Task-Scheduler-Studio

<h1 align="center"> <img src="WinTask%20Logo.png" alt="Task Scheduler Studio" height="60"><br> Task Scheduler Studio </h1> <h4 align="center">A modern, Fluent WinUI 3 reimagining of Windows Task Scheduler, with natural-language task creation and a local MCP server for AI agents.</h4> <p align="center"> <a href="#overview">Overview</a> • <a href="#solution-layout">Solution layout</a> • <a href="#script-library">Script library</a> • <a href="#build--run">Build &amp; run</a> • <a href="#the-mcp-server">MCP server</a> • <a href="#license">License</a> </p>  ## Overview Task Scheduler Studio is a modern WinUI 3 reimagining of the built-in Windows Task Scheduler. It reads and writes the live Windows Task Scheduler store through the Task Scheduler V2 COM API, so everything you create is a normal scheduled task: visible in `taskschd.msc`, queryable with `schtasks`, and fully interoperable with the built-in tool. There is no separate database — create a task in either tool and it appears, runs, and edits identically in the other. The app pairs that engine with a clean Fluent interface and, optionally, AI. A built-in GitHub Copilot assistant lets you create and manage tasks in plain English, and a bundled local MCP server exposes the same engine to your favorite AI agents, so both the UI and agents always behave identically. > **Disclaimer:** Task Scheduler Studio was created by a Microsoft employee as an individual personal > project and proof of concept. It is **not** an official Microsoft product, service, or offering, > and it is **not affiliated with, endorsed by, or supported by Microsoft**. All work and opinions > are the developer's own. _{This project was built with the help of AI coding tools (GitHub Copilot).} ## Why it's cross‑compatible Task Scheduler Studio talks to the **Task Scheduler V2 COM API** (`Schedule.Service`) through the mature `Microsoft.Win32.TaskScheduler` managed wrapper. That is the *same* API and the *same* task store the built‑in Task Scheduler uses — there is no separate database. Anything Task Scheduler Studio creates is a normal scheduled task: visible in `taskschd.msc`, queryable with `schtasks`, and backed by the standard Task Scheduler XML interchange format (Import/Export compatible). ## Solution layout | Project | Type | Purpose | |---------|------|---------| | `Tasker.Core` | class library | The single source of truth: `TaskerService` wraps the COM API and exposes serializable DTOs (folders, tasks, triggers, actions, settings). | | `Tasker.App` | WinUI 3 app | The desktop UI — folder tree, searchable task table, rich detail pane, a tabbed create/edit editor with a raw‑XML escape hatch, and a natural‑language **Copilot assistant**. | | `Tasker.Mcp` | console app | A local stdio **MCP** server exposing the same engine to agents. | Because the UI and the MCP server both call into `Tasker.Core`, they always behave identically. ## Script library The **Library** page offers ~20 ready-made, safe PowerShell automation scripts (cleanup, backup, maintenance, monitoring, and system tasks) plus your own saved scripts. Each built-in script opens with a clearly-commented **settings block** for easy tweaks, exposed as friendly inputs in the preview. When you pick **Create task**, the (possibly edited) script is written to a real `.ps1` under `%LOCALAPPDATA%\WindowsTasker\scripts` and handed to the visual **Designer** as a pre-built action, so you just choose a schedule. You can also add a script mid-flow from the Designer's **Add action → From script library**. - **Safe by design:** deletions of your files go to the Recycle Bin; only transient caches/temp are hard-deleted (scoped, best-effort). Every script runs `-NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass` and is shown for review before a task is created. Scripts that need elevation are flagged and switch on "Run with highest privileges". - **Notifications:** the reminder and low-disk-space scripts raise real **Windows 11 toasts** without installing a module or registering an app (they borrow Task Scheduler Studio's own AUMID, falling back to File Explorer's). - **Your own scripts:** create, edit, duplicate (from a built-in), and delete your scripts; they are stored as JSON at `%LOCALAPPDATA%\WindowsTasker\script-library.json`. ## Create tasks with natural language (GitHub Copilot SDK) The **Assistant** page embeds the official [GitHub Copilot SDK](https://github.com/github/copilot-sdk) (`GitHub.Copilot.SDK`). Describe what you want in plain English — *"run backup.cmd every weekday at 6pm"* — and the Copilot agent runs a guided flow: it asks for anything that's missing (name, the program to run, the schedule), confirms, then calls the Task Scheduler Studio tools (`create_task`, `create_task_from_xml`, `list_folders`, `list_tasks`) — the **same tools the MCP server exposes**, backed by the shared engine — to write the task into the live Windows store. - **Authentication:** click **Sign in with GitHub** on the Assistant page — it uses the GitHub CLI (`gh`) to authenticate interactively, reusing an existing `gh` session when present or opening the GitHub web sign-in otherwise. You can also paste a GitHub token, or just start chatting to use your existing Copilot session. A Copilot subscription is required. - **Locked down:** the assistant is hardened on multiple layers — a dedicated **AGENTS.md** and system prompt restrict it to scheduled-task work, and a strict **permission handler** allows ONLY the Task Scheduler Studio task tools to execute, rejecting shell, file, web, memory and every other built-in capability (verified: a jailbreak prompt asking it to run a shell command was refused and nothing happened). Tool inputs are validated, and destructive actions require confirmation. - **Suggested prompts:** quick chips like *Scan tasks for red flags* (runs `analyze_task` over your tasks and reports evidence-based findings), *What runs at startup?*, and *Run Notepad daily*. ## Build & run Prerequisites: Windows 10 1903+, .NET 10 SDK, Developer Mode, and the `winapp` CLI (`winget install Microsoft.WinAppCli`). ```powershell # Build everything dotnet build WinTaskScheduler.slnx -c Debug # Run the desktop app (uses the WinUI dev workflow helper) cd Tasker.App ./BuildAndRun.ps1 # or: winapp run <build-output-folder> ``` > **Elevation:** Creating tasks that *Run with highest privileges*, or editing protected system > tasks under `\Microsoft\Windows\…`, requires running Task Scheduler Studio (or the MCP server) **as > administrator** — exactly like the built‑in tool. Everyday per‑user tasks work without elevation. ## The MCP server `Tasker.Mcp` speaks the Model Context Protocol over stdio (newline‑delimited JSON‑RPC 2.0). ### Tools | Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | `list_folders` | The Task Scheduler folder tree with task counts. | | `list_tasks` | Tasks in a folder (optionally recursive / filtered) with state, next/last run, result, and trigger/action summaries. | | `get_task` | Full definition of one task incl. raw XML. | | `export_task_xml` | Portable Task Scheduler XML for a task. | | `analyze_task` | **Grounded, evidence-based assessment** of a task — a risk level plus findings that each cite the exact command/trigger/principal/setting they're based on (e.g. encoded PowerShell, download-and-run, runs from a user-writable path, hidden+elevated+autostart). | | `run_task` / `stop_task` | Start / end a task on demand. | | `enable_task` / `disable_task` | Toggle a task. | | `delete_task` | Permanently delete a task. | | `get_running_tasks` | Currently running instances (with engine PID). | | `create_task` | Create or update a task from structured `triggers`+`actions` **or** raw `xml`. | ### Register it with an MCP client **Easiest:** open the app's **About** page and click **Install for Copilot CLI** or **Install for VS Code** — each merges a `wintask-scheduler` entry into the right config file (preserving anything already there) pointing at the bundled server. Restart the CLI/editor afterward. To do it manually, set the MCP client's launch command. **When the app is installed** (from the Microsoft Store or an MSIX package) it registers a stable app-execution alias, so the command is simply `WinTaskSchedulerMcp.exe` — Windows resolves it from `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WindowsApps` (on `PATH`) to the installed server, and it keeps working across app updates regardless of install location. For an **unpackaged dev run**, use the absolute path to the built `Tasker.Mcp.exe`. **GitHub Copilot CLI** — `~/.copilot/mcp-config.json`: ```json { "mcpServers": { "wintask-scheduler": { "type": "stdio", "command": "WinTaskSchedulerMcp.exe", "args": [], "tools": [] } } } ``` The one-click installers write this alias automatically. For an unpackaged dev build, replace the command with the absolute path to the built server, e.g. `Tasker.App\bin\x64\Debug\net10.0-windows10.0.26100.0\win-x64\mcp\Tasker.Mcp.exe`. **VS Code** (Agent mode) — `%APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json` (or per-workspace `.vscode/mcp.json`): ```json { "servers": { "wintask-scheduler": { "type": "stdio", "command": "WinTaskSchedulerMcp.exe", "args": [] } } } ``` **Generic / other clients** — any MCP host that launches a local stdio server works: ```json { "mcpServers": { "wintask-scheduler": { "command": "dotnet", "args": ["run", "--project", "D:\\Windows Tasker\\Tasker.Mcp\\Tasker.Mcp.csproj", "-c", "Debug"] } } } ``` ### Example agent call ```jsonc // tools/call create_task { "name": "Nightly backup", "folder": "\\MyApps", "description": "Runs the backup script every night", "principal": { "runWithHighestPrivileges": false }, "triggers": [ { "kind": "daily", "startBoundary": "2026-01-01T02:00:00", "daysInterval": 1 } ], "actions": [ { "command": "C:\\Scripts\\backup.cmd", "arguments": "--full" } ] } ``` The structured editor and `create_task` understand the common trigger kinds (`oneTime`, `daily`, `weekly`, `monthly`, `atStartup`, `atLogOn`, `onIdle`). For anything else — event triggers, COM handler actions, exotic settings — pass full **raw XML** (UI: *Advanced* tab; MCP: the `xml` field), which is registered verbatim for 100% fidelity. ## Quality-of-life extras (beyond the built-in Task Scheduler) - **Natural-language task creation & management** via the Copilot assistant — it can also run, enable/disable, delete, and answer questions about your tasks ("what runs at startup?"). - **Run History** — per-task event log (from `Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Operational`) in the detail pane. - **Folder picker** when creating/editing, plus **create/delete folders** from the tree toolbar. - **Duplicate task**, and **templates** ("New task" ▾) for common recipes. - **Sortable columns** (click a header) and **live search** across name, action, trigger, author. - **Multi-select bulk actions** — run / enable / disable / delete several tasks at once. - **Rich trigger editor** — one-time, daily, weekly, monthly (by day), monthly (by day-of-week), at startup, at logon, on idle, on an event, on session state change, plus repetition and expiry. - **Run as a different user** — interactive, stored-password, S4U, or SYSTEM. - **Backup / restore** a whole folder of tasks as a zip of XML. - **Upcoming runs** view (everything sorted by next run time) and **toast notifications** when a task you started finishes. - **Restart as administrator** for elevated operations; **auto-refresh** when the assistant changes tasks; **markdown-rendered** assistant replies. - **Appearance** (About page) — switch the window **backdrop** (Mica Alt · Mica · Acrylic) and the **theme** (System · Light · Dark); choices persist across restarts. - **Resizable details pane** — drag the splitter on the Tasks page to grow the inspection/XML area. ## Tests `ui-tests.ps1` drives the running app through `winapp ui` automation (navigation, the editor, an end‑to‑end create verified against `schtasks`, and an AutomationId accessibility audit): ```powershell ./ui-tests.ps1 -AppPid <pid-of-running-app> ``` ## License Task Scheduler Studio's own source code is released under the **MIT License** — see [`LICENSE`](LICENSE). It depends only on permissive (MIT) libraries plus the Microsoft Windows App SDK / Windows SDK build tools, which Microsoft's license terms allow redistributing inside applications you build. Third-party components and their licenses are listed in [`THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md`](THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md). ## Privacy The app runs locally and the developer collects no personal data. Optional features (the GitHub Copilot assistant and GitHub sign-in) send data only to GitHub when you choose to use them. See [`PRIVACY.md`](PRIVACY.md) for the full privacy policy.