fix: console visibility, NSIS registry view, and Northstar LSX (#3)

[AA-EION]

Problem

After upgrading to v0.2.1, nothing appears when launching TF2 from Steam — no CLI window, no UI, no TUI. In earlier versions the CLI console at least popped up. Additionally, Northstar online play never worked because external LSX connections were rejected.

Root causes fixed (5 independent bugs)

1. NSIS SetRegView leak → protocol handlers in wrong registry view (most likely root cause of invisible launch)

SetRegView 64 was set for WOW6432Node writes and never reset before the HKCR protocol handler writes. v0.2.0 used the default (32-bit) view; v0.2.1 wrote link2ea://, qrc://, origin2:// under the 64-bit view. 32-bit Wine consumers (TF2, Origin) resolve HKCR via the 32-bit view → stale/missing handlers → maxima-bootstrap never invoked → nothing appears.

Fix: SetRegView default before all BackupProtocol calls and HKCR writes. Same fix inside RestoreProtocol in the uninstaller. Upgrade guard in BackupProtocol so upgrading over an existing install doesn't overwrite the original EA-handler backup with Maxima's own values.

2. AllocConsole() didn't reattach stdio

AllocConsole opens a console window but does not redirect existing std handles. Maxima-bootstrap is a GUI-subsystem process with null stdio; the child inherited those null handles. The console appeared but println! / the logger wrote to dead pipes → blank window.

Fix: After AllocConsole, call SetStdHandle for stdout/stderr/stdin pointing at CONOUT$/CONIN$.

3. #[tokio::main] ran before AllocConsole

The tokio macro desugars to runtime construction before user code. A panic in IOCP/thread-pool init under Wine killed the process silently before any console existed.

Fix: Plain fn main() that calls AllocConsole + logger, then builds the runtime manually with Runtime::new().block_on(startup(args)).

4. Args::parse() before logger init

Clap parse errors wrote to the unattached stderr pipe — invisible.

Fix: init_logger_named() before Args::parse(). Panic hook installed first so even pre-logger crashes write to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Maxima\Logs\maxima-cli.panic.log.

5. Bootstrap swallowed non-zero exit codes

maxima-cli crash → bootstrap logged "Result: Success". Made every other bug invisible in maxima_execution.log.

Fix: Check status.success() after wait() and log the exit code.

6. External LSX connections rejected → Northstar online play broken

When Northstar launches via steam.exe -applaunch 1237970 -northstar, the game starts without maxima-cli launch, so maxima.playing() is None when TF2's LSX module connects. The old code shut the socket immediately (LSXConnectionError::GameContext). handle_set_presence_request also called .unwrap() on playing() → panic.

Fix: Port of catornot/Maxima@patch-external-lsx (upstream PR ArmchairDevelopers#42 by p0358). Accept external connections with a warning; skip PID/Kyber path when no context. Safe let-else in profile.rs.

Files changed

File	What changed
installer/maxima-setup.nsi	SetRegView default before HKCR ops; upgrade guard in BackupProtocol
maxima-cli/src/main.rs	Plain main, panic hook, stdio reattach, logger-before-args, manual tokio runtime
maxima-cli/Cargo.toml	Added winapi features: processenv, fileapi, winbase, winnt
maxima-bootstrap/src/main.rs	Log non-zero exit codes from maxima-cli
maxima-lib/src/lsx/connection.rs	Accept external LSX connections (Northstar)
maxima-lib/src/lsx/request/profile.rs	Safe let-else instead of unwrap on playing()
CLAUDE.md	Document all findings with line references

Test plan

• Install v0.2.1, then install this build over it (upgrade path) — verify link2ea:// still dispatched to maxima-bootstrap by checking maxima_execution.log grows on TF2 launch
• Verify CLI console appears and shows log output when TF2 triggers link2ea://
• Verify %LOCALAPPDATA%\Maxima\Logs\maxima-cli.log is populated after a launch attempt
• Launch Northstar via Steam (steam.exe -applaunch 1237970 -northstar) and confirm online play works

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request addresses critical launch and visibility issues in v0.2.1 by fixing NSIS registry view leaks, ensuring proper stdio reattachment after AllocConsole, and implementing a panic hook for better diagnostics. It also enables LSX connections for externally launched games. Feedback suggests improving error handling in the bootstrap process by returning errors instead of manual logging and using more idiomatic Rust patterns for PID checking.

[gemini-code-assist]

The manual logging of the non-zero exit code to maxima_execution.log is redundant because the handle_launch_args function already logs the result. By returning an error here, you can leverage the existing infrastructure. Additionally, ensure that if Stdio::piped() is used, the stderr output is captured and included in the error message to provide better diagnostic information.

            if !status.success() {
                return Err(std::io::Error::new(
                    std::io::ErrorKind::Other,
                    format!("maxima-cli (link2ea) exited non-zero: code={:?}", status.code())
                ).into());
            }

References

1. When capturing command output in Rust using Stdio::piped(), ensure that stderr is also read and incorporated into error reporting to avoid losing diagnostic information.

[gemini-code-assist]

Similar to the link2ea block, returning an error here is cleaner than manual logging. This ensures consistency and utilizes centralized logging. Note that if Stdio::piped() is used, stderr should be read and incorporated into the error reporting to avoid losing diagnostic information.

            if !status.success() {
                return Err(std::io::Error::new(
                    std::io::ErrorKind::Other,
                    format!("maxima-cli (origin2) exited non-zero: code={:?}", status.code())
                ).into());
            }

References

1. When capturing command output in Rust using Stdio::piped(), ensure that stderr is also read and incorporated into error reporting to avoid losing diagnostic information.

[gemini-code-assist]

While the unwrap() is technically safe here due to the preceding if let Err check, using a match statement on a reference is more idiomatic and robust against future refactoring, as it avoids unnecessary unwrapping.

Suggested change

	if let Err(ref err) = pid {
	warn!("Error while finding game PID: {}", err);
	} else if pid.as_ref().unwrap() == &0 {
	warn!("Failed to find PID through launch ID, things may not work!");
	}
	match &pid {
	Err(err) => warn!("Error while finding game PID: {}", err),
	Ok(0) => warn!("Failed to find PID through launch ID, things may not work!"),
	_ => {}
	}