DevEnv

DevEnv is a portable Windows development environment installer and updater. The current repository is built around two WinForms executables:

• devenv-setup.exe: initial installation
• launcher.exe: launch, version checks, and upgrades

The final distributable is devenv-setup.exe only. launcher.exe is embedded into the installer and extracted into the target folder during installation.

Download

• Latest release page: https://github.com/PlanXLab/DevEnv/releases/latest
• Latest devenv-setup.exe: https://github.com/PlanXLab/DevEnv/releases/latest/download/devenv-setup.exe

Current Architecture

Installer

devenv-setup.exe installs the latest available versions of the following components:

• VS Code
• Python Embedded
• PowerShell 7
• Oh My Posh
• PowerShell modules: Terminal-Icons, PSFzf, modern-unix-win
• Fonts: 0xProto Nerd Font, DalseoHealing
• VS Code extensions:
  • teabyii.ayu
  • zhuangtongfa.material-theme
  • ms-python.python
  • ms-python.vscode-pylance
  • ms-python.vscode-python-envs
  • ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh
  • KevinRose.vsc-python-indent
  • usernamehw.errorlens
  • Gerrnperl.outline-map

Installer UI behavior:

• Default installation path is C:\VSCode
• The Python version field can be left empty to install the latest supported version
• Pressing Enter in the Python version field starts installation immediately
• The UI provides overall progress, per-component progress, and a filtered Key Events log

Launcher

launcher.exe is the runtime entry point for an installed environment.

• Launches Code.exe in portable mode
• Checks component versions in the background
• Creates upgrade_* flag files when updates are available
• Shows the upgrade UI on the next run and upgrades only the required individual components

Upgradeable components:

• PowerShell 7
• Oh My Posh
• Terminal-Icons
• PSFzf
• modern-unix-win
• VS Code

Version and State Files

The installation root contains the following runtime files:

• pvs.info: installation path and installed component versions
• pvs.log: installation log
• upgrade.log: upgrade log
• upgrade_*: launcher-generated upgrade flag files

Installed Folder Layout

A typical installed layout looks like this:

<install-root>/
├─ Code.exe
├─ launcher.exe
├─ pvs.info
├─ pvs.log
├─ upgrade.log
├─ data/
│  ├─ extensions/
│  ├─ user-data/
│  └─ lib/
│     ├─ fonts/
│     ├─ pwsh/
│     ├─ python/
│     └─ origin/
└─ resources/

Usage

End Users

1. Download devenv-setup.exe from GitHub Releases.
2. Run it and choose the installation path and Python version.
3. After installation, launch VS Code through launcher.exe or the created shortcut.
4. From that point on, launcher.exe handles background version checks and upgrade entry.

Maintenance Mode

launcher.exe --init runs the internal maintenance routine.

• Synchronizes the VS Code extension set
• Restores configuration and origin files
• Cleans the Python environment
• Reinstalls fonts and recreates shortcuts
• Cleans user-data and launches VS Code

Build

Requirements:

• Windows
• .NET Framework 4.7.2 build environment
• csc.exe

Build command:

./build

Build outputs:

• Intermediate artifact: dist/launcher.exe
• Final artifact: dist/devenv-setup.exe

build.ps1 builds launcher.exe first, embeds it into devenv-setup.exe, and leaves only devenv-setup.exe as the final distribution artifact.

Git and Release Policy

This repository does not commit build artifacts.

• dist/ is excluded from Git tracking
• Only source code is pushed to GitHub
• The final executable is distributed through GitHub Release assets only

Release upload workflow for this repository:

./publish-release.ps1 -Tag v2026.04.17

Once at least one release already exists, you can upload to the latest release without specifying a tag:

./publish-release.ps1

The script performs the following:

• Verifies that dist/devenv-setup.exe exists
• Queries the latest release when needed
• Replaces the asset if the release already exists
• Creates the first release and uploads the asset if no release exists yet

Implementation Notes

• VS Code core installation uses direct archive extraction
• VS Code extensions are downloaded as the latest VSIX packages in parallel and extracted directly
• PowerShell 7 and VS Code download/extraction paths are kept as lightweight as possible
• The upgrade UI keeps user-facing Key Events concise while preserving full diagnostic logs in files