# PySentry PySentry is a cross-platform desktop scheduler inspired by cron. It provides a native GUI for creating, grouping, pausing, running, and monitoring scheduled shell commands. PySentry is being designed and implemented with assistance from OpenAI Codex. Project notes: - [Changelog](docs/CHANGELOG.md) - [Roadmap](docs/ROADMAP.md) - [Architecture](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) ## Features - Native desktop GUI built with [Fyne](https://fyne.io/). - Job storage in one clean YAML file. - App settings in a separate YAML file. - `@every` schedules and standard 5-field cron expressions. - Manual and scheduled command runs. - Per-run `.log` files with stdout/stderr. - Log cleanup by maximum file count and maximum age. - Global pause/resume for all job execution. - Windows tray support. - Version shown in the window title, Settings, and build artifact names. ## Requirements Common: - [Go](https://go.dev/) 1.22 or newer. Windows: - MSYS2 with UCRT64 GCC in `C:\msys64\ucrt64\bin`. Install these dependencies on Windows: ```powershell # 1. Install Go 1.22 or newer from https://go.dev/dl/. # The default installer path is C:\Program Files\Go. go version # 2. Install MSYS2 from https://www.msys2.org/. # Use the default installation path so UCRT64 tools are placed under # C:\msys64\ucrt64\bin. # 3. Open "MSYS2 UCRT64" from the Start menu and install GCC plus windres. pacman -Syu pacman -S --needed mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-gcc mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-binutils # 4. In PowerShell, check that the compiler is available where the build script # expects it. build-windows.bat prepends this directory automatically. Test-Path C:\msys64\ucrt64\bin\gcc.exe Test-Path C:\msys64\ucrt64\bin\windres.exe ``` Linux: - A C compiler. - [Fyne](https://fyne.io/) native build dependencies, including OpenGL/X11 development packages. On Debian/Ubuntu, the Linux dependencies are typically: ```bash # Go builds the application, gcc is required by CGO/Fyne, and the OpenGL/X11 # development packages provide the native desktop headers used by Fyne. sudo apt install golang gcc libgl1-mesa-dev xorg-dev ``` ## Build Windows: ```powershell # Builds dist\windows\pysentry--windows-amd64.exe. The script changes # to the repository root first, so double-clicking it from Explorer works. It # also adds MSYS2 UCRT64 to PATH for this process only, embeds the Windows icon # when windres is available, and uses the Windows GUI subsystem so no console # window opens at startup. .\scripts\build-windows.bat ``` The Windows build is created as a GUI application, so it does not open a terminal window. The binary is written to: ```text # GUI executable produced by scripts\build-windows.bat. dist\windows\pysentry-0.2.2-windows-amd64.exe ``` Linux: ```bash # Make the helper executable once, then build a linux/amd64 Fyne binary. chmod +x ./scripts/build-linux.sh ./scripts/build-linux.sh ``` The binary is written to: ```text # Linux executable produced by scripts/build-linux.sh. dist/linux/pysentry-0.2.2-linux-amd64 ``` Linux using Docker: ```bash # Builds the Linux binary inside Docker using the image tag # gitea.mixdep.ru/mix/pysentry-builder. Useful from hosts or CI jobs where the # native Linux/Fyne packages are not installed locally. chmod +x ./scripts/build-linux-docker.sh ./scripts/build-linux-docker.sh ``` The binary is copied to: ```text # Linux executable copied out of the Docker build image. dist\linux\pysentry-0.2.2-linux-amd64 ``` Release build from Linux: ```bash # Interactively choose Linux amd64, Linux arm64, Windows amd64, or all artifacts # from one Linux/Docker workflow. The Dockerfile contains the builder # environment; the build commands live in this script. Docker runs the build # with the current user's UID/GID so dist/ files are not owned by root. chmod +x ./scripts/build-release-linux.sh ./scripts/build-release-linux.sh ``` Non-interactive release builds can pass target names: ```bash # Build only Linux arm64 and Windows amd64 artifacts. ./scripts/build-release-linux.sh linux-arm64 windows-amd64 ``` The binaries are copied to: ```text # Linux artifact. dist/linux/pysentry-0.2.2-linux-amd64 # Linux arm64 artifact. dist/linux/pysentry-0.2.2-linux-arm64 # Windows artifact cross-compiled from Linux. dist/windows/pysentry-0.2.2-windows-amd64.exe ``` ## Run From Source Windows: ```powershell # Fyne requires CGO on Windows. MSYS2 UCRT64 provides the C compiler and native # libraries used by the desktop backend. $env:Path = 'C:\msys64\ucrt64\bin;' + $env:Path $env:CGO_ENABLED = '1' # go run starts the app from source. Use scripts\build-windows.bat when you need # a standalone .exe without a console window. & 'C:\Program Files\Go\bin\go.exe' run ./cmd/pysentry ``` Linux: ```bash # CGO must stay enabled because the Fyne GUI links against native Linux desktop # libraries. CGO_ENABLED=1 go run ./cmd/pysentry ``` ## Storage PySentry creates its runtime files next to the executable by default. `pysentry.yaml` stores application settings: ```yaml # Directory containing jobs.yaml. "." means "the folder where the PySentry # executable lives"; an absolute path can be used when jobs should live elsewhere. jobs_dir: . # Directory for per-run command output logs. Relative paths are resolved against # the program folder, just like jobs_dir. logs_dir: logs # Keep at most this many .log files after cleanup. Newest logs are preserved. max_log_files: 100 # Delete .log files older than this many days during cleanup. max_log_age_days: 30 # Start PySentry automatically when the current desktop user signs in. start_on_login: false # Closing the window hides it to the tray instead of stopping the scheduler. keep_running_in_tray: true # Reserved for desktop failure notifications; the setting is stored now so the # UI and config format do not need to change when notifications are wired fully. notify_on_failure: true ``` `jobs.yaml` stores only job definitions: ```yaml jobs: # A harmless sample job created on first run so the scheduler can be tested # immediately. Runtime fields such as last run time, next run time, and command # output are intentionally not stored here; they are displayed in the GUI and # written to separate log files. - id: 1 # Human-readable name shown in the jobs list and used in log file names. name: Hello scheduler # Optional grouping label. Omit it or leave it empty to put the job under # the "No folder" filter. folder: Examples # Either @every with a Go duration, or a standard five-field cron expression. schedule: '@every 1m' # Command passed to the platform shell: cmd.exe /C on Windows, sh -c on Linux. command: echo PySentry test job: scheduler is alive # Disabled jobs remain in jobs.yaml but are skipped by the scheduler. enabled: true ``` Command output is written to separate files under `logs_dir`. File names include the run timestamp and job name, for example: ```text # Format: YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS_.log 20260614-224306_Hello_scheduler.log ``` ## Schedules Fast interval schedules: ```text # Go duration syntax after @every; useful for tests and simple intervals. @every 10s @every 5m @every 1h30m ``` Standard 5-field cron schedules: ```text # Standard five-field cron: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. */5 * * * * every five minutes 0 2 * * * every day at 02:00 30 9 * * 1-5 weekdays at 09:30 ``` ## Using The App 1. Start PySentry. 2. Use `New job` to create a command. 3. Set `Schedule`, `Command`, optional `Folder`, and `Enabled`. 4. Use `Run now` for a manual test run. 5. Use `Pause` to disable one job. 6. Use `Pause all` as a global stop switch. 7. Open `History` to see whether a run was `Manual`, `Schedule`, or `UI`. 8. Open `Settings` to change `jobs_dir`, `logs_dir`, and log cleanup limits. Use `Browse` to choose directories. Changing `jobs_dir` saves the current job list to the new directory. The `Start on login` setting shows an `OK` or `Problem` status next to the checkbox. Saving settings with the checkbox enabled rewrites the autostart entry using the current executable path. ## Autostart PySentry is a user desktop application, not a system daemon, so autostart should be configured per user. Linux: ```ini # PySentry writes an XDG Autostart desktop entry when Start on login is enabled. # This is better for a GUI/tray application than a systemd user service because # the desktop environment starts it inside the graphical user session. # Saving the setting also removes the old ~/.config/systemd/user/pysentry.service # unit if it was created by an earlier PySentry build. ~/.config/autostart/pysentry.desktop [Desktop Entry] Type=Application Name=PySentry Exec=/opt/pysentry/pysentry-0.2.2-linux-amd64 Terminal=false ``` Windows: ```text # PySentry writes an HKCU Run entry when Start on login is enabled. It needs no # administrator rights and starts PySentry when the current user signs in. Task # Scheduler remains a later option if delayed start or elevated tasks become # necessary. Saving settings with the checkbox enabled rewrites this entry, so it # repairs an old path after the executable was moved or renamed. HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\PySentry ``` ## Project Layout - `cmd/pysentry` starts the desktop app. - `src/gui` contains the GUI. - `src/core` contains YAML storage, command execution, scheduling, and log cleanup. - `assets` contains app icons that are embedded into the application binary. - `scripts` contains build helpers. - `docs` contains architecture notes, the changelog, and the roadmap. Build outputs are written to `dist/`. The old local `bin/` directory is not used. ## Dependencies PySentry keeps the direct dependency list intentionally small: - [`fyne.io/fyne/v2`](https://fyne.io/) for the native GUI. - `github.com/robfig/cron/v3` for cron schedule parsing. - `gopkg.in/yaml.v3` for YAML settings and jobs. The remaining entries in `go.mod` are indirect dependencies pulled by Fyne and the Go module resolver. Source repositories for mirroring: - Go toolchain: https://go.googlesource.com/go - Fyne: https://github.com/fyne-io/fyne - robfig/cron: https://github.com/robfig/cron - go-yaml/yaml: https://github.com/go-yaml/yaml To list every direct and indirect Go module used by the current checkout: ```bash go list -m all ```