Session UX: tray-controlled recording, no per-shot window hiding

Users couldn't click into the app mid-session: every automatic capture
hid the window for the shot, so it vanished under the cursor. Under
WSLg minimize() is a no-op and isFocused() sticks true, so neither can
be used for control.

- Sessions now hide the window once at start and show a red tray icon
  with Capture now / Pause-Resume / Open StepForge (auto-pauses) /
  Finish; finishing or quitting restores/cleans up properly
- Opening the app from the tray pauses capture; resuming tucks the
  window away again
- Automatic captures skip while the cursor is over a visible StepForge
  window (cursor-based, not focus-based, due to WSLg sticky focus)
- Per-shot latency reduced: with the window already hidden the 350 ms
  hide-repaint wait is skipped entirely
- OS notification announces the session; self-tests updated and green

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -22,6 +22,12 @@ Initial release.
   click detection or global hotkeys are unavailable (e.g. WSLg/Wayland).
   The REC bar shows the live count and trigger, with Shoot / Auto /
   Pause / Finish controls.
+- Recording sessions tuck the window away once and control everything
+  from a red tray icon (capture now / pause / open / finish) instead of
+  hiding the window for every shot — the app stays reachable
+  mid-session, opening it auto-pauses capture, and per-shot latency
+  drops because the hide-repaint wait is gone. Automatic captures also
+  stand down whenever the cursor is over a visible StepForge window.
 - New captures and newly added steps are now selected in the editor.
 - The app hides its own window during capture so screenshots show your
   work, not StepForge; hotkey captures restore the window without

app/capture.js

@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
 
 const path = require('node:path');
 const { spawn, execFileSync } = require('node:child_process');
-const { desktopCapturer, screen, BrowserWindow, nativeImage } = require('electron');
+const { desktopCapturer, screen, BrowserWindow, nativeImage, Tray, Menu, Notification } = require('electron');
 const { expandPlaceholders } = require('../core/placeholders');
+const raster = require('../core/raster');
+const { encodePng } = require('../core/png');
 
 /**
  * Capture service: full-screen, active-window, and region capture via
@@ -78,6 +80,84 @@ class CaptureService {
     if (this.settings.get('capture.captureOutsideClicks') !== false) this.startClickWatcher();
     this.applyInterval();
     this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
+
+    // Tuck the app away once instead of hiding it for every shot — the
+    // hide/show flicker made the window impossible to click mid-session.
+    // A tray icon controls the session while the window is hidden.
+    // (Skipped for the dev screenshot hook, which needs a visible page.)
+    if (!process.env.STEPFORGE_SCREENSHOT) {
+      this.createSessionTray();
+      const win = this.getWindow();
+      if (win && !win.isDestroyed() && win.isVisible()) {
+        this.hiddenForSession = true;
+        setTimeout(() => {
+          // Re-check: the session may have been finished within the delay.
+          if (this.session && this.hiddenForSession && !win.isDestroyed()) win.hide();
+        }, 1200); // let the user read the "session started" toast first
+      }
+      try {
+        new Notification({
+          title: 'StepForge is capturing',
+          body: 'The window tucks away while recording. Use the red tray icon to pause, capture, or finish.',
+        }).show();
+      } catch { /* notifications unavailable on this desktop */ }
+    }
+  }
+
+  /** Red-dot tray icon with session controls, shown while recording. */
+  createSessionTray() {
+    this.destroySessionTray();
+    try {
+      const img = raster.createImage(16, 16, [0, 0, 0, 0]);
+      raster.fillOval(img, 2, 2, 12, 12, [229, 72, 77, 255]);
+      this.tray = new Tray(nativeImage.createFromBuffer(encodePng(img)));
+      this.tray.setToolTip('StepForge — capture session running');
+      const rebuild = () => {
+        if (!this.tray || this.tray.isDestroyed()) return;
+        this.tray.setContextMenu(Menu.buildFromTemplate([
+          { label: `Captured ${this.session ? this.session.count : 0} steps`, enabled: false },
+          { type: 'separator' },
+          { label: 'Capture now', click: () => this.sessionCapture('manual').then(rebuild).catch(() => {}) },
+          {
+            label: this.session && this.session.paused ? 'Resume capturing' : 'Pause capturing',
+            click: () => { this.togglePause(); rebuild(); },
+          },
+          {
+            label: 'Open StepForge (pauses capture)',
+            click: () => {
+              this.togglePause(true);
+              this.showWindow();
+              rebuild();
+            },
+          },
+          { type: 'separator' },
+          { label: 'Finish session', click: () => this.finishSession() },
+        ]));
+      };
+      rebuild();
+      this.rebuildTrayMenu = rebuild;
+      this.tray.on('click', () => {
+        this.togglePause(true);
+        this.showWindow();
+        rebuild();
+      });
+    } catch {
+      this.tray = null; // no tray on this desktop; cursor-over skip still protects clicks
+    }
+  }
+
+  destroySessionTray() {
+    if (this.tray && !this.tray.isDestroyed()) this.tray.destroy();
+    this.tray = null;
+    this.rebuildTrayMenu = null;
+  }
+
+  showWindow() {
+    const win = this.getWindow();
+    if (win && !win.isDestroyed()) {
+      win.show();
+      win.focus();
+    }
   }
 
   setInterval(intervalSec) {
@@ -103,7 +183,16 @@ class CaptureService {
 
   togglePause(force) {
     if (!this.session) return;
+    const wasPaused = this.session.paused;
     this.session.paused = typeof force === 'boolean' ? force : !this.session.paused;
+    // Resuming from the app tucks the window away again for clean shots.
+    if (wasPaused && !this.session.paused && this.hiddenForSession) {
+      const win = this.getWindow();
+      if (win && !win.isDestroyed()) setTimeout(() => {
+        if (this.session && !this.session.paused && !win.isDestroyed()) win.hide();
+      }, 400);
+    }
+    if (this.rebuildTrayMenu) this.rebuildTrayMenu();
     this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
   }
 
@@ -113,13 +202,38 @@ class CaptureService {
       this.intervalTimer = null;
     }
     this.stopClickWatcher();
+    this.destroySessionTray();
     this.session = null;
+    if (this.hiddenForSession) {
+      this.hiddenForSession = false;
+      this.showWindow();
+    }
+    this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * True when the user is interacting with StepForge itself. Deliberately
+   * based on cursor position over the visible window, not isFocused():
+   * some compositors (WSLg) report focus as stuck-true, which would block
+   * every automatic capture forever.
+   */
+  userIsInApp() {
+    const win = this.getWindow();
+    if (!win || win.isDestroyed() || !win.isVisible() || win.isMinimized()) return false;
+    const cur = screen.getCursorScreenPoint();
+    const b = win.getBounds();
+    return cur.x >= b.x && cur.x <= b.x + b.width && cur.y >= b.y && cur.y <= b.y + b.height;
   }
 
   /** One capture inside the active session (hotkey/click/interval/manual). */
   async sessionCapture(trigger = 'hotkey') {
     if (!this.session || this.session.paused) return { ok: false, reason: 'no active capture session' };
     if (this.shooting) return { ok: false, reason: 'capture already in progress' };
+    // Automatic triggers stand down while the user is in StepForge, so the
+    // app stays clickable mid-session and never screenshots itself.
+    if (trigger !== 'manual' && this.userIsInApp()) {
+      return { ok: false, reason: 'skipped — StepForge is focused' };
+    }
     this.shooting = true;
     try {
       const mode = this.settings.get('capture.mode') || 'fullscreen';
@@ -133,6 +247,7 @@ class CaptureService {
         this.session.count += 1;
         this.notify('capture:added', { guideId: this.session.guideId, step: result.step, trigger });
         this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
+        if (this.rebuildTrayMenu) this.rebuildTrayMenu(); // refresh step counter
       }
       return result;
     } finally {

app/main.js

@@ -105,6 +105,10 @@ function createWindow() {
         try {
           const guide = store.createGuide({ title: 'hotkey selftest' });
           capture.startSession(guide.guideId, { intervalSec: 0 });
+          // Sessions hide the window while recording; do it immediately here
+          // instead of waiting out the toast-grace delay.
+          mainWindow.hide();
+          await new Promise((res) => setTimeout(res, 400));
           const results = [];
           for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
             const r = await capture.hotkeyCapture();
@@ -486,6 +490,11 @@ if (!gotLock) {
 
   app.on('will-quit', () => {
     globalShortcut.unregisterAll();
+    if (capture) {
+      // Targeted cleanup (not finishSession — that re-shows the window).
+      capture.stopClickWatcher();
+      capture.destroySessionTray();
+    }
     // clean preview temp files on close
     try {
       for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(store.tempDir)) {

app/renderer/app.js

@@ -189,11 +189,11 @@ class StepForgeApp {
     this.updateCaptureState(state);
     const hotkey = this.state.settings?.capture?.hotkeyCapture;
     if (state.clickCapture) {
-      toast('Capture session started — every click outside StepForge grabs a step.');
+      toast('Recording — every click grabs a step. StepForge tucks away; use the red tray icon to pause or finish.');
     } else if (state.intervalSec > 0) {
-      toast(`Capture session started — auto-capturing every ${state.intervalSec}s (use the REC bar to pause or change).`);
+      toast(`Recording — a step every ${state.intervalSec}s. StepForge tucks away; use the red tray icon to pause or finish.`);
     } else {
-      toast(hotkey ? `Capture session started — press ${hotkey} or use Shoot in the REC bar.` : 'Capture session started.');
+      toast(hotkey ? `Recording — press ${hotkey} to grab steps. Use the red tray icon to pause or finish.` : 'Capture session started.');
     }
   }