Companion to 4.6.2 (VOD chat replay): when capturing a live stream,
also open an anonymous IRC connection to Twitch chat and append every
message to a sibling .chat.jsonl file. Closes the symmetry — VOD
downloads get .chat.json, live recordings get .chat.jsonl. Both
formats are deliberate: VOD pulls finite, JSON-array friendly; live
streams are open-ended, JSON Lines friendly so a kill mid-stream
preserves prior data.
Server:
- new LiveChatSession + startLiveChatCapture / stopLiveChatCapture.
Opens a TLS connection to irc.chat.twitch.tv:6697, anonymous
Twitch auth (NICK justinfan{rand}, no PASS), JOINs the channel,
enables CAP twitch.tv/tags + commands so we get badges, color,
display-name, etc.
- IRC line parser: minimal — split tags / prefix / command / params,
handle PRIVMSG (chat), USERNOTICE (subs/raids), CLEARCHAT,
CLEARMSG. Each parsed message is one JSON object on its own line:
{ t, type, u, login, color, msg, badges, bits, msgId, systemMsg }.
Per-line write keeps memory flat — a 12-hour stream's chat could
be hundreds of MB; we never hold more than one batch in RAM.
- File handle is opened up-front (so a write failure surfaces early),
always closed on the close event.
- PING/PONG handling so Twitch doesn't ratelimit the connection out.
- Header line written at session start so an empty-chat capture
still produces a valid file with metadata.
Wire-up:
- downloadLiveStream starts the session BEFORE streamlink (so the
first JOIN messages aren't lost) and stops it AFTER streamlink
exits (so trailing reactions still get logged). Failures inside
the chat session do NOT mark the recording as failed — the video
is still fine. The chat file path is added to outputFiles when it
exists so the existing Open file / Show in folder UI lists both.
Renderer / settings:
- new capture_live_chat: boolean (default off). Settings -> Download
card gets the toggle with hint.
- AppConfig type, autosave fingerprint, syncSettingsForm, locale
strings (DE + EN).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Twitch retains chat replay on the same VOD-lifetime clock — when the
VOD vanishes after 7-60 days, the chat goes with it. Anyone archiving
the video usually wants the chat too. Added an opt-in setting that
saves a paginated GQL pull of the chat as a JSON file next to the
.mp4 download.
Server:
- new fetchVodChatReplay(videoId, onProgress, cancelCheck) — uses
the existing fetchPublicTwitchGql helper (so the retry-on-transient
logic from cycle 4 applies here too) with the standard
video.comments(contentOffsetSeconds, cursor) query, paginated via
edge cursors. Each message is normalised to a small flat shape:
id, offset (seconds-into-VOD), createdAt, user (display name),
login, color, text (assembled from fragments). Hard-capped at 500
pages (~50k messages) so a single runaway stream can't fill memory;
hitting the cap sets truncated:true in the result. Honours a
cancelCheck() callback so removing the queue item also cancels the
in-flight chat fetch.
- new chatReplayPathFor() helper produces sibling .chat.json path.
- processOneQueueItem fires the chat fetch after a successful, non-
live, non-merge VOD download whose URL parses to a VOD id.
Progress shows up in the queue item via existing download-progress
IPC: "Fetching chat replay..." then "Chat messages fetched: N".
Output file is added to item.outputFiles so the existing
Open file / Show in folder UI lists the chat right next to the
video. A failed chat fetch is logged but does NOT mark the queue
item as failed — the video itself is fine, the chat is a bonus.
- Atomic write via writeFileAtomicSync so a crash mid-fetch can't
leave a half-written .chat.json next to the video.
Renderer:
- new download_chat_replay: boolean in Config (default false because
long streams can take a few minutes of chat-page pulls and we
don't want to surprise users on upgrade). Settings -> Download
card gets the toggle with hint tooltip explaining the trade-off.
- AppConfig type, settings autosave fingerprint, syncSettingsForm,
applyLanguageToStaticUI all updated.
- DE + EN labels and the two new backend status strings
(statusFetchingChatReplay, statusChatMessagesFetched).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Building on the manual REC button from 4.6.0: each streamer now also
has an AUTO toggle. When enabled, a background poller in the main
process checks the streamers live status every 90s (configurable
30-1800s via config.auto_record_poll_seconds). On an offline -> live
transition, a live recording is queued automatically without the
user having to be at the keyboard.
Server:
- config.auto_record_streamers: string[] holds the watched logins
(deduped + normalized via normalizeAutoRecordList). Empty list
stops the poller entirely so users who don't use the feature pay
zero CPU.
- runAutoRecordPoll iterates the list, hits getLiveStreamInfo
(existing helper from 4.6.0 — Helix when authed, public GQL
otherwise), tracks per-streamer last-known live state in
autoRecordLastLiveState, and only triggers on the offline->live
edge. If a live item already exists for that streamer (manual
REC click + auto-poll racing), the auto-trigger backs off.
- restartAutoRecordPoller is wired into save-config so toggling AUTO
on/off or changing the interval takes effect without a restart;
state for de-watched streamers is dropped so re-enabling them
later doesn't suppress an immediate first-poll trigger.
- Wired into app.whenReady (start) and shutdownCleanup (stop).
- Initial poll fires ~1.5s after restart so a streamer that's
already live when the user enables AUTO gets picked up
immediately instead of after a full interval.
Renderer:
- AUTO pill next to REC. Off = grey outline, on = green outline +
green text + faint green background. Click toggles via saveConfig
with the updated auto_record_streamers array; toast confirms.
- Per-streamer state survives reload (it's in the config file).
DE + EN locale strings for the toggle title + on/off toasts.
Why this matters: VODs vanish from Twitch within 7-60 days. Manual
REC requires the user to be present when the stream starts. AUTO
closes that gap — the app watches in the background and captures
without supervision.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
VODs disappear from Twitch after 7-60 days depending on the channel
partnership tier. Anyone serious about archiving needs to capture
streams while they are still live, not after. The downloader is now
a recorder too.
End-user surface:
- Each streamer in the sidebar has a small red "REC" pill next to
the remove-x. Click it -> server checks Helix (or public GQL when
no client_id is configured) for live status. If the channel is
online a new queue item is added with isLive: true, status:
pending; the existing queue scheduler picks it up. Toast feedback
for offline / already-recording / generic-failure cases.
- Live items render with a pulsing red REC badge in the queue title
row and skip the bulk-select checkbox + the merge-group selector
(they don't make sense for an open-ended capture).
- Output goes to {download_path}/{streamer}/live/
{streamer}_LIVE_{YYYY-MM-DD}_{HH-mm-ss}.mp4 — timestamped so back-
to-back recordings of the same channel never collide.
- Streamlink runs without --hls-start-offset / --hls-duration so it
records until the stream actually ends or the user hits cancel /
remove. The existing per-item filename claim, integrity check on
close, and downloaded_vod_ids tracking apply unchanged (live
recordings are not added to downloaded_vod_ids since they have
no Twitch VOD ID).
Server plumbing:
- New getLiveStreamInfo(login) helper. Helix /streams when an app
token is available (better metadata: title + game), public GQL
fallback otherwise so users in public-mode still get live status.
- New IPC start-live-recording(streamerName) does the live check,
refuses with ALREADY_RECORDING if a live item for the same
channel is already pending or downloading.
- downloadVOD branches into a small downloadLiveStream helper when
item.isLive — computes the timestamped filename, ensures the
per-streamer/live folder exists, hands off to downloadVODPart
with null start/end times.
- sanitizeQueueItem preserves the isLive flag across queue file
reload so a recording in progress survives an app restart in
state (though streamlink itself dies on app exit and the user
has to re-trigger).
DE + EN locale strings for every toast + tooltip + the queue badge.
CSS animation for the pulsing badge so it visually distinguishes
live recordings from regular VOD downloads at a glance.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Three Phase-11 wins.
1. Streamlink stream quality is now configurable. config.streamlink_quality
defaults to "best" (preserves prior behaviour) but can be set to source,
1080p60, 720p60, 720p, 480p, or audio_only via a new dropdown in
Settings -> Download. The chosen quality is passed as STREAMS to
streamlink with ",best" appended as a fallback so an old VOD lacking
the chosen rendition still completes. Used by both the queue
downloadVODPart and the standalone download-clip IPC. The whitelist is
enforced via normalizeStreamlinkQuality so an arbitrary string in the
config file falls back to "best".
2. Per-item completion notifications. Default off because long queues
would spam the OS notifications panel. When enabled (Settings ->
Queue zwischen App-Starts checkbox area), every successful download
pops a "{title}" notification whose click brings the window forward
AND opens shell.showItemInFolder on the produced file (or the
download folder if the file is gone). The end-of-queue summary
notification still fires regardless.
3. Download-path writability check on selectFolder. The renderer now
asks the new check-folder-writable IPC after the user picks a
folder; if isDownloadPathWritable returns false, a warning toast
surfaces immediately instead of the next download failing with a
cryptic "datei zu klein" / "ENOENT" error. Save proceeds anyway —
the user might be picking a USB-stick path that is offline at the
moment.
Plus DE + EN locale strings for every label/option/hint, all wired
through applyLanguageToStaticUI for live language switch.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Four wins from a deep-audit pass.
1. Windows taskbar progress bar. While downloads run, mainWindow.
setProgressBar(0..1) shows aggregate progress on the taskbar icon
(visible while minimised). New activeDownloadProgress map tracks
per-item fractions because main's downloadQueue.progress field
is not updated mid-download (only renderer streams progress).
Cleared via clearDownloadProgress in processOneQueueItem.finally
so the bar resets when the queue idles.
2. VOD card data-* refactor. The previous inline-onclick template
strings did escapedTitle = title.replace(/'/, "\\'").replace(/"/,
""") and then interpolated that into onclick="addToQueue('...')".
Edge cases (titles with backslash, ', etc.) could break the
JS parser. All identity now lives on data-vod-id / -url / -title /
-date / -streamer / -duration on .vod-card. A delegated click
listener on #vodGrid reads the dataset at click time and
dispatches to openClipDialog / addToQueue / openExternal. Plus:
clicking the thumbnail / title / meta now opens the VOD on Twitch
in the OS default browser.
3. Right-click context menu on VOD cards. Items: "Open on Twitch",
"Copy VOD URL" (uses navigator.clipboard, toast confirmation),
"Trim VOD", "+ Queue", and toggle "Mark as downloaded" /
"Unmark downloaded". The mark toggle hits a new
ipcMain.handle("mark-vod-downloaded", id, mark) so a user can
add or remove entries in config.downloaded_vod_ids manually
without re-downloading. Menu auto-closes on outside-click /
Escape / scroll. Repositioned to stay inside the viewport.
4. userIdLoginCache now bounded (insertion-order eviction at 4096).
Was Map<string, string> with no cap; setUserIdLogin helper
centralises insertion + eviction. Long-running sessions with
thousands of unique streamer lookups no longer accumulate the
reverse-lookup table forever.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Three companion features around the 4.5.22 already-downloaded badge.
1. "Hide downloaded" toggle in the VOD filter row. Persisted to
localStorage so power users who keep it on across sessions don't
re-flip it on every launch. Filter applies before the title-search
filter so the match counter stays consistent.
2. "Reset downloaded list" button in a new Backup & Maintenance
settings card. Confirm-dialog before clearing, IPC returns the
removed count for a "cleared N entries" toast. Renderer refreshes
its config copy + re-renders the VOD grid so badges disappear
immediately. No files are touched.
3. Config export / import via dialog.show*Dialog. Export strips
client_secret (should never travel as plain text via cloud sync),
tags the file with __exportVersion + __exportedAt. Import runs
the JSON through normalizeConfigTemplates so out-of-range fields
fall back to defaults; if the imported file lacks client_secret,
the existing value is preserved. After import the renderer reloads
config + relocalizes if language changed + re-renders streamers /
settings form / VOD grid.
DE + EN locale strings for every label, button, toast, and confirm
dialog. New backupCardTitle / backupCardIntro section header in
Settings.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Two real UX wins.
1. Auto-resume queue on startup. New checkbox in Settings -> Download
("Queue beim Start automatisch fortsetzen"). When enabled and the
persisted queue has pending items, processQueue() fires ~5 seconds
after did-finish-load — long enough for the user to see the queue
and pause if they did not actually want this. Default off so the
existing behaviour (explicit Start click) is preserved on upgrade.
The Settings auto-save fingerprint includes the new flag and
syncSettingsFormFromConfig restores it. Tooltip explains the
timing on hover.
2. Already-downloaded indicator on VOD cards. Config gains
downloaded_vod_ids: string[] (bounded to 4096 latest entries).
Every successful queue-item download appends its parsed VOD ID
(or every component ID for merge groups). On the VOD grid each
card whose vod.id is in the set gets a small green checkmark
badge in the top-right plus a slightly dimmed thumbnail, with a
localized "Already downloaded" / "Bereits heruntergeladen"
tooltip. The lookup builds a Set once per render so it stays
O(1) per card. The renderer refreshes its local config copy on
every "newly completed" queue update so the badge appears live
without waiting for a settings save.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Three Phase-6 wins.
1. Cutter & Merge tab labels were the same i18n gap as the trim-VOD
dialog before 4.5.20: Dauer / Aufloesung / FPS / Auswahl / Start: /
Ende: / Schneiden / Zusammenfuegen were hardcoded German in
index.html. Each got an id + setText wiring + DE/EN locale strings
(cutter.infoDuration / .infoResolution / .infoFps / .infoSelection
/ .startLabel / .endLabel; cutter.cut + merge.merge already existed
for dynamic state, now also used as initial text on btnCut /
btnMerge).
2. Per-item retry button on failed queue entries. The existing
"retry failed" queue-action retried ALL failed items at once;
when only one specific item should be retried (e.g. transient
network blip on one URL), the user had to remove every other
failed item first. New ipcMain.handle("retry-queue-item", id)
resets that single item to status: pending and triggers
processQueue if idle. A small ↻ icon now sits next to the
remove (x) button on items in the error state.
3. Status bar queue summary. The footer previously showed only the
connection status + version. With longer queues the user had to
scroll the queue panel to see how many downloads were active
versus pending. New span between the status indicator and the
version reads "{downloading} dl, {pending} queued" (locale-aware,
hidden when queue is empty). Updated on onQueueUpdated and
onDownloadProgress so it stays live.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Three small UX wins.
1. Trim-VOD dialog: every inner label was hardcoded German in
index.html (Start:, Ende:, Startzeit (HH:MM:SS):, Dauer:, Start
Part-Nummer..., Leer lassen = Teil 1, Dateinamen-Format:, Zur
Queue hinzufuegen). EN-mode users had a German dialog. Each
element now has an id + setText wiring + DE/EN locale strings.
2. Settings -> Twitch API card now opens with a help line + link
to dev.twitch.tv/console/apps. Uses window.api.openExternal so
the link opens in the user's default browser instead of the
Electron renderer (which has nodeIntegration off / no native
navigation). Fixes the "no idea how to set this up" first-run
friction.
3. Settings -> Live Debug Log gets an "Open log file" button next
to Refresh. Uses a new ipcMain handle (open-debug-log-file ->
shell.showItemInFolder on DEBUG_LOG_FILE) so users no longer
have to navigate manually to ProgramData. As a small defensive
bundle:
- get-debug-log: lines parameter capped at [1, 5000] so a
misbehaving renderer (or future feature) cannot ask main to
slice millions of lines.
- export-runtime-metrics: now uses writeFileAtomicSync (the
fsync+rename helper from cycle 1) instead of plain
writeFileSync so a power loss mid-export cannot leave a
half-written metrics file at the user-chosen path.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
After a download completes there was no way to jump to the result
without manually navigating the download folder.
Server-side:
- DownloadResult and QueueItem gain optional outputFiles: string[]
(single entry for VOD/clip, multi for parts/merge-group splits).
Threaded through every downloadVOD / processDownloadMergeGroup
branch into processOneQueueItem which attaches it to the queue
item on success. Persisted via sanitizeQueueItem so the actions
survive a queue file reload.
- New IPC handlers open-file (shell.openPath) and show-in-folder
(shell.showItemInFolder), both with existence + type checks.
- The "downloads finished" Notification gets a click handler that
brings the window to the foreground and opens the download folder.
Renderer-side:
- Expanded queue-item details now render an action row when
status === completed and outputFiles is non-empty.
- "Open file" only shown when there is exactly one file (so multi-
part downloads do not surprise the user by opening just part 1).
"Show in folder" always shown.
- DE / EN locale strings + a graceful toast if the file was moved
or deleted between completion and click.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
The Trim-Clip filename-format radio group only offered three presets
(simple, timestamp, custom template). Users who organise their archive
with the global filename_template_parts pattern (e.g.
08.05.2026_Part07.mp4) had to switch to "custom template" and retype
{date}_Part{part_padded}.mp4 every time.
New "parts" preset:
- index.html: 4th radio option, span#formatParts for the live preview
- types.ts + renderer-globals.d.ts: filenameFormat union extended
- main.ts: makeClipFilename branch produces ${dateStr}_Part${padded}.mp4;
sanitizeCustomClip whitelists "parts" so persisted queue items with
the new format survive a restart
- renderer.ts: getSelectedFilenameFormat returns "parts"; live preview
via partNum.padStart(2, "0")
- DE/EN locales: clips.formatParts label
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Add parallel_downloads config option (1 or 2) with Settings UI dropdown.
Refactor processQueue to run concurrent download slots using Promise.race,
extracting per-item logic into processOneQueueItem. Add per-item process
tracking via activeDownloads Map and cancelledItemIds Set so cancel/pause
correctly terminates all active downloads.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
