amethyst/desktopApp/plans/2026-10-11-desktop-video-compression-manual-testing.md

Manual Testing Sheet — Desktop Video Compression (phase 1)

Spec: desktopApp/plans/2026-10-11-desktop-video-compression.md Plan: desktopApp/plans/2026-10-11-desktop-video-compression-plan.md Branch: feat/desktop-video-compression Run: ./gradlew :desktopApp:run — and, for the no-ffmpeg sections, AMETHYST_FFMPEG_DISABLED=1 ./gradlew :desktopApp:run (the run task's JVM inherits the shell environment; a bare PATH is not enough, the locator finds Homebrew by design).

Everything below is 🟢 LIVE: built, unit-tested where the logic allows, and ready to click through. The automated suite already covers the rules table, the slider mapping, the ffmpeg command lines, encoder selection, the stall watchdog and a set of real encodes (./gradlew :commons:jvmTest --tests "*Ffmpeg*"). This sheet covers what only a person with the app, a server and a few clips can check.

Legend for results: ✅ pass · ❌ fail (write what happened) · ⏭️ skipped/blocked

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Setup (do once)

• ffmpeg -version and ffprobe -version work in a terminal (Homebrew: brew install ffmpeg).
• ffmpeg -hide_banner -encoders | grep -E "libx264|hevc_videotoolbox|libx265" — note which HEVC encoders this machine has.
• Clips in ~/Downloads:
  • big.mp4, a high-bitrate 1080p source: a real phone or camera clip of 10–30 s (phones write 1080p at 10–20 Mbps), or build one: ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "color=c=gray:s=1920x1080:r=30,noise=alls=100:allf=t+u" -f lavfi -i sine -t 10 -shortest -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset ultrafast -metadata title=secret -metadata location=+48.2082+016.3738/ ~/Downloads/big.mp4 (check: ffprobe reports a video bit_rate well above 4 000 000). Note its shasum -a 256.
  • file_example_MOV_1920_2_2MB.mov (the investigation's clip; sha256 ead8b50c…e40c62). It is 1080p H.264 at only ~450 kbps, so every encode above Low comes out larger than the source and the pipeline uploads the remuxed original — it proves the size rule (row 2.7), not the encoder.
  • a portrait phone video (taller than wide, shot on a phone)
  • an HDR iPhone clip (Settings › Camera › Record Video › HDR on; the probe sees color_transfer arib-std-b67)
  • an animated GIF
  • a corrupt video: head -c 300000 file_example_MOV_1920_2_2MB.mov > broken.mov
  • a long clip (≥ 2 min) for the NIP-95 refusal
• A Blossom server you can upload to (blossom.band works) and, for §7, a NIP-95 relay-event upload target.
• A terminal open for pgrep -l ffmpeg, shasum -a 256, curl and ffprobe.

ffprobe one-liner used throughout: ffprobe -v error -select_streams V:0 -show_entries stream=width,height,codec_name,bit_rate:format_tags -of json <file>

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1. Composer with ffmpeg installed 🟢 LIVE

Open the post composer, attach media with the Upload Media button.

#	Step	Expected	Result
1.1	Hover the attach button	Tooltip reads Upload Media
1.2	Pick file_example_MOV_1920_2_2MB.mov	The quality slider shows 4 stops (Low / Medium / High / Uncompressed), the H.265 switch is visible, the strip metadata toggle is hidden while the slider is below Uncompressed
1.3	Read the label at High	High · 1080p video → 1080p, 4 Mbps (the file's real standard, not an example)
1.4	Move to Medium, then Low	Medium · 1080p video → 720p, 2 Mbps, then Low · 1080p video → 480p, 0.75 Mbps
1.5	Move to Uncompressed	No video phrase; the H.265 switch disappears; the strip-metadata toggle appears
1.6	Add a photo to the same post, then move the slider through every stop	Still 4 stops; the label shows both parts, e.g. High · images up to 1920 px · 1080p video → 1080p, 4 Mbps
1.7	New post: photo first, slider to Very High, then add a video	The slider snaps to High (Very High has no video rule) and keeps 4 stops
1.8	Remove the video again	5 stops return; the position stays on High (known and accepted: Very High is not restored)
1.9	Pick the GIF	A Convert GIF to MP4 switch appears; turning it on hides the slider
1.10	Profile › edit › picture picker	Tooltip still reads Upload Image

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2. Upload results — the hash check 🟢 LIVE

Upload big.mp4 to blossom.band from the composer, once per row, and fetch the blob (curl -o out.mp4 <url>; shasum -a 256 out.mp4; the ffprobe one-liner).

#	Step	Expected	Result
2.1	High, H.265 off	sha256 differs from the source; the blob is much smaller; .mp4; 1920×1080; codec_name h264; video bit_rate ≤ 4 400 000; no title/location in format_tags; the progress bar shows Compressing before Uploading
2.2	Low	short side 480 (854×480); bitrate well under 2.1's
2.3	High, H.265 on, machine with an HEVC encoder	codec_name hevc; plays in QuickTime/Safari (the hvc1 tag)
2.4	High, H.265 on, machine without an HEVC encoder	A toast "H.265 not available … encoded as H.264"; the blob is h264
2.5	Uncompressed, strip metadata on	sha256 differs from the source (remuxed); codec_name is the source's; bitrate is the source's; no title/location tags
2.6	Uncompressed, strip metadata off	sha256 equals the source
2.7	file_example_MOV_1920_2_2MB.mov at High	The upload is the remuxed original: sha256 differs from ead8b50c…e40c62, codec_name h264, bitrate ≈ 450 kbps (the source's, not 4 Mbps), size ≈ 2.2 MB, tags gone. A dialog "Original video kept — Compressing did not make the video smaller…"
2.8	file_example_MOV_1920_2_2MB.mov at Low	Compressed to 854×480 (the only level whose encode is smaller than this source)

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3. Special sources 🟢 LIVE

#	Step	Expected	Result
3.1	Portrait phone video at High	Label names its real standard (short side = width); uploaded blob is portrait (e.g. 1080×1920), plays upright, no rotation metadata
3.2	HDR iPhone clip at High	A toast "HDR video — Compressed HDR video looks flat…"; the upload still completes
3.3	GIF with Convert GIF to MP4 on	The post carries an .mp4 at the GIF's own size; it loops/plays in the feed
3.4	Corrupt broken.mov at High	A toast "Video compression failed — The original file is being uploaded instead…"; the upload completes with the original bytes
3.5	A clip with no audio track	Encodes and uploads without error

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4. Concurrency, cancellation, cleanup 🟢 LIVE

#	Step	Expected	Result
4.1	Three videos in one post, post it, run pgrep -l ffmpeg repeatedly	One ffmpeg at a time; all three upload
4.2	Start a long encode and quit the app mid-way	pgrep -l ffmpeg is empty within a second; ls ~/.amethyst/tmp/amethyst_video_* (or wherever AmethystTempDir.rootDir() points) shows nothing
4.3	Start an encode and cancel the post	No ffmpeg left; no amethyst_video_* temp left
4.4	After a successful upload	No amethyst_video_* temp left

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5. NIP-95 (file inside the event) 🟢 LIVE

#	Step	Expected	Result
5.1	Pick the long clip with a NIP-95 target at High	Refused at once with the "too big for NIP-95" error — no multi-minute encode first (pgrep ffmpeg stays empty)
5.2	A clip that compresses to under 80 KB (a 1–2 s clip at Low)	Encodes, then publishes as an event

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6. Chat file dialog 🟢 LIVE

Open a DM, attach a video through the chat file dialog.

#	Step	Expected	Result
6.1	With ffmpeg	The slider shows 4 stops with the video label; no H.265 switch (the chat state has none); the strip-metadata toggle is always shown
6.2	Send big.mp4 at High	The received video is 1080p H.264 (same checks as 2.1)
6.3	Encrypted DM attachment	Same result; the plaintext was compressed before encryption

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7. Without ffmpeg 🟢 LIVE

Quit the app and relaunch with AMETHYST_FFMPEG_DISABLED=1 ./gradlew :desktopApp:run.

#	Step	Expected	Result
7.1	Pick a video in the composer	No slider for the video alone, no H.265 switch, one grey hint line "Install ffmpeg to compress videos. Until then videos are uploaded as they are.", the strip-metadata toggle stays visible
7.2	Photo + video	The slider shows 5 stops (images only) and its label has no video phrase
7.3	GIF	No Convert GIF to MP4 switch
7.4	Upload big.mp4	sha256 equals the source (nothing touched it)
7.5	Chat file dialog with a video	Same hint; the slider appears only when a photo is also attached
7.6	Video thumbnails in the feed	Still render (the thumbnail cache now shares the locator; disabled means no ffmpeg thumbnails, posters from the event still show)

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8. Packaged app from Finder 🟢 LIVE

./gradlew :desktopApp:packageDmg, install from desktopApp/build/compose/binaries/main/dmg/, launch from Finder (not from a terminal — Finder-launched apps have an empty launchd PATH).

#	Step	Expected	Result
8.1	Pick a video in the composer with Homebrew ffmpeg installed	The video controls appear (found through /opt/homebrew/bin)
8.2	Upload big.mp4 at High	Same result as 2.1