Joker

Clipboard assistant for Windows with hotkeys and a popup answer window, plus its installer, built as one Cargo workspace.

Workspace layout

.
├── Cargo.toml              # workspace + shared dependency versions
├── assets/                 # icon.ico (embedded in both exes), joker.png
├── config/config.ini       # sample configuration (copied next to joker.exe)
├── scripts/                # build.ps1 (dev build), publish.ps1/.bat (release zip)
├── .vscode/                # tasks.json + build.ps1 (Ctrl+Shift+B menu)
├── crates/
│   ├── shared/             # config model + INI load/validate/write, paths, errors
│   ├── core/               # pure logic: hotkey state machine, popup sizing, prompt building
│   ├── services/           # chat API client, clipboard, processes, Task Scheduler (schtasks XML),
│   │                       # UAC elevation
│   ├── app/                # joker.exe: global input hook, Win32 popup, event loop
│   └── installer/          # joker_installer.exe: menu, validation, install/uninstall
└── tests/                  # cross-crate integration tests

Dependency direction: app and installer depend on services, core and shared; services depends on core and shared; core depends on shared; shared depends on nothing internal.

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Rust stable (1.80 or newer). Both the MSVC and the GNU toolchain work.
• Optional: a resource compiler (rc.exe from the Windows SDK, or windres from MinGW) to embed the icon. Without one the build still succeeds and prints a warning.

Build

cargo build --workspace --release
# or: builds and copies joker.exe, joker_installer.exe and config.ini to .\app\
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\build.ps1

Executables: target\release\joker.exe (no console window) and target\release\joker_installer.exe (console). Debug builds of joker.exe keep a console so log output is visible while developing.

Publish

scripts\publish.ps1 (or double-click scripts\publish.bat) builds the release binaries and assembles a ready-to-ship folder plus archive under dist\:

dist\joker-v<version>\                 joker.exe, joker_installer.exe, config.ini, README.txt
dist\joker-v<version>-windows-x64.zip
dist\joker-v<version>-windows-x64.sha256.txt

Options: -NoZip (folder only), -SkipBuild (reuse target\release), -Clean (wipe dist\ first), -OutputDir <path>, -AppName <name> and -Description <text>. The version comes from Cargo.toml. The installer installs the joker.exe sitting next to it, so the zip is self-contained.

-AppName / -Description rename the product. With -AppName "SchoolEasy" the output is dist\schooleasy-v<version>\ containing schooleasy.exe and schooleasy_installer.exe, the installer looks for schooleasy.exe next to itself, defaults the installation / task name to schooleasy, shows "SCHOOLEASY SETUP" in its banner, the app logs to schooleasy.log, and both executables carry the name and description in their Windows version info (ProductName / FileDescription, the values Explorer's Details tab and Task Manager show). The values travel through environment variables set while building: JOKER_APP_ID (lower-case file name stem) and JOKER_APP_NAME are read by crates\shared\src\constants.rs, JOKER_APP_NAME / JOKER_APP_DESCRIPTION by the two build.rs files. A plain cargo build without them produces the usual joker / Joker.

In VS Code, Ctrl+Shift+B lists the same actions; Joker: Publish... prompts for the app name and the description before it runs.

Run the application

Put config.ini next to joker.exe (or in the working directory), fill in api_key, then start joker.exe.

• key_exit (default Key.esc): toggle Joker on/off
• key_pop (default 1): send the clipboard text to the model and show the answer
• key_repop (default 2): show the last answer again
• Right click: sends Ctrl+C so the selection is copied (only while enabled)

The popup is placed by two [window] settings: anchor picks the screen corner the offset starts from (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right or center; default bottom-left) and position = +X+Y is the distance from that corner, e.g. anchor = bottom-right with position = +20+20 puts it 20 px from the right and bottom edges. A - sign measures from the opposite edge instead. The popup is sized to its text and only wraps when it would leave the screen.

Only one instance runs at a time. Set enabled = true in the [log] section of config.ini to write joker.log next to the executable (debug builds also print to the console). The section is optional and defaults to false; a config file that cannot be loaded is always reported in joker.log so the error is visible.

Run the installer

joker_installer.exe with no arguments shows the interactive menu and asks for elevation through UAC. Use the arrow keys and Enter to navigate, Esc to cancel; inputs are validated as you type and a summary of the plan is shown before anything is changed. When stdin is not a terminal (scripts, pipes) the same prompts fall back to plain numbered/line input.

• Install Joker takes the joker.exe next to the installer (suggested; any other joker.exe can be typed in) and either copies it into <folder>\<name> with a fresh config.ini and the autostart task (default), or uses it where it is: config.ini next to it only if missing (an existing one is kept untouched) plus the autostart task, nothing copied. The task starts Joker at logon and on session unlock.
• Uninstall Joker removes the task, stops the app and deletes the folder.

Unattended use:

joker_installer.exe install --dir C:\Users\me\Documents --name joker -y     # copies the joker.exe next to the installer
joker_installer.exe install --exe D:\tools\joker.exe --dir C:\apps -y       # copies another joker.exe
joker_installer.exe install --exe D:\tools\joker.exe -y                     # uses it where it is ("setup" is an alias)
joker_installer.exe uninstall --dir C:\Users\me\Documents --name joker -y
joker_installer.exe --help

--skip-task skips the Task Scheduler step, --no-elevate skips the UAC prompt (registration then fails unless the console is already elevated).

Test

cargo fmt --all --check
cargo check --workspace
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets
cargo test --workspace
cargo test --workspace -- --ignored   # from an elevated console: imports the task XML

The tests need no network, no admin rights and no GUI: the API call hits a local one-shot server, the popup is exercised only through pure sizing logic, and installer flows run against temporary folders.