WindowsBatchBox

WindowsBatchBox is a TUI orchestrator for .bat scripts based on YAML manifests.
It recursively scans the project root, builds a category tree from folders, and lets you run software setup/configuration in batches (including presets and bundles).

What It Does

• Runs via WindowsBatchBox.bat.
• Automatically requires administrator privileges (UAC elevation).
• Installs Chocolatey if choco is not found (required for refreshenv).
• Extracts the embedded PowerShell part from the same .bat file and starts the TUI.
• Loads YAML scripts (*.yaml, *.yml) recursively from the repository root.
• Executes selected scripts with dependency resolution through depends.

Quick Start

1. Run WindowsBatchBox.bat.
2. Confirm administrator elevation.
3. Select items in the TUI (Space).
4. Press Enter to execute the selected set.

TUI Controls

• Arrow keys - navigation.
• Space - toggle selection.
• Enter - run selected scripts.
• E - open the current YAML file in the default editor.
• R - reload YAML files and rebuild the menu without restarting.
• Q or Esc - quit.

Status Legend

• [ ] - not selected.
• [X] - selected by user.
• [D] - dependency (will run automatically before the target script).
• [A] - include marker (shown as related; see the note below).

Project Structure

Any folder is treated as a category. Category nesting depth is unlimited.

Example:

Development/
  JavaScript/
    NodeJS.yaml
    NVM.yaml

NodeJS.yaml appears under Development > JavaScript.

YAML Format

Required fields:

• name (string) - script name (used as an ID in dependencies).
• script (multiline string) - bat commands to execute.

Optional fields:

• description (string) - shown in the bottom TUI panel.
• depends (string[]) - scripts that must run earlier.
• includes (string[]) - related scripts (visual/logic relation).

Example:

name: NodeJS
description: JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine
script: |
    where node >nul 2>nul || (nvm install lts && nvm use lts)
depends:
  - NVM
includes:
  - npm

Execution Model

• A temporary .bat is generated in %TEMP% for each run.
• refreshenv (if available) is prepended, then the YAML script body.
• In practice, refreshenv comes from Chocolatey, so the runner checks/installs choco first.
• Before execution, SCRIPT_SOURCE is set to the current script YAML path.
• Scripts run in topological order based on depends.
• If a dependency fails, dependent scripts are skipped.
• exit code 0 is treated as success (also -1978335189).

Important includes Note

In the current implementation, includes is used for [A] markers and transitive relation highlighting in UI,
but it does not add scripts to automatic execution order (unlike depends).

If you need guaranteed pre-execution, use depends.

YAML Authoring Recommendations

• Keep name unique across the entire project.
• In depends/includes, use exact names from name.
• For bundles/presets, you can use a minimal script (for example @echo off) and compose behavior through depends.
• Keep commands idempotent (where ... || install ...) so reruns are safe.

Typical Use Cases

• Fast workstation bootstrap on a fresh Windows machine.
• Building personal software/tweak bundles.
• Automating post-install configuration via bat commands.