PinmanPinman
Menu

Understanding Pinman

Core concepts

Pinman is a configuration manager for Windows computers. It tracks settings across files, the Registry, and Windows system settings, records how they change over time, compares them with the setup you want, and helps you put them back. These are the core ideas behind it and the terms you'll meet throughout the app, the CLI, and these docs.

Workspace and tracking#

  • Machine — A Windows computer managed by Pinman.
  • Project — Your independent Pinman workspace on a Machine. Each Project keeps its own tracking definitions, history, Profiles, and Journal.
  • Schema — The definition of what Pinman tracks across files, the Registry, and Windows settings.
  • Realm — A kind of place where settings live: files (fs:), the Registry (winreg:), or Windows settings (winrt:). Every tracked item belongs to one realm.
  • Zone — A tag a Schema puts on its items to group them by area of the setup, such as Display:playfield or Audio:Music.
  • Kit — A versioned package that can provide a Schema, Profiles, reference data, and documentation for a particular Machine, software, or workflow.

State and history#

  • Head — Pinman's working record of the Machine's current state. Refresh updates it from the Machine; its age tells you when values may be stale.
  • Capture — A frozen record kept for history and comparison. A Checkpoint records values; a Savepoint also backs up complete copies of applicable files.
  • Journal — The timeline that connects Captures and Profile activity with your notes about what happened and why.

Desired configuration#

  • Profile — A named reusable recipe for putting part of the machine into a desired state. You can check it, preview its changes, and Apply supported settings.
  • Drift — The difference between the values in the Head and a Profile's targets. Drift identifies what would need to change to bring them into sync.

What's on the Machine#

  • Software — An application, driver, utility, or Windows tool known to Pinman's software catalog. Pinman detects whether it is installed, links tracked settings to it, and can open it.
  • Device — Hardware Pinman detects, such as a display, audio endpoint, or USB device.
  • Box — Pinman's model of a physical Machine and the Devices assigned to it. Boxes can also represent distinct physical sections.
  • Device Role — A logical job assigned to a Device, such as “presentation display.” Profiles can use the Role instead of a Windows device identifier.

Learn more: