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Feature: Auto-Install Tools — Install Immediately on Toggle

IMPLEMENTATION RULES: Before implementing this plan, read and follow:

Status: Completed​

Completed: 2026-02-03

Goal: When users toggle tools on/off in the "Manage Auto-Install Tools" checklist, install newly enabled tools immediately instead of waiting for container rebuild.

Last Updated: 2026-02-03

Overview​

The dev-setup menu option "Manage Auto-Install Tools" (option 7) lets users select which tools should auto-install on container rebuild. Currently it only updates .devcontainer.extend/enabled-tools.conf — it does not install or uninstall anything. Users have to rebuild the container to get the tools they just enabled.

Users expect that enabling a tool in the checklist installs it right away.

Current behavior​

  1. User opens dev-setup → option 7
  2. Checklist shows all tools with current enabled/disabled state
  3. User toggles tools and saves
  4. enabled-tools.conf is updated
  5. Nothing else happens — tools install only on next container rebuild

Desired behavior​

1–4 same as above, then: 5. Newly enabled tools are installed immediately (same as "Browse & Install") 6. Newly disabled tools are uninstalled immediately via --uninstall flag (all install scripts support it via the common framework) 7. User sees a summary of what was installed/uninstalled/skipped/failed

How the dialog works​

The checklist is a standard dialog --checklist widget. An [*] next to a tool means it is currently listed in enabled-tools.conf. The user interaction is:

  1. SPACE — toggles a single item on/off. This only changes the visual state in the dialog; nothing is saved or installed yet.
  2. ENTER (OK) — confirms all selections. The code compares the previous state against the new state, updates enabled-tools.conf, installs newly checked tools, and uninstalls newly unchecked tools.
  3. ESC / Cancel — discards all changes. Nothing is saved or installed.

All install/uninstall actions happen after the user presses OK, not on individual toggles. This lets the user review the full set of changes before committing.

Phase 1: Modify manage_autoinstall_tools() — ✅ DONE​

Tasks​

  • 1.1 Before showing the checklist dialog, record which tools are currently enabled (snapshot the old state)
  • 1.2 After the user saves, compare old vs new state to determine:
    • Newly enabled tools (were off, now on)
    • Newly disabled tools (were on, now off)
    • Unchanged tools
  • 1.3 Update enabled-tools.conf (same logic as today — disable all, enable selected)
  • 1.4 For each newly enabled tool:
    • Check if already installed via SCRIPT_CHECK_COMMAND → skip if so
    • Check prerequisites via check_prerequisite_configs → skip with message if not met
    • Run bash "$script_path" (same as execute_tool_installation)
    • Log success/failure
  • 1.5 Show summary: installed count, skipped count, failed count, disabled tools list
  • 1.6 Update the checklist dialog description to say "Checked tools will be installed now and on every rebuild"
  • 1.7 For each newly disabled tool:
    • Run bash "$script_path" --uninstall (all scripts support this via the common install framework)
    • Log success/failure
  • 1.8 Update summary to include uninstall counts

Validation​

  • User opens dev-setup → option 7
  • Enables a tool that isn't installed → tool installs immediately
  • Enables a tool that is already installed → shows "already installed", skips
  • Disables a tool → uninstalled immediately and removed from enabled-tools.conf
  • No changes → shows "no changes" message
  • User confirms phase is complete

Files to modify​

  • .devcontainer/manage/dev-setup.sh — function manage_autoinstall_tools() (around line 1204)

Acceptance Criteria​

  • Enabling a tool in the checklist installs it immediately
  • Already-installed tools are skipped (not re-installed)
  • Prerequisites are checked before installing
  • Disabling a tool uninstalls it immediately via --uninstall
  • Summary is shown after save
  • Existing "Browse & Install" flow is unchanged
  • Entrypoint startup still reads enabled-tools.conf normally

Implementation Notes​

  • The install logic should match what execute_tool_installation() does (lines 2264-2330 in dev-setup.sh), but without the interactive dialog wrapper — just direct console output since we may be installing multiple tools in sequence.
  • install_single_tool() from tool-installation.sh could also be used, but it requires sourcing multiple libraries that may not be loaded in the dev-setup context. Simpler to inline the check-and-run pattern.
  • All 24 install scripts support --uninstall via the common install framework (lib/install-common.sh). Uninstall is run for all newly disabled tools.