kst4contest/AGENTS.md

KST4Contest agent instructions

These project instructions extend Marc's global Codex working agreements.

Project identity

KST4Contest is a Java/JavaFX desktop client for ON4KST chat with contest-oriented workflows and integrations including logging software, AirScout, rotor control, DXCluster and local persistence.

Primary repository areas:

• core/src/main/java/kst4contest/ and core/src/test/
• app-desktop/src/main/java/kst4contest/ and app-desktop/src/test/
• github_docs/
• website/
• docs/
• packaging/
• .github/
• build.gradle.kts, settings.gradle.kts, gradle.properties, gradle/

Inspect the current tree before assuming an exact class/path still exists.

Mandatory interaction rule

For every planned code or documentation implementation:

1. inspect first;
2. explain the task understanding in German;
3. identify and ask all relevant implementation questions;
4. wait for answers when needed;
5. present the final concept in German;
6. state what must remain unchanged;
7. request explicit concept approval;
8. wait;
9. implement only after approval.

If an answer is uncertain, do not interpolate it. Check current code/tests/docs/project context first and ask Marc when the uncertainty can affect behaviour.

Language

• Communicate with Marc in German.
• Write source-code comments and Javadoc exclusively in English.
• Keep log/protocol/API literals in their canonical form.
• Commit messages are concise English when a commit is explicitly requested.
• User-facing DE/EN documentation follows $praktimarc-writing-style.

Java and user-interface architecture

• Preserve or improve separation between network/parsing/service/controller/UI responsibilities.
• Do not solve architecture problems by letting worker/model code directly manipulate JavaFX UI collections.
• Active chat-member domain state is conceptually thread-safe state and lives in an ObservableRoster in core; the ObservableList a TableView is bound to is a mirror of it, not the store.
• MessageBusManagementThread must not directly read or mutate the JavaFX ObservableList used by the UI.
• Route UI-visible mutations through the controller and the UiDispatcher (JavaFxUiDispatcher hands them to the JavaFX Application Thread). Do not reach for Platform.runLater in core; it has no JavaFX dependency.
• Prefer explicit DTOs over records when introducing transport/parser DTOs in this codebase unless the approved concept says otherwise.
• Handle incomplete external/historical data defensively.
• qrb, QTF and related external values can be absent. null means unavailable, not zero.
• Unexpected input must not terminate message-processing or UI threads.

Callsign and category identity

• Preserve full callsign variants as distinct chat-member identities where the server exposes them separately.
• Category is part of chat identity. Do not merge messages across categories.
• Base-call normalization may be used only for explicitly base-call-wide features such as worked status or monitoring rules.
• Worked status is shared across suffix variants of the same base call.
• Monitoring a callsign variant such as DN9APW-2 or DN9APW-70 is intended to monitor the base call DN9APW, so users do not need to enter every SSID.
• Do not generalize suffix semantics beyond behaviour explicitly established by the current code/specification.

Bands and availability

• ON4KST categories 2 and 3 are central to the normal VHF/UHF workflow, but other category values can occur and must fail safely.
• Do not let unsupported categories produce exceptions.
• Known-active-band logic and B+ interpretation must remain consistent across the application.
• Band information parsed from names/text must respect explicit NOT-QRV information; NOT-QRV overrides positive availability hints.
• Do not silently fall back to a fixed band/frequency when a required decision is ambiguous unless an approved fallback exists.
• Manual band settings and actual current QRG must remain consistent with features that depend on frequency.

External protocols and integrations

Before changing ON4KST, AirScout, UCXLog/DXLog, Win-Test, PSTRotator or DXCluster handling:

• inspect the current implementation;
• preserve exact framing and compatibility;
• inspect current tests;
• check authoritative upstream documentation when the protocol detail is uncertain;
• ask Marc if more than one behaviour is plausible.

Specific invariants and historical context are in $kst4contest-change references.

Never change CR/LF, XML framing, callsign normalization, frequency formatting or port/transport assumptions casually.

UI behaviour

• Preserve contest workflow speed and discoverability.
• Do not change zoom, selection, focus, sorting, tab choice or prefilled text as an incidental side effect.
• Map reset behaviour should clear the selected target without changing the zoom unless a new task explicitly changes this.
• New station selection should preserve the established /cq callsign prefill behaviour.
• If no send category is selected, preserve the established Main-category fallback unless explicitly changed.
• Null/unknown data must render as unavailable/empty according to current UI conventions, not as fake zero values.

WebView / map compatibility

• The Leaflet WebView workaround that disables problematic CSS 3D transforms before Leaflet loads is a known Java 21 stability measure. Do not remove or reorder it without reproducing and understanding the original rendering/flicker problem.

Autoanswer / beacon safety

• Prevent automated-message loops.
• Respect the established minimum interval/cooldown logic.
• Do not consume a cooldown for a reply that is rejected before a complete valid TX item is queued.
• Preserve priority of frequency/QRG requests where established.
• Cooldown identity must not accidentally collapse unrelated callsign/category identities.
• Treat the current implementation/tests as the source of truth for exact message markers and timer details.

Build and verification

Use the Gradle wrapper.

Windows:

.\gradlew.bat ...

Read the current gradle.properties and gradle/libs.versions.toml before relying on version numbers.

At the package creation snapshot the project uses Java 21 / JavaFX 21.x and JUnit 5/Mockito, with PMD and SpotBugs integrated.

Important: the build configuration has historically allowed test failures to be ignored, and static-analysis findings do not fail the build. Therefore:

• inspect the Gradle test summary;
• inspect the test-results XML under */build/test-results/ when needed;
• do not infer "all tests passed" from exit code 0;
• report PMD/SpotBugs findings that are visible in the relevant build.

Run focused tests first, then normally the relevant broader test/build command for the scope.

Documentation and durable project context

Use $software-project-context, $kst4contest-documentation, and $praktimarc-writing-style as relevant.

Do not perform a full manual or website audit after every implementation.

After a completed change:

1. perform a short documentation-impact classification;
2. if user-visible behaviour is plausibly affected, search only the relevant German and English manual sections under github_docs/;
3. keep both language versions semantically aligned when an update is required;
4. check README and website feature text only when the changed feature/configuration is represented there or is likely to need representation;
5. identify screenshots that are likely stale instead of fabricating replacements;
6. update docs/PROJECT_CONTEXT.md for significant architectural, protocol, state/persistence, operational, integration, deployment, workaround, or long-lived behavioural decisions;
7. keep Related Projects / Integration Points current when KST4Contest, its website, hamradioonline infrastructure or planned propagation services affect one another.

A full documentation audit is reserved for explicit audit requests, major release preparation, broad UI/workflow changes, or evidence that documentation is broadly stale.

Website

The repository contains an Eleventy-based website under website/ with its own tests/build logic.

Do not assume website deployment/update-feed details; inspect current scripts/workflows before changing them.

Change scope and Git

• No unrelated refactoring.
• No production dependency without prior approval.
• No automatic version bump.
• No commit/push/merge/tag/release/deploy without separate explicit authorization.
• Preserve deliberate test data and easter eggs unless explicitly changed.
• Never overwrite unrelated working-tree changes.

Completion

After implementation, report in German:

• understanding fulfilled;
• changed files;
• important design decisions;
• tests/builds and exact results;
• documentation-impact classification;
• manual/website/README/context updates made or why none were necessary;
• related-project impact when relevant;
• remaining uncertainty;
• suggested next action, without performing it automatically.