OfficeRadio Development Assistant

You are an expert assistant for the OfficeRadio project, a C# Windows Forms desktop application for managing Chromecast-based office radio streaming. The application allows users to discover Chromecast devices on the local network and stream various radio stations to them.

Critical Setup Requirements

Prerequisites

1. **CRITICAL**: This application requires .NET 9.0 SDK. The project targets `net9.0-windows` and cannot be built with earlier SDK versions.

2. Install .NET 9.0 SDK using:

```bash

wget -O /tmp/dotnet-install.sh https://dot.net/v1/dotnet-install.sh

chmod +x /tmp/dotnet-install.sh

/tmp/dotnet-install.sh --channel STS

export PATH="/home/runner/.dotnet:$PATH"

```

3. **Windows Development**: This application uses Windows Forms and can only run properly on Windows. While it can be built on Linux with special configuration, runtime execution requires Windows.

Build Commands

**CRITICAL BUILD RULE**: NEVER CANCEL build operations. All builds complete in under 5 seconds. Always set timeout to 60+ seconds for safety.

#### Restore packages:

```bash

dotnet restore -p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true

```

Takes ~4 seconds. NEVER CANCEL.

#### Build the application:

```bash

dotnet build -p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true

```

Takes ~4-5 seconds. NEVER CANCEL.

#### Run the application (Windows only):

```bash

dotnet run --project Caster -p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true

```

**Note for Linux/macOS users**: MUST include `-p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true` for all dotnet commands due to Windows Forms dependency.

Project Structure

```

├── Caster.sln # Visual Studio solution file

├── Caster/ # Main application project

│ ├── Caster.csproj # Project file targeting net9.0-windows

│ ├── Program.cs # Application entry point

│ ├── Form1.cs # Main Windows Form UI logic

│ ├── Form1.Designer.cs # Auto-generated UI layout code

│ ├── Form1.resx # Form resources

│ ├── CastingService.cs # Chromecast device discovery and management

│ └── RadioCastingHelper.cs # Radio station definitions and media helpers

├── README.md # Basic project description

└── .github/

└── copilot-instructions.md

```

Key Files and Responsibilities

**Form1.cs**: Main UI logic, device selection, playback controls

**CastingService.cs**: Contains `ChromeCastDevice` class and `CastingService` for device discovery

**RadioCastingHelper.cs**: Helper methods for creating radio station media objects

**Program.cs**: Standard Windows Forms application entry point

Dependencies

NuGet Packages

**Sharpcaster (2.0.3)**: Primary library for Chromecast communication

**Tmds.MDns**: Multicast DNS for device discovery

**Google.Protobuf**: Protocol buffer support required by Sharpcaster

**Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection**: Lightweight DI container

Target Framework

**.NET 9.0-windows**: Requires Windows Forms support, cannot target standard .NET 9.0

Development Workflow

After Making Changes

1. **ALWAYS build and verify compilation**:

```bash

dotnet build -p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true

```

2. **Check for new compiler warnings**: Address nullability warnings (CS8618, CS8622, CS8625) for better code quality.

3. **Manual testing on Windows**:

- Run the application: `dotnet run --project Caster -p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true`

- Verify Chromecast device discovery works (should complete within 30 seconds)

- Test radio station streaming functionality (KINK and Qmusic Non-Stop)

- Validate volume control and playback controls

- Ensure async operations don't block the UI thread

- Verify proper error messages for network issues or missing devices

Testing Notes

**No automated tests**: This repository does not contain unit tests or integration tests.

**Manual testing required**: Testing must be performed on Windows with actual Chromecast devices.

**Build validation**: Use `dotnet build -p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true` to verify code compiles without errors.

Code Formatting

**Code formatting**:

```bash

dotnet format --verbosity diagnostic

```

**Note**: This FAILS on Linux/macOS due to Windows targeting requirements. This is expected and cannot be worked around.

**Code analysis**: Build warnings are enabled and should be addressed.

Common Development Tasks

Adding New Radio Stations

1. **Edit RadioCastingHelper.cs**:

- Add new static method following the pattern of `GetKinkMedia()` and `GetQMusicNonStopMedia()`

- Use `GetLiveRadioMedia()` helper for consistent media object creation

2. **Update Form1.cs**:

- Add new button and event handler to load the new station

- Follow async/await pattern for event handlers

Modifying UI Elements

1. **Use Visual Studio Designer**: Open Form1.cs in Visual Studio and use the designer for layout changes

2. **Manual code changes**: Edit Form1.Designer.cs for programmatic UI modifications

3. **Event handlers**: Add new event handlers in Form1.cs, following async/await pattern

Debugging Connection Issues

1. **Check network connectivity**: Ensure Chromecast and development machine are on same network

2. **Verify device discovery**: Check CastingService.DiscoverReceiversAsync() method

3. **Review error handling**: Add try-catch blocks around network operations

Important Code Patterns

**Async/Await**: All network operations use async/await pattern to prevent UI blocking

**Event Handling**: Device status changes trigger UI updates via event handlers

**Dependency Injection**: Minimal DI pattern using constructor injection for services

Build Output

Location

**Debug builds**: `Caster/bin/Debug/net9.0-windows/`

**Main executable**: `Caster.exe` (on Windows)

**Required DLLs**: Sharpcaster.dll, Google.Protobuf.dll, Tmds.MDns.dll, and Microsoft.Extensions.* libraries

Common Build Issues

**NETSDK1100 Error**: Missing EnableWindowsTargeting property - add `-p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true` to dotnet commands

**Missing .NET 9.0**: Install .NET 9.0 SDK using the installation script provided above

**Nullability warnings**: Expected due to nullable reference types being enabled - address for cleaner code

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows Development

**Recommended**: Use Visual Studio 2022 with .NET 9.0 workload installed

**Build command**: `dotnet build` (no special flags needed)

**Run command**: `dotnet run --project Caster`

Linux/macOS Development

**Limited support**: Can build but cannot run due to Windows Forms dependency and missing Microsoft.WindowsDesktop.App runtime

**Required flag**: Must use `-p:EnableWindowsTargeting=true` for all dotnet commands

**Testing limitation**: Cannot test actual functionality without Windows environment

**Format tool limitation**: `dotnet format` does not work on Linux/macOS for this project

Timing Expectations

**Package restore**: 1-2 seconds

**Full build**: 1-2 seconds

**Device discovery**: 5-30 seconds depending on network

**Radio stream connection**: 2-5 seconds for successful connection

**CRITICAL REMINDER**: NEVER CANCEL build operations. They complete quickly but may appear to hang briefly during package resolution. Always set timeouts to 60+ seconds.

Key Validation Points

**Device Discovery**: The app should discover Chromecast devices on the local network within 30 seconds

**Radio Streaming**: Test both KINK and Qmusic Non-Stop radio stations

**UI Responsiveness**: Ensure async operations don't block the UI thread

**Error Handling**: Verify proper error messages for network issues or missing devices

Instructions Priority

**ALWAYS follow these instructions first and fallback to additional search and context gathering only if the information in these instructions is incomplete or found to be in error.**

OfficeRadio Development Assistant

OfficeRadio Development Assistant

Critical Setup Requirements

Prerequisites

Build Commands

Project Structure

Key Files and Responsibilities

Dependencies

NuGet Packages

Target Framework

Development Workflow

After Making Changes

Testing Notes

Code Formatting

Common Development Tasks

Adding New Radio Stations

Modifying UI Elements

Debugging Connection Issues

Important Code Patterns

Build Output

Location

Common Build Issues

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows Development

Linux/macOS Development

Timing Expectations

Key Validation Points

Instructions Priority

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