Building SentraCore

Building SentraCore

This guide covers how to produce standalone, production-ready executables for both the Python Engine and the Flutter Dashboard, and how to compile the final Windows installer.

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Prerequisites

Before running any build, ensure the following are installed and verified:

Requirement	Verification Command
Python 3.11+ with virtual environment	.venv\Scripts\python --version
PyInstaller (installed in venv)	.venv\Scripts\pyinstaller --version
Flutter SDK (stable)	flutter --version
Visual Studio with "Desktop development with C++"	flutter doctor (should show green)
Inno Setup 6	Installed from jrsoftware.org

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Step 1: Build the Python Engine

Run the provided build script from the repository root:

scripts\build_engine.bat

This script will:

1. Activate the virtual environment.
2. Clean any previous build artifacts.
3. Run PyInstaller with the correct hidden imports for uvicorn and fastapi.
4. Output SentraCoreEngine.exe to the dist/ directory.

The engine is compiled with the --noconsole flag so it runs as a completely invisible background process. No terminal window will appear when the user launches it.

Expected output location: dist\SentraCoreEngine.exe

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Step 2: Build the Flutter Dashboard

Run the dashboard build script from the repository root:

scripts\build_dashboard.bat

This script navigates to the dashboard/ directory and runs flutter build windows --release.

Expected output location: dashboard\build\windows\x64\runner\Release\

Note: Flutter bundles the executable alongside several required DLL files and data directories. The entire Release\ folder contents must be included in the installer, not just the .exe file.

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Step 3: Compile the Installer

Once both builds have completed successfully:

1. Open Inno Setup Compiler.
2. Go to File → Open and select installer\sentracore.iss.
3. Press Ctrl+F9 (or click Build → Compile).

Inno Setup will package all files, shortcuts, and registry entries into a single setup executable.

Expected output location: dist\SentraCore_Setup_v1.0.exe

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What the Installer Does

The sentracore.iss script configures the installer to perform the following actions:

Action	Detail
Install location	C:\Program Files\SentraCore\
Desktop shortcut	SentraCore Dashboard.lnk (optional, user-selectable)
Start Menu group	SentraCore\ with shortcuts to Dashboard and Uninstaller
Auto-start on login	Adds SentraCoreEngine.exe to HKCU\...\Run (optional, user-selectable)
Post-install launch	Starts the engine in the background and optionally opens the dashboard
Uninstall	Kills the engine process and removes all files and registry keys

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Releasing a New Version

To release a new version of SentraCore:

1. Update the version string in engine/__init__.py (__version__).
2. Update the AppVersion field in installer/sentracore.iss.
3. Update the OutputBaseFilename in installer/sentracore.iss to match the new version.
4. Commit all changes.
5. Create and push an annotated Git tag:

   git tag -a v1.1.0 -m "Release v1.1.0"
   git push origin main --tags

6. Run the three build steps above to produce the new installer.
7. Create a GitHub Release from the tag and attach the new SentraCore_Setup_v*.exe as a release asset.