Shadow

Windows tray app that freezes Internal Observer pending captures and blocks network for one configured process.

Features

• Configure process name (.exe only), pending directory, and hotkeys
• Settings auto-save to config.json next to the app (no Save button)
• Hotkeys are set by clicking the button and pressing a key (not typed)
• Hide to system tray — icon turns red when Shadow is ON, blue when OFF
• Disable hotkey (default F8) — Shadow ON:
  • Capture a screenshot with observer-style red overlay in Inter (timestamp, Keys: 0 | Mouse: 0, window title)
  • Watch the pending directory; replace any new observer files with that frozen screen (same image, new overlay timestamps)
  • Block inbound/outbound network for the configured process via Windows Firewall
• Enable hotkey (default F9) — Shadow OFF:
  • Stop replacements
  • Remove the firewall block

Defaults

Setting	Default
Process name	wordpress.exe
Pending directory	%USERPROFILE%\.internal-observer\pending\
Disable hotkey	F8
Enable hotkey	F9

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• uv
• Python 3.11+ (installed automatically by uv if needed)
• Administrator rights for firewall network blocking

Setup

uv sync

Include build tools (PyInstaller):

uv sync --group dev

Run (development)

uv run shadow

Or double-click:

• run.bat — sync + launch (UAC may appear)
• run_as_admin.bat — force elevation

Build application

Create a standalone Shadow.exe (windowed, requests Administrator):

uv sync --group dev
uv run pyinstaller --noconfirm --clean shadow.spec

Or double-click build.bat.

Output:

dist/Shadow.exe

config.json is created beside the exe on first run.

Distribute

Copy dist/Shadow.exe to any Windows machine. No Python install required. Run as Administrator for network blocking.

With Inno Setup 6 installed, build.bat also produces a setup wizard:

dist/Shadow-<version>-windows-x64-setup.exe

GitHub Releases

Use the release script so every pending change is included and the tree is clean afterward:

./scripts/release.sh 1.1.1

That script:

1. Bumps pyproject.toml, shadow/__init__.py, and uv.lock
2. Commits all current changes
3. Refuses to tag if anything is still dirty
4. Creates tag v<version> and pushes it

Or run Actions → Release → Run workflow (only if main is already clean and versioned).

Release asset:

Shadow-<version>-windows-x64-setup.exe

Installer includes: modern wizard, Program Files install, Start Menu shortcuts, optional desktop icon, optional sign-in autostart, and uninstaller.

Project layout

.github/workflows/release.yml  # build + GitHub Release
installer/shadow.iss           # Inno Setup installer script
scripts/release.sh             # clean version bump + tag + push
pyproject.toml                 # project metadata + dependencies (uv)
uv.lock                        # locked dependency versions
shadow.spec                    # PyInstaller build spec
shadow/                        # application package
shadow/assets/Inter-Regular.ttf
shadow_entry.py                # frozen entrypoint for the exe build
build.bat                      # one-click Windows build (+ installer if ISCC present)
run.bat                        # one-click run via uv
README.md

Configuration

Changes save automatically to config.json in the app directory (repo root in development, next to Shadow.exe when frozen).

Process name must be a bare .exe filename (for example wordpress.exe). Hotkeys are captured by clicking the hotkey button, then pressing the desired key.

{
  "process_name": "wordpress.exe",
  "pending_dir": "C:\\Users\\You\\.internal-observer\\pending\\",
  "disable_hotkey": "f8",
  "enable_hotkey": "f9"
}

Notes

• Network blocking uses netsh advfirewall rules named ShadowAppBlock_* and cleans them up on Shadow OFF / exit.
• Global hotkeys work best when the app is elevated.
• Only one process name is blocked (the configured executable path).
• Module packaging uses Hatchling via pyproject.toml; day-to-day installs and runs go through uv.