DCCExpressLiteInstaller

Graphical Windows installer for DCCExpressLite firmware on EX-CSB1 hardware. It is built with C#/.NET 8 and Avalonia UI.

Implemented

• Windows x64 desktop UI; the Avalonia codebase can support other desktop platforms later.
• Native serial-port discovery without requiring PlatformIO.
• Automatic discovery of stable and prerelease DCCExpressLite releases from GitHub.
• Release dropdown; the selected firmware release supplies its own manifest and assets.
• Firmware/tool download and SHA-256 verification.
• ESP32 flashing through the official standalone Espressif esptool binary.
• Firmware/system and LittleFS selection.
• Layout and locomotive backup before LittleFS replacement, followed by automatic restore.
• Optional starter package with a sample layout, locomotives and locomotive images.
• Progress reporting, cancellation and full installation log.

Run for development

dotnet restore DCCExpressLite.Installer/DCCExpressLite.Installer.csproj --configfile NuGet.Config
dotnet run --project DCCExpressLite.Installer/DCCExpressLite.Installer.csproj

Publish desktop applications

./tools/Publish-Installers.ps1

This currently creates the self-contained win-x64 application. The Avalonia project remains portable, but macOS and Linux packages are intentionally deferred until they can be tested.

For a published Windows release, download DCCExpressLiteInstaller-win-x64.zip, extract it, and run DCCExpressLite.Installer.exe. The application fetches installable releases from DCCExpress/DCCExpressLite; choose a version in the dropdown and flash it.