Fix feed ordering, popup stability, and overlay scan volume

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -1,14 +1,15 @@
 name: Run Tests
 
 on:
-  push:
-    branches:
-      - main
-      - develop
   pull_request:
     branches:
       - main
       - develop
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+concurrency:
+  group: run-tests-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
 
 env:
   # CI is a deterministic release gate. Never let an inherited environment

AGENTS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Repository instructions
+
+1. All tests must be implemented, fixed, and run in both Chrome and Firefox. Apply fixes made for one browser to the other while respecting each browser's behavior.
+2. Always use `gh` first for GitHub interaction.
+3. Do not require reviewers for new commits.
+4. Run Chrome tests with elevated rights: sandboxed Playwright can cause system crashes. Tests the user runs in their console are not affected.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -11,13 +11,44 @@ All notable changes to YT re:Watch will be documented in this file.
 - Added a dedicated IndexedDB cache for YouTube disclosure results, with
   long-lived positive and unlabeled results plus bounded retry backoff for
   unavailable or malformed responses.
+- Added the installed extension version beside the YT re:Watch identity in the
+  popup and full-page feed, using the extension icon consistently in both.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Subscriptions now retains the selected upload-date or detection-date ordering
+  across **Reload view** and **Show**. Newly discovered records no longer jump
+  ahead of that selection, while the default newest-first view continues to use
+  canonical paginated order.
+- Refined full-page view headers so the content title appears when the sidebar
+  is collapsed and is hidden when the expanded sidebar already supplies the
+  same label. The remaining description is larger and vertically aligned with
+  the view icon.
+- Reduced redundant YouTube-card work by targeting thumbnail refreshes to the
+  changed video IDs, coalescing overlay startup, and reserving full focus-driven
+  rescans for actual overlay-presentation changes.
+- Routed background, storage, and AI-label informational traces through the
+  saved debug setting while keeping warnings and errors visible.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Fixed popup initialization and live updates so reopening it after a long-lived
+  YouTube tab does not overlap snapshots, rebuild the same content repeatedly,
+  or pulse while already-loaded data is being rendered.
+- Fixed **Show** after a subscription scan so asynchronously loaded cards settle
+  in the selected order before the view scrolls to the newly available records.
+- Treat removed, private, or otherwise incomplete YouTube AI-label responses as
+  indeterminate instead of caching them as valid unlabeled results.
 
 ### Privacy and reliability
 
 - The feature defaults to Off and clearly explains that it makes paced direct
   YouTube lookups for previously unchecked cards near the viewport.
 - It reflects only YouTube's disclosure, not a general AI detector; an
   unmarked video is not confirmed non-AI.
+- Live Chrome and Firefox canaries use a small curated disclosure set and a
+  bounded TimeLapse Lords channel-feed fallback to detect external fixture
+  removal without scanning an entire channel page.
 
 ## [5.1.0] - 2026-08-14
 

README.md

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ The full feed page contains:
 | View | Purpose |
 | --- | --- |
 | **Home** | A locally regenerated mix of cached videos using freshness, watch activity, and local feedback |
-| **Subscriptions** | Cached uploads from locally followed channels in chronological order |
+| **Subscriptions** | Cached uploads from locally followed channels, sortable by upload or detection time |
 | **Watch Later** | Locally saved videos, newest first |
 | **Shorts** | Known short-form videos and watched Shorts |
 | **Playlists** | Local playlists you manage, alongside saved YouTube playlist references that open on YouTube |
@@ -47,7 +47,9 @@ The full feed page contains:
 | **Analytics** | Locally calculated watch statistics and insights |
 | **Settings** | Appearance, retention, feed timing, imports, backup/restore, and reset controls |
 
-Home and Subscriptions render stable 50-card pages as you scroll. Checking for new videos is separate from reloading the current local view, so a background scan does not unexpectedly replace or reorder visible cards. When uploads are found, re:Watch offers a deliberate **Show** action.
+Home and Subscriptions render stable 50-card pages as you scroll. Subscriptions retains its selected upload-date or detection-date ordering through **Reload view** and **Show**. Checking for new videos is separate from reloading the current local view, so a background scan does not unexpectedly replace or reorder visible cards. When uploads are found, re:Watch offers a deliberate **Show** action.
+
+The compact popup and full-page interface show the installed extension version beside the re:Watch icon, making it easier to identify the active build when reporting a problem.
 
 Watch Later is independent of YouTube's account playlist. Right-click a recognized video or Short and choose **Save to Watch Later (local)**, or use a re:Watch video menu; the full-page Watch Later view provides newest-first Open and Remove actions.
 

docs/changelog.md

@@ -4,10 +4,25 @@
 
 - Added experimental **AI-labeled video handling** with Off, Badge, Dim, and
   Hide modes for videos YouTube itself discloses as made with AI.
-- Added a dedicated IndexedDB cache, viewport-driven one-at-a-time lookups,
-  long cache lifetimes, and bounded retry backoff to keep request volume low.
+- Added a dedicated IndexedDB cache, paced viewport-driven lookups with at most
+  two requests in flight, long cache lifetimes, and bounded retry backoff to
+  keep request volume low.
 - The setting explains that it makes direct YouTube requests when enabled and
   is not a general or fully reliable AI detector.
+- Fixed Subscriptions so the chosen upload-date or detection-date order survives
+  **Reload view** and **Show**, without pinning newly discovered videos ahead of
+  the selected order.
+- Fixed popup startup and live-update races that could make already-loaded
+  content pulse or render repeatedly after a YouTube tab had been open longer.
+- Added the installed extension version and consistent re:Watch icon branding
+  to both the popup and full-page feed.
+- Refined full-page headers to avoid duplicate nearby titles when the sidebar is
+  expanded, while keeping the current view title visible in collapsed mode.
+- Reduced redundant overlay and thumbnail work by targeting changed video IDs,
+  coalescing startup scans, and limiting focus rescans to presentation changes.
+- Made background, storage, and AI-label informational output respect debug mode.
+- Treats removed or incomplete AI-label responses as indeterminate and uses
+  bounded live Chrome/Firefox canary fallbacks when an external fixture changes.
 
 ## v5.1.0 — 14 August 2026
 

docs/detailed_guide.md

@@ -58,15 +58,17 @@ Home uses stable 50-card pages. Moving between pages does not duplicate cards or
 
 ![The re:Watch Subscriptions tab showing recent cached uploads from locally followed channels.](assets/guide/feed-subscriptions.png)
 
-*Subscriptions lists cached uploads in chronological order.*
+*Subscriptions lists cached uploads in the selected upload-date or detection-date order.*
 
-Subscriptions is the complete chronological inventory of regular cached uploads. It also uses stable 50-card pages.
+Subscriptions is the complete inventory of regular cached uploads. Choose
+upload-date or detection-date ordering; the selection remains active through
+**Reload** and **Show**. The view also uses stable 50-card pages.
 
 ### Check, Reload, and Show
 
 - **Check** scans eligible followed channels and updates cached feed records. The status beside it reports progress, scheduling, and outcomes.
 - **Reload** renders current local storage again without starting a feed request.
-- **Show** opens the chronological Subscriptions inventory after a scan or subscription-import handoff.
+- **Show** reloads the complete Subscriptions inventory after a scan or subscription-import handoff and retains its selected ordering.
 
 The interface renders cached data before initialization work completes, so an existing feed remains usable during a scan.
 

docs/faq.md

@@ -52,13 +52,15 @@ Yes. Use the global playlist pause setting or the ignore toggle on a saved playl
 
 ### Where do Home and Subscriptions videos come from?
 
-From public RSS uploads cached for channels followed in re:Watch. Home arranges that local inventory; Subscriptions shows it chronologically.
+From public RSS uploads cached for channels followed in re:Watch. Home arranges
+that local inventory; Subscriptions can order it by upload date or by when
+re:Watch detected it.
 
 ### What is the difference between Check, Reload, and Show?
 
 - **Check** scans eligible channel feeds and updates local records.
 - **Reload** redraws from local storage without starting a scan.
-- **Show** opens the full chronological Subscriptions inventory.
+- **Show** reloads the full Subscriptions inventory while retaining its selected upload-date or detection-date order.
 
 ### Does feed search query YouTube?
 

docs/index.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ YT re:Watch keeps a private, account-independent YouTube history in your browser
 | --- | --- |
 | History | Keeps watched videos, progress, duration, and resume points locally |
 | Home | Builds a mixed local feed from followed channels |
-| Subscriptions | Shows a chronological inventory of cached subscription videos |
+| Subscriptions | Shows cached subscription videos ordered by upload or detection time |
 | Shorts | Separates watched Shorts from ordinary history |
 | Watch Later | Keeps videos explicitly saved for later, independently of a YouTube account |
 | Channels | Manages local follows and reviewable ignored-channel records |
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ The feed renders cached local records first.
 
 - **Check** scans eligible followed channels and updates cached feed records.
 - **Reload** rebuilds the visible view from local storage without starting a network scan.
-- **Show** opens the complete chronological subscription inventory after a scan or import handoff.
+- **Show** reloads the complete subscription inventory after a scan or import handoff while preserving the selected upload-date or detection-date order.
 
 Public YouTube RSS feeds provide new uploads. re:Watch does not use OAuth, mutate the user's YouTube subscriptions, or perform remote search.
 

docs/technical.md

@@ -81,12 +81,16 @@ The interface distinguishes network work from presentation:
 
 - Check asks the scheduler to scan eligible channels.
 - Reload reconstructs projections from local storage.
-- Show changes to the chronological inventory.
+- Show reloads the complete subscription inventory without replacing its selected ordering.
 - Opening Home regenerates local ranking without initiating a Home-owned request.
 
 ## Views and pagination
 
-`feed-view-data.js` creates canonical projections. Home ranks the ready inventory with freshness, affinity, impression, and channel-diversity signals. Subscriptions sorts regular feed records newest first.
+`feed-view-data.js` creates canonical projections. Home ranks the ready inventory
+with freshness, affinity, impression, and channel-diversity signals.
+Subscriptions defaults to canonical newest-first pagination and can apply a
+persisted upload-date or detection-date ordering without pinning newly
+discovered records outside that selection.
 
 Home and Subscriptions use stable 50-record keyset pages. Page traversal must neither duplicate records nor allow a concurrent ordering change to corrupt the current boundary.
 

scripts/build-chrome-unpacked.sh

@@ -25,4 +25,13 @@ cp "$ROOT"/src/*.js "$ROOT"/src/*.html "$ROOT/build/e2e/chrome/"
 cp "$ROOT/src/icon"*.png "$ROOT/build/e2e/chrome/"
 cp "$ROOT/src/manifest.chrome.json" "$ROOT/build/e2e/chrome/manifest.json"
 
+# Enable production-owned diagnostic counters only in the generated E2E build.
+node - "$ROOT/build/e2e/chrome/background.js" "$ROOT/build/e2e/chrome/content.js" <<'NODE'
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const marker = 'globalThis.__YTVHT_TEST__ = globalThis.__YTVHT_TEST__ || {};\n';
+for (const file of process.argv.slice(2)) {
+  fs.writeFileSync(file, marker + fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8'));
+}
+NODE
+
 echo "Unpacked Chrome E2E extension: $ROOT/build/e2e/chrome"

scripts/build-firefox-unpacked.sh

@@ -14,6 +14,15 @@ cp "$ROOT"/src/*.js "$ROOT"/src/*.html "$ROOT/build/e2e/firefox/"
 cp "$ROOT/src/icon"*.png "$ROOT/build/e2e/firefox/"
 cp "$ROOT/src/manifest.firefox.json" "$ROOT/build/e2e/firefox/manifest.json"
 
+# Enable production-owned diagnostic counters only in the generated E2E build.
+node - "$ROOT/build/e2e/firefox/background.js" "$ROOT/build/e2e/firefox/content.js" <<'NODE'
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const marker = 'globalThis.__YTVHT_TEST__ = globalThis.__YTVHT_TEST__ || {};\n';
+for (const file of process.argv.slice(2)) {
+  fs.writeFileSync(file, marker + fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8'));
+}
+NODE
+
 node - "$ROOT/build/e2e/firefox/manifest.json" <<'NODE'
 const fs = require('node:fs');
 

src/background.js

@@ -1,4 +1,37 @@
-console.log('YouTube Video History Tracker background script running.');
+let backgroundDebugEnabled = false;
+
+function debugLog(...args) {
+    if (backgroundDebugEnabled) console.log(...args);
+}
+
+function updateBackgroundDebugSetting(settings) {
+    backgroundDebugEnabled = settings?.debug === true;
+}
+
+function recordTestMessage(message) {
+    const metrics = globalThis.__YTVHT_TEST__?.backgroundMetrics;
+    if (!metrics) return;
+    metrics.messageTypes = metrics.messageTypes || {};
+    metrics.storageMethods = metrics.storageMethods || {};
+    metrics.messageTypes[message.type] = (metrics.messageTypes[message.type] || 0) + 1;
+    if (message.type === 'ytStorageCall' && message.method) {
+        metrics.storageMethods[message.method] = (metrics.storageMethods[message.method] || 0) + 1;
+    }
+}
+
+// Keep informational service-worker traces behind the user-facing debug
+// setting. Warnings and errors remain unconditional below.
+globalThis.ytvhtDebugLog = debugLog;
+chrome.storage.local.get(['settings'], (result) => {
+    if (chrome.runtime.lastError) return;
+    updateBackgroundDebugSetting(result?.settings);
+    debugLog('YouTube Video History Tracker background script running.');
+});
+chrome.storage.onChanged.addListener((changes, area) => {
+    if (area === 'local' && changes.settings) {
+        updateBackgroundDebugSetting(changes.settings.newValue);
+    }
+});
 
 // Load shared storage modules when this file runs as a Chrome MV3 service worker.
 if (typeof importScripts === 'function') {
@@ -40,7 +73,8 @@ const stateManager = {
 
 chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((message, sender, sendResponse) => {
     (async () => {
-        console.log('Background script received message:', message.type, 'from sender:', sender.tab ? 'content' : 'popup');
+        recordTestMessage(message);
+        debugLog('Background script received message:', message.type, 'from sender:', sender.tab ? 'content' : 'popup');
 
         if (message.type === 'getAnnouncements') {
             if (!isLocalSubscriptionSender(sender) || !Number.isInteger(sender.tab?.id)) {

src/content-ai-labels-page.js

@@ -21,8 +21,9 @@
 
         const controller = new AbortController();
         controllers.set(requestId, controller);
+        const debug = event.data.debug === true;
         try {
-            console.info('[YTVHT AI] Page-world lookup started', { videoId: event.data.payload?.videoId });
+            if (debug) console.info('[YTVHT AI] Page-world lookup started', { videoId: event.data.payload?.videoId });
             const response = await fetch('/youtubei/v1/next?prettyPrint=false&alt=json', {
                 method: 'POST',
                 headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@
                 body: JSON.stringify(event.data.payload)
             });
             const responseData = response.ok ? await response.json() : null;
-            console.info('[YTVHT AI] Page-world lookup finished', {
+            if (debug) console.info('[YTVHT AI] Page-world lookup finished', {
                 videoId: event.data.payload?.videoId,
                 httpStatus: response.status
             });

src/content-ai-labels.js

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
         let activeLookups = 0;
         let timer = null;
         let nextRequestAt = 0;
+        let debug = false;
         let pageBridgeReady = false;
         let pageBridgePromise = null;
         let nextRequestId = 0;
@@ -42,11 +43,7 @@
         const queuedIds = new Set();
 
         function diagnostic(message, data) {
-            // This is intentionally visible while the experimental option is
-            // enabled. It gives users a way to distinguish a real YouTube
-            // response from an unchanged card when the external contract
-            // changes.
-            console.info('[YTVHT AI]', message, data || '');
+            log(`[YTVHT AI] ${message}`, data);
         }
 
         function videoIdFor(card) {
@@ -100,15 +97,19 @@
         function parse(response) {
             const contents = response?.contents?.twoColumnWatchNextResults?.results?.results?.contents;
             if (!Array.isArray(contents)) return 'unknown';
-            return contents.some((item) => item?.videoPrimaryInfoRenderer?.badges?.some((badge) => {
+            const primaryInfo = contents.find((item) => item?.videoPrimaryInfoRenderer)?.videoPrimaryInfoRenderer;
+            // Removed/private videos can return HTTP 200 with an item section
+            // but no video metadata. Do not cache that as a valid no-label result.
+            if (!primaryInfo) return 'unknown';
+            return primaryInfo.badges?.some((badge) => {
                 const renderer = badge?.metadataBadgeRenderer;
                 // `label` is the stable signal observed in the response. The
                 // accessibility text is a defensive fallback for a renderer
                 // variation, rather than a title/thumbnail heuristic.
                 return renderer?.label === 'AI' || /made with ai/i.test(
                     renderer?.accessibilityData?.label || ''
                 );
-            })) ? 'ai' : 'unlabeled';
+            }) ? 'ai' : 'unlabeled';
         }
 
         function ensurePageBridge() {
@@ -156,7 +157,7 @@
                 };
                 window.addEventListener('message', onMessage);
                 signal?.addEventListener('abort', onAbort, { once: true });
-                window.postMessage({ channel: PAGE_CHANNEL, type: 'lookup', requestId, token, payload }, location.origin);
+                window.postMessage({ channel: PAGE_CHANNEL, type: 'lookup', requestId, token, payload, debug }, location.origin);
             });
         }
 
@@ -257,8 +258,20 @@
         }
 
         function start(settings) {
+            const nextMode = MODES.has(settings?.aiLabeledVideoHandling)
+                ? settings.aiLabeledVideoHandling
+                : 'off';
+            const nextDebug = settings?.debug === true;
+            // Focus/settings refresh and general content initialization can
+            // converge on startup. Keep an in-flight scan instead of aborting
+            // it and caching the aborted request as an unknown result.
+            if (!stopped && nextMode === mode) {
+                debug = nextDebug;
+                return;
+            }
             stop();
-            mode = MODES.has(settings?.aiLabeledVideoHandling) ? settings.aiLabeledVideoHandling : 'off';
+            debug = nextDebug;
+            mode = nextMode;
             if (mode === 'off') return;
             diagnostic('Enabled', { mode });
             stopped = false;
@@ -302,11 +315,15 @@
             const nextMode = MODES.has(settings?.aiLabeledVideoHandling)
                 ? settings.aiLabeledVideoHandling
                 : 'off';
+            const nextDebug = settings?.debug === true;
             // A focus refresh reads the same setting most of the time. Do
             // not tear down visual state and make already-known AI cards
             // flash back to normal merely because the YouTube tab regained
             // focus.
-            if (!stopped && nextMode === mode) return;
+            if (!stopped && nextMode === mode) {
+                debug = nextDebug;
+                return;
+            }
             start(settings);
         }