SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0-beta.17

Highlights

• Added automatic app placement: new windows of registered apps are placed on a desktop specified by number or name.
  • Missing desktops can be created (up to 10 at a time).
  • Empty desktops can be closed after use.
  • Already open windows can be rearranged.
• Added wallpapers for new desktops, set by desktop name or number.
• Added sylphyhorn-cli, a command-line tool to operate the running SylphyHornPlus from scripts and AI agents.
  • WinGet installations provide it as the sylphyhorn-cli command.
  • An agent skill that teaches AI coding assistants how to use it is included in the skills/sylphyhorn folder of the application.
• Fixed SylphyHornPlus stopping when the device switches to battery power while started by the scheduled (elevated) startup task (#57).
  • Existing tasks are not updated automatically. After updating, disable and re-enable "Automatically start as administrator at logon" to recreate the task.

• Updated the bundled .NET runtime to 10.0.12 and updated dependencies.

Installation and upgrade

This release continues to provide separate self-contained packages for x86, x64, and ARM64 Windows. The .NET Desktop Runtime does not need to be installed separately.

For a new WinGet-managed installation:

winget install --id hwtnb.SylphyHornPlus --exact

To update:

winget upgrade --id hwtnb.SylphyHornPlus --exact

When updating a manually extracted copy, exit SylphyHornPlus and replace the entire extracted application folder. The command-line tool is SylphyHorn/sylphyhorn-cli.exe in the extracted folder.

Full Changelog: v4.0.0-beta.16...v4.0.0-beta.17

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0-beta.16

Highlights

• Improved responsiveness during virtual desktop switching by moving notification window rendering off the main UI thread.
• Hardened startup after user sign-in by deferring virtual desktop initialization until the Windows shell is ready, then enabling global hooks and the tray UI only after initialization succeeds.
• Prevented clearing a per-desktop wallpaper path from changing the Windows background mode.

• Migrated the MVVM implementation from Livet to CommunityToolkit.Mvvm and removed the Livet runtime dependencies.
• Removed obsolete AppX/Desktop Bridge support and the unused Application Insights package.
• Added local startup-phase diagnostics to help investigate startup failures.

Installation and upgrade

This release continues to provide separate self-contained packages for x86, x64, and ARM64 Windows. The .NET Desktop Runtime does not need to be installed separately.

For a new WinGet-managed installation:

winget install --id hwtnb.SylphyHornPlus --exact

To update:

winget upgrade --id hwtnb.SylphyHornPlus --exact

When updating a manually extracted copy, exit SylphyHornPlus and replace the entire extracted application folder.

Notes

Startup diagnostics are stored locally in %LocalAppData%\hwtnb.net\SylphyHornPlus\StartupTrace. The newest 20 logs are retained and are not uploaded automatically.

Full Changelog: v4.0.0-beta.15...v4.0.0-beta.16

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0-beta.15

Changes in v4.0.0-beta.15

• Fixed the WinGet command alias so that SylphyHornPlus launches SylphyHorn.exe correctly instead of attempting to start SylphyHorn.dll.
• Added an architecture-specific native launcher for x86, x64, and ARM64 WinGet installations, including complete command-line argument forwarding.
• Added release-package validation for the launcher, executable architecture, command-line arguments, and WinGet manifest topology.
• Improved WinGet release automation and validation.
• Updated the pinned .NET SDK to 10.0.400.

Changes introduced in v4.0.0-beta.14

The following application changes were originally introduced in v4.0.0-beta.14 and are also included in this release:

• Migrated SylphyHornPlus to .NET 10.
• Added native ARM64 support, alongside separate x86 and x64 packages. (#54)
• Added the packaging and release infrastructure for WinGet-managed installation and updates. (#28, #37)
• Redesigned virtual desktop state synchronization to improve reliability when notifications are delayed, missing, or temporarily inconsistent.
• Improved startup shortcut and Task Scheduler registration for .NET 10 builds.
• Replaced the previous keyboard hook dependency with an internal low-level keyboard hook implementation.
• Improved wallpaper update ordering and moved automatic wallpaper application off the UI thread.
• Added extensive regression tests for settings, shortcuts, input handling, startup, virtual desktop interoperability, and release packaging.

For the original beta.14 release notes, see v4.0.0-beta.14.

Installation and upgrade

This release provides separate self-contained packages for x86, x64, and ARM64 Windows. The .NET Desktop Runtime does not need to be installed separately.

SylphyHornPlus is now available through WinGet:

winget install --id hwtnb.SylphyHornPlus --exact

An existing WinGet-managed installation can be updated with:

winget upgrade --id hwtnb.SylphyHornPlus --exact

When updating a manually extracted copy, exit SylphyHornPlus and replace the entire extracted application folder. Do not copy the new files over the old folder, because the application layout changed substantially as part of the .NET 10 migration.

If you previously installed SylphyHornPlus manually and want to switch to WinGet, remove or unregister the old manual copy first. WinGet does not remove separately extracted copies or their startup registrations.

Notes

v4.0.0-beta.15 is the first version from this release series published through WinGet.

The v4.0.0-beta.14 WinGet submission was not published because its command alias targeted the .NET apphost directly. This release replaces that alias target with an architecture-specific launcher. The application functionality introduced in beta.14 is otherwise retained.

Although this release has undergone expanded automated testing, WinGet installation validation, and ARM64 device testing, please report any regressions through the GitHub issue tracker.

Changes since beta.14: v4.0.0-beta.14...v4.0.0-beta.15

Full changes since beta.13: v4.0.0-beta.13...v4.0.0-beta.15

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0-beta.14

Important

This release has been superseded by v4.0.0-beta.15.

v4.0.0-beta.14 was not published through WinGet because the proposed command alias did not correctly launch the .NET application. Use v4.0.0-beta.15 or later for WinGet installation and updates.

Highlights

• Migrated SylphyHornPlus to .NET 10.
• Added native ARM64 support, alongside x86 and x64 packages. (#54)
• Added packaging and release automation in preparation for WinGet-managed installation and updates. (#28, #37)
• Redesigned virtual desktop state synchronization to improve reliability when notifications are delayed, missing, or temporarily inconsistent.
• Improved startup shortcut and Task Scheduler registration for .NET 10 builds.
• Replaced the previous keyboard hook dependency with an internal low-level keyboard hook implementation.
• Improved wallpaper update ordering and moved automatic wallpaper application off the UI thread.
• Added extensive regression tests for settings, shortcuts, input handling, startup, virtual desktop interoperability, and release packaging.

Installation and upgrade

This release provides separate self-contained packages for x86, x64, and ARM64 Windows. The .NET Desktop Runtime does not need to be installed separately.

When updating a manually extracted copy, exit SylphyHornPlus and replace the entire extracted application folder. Do not copy the new files over the old folder, because the application layout changed substantially in this release.

For WinGet-managed installation or updates, use v4.0.0-beta.15 or later:

winget upgrade --id hwtnb.SylphyHornPlus --exact

The beta.13-to-beta.14 candidate upgrade path was tested during release validation. The test verified architecture selection, removal of files from the previous layout, preservation of settings and startup registration, and an exact file-level match with the beta.14 release package. However, the beta.14 WinGet manifest was not published because of the command-alias issue described above.

If you previously installed SylphyHornPlus manually and want to switch to WinGet, remove or unregister the old manual copy first. WinGet does not remove separately extracted copies or their startup registrations.

Notes

This is a large migration release. Although it has undergone expanded automated testing and ARM64 device testing, please report any regressions through the GitHub issue tracker.

WinGet availability may follow the GitHub Release after the corresponding manifest update is accepted.

Update: The v4.0.0-beta.14 WinGet manifest was not published because its proposed command alias did not correctly launch the .NET application. Corrected WinGet packaging was released in v4.0.0-beta.15, which is now available through WinGet.

Full Changelog: v4.0.0-beta.13...v4.0.0-beta.14

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0 beta.13

• Add support for Windows 11 24H2 build 26100.2605 or later.
• Add support for Windows 11 23H2 build 22621.3085 or later.

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0 beta.12

• Add feature to set offset of notification window (#25).
• Add feature to round corners of notification window (Windows 11 style).
  • Disabled on Windows 10.
• Add new placements (center left and center right) for notification window.
• Enable acrylic blur effect for notification on Windows 11.

Troubleshooting for update issues (beta.10 or earlier)

• It is recommended to delete cache data (VirtualDesktop.*****.generated.dll) at %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\hwtnb.net\SylphyHorn\assemblies if error occurs.

Troubleshooting for Windows 11 23H2, 22H2 build 22621.3085 or later

Please try the test binary to fix a issue: SylphyHornPlus-Ver4.0.0-test-support22621.3085OrLater

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0 beta.11

• Fix crashes when switching a desktop on Windows 11 Insider Preview build 23526 or later.

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0 beta.10

• Add support for Windows 11 build 22621.2215 and 22621.2283.
• Improve error handling on initialization of virtual desktop.

Known issues

• SylphyHornPlus crashes when switching a desktop on Windows 11 Insider Preview build 23526 or later (fixed in beta.11).

Troubleshooting for update issues

• It is recommended to delete cache data (VirtualDesktop.*****.generated.dll) at %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\hwtnb.net\SylphyHorn\assemblies if error occurs.

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0 beta.9

• Fixed bugs:
  • Fix issue when overriding desktops (#17).

SylphyHornPlus v4.0.0 beta.8

• Fixed bugs:
  • Fix crash caused by wrong cache after Explorer restarts (#14).