<critical_lessons>

<lesson name="registry_operations"> **NEVER use `reg.exe` for commands containing quotes** - quotes get stripped unpredictably.

ALWAYS use PowerShell's native registry provider:

powershell

# Create key
$path = "Registry::HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\MyEntry"
$null = New-Item -Path $path -Force
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name "(Default)" -Value "My Menu Item"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name "Icon" -Value "myapp.exe"

# Create command subkey
$null = New-Item -Path "$path\command" -Force
Set-ItemProperty -Path "$path\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value 'myapp.exe "%1"'

Before writing new registry entries, ALWAYS examine existing working examples:

powershell

# List all context menu entries
reg query "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell"

# Show specific entry with command
reg query "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\<entry>\command"

# Full recursive dump
reg query "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell" /s

</lesson> <lesson name="context_menu_locations"> | Location | Trigger | |----------|---------| | `Directory\shell` | Right-click ON a folder | | `Directory\Background\shell` | Right-click INSIDE a folder (empty space) | </lesson> <lesson name="path_variables"> | Variable | Meaning | Use Case | |----------|---------|----------| | `%1` | Selected item path | Right-click on folder | | `%V` | Current directory | Right-click inside folder | </lesson> <lesson name="quoting_and_escaping"> **Single quotes survive better than escaped double quotes in PowerShell strings:**

powershell

# GOOD - quotes preserved
$cmd = 'wsl.exe --cd "%1"'

# BAD - quotes may be stripped
$cmd = "wsl.exe --cd `"%1`""

Always use -LiteralPath instead of -Path for paths with special characters:

powershell

Set-Location -LiteralPath $folderPath  # Handles [brackets], spaces, etc.

</lesson> <lesson name="testing_approach"> **ALWAYS test with edge cases immediately:**

•
Create test folder: D:\Test Folder With Spaces
•
Create test folder: D:\Test[Brackets]
•
Test BOTH right-click scenarios:
- •Right-click ON the folder
- •Right-click INSIDE the folder (empty space)

•

Verify registry entries after creation:

powershell

reg query "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\YourEntry\command"

</lesson> <lesson name="windows_terminal"> **Profile names must match exactly** - check settings.json: ``` %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\settings.json ```

Common WT commands:

powershell

wt.exe -d "path"                    # Open at directory (uses default profile)
wt.exe -p "Profile Name" -d "path"  # Specific profile
wt.exe -p "Command Prompt" -d "path" cmd /k command  # CMD with command

</lesson> <lesson name="batch_vs_powershell"> **Avoid batch files for complex quoting** - use PowerShell scripts instead:

powershell

# PowerShell script with proper parameter handling
param([string]$Path)
& wt.exe -d $Path

If batch files are required, use %~1 to strip outer quotes:

batch

@echo off
wt.exe -d "%~1"

</lesson>

</critical_lessons>

<proven_patterns> These patterns are proven to work from registry entries:

text

cmd.exe /s /k pushd "%V"
powershell.exe -NoExit -Command Set-Location -LiteralPath '%V'
wsl.exe --cd "%V"
wt.exe -d "%V" -p "Command Prompt"
"C:\Program Files\App\app.exe" "%1"

</proven_patterns>

<debugging_checklist> When context menu entries don't work:

• Check if \command subkey exists: reg query "...\command"
• Verify quotes are preserved in the command value
• Test with a simple path first (no spaces)
• Test with a path containing spaces
• Check Windows Event Viewer for errors
• Try running the command manually in cmd/PowerShell </debugging_checklist>