Novolis Docs
novolis-governance / completed-plans/sketch_studio_ship_9d7b9a9e.plan.md

Sketch Studio production app

Policies that keep the org coherent

dotnetgovernancenovolis

name: Sketch Studio ship overview: "Promote dogfooding SketchLab into a production Sketch Studio WinExe in novolis-apps: same SketchControl tools, Open/Save .sketchjson, and full catalog/Inno/GitHub Release wiring like Draft Studio." todos:

  • id: scaffold-sketch-studio

content: Create novolis-apps/src/SketchStudio from SketchLab (csproj + Program/App/MainWindow/SketchExport); add Optris to Directory.Packages.props status: completed

  • id: file-io-polish

content: Add New/Open/Save/Save As (.sketchjson), dirty title, close confirm, keyboard shortcuts status: completed

  • id: catalog-release

content: Wire slnx, Get-NovolisAppCatalog, build-installer ValidateSet, release.yml, README/design/release/getting-started docs status: completed

  • id: dogfood-readme

content: Point SketchLab README at Sketch Studio as the shipped app status: completed

  • id: verify-pack

content: Build/run smoke + nuget-only verify; local build-installer -App SketchStudio when Inno available status: completed isProject: false

Defaults (locked)

  • Name: Sketch Studio → `novolis-apps/src/SketchStudio/`
  • Stack: freehand `SketchControl` only (not CAD / Draft Studio)
  • v1 bar: port SketchLab UX + document persistence + ship zip/Inno; no layers/text/arrows; keep dogfood SketchLab as smoke

Source of truth today

Dogfood app: `novolis-dogfooding/apps/avalonia/SketchLab/` (MainWindow.cs, SketchExport.cs, Program.cs, App.cs).

Library already ships what we need in Novolis.Avalonia.Controls (SketchControl, SketchJson, tools, undo, Gridify). No new Controls package APIs required for v1; apps consume floating 2026.1.* from GPR.

App scaffold (`novolis-apps`)

Create self-contained project mirroring BooksWriterStudio / DraftStudio:

  • `SketchStudio.csproj`: WinExe, ApplicationTitle=Sketch Studio, PackageRefs:
  • Avalonia / Desktop / Fluent / Inter
  • Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting
  • Novolis.Avalonia.Controls
  • Novolis.Avalonia.Packaging.Inno (PrivateAssets=all)
  • Optris.Icons.Avalonia + Optris.Icons.Avalonia.FontAwesome
  • TFM from apps `Directory.Build.props` (net10.0) — do not use SketchLab’s windows-specific TFM
  • Port code-only UI (no XAML), rename namespace to SketchStudio
  • Add Optris package versions to `Directory.Packages.props` (same versions as dogfooding: 12.0.6)

Production bridge polish (beyond dogfood)

Port toolbar/tools/export from SketchLab, then add:

FeatureApproach
**Open / Save / Save As / New**Avalonia `StorageProvider` (same pattern as [`DraftStudio/MainWindow.cs`](novolis-apps/src/DraftStudio/MainWindow.cs)); filter `*.sketchjson`
**Persistence**`SketchJson.Serialize` / `Deserialize` already in Controls
**Dirty + title**Track path + dirty from `DocumentChanged`; title `Sketch Studio — file*`
**Close confirm**Prompt if dirty
**Shortcuts**Ctrl+N/O/S/Shift+S, Ctrl+Z/Y, Delete (erase selection), existing tool keys from SketchLab
**Default workspace**Optional last-path or `%LocalAppData%\Novolis\Sketch Studio\` (lightweight; match Draft Studio LocalAppData pattern only if needed)

Keep Paint-light code toolbar (Font Awesome). Do not pull in Novolis.Avalonia.Studio for v1.

flowchart LR
  ui[SketchStudio MainWindow]
  ctrl[SketchControl]
  doc[SketchDocument]
  json[SketchJson]
  disk[".sketchjson file"]
  clip[PNG SVG clipboard]
  ui --> ctrl
  ctrl --> doc
  ui -->|"Open Save"| json
  json --> disk
  ui --> clip

Release packaging (required for “pack correctly”)

Follow Draft Studio checklist from `apps-repos.md` / `release.md`:

  1. Add project to `Novolis.Apps.slnx`
  2. Register catalog entry in Get-NovolisAppCatalog (`Publish-NovolisApp.ps1`):
Key='sketch-studio'; Choice='SketchStudio'; Project='src/SketchStudio/SketchStudio.csproj'
DisplayName='Sketch Studio'; AppId='Novolis.SketchStudio'; ExeName='SketchStudio.exe'
GroupName='Sketch Studio'; InstallDir='Novolis\Sketch Studio'
SetupBase='SketchStudioSetup'; ScriptFile='sketch-studio.iss'
  1. Add SketchStudio to ValidateSet in `build-installer.ps1` and to `release.yml` app choices
  2. Docs: README apps table, `docs/release.md` asset rows, `docs/design.md`, `docs/getting-started.md`

Merge to main (paths under src/**) publishes all catalog apps → zip + Inno + SHA256SUMS on GitHub Releases.

Dogfooding

Keep `SketchLab` as Controls smoke. Update its README to note production home is Sketch Studio in novolis-apps.

Explicit non-goals (v1)

  • No CAD / .cadjson / Draft Studio merge
  • No layers, text, arrows, collaboration
  • No NuGet packing of the app host (IsPackable=false)
  • No local NuGet feeds; PackageReference only

Verification

  • dotnet build / run src/SketchStudio (ProjectRef mode OK locally while iterating Controls)
  • Smoke: draw → save .sketchjson → reopen → Gridify → undo → Copy PNG/SVG
  • pwsh -File novolis-governance/scripts/verify-nuget-only.ps1 (and project-ref checks as needed)
  • Local pack: pwsh -File scripts/build-installer.ps1 -App SketchStudio (needs Inno Setup 6)
  • After merge: confirm Release assets SketchStudioSetup-*-win-x64.exe / SketchStudio-*-win-x64.zip