Add launcher debug settings, recovery & version fixes

Introduce a persistent LauncherDebugSettingsStore and wire it into ErrorWindow and SplashWindow so dev-mode and custom host path can be saved/loaded. Harden DeploymentLocator/FlexibleHostLocator to safely normalize and validate saved debug paths and log warnings for malformed values. Add a WaitingForShell startup state and recoverable-activation logic across App and LauncherFlowCoordinator (with registry updates) so Launcher can attach to an in-progress desktop shell rather than failing. Clean up ErrorDebugWindow UI/flow (WasAccepted flag, localization fixes, event wiring) and improve splash version population. Improve AppVersionProvider to trim surrounding quotes, robustly parse version.json via JsonDocument and read string properties; add unit tests for AppVersionProvider, DeploymentLocator and LauncherDebugSettingsStore. Also quote Exec commands in the csproj and harden scripts/Generate-VersionFile.ps1 (argument normalization, LiteralPath, error handling).

LanMountainDesktop.Launcher/Services/DeploymentLocator.cs

@@ -204,12 +204,16 @@ internal sealed class DeploymentLocator
             var savedCustomPath = Views.ErrorWindow.GetSavedCustomHostPath();
             if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(savedCustomPath))
             {
-                var fullSavedPath = Path.GetFullPath(savedCustomPath);
-                searchedPaths.Add(fullSavedPath);
-                if (File.Exists(fullSavedPath))
+                if (TryNormalizeSavedDebugPath(savedCustomPath, out var fullSavedPath))
                 {
-                    source = "debug_saved_custom_path";
-                    return fullSavedPath;
+                    searchedPaths.Add(fullSavedPath);
+                    if (File.Exists(fullSavedPath))
+                    {
+                        source = "debug_saved_custom_path";
+                        return fullSavedPath;
+                    }
+
+                    Logger.Warn($"Saved launcher debug host path is invalid; falling back to development paths. Path='{fullSavedPath}'.");
                 }
             }
         }
@@ -229,6 +233,21 @@ internal sealed class DeploymentLocator
         return null;
     }
 
+    private static bool TryNormalizeSavedDebugPath(string savedPath, out string fullSavedPath)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            fullSavedPath = Path.GetFullPath(savedPath);
+            return true;
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            fullSavedPath = string.Empty;
+            Logger.Warn($"Saved launcher debug host path is invalid and cannot be normalized; falling back to development paths. Path='{savedPath}'; Error='{ex.Message}'.");
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
     private static string? FindBestDeploymentHost(
         string root,
         string executable,
@@ -303,9 +322,17 @@ internal sealed class DeploymentLocator
         if (Views.ErrorWindow.CheckDevModeEnabled())
         {
             var savedCustomPath = Views.ErrorWindow.GetSavedCustomHostPath();
-            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(savedCustomPath) && File.Exists(savedCustomPath))
+            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(savedCustomPath))
             {
-                return savedCustomPath;
+                if (TryNormalizeSavedDebugPath(savedCustomPath, out var fullSavedPath) &&
+                    File.Exists(fullSavedPath))
+                {
+                    return fullSavedPath;
+                }
+                else if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(fullSavedPath))
+                {
+                    Logger.Warn($"Saved launcher debug host path is invalid; falling back to development paths. Path='{fullSavedPath}'.");
+                }
             }
 
             var devPath = ScanDevelopmentPaths(executable);

LanMountainDesktop.Launcher/Services/FlexibleHostLocator.cs

@@ -560,6 +560,11 @@ namespace LanMountainDesktop.Launcher.Services;
             }
         }
 
+        if (string.Equals(source, "saved dev mode path", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        {
+            Logger.Warn($"Saved launcher debug host path is invalid; continuing host discovery. Path='{path}'.");
+        }
+
         return null;
     }
 

LanMountainDesktop.Launcher/Services/LauncherDebugSettingsStore.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+namespace LanMountainDesktop.Launcher.Services;
+
+internal sealed record LauncherDebugSettings(bool DevModeEnabled, string? CustomHostPath);
+
+internal static class LauncherDebugSettingsStore
+{
+    private const string DevModeFileName = "dev-mode.flag";
+    private const string CustomHostPathFileName = "custom-host-path.txt";
+    private const string LegacyDevModeFileName = "devmode.config";
+    private const string LegacyCustomHostPathFileName = "custom-host-path.config";
+
+    internal static string? ConfigBaseDirectoryOverride { get; set; }
+
+    public static string ConfigBaseDirectory => ConfigBaseDirectoryOverride ?? ResolveConfigBaseDirectory();
+
+    public static LauncherDebugSettings Load()
+    {
+        return new LauncherDebugSettings(
+            LoadDevModeState(),
+            LoadCustomHostPath());
+    }
+
+    public static bool IsDevModeEnabled() => Load().DevModeEnabled;
+
+    public static string? GetSavedCustomHostPath() => Load().CustomHostPath;
+
+    public static void Save(LauncherDebugSettings settings)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(ConfigBaseDirectory);
+            File.WriteAllText(GetPath(DevModeFileName), settings.DevModeEnabled.ToString());
+            File.WriteAllText(GetPath(CustomHostPathFileName), settings.CustomHostPath ?? string.Empty);
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Logger.Warn($"Failed to save launcher debug settings: {ex.Message}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static void SaveDevModeState(bool enabled)
+    {
+        var current = Load();
+        Save(current with { DevModeEnabled = enabled });
+    }
+
+    public static void SaveCustomHostPath(string? customHostPath)
+    {
+        var current = Load();
+        Save(current with { CustomHostPath = customHostPath });
+    }
+
+    private static bool LoadDevModeState()
+    {
+        var newValue = TryReadText(GetPath(DevModeFileName));
+        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(newValue))
+        {
+            return TryParseDevMode(newValue);
+        }
+
+        var legacyValue = TryReadText(GetPath(LegacyDevModeFileName));
+        return !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(legacyValue) && TryParseDevMode(legacyValue);
+    }
+
+    private static string? LoadCustomHostPath()
+    {
+        var newValue = TryReadText(GetPath(CustomHostPathFileName));
+        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(newValue))
+        {
+            return newValue.Trim();
+        }
+
+        var legacyValue = TryReadText(GetPath(LegacyCustomHostPathFileName));
+        return string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(legacyValue) ? null : legacyValue.Trim();
+    }
+
+    private static bool TryParseDevMode(string value)
+    {
+        var normalized = value.Trim();
+        return normalized == "1" ||
+               normalized.Equals("true", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
+               normalized.Equals("yes", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
+               normalized.Equals("on", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+    }
+
+    private static string? TryReadText(string path)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            return File.Exists(path) ? File.ReadAllText(path) : null;
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Logger.Warn($"Failed to read launcher debug setting '{path}': {ex.Message}");
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static string GetPath(string fileName) => Path.Combine(ConfigBaseDirectory, fileName);
+
+    private static string ResolveConfigBaseDirectory()
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            var appData = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.LocalApplicationData);
+            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(appData))
+            {
+                return Path.Combine(appData, "LanMountainDesktop", ".launcher");
+            }
+        }
+        catch
+        {
+        }
+
+        try
+        {
+            return Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, ".launcher");
+        }
+        catch
+        {
+            return Path.Combine(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(), ".launcher");
+        }
+    }
+}

LanMountainDesktop.Launcher/Services/LauncherFlowCoordinator.cs

@@ -228,6 +228,7 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                     {
                         ipcConnected = true;
                         shellStatus = existingActivation.Status;
+                        var recoverableActivationFailure = IsRecoverableActivationFailure(existingActivation);
                         lastStage = existingActivation.Accepted
                             ? StartupStage.ActivationRedirected
                             : StartupStage.ActivationFailed;
@@ -236,6 +237,10 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                         {
                             _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedSucceeded(lastStage, lastStageMessage);
                         }
+                        else if (recoverableActivationFailure)
+                        {
+                            _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedWaitingForShell(lastStageMessage);
+                        }
                         else
                         {
                             _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedFailed(lastStage, lastStageMessage);
@@ -244,14 +249,20 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                         PublishCoordinatorStatus(
                             hostProcessAliveOverride: true,
                             completed: true,
-                            succeeded: existingActivation.Accepted);
+                            succeeded: existingActivation.Accepted || recoverableActivationFailure);
                         windowsClosingByCoordinator = true;
                         await CloseWindowsAsync(splashWindow, loadingDetailsWindow).ConfigureAwait(false);
                         return BuildResult(
-                            success: existingActivation.Accepted,
+                            success: existingActivation.Accepted || recoverableActivationFailure,
                             stage: "launch",
-                            code: existingActivation.Accepted ? "existing_host_activated" : "existing_host_activation_failed",
-                            message: existingActivation.Message,
+                            code: existingActivation.Accepted
+                                ? "existing_host_activated"
+                                : recoverableActivationFailure
+                                    ? "existing_host_startup_pending"
+                                    : "existing_host_activation_failed",
+                            message: recoverableActivationFailure
+                                ? "Existing desktop process is still starting; Launcher will not start another process."
+                                : existingActivation.Message,
                             details: MergeDetails(
                                 launcherContextDetails,
                                 new Dictionary<string, string>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
@@ -438,6 +449,11 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                     ipcConnected = true;
                     _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedIpcConnected();
                     shellStatus = await TryGetPublicShellStatusAsync(ipcClient).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                    if (shellStatus is { DesktopVisible: false })
+                    {
+                        _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedWaitingForShell("Host public IPC is ready; waiting for desktop shell.");
+                    }
+
                     PublishCoordinatorStatus(hostProcessAliveOverride: true);
                 }
 
@@ -464,6 +480,7 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                 var softTimeoutAt = startedAt + StartupSoftTimeout;
                 var hardTimeoutAt = startedAt + StartupHardTimeout;
                 var nextReconnectAttemptAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.AddSeconds(5);
+                var activationRetryAttempted = false;
 
                 while (true)
                 {
@@ -482,10 +499,35 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                             details: ComposeLaunchDetails(!launchOutcome.Process.HasExited));
                     }
 
-                    if (activationFailedTcs.Task.IsCompleted && string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(activationFailureReason))
+                    if (activationFailedTcs.Task.IsCompleted && !activationRetryAttempted)
                     {
+                        activationRetryAttempted = true;
                         activationFailureReason = await activationFailedTcs.Task.ConfigureAwait(false);
                         Logger.Warn($"Activation failure received before startup success. Reason='{activationFailureReason}'.");
+                        var retryOutcome = await RetryActivationAfterEarlyFailureAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
+                        if (retryOutcome is not null)
+                        {
+                            windowsClosingByCoordinator = true;
+                            if (retryOutcome.Success)
+                            {
+                                _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedSucceeded(lastStage, retryOutcome.Message);
+                                PublishCoordinatorStatus(
+                                    hostProcessAliveOverride: !launchOutcome.Process.HasExited,
+                                    completed: true,
+                                    succeeded: true);
+                            }
+                            else
+                            {
+                                _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedFailed(lastStage, activationFailureReason);
+                                PublishCoordinatorStatus(
+                                    hostProcessAliveOverride: !launchOutcome.Process.HasExited,
+                                    completed: true,
+                                    succeeded: false);
+                            }
+
+                            await CloseWindowsAsync(splashWindow, loadingDetailsWindow).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                            return WithAdditionalDetails(retryOutcome, ComposeLaunchDetails(!launchOutcome.Process.HasExited, recoveryActivationAttempted: true));
+                        }
                     }
 
                     if (processExitTask.IsCompleted)
@@ -512,6 +554,36 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                                     }));
                         }
 
+                        if (!activationRetryAttempted &&
+                            exitCode is HostExitCodes.SecondaryActivationFailed or HostExitCodes.RestartLockNotAcquired)
+                        {
+                            activationRetryAttempted = true;
+                            var retryOutcome = await RetryActivationAfterEarlyFailureAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
+                            if (retryOutcome is not null)
+                            {
+                                if (retryOutcome.Success)
+                                {
+                                    _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedSucceeded(lastStage, retryOutcome.Message);
+                                    PublishCoordinatorStatus(hostProcessAliveOverride: false, completed: true, succeeded: true);
+                                }
+                                else
+                                {
+                                    _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedFailed(lastStage, activationFailureReason);
+                                    PublishCoordinatorStatus(hostProcessAliveOverride: false, completed: true, succeeded: false);
+                                }
+
+                                await CloseWindowsAsync(splashWindow, loadingDetailsWindow).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                                return WithAdditionalDetails(
+                                    retryOutcome,
+                                    MergeDetails(
+                                        ComposeLaunchDetails(hostProcessAlive: false, recoveryActivationAttempted: true),
+                                        new Dictionary<string, string>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
+                                        {
+                                            ["exitCode"] = exitCode.ToString()
+                                        }));
+                            }
+                        }
+
                         _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedFailed(lastStage, activationFailureReason);
                         PublishCoordinatorStatus(hostProcessAliveOverride: false, completed: true, succeeded: false);
                         await CloseWindowsAsync(splashWindow, loadingDetailsWindow).ConfigureAwait(false);
@@ -543,6 +615,11 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                             ipcConnected = true;
                             _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedIpcConnected();
                             shellStatus = await TryGetPublicShellStatusAsync(ipcClient).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                            if (shellStatus is { DesktopVisible: false })
+                            {
+                                _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedWaitingForShell("Host public IPC reconnected; waiting for desktop shell.");
+                            }
+
                             PublishCoordinatorStatus(hostProcessAliveOverride: true);
                         }
 
@@ -602,6 +679,11 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                         ipcConnected = true;
                         _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedIpcConnected();
                         shellStatus = await TryGetPublicShellStatusAsync(ipcClient).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                        if (shellStatus is { DesktopVisible: false })
+                        {
+                            _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedWaitingForShell("Host public IPC is ready; waiting for desktop shell.");
+                        }
+
                         PublishCoordinatorStatus(hostProcessAliveOverride: true);
                     }
                 }
@@ -632,6 +714,23 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
                     }
                 }
 
+                if (connected && !launchOutcome.Process.HasExited)
+                {
+                    windowsClosingByCoordinator = true;
+                    _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedWaitingForShell("Host process is still running after the launcher wait window.");
+                    shellStatus = await TryGetPublicShellStatusAsync(ipcClient).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                    PublishCoordinatorStatus(hostProcessAliveOverride: true, completed: false, succeeded: false);
+                    await CloseWindowsAsync(splashWindow, loadingDetailsWindow).ConfigureAwait(false);
+                    return BuildResult(
+                        success: true,
+                        stage: "launch",
+                        code: "startup_pending",
+                        message: "Host process is still running; Launcher will not start another process while the desktop shell finishes startup.",
+                        details: ComposeLaunchDetails(
+                            hostProcessAlive: true,
+                            recoveryActivationAttempted));
+                }
+
                 windowsClosingByCoordinator = true;
                 _startupAttemptRegistry.MarkOwnedFailed(lastStage, activationFailureReason);
                 PublishCoordinatorStatus(!launchOutcome.Process.HasExited, completed: true, succeeded: false);
@@ -1369,6 +1468,25 @@ internal sealed class LauncherFlowCoordinator
         }
     }
 
+    private static bool IsRecoverableActivationFailure(PublicShellActivationResult activation)
+    {
+        if (activation.Accepted)
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if (string.Equals(activation.Code, "shutdown_in_progress", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        return activation.Status.PublicIpcReady &&
+               (!activation.Status.MainWindowOpened ||
+                !activation.Status.DesktopVisible ||
+                string.Equals(activation.Code, "shell_not_ready", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
+                string.Equals(activation.Code, "startup_pending", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase));
+    }
+
     private static async Task<PublicShellStatus?> TryGetPublicShellStatusAsync(
         LanMountainDesktopIpcClient ipcClient)
     {

LanMountainDesktop.Launcher/Services/StartupAttemptRegistry.cs

@@ -309,6 +309,19 @@ internal sealed class StartupAttemptRegistry
         });
     }
 
+    public void MarkOwnedWaitingForShell(string? message)
+    {
+        UpdateOwned(record =>
+        {
+            if (record.State is StartupAttemptState.Pending or StartupAttemptState.SoftTimeout or StartupAttemptState.DetachedWaiting)
+            {
+                record.State = StartupAttemptState.WaitingForShell;
+            }
+
+            record.LastObservedMessage = message ?? record.LastObservedMessage;
+        });
+    }
+
     public void MarkOwnedDetachedWaiting()
     {
         UpdateOwned(record =>
@@ -423,7 +436,11 @@ internal sealed class StartupAttemptRegistry
 
     private static bool IsAttachable(StartupAttemptRecord record)
     {
-        if (record.State is not (StartupAttemptState.Pending or StartupAttemptState.SoftTimeout or StartupAttemptState.DetachedWaiting))
+        if (record.State is not (
+            StartupAttemptState.Pending or
+            StartupAttemptState.SoftTimeout or
+            StartupAttemptState.DetachedWaiting or
+            StartupAttemptState.WaitingForShell))
         {
             return false;
         }
@@ -433,7 +450,11 @@ internal sealed class StartupAttemptRegistry
 
     private static bool IsRecoverableCoordinatorAttempt(StartupAttemptRecord record)
     {
-        if (record.State is not (StartupAttemptState.Pending or StartupAttemptState.SoftTimeout or StartupAttemptState.DetachedWaiting))
+        if (record.State is not (
+            StartupAttemptState.Pending or
+            StartupAttemptState.SoftTimeout or
+            StartupAttemptState.DetachedWaiting or
+            StartupAttemptState.WaitingForShell))
         {
             return false;
         }
@@ -448,7 +469,11 @@ internal sealed class StartupAttemptRegistry
 
     private static bool IsCoordinatorLive(StartupAttemptRecord record)
     {
-        if (record.State is not (StartupAttemptState.Pending or StartupAttemptState.SoftTimeout or StartupAttemptState.DetachedWaiting))
+        if (record.State is not (
+            StartupAttemptState.Pending or
+            StartupAttemptState.SoftTimeout or
+            StartupAttemptState.DetachedWaiting or
+            StartupAttemptState.WaitingForShell))
         {
             return false;
         }