Skip to content

server-cli.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
114 lines (90 loc) · 4.06 KB

server-cli.md

File metadata and controls

114 lines (90 loc) · 4.06 KB
Raw

Server.Cli — Console Host

PcBeaconAgent.Server.Cli is the interactive console host. It runs the Web API + SignalR hub + UDP beacon in a single process, prints the pairing PIN to stdout and the log file, and is meant to be run in a terminal window you keep open while using the agent.

The tray host (Server.Tray) is a separate executable that shares the same Server.Core business logic but adds a WPF UI with a tray icon and PIN popup. The two hosts are mutually exclusive — they share a single-instance mutex (Global\PcBeaconAgent-SingleInstance) so a second instance of either exits cleanly with a clear message instead of crashing on AddressAlreadyInUse.

When to use which

Use Server.Cli when… Use Server.Tray when…
Debugging — full stdout logging in a terminal Running interactively on the user's desktop
Scripted / short-lived use from a terminal You want the PIN popup and tray icon
You want to read PIN transitions in real time Auto-start on user login is desired

⚠️ Server.Cli is interactive-only. It does not register as a Windows Service and does not support headless / Session 0 deployments — DisplayController and AudioController require an interactive desktop session, so a Session 0 service would have no monitors and no audio devices to control. For always-on use, run Server.Tray and configure auto-start (planned, see roadmap).

CLI arguments

Silent mode

By default, the agent duplicates all logs to the console window. For background or scripted execution, you can suppress terminal output:

# Run in silent mode (logs go to the file only):
PcBeaconAgent.Server.Cli.exe --no-console

# Alias:
PcBeaconAgent.Server.Cli.exe --silent

Configuration

All runtime configuration lives in appsettings.json next to the executable:

{
  "Server": {
    "Host": "0.0.0.0",
    "DiscoveryPort": 5001,
    "ApiPort": 5000,
    "ApiKey": ""
  },
  "Logging": {
    "Path": "logs/pcbeacon.log"
  }
}
  • Server.Host — bind address for the HTTP API. 0.0.0.0 listens on all interfaces (LAN-reachable); 127.0.0.1 restricts to localhost.
  • Server.DiscoveryPort — UDP port for the beacon broadcast.
  • Server.ApiPort — HTTP port for the Web API + SignalR hub.
  • Server.ApiKey — if empty, the server generates a random key on first run and persists it to server.key. If non-empty, the configured key is used (useful for pre-provisioned deployments).
  • Logging.Path — log file path (Serilog file sink).

Build & publish

The project is configured for single-file self-contained publish:

dotnet publish src/PcBeaconAgent.Server.Cli/PcBeaconAgent.Server.Cli.csproj \
  -c Release \
  -r win-x64

The CI pipeline (publish-all.yml) builds this automatically on every release.v.X.Y.Z tag push. See the main README for the release workflow.

Logs

Logs are written to the file specified in appsettings.json via Serilog. The PIN is logged at Warning level with prominent separators so it's easy to find in a scrolling log:

══════════════════════════════════════
  PAIRING PIN : 421849
  Valid for   : 5 minutes
══════════════════════════════════════

In interactive mode the same banner is printed to stdout. In --silent mode it goes only to the file.

What's not in Server.Cli

  • No tray icon, no popup, no balloons. The PIN is in the log only. If you need a UI, use Server.Tray.
  • No auto-start. Launch the executable manually when you need it.
  • No Windows Service support. The controllers require an interactive desktop session.
  • No PIN state-change notifications. The PairingStateChanged event is raised by PairingService but no subscriber in Server.Cli consumes it — the host has no UI surface to update. The log entries for each transition are still written.