RetroCapture 0.7.0-alpha: shader-preserving distributed playback, public stream directory, HTTPS, bilingual UI
Hey folks, the latest alpha of RetroCapture just dropped and it has the biggest set of new features in a single release so far. Quick recap for those new to the project:
▎ RetroCapture is a real-time video capture app for Linux and Windows that applies RetroArch GLSL shaders (CRT, NTSC, xBR, handheld, etc.) live to feeds from capture cards. It does HTTP MPEG-TS streaming, local ▎ recording (MP4/MKV/AVI), system-audio capture, and ships a full web portal. Cross-platform: x86_64 Linux + Windows, plus ARM64 (Pi 4/5) and ARMv7 (Pi 2/3/Zero).
What's new in 0.7.0-alpha
🔁 Shader-preserving distributed playback. This is the headline feature. Connect another RetroCapture instance to a running one as a Remote source and the receiving machine pulls the host's pre-shader feed plus a sidechannel of the host's current preset + parameters. The image renders with the exact same shader output on both ends. Live preset/parameter sync — change something on the host and the remote view follows in real time.
🌎 Public stream directory. Opt-in, one-click publish to directory.retrocapture.com. Other RetroCaptures see your stream in their in-app browser and connect with one click.
☁️ Cloudflare tunnels (Quick + Named). So the publish works behind CGNAT without portforwarding. Quick mode uses an ephemeral trycloudflare.com URL with no signup; Named mode persists under your own Cloudflare hostname. cloudflared is auto-downloaded with sha256 verification.
🔒 HTTPS / TLS everywhere. Directory and /raw connections default to https://. OpenSSL-backed with hostname verification + SNI. AppImage builds work out of the box (CA-bundle probing on startup).
⏺️ Recording pipeline parity + unified UI. Recording and streaming now share the same A/V sync engine, so they don't drift away from each other under load. Every Configuration tab adopts the same layout idiom.
⚡ Quick Actions OSD + Shortcuts helper. Pinned overlay with stream/record/browse/disconnect buttons reachable even when the main UI is hidden, plus a top-right keyboard shortcut reference.
🌍 Bilingual UI. English and Brazilian Portuguese, switchable at runtime.
Bug fix highlights
A real testing pass on /raw long sessions surfaced and fixed:
- Catastrophic A/V clock corruption on mid-join (audio clock drift=-221_887_834us).
- AAC probe race on reconnect (Audio: aac, 0 channels).
- Consumer dead-lock when video probe gave up.
- /raw going silent when the host toggled the shader off.
- Ghost audio playing after disconnect.
- Remote source upside-down without a client-side shader.
- Windows installer not finding the shader folder after install (last-minute fix that made the release).
Downloads
📦 https://github.com/geldoronie/RetroCapture/releases/tag/0.7.0-alpha — AppImage (Linux x86_64), tarballs (ARM64, ARMv7), Windows installer, SHA256SUMS.
🐙 https://github.com/geldoronie/RetroCapture — source + docs, MIT licensed.
Bug reports + shader-compatibility reports very welcome. Happy to answer questions in the comments.