Make capture sessions continuous: click-capture + interval auto-capture

The session previously only listened for the global hotkey, which is
unreliable under WSLg/Wayland — users got one screenshot and nothing
more. Sessions now layer three triggers:

- click-capture via OS adapters (xinput test-xi2 on X11, PowerShell
  GetAsyncKeyState polling on Windows), debounced, ignoring clicks on
  StepForge itself
- interval auto-capture (3/5/10 s) as the always-works fallback,
  enabled by default when click detection is unavailable
- the existing global hotkey, plus a manual Shoot button

The REC bar now shows live count + active trigger with Shoot / Auto /
Pause / Finish. New captures and added steps are selected in the
editor (explicit reload(stepId) wins over a surviving selection).
Capture self-test hook (STEPFORGE_CAPTURE_SELFTEST) verifies 3x
hotkey-path captures and interval capture end-to-end.

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

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -16,6 +16,13 @@ Initial release.
 - Capture menu in the editor topbar: full screen / window / region /
   3-second delay, paste image as step, import images, and capture
   session start/finish — capture no longer requires the global hotkey.
+- Continuous capture sessions: steps are grabbed on every OS click where
+  the platform supports it (xinput on X11, PowerShell on Windows), with
+  interval auto-capture (3/5/10 s) as the always-works fallback when
+  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.
+- 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
   stealing focus.

README.md

@@ -48,10 +48,13 @@ The core workflow:
 - **Guide library** with folders, favorites, title search, full-text search,
   duplicate/move/delete, and a quick-actions palette (`Ctrl+/`).
 - **Capture engine** — the editor's **Capture ▾** button offers full screen,
-  active window, and region capture (the app hides itself during the shot)
+  active window, and region capture (the app hides itself during the shot),
-  plus delay, pause/resume sessions with global hotkeys, click markers,
+  plus continuous capture sessions that grab a step on every click where the
-  clipboard paste, and PNG/JPEG/GIF import. The full keyboard shortcut list
+  OS allows it, or on a 3/5/10 s auto-interval everywhere else (the REC bar
-  lives under **More ▾ → Keyboard shortcuts** in the editor.
+  shows the live count with Shoot/Auto/Pause/Finish controls). Delay, global
+  hotkeys, click markers, clipboard paste, and PNG/JPEG/GIF import included.
+  The full keyboard shortcut list lives under **More ▾ → Keyboard
+  shortcuts** in the editor.
 - **Three-pane editor** — step tree with substeps, statuses
   (todo/in-progress/done), hidden/skipped steps, focused view (zoom/pan that
   never mutates the original image), autosave, and command-stack undo/redo.

app/capture.js

@@ -1,49 +1,127 @@
 'use strict';
 
 const path = require('node:path');
+const { spawn, execFileSync } = require('node:child_process');
 const { desktopCapturer, screen, BrowserWindow, nativeImage } = require('electron');
 const { expandPlaceholders } = require('../core/placeholders');
 
 /**
  * Capture service: full-screen, active-window, and region capture via
  * Electron's desktopCapturer, plus a click-marker annotation at the cursor
- * position and a capture session (start/pause/resume/finish) driven by the
+ * position and a capture session (start/pause/resume/finish).
- * global hotkey.
+ *
+ * A session captures continuously, with three triggers layered by what the
+ * platform supports:
+ *  - click-capture via an OS adapter (xinput on X11, PowerShell on Windows),
+ *  - a global hotkey (unreliable on some Wayland compositors),
+ *  - interval auto-capture as the always-works fallback.
  *
  * Note: under Wayland/WSLg, screen capture may require portal support; all
  * failures surface as { ok: false, reason } instead of crashing.
  */
 
+const CLICK_DEBOUNCE_MS = 700;
+
+function hasBinary(name) {
+  try {
+    execFileSync('which', [name], { stdio: 'pipe' });
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 class CaptureService {
   constructor({ store, settings, getWindow, notify }) {
     this.store = store;
     this.settings = settings;
     this.getWindow = getWindow;
     this.notify = notify;
-    this.session = null; // { guideId, paused, count }
+    this.session = null; // { guideId, paused, count, intervalSec }
+    this.intervalTimer = null;
+    this.clickWatcher = null;
+    this.lastClickCapture = 0;
+    this.shooting = false;
   }
 
   state() {
     return this.session
-      ? { active: true, paused: this.session.paused, guideId: this.session.guideId, count: this.session.count }
+      ? {
-      : { active: false };
+        active: true,
+        paused: this.session.paused,
+        guideId: this.session.guideId,
+        count: this.session.count,
+        intervalSec: this.session.intervalSec || 0,
+        clickCapture: Boolean(this.clickWatcher),
+        clickCaptureAvailable: this.clickCaptureAvailable(),
+      }
+      : { active: false, clickCaptureAvailable: this.clickCaptureAvailable() };
   }
 
-  startSession(guideId) {
+  clickCaptureAvailable() {
-    this.session = { guideId, paused: false, count: 0 };
+    if (this._clickAvail === undefined) {
+      this._clickAvail = process.platform === 'win32' || (process.platform === 'linux' && hasBinary('xinput'));
+    }
+    return this._clickAvail;
+  }
+
+  startSession(guideId, { intervalSec = null } = {}) {
+    this.finishSession();
+    // Default trigger: clicks when the platform supports it, otherwise an
+    // interval so a session always produces steps even if the global hotkey
+    // never fires (common under Wayland/WSLg).
+    let interval = intervalSec;
+    if (interval == null) {
+      interval = this.clickCaptureAvailable() ? 0 : (this.settings.get('capture.autoIntervalSec') || 5);
+    }
+    this.session = { guideId, paused: false, count: 0, intervalSec: interval };
+    if (this.settings.get('capture.captureOutsideClicks') !== false) this.startClickWatcher();
+    this.applyInterval();
+    this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
+  }
+
+  setInterval(intervalSec) {
+    if (!this.session) return this.state();
+    this.session.intervalSec = Math.max(0, Number(intervalSec) || 0);
+    this.applyInterval();
+    this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
+    return this.state();
+  }
+
+  applyInterval() {
+    if (this.intervalTimer) {
+      clearInterval(this.intervalTimer);
+      this.intervalTimer = null;
+    }
+    const sec = this.session && this.session.intervalSec;
+    if (sec > 0) {
+      this.intervalTimer = setInterval(() => {
+        this.sessionCapture('interval').catch(() => {});
+      }, sec * 1000);
+    }
   }
 
   togglePause(force) {
     if (!this.session) return;
     this.session.paused = typeof force === 'boolean' ? force : !this.session.paused;
+    this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
   }
 
   finishSession() {
+    if (this.intervalTimer) {
+      clearInterval(this.intervalTimer);
+      this.intervalTimer = null;
+    }
+    this.stopClickWatcher();
     this.session = null;
   }
 
-  async hotkeyCapture() {
+  /** 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' };
+    this.shooting = true;
+    try {
       const mode = this.settings.get('capture.mode') || 'fullscreen';
       const result = await this.shoot({
         guideId: this.session.guideId,
@@ -53,9 +131,76 @@ class CaptureService {
       });
       if (result.ok) {
         this.session.count += 1;
-      this.notify('capture:added', { guideId: this.session.guideId, step: result.step });
+        this.notify('capture:added', { guideId: this.session.guideId, step: result.step, trigger });
+        this.notify('capture:state', this.state());
       }
       return result;
+    } finally {
+      this.shooting = false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  hotkeyCapture() {
+    return this.sessionCapture('hotkey');
+  }
+
+  // ---- click-triggered capture --------------------------------------------
+
+  startClickWatcher() {
+    this.stopClickWatcher();
+    try {
+      if (process.platform === 'linux' && hasBinary('xinput')) {
+        // Stream raw button events from the X server; one capture per press.
+        this.clickWatcher = spawn('xinput', ['test-xi2', '--root'], { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'ignore'] });
+        let sawPress = false;
+        this.clickWatcher.stdout.on('data', (chunk) => {
+          const text = chunk.toString();
+          if (/RawButtonPress|ButtonPress/.test(text)) sawPress = true;
+          if (sawPress) {
+            sawPress = false;
+            this.onOsClick();
+          }
+        });
+      } else if (process.platform === 'win32') {
+        // Poll the left mouse button via GetAsyncKeyState; print one line per click.
+        const ps = `
+Add-Type -Namespace W -Name U -MemberDefinition '[DllImport("user32.dll")] public static extern short GetAsyncKeyState(int k);'
+$down = $false
+while ($true) {
+  $s = [W.U]::GetAsyncKeyState(0x01) -band 0x8000
+  if ($s -and -not $down) { Write-Output CLICK }
+  $down = [bool]$s
+  Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 40
+}`;
+        this.clickWatcher = spawn('powershell.exe', ['-NoProfile', '-Command', ps], { stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'ignore'] });
+        this.clickWatcher.stdout.on('data', (chunk) => {
+          if (chunk.toString().includes('CLICK')) this.onOsClick();
+        });
+      }
+      if (this.clickWatcher) {
+        this.clickWatcher.on('error', () => { this.clickWatcher = null; });
+        this.clickWatcher.on('exit', () => { this.clickWatcher = null; });
+      }
+    } catch {
+      this.clickWatcher = null;
+    }
+  }
+
+  stopClickWatcher() {
+    if (this.clickWatcher) {
+      try { this.clickWatcher.kill(); } catch { /* already gone */ }
+      this.clickWatcher = null;
+    }
+  }
+
+  onOsClick() {
+    if (!this.session || this.session.paused) return;
+    // Ignore clicks on StepForge itself (pausing, finishing, editing).
+    if (BrowserWindow.getFocusedWindow()) return;
+    const now = Date.now();
+    if (now - this.lastClickCapture < CLICK_DEBOUNCE_MS) return;
+    this.lastClickCapture = now;
+    this.sessionCapture('click').catch(() => {});
   }
 
   autoTitle(mode) {

app/main.js

@@ -98,6 +98,35 @@ function createWindow() {
         }
       }, 1500);
     }
+    // Dev-only self-test: exercise the exact hotkey-session capture path
+    // (hide window -> grab -> showInactive) several times, then exit.
+    if (process.env.STEPFORGE_CAPTURE_SELFTEST) {
+      setTimeout(async () => {
+        try {
+          const guide = store.createGuide({ title: 'hotkey selftest' });
+          capture.startSession(guide.guideId, { intervalSec: 0 });
+          const results = [];
+          for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+            const r = await capture.hotkeyCapture();
+            results.push(r.ok ? 'OK' : `FAIL:${r.reason}`);
+            await new Promise((res) => setTimeout(res, 500));
+          }
+          console.log('HOTKEY-SELFTEST', JSON.stringify(results),
+            'steps:', store.getGuide(guide.guideId).stepsOrder.length);
+
+          // Interval auto-capture: 1s timer should add ~3 steps in 3.6s.
+          const guide2 = store.createGuide({ title: 'interval selftest' });
+          capture.startSession(guide2.guideId, { intervalSec: 1 });
+          await new Promise((res) => setTimeout(res, 3600));
+          capture.finishSession();
+          console.log('INTERVAL-SELFTEST steps:', store.getGuide(guide2.guideId).stepsOrder.length);
+        } catch (err) {
+          console.log('SELFTEST ERROR', err.message);
+        } finally {
+          app.quit();
+        }
+      }, 1500);
+    }
   });
   mainWindow.on('closed', () => { mainWindow = null; });
 }
@@ -267,11 +296,13 @@ function setupIpc() {
     if (result.ok) reindex(guideId);
     return result;
   });
-  h('capture:session', ({ action, guideId }) => {
+  h('capture:session', async ({ action, guideId, intervalSec }) => {
-    if (action === 'start') capture.startSession(guideId);
+    if (action === 'start') capture.startSession(guideId, { intervalSec: intervalSec ?? null });
     else if (action === 'pause') capture.togglePause(true);
     else if (action === 'resume') capture.togglePause(false);
     else if (action === 'finish') capture.finishSession();
+    else if (action === 'interval') capture.setInterval(intervalSec);
+    else if (action === 'shoot') await capture.sessionCapture('manual');
     const state = capture.state();
     sendToRenderer('capture:state', state);
     return state;

app/renderer/app.js

@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ class StepForgeApp {
 
   async onCaptureAdded(payload) {
     if (!payload || !payload.guideId) return;
+    this.updateCaptureState(await api.capture.state());
     if (this.state.view === 'editor' && this.editor.guideId === payload.guideId) {
       await this.editor.reload(payload.step && payload.step.stepId ? payload.step.stepId : this.editor.selectedStepId);
       return;
@@ -187,7 +188,13 @@ class StepForgeApp {
     const state = await api.capture.session({ action: 'start', guideId: guide.guideId });
     this.updateCaptureState(state);
     const hotkey = this.state.settings?.capture?.hotkeyCapture;
-    toast(hotkey ? `Capture session started — press ${hotkey} to grab a step.` : 'Capture session started.');
+    if (state.clickCapture) {
+      toast('Capture session started — every click outside StepForge grabs a step.');
+    } else if (state.intervalSec > 0) {
+      toast(`Capture session started — auto-capturing every ${state.intervalSec}s (use the REC bar to pause or change).`);
+    } else {
+      toast(hotkey ? `Capture session started — press ${hotkey} or use Shoot in the REC bar.` : 'Capture session started.');
+    }
   }
 
   async openExistingWorkspace() {
@@ -229,21 +236,43 @@ class StepForgeApp {
       return;
     }
     this.captureStatus.classList.remove('hidden');
+    const s = this.captureState;
+    const send = (payload) => api.capture.session(payload).then((next) => this.updateCaptureState(next));
+
+    // What is currently triggering captures, so the user knows what to do.
+    const trigger = s.paused ? 'paused'
+      : s.clickCapture ? 'on click'
+        : s.intervalSec > 0 ? `every ${s.intervalSec}s`
+          : 'hotkey only';
+
+    const shootBtn = el('button', {
+      type: 'button',
+      title: 'Capture a step now (the app hides itself for the shot)',
+      onClick: () => send({ action: 'shoot' }),
+    }, 'Shoot');
+
+    // Cycle interval auto-capture: off -> 3s -> 5s -> 10s -> off.
+    const nextInterval = { 0: 3, 3: 5, 5: 10, 10: 0 }[s.intervalSec ?? 0] ?? 3;
+    const autoBtn = el('button', {
+      type: 'button',
+      title: 'Automatically capture a step on a timer',
+      onClick: () => send({ action: 'interval', intervalSec: nextInterval }),
+    }, s.intervalSec > 0 ? `Auto ${s.intervalSec}s` : 'Auto off');
+
     const pauseBtn = el('button', {
       type: 'button',
-      onClick: () => {
+      onClick: () => send({ action: s.paused ? 'resume' : 'pause' }),
-        const action = this.captureState.paused ? 'resume' : 'pause';
+    }, s.paused ? 'Resume' : 'Pause');
-        api.capture.session({ action, guideId: this.editorMeta?.guide?.id || this.editorMeta?.guide?.guideId || null })
+
-          .then((next) => this.updateCaptureState(next));
-      },
-    }, this.captureState.paused ? 'Resume' : 'Pause');
     const finishBtn = el('button', {
       type: 'button',
-      onClick: () => api.capture.session({ action: 'finish', guideId: this.editorMeta?.guide?.id || this.editorMeta?.guide?.guideId || null })
+      onClick: () => send({ action: 'finish' }),
-        .then((next) => this.updateCaptureState(next)),
     }, 'Finish');
+
     this.captureStatus.append(
-      el('span', {}, `Capture ${this.captureState.count || 0}`),
+      el('span', { title: `Capture session — ${trigger}` }, `REC ${s.count || 0} · ${trigger}`),
+      shootBtn,
+      autoBtn,
       pauseBtn,
       finishBtn,
     );

app/renderer/editor.js

@@ -125,8 +125,12 @@ class GuideEditor {
     this.steps = steps;
     this.stepMap = new Map(steps.map((step) => [step.stepId, step]));
     if (!this.shellMounted) this.mountShell();
-    if (!this.selectedStepId || !this.stepMap.has(this.selectedStepId)) {
+    // An explicitly requested step (new capture, added step, restored
-      this.selectedStepId = stepId && this.stepMap.has(stepId) ? stepId : (steps[0] && steps[0].stepId) || null;
+    // neighbour) wins; otherwise keep the current selection if it survived.
+    if (stepId && this.stepMap.has(stepId)) {
+      this.selectedStepId = stepId;
+    } else if (!this.selectedStepId || !this.stepMap.has(this.selectedStepId)) {
+      this.selectedStepId = (steps[0] && steps[0].stepId) || null;
     }
     this.selectedAnnotationId = null;
     this.renderAll();

core/settings.js

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ const DEFAULT_SETTINGS = {
     hotkeyPauseResume: 'CommandOrControl+Shift+2',
     captureOutsideClicks: true,
     confirmSimpleCapture: false,
+    autoIntervalSec: 5, // session fallback when click capture is unavailable
   },
   editor: {
     focusedViewDefaultForNewSteps: false,