FluentTaskScheduler

A modern, powerful, and intuitive Windows task scheduling application built with WinUI 3 and .NET 8.

Overview

FluentTaskScheduler is a professional-grade wrapper for the Windows Task Scheduler API, designed with Microsoft's modern Fluent Design System. It simplifies the creation and management of automation tasks, offering a sleek alternative to the legacy Windows Task Scheduler.

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Key Features

🕹️ Dashboard & Monitoring

• Activity Stream: A live feed of task activity. Click any entry to jump directly to the task details.
• Task History: Comprehensive history of all task executions, keeping you informed of every run.
• Visual Analytics: A dynamic task run history chart on the dashboard showing successes vs. failures over time.
• Animated Status: Clearly identify running tasks at a glance with animated status indicators.

🕒 Comprehensive Triggers

• Time-Based:
  • One Time: Run once at a specific date and time.
  • Daily: Recur every X days.
  • Weekly: Select specific days of the week (Mon-Sun).
  • Monthly: Schedule on specific dates (e.g., 1st, 15th) or relative patterns (e.g., First Monday of the month).
• System Events:
  • At Logon: Trigger when a user logs in.
  • At Startup: Trigger when the system boots.
  • On Event: Trigger based on specific Windows Event Log entries (Log, Source, Event ID).
  • Session State Change: Trigger on Lock, Unlock, Remote Connect, or Remote Disconnect.
• Advanced Options:
  • Random Delay: Add a random delay to execution times to prevent thundering herds.
  • Expiration: Set task expiration dates.
  • Stop After: Automatically stop tasks if they run longer than a specified duration.

🔄 Advanced Repetition

• Task Repetition: Configure tasks to repeat every few minutes or hours.
• Recurring Tasks Support: Set a repetition interval and duration per trigger for flexible automation.
• Task Duration: Set a duration for the repetition pattern (e.g., repeat every 15 minutes for 12 hours).

📜 Script Library

• Centralized Management: A dedicated space for pr-written PowerShell scripts, separating logic from task configuration.
• Reusable Code: Use scripts in multiple tasks.
• Custom Templates: Save and reuse your own task templates, going beyond just the pre-built scripts.

🛡️ Actions & Conditions

• Actions:
  • Run programs or scripts.
  • Specialized support for PowerShell scripts with execution policy bypass tips.
  • Custom working directories and arguments.
• Conditions:
  • Idle: Start only if the computer has been idle.
  • Power: Start only if on AC power; stop if switched to battery.
  • Network: Start only if a network connection is available.
  • Wake to Run: enhance reliability by waking the computer to execute the task.

🎨 Customization

• Themes: Choose between Light Mode and Dark Mode for a standard look, or go full stealth with OLED Mode (Pure Black) if you actually care about your display longevity.
• Mica Effect: Enable or disable the Mica effect for a more premium look.
• Title Bar Integration: Modern, customized title bar with proper drag regions that actually work (unlike some other apps we won't mention).
• Languages: Native English (en-US) support.
• Smooth Scrolling: Optional smooth/inertia scrolling throughout the app, disabled by default for a snappier feel.
• Window Size Memory: The app remembers your last window size and restores it on next launch.

🧬 System Integration

• ARM64 Support: Native support for ARM64 devices.
• System Tray: Minimize the app to the tray to keep your taskbar clean while the scheduler hums in the background. Disabled by default.
• Tray Badge: See the number of currently running tasks at a glance directly on the tray icon.
• Multi-Window Tray Management: Open multiple windows and manage them independently from the tray right-click menu — restore or close individual windows, or open a new one, all from a single tray icon.
• Tray Notification: A toast notification appears the first time the app is minimized to tray, with a click action to restore the window instantly.
• Single Instance: Launching the app a second time brings the existing window to the front instead of opening a duplicate.
• Run on Startup: Option to launch automatically with Windows.
• Notifications & Reminders: Get native toast notifications and reminders for pending tasks, completions, or those annoying failures.
• Onboarding Walkthrough: Step-by-step onboarding for first launch to guide new users through key features.
• Changelog Popup: A "What's New" popup highlighting application updates the first time you run a new version.

⚙️ Robust Settings

• Modern Navigation: A reworked settings page utilizing NavigationView for that premium feeling you didn't know you needed.
• Privileges: Run tasks with highest privileges (Admin) or as System/Specific User.
• Priority: Configurable task priority (Realtime to Idle).
• Concurrency: Define behavior for multiple instances (Parallel, Queue, Ignore New, Stop Existing).
• Fail-Safe:
  • Restart on Failure: Automatically attempt to restart failed tasks up to a configured limit.
  • Run if Missed: Execute the task as soon as possible if a scheduled start was missed (e.g., computer was off).
• Settings Backup: Backup and restore your application settings to ensure your configuration is safe.

📊 Management & History

• Task History: View recent task execution history within the app (Today, Yesterday, This Week, All Time).
• Categorization & Tags: Organize tasks with custom tags and categories.
• Smart Search: Instantly find tasks by name, status, path, or those tags you just added.
• Folder Management: Organize your tasks logically by creating, renaming, and deleting custom folders.
• Smart Navigation: The application remembers your last-used folder on restart.
• Sortable Lists: Sort tasks easily by clicking column headers directly in the task list (by name, status, next run, etc.).
• Import/Export: Easily backup or migrate task definitions. Supports importing to any selected folder.
• Batch Operations: Select and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• CLI Support: Full command-line interface for automation and headless management.

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + N	New Task
Ctrl + E	Edit Selected Task
Ctrl + R	Run Selected Task
Delete	Delete Selected Task
F5	Refresh Task List
Esc	Close Dialogs / Clear Selection
? / F1	Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet

💻 CLI Reference

FluentTaskScheduler supports command-line arguments for integration with scripts and external tools.

# List all tasks as JSON
FluentTaskScheduler.exe --list

# Run a specific task
FluentTaskScheduler.exe --run "MyTaskName"

# Enable or Disable a task
FluentTaskScheduler.exe --enable "MyTaskName"
FluentTaskScheduler.exe --disable "MyTaskName"

# Export task history to CSV
FluentTaskScheduler.exe --export-history "MyTaskName" --output "C:\logs\history.csv"

Technology Stack

• Framework: .NET 8
• UI Architecture: WinUI 3 (Windows App SDK)
• Core Logic: TaskScheduler Managed Wrapper
• CI/CD: Fully automated GitHub Actions for x86 and ARM64 builds (thanks, TalyNone).
• Auto-Update: VeloPack for seamless in-app updates via GitHub Releases.
• Architectures: Support for x64 and ARM64.
• Language: C#

Building from Source

1. Prerequisites:

   • Visual Studio 2022 (17.8 or later) with "Windows application development" workload.
   • .NET 8 SDK.

2. Clone & Build:

   git clone https://github.com/TRGamer-tech/FluentTaskScheduler.git
   cd FluentTaskScheduler
   dotnet build -c Release

🛠️ Troubleshooting

• Crash Logs: If the application encounters a critical error, a crash_log.txt file is generated in the application directory.
• Admin Rights: Some features (like "Run as SYSTEM") require the application to be run as Administrator.
• Preferences storage: The application stores its preferences as well as the log and custom script files in a JSON file in "%localappdata%\FluentTaskScheduler".

3. Publishing with VeloPack:

   The project uses VeloPack for packaging and auto-updates. A single MSI installer is built per architecture — end users can choose Per User or Machine-Wide installation from the standard MSI UI. Requires vpk 0.0.1444-gc245055 or later.

   # Install / update the VeloPack CLI (0.0.1444-gc245055+)
   dotnet tool install -g vpk
   # or, if already installed:
   dotnet tool update -g vpk
   
   # x64
   dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained
   vpk pack -u FluentTaskScheduler -v 1.X.X -p bin/x64/Release/net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0/win-x64/publish -e FluentTaskScheduler.exe --msi
   
   # ARM64
   dotnet publish -c Release -r win-arm64 --self-contained
   vpk pack -u FluentTaskScheduler -v 1.X.X -p bin/ARM64/Release/net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0/win-arm64/publish -e FluentTaskScheduler.exe --msi

   This generates a Setup.msi installer and delta/full .nupkg files in the Releases folder. Upload the .msi and .nupkg files to a GitHub Release and the app will auto-update for users.

   End users simply run Setup.msi and the installer UI lets them choose between a per-user or machine-wide installation.

4. Single File Deployment: The project also supports publishing as a single, self-contained executable for portable distribution.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.