WebDrop Bridge

Professional Qt-based desktop application for intelligent drag-and-drop file handling between web applications and desktop clients (InDesign, Word, Notepad++, etc.)

Overview

WebDrop Bridge is a sophisticated desktop bridge application that intercepts text-based drag-and-drop operations from embedded web applications and converts them into native file-drag operations recognized by professional desktop applications.

The Problem

Modern web applications can transmit file paths via drag-and-drop, but desktop applications expect native file handles. Traditional solutions fail because:

• Browsers sandbox cross-origin drag-and-drop
• Web apps can't access the file system directly
• Native apps need OS-level file handles (CF_HDROP on Windows, NSFilenamesPboardType on macOS)

The Solution

WebDrop Bridge embeds a web application in a Qt container with full filesystem access, intelligently intercepting and converting drag operations at the OS boundary.

Features

• ✅ Qt-based Architecture - Professional Windows support via PySide6 (macOS support planned)
• ✅ Embedded Web App - QtWebEngine provides Chromium without browser limitations
• ✅ Drag Interception - Converts text paths to native file operations
• ✅ Path Whitelist - Security-conscious file system access control
• ✅ Configuration Management - Profile-based settings with validation
• ✅ Settings Dialog - Professional UI for path, URL, logging, and window configuration
• ✅ Auto-Update System - Automatic release detection via Forgejo API
• ✅ Professional Build Pipeline - MSI for Windows, DMG for macOS
• ✅ Comprehensive Testing - Unit, integration, and end-to-end tests (80%+ coverage)
• ✅ Continuous Testing - GitHub Actions test automation
• ✅ Structured Logging - File-based logging with configurable levels

Quick Start

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• Windows 10/11
• 200 MB disk space (includes Chromium from PyInstaller)

Installation from Pre-Built Release (Recommended)

Option 1: Package Manager (Recommended for most users)

# Windows - Chocolatey
choco install webdrop-bridge
choco upgrade webdrop-bridge  # Update when new version available

# macOS - Homebrew (with custom tap)
brew tap HIM-public/webdrop-bridge https://git.him-tools.de/HIM-public/homebrew-webdrop-bridge.git
brew install webdrop-bridge
brew upgrade webdrop-bridge  # Update to latest version

Option 2: Direct wget (if you know the version)

# Replace VERSION with release tag (e.g., v0.8.0)
wget https://git.him-tools.de/HIM-public/webdrop-bridge/releases/download/VERSION/WebDropBridge_Setup.msi

# Example for v0.8.0:
wget https://git.him-tools.de/HIM-public/webdrop-bridge/releases/download/v0.8.0/WebDropBridge_Setup.msi

Option 3: Automated script (auto-detects platform)

# Windows (PowerShell)
.\build\scripts\download_release.ps1

# macOS / Linux  
./build/scripts/download_release.sh

For more installation options and details, see QUICKSTART.md and PACKAGE_MANAGER_SUPPORT.md

Installation from Source

# Clone repository
git clone https://git.him-tools.de/HIM-public/webdrop-bridge.git
cd webdrop-bridge

# Create and activate virtual environment
python -m venv venv
# venv\Scripts\activate.ps1       # Windows (PowerShell)
# venv\Scripts\activate.bat       # Windows (cmd.exe)

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run application
python -m webdrop_bridge.main

Development Setup

# Install development dependencies
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt

# Run tests
pytest tests -v

# Run all quality checks (lint, type, format)
tox

# Build installers
python build/scripts/build_windows.py --msi    # Windows MSI

Project Structure

webdrop-bridge/
├── src/webdrop_bridge/          # Main application package
│   ├── core/                    # Core logic (drag interception, config)
│   ├── ui/                      # UI components (main window, widgets)
│   ├── utils/                   # Utilities (logging, validation)
│   ├── main.py                  # Entry point
│   └── config.py                # Configuration management
├── tests/
│   ├── unit/                    # Unit tests
│   ├── integration/             # Integration tests
│   ├── fixtures/                # Test data and fixtures
│   └── conftest.py              # Pytest configuration
├── build/
│   ├── windows/                 # Windows-specific build configs
│   └── scripts/                 # Build automation scripts
├── webapp/                      # Embedded web application
├── resources/
│   ├── icons/                   # Application icons
│   └── stylesheets/            # Qt stylesheets
├── docs/                        # Documentation
├── pyproject.toml               # Modern Python packaging
├── pytest.ini                   # Test configuration
├── tox.ini                      # Test automation
└── README.md                    # This file

Architecture

┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Qt Main Window (PySide6)              │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  QtWebEngineView                 │  │
│  │  ┌────────────────────────────┐  │  │
│  │  │  Web Application (HTML/JS) │  │  │
│  │  │  • Drag with file paths    │  │  │
│  │  │  • Native drag operations  │  │  │
│  │  └────────────────────────────┘  │  │
│  └──────────────────────────────────┘  │
│         ↓ Drag Leave Event             │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  DragInterceptor                 │  │
│  │  • Validates path (whitelist)    │  │
│  │  • Creates QUrl + QMimeData      │  │
│  │  • Starts native file drag       │  │
│  └──────────────────────────────────┘  │
└────────────────────────────────────────┘
         ↓ Native File Drag
   ┌─────────────────┐
   │ InDesign/Word   │
   │ (receives file) │
   └─────────────────┘

Configuration

WebDrop Bridge supports two configuration methods:

1. Settings Dialog (Recommended)

Launch the application and access the Settings menu to configure:

• Paths Tab - Add/remove allowed root directories
• URLs Tab - Configure allowed web URLs (whitelist mode)
• Logging Tab - Set log level and file location
• Window Tab - Configure window dimensions
• Profiles Tab - Save/load/export-import configuration profiles

Profiles are saved in ~/.webdrop_bridge/profiles/

2. Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root. Available settings:

# Application
APP_NAME=WebDrop Bridge
APP_VERSION=1.0.0

# Paths (comma-separated)
ALLOWED_ROOTS=Z:/,C:/Users/Public

# Web URLs (empty = no restriction, items = kiosk mode)
ALLOWED_URLS=

# Interface
WEBAPP_URL=file:///./webapp/index.html
WINDOW_WIDTH=1024
WINDOW_HEIGHT=768

# Logging
LOG_LEVEL=INFO
ENABLE_LOGGING=true

Testing

WebDrop Bridge includes comprehensive test coverage with unit, integration, and end-to-end tests.

# Run all tests
pytest tests -v

# Run with coverage report
pytest tests --cov=src/webdrop_bridge --cov-report=html

# Run specific test categories
pytest tests/unit -v                    # Unit tests only
pytest tests/integration -v             # Integration tests only

# Run specific test
pytest tests/unit/test_validator.py -v

# Run tests matching a pattern
pytest tests -k "config" -v

Test Coverage:

• Current target: 80%+
• Coverage report: htmlcov/index.html

Integration tests cover:

• Drag-and-drop workflow
• Update flow and release detection
• End-to-end application scenarios

Auto-Update System

WebDrop Bridge includes an intelligent auto-update system that:

• Automatic Detection: Periodically checks Forgejo/GitHub releases API
• Smart Caching: Avoids redundant network calls with smart caching
• User Notification: Alerts users of available updates via UI
• Release Notes: Displays release notes and changes
• Safe Deployment: Only triggers on newer versions

The update system is fully integrated with the application and runs in the background without blocking the UI.

For technical details, see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

Building Installers

Windows MSI Installer

# Build with MSI installer (recommended)
python build/scripts/build_windows.py --msi

# Build with code signing (requires certificate)
python build/scripts/build_windows.py --msi --code-sign

Output:

• Portable executable: build/dist/windows/WebDropBridge/WebDropBridge.exe (~195 MB)
• Professional MSI installer: build/dist/windows/WebDropBridge-{version}-Setup.msi
• SHA256 checksum: build/dist/windows/WebDropBridge/WebDropBridge.exe.sha256

Note on macOS: Build scripts exist for macOS (DMG generation), but have never been built or tested. macOS support is theoretical at this point. The Qt/PySide6 architecture should support macOS, but platform-specific testing and validation would be required.

Creating Releases

For Forgejo/GitHub releases:

# Windows - Create release with MSI installer
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File build/scripts/create_release.ps1

Development Workflow

1. Create feature branch

   git checkout -b feature/my-feature
   

2. Write tests first

   pytest tests/unit/test_my_feature.py
   

3. Implement feature

   # Edit src/webdrop_bridge/...
   

4. Run quality checks

   tox -e lint,type  # Run linting and type checking
   

5. Submit pull request

Troubleshooting

Application won't start

• Ensure Python 3.10+ is installed
• Check logs/webdrop_bridge.log for errors
• Verify all dependencies: pip list

Drag-and-drop not working

• Verify paths in .env are valid
• Check ALLOWED_ROOTS whitelist includes your test directory
• On macOS, check System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Accessibility

Build errors

• Clean build directory: rm -rf build/temp build/dist
• Reinstall dependencies: pip install --force-reinstall -r requirements.txt
• Check platform-specific requirements (Windows SDK, Xcode for macOS)

Platform Support

Platform	Version	Status	Notes
Windows	10, 11	✅ Full	Tested on x64, MSI installer support
macOS	12+	⚠️ Untested	Possible via Qt/PySide6, but never built or tested. Theoretical support only.

Note: WebDrop Bridge is currently developed and tested exclusively on Windows. While the Qt/PySide6 framework supports macOS, we cannot guarantee functionality without actual macOS testing and validation. Contributions for macOS support validation are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Write/update tests
4. Submit a pull request
5. Ensure CI passes

See CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed guidelines.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Credits

• Built with PySide6
• Inspired by professional desktop integration practices
• Special thanks to the Qt community

Support

• 📖 Documentation
• 🐛 Issue Tracker
• 📦 Releases

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Development Phase: Phase 4 Complete | Last Updated: February 18, 2026 | Current Version: 1.0.0 | Python: 3.10+ | Qt: PySide6 (Qt 6)