# ILX Launcher – a developer cockpit for Python apps (hot reload, crash capture)

> Source: <https://github.com/ilxstudio/ILX-Launcher>
> Published: 2026-06-22 03:45:47+00:00

**A developer cockpit for running, hot-reloading, testing, and shipping Python desktop apps.**

Point it at any project with a `main.py`

. It runs your app as a child process, watches source files, hot-patches live edits, captures crashes, manages interpreters and dependencies, builds an EXE, and gives you a local-LLM coding assistant — all from one window that stays open while you work.

One window. Start, reload, test, debug, build, ship — without ever touching a terminal.

Running a Python desktop app while you develop usually means:

- A terminal you keep switching to and from
- A manual restart on every edit (even a one-liner)
- Separate windows for pip, tests, profiling, and builds
- Tracebacks in one of five terminal windows — you're not sure which
- No safety net when a memory leak or infinite loop runs away with your machine

The ILX Launcher folds all of that into one persistent window.

```
git clone https://github.com/ilxstudio/ILX-Launcher
cd ILX-Launcher
python main.py
```

No install step. No third-party dependencies. Just Python 3.11+ with tkinter.

Windows EXE— build a standalone`launcher.exe`

from inside the launcher (Build EXE button), or:

```
pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --name launcher main.py
```

| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
Start / Restart / Refresh |
Run `main.py` as a child process; restart or hot-reload on save |
Hot patch |
Live function reload via
|

**Coder (LLM)****Interpreters**`.venv`

, bundled CPython on demand**Dependencies****Tests****Build EXE****Logs****Crash history****Profiler****Quality****Git****Automation****Watchdog****Live REPL*** running*app to inspect live state| Coder (LLM workspace) | Crash history |
|---|---|

| Logs + Procfile | Git |
|---|---|

- Python 3.11+ with tkinter (ships with python.org installer on Windows/macOS;
`sudo apt install python3-tk`

on some Linux) - No third-party runtime dependencies in the launcher itself — pure stdlib + tkinter
- Optional tools (hot patch, builds, lint, profiling, LLM) install into the
*target project's*interpreter on demand - LLM features need a local
[Ollama](https://ollama.com)server (optional)

```
main.py                # entry point (~50 lines, dispatches to ui/)
version.py             # VERSION = "1.1.0"
core/
  state.py             # all shared globals
  config.py            # load/save settings
  interpreter.py       # Python resolution; fork-bomb guard
  process.py           # child process, watchdog, crash DB, hot-patch
  build.py             # PyInstaller + Inno Setup
  coder.py             # LLM edit/chat/review engine
  automation.py        # tests, quality, scaffold, SQLite, matrix
  ollama.py            # streaming Ollama client
  repl.py              # live REPL socket
  notifications.py     # Windows tray balloon
  diagnostics.py       # screenshot, py-spy
ui/
  main_window.py       # launcher main window + tick loop
  coder_window.py      # Coder window
  config_window.py     # Configuration window
  tool_windows.py      # Deps, Quality, Git, Profile, Logs, Crashes, Automation, RunConfigs
  theme.py             # fonts, styles, syntax highlighting, shared widgets
assets/
docs/
  LAUNCHER_MANUAL.md   # full user manual with screenshots
  whitepaper.md        # technical narrative: why we built this
  img/                 # manual screenshots
.github/
  workflows/ci.yml     # smoke-test on push
  ISSUE_TEMPLATE/      # bug report + feature request templates
  PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
CONTRIBUTING.md
CHANGELOG.md
requirements.txt       # OPTIONAL tools the launcher drives (not imported by it)
```

Settings persist to `~/.ilx_launcher.json`

— recent projects, per-project interpreters, run configs, watchdog thresholds, all options. Configuration → Save writes it live.

Per-machine runtime files (`.launcher_crashes.db`

, `.launcher_session.log`

, `.window_geometry.json`

) are git-ignored.

**Fork-bomb safe when frozen**:`tool_python()`

never returns the launcher EXE itself; callers skip rather than spawn.**Zero third-party imports in the launcher**:`psutil`

,`jurigged`

,`requests`

, etc. run*inside the target project's interpreter*, not the launcher's.**Permissive licenses only**: MIT / BSD / Apache / PSF / OFL. No GPL/LGPL/copyleft — the launcher is part of a sold product.** ASCII-only**: em-dashes and ellipsis crash Windows cp1252 in frozen builds.`print()`

See [docs/whitepaper.md](/ilxstudio/ILX-Launcher/blob/main/docs/whitepaper.md) for the full technical narrative, and [CONTRIBUTING.md](/ilxstudio/ILX-Launcher/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) for the code rules.

[MIT](/ilxstudio/ILX-Launcher/blob/main/LICENSE) (c) 2026 ILX Studio, LLC