Electron requires setDisplayMediaRequestHandler for getDisplayMedia() to
work — removing it broke screen sharing entirely. Restored the handler
with useSystemPicker: true, which on macOS 15+ uses the native system
picker (honoring restrictOwnAudio), while Windows/Linux fall back to
the custom picker with the shareAudio toggle for echo control.
The custom screen share picker intercepted getDisplayMedia() and created
a raw loopback stream, bypassing Chromium's constraint pipeline entirely.
restrictOwnAudio was silently discarded. Removing the handler lets
Chromium 144's native getDisplayMedia run end-to-end with restrictOwnAudio
applied, eliminating the audio feedback loop in the desktop app.
Screen sharing with audio captured the app's own voice playback, causing
users to hear themselves echoed back. Fixed via two layers:
- Add restrictOwnAudio constraint (Chrome 141+/Chromium 144) to exclude
the app's own audio from system audio capture
- Add shareAudio toggle so users can disable system audio entirely
- Remove outdated macOS audio block (now supported via ScreenCaptureKit)
- Upgrade Electron 33→40 (Chromium 130→144) so restrictOwnAudio works
natively in the desktop app
- Add NSAudioCaptureUsageDescription for macOS 14.2+ audio capture
- Add GTK 3 fallback for Linux GNOME compatibility (Electron 36+)
Use titleBarStyle: 'hidden' + titleBarOverlay on Win/Linux to remove the
ugly native title bar and menu bar while keeping OS-rendered min/max/close
buttons. Hidden Edit menu preserves keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C/V/X/Z/A).
Title bar drag region and separator line rendered via web frontend, with
colors matching the Aether Drift design system.
Also adds electron-builder metadata (description, author, homepage,
artifactName) and multi-size icons for cross-platform builds.
- Custom screen share picker for Electron (ScreenSharePicker.tsx) with
Aether Drift design: glass-bubble footer, adaptive grid, pill tabs,
border-based selection (avoids overflow clipping), hover brightness
- Instance URL picker so Electron connects to any Backspace server
- System audio loopback on Windows/Linux via desktopCapturer callback
- macOS: video-only callback (OS blocks system audio capture)
- IPC bridge for screen source enumeration and selection
- Purge stale service worker caches on Electron launch
- Dev/prod URL auto-detection (Vite 5173 in dev, server 3000 in prod)
- Typed IPC bridge via preload (notifications, badge, window controls, updates, deep links)
- Native OS notifications via NotificationController with window focus suppression
- Auto-update via electron-updater with UpdateToast UI
- Deep linking (backspace:// protocol) for macOS and Windows/Linux
- Window state persistence (position, size, maximize across restarts)
- Tray icon with graceful fallback when icon asset missing
- Suppress PWA service worker polling/reloads inside Electron
- Platform detection layer (isElectron, getElectronAPI)
- Root workspace scripts (dev:desktop, build:desktop)
- Document BACKSPACE_URL and BACKSPACE_UPDATE_URL env vars
Registration avatar upload raced with AuthRedirect — setting the Zustand
token triggered navigation before the upload could finish. Now the token
is stored in localStorage (for API auth) but not in Zustand until the
avatar upload completes, so the page stays mounted throughout.
Extracts initSession() from login/register for reuse.
- Resize avatars/icons to 256px and banners to 1280px (client crop + server safety net)
- Add server-side resizeProfileImage() for federation/API uploads without crop modal
- Fix unconstrained crop on RegisterPage and CreateSpace (was missing maxOutputDimension)
- PWA: switch to autoUpdate with skipWaiting/clientsClaim for seamless deploys
- Storage janitor: exclude profile images from unlinked cleanup, delete stale thumbnails
- Add deleteAttachmentByFilename() to clean orphaned attachment records for profile images
- Migration: one-time cleanup of stale profile image attachment records
- GeneralPanel: wrap in <form> to prevent implicit submission
Click trash icon to arm (morphs to green checkmark), click again to
confirm. Auto-cancels after 3s or 2s after mouse leaves. Uses CSS
scale+opacity transitions for a smooth icon swap animation.
Remove width: 100% !important override that fought emoji-mart's shadow
DOM grid. Container now uses w-fit to wrap content tightly. GIF picker
gets explicit w-[390px] to maintain its own width independently.
Replace hard-edged ring ripples with blurred radial gradient orbs, add
subtle glass refraction shimmer, and use gentler glow/breathing curves
for a calmer incoming call experience.
isValidAssetUrl() was rejecting bare filenames (e.g. "1234567890.webp") which
is the established convention the frontend sends. Now accepts bare filenames
while still blocking path traversal and unsafe schemes.
Also updates client-side password validation to match server's 8-char minimum.
- SSRF protection: DNS resolution + private IP blocking on metadata fetcher
- Upload security: CSP/X-Frame-Options headers, SVG forced download, nosniff
- Auth hardening: JWT secret min length, password min 8 chars, token revocation via password_changed_at
- Attachment ownership verification before linking to messages
- Message length limit (4000 chars) enforced on client and server
- Asset URL validation on avatar/banner updates
- Federation instance validation (domain regex, origin scheme, length limits)
- DB indexes on all FK columns for query performance
- Migrations: nullable moderator columns, dm_messages reply_to FK constraint
- File cleanup on avatar/banner replacement and space deletion
- Fastify trustProxy, AbortController on fetches, typing map size cap
- Add subtle border + inset shadow to input tiers for resting-state visibility
- Fix DmSearchBar and SearchPopover containers missing input depth treatment
- Fix focus ring clipping in settings panel scroll container
- Swap search and member list toggle button positions in channel/DM headers
- Add "Discover People" section to Add Friend tab with user cards, mutual counts, and inline actions
- Add discoverStore for fetching/searching discoverable users across local and federated instances
- Add PrivacyPanel to user settings with discoverability toggle
- Add is_discoverable column to users table with migration
- Fix "Send Friend Request" button vertical alignment using transform centering
Avatars/banners now resize to max 512px/1920px and convert to WebP before
upload (zero server cost). Chat image uploads generate an 800px-wide WebP
thumbnail via Sharp; the feed shows the thumbnail, click opens the full-res
original. Adds lazy loading to avatars. Federation-compatible: remote
instances without this feature fall back gracefully.
Replace the static placeholder button with a fully functional search bar
that filters existing DM conversations instantly and searches for users
via the API with debounce. Supports keyboard navigation, federation-aware
DM creation, group DM display, and portal-based glass dropdown.
- Add spaceId to InvitePreview so the client can navigate to the space
- Detect "already a member" error and show green success card with auto-redirect
- Add "I use another instance" link for authenticated users alongside "Not you? Log in"
The link was bouncing back to JoinPage because AuthRedirect on /login
saw the existing token and redirected right back. Now calls logout()
first so the login form actually renders.
Add avatar/name/username identity card in the federation connect phase
so users can confirm their account before entering their password.
Promote "I use another instance" from a hidden <details> collapsible to
an equal-weight button with an "or" divider, using a dedicated
'other-instance' phase with Back navigation.
Make /join/:code a public route with a standalone JoinPage that shows a
space preview and handles authenticated, unauthenticated, and cross-instance
users. Adds GET /api/spaces/invite/:code/preview (no auth) endpoint,
?redirect= param support on login/register, and cleans up dead invite
handling from AppLayout and JoinSpace modal.
- Rewrite ChannelSettingsModal with full tri-state permission override UI
for roles and members (allow/neutral/deny per permission bit)
- Switch font from Inter to self-hosted DM Sans (woff2 variable fonts)
- Add client-side VIEW_CHANNEL filtering in ChannelSidebar for private channels
- Broadcast isPrivate flag on channel override changes
- Fix voice permission bit migration: gate behind persistent flag to prevent
repeated re-runs that stripped STREAM from @everyone roles
- Add speakingUserIds set to voice store for efficient user-level lookups
- Clear current channel view when a channel is deleted
- Move .glass-strip to @layer utilities for proper CSS specificity
- Simplify avatar initials font size to proportional formula
Track last speaker via ref so avatar fallback doesn't snap to array-order
first remote when everyone stops talking. Parse :stream suffix from
focusedParticipantId so clicking a stream tile in the grid pins that
screen share to PiP. Remember last focus via ref so PiP content persists
when grid focus is cleared.
Gutter column was 56px (w-14) with the 16px gap baked into the width.
This worked for avatars but left only 4px between compact hover
timestamps and message text. Switch to w-10 (40px) gutter + gap-4
(16px flex gap), preserving the same 76px content offset while giving
timestamps proper breathing room.
Three changes to bring output volume closer to native apps:
- Insert masterBoost GainNode (+3dB) before the compressor/limiter
- Raise default system sound volume from 0.5 to 0.8
- Add configurable Sound Effects Volume slider (0–200%) in Voice settings
Add a cross-instance self-ID registry to identity.ts so isSelf() can
recognize the current user's Snowflake IDs from all connected instances.
Previously, federated DMs showed the user themselves as the other party
because remote-instance IDs didn't match the home user ID.
- Register user IDs from every WS ready event (home + remote)
- Clear the registry on session reset (login/logout/register/delete)
- Fix isSelf() username comparison to parse both sides as federated
- Replace naive ID check in MessageList WelcomeHeader with isSelf()
Guard autoConnectAll against connecting to window.location.origin,
send perspective-correct replicatedInstances lists so remotes never
store self-references, and deduplicate unaccounted spaces in sidebar.
Context menu no longer closes the flyout when right-clicking a space inside
a folder. Added data-flyout-safe attribute so click-outside detection skips
portaled context menu elements. Added drag-and-drop reordering within folder
flyouts with drop indicators and layout persistence.
Replace fixed h-12 (48px) with py-3 + min-h-8 padding pattern to match
MainContent's 57px header height (12+32+12+1), fixing the 9px border
misalignment between sidebar and content headers.
Add catch-all onDragOver/onDrop to parent <nav> so drops landing in
the 6px mb-1.5 margin gaps between items are handled. Use a ref to
mirror dropIndicator state for guaranteed freshness in the drop
handler (eliminates React 18 batching stale-closure race). Add
stopPropagation to prevent double persistLayout calls from bubbling.
Remove FK constraint on space_folder_members.space_id so federated
space IDs (which don't exist in the local spaces table) can be added
to folders without silently failing. Add migration to recreate the
table for existing databases and explicit cleanup on space deletion.
Offset drop indicator lines by 3px into the mb-1.5 gap so adjacent
items share one visual position instead of showing two lines.
Extract TransferOwnershipModal (~165 lines) to its own file.
Folders now always occupy a single icon slot with a glass-pill styled
icon. Clicking opens a flyout popover to the right showing contained
spaces with navigation, unread dots, and federation badges. Removes
the collapsed/expanded toggle and inline rendering in favor of a
condensed, Discord-style folder UX.
Add user_space_layout table and PUT /api/users/@me/space-layout endpoint
for persisting per-user sidebar ordering. Spaces can be freely reordered
via drag-and-drop, folders created by dragging one space onto another,
and folders auto-dissolve when they have fewer than 2 members. Includes
folder context menu (rename, color, ungroup), collapsed folder mini-grid
icons, multi-tab sync via WebSocket, and localStorage collapse state.
Removes the rigid native/federated split — federated spaces now intermix
freely while keeping their globe badge.
Add stale-channel guard in AppLayout that redirects to the space root
when the URL's channelId no longer exists in the channel list. Remove
the hardcoded navigate('/channels/@me') from ChannelSettingsModal and
the redundant setCurrentChannel fallback from the WS channel_deleted
handler — AppLayout's guard now handles all cases uniformly.
Jannis Braun