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ForgeTask

Modern desktop automation for Windows — a Task Scheduler–style app with a visual workflow builder, triggers, actions, execution logs, and optional AI-assisted drafts.

Screenshots

ForgeTask desktop app (v2.1.0).

Core (Free tier)

Workflows	Triggers

Actions	Execution logs

Settings (organization license & preferences)

Pro features

Unlocked with an organization license key (see PLAN.md §20). Screenshots also show advanced trigger/action catalog entries available in Pro.

AI Workflow Assistant	Variables

Marketplace (templates)	Analytics dashboard

Enterprise features

Same license tier as Pro for IPC unlock; Team, API Access, and Audit Logs are grouped under Enterprise in the app.

Team management	API Access (local REST)

Audit logs

The Free tier includes core automation (workflows, basic triggers/actions, logs, settings). Pro and Enterprise capabilities (AI Assistant, Variables, Marketplace, Analytics, Team, API Access, Audit Logs, advanced triggers/actions) require an organization license key; see PLAN.md §20 for entitlement and optional online validation.

Stack

• Electron (main process + preload)
• Angular 19 (standalone components, lazy routes)
• Tailwind CSS v4
• SQLite (better-sqlite3) for workflows, logs, variables, audit trail
• Express local API (127.0.0.1:38474) to trigger workflows with a Bearer token

Scripts

Command	Description
npm start	Angular dev server only (browser; IPC mocked)
npm run electron:dev	Angular ng serve + Electron with hot reload against http://127.0.0.1:4200
npm run build:all	Production Angular build + compile Electron dist-electron/
npm run electron	Compile Electron and launch (loads built Angular from dist/)
npm run electron:dist	Build + Windows NSIS installer via electron-builder
npm run rebuild:native	Recompile better-sqlite3 for the installed Electron Node ABI (run after npm install or upgrading Electron)

Development

1. Install dependencies: npm install (runs @electron/rebuild for better-sqlite3 via the electron-rebuild CLI).
2. Run npm run electron:dev — wait for the UI, then use the app.
3. npm start (Angular only): Settings and API Access show dummy keys for UI layout (src/app/core/local-dev-keys.ts). They are not sent to OpenAI. The REST placeholder authenticates unpackaged Electron only (npm run electron / electron:dev); packaged installs require the real tf_live_… key from the database.
4. Data file: %APPDATA%/TaskForge/taskforge.db (Electron userData). If you upgraded from an older install, SQLite may be copied once from the legacy paths defined in electron/legacy-paths.ts (historical %APPDATA% folder names on disk).

If the window never opens and the console shows NODE_MODULE_VERSION / “compiled against a different Node.js version”, run npm run rebuild:native so the native module matches Electron (not your system Node).

Pro/Enterprise — local open-source AI (Ollama)

The AI Workflow Assistant can call a local gateway instead of OpenAI. The gateway lives in local-ai-gateway/ (intended as its own Git repo or git submodule). TaskForge sends prompt + optional chat history to POST /v1/taskforge/workflow-completion; the gateway applies the workflow system prompt and forwards only to loopback Ollama (no remote upstream). You can bundle the Ollama binary under local-ai-gateway/binaries/ so npm start runs ollama serve in-house — see local-ai-gateway/binaries/README.md.

1. Provide a local model (e.g. ollama pull llama3.2) with Ollama running, or place a bundled ollama binary and run npm start from local-ai-gateway/ (default gateway http://127.0.0.1:11435).
2. See local-ai-gateway/README.md for env vars (upstream URL must stay loopback, optional Bearer token, TASKFORGE_MANAGE_OLLAMA).
3. In Settings → AI Workflow Assistant, choose Local gateway, confirm the base URL and model, then Save AI settings.

If you use submodules: git submodule update --init --recursive after clone.

Legacy strings: electron/legacy-paths.ts and src/app/core/legacy-onboarding-key.ts are the only places that still embed historical folder names, SQLite filenames, localStorage keys, email, or dev HMAC material from pre-TaskForge installs. They exist so migrations keep working; everything else uses TaskForge naming.

Auto-updates

electron-updater runs checkForUpdatesAndNotify() when app.isPackaged is true. Configure publish in electron-builder (e.g. GitHub releases) for production updates.

API example

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:38474/v1/workflows/run \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"workflow_id\":\"YOUR_WORKFLOW_ID\",\"params\":{}}"

Retrieve or regenerate the key in Enterprise → API Access (requires an active Pro/Enterprise license).

License

TaskForge is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0). See the license file for the full terms.

If you distribute modified versions, follow the GPL’s source-offer and license-preservation requirements. Combining this code with proprietary services or add-ons may require careful separation and legal review.

Copyright © 2026 Jared Scarito.

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Publishing on GitHub — checklist

• Build: npm run build && npm run build:electron should pass.
• Secrets: Do not commit production TASKFORGE_ENTITLEMENT_SECRET, API keys, or signing certificates; use CI secrets for release builds.
• Plan vs UI: The app references “PLAN.md §20” in the sidebar; keeping PLAN.md in the repo keeps that accurate for contributors.