# RackStack.exe launcher

`RackStack.exe` is a small native host for the monolithic script, not a packed
or converted copy of it.

| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `RackStack.Launcher.cs` | The whole program. Starts Windows PowerShell's own console host in-process and runs the embedded script in it. |
| `app.manifest` | Requests elevation (`requireAdministrator`), declares supported Windows versions, opts into long paths. |

## How the executable is built

CI compiles the launcher with `csc.exe` from the .NET Framework that is part of
Windows, and embeds `RackStack v{version}.ps1` as a plain-text resource named
`RackStack.ps1`. There is no third-party compiler, wrapper, or packer in the
path from source to binary. The exact command is in
[`.github/workflows/ci.yml`](../../.github/workflows/ci.yml), step
"Compile RackStack.exe".

The embedded script is byte-identical to the monolithic `.ps1` published in the
same release, which is Sigstore-signed like every other release artifact.

## Why the launcher exists

Earlier releases were produced with ps2exe, which wraps a script in its own
PowerShell host implementation. That wrapper is widely reused by malware
droppers, so antivirus heuristics scored every RackStack build as a packed
script host regardless of what the script did. Running the script under the
genuine console host removes the wrapper entirely and gives users the same
console behaviour as `powershell.exe`.

## Local build

From a Windows PowerShell 5.1 machine, with the monolithic already generated by
`sync-to-monolithic.ps1`:

```powershell
$ver  = '1.123.0'
$csc  = "$env:WINDIR\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\csc.exe"
$gac  = "$env:WINDIR\Microsoft.Net\assembly\GAC_MSIL"
$sma  = (Get-ChildItem "$gac\System.Management.Automation" -Recurse -Filter System.Management.Automation.dll | Select-Object -First 1).FullName
$chst = (Get-ChildItem "$gac\Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost" -Recurse -Filter Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost.dll | Select-Object -First 1).FullName

$src = (Get-Content dist\launcher\RackStack.Launcher.cs -Raw).Replace('Version = "0.0.0.0"', "Version = `"$ver.0`"")
[IO.File]::WriteAllText("$env:TEMP\RackStack.Launcher.cs", $src)
Copy-Item "builds\RackStack v$ver.ps1" "$env:TEMP\RackStack.ps1" -Force

& $csc /nologo /target:exe /platform:anycpu /optimize+ /debug- /warnaserror+ `
    /r:$sma /r:$chst `
    /win32icon:RackStack.ico /win32manifest:dist\launcher\app.manifest `
    /resource:"$env:TEMP\RackStack.ps1",RackStack.ps1 `
    /out:builds\RackStack.exe "$env:TEMP\RackStack.Launcher.cs"
```

## Runtime behaviour

- Arguments pass straight through: `RackStack.exe -Action HealthCheck -Silent`
  behaves exactly like running the script with those parameters.
- `$PSCommandPath` is empty inside the script (as it was under ps2exe); the
  script already resolves its own location from the process path.
- If the embedded resource is missing (a development build compiled without
  `/resource:`), the launcher falls back to a `RackStack.ps1` beside the
  executable and otherwise exits with code 2.
- Exit code 3 means Windows PowerShell 5.1 is not installed.