PassKey

Build and Test

This document covers everything you need to build PassKey from source and run the test suite.

Prerequisites

Tool	Version	Notes
Windows	10 version 1809+ or Windows 11	x64 only
Visual Studio 2022	17.x Preview	“Windows application development” workload
.NET SDK	10.0	`dotnet --version` should report `10.x.x`
Windows App SDK	1.8	Installed with the VS workload
Git	Any recent version

VS Code is supported with the C# Dev Kit extension, but Visual Studio is recommended for WinUI 3 XAML designer support.

Clone and Restore

git clone https://github.com/pexatar/PassKey.git
cd PassKey
dotnet restore PassKey.sln

Build Commands

Full Solution

dotnet build PassKey.sln -p:Platform=x64

Important: Always pass -p:Platform=x64 when building PassKey.Desktop. The Windows App SDK requires an explicit target architecture for self-contained unpackaged builds.

Individual Projects

Project	Command
Core	`dotnet build src/PassKey.Core/PassKey.Core.csproj`
Desktop	`dotnet build src/PassKey.Desktop/PassKey.Desktop.csproj -p:Platform=x64`
BrowserHost	`dotnet build src/PassKey.BrowserHost/PassKey.BrowserHost.csproj -r win-x64`
Tests	`dotnet build src/PassKey.Tests/PassKey.Tests.csproj`

Release Build

dotnet build PassKey.sln -p:Platform=x64 -c Release

Running Tests

dotnet test src/PassKey.Tests/PassKey.Tests.csproj --verbosity normal

The test suite includes 167+ deterministic tests covering:

Cryptographic operations (AES-GCM encrypt/decrypt, PBKDF2, Argon2id)
Vault lifecycle (init, unlock, lock, master password change)
Password strength analysis
URL matching for browser extension
Credit card BIN detection and Luhn validation
Import from CSV, Bitwarden, 1Password
Merge conflict resolution
Backup and restore

All tests run without external dependencies — no network, no file system writes beyond temp directories.

Publishing

Desktop (self-contained x64)

dotnet publish src/PassKey.Desktop/PassKey.Desktop.csproj ^
  -c Release -p:Platform=x64 -r win-x64 ^
  --self-contained true ^
  -o publish/

BrowserHost (single file)

dotnet publish src/PassKey.BrowserHost/PassKey.BrowserHost.csproj ^
  -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true ^
  -p:PublishSingleFile=true ^
  -o publish/

Troubleshooting

XAML Compiler Errors (MSB3073)

If dotnet build fails with a cryptic MSB3073 exit code during the XAML compiler pass, the actual error is hidden. Use the full-framework MSBuild to get the real error message:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Preview\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" ^
  src\PassKey.Desktop\PassKey.Desktop.csproj -restore -t:Build -p:Platform=x64

Common Issues

Problem	Solution
Build fails without `-p:Platform=x64`	Always specify the platform for Desktop builds
`MVVMTK0045` warning	Use `partial property` syntax for `[ObservableProperty]`, not field-based
`SystemAccentColorBrush` runtime crash	Use `AccentFillColorDefaultBrush` instead (WinUI 3, not UWP)
`FocusVisualKind` on `Application`	Set it on `FrameworkElement` (e.g., root Grid), not `Application`
`PrimaryLanguageOverride` fails at runtime	Must be set in `App()` constructor before `InitializeComponent()`
`PasswordBox` crashes AOT	Use `SecureInputBox` custom control instead
`DatePicker` crashes AOT	Use `ComboBox` (MM/YY) or `CalendarDatePicker` instead
`SemaphoreSlim` deadlocks UI	Use `Queue<Func<Task>>` serial pump pattern instead

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