GrabZilla 2.1 - Future Features

Created: October 5, 2025 Status: Feature backlog for future development Priority: To be determined based on user feedback

🎯 Feature Backlog

Performance & UX

1. Resume Interrupted Downloads

Description: Continue downloads from where they stopped instead of restarting Technical approach:

Track download progress state (bytes downloaded)
Use yt-dlp's --continue flag
Restore download state on app restart Estimated effort: 4-6 hours User benefit: Avoid wasted bandwidth on failed downloads

3. Estimated Time Remaining

Description: Show ETA for each download based on current speed Technical approach:

Calculate from: (total_size - downloaded_size) / current_speed
Update ETA every 2-3 seconds
Display in video list (e.g., "5 min remaining") Estimated effort: 3-4 hours User benefit: Better visibility into download progress

4. Thumbnail Preview Hover

Description: Show larger preview on hover over video thumbnail Technical approach:

CSS hover state with scaled thumbnail
Preload higher-res thumbnail on hover
Smooth transition animation Estimated effort: 1-2 hours User benefit: Better video identification before download

Video Management

5. Batch Quality/Format Change

Description: Change settings for multiple selected videos at once Technical approach:

Multi-select checkbox UI
Bulk update dialog for quality/format
Update all selected videos in state Estimated effort: 3-4 hours User benefit: Faster workflow when managing many videos

7. Export/Import Video List

Description: Save and load video queues for later use Technical approach:

Export to JSON file (URLs, settings, metadata)
Import JSON and restore video objects
File format validation Estimated effort: 4-5 hours User benefit: Save work-in-progress queues, share lists with others

8. Duplicate URL Detection Enhancement

Description: Better handling of duplicate URLs with merge option Technical approach:

Detect duplicates before adding
Show dialog: "Skip", "Replace", or "Keep Both"
Smart merge: keep best quality/format Estimated effort: 2-3 hours User benefit: Avoid accidental duplicates, smart handling

Download Features

9. Audio-Only Extraction

Description: Download just the audio track (MP3, M4A) Technical approach:

Add "Audio Only" format option
Use yt-dlp -f bestaudio + --extract-audio
Support MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV formats Estimated effort: 3-4 hours User benefit: Smaller file sizes for music/podcasts

Advanced

15. Automatic Retry Logic

Description: Auto-retry failed downloads with exponential backoff Technical approach:

Already partially implemented in DownloadManager
Enhance UI to show retry attempts
Configurable max retries (default: 3)
Exponential backoff: 5s, 15s, 45s delays Estimated effort: 2-3 hours (mostly UI work) User benefit: Reduce manual intervention for transient failures

Integration

17. Browser Extension

Description: Send URLs from browser to GrabZilla Technical approach:

Chrome/Firefox extension with context menu
Native messaging protocol to Electron app
"Send to GrabZilla" on YouTube/Vimeo pages Estimated effort: 8-12 hours (extension + native messaging) User benefit: Seamless browser integration

18. Clipboard Monitoring

Description: Auto-detect URLs copied to clipboard Technical approach:

Monitor clipboard for video URLs
Show toast notification: "Video URL detected"
One-click to add to queue
Enable/disable toggle in settings Estimated effort: 3-4 hours User benefit: Faster workflow, no manual paste

19. Playlist Bulk Operations

Description: Better playlist management and bulk actions Technical approach:

"Download All" button for playlists
Selective download (checkboxes per video)
Playlist metadata (title, video count)
Progress bar for playlist extraction Estimated effort: 5-6 hours User benefit: Easier batch playlist downloads

20. Video Preview Player

Description: Preview videos before downloading Technical approach:

Embed YouTube/Vimeo player in modal
Show video info (views, likes, description)
Quick quality comparison Estimated effort: 4-5 hours User benefit: Verify video content before downloading

📊 Feature Priority Matrix

High Impact, Low Effort (Quick Wins)

[4] Thumbnail preview hover (1-2 hours)
[15] Automatic retry logic UI (2-3 hours)
[8] Duplicate URL detection enhancement (2-3 hours)

High Impact, Medium Effort

[9] Audio-only extraction (3-4 hours)
[3] Estimated time remaining (3-4 hours)
[5] Batch quality/format change (3-4 hours)
[18] Clipboard monitoring (3-4 hours)

High Impact, High Effort

[1] Resume interrupted downloads (4-6 hours)
[7] Export/Import video list (4-5 hours)
[19] Playlist bulk operations (5-6 hours)
[20] Video preview player (4-5 hours)
[17] Browser extension (8-12 hours)

🚀 Suggested Implementation Order

Phase 1: Quick Wins (5-7 hours total)

Thumbnail preview hover
Automatic retry logic UI
Duplicate URL detection enhancement

Phase 2: High-Value Features (12-15 hours total)

Audio-only extraction
Estimated time remaining
Clipboard monitoring
Batch quality/format change

Phase 3: Advanced Features (20-25 hours total)

Resume interrupted downloads
Export/Import video list
Playlist bulk operations
Video preview player

Phase 4: Integration (8-12 hours)

Browser extension

💡 Implementation Notes

Dependencies

All features require existing architecture (DownloadManager, AppState, IPC)
Browser extension requires separate repository/build process
Some features may need additional npm packages

Testing Requirements

Each feature needs unit tests
Integration tests for IPC-based features
Manual testing procedures for UI features

Documentation Updates

CLAUDE.md patterns for new features
HANDOFF_NOTES.md with implementation details
User-facing README updates

📝 Feature Request Process

When implementing a feature from this list:

Read feature description - Understand requirements
Check technical approach - Review suggested implementation
Estimate actual effort - Adjust based on current codebase
Create implementation plan - Break into smaller tasks
Write tests first - TDD approach when possible
Implement feature - Follow existing patterns
Update documentation - CLAUDE.md, HANDOFF_NOTES.md, etc.
Manual testing - Verify in running app
Commit with detailed message - Explain what and why

🎯 User-Requested Features

Add user-requested features here as they come up:

(None yet)

Last Updated: October 5, 2025 Status: Ready for future development Next Review: After current bug fixes complete

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