Ability to View/Edit Hosts.yml/Provisioner files BEFORE 'vagrant up' is issued, but after Name/Installers/IDs have been set/selected

[MarkProminic]

This is a feature request to enhance the agility of SHI's development process.

Current Situation

As it stands, there is no way to view or edit the Hosts.yml file before pressing the "Play" button. The current setup only allows access to the source files for the VM after the vagrant up command is executed. This limitation means that any issues can only be addressed after the VM is running (or fails to run because of issues in the Hosts.yml), requiring a manual vagrant destroy to make changes and try again.

Feature Request

• Access Before Execution: Enable access to the Hosts.yml file and other source files in "Finder" or "Windows Explorer" as well as via CLI (CMD/PowerShell/Terminal) before pressing the "Play" button.
• Expected Behavior:
  • Create a new server, set the name, include installer archives, toggle provisioner roles, etc.
  • Before pressing the green "Play" button (which calls vagrant up), add the ability to open the relevant folder in CMD or Terminal.

Impact

This feature affects all operating systems. It would allow users to catch issues before the VM runs, improving the development workflow.

Technical Considerations

• YAML Handling: It is expected that SHI updates the Hosts.yml upon saving any form or page. The current issue may stem from the Hosts.yml and its template being copied each time a user changes an option.
• Library Usage: Consider using the HAXE YAML library to properly read and parse YAML files instead of relying on a templated YAML file. A fork of the outdated YAML HAXE library is available at: https://github.com/MarkProminic/hx-yaml. This fork addresses deprecated issues that could deter developers.

This feature would allow for more agile development by enabling modifications to YAML files without relying on a template system, thus facilitating the addition of more provisioners.

[MarkProminic]

This issue appears to be a duplicate of #102

However that issue contains a screenshot of where I expect the button to be.