OmniShell Desktop Environment

OmniShell is a desktop-like shell environment implemented as a single wxWidgets application.
It aims to provide a self-contained, Windows‑style desktop experience (desktop, taskbar, start menu, tray, apps) inside one process, with strong boundaries between user-facing UI and underlying storage/security layers.

Screenshots

Name	Screenshot
Desktop
ControlPanel
Notepad

Motivation

• Unified application shell: Many enterprise systems ship dozens of small utilities, daemons, and UIs. OmniShell gives them a single, coherent shell where apps share a common UX, windowing model, and integration points.
• Security & isolation: Instead of letting every component talk directly to the host filesystem, the Virtual File System (VFS) layer centralizes access, adds auditing, and allows secure backends (encrypted volumes, network volumes, memory-backed storage, etc.).
• Embedded / kiosk scenarios: For controlled environments (kiosks, appliances, lab terminals) it is useful to ship a “mini desktop” that boots directly into a curated workspace, without exposing a full general-purpose desktop.
• Consistency across platforms: By building on wxWidgets and the VFS abstraction, the same desktop shell can be ported across OSes while keeping behavior and policies consistent.

Core Concepts & Features

• Desktop shell UI
  • Desktop window with icons and drag-and-drop
  • Taskbar with running applications and status
  • Start menu with search, categories, and app launch
  • System tray with notifications and background services
• Module-based applications
  • Applications are modules registered in a central registry, with a defined lifecycle
  • Notepad (Scintilla-based text editor)
  • Control Panel (configuration center: module manager, system settings, preferences)
  • Service-style modules for background tasks and tray utilities
• Virtual File System (VFS)
  • Pluggable volume backends (local, encrypted “seczure” devices, in-memory ZIP, etc.)
  • Access control via ACLs, user auth, and allow/deny lists
  • Path normalization, auditing, and consistent error semantics across backends
• Service & tray infrastructure
  • Long‑running modules integrated into the tray
  • Notification APIs for user feedback
• Extensibility
  • Clear C++ module API (see OMNISHELL_README.md for examples)
  • Designed so third parties can ship their own OmniShell apps and services

Example Applications / Use Cases

• Operator console for a fleet of backend services, where each module is a management/monitoring UI.
• Secure workstation shell that only exposes approved applications and VFS volumes.
• Developer or QA workbench, bundling internal tools (logs viewer, config editors, diagnostics) into one shell.
• Demo environment where a product ships with a curated desktop containing just the apps relevant to that product.

High‑Level Architecture

At a very high level, OmniShell is split into:

• Core / module system
  • Module base class, registration macros, and lifecycle management
  • Service manager and tray integration
• Shell
  • Desktop window, icons, background
  • Taskbar and start menu
  • Window chrome and focus management
• Applications
  • Notepad, Control Panel, and future apps (e.g., paint, file manager, etc.)
• VFS & storage
  • Volume abstraction (Volume, VolumeManager, and friends)
  • Volume implementations (local, encrypted, memory ZIP)
  • Access control, auth, and audit logging

Repository Layout (high level)

omnishell/
├── src/
│   ├── shell/         # Desktop, taskbar, start menu, window chrome
│   ├── app/           # Built-in apps (notepad, control panel, ...)
│   ├── volume/        # Virtual File System (VFS) implementation
│   └── ...            # Core, security, IO, daemon, etc.
├── assets/            # Icons and UI assets
├── third_party/       # Third-party dependencies
├── scripts/           # Helper scripts
└── build/             # Meson/ninja build output (generated)

Building

Prerequisites

• wxWidgets 3.0+
• Meson build system
• C++17-compatible compiler
• Boost
• libcurl
• OpenSSL
• zlib
• ICU

Build & Run

meson setup build      # configure
ninja -C build         # build
./build/omnishell      # run OmniShell

Development Workflow

• Add a new module / app
  • Implement a class derived from the module base class (see OMNISHELL_README.md for the full example).
  • Register it with the module registry via the provided macro.
  • Add it to the start menu (and optionally to the desktop/taskbar) via the shell configuration.
• Integrate with the VFS
  • Use Volume / VolumeFile APIs instead of raw filesystem access.
  • Decide whether your module needs local, encrypted, or in-memory volumes.
  • Honor access-control failures (e.g., AccessException) and surface user‑friendly errors.
• Contribute UI / assets
  • Add icons and mappings under assets/ (see the assets documentation below).
  • Use the existing visual language so new apps feel native to the shell.

License

Part of the OmniShell project.