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VOLTY-RS

Install and run

Download a release

Download the latest Volty release. For a standard 64-bit Windows PC, choose Volty-vX.Y.Z-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.exe. The matching .sha256 file contains the executable’s SHA-256 checksum. Volty is a standalone executable; no installer or additional runtime file is needed.

Save the executable where you want to keep it, then double-click it. Volty starts in the Windows notification area. On first launch, choose whether to start Volty automatically when you sign in. This setting applies to the current Windows user, does not require administrator privileges, and can be changed later from the tray menu. If enabled, Windows starts Volty from the executable’s current location, so keep the file there.

Use the tray app

Volty monitors supported devices while it runs. The icon shows the lowest reported battery level by default; you can pin a device or choose a numeric percentage icon. Hover over the icon for a compact line per device, including its name, percentage, estimated remaining time when available, and last-seen age. A reading is marked stale after the configured stale period.

Low-battery alerts are Windows notifications. They are enabled by default and fire at 20%, 10%, and 5% once per discharge cycle. Their thresholds and repeat cooldown are configurable.

Right-click the icon for the compact menu: manage Monitored Devices, toggle Start on Boot, check for updates, open About Volty, or quit. Volty checks for updates on startup and once per day while running. When a stable GitHub release is available, Windows shows a notification and the tray item changes to Update available!; selecting it asks before downloading. You can also select Check for Updates… to check manually. Volty verifies the executable against the release’s SHA-256 file, then restarts through a temporary helper that replaces the executable at its current location. The existing Start on Boot entry keeps pointing to that same path. The destination folder must be writable by your Windows user; if an update cannot be installed, Volty restarts the previous version and reports the error. Existing installations must install the first release that includes this updater manually; later releases can be installed from the tray menu.

Show Advanced Options reveals manual discovery, tray customization, configuration and log access, hardware capture, diagnostics, and reset. The advanced-menu choice is saved locally; Reset Volty returns to the compact menu.

Unchecking a device in Monitored Devices excludes it from tray status, icon percentage, low-battery alerts, and battery history. Unlisted devices are monitored by default.

Tray display

Under Show Advanced Options → Tray Display, choose:

  • Battery (default): a battery glyph filled to the percentage.
  • Percentage: the number drawn using a built-in pixel font. The icon shows the number without a percent sign; unknown levels use the neutral battery icon.

The same submenu can pin the icon to a discovered device. Lowest battery restores the default. If a pinned device is missing or unchecked, Volty falls back to the lowest monitored percentage and reports Pinned device unavailable. The pin remains saved and takes effect again if the device returns.

Display mode and pin are stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Volty\device-state.sqlite3, not in config.toml.

Reset Volty

Reset Volty asks for confirmation, deletes %APPDATA%\Volty\config.toml and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Volty\device-state.sqlite3, disables Start on Boot, and clears the first-run startup preference. Volty then reinitializes with fresh defaults, including the compact tray menu. The startup prompt appears again on the next launch. Logs and the battery history database are retained.