NTFSSecurity/.memory-bank/techContext.md

---
status: current
last-verified: 2026-10-10
owner: active-agent
source: repository and executable evidence
---

# Tech context

## Stack

- Legacy C# projects, .NET Framework 4.5.2, `NTFSSecurity.sln`.
  Cmdlets depend on Security2, PrivilegeControl/ProcessPrivileges, and
  AlphaFS 2.2.x. System.Management.Automation reference: 10.0.10586.0.
- Module supports Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7; 36 cmdlets.
  Manifest initializes helper assemblies, aliases, type data, formatting,
  and committed help generated from `Docs/Cmdlets` (platyPS 0.14/schema 2).
- CI: `.github/workflows/ci.yml`, scripts in `.github/scripts`; GitHub
  renders Docs and publishes a generated wiki. No separate docs site.

## Current environment

- Host `ExHost`: Windows Server 2025 VM, native x64, elevated agent;
  repository `V:\Git\NTFSSecurity`. AutomatedLab 5.61.704, Hyper-V,
  approved lab `WindowsAccessControlLab` (Decision 20).
- Build Release only: Debug writes to Program Files. Native .NET Framework
  MSBuild plus Roslyn `Microsoft.Net.Compilers` 4.2.0 and .NET 4.5.2
  reference assemblies work; legacy compiler fails CS0136, dotnet MSBuild
  fails binary resources MSB3822/MSB3823. Build packages are already cached
  in `packages`; compiler/tools are under TEMP `ntfs-build`.
- Pester 5.7.1 is in
  `V:\Git\WindowsAccessControl\output\RequiredModules\Pester\5.7.1`.
  platyPS 0.14.2 and MarkdownLinkCheck 0.2.0 are under TEMP `ntfs-docs-tools`.
  PSScriptAnalyzer and PSResourceGet are available in PowerShell 7.
- Use Desktop's module paths in Desktop children, not inherited Core-only
  paths. Never import NTFSSecurity in the agent shell; every package/build
  runs in a new process. Current prereleases share assembly version 5.0.0.0.
- GitHub CLI: `C:\Program Files\GitHub CLI\gh.exe`, signed in as raandree.
  Read-only queries work; remote mutations belong to the maintainer.
- LabSources: `V:\LabSources`. The first lab's machines are Server 2025; the
  matrix lab `NtfsSecurityOsMatrixLab` adds Server 2019/2022 and Windows 11.

## Constraints

- Manifest: ModuleVersion 5.0.0, prerelease rc7 (on `master` since
  2026-10-10, untagged). Latest stable 4.2.6; latest published prerelease
  rc6 (2026-10-08). rc7 publication is pending.
- Changed-section writes preserve unchanged owner/group/DACL/SACL (19).
  Roots use root-folder APIs, not AlphaFS device security (#41).
- CHANGELOG contains user-visible changes only (7); tests and CI-only fixes
  get no entry. No stable release until Decision 21 gates close.
- Honor separate topic branches, no amendment, two AI co-author trailers.
  Never work around remote-mutation blocking. Provide each maintainer
  command separately at reply end, no question dialog after commands.
  Issue references use no closing keyword unless closure is intended.
- Lab passwords stay in memory and are lab-only; no secret in repository,
  logs, or process arguments. Live ACL mutations occur only in the lab.

## Build and focused checks

- Build `NTFSSecurity\NTFSSecurity.csproj` with Configuration=Release,
  Framework MSBuild, TargetFrameworkRootPath/FrameworkPathOverride to
  `packages\Microsoft.NETFramework.ReferenceAssemblies.net452.1.0.3\build`,
  CscToolPath to the cached compiler. Expected legacy CS1591/CS0618 warnings
  are not new failures. Never copy a mutated DLL into acceptance artifacts.
- Pester/builds run in detached monitored child processes through
  `Start-DetachedPowerShell.ps1`; use unique TEMP logs/result paths and an
  explicit-PID watcher. No foreground sleep/poll loop. Long payloads use
  a script file: nested Base64 encoding can exceed Windows command limits.
- Focused helper: TEMP `ntfs-focused\Start-FocusedRuns.ps1`; detach that
  driver too because its internal wait loop must not block the agent shell.
- TEMP `ntfs-docs-tools\Invoke-ChangeChecks.ps1 -File <relative paths>`
  performs AST/analyzer/lint/help checks. Absolute input paths misroute
  cmdlet pages. Check actual analyzer/lint output, not just helper exit.
- actionlint 1.7.12 checks the workflow. Script changes use AST parse and
  PSScriptAnalyzer; prose Markdown uses MD013 and changelog siblings-only
  repeated-heading allowance. Native error codes must be checked explicitly.
- Documentation: run platyPS in Desktop, generate external help, rebuild,
  require an unchanged Markdown round trip. Links in Docs are checked
  relatively; Wiki tests cover generated anchors, not arbitrary web URLs.

## CI and packaging

- CI `build` on windows-2025 installs tools, restores dependencies, builds
  Release, round-trips pages/help, checks links, and runs the suite in
  Desktop/Core, elevated/basic user. Lab tests are explicitly excluded.
- `.github/scripts/Invoke-TestsAsBasicUser.ps1` launches a SAFER Normal User
  token. Result paths may be absolute or repository-relative: Path.Combine
  then GetFullPath, not Join-Path with a rooted child.
- Packaging needs Compress-PSResource (Core 7.4+). New-ModulePackage copies
  only FileList, validates the manifest, creates nupkg plus NTFSSecurity.zip.
  Check package/file hashes and test the extracted artifact, not build extras.
- Release runs only for validated version tags in powershell-gallery; the API
  key is the environment secret PSGALLERY_API_KEY. The rules of
  `Publish-ModulePackage` are in `systemPatterns.md`. Read status through
  `gh pr checks` and `gh run view --log-failed`. A successful Gallery upload
  followed by HTTP 409 does not prove its retry chronology.

## Coverage and test eligibility

- AltCover 9.0.145 net472 instruments a copied Release build with PDBs,
  OpenCover format, localSource, excluding AlphaFS/System.Management.Automation.
  Do not use --save: collection previously retained only one process's hits.
- Freeze a git worktree, instrument its NTFSSecurity\bin\Release, run all
  four configurations sequentially with the real CI wrappers, then
  AltCover runner --collect recalculates the report. Compute option paths
  before passing native arguments, not inline Join-Path expressions.
- Report sequence points, not unique source lines. Four-run baselines: rc5
  2,020/3,476 (58.1%); rc6 2,412/3,540 (68.14%); `3442194` 2,641/3,559
  (74.21%); `5a5d58b` 3,192/3,634 (87.84%), branches 1,273/1,978 (64.36%).
  The code changes the denominators: never present these as same-source
  increments. The branch summary counts 820 compiler-generated points; report
  the explicit branch points too (1,088/1,158, 93.96%). Suite at `5a5d58b`:
  1,310 per configuration, zero failures (skipped: 24 and 55 elevated, 234
  and 265 basic, Desktop and Core).
- NUnit skipped ForEach names retain placeholders and parameter tuples,
  executed names expand them: raw-name intersection and positional alignment
  are invalid. Check skip eligibility by row: run the suite once per
  configuration with Pester PassThru and match skipped with executed rows by
  file, line, path, name, and data (discovery alone misses tests that skip
  while running; write primitives, as `ConvertTo-Json` of rich rows hangs).
- Remaining inventory: 442 points in 231 methods, classified by rule with
  evidence (probe, IL scan, source reading); see `Tests/Coverage`. Preserve
  raw XML, row CSVs, logs, commit identity, and build hashes: the frozen
  Build rewrites its hash file, so save the hashes of the measured assemblies
  (AltCover `__Saved` copies) before any mutation build.
- Bounded mutations: one script per round on the frozen worktree, with guards
  that no other mutation of the round can trip (an escape can be an overlap
  or an equivalent mutant: check before changing a test). Restore the source
  exactly and rebuild.
- Red/green matrix (a guard fails without its fix): build each state of the
  branch in its own Release worktree, lay the final `Tests` over it, run the
  guarding files with the focused runner in all four configurations, and count
  failed rows per name with multiplicity; the last state is the control. Keep
  the logs, a manifest with hashes, and the hash of each build: the first red
  runs of Handoff 1 were deleted and could not be reproduced.

## Lab acceptance

- Defaults: F1ADC1 (domain), F1AFile2 (server), F1AFile1 (client), all in
  a.forest1.net. Foreign accounts use F1BDC1, F2DC1, F3DC1 and existing trusts.
  Controller accepts alternate machines; changing topology/OS scope waits
  for a maintainer decision. Do not repurpose another project's shared VMs.
- Before a run: authenticated WinRM, LDAP RootDSE, Kerberos tickets, member
  secure channels, clocks; checkpoint only approved targets. New checkpoints
  report Standard even after a successful ProductionOnly request (policy
  restored, no rollback): Production is unverified, not a passed safety check.
- Run Tests\Lab\Invoke-NTFSSecurityLabTest.ps1 in elevated Desktop with
  -Version for hash-checked Gallery packages or -ModulePath for the extracted
  build artifact, both editions. Per version/edition: Delegate, ServerAdmin,
  Admin on client, then Server independently checks persisted state.
- Controller writes Summary.json even when tests fail: validate every role,
  exit code, failure name, and total; DONE alone is not acceptance evidence.
  Desktop ConvertFrom-Json can wrap arrays: enumerate the result and compare
  full Describe-prefixed names. Never gate cleanup on the global Error.Count
  (it includes handled errors); verify the footprint independently.
- Remote Authz answers administrators and Access Control Assistance
  Operators (S-1-5-32-579); other accounts get access denied (check the
  firewall when its RPC fails). Expected rights use S4U tokens. A domain
  member offers the remote interface to every caller, so the default
  `-ServerName localhost` was denied for a non-administrator; hosts outside a
  domain don't, so the host and CI missed it. Since `fdd7a8b` the local
  manager answers for a name of this computer; another computer stays denied.
- A live test is evidence of a fix only when it fails on the build without
  the fix: run the same tests, controller, and lab against the candidate and
  the base, a new process per edition, and join the results by edition, role,
  and full test name; tests that pass on both are controls (record of
  2026-10-09). PowerShell variables ignore case: `$edition` overwrote
  `$Edition`.
- RemoveFixture after the run; verify OUs/accounts, share, folders, local
  memberships, and test profiles removed. Credentials must never be printed.

### Operating-system matrix (Decision 24)

- Lab `NtfsSecurityOsMatrixLab`: OSDC1 (Server 2025), OSFile19/22/25 (Server
  2019/2022/2025), OSWin11E (Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation 22H2, the domain
  client), OSWin11 (Windows 11 Pro 26H1, suite only). Kit
  `Tests\Lab\Acceptance`; record
  `Tests\Lab\Acceptance-2026-10-10-os-matrix.md` (procedure, limits);
  the lessons of building it are in `deployment-notes.md`.
- Run the module's own suite on every machine first (`Run-MatrixLocalSuite.ps1`
  as scheduled tasks with a batch logon at the highest run level; a remoting
  child has every privilege enabled). One `Import-Lab` at a time. Compare skips
  as multisets against the host. Hash each candidate and its package: builds
  aren't byte-reproducible.
- The 26H1 client can't keep its secure channel to a Server 2025 DC (suite
  only); the 22H2 evaluation client shuts down every hour: keep a run under an
  hour and test a domain session, not `nltest /sc_verify`.
- A fixture that re-creates an account name gets stale answers for about ten
  minutes, for the baseline and the candidate alike (mechanism unknown; no
  remedy but waiting). The controller names the case-3 account anew for each
  fixture; the replay and the model are in the record. `Test-MatrixCleanup.ps1`
  verifies and repairs the probe's profiles and group entries.