GhostBar 👻

A stealth overlay assistant for Windows that is invisible to screen capture and screen sharing. Perfect for discreet AI-powered assistance during presentations, calls, or any screen-sharing scenario.

✨ Features

• 🔒 Stealth Mode - Invisible to screen capture, screenshots, and screen sharing (uses Windows WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE)
• 🤖 AI Integration - OpenAI GPT-4o-mini powered responses
• ⌨️ Global Hotkeys - Quick access from anywhere
• 📌 System Tray - Runs quietly in the background
• 🎨 Modern UI - Sleek, semi-transparent floating overlay

🎹 Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + Space	Toggle visibility / Send prompt (when text entered)
Enter	Send prompt to AI
Escape	Clear input and hide window
Escape (double-tap)	Reset UI and re-center window

🖱️ UI Controls

• Reset Button (↻) - Clears input/response and re-centers the window
• Hide Button - Minimizes to system tray
• Menu Button (⋮⋮) - Reserved for future features
• Close Button (×) - Exits the application
• Drag - Click and drag the top bar to move the window

🏗️ Project Structure

GhostBar/
├── App.xaml / App.xaml.cs      # Application entry point
├── MainWindow.xaml / .cs       # Main overlay UI and logic
├── OpenAIClient.cs             # OpenAI API integration
├── NativeMethods.cs            # Windows P/Invoke declarations
├── Logger.cs                   # Debug logging utility
├── ChatMessage.cs              # Chat message model
└── GhostBar.csproj             # Project configuration

🔧 Technical Implementation

Stealth Rendering

Uses Windows API SetWindowDisplayAffinity with WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTURE flag to make the window invisible to:

• Screenshots (Win + PrintScreen)
• Screen recording software
• Video conferencing screen share (Teams, Zoom, etc.)

Global Hotkey

Registers a system-wide hotkey using RegisterHotKey Windows API:

• Hotkey: Ctrl + Space
• Works even when GhostBar is not focused

System Tray Integration

Uses Windows Forms NotifyIcon for system tray presence:

• Double-click tray icon to show window
• Right-click for context menu (Show/Exit)

📋 Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• .NET 10 Desktop Runtime (for release builds)

🚀 Getting Started

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/tolutally/GhostBar.git
   cd GhostBar

2. Set your OpenAI API key as an environment variable:

   # PowerShell (current session)
   $env:GHOSTBAR_OPENAI_API_KEY = "your-api-key-here"
   
   # Or set permanently (User level)
   [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GHOSTBAR_OPENAI_API_KEY", "your-api-key-here", "User")

3. Build and run:

   dotnet build
   dotnet run

Publish (Self-Contained)

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

⚠️ Important Notes

• API Key Security: The API key is read from GHOSTBAR_OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable. Never commit secrets to Git.
• SSL Bypass: The current implementation disables SSL certificate validation for debugging. This should be removed for production use.
• Stealth Limitation: The window is still visible to the user; it's only hidden from capture software.

📝 Logs

Debug logs are written to:

%LocalAppData%\GhostBar\Logs\ghostbar_YYYY-MM-DD.log

🛠️ Development

Built with:

• WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) for UI
• Windows Forms for NotifyIcon (system tray)
• P/Invoke for Windows API calls
• HttpClient for OpenAI API requests

🚀 Release Guide

GhostBar is configured for automated cloud distribution via GitHub Actions.

How to Create a Release

1. Commit changes to your code.
2. Tag the release with a version starting with v (e.g., v1.0.0):

   git tag v1.0.0
   git push origin v1.0.0

3. Wait for the Build:
   • Go to the Actions tab in GitHub.
   • Watch the "GhostBar Release" workflow.
4. Download:
   • Once complete, a new Release will appear in the GitHub sidebar.
   • It will contain GhostBar-Release.zip ready for download.

Manual Trigger

You can also manually trigger a build without tagging:

1. Go to Actions > GhostBar Release.
2. Click Run workflow.

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📄 License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify as needed.