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Build from source

RECON's custom image is a reproducible build from the Windows ADK. This page covers the build pipeline; for the quick path see Build the USB.

Prerequisites

  • Windows ADK + the matching Windows PE add-on (free from Microsoft).
  • DISM (ships with Windows) and an elevated PowerShell — image mounting requires administrator.
  • .NET SDK — only if building the WPF shell (-Shell wpf).

Stage the tools

.\scripts\Get-Tools.ps1

Downloads the freely-redistributable tools from the manifest into the staging area. The image can also be built tools-free for a UI-only proof build (the launcher simply greys out missing tools).

Build the image

From an elevated PowerShell:

.\scripts\Build-ReconPE.ps1

What it does:

  1. copype a WinPE working directory.
  2. Mount boot.wim with DISM.
  3. Add WinPE optional components (PowerShell, WMI, StorageWMI, DISM cmdlets, .NET, HTA, SecureStartup/BitLocker tooling, …).
  4. Inject the staged tools and the RECON launcher.
  5. Commit and emit build\RECON_PE.iso with MakeWinPEMedia.

Options

Flag Effect
-Shell hta (default) Boot the shipping HTA shell.
-Shell wpf Build and boot the in-development WPF desktop shell (needs the .NET SDK).
-WorkDir <path> Working directory for the build.
-OutIso <path> Output ISO path.
-RequireTools Fail if no tools are staged (otherwise a UI-only build is allowed).

The boot chain always stages a text-menu fallback, so a boot never dead-ends if the graphical shell can't start.

Put it on the USB

Copy the resulting ISO onto your Ventoy drive and boot it.

The WPF shell (in development)

The native shell lives in winpe/shell-wpf (.NET Framework 4.7.2, runs on WinPE's bundled .NET runtime). It's built automatically when you pass -Shell wpf. The HTA remains the default until the WPF shell reaches full parity; see the repo's docs/ARCHITECTURE-NEXT.md for the port status.