Installation Guide

SceneShift is distributed as a standalone Windows executable. No installation wizard or registry modifications are required.

System Requirements

  • Operating System: Windows 10 or Windows 11
  • Architecture: 64-bit (x64)
  • Privileges: Administrator access required for process management
  • Disk Space: Approximately 10 MB

Installation Methods

Scoop is a command-line package manager for Windows that simplifies software installation and updates.

Installing Scoop

If you don't have Scoop installed, open PowerShell and run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
irm get.scoop.sh | iex

Installing SceneShift via Scoop

# Add the SceneShift bucket
scoop bucket add tandukuda https://github.com/tandukuda/scoop-bucket

# Install SceneShift
scoop install sceneshift

Scoop will: - Download the latest version - Place it in your PATH - Create a shim for easy command-line access - Handle updates automatically

Updating via Scoop

scoop update sceneshift

Method 2: Manual Installation

Manual installation gives you complete control over file placement.

Steps

  1. Visit the Releases page
  2. Download the latest SceneShift-vX.X.X.zip file
  3. Extract the archive to your preferred location
  4. Example: C:\Users\YourName\Documents\SceneShift
  5. Avoid placing in Program Files (requires elevated permissions for configuration files)
  6. Navigate to the extracted folder
  7. Right-click SceneShift.exe and select "Run as administrator"

Creating a Desktop Shortcut

  1. Right-click SceneShift.exe
  2. Select "Send to" then "Desktop (create shortcut)"
  3. Right-click the desktop shortcut
  4. Select "Properties"
  5. Click "Advanced" button
  6. Check "Run as administrator"
  7. Click OK twice

Now you can launch SceneShift from the desktop with administrative privileges.

Adding to PATH (Optional)

To run SceneShift from any command prompt:

  1. Copy the full path to the SceneShift folder
  2. Open System Properties (Windows Key + Pause/Break)
  3. Click "Advanced system settings"
  4. Click "Environment Variables"
  5. Under "User variables", select "Path" and click "Edit"
  6. Click "New"
  7. Paste the SceneShift folder path
  8. Click OK on all dialogs

You can now run SceneShift.exe from any terminal.

Method 3: Build from Source

Building from source requires development tools but ensures you have the absolute latest code.

Prerequisites

  • Go 1.21 or newer
  • Git
  • rsrc tool for embedding Windows resources

Installing Prerequisites

# Install Go from https://go.dev/dl/

# Install rsrc
go install github.com/akavel/rsrc@latest

# Verify installations
go version
rsrc -h

Build Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/tandukuda/sceneshift.git
cd sceneshift

# Run the build script
build-release.bat

# The executable will be in the release folder

The build script: - Compiles resource files (icon, manifest) - Builds the Go application - Strips debug symbols for smaller binary size - Embeds version information - Creates a release package

Custom Build Options

For development builds:

go build -o SceneShift.exe

For optimized release builds:

go build -ldflags="-s -w" -trimpath -o SceneShift.exe

First Run

Initial Setup

  1. Launch SceneShift.exe as Administrator
  2. On first run, SceneShift will:
  3. Create config.yaml in the executable directory
  4. Create theme.yaml with default colors
  5. Present a theme selection screen
  6. Select a theme using arrow keys and press Enter
  7. You will arrive at the main menu

Configuration Files

SceneShift creates two files on first run:

config.yaml: Contains applications, presets, exclusion list, and keybindings theme.yaml: Stores the active color theme

These files are in the same directory as SceneShift.exe. You can edit them manually or use the built-in interfaces.

Verifying Installation

To verify SceneShift is working correctly:

# Check version
SceneShift.exe --version

# Should display:
# SceneShift vX.X.X
# Built: YYYY-MM-DD
# Platform: Windows

Troubleshooting Installation

Error: "Windows protected your PC"

This is SmartScreen warning about an unsigned executable.

  1. Click "More info"
  2. Click "Run anyway"

This occurs because the executable is not code-signed. The application is safe and open-source.

Error: "Administrator privileges required"

SceneShift needs admin access to manage processes.

  1. Right-click SceneShift.exe
  2. Select "Run as administrator"
  3. Or follow the desktop shortcut steps above to always run as admin

Error: "VCRUNTIME140.dll not found"

This indicates missing Visual C++ runtime libraries.

  1. Download Visual C++ Redistributable from Microsoft
  2. Install the x64 version
  3. Restart your computer
  4. Try running SceneShift again

Scoop Installation Fails

If Scoop cannot find SceneShift:

  1. Verify the bucket was added: scoop bucket list
  2. Update Scoop: scoop update
  3. Try installing again: scoop install sceneshift

Build from Source Fails

Common build issues:

Go version too old: Update to Go 1.21 or newer

rsrc not found: Ensure GOPATH/bin is in your PATH

Missing dependencies: Run go mod download in the SceneShift directory

Updating SceneShift

Via Scoop

scoop update sceneshift

Manual Update

  1. Download the new version from Releases
  2. Close SceneShift if running
  3. Replace SceneShift.exe with the new version
  4. Your configuration files (config.yaml, theme.yaml) are preserved

Checking for Updates

SceneShift does not auto-update. Check the Releases page periodically for new versions.

Uninstallation

Via Scoop

scoop uninstall sceneshift

Manual Uninstall

  1. Close SceneShift if running
  2. Delete the SceneShift folder
  3. Remove desktop shortcut if created
  4. Remove from PATH if added

Your configuration files are stored with the executable, so deleting the folder removes all traces of SceneShift.

Portable Installation

SceneShift is fully portable. You can: - Run it from a USB drive - Copy the folder to another computer - Move it between directories

Just ensure you run it as Administrator wherever you place it.

Network and Firewall

SceneShift does not require network access and makes no outbound connections. It is safe to use on isolated or air-gapped systems.

Firewall configuration is not necessary.