, and community plugin store integration.	View Map
`Flow.Launcher.Infrastructure/`	Shared Services Layer: Fuzzy search (StringMatcher), persistence (JSON storage), global hotkeys, logging, Win32 API wrappers, and Settings model.	View Map
`Flow.Launcher.Plugin/`	Plugin SDK: Interfaces and models for plugin development (`IPlugin`, `IAsyncPlugin`, `Result`, `Query`, `IPublicAPI`). The formal contract between core and extensions.	View Map
`Plugins/`	Built-in Plugins: 12 official plugins (Calculator, Explorer, Program, WebSearch, Shell, etc.) providing core functionality.	View Map
`Flow.Launcher.Test/`	Unit Tests: NUnit-based test suite for the application.

Architecture Overview

Data Flow

User Input → MainWindow → MainViewModel → PluginManager → Plugins → Results → UI

Key Architectural Patterns

MVVM: Strict separation of UI and logic across both WPF and Avalonia implementations
Dependency Injection: CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.Ioc for service management
Plugin Architecture: Interface-based extensibility via IPlugin/IAsyncPlugin
Bridge Pattern: PublicAPIInstance/AvaloniaPublicAPI decouples plugins from internal implementation
Static Coordinator: PluginManager acts as central hub for plugin operations

Migration Status (WPF → Avalonia)

WPF: Stable, feature-complete, maintenance mode
Avalonia: ~35-40% migrated, active development, includes WPF compatibility shim for plugins
Shared: Core, Infrastructure, and Plugin SDK are framework-agnostic

Build & Run

# Build entire solution
dotnet build

# Run WPF version
./Output/Debug/Flow.Launcher.exe

# Run Avalonia version
./Output/Debug/Avalonia/Flow.Launcher.Avalonia.exe

Key Documentation

AGENTS.md: Essential information for AI agents working on this codebase
AVALONIA_MIGRATION_CHECKLIST.md: Detailed migration progress tracking
Flow.Launcher.Plugin/README.md: Plugin SDK documentation
.editorconfig: Code style rules
Settings.XamlStyler: XAML formatting rules

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