DevRunner - Multi-Terminal Development Environment Manager

A powerful Windows Forms application for managing multiple development terminals simultaneously. Perfect for running frontend, backend, CMS, and other services in a unified interface with customizable profiles and color schemes.

✨ Features

🎯 Core Functionality

• Multi-Terminal Interface - Manage unlimited terminals in a clean, stacked layout
• Profile Management - Create, save, and switch between different project configurations
• Parallel Execution - Run multiple environments simultaneously in separate PowerShell processes
• Real-time Output - Live terminal output with color-coded messages
• Terminal Organization - Rename, reorder (move up/down), and delete terminals on the fly
• Collapsible Panels - Expand/collapse individual terminals to focus on what matters

🎨 Modern UI & Theming

• 8 Color Schemes - Choose from beautiful themes:
  • 🟢 Matrix Green - Classic hacker aesthetic
  • 🔵 Ocean Blue - Cool and calming
  • 🟡 Amber Terminal - Retro terminal vibes
  • 🟣 Purple Haze - Modern and vibrant
  • 🔴 Ruby Red - Bold and energetic
  • 💗 Cyberpunk Pink - Neon futuristic
  • ❄️ Arctic Frost - Clean and minimal
  • 🌅 Golden Sunset - Warm and inviting
• Full Theme Application - Colors affect headers, containers, buttons, and output areas
• Dark Theme - Easy on the eyes for long coding sessions
• Responsive Design - Adapts to window resizing

⚡ Smart Controls

• Run All - Start all terminals with one click
• Stop All - Terminate all processes instantly
• Individual Control - Run, build, stop, and clear each terminal independently
• Auto-save - All changes automatically persist to your profile
• Copy Output - Copy terminal output to clipboard

💾 Profile System

• Multiple Profiles - Create separate configurations for different projects
• Save Profile - Explicitly save current configuration
• Save As New Profile - Duplicate your current setup with a new name
• New Profile - Start fresh with an empty profile
• Delete Profile - Remove profiles you no longer need
• Profile Selector - Quick dropdown to switch between profiles
• Auto-load - Last used profile loads on startup

🔧 Terminal Management

• Add Terminal - Add new terminals to your current profile
• Remove Terminal - Delete terminals (prevents removing the last one)
• Rename Terminal - Click the pencil icon or terminal name to rename
• Reorder Terminals - Move terminals up/down with arrow buttons
• Collapse/Expand - Click +/− to toggle terminal visibility
• Color Scheme per Terminal - Each terminal can have its own theme

🔐 Process Control

• Process Tree Termination - Uses taskkill /T /F to kill entire process trees
• Real-time Output - See output as it happens
• Working Directory - Set custom working directory per terminal
• Run Command - Configure command to start your service/app
• Build Command - Configure command to build your project

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Windows OS
• .NET 8.0 SDK (for building from source)
• PowerShell

Installation

Option 1: Download Release (Recommended)

1. Download the latest DevRunner-win-x64.zip from Releases
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Run DevRunner.exe

Option 2: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/Kariko762/DevRunner.git
cd DevRunner
dotnet build DevRunner.csproj
dotnet run --project DevRunner.csproj

📖 How to Use

Profile Management

Creating a New Profile

1. Click File → New Profile
2. Enter a name for your profile
3. Add terminals using the Add Terminal button
4. Configure each terminal's settings

Saving Your Configuration

• Auto-save: Changes are automatically saved as you work
• Manual Save: Click File → Save Profile for peace of mind
• Save As: Click File → Save As New Profile to duplicate your current setup

Switching Profiles

• Use the profile dropdown in the menu bar to switch between profiles
• Your last active profile loads automatically on startup

Terminal Configuration

Adding a Terminal

1. Click ➕ Add Terminal in the toolbar
2. Enter the terminal name
3. Select a color scheme
4. Click OK

Configuring a Terminal

1. Working Directory: Click "Browse..." or type the path
2. Run Command: Enter the command to start your service (e.g., npm start, dotnet run)
3. Build Command: Enter the command to build your project (e.g., npm run build, dotnet build)

Managing Terminals

• Rename: Click the ✎ icon or click the terminal title
• Move Up: Click ▲ to move terminal higher
• Move Down: Click ▼ to move terminal lower
• Delete: Click ✕ to remove (can't delete the last terminal)
• Collapse: Click − to collapse, + to expand

Running Your Environments

Run Individual Terminal

1. Click ▶ Run button (green)
2. Process starts, terminal clears, output displays
3. Process ID shown in button when running

Run All Terminals

1. Click ▶ Run All in the toolbar
2. All terminals start simultaneously

Stop Processes

• Individual Stop: Click ■ Stop button in terminal
• Stop All: Click ⏹ Stop All in toolbar

Build Projects

• Click 🔨 Build button to run the build command
• Output displays in the terminal area

Customizing Appearance

Change Terminal Color Scheme

1. Click the ✎ icon to edit the terminal
2. Select a different color scheme from the dropdown
3. Colors update immediately:
   • Header background
   • Title text color
   • Container background
   • Output area background and text
   • Button colors
   • Accent highlights

🎨 Color Schemes

DevRunner includes 8 beautiful color schemes that affect the entire terminal container:

Scheme	Description	Perfect For
🟢 Matrix Green	Classic green-on-black terminal	Retro/hacker aesthetic
🔵 Ocean Blue	Deep blue tones	Long coding sessions
🟡 Amber Terminal	Warm amber glow	Vintage terminal feel
🟣 Purple Haze	Vibrant purple accents	Modern, creative work
🔴 Ruby Red	Bold red highlights	High energy coding
💗 Cyberpunk Pink	Neon pink vibes	Futuristic projects
❄️ Arctic Frost	Cool blue-white	Clean, minimal look
🌅 Golden Sunset	Warm golden tones	Comfortable viewing

💡 Tips & Tricks

• Quick Profile Switch: Use the dropdown in the menu bar to instantly switch between projects
• Organize Terminals: Order terminals by startup dependency (databases first, APIs second, frontends last)
• Color Code by Type: Use green for frontends, blue for backends, purple for databases
• Collapse Unused: Collapse terminals you don't need to monitor actively
• Copy Output: Use the "Copy" button to grab logs for debugging or sharing
• Auto-save: Don't worry about saving - every change is persisted automatically

🛠️ Building and Development

VS Code

# Build
Ctrl + Shift + B

# Run
.\bin\Debug\net8.0-windows\DevRunner.exe

Command Line

# Build
dotnet build DevRunner.csproj

# Run
dotnet run --project DevRunner.csproj

# Publish (self-contained)
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true /p:PublishSingleFile=true -o .\publish\win-x64

📁 Project Structure

DevRunner/
├── AppSettings.cs              # Persistent settings & profile management
├── MainForm.cs                 # Main application form & orchestration
├── CollapsibleTerminalPanel.cs # Terminal container with header controls
├── TerminalPanel.cs            # Terminal interface & process management
├── TerminalConfig.cs           # Terminal configuration & color schemes
├── TerminalConfigDialog.cs     # Add/edit terminal dialog
├── InputDialog.cs              # Reusable input dialog
├── Profile.cs                  # Profile data model
├── Program.cs                  # Application entry point
├── DevRunner.csproj            # Project file
├── installer.iss               # Inno Setup installer script
├── assets/                     # Screenshots and images
└── README.md

🔧 Configuration File

Settings are stored at: %APPDATA%\DevRunner\settings.json

{
  "CurrentProfileName": "My Project",
  "Profiles": [
    {
      "Name": "My Project",
      "Terminals": [
        {
          "Title": "Frontend",
          "Directory": "C:\\Projects\\MyApp\\frontend",
          "RunCommand": "npm start",
          "BuildCommand": "npm run build",
          "ColorScheme": "Ocean Blue"
        },
        {
          "Title": "Backend",
          "Directory": "C:\\Projects\\MyApp\\backend",
          "RunCommand": "dotnet run",
          "BuildCommand": "dotnet build",
          "ColorScheme": "Matrix Green"
        },
        {
          "Title": "Database",
          "Directory": "C:\\Projects\\MyApp",
          "RunCommand": "docker-compose up",
          "BuildCommand": "docker-compose build",
          "ColorScheme": "Purple Haze"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

🐛 Troubleshooting

Process won't stop?

• DevRunner uses taskkill /T /F to forcefully terminate process trees
• Check Task Manager if processes persist
• Ensure you have permissions to terminate the process

Terminal output not showing?

• Ensure PowerShell is available in your PATH
• Check the working directory exists and is valid
• Verify the command syntax is correct

Settings not saving?

• Verify write permissions to %APPDATA%\DevRunner\
• Check the settings.json file isn't marked as read-only
• Ensure disk space is available

Color scheme not applying?

• Try restarting DevRunner
• Check that you clicked OK in the terminal edit dialog
• Verify the color scheme name exists

Can't delete last terminal?

• This is by design - each profile must have at least one terminal
• Create a new terminal first, then delete the old one

🚀 Use Cases

Web Development

• Frontend (React/Vue/Angular)
• Backend API (Node.js/ASP.NET/.NET)
• Database (MongoDB/PostgreSQL via Docker)

Microservices

• Multiple service instances
• Message queue (RabbitMQ/Kafka)
• API Gateway

Full Stack Development

• Frontend dev server
• Backend API
• CMS/Admin panel
• Database migrations

DevOps

• Local Kubernetes (minikube)
• Docker containers
• Build scripts
• Test runners

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

MIT License - Feel free to use and modify!

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with:

• .NET 8.0 Windows Forms
• PowerShell integration for process management
• Modern UI design principles
• JSON-based configuration

📧 Contact

• GitHub: @Kariko762
• Repository: DevRunner

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Made with ❤️ for developers managing multiple development environments