VP9 empirically outperforms H.264 in gaming (Chrome may not use
NVENC for screen share H.264). Codec pills now match other pill
styles — simple labels, no description text. Mode change no longer
auto-switches codec; user's codec choice is independent.
VP9 is default — better quality per bit with H.264 SIMULCAST backup
for Safari. H.264 option available for zero-CPU hardware encoding.
Codec choice is independent of gaming/text mode, which still controls
contentHint and degradationPreference.
Replace the useEffect-based auto-connect pattern in AppLayout with
direct connect/disconnect calls from user gesture contexts. This is
required for iOS (AudioContext.resume + getUserMedia must happen in
a gesture handler) and aligns with tightening autoplay policies on
desktop browsers.
Architecture:
- voiceStore gains connectFn/disconnectFn refs, registered by AppLayout
from the single useLiveKit() instance.
- All voice join paths (ChannelSidebar, MobileSpacesScreen, MainContent,
voice_moved WS handler) pass connectFn to joinVoiceChannel().
- All disconnect paths (VoiceControls, voiceActions, MobileVoiceFullScreen,
MobileVoiceMiniBar, dm_call_ended/rejected WS handlers, ready handler)
call disconnectFn() directly.
- dm_call_accepted WS handler calls connectFn() to initiate the DM call
LiveKit connection.
- The 55-line auto-connect useEffect and lastAttemptedRef are removed.
Use channelToSpaceMap.get(channelId) for permission checks instead of
currentSpaceId from the navigation store. On mobile, UI navigation
decouples from the active voice session.
Move mute/deafen/camera/screen-share/disconnect logic out of VoiceControlBar into a shared voiceActions.ts utility so the same handlers can be called from both UI buttons and the upcoming keybind dispatcher.
- Extract VolumeSliderItem to voiceMenuItems.tsx (was duplicated in
VoiceUser.tsx and VoiceChannel.tsx)
- Add e.stopPropagation() to all imperative context menu handlers
for consistency with useContextMenu hook behavior
After a server restart, navigating to a previously-visited channel showed
messages at a stale middle position instead of scrolling to the bottom.
The in-memory message cache survived the reconnect, so loadMessages()
bailed (cache hit) and the scroll-to-bottom logic never fired.
Now the ready handler clears the messages and hasMore maps for all
channels belonging to the reconnecting origin (including DMs for home).
The currently open channel is force-reloaded immediately; other channels
get fresh-fetched on next visit, triggering proper scroll-to-bottom.
Also fixes voice channel settings gear icon placement to match text
channels (flex-1 pushes icon to right edge).
The channel sidebar voice user list was maintained by a separate
voiceUsers Map (fed by WS events + fragile hydration code) that diverged
from reality after server restarts — users shown in wrong channels,
duplicated across channels. The VoiceGrid was always correct because it
reads LiveKit participants directly.
Now VoiceChannel.tsx derives its user list from LiveKit participants for
the connected channel (single source of truth) and only falls back to
server-provided voiceUsers for channels the user is not connected to.
Removed all hydration band-aids that tried to sync the two systems:
- useLiveKit ParticipantDisconnected → removeVoiceUser
- useLiveKit ConnectionStateChanged → addVoiceUser hydration loop
- useWebSocket ready handler → dynamic import LiveKit hydration
Also includes: voice channel settings gear icon on hover, persist
per-user volume/mute prefs across sessions, default screen share
audio off on Electron (no system audio capture support).
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+)
- 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
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.
- 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
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.
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
Voice channels already support video/screen share, so the separate video
type was redundant. Adds migration to convert existing video channels.
Also adds border-border-soft to CreateChannel input fields for visibility.
Add drag-and-drop support for moving users between voice channels
(MOVE_MEMBERS permission required). Fix voice_moved handler using
wrong user ID for federated users — now uses the same isHome/
getMyUserIdForOrigin pattern as adjacent voice handlers.
Add .glass-modal CSS class (0.82 opacity) for dialogs and apply
consistent glass tiers across all floating UI: modals, context menus,
tooltips, popovers, and call cards. Replaces ad-hoc bg-surface-elevated
and inline styles with the documented 5-tier glass hierarchy.
Broadcast user_updated events over WebSocket when profile fields change,
updating members, DM participants, friends, and cached messages in real time.
Widen useVoiceParticipantMeta to return the full user object and add a
standalone avatarColor prop to Avatar so all ~16 callsites now resolve
the user's chosen gradient color instead of falling back to hash-based colors.
Add flex to speaking ring wrapper divs in VoiceUser and PictureInPicture
to eliminate baseline descender space that made the ring oval. Extract
useVoiceParticipantMeta hook to resolve real display names and avatars
for voice participants instead of showing raw usernames with null avatars.
Remove the unused USE_VOICE_ACTIVITY permission bit (was bit 25) and shift
STREAM to bit 25, DISCONNECT_MEMBERS to bit 26. Add a database migration to
remap stored permission values. Gate camera and screen share buttons in
VoiceControlBar behind canSpeak/canStream, matching VoiceControls behavior.
Permission changes now take effect immediately without requiring
disconnect/reconnect. Modeled as "permission mute" parallel to
server mute — server recomputes SPEAK for all voice participants
on role/override changes and broadcasts state via WebSocket.
Includes amber UI indicators and mic toggle blocking.
Use neutral bg-white/20 for unwatched camera badge in grid tile instead
of bg-accent-rose/90, matching the local mute badge convention. Show
crossed-out camera icon in channel sidebar when a remote user's camera
is locally unwatched. Add local mute badge to both grid tile and sidebar.
Add ability to unsubscribe from remote camera tracks via context menu,
with unwatched state tracked in voiceStore. Fix click propagation through
React portals by adding onClick stopPropagation alongside onMouseDown on
both the main context menu and MoveToSubmenu flyout portal containers.
Use rose badge color for unwatched cameras (user choice) instead of amber
(reserved for server-enforced states).
- Add DISCONNECT_MEMBERS permission (bit 27) to disconnect users from voice
- Implement voice_disconnect WebSocket handler with permission checks
- Add disconnect button to voice user context menu
- Grant instance admins full permissions across all spaces
- Fix voice_disconnected handler to use federation-aware identity resolution
- Update CLAUDE.md with new event types and permission docs
Both the channel sidebar (VoiceChannel.tsx) and voice panel (VoiceUser.tsx)
now share one context menu with volume slider + conditional mod items,
eliminating duplicated portal/positioning/click-outside code from VoiceUser.
Replace the flat channel list with a single "Move to" trigger that opens
a cascading flyout on hover, preventing the menu from bloating vertically
when many voice channels exist.
Replace hardcoded Tailwind grid-cols breakpoints with a container-aware
layout algorithm that uses ResizeObserver to recompute optimal tile
arrangement. Maximizes tile area while maintaining 16:9 aspect ratio,
automatically adapting when VoiceChatPanel opens/closes, window resizes,
or fullscreen is toggled.
Add isServerDeafened to mic icon slash conditions in VoiceControlBar and
ChannelSidebar. Restructure VoiceUser badge rendering to gate on effective
state (intent OR server enforcement) instead of only LiveKit participant
intent, fixing missing badges in the voice grid for server-muted users.
When a moderator lifted a server mute/deafen, the client was involuntarily
turning on the user's microphone because isMuted/isDeafened conflated user
intent with server enforcement. Now intent (isMuted/isDeafened) is never
mutated by server events. Effective state (intent || serverEnforcement) is
computed at broadcast and hardware time via centralized helpers.
- The client now dynamically resolves the user's federated identity via `getMyUserIdForOrigin` when evaluating incoming `voice_server_muted` and `voice_server_deafened` events. Previously, the client incorrectly compared the remote event's federated `userId` against the local `authStore` home `userId`, causing federated users to silently drop restriction events.
- Client-side mic/deafen toggles (`toggleMic`, `toggleDeafen`) now accurately evaluate the user's origin-specific ID against the restriction sets, preventing federated users from bypassing locks.
- UI state selectors (`VoiceControlBar`, `ChannelSidebar`) now compute `myOriginId` to correctly render the yellow server-lockdown indicators for cross-instance users.
Jannis Braun