WinKeyHook (silent, no UAC prompt), (2) direct process launch (works when exe carries no requireAdministrator manifest), (3) ShellExecute runas (shows UAC prompt once as last resort). Previous behaviour used only strategy 2, causing silent failure on hardened systems.SHOW / SEARCH:text still accepted (backward-compatible). New JSON envelope format introduced: {\"protocol\": 1, \"command\": \"show\", \"args\": {}}. Old scripts continue to work unchanged.src/gen/Data/ instead of src/Data/. A one-time migration runs automatically on first launch.--verbose flag: new CLI flag to enable DEBUG logging in compiled mode.[YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.mmmZ] [LEVEL] [module]. Bootstrap log at %TEMP%\\InputBar\\bootstrap.log active before path resolution. Log rotation (5 MB max, 3 files kept). Levels: DEBUG / INFO / WARN / ERROR / FATAL.InputBar_crash_<timestamp>.log to %TEMP% before exiting.schema_version field enabling structured migrations.teardown() called in reverse load order. 5-second hard timeout on shutdown.build/project.json.ConfigDirectory values pointing at system directories are rejected._pipe_handle protected by a lock. Reader thread uses threading.Event stop flag.quit command: both plain-text QUIT and JSON {\"command\":\"quit\"} trigger a graceful shutdown.teardown() -> None — called on shutdown.build/project.json: single source of truth for name, version, publisher, GUID. build_app.bat and CMakeLists.txt both read from it.pyproject.toml: ruff linter configured for the project..docs/ARCHITECTURE.md: module map, startup sequence, directory layout..docs/DECISIONS.md: ADRs for all major technical choices..git moved from src/ to project root (§3.1 compliance)..gitignore: root-level gitignore added. build/, releases/, publish scripts, src/gen/, CONTEXT.md all excluded.src/gen/ directory (gitignored) holds all dev-mode generated data.The bundled winkey_hook.exe (previously shipped in Lib\\Core\\) has been removed and replaced by the WinKeyHook Daemon, an independent open-source tool available at:\nhttps://github.com/BlessEphraem/WinKeyHook
What changes for you:
\nLib\\Core\\winkey_hook.exe if present.win, lwin, or rwin hotkey is configured.Path\\Config.json to a new location and restart InputBar, a dialog will offer to move your existing data there automatically.Data\\ and Plugins\\ directories in the install folder and offers to remove them.No downloadable assets attached to this release.
\n", "url": "https://blessephraem.github.io/news/2026/04/23/inputbar-123", "title": "InputBar 1.2.3", "summary": "Downloads", "date_modified": "2026-04-23T13:52:09.000Z", "tags": [ "programs", "inputbar" ] }, { "id": "https://blessephraem.github.io/news/2026/04/22/portfolio-XbWg5KfTPLs", "content_html": "\n", "url": "https://blessephraem.github.io/news/2026/04/22/portfolio-XbWg5KfTPLs", "title": "Portfolio - 2026-04-22", "summary": "Each plugin now exposes a \"limit\" key in Plugins.json (default 15). Raise it to see more results per plugin, lower it for a tighter list.
default_shell.json under \"extra_shells\" and use it as your default shell or as a per-entry prefix in favorites.data./ keyword — Type / <command> as a shorter alternative to shell <command>.extra_shells with cmd /c or PowerShell -WindowStyle Hidden to run commands without a visible window (see Shell docs for examples).Get-StartApps, Start Menu .lnk files, and registry entries are now all filtered by name and target executable. Non-executable UWP entries (documents, text files…) registered via Get-StartApps are no longer indexed.ListMax setting removed — superseded by MaxItemToShow in the theme. Existing Settings.json files are cleaned up automatically on first launch.Due to major layout changes introduced in 1.2.0 (double-line result items, dynamic window height), themes from version 1.1.x and earlier are incompatible.
\nOn first launch after upgrading, InputBar detects these old themes and automatically replaces them with the updated defaults. A one-time warning dialog is shown before this happens.
\nOnly theme files are affected. All other data (settings, plugin data, aliases, favorites) is preserved.
\nConfig.json - Data directory redirectA new Config.json file (next to the executable) lets you redirect where Data/ and Plugins/ are stored:
{
\"ConfigDirectory\": \"C:\\\\Users\\\\USERNAME\\\\AppData\\\\Roaming\\\\InputBar\"
}
Plugin data files (favorites.data, aliases.data, default_shell.json) are automatically seeded into the new location on first launch.
Data/Config.json -> Data/Settings.jsonThe main settings file has been renamed from Data/Config.json to Data/Settings.json.
\nExisting installations are migrated automatically on first launch — no manual action needed.
settings in InputBar to reload or open the file (was config)A dedicated Shell plugin has been added (Plugins/Shell/Shell.py).
It handles shell command execution, separate from app launching:
\nfavorites.data — define named shell command shortcuts:fastfetch=pwsh fastfetch
btop=cmd btop
showFolder=pwsh ls \"C:\\My\\Path\\\"
myscript=python C:\\My\\Path\\script.py --arg
default_shell.json — set your default shell (cmd, pwsh, powershell)btop=cmd btop
shell reload to reload favorites without restartingA dedicated Everything plugin integrates voidtools Everything directly into InputBar.
f <query> or everything <query> for an explicit file search.png, .pdf, .mp4, …) auto-trigger the plugin — just type the extensionfavorites.data:\n# Plugins/Everything/favorites.data
src=Z:\\Projects\\MySrc
wallpapers=C:\\Users\\Me\\Pictures\\Wallpapers
src shows the folder as the first result, followed immediately by its contents.Shortcuts (.lnk files) whose target is a non-executable document (e.g. .chm help files, .pdf, .txt) are now excluded from the application index. Only shortcuts that open a real executable or folder are shown.
Assets/Icons/icons section in the theme JSON:\n\"icons\": {
\"admin\": \"#FF8C00\",
\"folder\": \"#FFD700\",
\"system\": \"#888888\",
\"arrow_left\": \"#FFFFFF\"
}
.exe)_version.py moved to Build/ (generated by CMake at build time).gitignore added at root; src/.gitignore updatedCore/Config.py renamed to Core/Settings.pyCore/Migrations.py — new file centralising all startup migrations and plugin data seedingData/__pycache__ no longer created in compiled/setup builds (was always empty)ConfigDirectory when setMajor UI and Theme Improvements\nThe interface has been slightly updated. I have rearranged some UI elements for a cleaner and more streamlined look. Please make sure to update the plugin accordingly to match these changes.
\n