How to Change

How to Change Things

Practical recipes. For background see Architecture and Contributing.

Change the default start command for a detected stack

File: internal/detect/frameworks.go
Adjust detectNode / detectPython / … return Command. Add a test under detect_test.go with a temp directory containing the marker files.

Change kanban columns

Files: frontend/src/components/kanban/columns.js, styles in _kanban.scss, and any analytics that assume column names (analytics_kanban.go).
Task status strings are part of the on-disk model — migrating existing config.json values if you rename columns.

Change what “Fill with AI” returns

File: ai_api.go (OllamaEnrichTask) and the modal that applies EnrichResult (TaskDetailModal.jsx).
Keep the JSON shape stable or version it; the modal maps fields into model.Task.

Change port detection

Files: internal/procman/ports.go (+ _unix / _windows).
Log-based detection is best-effort; OS polling covers processes that never print a URL.

Change stop / kill behaviour

Files: proc_unix.go / proc_windows.go.
Preserve group kill so npm run dev children die with the shell. App-level stopping / shuttingDown flags must stay consistent or crash analytics will lie.

Add a Preferences section

1. Edit Preferences.jsx (section list + panel).
2. Persist either:
   • Go settings.json (extend analytics.Settings pattern in consent.go / a new settings helper), or
   • localStorage (theme/AI/channel pattern).
3. If Go needs the value at runtime (analytics channel), add a binding to push it across.

Send an in-app announcement (remote banner)

Edit social/banner.json, give the entry a new unique id, put it first in the array, commit, and push to main. Installed apps fetch that file on launch — no new binary required.

Full field reference, scheduling, dismissal rules, and failure checklist: Remote Banners.

Change update check repository

File: version.go constants UpdateOwner, UpdateRepo.
Updater reads GitHub Releases for that repo.

Change product / window chrome

Files: main.go (Wails options), wails.json (name, company), theme_darwin.go (vibrancy/appearance).
Transparent backgrounds are intentional for sidebar glass — do not paint an opaque full-window background in CSS without checking _glass.scss / sidebar styles.

Add offline-safe work

Anything that must work without network already should: process control, local Ollama, local config.
If you add network calls, fail soft in the UI and avoid blocking Shutdown (analytics already uses a 2s bound).

Rename module devdeck → jumpstart

Large intentional migration: every import path, plus communication to forks. Not required for features; leave alone unless you are doing a dedicated rename PR.

Ship a release

1. Update RELEASE_NOTES.md “Unreleased” → version section.
2. Tag vX.Y.Z (stable) or vX.Y.Z-beta.N (beta).
3. CI builds all platforms, signs macOS ad-hoc, uploads assets.
4. Verify About version matches the tag and updater sees the release on the right channel.