Posti Forge

Posti Forge is a post‑install automation designer. It lets you:

• ✅ Define profiles for different targets (e.g. Fedora, Ubuntu, kiosks, Windows etc).
• ✅ Compose ordered steps (commands with optional descriptions and confirmation gates).
• ✅ Preview the generated posti.py runner script with a CRT‑style console UI.
• ✅ Save your work as versioned Python scripts and build standalone binaries.

This repository contains a full web‑based designer and a backend builder wrapped in a single container.

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Demo / Screenshots

Main UI

Features

• Profile management
  • Multiple profiles with custom labels.
  • Inline Add/Edit/Remove actions and safe delete confirmation.
• Step composer
  • Create sub-steps command chain by &&
  • Title, description, command, optional “Require confirmation” toggle.
  • Multi‑selection of steps with Ctrl/Shift and bulk enable/disable actions.
  • Clone, reorder via controls and enable/disable per step.
• Posti script preview
  • Live preview of the generated runner with Python syntax highlighting.
  • “Generate preview” and “Copy to clipboard” actions.
• Project persistence
  • “Save project” produces versioned files like posti_v1.2.py.
  • Scripts are saved on the server under data/projects and downloaded to your browser.
• Binary builds
  • One‑click “Build Binary” invokes PyInstaller in the backend.
  • Versioned binaries are stored under data/generated_binary and downloaded to the browser.
• PWA support
  • Installable as a Progressive Web App with a manifest, icons and a service worker for offline shell.

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Run with Docker (GHCR)

The easiest way to get started is to use compose file:

services:
  posti:
    image: ghcr.io/pbuzdygan/posti:latest
    container_name: posti
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8012:8000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data

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Quick start (Docker Compose)

From the project root:

docker compose build
docker compose up -d

Then open the UI in your browser:

• http://localhost:8012/ (or the host/port you configured)

The default docker-compose.yml maps:

• ./data on the host → /app/data inside the container.

This folder is used for persistence (see below).

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Data persistence layout

Under the bind‑mounted data/ directory the backend expects:

• data/projects – versioned posti_vX.Y.py project files (from Save project).
• data/generated_binary – built binaries (from Build Binary).

You can create these subfolders yourself on the host, or let the backend attempt to create them. At startup, the backend logs a clear status for each area:

• if the directory is missing or not writable, it logs a warning but the app still runs;
• in that case, downloads to the browser still work, but nothing can be persisted to disk on the server.

Binary artifacts and saved scripts are marked executable (0755) where the filesystem/ACLs allow it.

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Using the designer

1. Create a profile
   • In the Profiles panel, click Add, name your profile and confirm.
   • The “Add” button pulses when no profiles exist to guide new users.
2. Compose steps
   • Use the Step composer to add steps with a title, description and command.
   • Toggle Confirm if a step should require confirmation at runtime.
3. Preview posti.py
   • In the posti.py preview panel, click Generate preview.
   • Review the script; use Copy to clipboard if you want to paste it elsewhere.
4. Save project
   • Click Save project in the Operations panel.
   • The app bumps the version (e.g. 1.0 → 1.1), saves posti_vX.Y.py to data/projects (if possible) and downloads it to your browser.
5. Build binary
   • Click Build Binary to create a standalone executable from the current configuration.
   • The binary is stored in data/generated_binary and downloaded to your browser.

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PWA installation

Posti Forge is installable as a PWA:

• When conditions are met (served over HTTPS, supported browser), the app will show an Install banner.
• Alternatively, you can use your browser’s menu:
  • Desktop Chromium: “Install app…”
  • Android: “Add to Home screen”

Once installed, you get:

• Fullscreen, app‑like experience.
• Offline shell for the designer and posti.py preview (within the limits of cached resources).

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Development notes

For local development of the frontend only (outside the container):

1. Install Node.js (LTS) and pnpm/npm.

2. In frontend/:

   npm install
   npm run dev

   This starts Vite dev server (default http://localhost:5173/).

3. Ensure the backend (FastAPI + PyInstaller service) is reachable from the dev server, or set VITE_BUILDER_URL to point to the running API (e.g. http://localhost:8000/api).

For most users, running via docker compose as described above is sufficient.