HealthChecker

HealthChecker is a desktop app for Windows 10/11 built on .NET 10 + WPF. It monitors domains and IP addresses every second, keeps short-term availability/ping charts, stores state/history in %AppData%, supports tray mode/autostart, and includes an integrated WinMTR-style traceroute view.

Key capabilities

• Add monitoring targets as:
  • domain (example.com)
  • URL host (https://example.com/path)
  • IPv4/IPv6 address
• 1-second background probing for each target.
• Automatic domain-to-IP resolution.
• Per-target status in compact/expanded card format.
• Last-60-probes infographics:
  • availability bars
  • ping trend bars
  • value tooltips on hover
• WinMTR-inspired traceroute screen with per-hop metrics:
  • Hostname, Nr, Loss %, Sent, Recv, Best, Avg, Worst, Last
• System tray integration:
  • minimize to tray
  • tray context menu (Open, Pause/Resume, Probe Now, Exit)
• Autostart support (--tray) via Windows Run registry key.
• Persisted app state at %AppData%\\HealthChecker\\state.json.

Technology stack

• .NET SDK: 10.0.x
• UI: WPF
• Pattern: MVVM (lightweight, no external MVVM framework)
• Networking:
  • System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping
  • DNS resolution via System.Net.Dns
• Persistence: JSON (System.Text.Json)
• Windows integration:
  • NotifyIcon (Windows Forms interop)
  • Microsoft.Win32.Registry for startup registration

Repository layout

.
+- HealthChecker.sln
+- README.md
+- LICENSE
+- THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md
+- .gitignore
L- HealthChecker/
   +- HealthChecker.csproj
   +- MainWindow.xaml
   +- MainWindow.xaml.cs
   +- App.xaml
   +- App.xaml.cs
   +- Models/
   +- ViewModels/
   +- Services/
   L- Converters/

Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11
• .NET 10 SDK installed
• ICMP permissions available in local environment/network policy (required for ping/traceroute)

Quick start

1) Clone

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd HealthChecker

2) Build

dotnet build .\HealthChecker.sln

3) Run (normal mode)

dotnet run --project .\HealthChecker\HealthChecker.csproj

4) Run directly in tray mode

dotnet run --project .\HealthChecker\HealthChecker.csproj -- --tray

Publish (Release)

Recommended: self-contained single-file assets (for GitHub Releases)

Use the repository script to generate runnable standalone .exe files:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\build-release-assets.ps1 -Version v1.0.0

Output:

artifacts\v1.0.0\
  HealthChecker-v1.0.0-debug.exe
  HealthChecker-v1.0.0-release.exe
  HealthChecker-v1.0.0-sources.zip

This avoids the common issue where only HealthChecker.exe is uploaded without its runtime dependencies.

WinUI installer (MSIX)

Build a signed MSIX installer package for WinUI:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\build-winui-installer.ps1 -Version 1.1.0 -Configuration Release

Output:

artifacts\v1.1.0\installer\
  HealthChecker-v1.1.0-msix-installer.zip
  package\
    HealthChecker-v1.1.0-x64.msix
    HealthChecker-v1.1.0-x64.cer
    Install-HealthChecker-v1.1.0.ps1

Install flow:

1. Unzip HealthChecker-v1.1.0-msix-installer.zip.
2. Run Install-HealthChecker-v1.1.0.ps1 as Administrator.
3. The script imports the signing certificate and installs the MSIX package.

Framework-dependent publish (dev/internal usage)

dotnet publish .\HealthChecker\HealthChecker.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained false

Artifacts are generated under:

HealthChecker\bin\Release\net10.0-windows\win-x64\publish\

Optional self-contained publish

dotnet publish .\HealthChecker\HealthChecker.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

How monitoring works

• A 1-second dispatcher timer triggers a monitoring cycle.
• Each cycle probes all targets asynchronously.
• Every target stores rolling samples (used for uptime and charts).
• State is saved periodically and on shutdown to %AppData%\\HealthChecker\\state.json.

Traceroute mode

• In an expanded target card click Tracert.
• App switches to internal traceroute view (with Back and Stop).
• A probe loop is run per TTL (up to 30 by default) with 1-second interval.
• Per-hop stats are aggregated continuously in table rows.
• When destination is reached, max active hop range is reduced dynamically.

Startup and tray behavior

• Start with Windows (launch in tray) toggles registry value:
  • HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run
• App registers executable path with --tray argument.
• Closing the main window sends app to tray; use tray menu Exit for full shutdown.

Data and privacy

• HealthChecker does not send telemetry to external servers.
• Stored local data includes target list and probe history required for UI stats.
• Storage location: %AppData%\\HealthChecker\\state.json.

Known limitations

• Current traceroute table is optimized for live stats, not for long-session export yet.
• No built-in CSV/HTML export at this stage.
• Geographic mapping/ASN enrichment is not included yet.

Troubleshooting

Build fails because HealthChecker.exe is in use

Stop the running process and build again:

Get-Process HealthChecker -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force
dotnet build .\HealthChecker.sln

No ping responses

• Verify firewall policy and ICMP allowance.
• Check local network restrictions (corporate VPN/policies can block ICMP).

Development notes

• Keep UI changes in MainWindow.xaml and interaction logic in MainViewModel.
• Network logic belongs in Services/.
• Avoid committing bin/ and obj/ artifacts (already covered by .gitignore).

Public repository checklist

Before your first push, update placeholders:

1. Replace <your-repo-url> in this README.
2. Update license copyright owner if needed.
3. Add screenshots under docs/screenshots and link them here.
4. Optionally configure GitHub Actions for CI (dotnet build on PR).

Credits

Traceroute UX and metric model were inspired by WinMTR behavior. See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for details.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.