Add announcements and polish recording motion

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -607,13 +607,29 @@ jobs:
       - name: Stage release assets
         shell: bash
         env:
-          IS_PRERELEASE: ${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.prerelease }}
           RELEASE_SCOPE: ${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.release_scope }}
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
           shopt -s nullglob
 
           mkdir -p release-assets/upload
+
+          required_metadata=(
+            release-assets/windows-x64/latest.yml
+            release-assets/linux-x64/latest-linux.yml
+          )
+
+          if [ "$RELEASE_SCOPE" = "all" ]; then
+            required_metadata+=(release-assets/macos-merged/latest-mac.yml)
+          fi
+
+          for file in "${required_metadata[@]}"; do
+            if [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
+              echo "Required update metadata is missing: $file"
+              exit 1
+            fi
+          done
+
           assets=(
             release-assets/windows-x64/*.exe
             release-assets/windows-x64/*.blockmap
@@ -632,11 +648,14 @@ jobs:
             )
           fi
 
-          if [ "$IS_PRERELEASE" != "true" ]; then
+          assets+=(
+            release-assets/windows-x64/latest.yml
+            release-assets/linux-x64/latest-linux.yml
+          )
+
+          if [ "$RELEASE_SCOPE" = "all" ]; then
             assets+=(
               release-assets/macos-merged/latest-mac.yml
-              release-assets/windows-x64/latest*.yml
-              release-assets/linux-x64/latest-linux.yml
             )
           fi
 

announcements.json

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+	"settings": {
+		"aspectRatio": "4:3"
+	},
+	"announcements": []
+}

docs/announcements.md

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+# In-app announcements
+
+Recordly can show dismissible announcements in the editor as a popup, carousel slide, lightweight live notification, or header banner. Popups can contain images or video; notifications and banners are text-only with optional buttons.
+
+## Remote announcements
+
+Edit [`announcements.json`](../announcements.json) on the `main` branch to publish an announcement without releasing a new app version. Released clients check the raw GitHub file at most once every six hours per running app instance. Fetch failures are silent and never block startup.
+
+```json
+{
+	"settings": {
+		"aspectRatio": "4:3"
+	},
+	"announcements": [
+		{
+			"id": "recordly-1.4-release",
+			"title": "A faster Recordly is here",
+			"body": "Exports are faster and cursor motion is smoother. Thanks for using Recordly!",
+			"presentation": "popup",
+			"audience": "editor",
+			"priority": 10,
+			"mediaMode": "cover",
+			"displayDurationSeconds": 15,
+			"maxImpressions": 3,
+			"controls": {
+				"close": true,
+				"dismiss": false,
+				"action": true,
+				"navigation": false,
+				"indicators": true
+			},
+			"startsAt": "2026-09-01T00:00:00Z",
+			"endsAt": "2026-10-01T00:00:00Z",
+			"minVersion": "1.4.0",
+			"media": {
+				"type": "image",
+				"url": "https://example.com/recordly-1.4-banner.jpg",
+				"alt": "Recordly 1.4 feature preview"
+			},
+			"action": {
+				"label": "See what changed",
+				"url": "https://github.com/webadderallorg/Recordly/releases"
+			}
+		},
+		{
+			"id": "recordly-maintenance-notice",
+			"title": "Quick service notice",
+			"body": "Cloud sharing will undergo brief maintenance tonight.",
+			"presentation": "notification",
+			"audience": "editor",
+			"displayDurationSeconds": 10,
+			"maxImpressions": 2,
+			"startsAt": "2026-09-05T00:00:00Z",
+			"endsAt": "2026-09-06T00:00:00Z"
+		},
+		{
+			"id": "recordly-editor-banner",
+			"title": "Try the new editor",
+			"body": "The redesigned timeline is now available.",
+			"presentation": "banner",
+			"audience": "editor",
+			"maxImpressions": 3,
+			"action": {
+				"label": "Open settings",
+				"section": "settings"
+			}
+		}
+	]
+}
+```
+
+Use a new stable `id` whenever an announcement should appear again. Once a user dismisses an ID, it remains dismissed. Remote items with the same ID override bundled items.
+
+Supported fields:
+
+- `settings.aspectRatio` sets one shared `width:height` ratio for the entire popup carousel, such as `16:9`, `4:3`, or `1:1`. All slides keep that same size. If omitted, the bundled default is used.
+- `id`, `title`, and `body` are required.
+- `presentation` is `popup`, `notification`, or `banner` and defaults to `popup`. Notifications appear as text-only non-modal toasts, while banners appear only in the editor directly beneath its header. Media and `mediaMode` are ignored for notifications and banners. At most five notifications are shown from one feed load; banners are shown one at a time by priority.
+- `audience` is `all` or `editor` and defaults to `all`.
+- `priority` controls carousel order; larger numbers appear first.
+- `mediaMode` is `banner` or `cover`. `banner` is the default current layout; `cover` fills the popup with the media and overlays the text.
+- `startsAt` and `endsAt` are optional ISO timestamps.
+- `displayDurationSeconds` accepts 3–300 seconds. It auto-advances popup slides; for notifications it controls how long the toast remains visible and defaults to 10 seconds.
+- `maxImpressions` optionally limits an announcement to 1–100 app sessions. Each announcement counts at most once per session; an explicit dismissal always hides it permanently.
+- `controls` can independently show or hide `close`, `dismiss`, `action`, `navigation`, and `indicators`. Every control defaults to `true`. Notifications and banners use only `close` and `action`; popup carousels use the other controls. Escape and clicking outside a popup remain available even when visible close controls are hidden.
+- `minVersion` and `maxVersion` are optional inclusive app-version bounds.
+- `media.type` is `image` or `video` for popups. Media URLs must be HTTPS or root-relative bundled assets. Videos can also specify `posterUrl`.
+- `action` has a label and exactly one destination: an HTTPS `url` opened in the system browser, or an editor `section` opened inside the app. Supported sections are `scene`, `cursor`, `webcam`, `captions`, `settings`, and `extensions`. An action containing both destinations, neither destination, or an unknown section is ignored.
+
+Set `RECORDLY_ANNOUNCEMENTS_URL` before launching the app to use a different HTTPS feed. Set it to `off` to disable remote announcements.
+
+## Announcements bundled with an update
+
+Add typed entries to `src/content/announcements.ts`. Bundled items use the same schema and are available offline. This is useful when a message should ship atomically with a new release.
+
+Remote content is treated as data only: HTML is not rendered, URLs are restricted, feeds are size-limited and time-limited, and malformed items are ignored.

electron/appSettingsStore.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { APP_SETTINGS_FILE } from "./ipc/constants";
+import { parseJsonWithByteOrderMark } from "./ipc/utils";
+
+export function readAppSettingsStore(): Record<string, unknown> {
+	try {
+		const content = readFileSync(APP_SETTINGS_FILE, "utf-8");
+		const parsed = parseJsonWithByteOrderMark<unknown>(content);
+		if (!parsed || typeof parsed !== "object" || Array.isArray(parsed)) {
+			return {};
+		}
+
+		return parsed as Record<string, unknown>;
+	} catch {
+		return {};
+	}
+}
+
+export function writeAppSettingsStore(store: Record<string, unknown>) {
+	writeFileSync(APP_SETTINGS_FILE, JSON.stringify(store, null, 2), "utf-8");
+}
+
+export function hasAppSetting(store: Record<string, unknown>, key: string): boolean {
+	return Reflect.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(store, key) !== undefined;
+}
+
+export function readAppSetting(key: string): unknown {
+	const store = readAppSettingsStore();
+	return hasAppSetting(store, key) ? store[key] : null;
+}
+
+export function writeAppSetting(key: string, value: unknown) {
+	const store = readAppSettingsStore();
+	store[key] = value;
+	writeAppSettingsStore(store);
+}

electron/electron-env.d.ts

@@ -815,6 +815,12 @@ interface Window {
 		skipUpdateVersion: () => Promise<{ success: boolean; message?: string }>;
 		getCurrentUpdateToastPayload: () => Promise<UpdateToastState | null>;
 		getUpdateStatusSummary: () => Promise<UpdateStatusSummary>;
+		getExperimentalUpdatesEnabled: () => Promise<boolean>;
+		setExperimentalUpdatesEnabled: (enabled: boolean) => Promise<{
+			success: boolean;
+			enabled: boolean;
+			error?: string;
+		}>;
 		previewUpdateToast: () => Promise<{ success: boolean }>;
 		checkForAppUpdates: () => Promise<{ success: boolean; logPath: string }>;
 		onUpdateToastStateChanged: (
@@ -866,6 +872,8 @@ interface Window {
 		}>;
 		/** Returns the app version from package.json */
 		getAppVersion: () => Promise<string>;
+		/** Returns the configured remote announcement feed, or null when unavailable. */
+		getAnnouncements: () => Promise<unknown | null>;
 		/** Hide the OS cursor before browser capture starts. */
 		hideOsCursor: () => Promise<{ success: boolean }>;
 		/** Recording preferences (mic, system audio) */

electron/ipc/handlers.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { BrowserWindow } from "electron";
+import { registerAnnouncementHandlers } from "./register/announcements";
 import { registerAssetHandlers } from "./register/assets";
 import { registerCaptionHandlers } from "./register/captions";
 import { registerExportHandlers } from "./register/export";
@@ -64,6 +65,7 @@ export function registerIpcHandlers(
 	});
 	registerRecordingHandlers(onRecordingStateChange);
 	registerPermissionHandlers();
+	registerAnnouncementHandlers();
 	registerAssetHandlers();
 	registerExportHandlers();
 	registerCaptionHandlers();

electron/ipc/nativeVideoExport.test.ts

@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ describe("native static layout command builders", () => {
 		expect(args).toContain("-filter_complex");
 		expect(args).toContain(
 			"color=c=0x101010:s=1920x1080:r=60:d=60.000,format=nv12,setrange=limited,hwupload_cuda[bg];" +
-				"[0:v]scale_cuda=w=1536:h=864:format=nv12:passthrough=0,hwdownload,format=nv12,scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv,fps=60,hwupload_cuda[fg];" +
+				"[0:v]scale_cuda=w=1536:h=864:format=nv12:passthrough=0,hwdownload,format=nv12,scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv:sws_dither=bayer,fps=60,hwupload_cuda[fg];" +
 				"[bg][fg]overlay_cuda=192:108:shortest=0:repeatlast=1:eof_action=repeat,trim=duration=60.000,setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[out]",
 		);
 		expect(args).toContain("h264_nvenc");
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ describe("native static layout command builders", () => {
 		expect(args).toEqual(
 			expect.arrayContaining([
 				"-vf",
-				"vflip,scale=in_range=full:out_range=tv",
+				"vflip,scale=in_range=full:out_range=tv:sws_dither=bayer",
 				"-colorspace",
 				"bt709",
 				"-color_primaries",
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ describe("native static layout command builders", () => {
 		expect(args).toEqual(
 			expect.arrayContaining([
 				"-vf",
-				"scale_cuda=w=1536:h=864:format=nv12:passthrough=0,hwdownload,format=nv12,scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv,fps=60,pad=w=1920:h=1080:x=192:y=108:color=0x101010",
+				"scale_cuda=w=1536:h=864:format=nv12:passthrough=0,hwdownload,format=nv12,scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv:sws_dither=bayer,fps=60,pad=w=1920:h=1080:x=192:y=108:color=0x101010",
 				"-map",
 				"0:v:0",
 				"-an",
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ describe("native static layout command builders", () => {
 		});
 
 		expect(args).toContain(
-			"scale_cuda=w=1536:h=864:format=nv12:passthrough=0,hwdownload,format=nv12,scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv,fps=60,pad=w=1920:h=1080:x=192:y=108:color=0x101010",
+			"scale_cuda=w=1536:h=864:format=nv12:passthrough=0,hwdownload,format=nv12,scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv:sws_dither=bayer,fps=60,pad=w=1920:h=1080:x=192:y=108:color=0x101010",
 		);
 	});
 
@@ -266,7 +266,9 @@ describe("native static layout command builders", () => {
 		);
 		expect(filterComplex).toContain("[fgbase][mask]alphamerge[fg]");
 		expect(filterComplex).toContain("overlay=x=192:y=108:format=auto");
-		expect(filterComplex).toContain("scale=in_range=full:out_range=tv,format=yuv420p[out]");
+		expect(filterComplex).toContain(
+			"scale=in_range=full:out_range=tv:sws_dither=bayer,format=yuv420p[out]",
+		);
 		expect(args).toContain("h264_nvenc");
 		expect(args).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining(["-pix_fmt", "yuv420p"]));
 		expect(args).toEqual(expect.arrayContaining([...FFMPEG_BT709_VIDEO_COLOR_ARGS]));

electron/ipc/nativeVideoExport.ts

@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ export const FFMPEG_BT709_VIDEO_COLOR_ARGS = [
 	"tv",
 ] as const;
 
-const FFMPEG_AUTO_TO_VIDEO_RANGE_FILTER = "scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv";
+const FFMPEG_AUTO_TO_VIDEO_RANGE_FILTER = "scale=in_range=auto:out_range=tv:sws_dither=bayer";
 const FFMPEG_AUTO_TO_FULL_RANGE_FILTER = "scale=in_range=auto:out_range=full";
-const FFMPEG_FULL_TO_VIDEO_RANGE_FILTER = "scale=in_range=full:out_range=tv";
+const FFMPEG_FULL_TO_VIDEO_RANGE_FILTER = "scale=in_range=full:out_range=tv:sws_dither=bayer";
 
 export type NativeExportEncodingMode = "fast" | "balanced" | "quality";
 
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ export function buildNativeVideoExportArgs(
 		"-i",
 		"pipe:0",
 		"-vf",
-		"vflip,scale=in_range=full:out_range=tv",
+		`vflip,${FFMPEG_FULL_TO_VIDEO_RANGE_FILTER}`,
 		"-an",
 		"-c:v",
 		encoder,

electron/ipc/recording/ffmpeg.ts

@@ -23,18 +23,29 @@ export function getDisplayWorkAreaForSource(source: SelectedSource) {
 }
 
 export async function buildFfmpegCaptureArgs(source: SelectedSource, outputPath: string) {
-	const commonOutputArgs = [
+	const buildOutputArgs = (inputRange: "auto" | "full") => [
 		"-an",
+		"-vf",
+		`scale=in_range=${inputRange}:out_range=tv:out_color_matrix=bt709:sws_dither=bayer`,
 		"-c:v",
 		"libx264",
 		"-preset",
 		"veryfast",
 		"-pix_fmt",
 		"yuv420p",
+		"-colorspace",
+		"bt709",
+		"-color_primaries",
+		"bt709",
+		"-color_trc",
+		"bt709",
+		"-color_range",
+		"tv",
 		"-movflags",
 		"+faststart",
 		outputPath,
 	];
+	const fullRangeOutputArgs = buildOutputArgs("full");
 
 	if (process.platform === "win32") {
 		if (source?.id?.startsWith("window:")) {
@@ -57,7 +68,7 @@ export async function buildFfmpegCaptureArgs(source: SelectedSource, outputPath:
 				"0",
 				"-i",
 				windowId ? `hwnd=${windowId}` : `title=${windowTitle}`,
-				...commonOutputArgs,
+				...fullRangeOutputArgs,
 			];
 		}
 
@@ -71,7 +82,7 @@ export async function buildFfmpegCaptureArgs(source: SelectedSource, outputPath:
 			"0",
 			"-i",
 			"desktop",
-			...commonOutputArgs,
+			...fullRangeOutputArgs,
 		];
 	}
 
@@ -95,7 +106,7 @@ export async function buildFfmpegCaptureArgs(source: SelectedSource, outputPath:
 				`${Math.max(2, bounds.width)}x${Math.max(2, bounds.height)}`,
 				"-i",
 				`${displayEnv}+${Math.round(bounds.x)},${Math.round(bounds.y)}`,
-				...commonOutputArgs,
+				...fullRangeOutputArgs,
 			];
 		}
 
@@ -112,7 +123,7 @@ export async function buildFfmpegCaptureArgs(source: SelectedSource, outputPath:
 			`${Math.max(2, bounds.width)}x${Math.max(2, bounds.height)}`,
 			"-i",
 			`${displayEnv}+${Math.round(bounds.x)},${Math.round(bounds.y)}`,
-			...commonOutputArgs,
+			...fullRangeOutputArgs,
 		];
 	}
 
@@ -127,7 +138,7 @@ export async function buildFfmpegCaptureArgs(source: SelectedSource, outputPath:
 			"60",
 			"-i",
 			"1:none",
-			...commonOutputArgs,
+			...buildOutputArgs("auto"),
 		];
 	}