ElBruno.OllamaMonitor

Development Guide

Prerequisites

Repository Setup

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/ElBruno/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor.git
cd ElBruno.OllamaMonitor

Restore Dependencies

dotnet restore

Verify .NET Version

dotnet --version

Should be .NET 10.0.x or later.

Build and Run

Build the Project

dotnet build

To build in Release mode:

dotnet build -c Release

Run the App

dotnet run --project src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/

The app will launch. Check the system tray for the icon.

Run CLI Commands During Development

# Show help
dotnet run --project src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/ -- --help

# Show current config
dotnet run --project src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/ -- config

# Set endpoint
dotnet run --project src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/ -- config set endpoint http://localhost:11434

# Reset config
dotnet run --project src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/ -- config reset

Project Structure

src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/
├── Cli/
│   ├── CliCommand.cs              # Command model
│   ├── CliCommandKind.cs          # Command types enum
│   ├── CliCommandParser.cs        # Parse command-line args
│   └── CliCommandRunner.cs        # Execute commands
├── Configuration/
│   ├── AppSettings.cs             # Settings model (JSON-serializable)
│   └── AppSettingsService.cs      # Load/save settings file
├── Diagnostics/
│   ├── DiagnosticsLogService.cs   # Event logging
│   ├── StatusFormatter.cs         # Format snapshots as text
│   └── ClipboardService.cs        # Copy to clipboard
├── Helpers/
│   ├── ProcessLauncher.cs         # Launch URLs / processes
│   └── AppPaths.cs                # Config/log paths
├── Interop/
│   └── ...                        # Windows P/Invoke helpers
├── Models/
│   ├── OllamaMonitorState.cs      # State enum (Gray/Green/Blue/Orange/Red)
│   ├── OllamaMonitorSnapshot.cs   # Aggregated status
│   ├── OllamaModelSnapshot.cs     # Model info
│   └── ResourceSnapshot.cs        # CPU/RAM/GPU metrics
├── Ollama/
│   ├── OllamaClient.cs            # HTTP client for Ollama API
│   ├── OllamaStatusService.cs     # Aggregate Ollama state
│   ├── OllamaStatus.cs            # API response models
│   └── OllamaModelInfo.cs         # Model info models
├── Services/
│   ├── ProcessMetricsService.cs   # CPU/RAM metrics
│   ├── NvidiaSmiMetricsService.cs # GPU metrics
│   ├── TrayIconService.cs         # System tray lifecycle
│   ├── TrayStatusMapper.cs        # Map state to icon color
│   └── TrayMenuBuilder.cs         # Build context menu
├── ViewModels/
│   └── MainWindowViewModel.cs     # UI state and logic
├── App.xaml / App.xaml.cs         # WPF Application entry
└── MainWindow.xaml / MainWindow.xaml.cs  # Floating details window

Key Development Areas

Adding a New CLI Command

  1. Add a new variant to CliCommandKind enum in Cli/CliCommandKind.cs: 
    public enum CliCommandKind
{
    // ... existing
    MyNewCommand
}

  2. Update Cli/CliCommandParser.cs to recognize the new command in the parser logic

  3. Handle it in Cli/CliCommandRunner.cs: 
    if (command.Kind == CliCommandKind.MyNewCommand)
{
    // Your logic here
    return 0; // success
}

  4. Update help text in HelpCommand.cs if needed

  5. Test: dotnet run --project src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/ -- <your-new-command>

Modifying Metrics Collection

To add or change what metrics are collected:

  1. Update Models/ResourceSnapshot.cs to add new fields
  2. Modify Services/ProcessMetricsService.cs or create a new service
  3. Call the new service from Ollama/OllamaStatusService.cs in the GetStatusAsync method
  4. Update MainWindowViewModel.cs to display the new metric if needed

Changing Tray Icon Behavior

Tray icon logic lives in these files:

To change icon colors or add menu items, modify these files.

Updating Configuration Settings

  1. Add a new field to Configuration/AppSettings.cs: 
    public int MyNewSetting { get; init; } = 123;

  2. Update the default in Configuration/AppSettingsService.cs if needed

  3. Add CLI command to set it (see “Adding a New CLI Command” above)

  4. Use it in your service code via the injected AppSettings

Logging and Diagnostics

Logs are written to:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\ElBruno\OllamaMonitor\logs\

Use DiagnosticsLogService to write logs:

_diagnostics.WriteInfo("This is an info message");
_diagnostics.WriteError("An error occurred", exception);
_diagnostics.WriteWarning("A warning");

To view logs, open the logs directory with Windows Explorer or your editor.

Debugging

In Visual Studio

  1. Open the solution: ElBruno.OllamaMonitor.sln
  2. Set breakpoints in your code
  3. Press F5 to debug
  4. The app will launch; breakpoints will be hit

In Visual Studio Code

  1. Install the C# extension
  2. Open the project folder
  3. Press F5 to debug (or select “Run and Debug”)
  4. Select “.NET 10” runtime

Attach to Running Process

If the app is already running:

  1. In Visual Studio: Debug → Attach to Process
  2. Search for ElBruno.OllamaMonitor process
  3. Click Attach

Testing Checklist

Before submitting a pull request or release:

Common Development Tasks

Increase Logging Detail

Edit Services/DiagnosticsLogService.cs or App.xaml.cs to write more info logs during startup.

Test with Offline Ollama

Stop Ollama:

# On Windows, if running as service:
sc stop ollama
# Or if running in terminal, press Ctrl+C

Run the app—it should show gray tray icon and “Not Reachable” status.

Test with Remote Ollama

Set endpoint to a different machine:

dotnet run --project src/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor/ -- config set endpoint http://192.168.1.100:11434

Test with Different Models

Load a different model in Ollama:

ollama pull llama2
ollama run llama2

The app should update within the refresh interval.

Packaging for Distribution

Build Release Version

dotnet build -c Release

Create NuGet Package

The .csproj is configured with <PackAsTool>true</PackAsTool>, so you can pack it:

dotnet pack -c Release

This creates a .nupkg file in the bin/Release/ folder.

Publish to NuGet

(Requires NuGet API key and publishing rights)

dotnet nuget push bin/Release/ElBruno.OllamaMonitor.0.1.0.nupkg --api-key <your-api-key> --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

Once published, users can install via:

dotnet tool install --global ElBruno.OllamaMonitor

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-feature
  3. Make your changes
  4. Test thoroughly (see Testing Checklist)
  5. Commit with a clear message
  6. Push and create a pull request

Architecture Deep Dive

For a detailed understanding of how the app is structured, see Architecture Guide.

Troubleshooting Development Issues

Build fails with “System.Windows” errors

Ensure you have the Windows desktop development workload installed:

dotnet workload install wafxaml

Or install Visual Studio with “.NET desktop development” workload.

TrayIcon doesn’t appear

Check:

  1. Logs in %LOCALAPPDATA%\ElBruno\OllamaMonitor\logs\
  2. Windows → Settings → Taskbar → Taskbar items → Ensure your app isn’t hidden
  3. Try clicking the “Show hidden icons” arrow in the tray

HTTP client timeout

If you see “Request timeout” messages, check:

  1. Is Ollama running? ollama serve in a terminal
  2. Is the endpoint correct? ollamamon config
  3. Is there a firewall issue?

Next Steps:

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