Gaugebit — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General & User Questions

Why does the installer say "Unverified Publisher"?

This is standard for self-built Windows executables. Since the setup file is not signed with a paid digital Extended Validation (EV) certificate, Windows SmartScreen warns that the publisher is unknown.

To run it: Click "More Info" and then select "Run anyway". If you are developing locally, you can trust our generated signature by installing the gaugebit-codesign.pfx certificate file under your local system's Trusted Root Certification Authorities store.

How do I configure the widgets always on top?

You can toggle Always on Top in two ways: right-clicking any desktop widget to open its context menu, or right-clicking the Gaugebit app icon in the Windows system tray and checking the "Always on Top" list item.

Where is my telemetry history stored?

Telemetry history is stored locally in an embedded SQLite database database file located in your application data directory: %APPDATA%\Gaugebit\telemetry.db.

You can manage logging rates and clean-up retention parameters directly from the Logs tab inside the application dashboard.

How can I change temperature metrics between Celsius and Fahrenheit?

Open the Settings tab in the main application window. Under the General settings section, toggle the Temperature Units switch. The change is saved instantly and applies dynamically across both the main window and all active desktop widgets.

Developer & Widget Questions

Why does my local custom widget fail to load with a CORS error?

When using the "Load Local Widget" developer tool, the desktop app makes a network request to load your custom JavaScript file. If your local development server doesn't allow cross-origin requests, the request is blocked by Electron's security policy.

To fix this, enable CORS on your local dev server. For example, if using Node's http-server, boot it with: npx http-server ./dist --cors.

What framework can I use to build custom widgets?

Widgets are compiled into clean vanilla JavaScript bundles. You can use standard React 18, Preact, or simple vanilla DOM scripts to render your UI components. The main application passes hardware snapshot events via dynamic window event listeners.

How are widget coordinates persisted?

Desktop widget coordinates are saved inside the application's local storage using the key format widget-pos-x-[id] and widget-pos-y-[id]. An automatic boundary check clamps coordinates on boot to ensure widgets never render off-screen.