Here is a clean, structured summary and transcript breakdown of your meeting regarding the Atom Launcher Retirement & City Desktop Migration.
Meeting Overview: Atom Launcher Retirement & City Desktop Migration
1. Executive Summary & Key Deadlines
- Target Deadline: November 2026 (Atom Launcher will be fully retired).
- Scope: ~15,000 active users are being migrated from Atom Launcher to City Desktop.
- Current Progress: Step 1 (registering applications in the Application Directory) is completed. Application owners must now test in lower environments (DEV/UAT) and promote their apps to Production.
- Core Distinction: Atom Deployment Agent remains unchanged (it still handles downloading binaries/config files to user machines). Only Atom Launcher is being replaced by City Desktop.
2. City Desktop Features & UI Workflow
- Interface: Functions as a desktop toolbar or an "App Store" overlay. Users launch it from the Windows Start menu by searching for "Desktop".
- Menu & Entitlements: Displays all applications assigned to a user based on their LightSpeed/entitlement groups. If an app appears grayed out, it means the application is visible in the directory but the Atom Deployment Agent has not installed it locally on that machine yet.
- Multiple Version Support: Supports up to three versions/streams of an application directly from the menu.
- Workspaces: Keeps track of window arrangements, monitor locations, and sizing across multiple workspaces. Restarting a workspace automatically restores the previous layout.
3. Technical Guidance for Application Owners
Streams & Versioning
- Stream Mapping: Each stream requires its own application configuration in City Desktop if they target different target audiences/entitlements (e.g., 5 streams = 5 application registrations).
Entitlements & Visibility
- Configure visibility/permissions in the portal using existing LightSpeed user groups.
- Ensure both standard users and Production Support teams are added to the appropriate permission tabs to avoid access locks during releases.
Build & CI/CD Pipelines
- Deployment Pipelines: TeamCity binary uploads and uDeploy/uCity deployment pipelines remain unchanged. City Desktop is purely an application catalog/registration layer (App Store), not a deployment engine.
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Environment Configurations: Environment-specific extension files (e.g.,
.dev,.uat) handling remain as they were in Atom. City Desktop automatically loads the correct config depending on the running environment.
Promotion Process (DEV $\rightarrow$ UAT $\rightarrow$ PROD)
- Ensure City Desktop is installed on your local machine.
- Launch and verify your app in DEV.
- Once validated, use the portal to request promotion to UAT, then Production.
- Fill in required fields (Contacts, Publication Approval Permission Groups) before clicking Request Permission/Promote.
Cleaned Meeting Transcript
Katie:
Welcome everyone, and thank you for joining today. We will be talking about the Atom Launcher retirement, which is due in November 2026. I'll walk you through today's agenda: for all application owners, we’ll cover technical changes, review a cheat sheet, and open up for Q&A at the end. Handing over to my colleague.
Presenter:
Thank you, Katie. To give a brief overview, Atom has two main parts: the Atom Deployment Agent (which deploys the applications onto user machines) and the Atom Launcher. Only the Atom Launcher is being retired and replaced by City Desktop. Both do similar things, like launching applications from a menu.
We have around 15,000 users to move over to City Desktop. Step 1—registering applications in the Application Directory—is already done. However, we cannot promote applications to higher environments on your behalf. We need application owners to open and test their applications via City Desktop, promote them to UAT, and eventually to Production.
Many teams are already testing in DEV. To test, ensure you have City Desktop installed on your machine. Go to the menu, search for your app, launch it, and log in. If that works, you are good to start promoting to UAT.
We can also trigger automatic bulk installations for your end-users so they get City Desktop within 3–4 hours without manual effort.
Regarding feature parity:
- Streams: If you have 5 streams, you will configure 5 applications in City Desktop, as each stream might have a different target audience.
- Versions: The menu supports up to 3 versions of your app.
Let's do a quick screen share of the UI.
(Screen Share Begins)
City Desktop sits as a toolbar on your desktop. You can launch it from the Start menu by typing "Desktop". It displays all applications you are entitled to see.
When you search for an app and click it, it launches. You can also save Workspaces. If you open apps across multiple workspaces, City Desktop remembers window positions, arrangements, and sizes across restarts.
(Q&A Session Begins)
Participant 1:
If we have access to applications in Atom, will we automatically see them here in City Desktop?
Presenter:
City Desktop reads from your local Atom installation path (AppData/Local/Atom). If an app appears in the City Desktop menu but you cannot click it, it means your local Atom deployment agent hasn't installed the binaries on your machine yet.
Participant 1:
For our app (Velocity), do we need to add our group to change this status?
Presenter:
Yes, configure your team structure and entitlement groups in the registration portal. You can also configure Singleton settings or Config Store services there before promoting to PROD.
Participant 2:
If I have 3 streams, do I need to configure 3 different applications in City Desktop?
Presenter:
Yes, because each stream may target a different audience with distinct visibility rules.
Participant 2:
What about permissions?
Presenter:
You can reuse your existing LightSpeed groups. Permissions carry over, but make sure to add your Production Support team to the permissions tab as well.
Participant 3:
When promoting to Production, it was grayed out last time I checked.
Presenter:
Ensure all mandatory metadata (Contacts, Publication Approval Groups) is filled out first. Once completed, the promotion request button will activate.
Participant 4:
We use TeamCity to upload binaries and uDeploy to promote to UAT/PROD. Is that pipeline changing?
Presenter:
No. TeamCity and uDeploy remain exactly the same. City Desktop is not a deployment tool; think of it purely as an App Store for registration and launching.
Participant 4:
What about configuration files with different environment extensions (e.g., .dev, .uat)?
Presenter:
That continues to work as before. City Desktop picks up the corresponding environment configuration based on the launched environment.
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