SnoreToast is added to the start menu when notifying on Windows

[evelynhathaway]

Version

3.0.4

Node and OS info

Node v9.4.0, npm v5.6.0, Windows 10

Steps to reproduce

• Install @vue/cli on Windows
• Run vue ui on a project
• Install/update/etc a dependency in the UI
  • Note that no notification was triggered and that %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs now has a SnoreToast shortcut
• Install/update/etc another dependency
  • Note that a notification was triggered successfully

What is expected?

SnoreToast would not have a shortcut since the user may not like its addition to their start menu without indication of its purpose.

Additionally, the notification should trigger the first time, but I'm guessing this is caused by SnoreToast failing to notify without an app ID in the start menu to use for the notification.

What is actually happening?

The shortcut is installed without an opt-in, notification fails the first time

---

The UI's notification API uses node-notifier which in turn uses SnoreToast for native Windows notifications.

SnoreToast seems to indicate that a program in the start menu is necessary for notifications, though I can't find anything to back up that it needs to be in the start menu in case SnoreToast can be used from the node_modules folder.

If the CLI was an Electron app, the intended use of node-notifier would be to use the shortcut for the CLI instead (which would fix also fix the issue with it not firing and it saying the wrong app name when notifying). Since there isn't a shortcut for the CLI, it sounds like a workaround would need to be found to keep the implementation the same.

The issue with it not firing the first time is most likely related to and could be fixed by "installing" the shortcut before the first notification.

[ananaszjoe]

I had no idea what it was when I found it in my start menu, so when I ran it and it ran some scripts in a console window that appeared just for a fraction of a second, I suddenly wasn't sure it's not malware...

IMO it shouldn't add a new shortcut, or if it does, and the user starts it directly, it should display a notification that reads something like "This app is used by other apps to display notifications"

[june07]

Yeah, def not cool. Ran across this just now.

[Riccarr]

So, umm .... dude, don't know you from a hole in the ground, but, why in the world would you, as you put it ... "no idea what it was when I found it in my start menu, so when I ran" !!! What!? Why would you click to run some random program that just appears on your computer. Definition of stupidity, man. Lol ... then you posted that you actually did what you did, just to make sure that you really were stupid, I guess. Dude, smarten up, your making humanity look stupid.

[ananaszjoe]

So, umm .... dude, don't know you from a hole in the ground, but, why in the world would you, as you put it ... "no idea what it was when I found it in my start menu, so when I ran" !!! What!? Why would you click to run some random program that just appears on your computer. Definition of stupidity, man. Lol ... then you posted that you actually did what you did, just to make sure that you really were stupid, I guess. Dude, smarten up, your making humanity look stupid.

Did you just write 5 lines to tell me you think I'm stupid? 😑

[Riccarr]

So, umm .... dude, don't know you from a hole in the ground, but, why in the world would you, as you put it ... "no idea what it was when I found it in my start menu, so when I ran" !!! What!? Why would you click to run some random program that just appears on your computer. Definition of stupidity, man. Lol ... then you posted that you actually did what you did, just to make sure that you really were stupid, I guess. Dude, smarten up, your making humanity look stupid.

Did you just write 5 lines to tell me you think I'm stupid? 😑

Your right, that wasn't very nice. YOU SEE ! That's what happens when dumb stuff leaks out! It affects other people. Gawd ... how do I wash this off!

[dtbenson43]

Without a valid shortcut installed in the Start screen or in All Programs, you cannot raise a toast notification from a desktop app.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh802762

[narration-sd]

What a mess. But why did this just suddenly show up to me today??? It's June 2019...

[jcsston]

Another vote to remove this.
npm install should not modify my Start Menu -> Programs folder without prompting.

A command-line program should notify the user via the command-line.

[h454n5]

Agree with jcsston

[mariuszwojtkowski]

I agree, this is outrageous and the shortcut should not be created!

@Riccarr
There are nice and well educated people talking to each other and there is you, too. You obviously shouldn't be talking...

[shelbykauth]

I am semi-okay with the shortcut. After this issue specifically
IF AND ONLY IF the user clicks "okay, install".
Like it should open up a standard Windows "Do you want to let this program install stuff on your computer" thing like a normal program.
I nearly had a panic attack. Especially when I couldn't find it in "Uninstall or change a program" list.

Or call it something other than SnoreToast. Like NodeNotifier, so I know where the heck it came from.

@Riccarr, while I completely disagree with your tone, you do have a point.

Why would you click to run some random program?

But to that point, why would you run some random software that is maintained by a community you're not a part of, that can install random shit on your start menu? AKA: Why would you run any open-source software, including vue, ever?

Because we're programmers! That's why! The breadth of our curiosity has no bounds.

Also, I thought I had maybe installed the program along with three others yesterday and hadn't uninstalled it. So I was trying to see what it was. I couldn't remember what I had or had not installed. When the application closed, I was suddenly afraid that it was running large scripts in the background. And if running the executable by itself popped up a notification about what SnoreToast was, then I would have known what the program was and probably wouldn't have been bothered by it at all.