AutoQACSharp

AutoQACSharp is a Windows desktop tool for sequential cleaning of Bethesda plugins with xEdit Quick Auto Clean (-QAC). The main app is built with Avalonia and ReactiveUI, uses Serilog for logging, YamlDotNet for configuration, and Mutagen for plugin discovery where supported.

Current Status

• The desktop app is past the old "foundation stage". Core configuration, plugin loading, cleaning orchestration, backup/restore, result reporting, and test coverage are all in place.
• The solution currently contains four projects: AutoQAC, AutoQAC.Tests, QueryPlugins, and QueryPlugins.Tests.
• The UI uses Avalonia, but the shipping app currently targets Windows (net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0) because it relies on Windows registry and process behavior for game discovery and xEdit integration.

Implemented Features

• Sequential xEdit orchestration with timeout handling, retry prompts, hang detection, graceful stop, and force-kill fallback.
• Plugin discovery via Mutagen for Skyrim LE/SE/VR and Fallout 4/VR, with file-based load-order support for Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, and Oblivion.
• Per-game data folder overrides and per-game load order overrides.
• Skip list management backed by AutoQAC Main.yaml defaults plus user overrides, including TTW and Enderal variant handling.
• Plugin backup sessions before cleaning, retention cleanup, and a restore browser.
• Dry-run preview showing which plugins will be cleaned or skipped before xEdit is launched.
• Cleaning results windows with per-plugin stats and exportable session reports.
• Debounced YAML config saves, external config file watching, startup log retention cleanup, and one-time legacy config migration.
• A separate QueryPlugins library for Mutagen-based issue detection (ITMs, deleted references, deleted navmeshes) with its own tests.

Note: the dry-run preview is a readiness check only. ITM/UDR/navmesh statistics still require an actual xEdit run.

Supported Games

Game	AutoQAC app	Plugin discovery
Skyrim (Legendary Edition)	Yes	Mutagen
Skyrim Special Edition	Yes	Mutagen
Skyrim VR	Yes	Mutagen
Fallout 4	Yes	Mutagen
Fallout 4 VR	Yes	Mutagen
Fallout 3	Yes	File-based load order
Fallout: New Vegas	Yes	File-based load order
Oblivion	Yes	File-based load order

QueryPlugins also contains standalone detector support for Starfield analysis, but the desktop cleaning app does not currently expose Starfield cleaning.

Solution Layout

AutoQAC/             Avalonia desktop application
AutoQAC.Tests/       Tests for the desktop app
QueryPlugins/        Standalone Mutagen-based plugin analysis library
QueryPlugins.Tests/  Tests for the analysis library
AutoQAC Data/        Bundled YAML config and assets
docs/mutagen/        Curated Mutagen reference docs
Mutagen/             Read-only Mutagen git submodule

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• .NET 10 SDK
• xEdit (SSEEdit.exe, FO4Edit.exe, xEdit64.exe, etc.)
• Optional: Mod Organizer 2 for MO2 launch mode

Build, Run, and Test

dotnet restore AutoQACSharp.slnx
dotnet build AutoQACSharp.slnx
dotnet run --project AutoQAC/AutoQAC.csproj
dotnet test AutoQACSharp.slnx
dotnet build AutoQAC/AutoQAC.csproj -c Release

Configuration Files

• AutoQAC Data/AutoQAC Main.yaml - bundled defaults such as xEdit executable name lists and built-in skip lists.
• AutoQAC Data/AutoQAC Settings.yaml - user settings, selected game, per-game overrides, log retention, and backup settings.
• Legacy AutoQAC Config.yaml files are migrated on startup when present.
• External edits to AutoQAC Settings.yaml are watched and reloaded when it is safe to do so.

Logs and Backups

• Logs are written to logs/ next to the running executable.
• Backup sessions are written to AutoQAC Backups/ next to the selected game's Data directory.
• Session reports can be exported from the cleaning results window.

Important Constraint

Only one plugin can be cleaned at a time. ProcessExecutionService and CleaningOrchestrator intentionally serialize xEdit launches because xEdit relies on single-instance file locking.

Mutagen Reference Material

• Use docs/mutagen/ first for quick API lookups.
• Use the read-only Mutagen/ submodule when the curated docs are not detailed enough.

License

GPL-3.0. See LICENSE.

Credits

• Original AutoQAC / XEdit-PACT concept by Poet (GuidanceOfGrace)
• xEdit by the TES5Edit/xEdit team
• C# desktop implementation in this repository