[richiemcilroy]

Instant mode creates its share link on the server before capture starts. When a start fails or is cancelled after that point, the app deletes the server video. That delete can be skipped or lost, and the user is left with an empty cap stuck at "Uploading 0%" in their library. Today that happens when:

• the delete request fails once (offline, server error, timeout); it is never retried;
• a newer start stops waiting on the previous discard after 5 seconds (apps/desktop-gpui/src/session.rs:809), and dropping that task aborts the delete mid-flight;
• the start task panics, so the session never learns the video id;
• the app quits or crashes during startup.

This adds a small cleanup journal for Instant videos whose recording never started, so the server copy is removed eventually.

flowchart TD
    A[Server creates Instant video] --> B["begin: journal entry, stage starting"]
    B --> C{Recording starts?}
    C -- yes --> D["started: entry removed"]
    C -- "start failed / cancelled" --> E[Delete server video]
    E -- ok --> F["resolved: entry removed"]
    E -- "error or aborted" --> G["abandon: entry due for retry"]
    C -- "crash, panic, quit" --> H["entry left from an earlier session, due after 30 min grace"]
    G --> S[Sweep at launch, then every 5 min]
    H --> S
    S --> J{Signed in to the same account and server?}
    J -- no --> W[Wait for a later sweep]
    J -- yes --> K{Local recording needs the video?}
    K -- yes --> L[Forget entry, keep video]
    K -- no --> M[Delete server video]
    M -- ok --> F
    M -- error --> N[Retry with backoff]

Loading

How it works

• begin records the video right after the server creates it (apps/desktop-gpui/src/recording.rs:2132). started removes it the moment recording activates (apps/desktop-gpui/src/session.rs:918); a successful delete removes it too.
• A failed or cancelled start marks the entry abandoned (apps/desktop-gpui/src/recording.rs:2169, apps/desktop-gpui/src/session.rs:958). Entries left by an earlier app session count as interrupted, after a 30 minute grace period so another running copy of the app can finish its own start.
• The sweep (apps/desktop-gpui/src/upload/instant_cleanup.rs:470) deletes due entries with backoff. Before deleting, it requires (locally_protected, apps/desktop-gpui/src/upload/instant_cleanup.rs:409):
  • the same signed-in account and server that created the video;
  • no local recording that points at the video and is finished, failed, unreadable, or (for interrupted starts) holds any recorded media;
  • for interrupted starts, the start's own folder exists, can be read and belongs to this video. Capture creates the folder after the server video and a later start can reuse its reserved name, so a missing, unreadable or reused folder keeps the video (it may have been moved with its media or sit on an unmounted drive);
  • the entry is still in the journal right before the delete.
• Once the server verifies an upload, the upload queue clears that video's entry (apps/desktop-gpui/src/upload/queue.rs). If it cannot, the local copy is kept even when "delete after upload" is on, so a later sweep can never find an uploaded video without its folder.
• When the local check is unsure, the video is kept and the entry dropped. Entries older than 14 days are dropped without a delete. A corrupt or oversized journal reads as empty; a journal that exists but cannot be read fails the operation instead, so nothing mistakes it for an empty one.
• Linux is unchanged: its startup cleanup deliberately preserves files when cleanup is unconfirmed, so the journal is a no-op there.

Start, stop, discard, restart and delete behave as before. The journal only retries deletes the app was already making.

Visibility

The startup delete now sends a reason and, for failed starts, a coarse cause:

DELETE /api/desktop/video/delete?videoId=…&reason=start-failed&cause=microphone

• reasons: start-failed, start-cancelled, interrupted
• causes: microphone, camera, capture, permission, storage, account, network, other
• No error text leaves the machine, and nothing is added when anonymous telemetry is turned off.
• The app also adds gpui to X-Cap-Desktop-Features.

The web delete endpoint (apps/web/app/api/desktop/[...route]/video.ts:448) ignores unknown values, deletes exactly as before, and only after a successful delete records a desktop_instant_cleanup analytics event. Older servers ignore the extra query parameters, so the app works against any server version.

Confidence Score: 5/5

The PR appears safe to merge; no new blocking issue remains.

Summary

Adds a saved cleanup journal that retries deletes for Instant recordings that never started.

• Unfinished Instant videos get another chance to be cleaned up.
• Verified uploads stay on the computer if cleanup cannot be cleared.
• The server records why the desktop removed an Instant video.

_{Reviews (7) · Last reviewed commit: "fix(desktop-gpui): keep a crashed start'..." · Reviewed by Greptile}

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated
cap-status	Ready	Preview	Oct 24, 2026 1:21pm UTC

[richiemcilroy]

hey @greptileai, please re-review the PR

[richiemcilroy]

hey @greptileai, please re-review the PR

[richiemcilroy]

hey @greptileai, please re-review the PR

[capy-ai]

Capy found 1 potential issue (1 high).

[richiemcilroy]

hey @greptileai, please re-review the PR

[capy-ai]

Capy found 1 potential issue (1 medium).

View 1 other finding in Capy.

[richiemcilroy]

hey @greptileai, please re-review the PR

[richiemcilroy]

hey @greptileai, please re-review the PR

[capy-ai]

Capy found no issues.

View 1 other finding in Capy.