fix: Resolve Windows PyInstaller path issues and hardcoded paths

- Fix ctypes.wintypes.HRESULT compatibility for Windows executable
- Replace hardcoded paths with proper AppData directory handling
- Add fallback mechanisms for missing wintypes in PyInstaller bundles
- Ensure proper path resolution for both development and packaged environments
- Use centralized path management in file_conversion.py

This resolves two critical issues:
1. Windows executable failing to start due to missing HRESULT type
2. Hardcoded paths causing file access problems in packaged builds

Author: Mtrya

backend/config.py

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import os
+import sys
 import yaml
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, Any, List
@@ -25,10 +26,56 @@ class Config:
 
 
     def __init__(self):
-        self.config_file = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "config.yaml"
+        self.config_file = self._get_config_path()
         self.config = self._load_default_config()
         self.load()
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_config_path() -> Path:
+        """Get the configuration file path"""
+        if getattr(sys, 'frozen', False):
+            # Running as PyInstaller bundle - use AppData location
+            import os
+            if os.name == 'nt':  # Windows
+                import ctypes
+
+                # Define HRESULT manually for PyInstaller compatibility
+                try:
+                    from ctypes import wintypes
+                    HRESULT = wintypes.HRESULT
+                except AttributeError:
+                    # PyInstaller sometimes doesn't include all wintypes
+                    HRESULT = ctypes.c_long
+
+                CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA = 0x001c
+                SHGetFolderPath = ctypes.windll.shell32.SHGetFolderPathW
+
+                try:
+                    from ctypes import wintypes
+                    SHGetFolderPath.argtypes = [wintypes.HWND, ctypes.c_int, wintypes.HANDLE, wintypes.DWORD, wintypes.LPCWSTR]
+                    SHGetFolderPath.restype = HRESULT
+                    path_buf = ctypes.create_unicode_buffer(wintypes.MAX_PATH)
+                    result = SHGetFolderPath(0, CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA, 0, 0, path_buf)
+                    if result == 0:
+                        return Path(path_buf.value) / "Echo" / "config.yaml"
+                    else:
+                        return Path.home() / "AppData" / "Local" / "Echo" / "config.yaml"
+                except AttributeError:
+                    # Fallback if wintypes are not available
+                    SHGetFolderPath.argtypes = [ctypes.c_void_p, ctypes.c_int, ctypes.c_void_p, ctypes.c_uint, ctypes.c_wchar_p]
+                    SHGetFolderPath.restype = HRESULT
+                    path_buf = ctypes.create_unicode_buffer(260)  # MAX_PATH
+                    result = SHGetFolderPath(0, CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA, 0, 0, path_buf)
+                    if result == 0:
+                        return Path(path_buf.value) / "Echo" / "config.yaml"
+                    else:
+                        return Path.home() / "AppData" / "Local" / "Echo" / "config.yaml"
+            else:
+                return Path.home() / ".echo" / "config.yaml"
+        else:
+            # Running in development environment
+            return Path(__file__).parent.parent / "config.yaml"
+
     def _load_default_config(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         """Load default configuration"""
         return {

backend/file_conversion.py

@@ -241,8 +241,9 @@ async def convert_files(self, request: FileConversionRequest) -> FileConversionR
         output_filename = f"{base_filename}_{datetime.now().strftime('%Y%m%d_%H%M%S')}.yaml"
 
         # 5. Save YAML file
-        exams_dir = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "exams"
-        exams_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
+        from .paths import get_paths
+        paths = get_paths()
+        exams_dir = paths.exams_dir
         output_path = exams_dir / output_filename
 
         try:

backend/paths.py

@@ -36,20 +36,42 @@ def _get_base_path(self) -> Path:
             # Running as PyInstaller bundle
             if os.name == 'nt':  # Windows
                 import ctypes
-                from ctypes import wintypes
+
+                # Define HRESULT manually for PyInstaller compatibility
+                try:
+                    from ctypes import wintypes
+                    HRESULT = wintypes.HRESULT
+                except AttributeError:
+                    # PyInstaller sometimes doesn't include all wintypes
+                    HRESULT = ctypes.c_long
 
                 CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA = 0x001c
                 SHGetFolderPath = ctypes.windll.shell32.SHGetFolderPathW
-                SHGetFolderPath.argtypes = [wintypes.HWND, ctypes.c_int, wintypes.HANDLE, wintypes.DWORD, wintypes.LPCWSTR]
-                SHGetFolderPath.restype = wintypes.HRESULT
-
-                path_buf = ctypes.create_unicode_buffer(wintypes.MAX_PATH)
-                result = SHGetFolderPath(0, CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA, 0, 0, path_buf)
 
-                if result == 0:
-                    return Path(path_buf.value) / "Echo"
-                else:
-                    return Path.home() / "AppData" / "Local" / "Echo"
+                try:
+                    from ctypes import wintypes
+                    SHGetFolderPath.argtypes = [wintypes.HWND, ctypes.c_int, wintypes.HANDLE, wintypes.DWORD, wintypes.LPCWSTR]
+                    SHGetFolderPath.restype = HRESULT
+
+                    path_buf = ctypes.create_unicode_buffer(wintypes.MAX_PATH)
+                    result = SHGetFolderPath(0, CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA, 0, 0, path_buf)
+
+                    if result == 0:
+                        return Path(path_buf.value) / "Echo"
+                    else:
+                        return Path.home() / "AppData" / "Local" / "Echo"
+                except AttributeError:
+                    # Fallback if wintypes are not available
+                    SHGetFolderPath.argtypes = [ctypes.c_void_p, ctypes.c_int, ctypes.c_void_p, ctypes.c_uint, ctypes.c_wchar_p]
+                    SHGetFolderPath.restype = HRESULT
+
+                    path_buf = ctypes.create_unicode_buffer(260)  # MAX_PATH
+                    result = SHGetFolderPath(0, CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA, 0, 0, path_buf)
+
+                    if result == 0:
+                        return Path(path_buf.value) / "Echo"
+                    else:
+                        return Path.home() / "AppData" / "Local" / "Echo"
             else:
                 return Path.home() / ".echo"
         else: