Python Sidecar

The sidecar (sidecar/kalam-core.py, compiled to kalam-core-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.exe) handles all system-level operations. The frontend communicates with it via @tauri-apps/plugin-shell Command.sidecar().

CLI Reference

Command	Args	Output	Description
`list`	—	JSON `[{id, name}]`	List all profiles
`current`	—	`{id, name}` or `null`	Currently active profile
`apply-by-name`	`"Profile Name"`	(none)	Look up and apply by name
`<numeric_id>`	—	(none)	Apply profile by numeric ID
`scan`	—	(writes manifest files)	Scan all tool configs
`autodetect`	—	JSON paths	Auto-detect tool install paths
`stop-all`	—	Status text	Stop all managed tools

Profile Application Flow

apply_profile() orchestrates the full sequence:

Fetch running processes once (cached as running_names set)
Apply each tool in order: Rainmeter → Wallpaper → YASB → GlazeWM → Zebar → Windhawk
For each tool: check if config exists → write config → start/restart process
If a tool is not in the profile but is running → kill it
Set activeProfile in settings

Tool-Specific Logic

Tool	Apply Function	What It Does
Rainmeter	`rainmeter()`	Starts exe if not running, loads layout via `!LoadLayout`
YASB	`yasb_code_inject()`	Writes `config.yaml` + `styles.css`, starts exe if needed
GlazeWM	`glaze_wm_apply()`	Writes `config.yaml`, kills with graceful `exit` command, restarts
Zebar	`zebar_apply()`	Writes `settings.json`, kills and restarts
Windhawk	`apply_windhawk_profile()`	Installed: writes `.reg` file, runs elevated via `ShellExecuteExW` with `runas`; Portable: kills and restarts
Wallpaper	`set_wallpaper_all_desktops()`	Uses `pyvda` to set wallpaper across virtual desktops

Process Scan Optimization

kill_process(), is_process_running(), rainmeter(), yasb_code_inject(), glaze_wm_apply(), and zebar_apply() accept an optional running_names parameter (set of lowercase exe names). When provided, they skip redundant psutil.process_iter scans and use the pre-computed set instead. apply_profile() creates the set internally and threads it through the individual tool functions.

Windhawk Smart Restart

When applying profiles with Windhawk-Mods, the sidecar compares desired settings against current registry via _windhawk_settings_changed(). If nothing changed — re-applying the same profile or switching between profiles with identical Windhawk configs — the registry write, elevation, and service restart are skipped entirely. This avoids unnecessary UAC prompts and service interruptions.

Both scan_windhawk_registry() and _get_current_windhawk_settings() share _enumerate_windhawk_registry(), which reads from HKLM and HKCU under SOFTWARE\Windhawk\Engine\Mods and SOFTWARE\Windhawk\Mods, returning a deduplicated list.

Auto-Detect Paths

autodetect_paths() resolves tool paths dynamically using environment-aware lookups:

Helper	Purpose
`_first_existing(iterable)`	Returns first path that `os.path.exists()`, or `""`
`_program_files_dirs()`	Reads `%ProgramW6432%`, `%ProgramFiles%`, `%ProgramFiles(x86)%` — called once and reused

Detection order per tool: shutil.which() → _program_files_dirs() + tool name → %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\<Tool> → %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Links\<Tool>

Known Config Paths

YASB: YASB_CONFIG_HOME env → ~/.config/yasb/ → ~/.yasb/
GlazeWM: ~/.glzr/glazewm/ → ~/.glazewm/
Zebar: %APPDATA%/zebar → ~/.zebar/

Sidecar Internal Refactors

_enumerate_windhawk_registry() — shared helper, eliminates duplicate registry enumeration
_parse_rainmeter_ini() — handles both UTF-16-LE and UTF-8 encodings of Rainmeter.ini
_program_files_dirs() — called once per autodetect_paths() instead of per tool
kill_process() — break after successful kill to avoid scanning remaining processes
scan_zebar_configs() — removed redundant json.loads() validation

Windhawk Mod Schema

{
  "id": "modernflyouts",
  "enabled": 1,
  "settings": { "show-labels": true, "animation-speed": 200 }
}