About Bob's Setup Tools
Ninite-style convenience, but with real control — and a Windows toolbox built in. The browser is the configuration surface; the Bob Helper on your PC is the only thing that executes anything.
How the helper works (Dell SupportAssist style)
Loopback only
The helper listens on 127.0.0.1:43210. It is unreachable from your network. The site finds it automatically — no tokens to copy, ever.
Explicit authorization
First contact from a website triggers a prompt in the helper window: allow once, always allow, or deny. Consent is stored per-site.
Catalog-locked execution
Plans are checked against the catalog embedded in the helper itself. A website cannot ship arbitrary commands, URLs, or registry writes — there is no code path for them.
Privacy rules Bob follows
- Never installs software you didn't select.
- Never enables optional telemetry, analytics, advertising, or bundled extras — and when an installer can't be controlled, Bob says so instead of pretending.
- Never guesses meaningful preferences (scope, PATH, shortcuts, components). It asks, once per question.
- Bob itself collects nothing: no account, no analytics, no hardware IDs, no usage behavior.
- Generated fallback scripts are plain, readable WinGet commands — never encoded PowerShell.
Sources & licensing
Install order of preference: WinGet (Microsoft's official package repository) → official vendor download. Bob hosts nothing and redistributes nothing. Every catalog entry states its license — open-source, freeware, trial, commercial — and paid products (Visual Studio editions, Microsoft 365) are installed only through their official channels, with licensing left to you.
Honest limitations
- Taskbar pinning can't be done reliably on modern Windows — Bob says so rather than hacking it.
- Some telemetry is configured inside the app after install; Bob flags those instead of faking a checkbox.
- Windows always sends a minimum of required diagnostic data. Anyone promising “zero telemetry” is not being honest.
- Bob will never disable Defender, Firewall, UAC or Windows Update, and has no “debloat everything” button.
Technology
Helper: C# on .NET Framework 4.8 (ships with Windows 10/11) — a ~150 KB WinForms executable, no runtime download, no Electron, fast startup, low RAM. Website: static HTML/CSS/JS, no build step, no framework. Catalog and guides are structured JSON — adding an app or a guide never requires touching the engine. Full protocol spec: docs/PROTOCOL.md.