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ScripTree Features

Top 10

  1. Turn any CLI tool into a GUI form in seconds — point ScripTree at an executable and it auto-parses --help output into a working form with labeled fields, dropdowns, file pickers, and checkboxes. Supports argparse, click, PowerShell, Windows /flag, and GNU-style tools.

  2. The cell + ring shell (V3, v0.2.x) — a separate run_scriptreering.bat launcher floats small cells on your desktop. Click a cell to pop up its tool menu, double-click to open V1's runner or editor, drag two cells together to dock them into a multi-tool Tree Ring. Save and reload layouts as .scriptreering files; the layout can autoload on Windows startup. The shell calls V1 as a subprocess for every tool launch — same editor you've always had.

  3. No shell execution, ever — all tool launches use subprocess.Popen with argument lists, never shell=True. Shell metacharacters in form values are passed as literal strings, not interpreted. Custom menus are split safely via CommandLineToArgvW / shlex.

  4. Named configurations with one-click switching, plus per-set Default — save multiple sets of form values per tool. Each configuration can have its own environment variables, PATH overrides, UI visibility, and hidden parameters. Mark one of them as the set's default so standalone-mode launches always land on it (v0.2.2). Switch between them with a dropdown.

  5. File-based permission system with secure defaults — blank files in a permissions/ folder control every user action. Missing file = denied. IT sets the folder read-only and grants write on specific files per AD group. No database, no license server, no cloud dependency.

  6. Standalone mode for end users — strip away the IDE and show just the form. Hide the command line, extras box, config bar, or any element per-configuration. End users see a clean app; developers see the full toolbox.

  7. Input sanitization on every run — form values are scanned for null bytes, control characters, shell metacharacters, path traversal, and UNC paths before every execution. Users see a clear warning and can cancel.

  8. Tree launchers — group multiple tools into a .scriptreetree file. Open as a sidebar tree in the IDE, pop out as a standalone tabbed window, or surface them through a cell. Custom menus on both tools and trees.

  9. Editable command preview with undo/redo — see the exact command that will run, edit it directly, undo/redo changes. Edits are reconciled back into form values automatically. Copy argv to clipboard for external debugging.

  10. Portable mode (opt-in) — self-contained, zero registry — turn on Portable mode (Settings ▸ Portable mode, or drop a portable file in the install folder / set SCRIPTREE_PORTABLE, then restart) and ALL state — settings, the forest workspace, rings, and personal drop-installed apps — lives under the install folder, so a folder-copy / USB move carries everything with no registry keys. No installer, no admin rights to run; one dependency (PySide6), auto-detected and auto-installed. A normal install keeps per-user state in your profile (and recent/layout/menu settings in the registry on Windows).

Top 20

User features:

  1. Turn any CLI tool into a GUI form in seconds — auto-parses --help output from argparse, click, PowerShell, Windows /flag, and GNU tools into a working form.

  2. The cell + ring shell (V3) — desktop launcher cells you can dock into multi-tool rings. Single-click → tool menu, double-click → V1 runner / editor, drag-drop a .scriptree / .scriptreetree / .scriptreering onto a cell to spawn a new bound sibling. Layouts save as .scriptreering files and can autoload at Windows login.

  3. Single-instance handoff (V3, v0.2.1) — re-running run_scriptreering.bat hands its argv to the already-running primary so newly-spawned cells land in the same SnapEngine and can dock with whatever's already on screen. Pass --new-process to opt out.

  4. Named configurations with default + one-click switching — multiple saved form states per tool, each with its own environment variables, PATH overrides, visibility, and hidden parameters. Mark one as the set's default for standalone-mode launches.

  5. Standalone mode for end users — hide developer controls per-configuration. End users see a polished single-purpose app. Developers keep full access when docked in the IDE.

  6. Tree launchers with tabbed standalone — group tools into .scriptreetree files. Open as a sidebar tree, pop out as a standalone window, or load through a cell.

  7. Editable command preview with undo/redo — see the exact argv, edit it inline, undo/redo freely. Changes reconcile back into form values and extras automatically.

  8. Custom menus on tools and trees — add menu bars with commands, submenus, shortcuts, and tooltips to any .scriptree or .scriptreetree file.

  9. AI-generated tool files — point any LLM at the docs/LLM/ folder and it can generate valid .scriptree files from a plain-English description. Complete schemas and invariants included.

  10. Drag-and-drop everywhere — rearrange form fields by dragging the row handle, drop files from Explorer onto any text or path widget to fill in the path, drop multiple files onto a textarea to insert one path per line. In the cell shell, drop catalogs onto cells to spawn new bound siblings.

  11. Cell labels with embedded icons (v0.2.5–v0.2.7) — cells paint a centered label: icon → text → auto-derived letters (CamelCase precedence: "FastAPI tools" → "FA"). Icons can be embedded into the catalog JSON as base64 so the catalog stays self-contained, or unembedded back to a relative file path.

  12. Global environment and PATH settings — application-wide env vars and PATH entries with override checkboxes that control merge priority over tool-level settings.

  13. Portable mode (opt-in) — enable Portable mode (Settings toggle, a portable sentinel file, or SCRIPTREE_PORTABLE) and ScripTree keeps everything — settings, forest, rings, personal apps — under the install folder for a true folder-copy / USB move. No admin rights, one dependency. Windows, Linux, macOS. (Default installs keep per-user state in your profile.) Switching either direction migrates your current forest, preferences, rings, and UI settings into the target mode's locations, so nothing is lost. The forest right-click offers two consolidation actions:

  • Convert this install to portable (copy local tools here) — copies every tool that lives outside the install tree (a network/apps deploy root or your per-user personal root) into <install>/ScripTreeApps, re-points the forest at those copies (so they travel with a folder move), and only then flips Portable mode on. Your originals are copied, never moved or deleted.
  • Make a portable copy (incl. local tools) — builds a new, self-contained portable ScripTree at a folder you choose, bundling the app, your install tools, and every outside tool into it. Your current install and forest are left completely untouched (ideal for a USB stick or a second machine). It copies the app exactly as installed; for a copy with bundled Python for a clean machine, run make_portable.py --bundle-python from the dev tree.

Security features:

  1. No shell execution, ever — shell=False on every Popen call. Argument lists, not command strings. Custom menus split safely. Parser output post-sanitized.

  2. File-based permission system with secure defaults — 32 capability files control every action. Missing file = denied. Recursive search by filename, most-restrictive-wins on duplicates.

  3. Input sanitization on every run — null bytes, control chars, shell metacharacters, path traversal, UNC paths checked before execution. Warning dialog with proceed/cancel.

  4. Read-only enforcement from file permissions — read-only .scriptree files disable all editing. Catches both attrib +R and NTFS ACLs without triggering audit events.

  5. Encrypted credential storage with immediate zeroization — one-time XOR pad in memory, ctypes buffer zeroed after the Windows API call, session-scoped only, never written to disk.

  6. Per-file permission inheritance — tools can bundle their own permissions/ folder. Per-file can only restrict, never grant. Missing files inherit from app level. Conflicts resolve to most restrictive.

  7. Parser plugin gating — user plugins from external directories only load when the load_user_plugins permission is granted. Built-in parsers always load. All parser output is post-sanitized.

  8. Symlink and path traversal protection — controlled by permission files. Both default to denied when the permission system is deployed. Prevents redirecting tool paths to unexpected locations.

  9. Run as different user with secure handling — launch tools under a different user's security context. Credentials encrypted in memory, cached per-session or prompted every time, wiped on checkbox uncheck.

  10. IT deployment in four steps — deploy permissions folder read-only, grant write per AD group, set tool files read-only, done. No per-user config, no GPOs, no agents, no cloud.

  11. Drop-install + uninstall, with config preservation (v0.8.0a23 / a27) — drag a folder or .zip onto the forest hub to install it under either the shared ScripTreeApps tree or your per-user app-data root, with handle-existing-target controls (Overwrite / Update / Rename / Cancel). Right-click any tool entry in a cell's popup tree → Uninstall app from disk…. The uninstall dialog has two checkboxes that name a live file count: keep or remove my local saved configurations (the per-user sidecars under %LOCALAPPDATA%\ScripTree\UserConfigs\), and keep or remove shared configurations stored with the app. When you opt to keep shared configs, they're copied to a sibling <app>_uninstalled_configs/ folder before the app folder is removed.

  12. Display-change resilience (v0.8.0a26+ / a72) — change resolution, unplug a monitor, or remote-desktop in from a different-size machine while ScripTree is running, and every cell whose position is now off the visible work area is automatically pulled back on-screen (200 ms debounce on Qt's screen-change signals). Ring members are repacked together around their master rather than stacking at the screen edge. Forest right-click → Bring all cells back on-screen is the manual escape hatch when the automatic rescue misses anything.

  13. Three-surface forest hub visibility (v0.8.0a52+) — the forest hub can appear in up to three places simultaneously: always-on-top over the desktop, on the Windows taskbar, and/or in the system tray. Toggle each surface independently under Forest ▶ Visibility. At least one must be active (the UI refuses to uncheck the last one). Taskbar and tray surfaces trigger auto-hide: the hub and its cells vanish when focus moves away, then reappear when you click the taskbar entry or tray icon. Own dialogs (Settings, About, context menus) correctly suppress auto-hide (v0.8.0a60).

  14. Hidden-cell position rescue on reveal (v0.8.0a62) — when the forest hub moves while its cells are hidden (dragged to a new spot, display layout changed, or followed the user across virtual desktops), the cells keep their last recorded positions. On the next reveal, ScripTree automatically clamps any off-screen cell back onto a visible monitor before showing it — so "reveal" always means "everything is visible and reachable."

  15. Re-launch = bring forward (v0.8.0a64) — launching the ScripTree Forest shortcut while a session is already running reveals the existing forest hub instead of starting a second instance. Equivalent to clicking the taskbar entry or tray icon. File-open errors from a second-launch file argument pop a warning in the live process rather than silently vanishing (v0.8.0a65).

  16. Collapse/expand keeps cells on-screen and non-overlapping (v0.8.0a68) — single-clicking the forest hub or a ring master to collapse tucks members into the hub; clicking again expands them through the same free-slot placement engine that startup uses. Cells always bloom on a free, on-screen, non-overlapping honeycomb slot attached to the hub's current position. Moving the hub while collapsed and then expanding puts cells around the new position, not the old one.

  17. Hub always returns to a visible screen (v0.8.0a69) — if the forest was last used with a monitor that is now absent, or saved at a position that no longer fits the current display, the hub is automatically clamped back onto a visible screen the next time it is revealed (tray click, taskbar restore, or application launch). The "forest disappeared" symptom from a stale saved position is eliminated.