Feature/01 black on white by maayjayy · Pull Request #46 · hack4impact/moisson-project

maayjayy · 2026-10-29T03:23:39Z

Closes #1

Overview

Provisional black-on-white desktop app, so the team can test the flow end to end while the final design is in progress. It will be replaced by the design system's components later.

Light theme forced, no styling
Simulated sign-in: a "Sign in" button with no real authentication yet (Entra ID comes in [Issue]: Entra ID sign-in in the desktop app #9)
Navigation between Home, Donations and Donors (placeholders), with a nav bar shown only when signed in, and sign out
ApiClient service (IApiClient) registered with dependency injection; the API base URL is read from appsettings.json
The Home page checks the API on open and shows "API online" or "Server unavailable", with a Retry button

Testing

dotnet run --project src/MoissonMontreal.Api       # terminal 1
dotnet run --project src/MoissonMontreal.Desktop   # terminal 2

Criterion	Test	Result
The app opens on the login screen	Launch the app	✅ Login screen, no nav bar
After logging in, the user lands on a home screen	Click "Sign in"	✅ Home page with the nav bar
The user can navigate between screens	Click Home, Donations, Donors, then Sign out	✅ Each page shows; Sign out returns to login and hides the nav bar
The app communicates with the API	API running, open Home	✅ "API online"
	Stop the API, click Retry	✅ "Server unavailable"
	Restart the API, click Retry	✅ "API online" again
Black on white	macOS in dark mode	✅ The app stays black on white
Build	`dotnet build`	✅ 0 errors, 0 warnings
Tests	`dotnet test`	✅ Passing

Screenshots / Screencasts

Login

Home, API online

Navigation (Donations)

Home, API stopped

Checklist

Code is neat, readable, and works
Code is commented where appropriate and well-documented
Commit messages follow our guidelines
Issue number is linked
Branch is linked
Reviewers are assigned (one of your tech leads)

Notes

Tested against the local API, as agreed with the team, not the deployed one (criterion 4 says "deployed API").
The app calls the template endpoint GET /WeatherForecast, since it is the only endpoint on develop. This PR does not change the Api project, so it is independent of Feature/11 api postgres #43. Once Feature/11 api postgres #43 is merged (it removes WeatherForecast and adds /health), the endpoint in ApiClient.cs needs a one-line change.
The timeout is 15 s, to allow for Azure Container Apps' cold start once deployed.

anis022

Thanks for the PR, the flow works well.

Before we merge, there are a few changes to make once #43 is merged. First, please update your branch with develop so it includes the new /health endpoint. Then, in ApiClient.cs, call health instead of WeatherForecast, since #43 removes that endpoint (see my inline comment).

Please also update the testing section of the PR. With #43 , the API needs the database to start, so you have to run docker compose up -d db and add the connection string to your user-secrets first. It would also be good to add a test where the database is stopped, to check that the app shows "Server unavailable".

anis022 · 2026-10-29T15:21:59Z

+        try
+        {
+            // Any endpoint that answers successfully proves the API is reachable.
+            using var response = await _httpClient.GetAsync("WeatherForecast");


@Lightsul 's PR #43 removes WeatherForecast. Once it's merged, this call will get a 404 and the app will show "Server unavailable" even when the API is running. Please replace "WeatherForecast" with "health" and update the comment above it.

lauriechammah

Thanks for the PR! A few comments below. I think the first two (unhandled exception in HomeViewModel and the HttpClient captured by the singleton) should be fixed before merging; the rest can go in a follow-up PR if you prefer.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:26Z

+    public HomeViewModel(IApiClient apiClient)
+    {
+        _apiClient = apiClient;
+        CheckApiCommand.Execute(null);


Crash risk: the async command is started from the constructor without being awaited, and IsApiReachableAsync only catches HttpRequestException and TaskCanceledException. If any other exception escapes (e.g. InvalidOperationException or ObjectDisposedException), AsyncRelayCommand rethrows it on the UI thread and the app crashes on sign-in or when clicking Home.

Suggestion: add a fallback catch (Exception) (in CheckApiAsync or in ApiClient), and ideally trigger the check from the view (Loaded) rather than from the constructor.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

+                client.BaseAddress = new Uri(apiBaseUrl);
+                client.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(15);
+            });
+            services.AddSingleton<MainViewModel>();


The typed client registered with AddHttpClient<IApiClient, ApiClient> is transient, but MainViewModel is a singleton that holds onto it for the app's whole lifetime (captive dependency). The handler is never rotated, so if the API's DNS/IP changes during a long session, the app will be stuck on "Server unavailable".

Suggestion: inject IHttpClientFactory or a Func<IApiClient> into MainViewModel, or register HomeViewModel in the container and resolve it on each navigation.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

        {
+            var configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
+                .SetBasePath(AppContext.BaseDirectory)
+                .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json")


appsettings.json is required (optional: false by default) and new Uri(apiBaseUrl) isn't validated. If the file is missing (e.g. in a publish folder) or the URL has no scheme (localhost:5297), we get a FileNotFoundException or UriFormatException before any window exists, and the app closes with no message.

Suggestion: use Uri.TryCreate(apiBaseUrl, UriKind.Absolute, out var uri) with a clear error message, and make sure appsettings.json is copied to the output directory (CopyToOutputDirectory).

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

+        try
+        {
+            // Any endpoint that answers successfully proves the API is reachable.
+            using var response = await _httpClient.GetAsync("WeatherForecast");


The check calls WeatherForecast, which comes from the template and will be removed. After that, the app will show "Server unavailable" even though the API is up. Also, with a BaseUrl like http://host/api (no trailing /), the request goes to http://host/WeatherForecast.

Suggestion: add builder.Services.AddHealthChecks() + app.MapHealthChecks("/health") on the API side and call health here.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

+    [RelayCommand]
+    private void ShowHome()
+    {
+        CurrentPage = new HomeViewModel(_apiClient);


Every click on Home creates a new HomeViewModel, which fires a new request, and previous ones are never cancelled. If the API is down, several 15-second requests can run in parallel.

Suggestion: keep a single HomeViewModel instance, or pass a CancellationToken that gets cancelled when navigating away.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

+    [NotifyPropertyChangedFor(nameof(IsSignedIn))]
+    public partial ViewModelBase CurrentPage  {get; set;}
+
+    public bool IsSignedIn => CurrentPage is not LoginViewModel;


IsSignedIn is derived from the current page's type. As soon as we add another page reachable before sign-in (forgot password, splash screen…), the nav bar and Sign out button will show up incorrectly.

Suggestion: keep an actual session state (e.g. a boolean or an auth service) and derive IsSignedIn from it. This can wait until auth is wired up.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

        x:DataType="vm:MainViewModel"
        Icon="/Assets/avalonia-logo.ico"
-        Title="MoissonMontreal.Desktop">
+        Title="Moisson Montréal">


The <Design.DataContext> block was removed. Since MainViewModel no longer has a parameterless constructor, the IDE previewer has no data, here or in the new views.

Suggestion (optional): add a Design.DataContext backed by a fake IApiClient.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

+    public partial string Title { get; set; } = "Welcome";
+
+    [ObservableProperty]
+    public partial string ApiStatus { get; set; } = "Checking the API...";


The "Checking the API..." string is set here and again at the start of CheckApiAsync. Since the check runs right away, we could drop the initializer, or move the status messages into constants.

lauriechammah · 2026-10-29T15:44:27Z

+public partial class DonationsViewModel : ViewModelBase
+{
+    [ObservableProperty]
+    public partial string Title { get; set; } = "Donations";


Title never changes, so it doesn't need to be an [ObservableProperty]. public string Title => "Donations"; is enough. Same for DonorsViewModel and LoginViewModel.

maayjayy added 7 commits October 28, 2026 18:46

feat(desktop): always use light theme

1df4671

feat(desktop): show pages in the main window, starting with login

72fadab

feat(desktop): navigate from login to home on sign-in

97dee3a

feat(desktop): add placeholder pages, nav bar and sign out

c0a790b

style(desktop): simplify login view layout

ecfff19

feat(desktop): add API client and dependency injection

cbc7014

feat(desktop): show API status on the home page

94f6f36

maayjayy requested a review from lauriechammah October 29, 2026 03:23

maayjayy self-assigned this Oct 29, 2026

maayjayy added the front-end label Oct 29, 2026

maayjayy added this to the Sprint - 1 milestone Oct 29, 2026

maayjayy linked an issue Oct 29, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

[Issue]: Provisional desktop front-end (black on white) #1

Open

8 tasks

anis022 requested changes Oct 29, 2026

View reviewed changes

lauriechammah reviewed Oct 29, 2026

View reviewed changes

Navigation Menu

Repository navigation

Feature/01 black on white - #46

Feature/01 black on white#46
maayjayy wants to merge 7 commits into
developfrom
feature/01-black-on-white

maayjayy commented Oct 29, 2026

Uh oh!

anis022 left a comment •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

anis022 Oct 29, 2026

Uh oh!

lauriechammah left a comment •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Uh oh!

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

Conversation

maayjayy commented Oct 29, 2026

Overview

Testing

Screenshots / Screencasts

Checklist

Notes

Uh oh!

anis022 left a comment • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

anis022 Oct 29, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah left a comment • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Uh oh!

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

anis022 left a comment •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah left a comment •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading

lauriechammah Oct 29, 2026 •

edited

Loading