# tvctl
A Rust CLI that lets agents (or people) play videos and music in windows on this
computer and control them from the command line, like a TV remote for your
screen. (It does not control physical TVs.) Every command prints JSON to
stdout; errors go to stderr with exit code 1.
Services are plugins (`tvctl plugins` lists them). Currently: YouTube,
Spotify (web player), Netflix and Amazon Prime Video (amazon.com and amazon.co.jp).
macOS only for now.
## Install
```sh
cargo install tvctl # or, from a checkout: cargo install --path .
```
## ChatGPT / Codex plugin and agent skill
`skills/tvctl/SKILL.md` teaches an agent to install or update tvctl
(`cargo install tvctl` at the start of every session) and to use it.
`scripts/package-skill.sh` builds:
- `dist/tvctl-plugin.zip`: an [Agent Plugins 1.0](https://agent-plugins.org)
package (`plugin.json` at the root, `skills/tvctl/SKILL.md`) for ChatGPT and
Codex. To install it, give the zip to ChatGPT and ask it to install the plugin.
To publish it, upload it on the Plugins page of the OpenAI Platform dashboard.
- `dist/tvctl-skill.zip`: the bare skill, for "Upload a skill" in ChatGPT or
Claude, or copy `skills/tvctl` into any agent's skills directory.
tvctl opens windows on your Mac, so the agent must be able to run commands on
that Mac (for example the ChatGPT desktop app, Codex CLI, Claude Code, pi);
cloud sandboxes cannot show anything on your screen.
## Usage
```sh
tvctl open https://youtu.be/jNQXAC9IVRw --layout bottom-right --size 640x360
# => {"id": "1", "service": "youtube", "backend": "webview", "player": {...}, "window": {...}}
tvctl status 1
tvctl play 1 / tvctl pause 1 / tvctl toggle 1
tvctl next 1 / tvctl prev 1 # next/previous track or playlist entry
tvctl seek 1 1:30 # absolute (90, 1:30, 1m30s)
tvctl seek 1 -10 # relative (+10, -10)
tvctl forward 1 30 / tvctl back 1 # default 10 s
tvctl subtitles 1 ja # Japanese; auto-translated if there is no Japanese track
tvctl quality 1 hd1080 # values: `available_qualities` in status
tvctl volume 1 50 / tvctl mute 1 / tvctl unmute 1
tvctl speed 1 1.5
tvctl window 1 --layout left # left/right/top/bottom/top-left/.../center/maximize
tvctl window 1 --layout bottom-right --size 480x270 # anchored to a corner
tvctl window 1 --size 1280x720 --position 100,50 --on-top on
tvctl fullscreen 1 # toggle (or on/off)
tvctl screenshot 1 shot.png # PNG of the player window, even when covered
tvctl list
tvctl close 1
tvctl auth login youtube # sign in once in tvctl's Chrome profile
tvctl auth login spotify
tvctl auth login primevideo # amazon.com (US)
tvctl auth login primevideo --site jp # amazon.co.jp (a separate account)
tvctl auth login netflix
tvctl auth status
tvctl plugins # services, domains, supported actions
```
The background server starts on demand (`open`, `auth`) and stops a few seconds
after the last player closes (`TVCTL_IDLE_SECS`, default 5), quitting
tvctl's Chrome too. `tvctl server up` keeps it running without players
(avoids restarting Chrome between uses); `tvctl server down` stops it and
closes all players; `tvctl server status` shows its state.
`--size` is the video area; layouts without `--size` fill their screen region.
`tvctl --help` describes the workflow, the JSON output and error format, and
examples; `tvctl <command> --help` describes each argument.
## Backends
- **webview**: a native window with a WebView (tao + wry). No dependencies. Used
for services with public embed APIs (YouTube logged out).
- **chrome**: an app window of Google Chrome, driven through the Chrome DevTools
Protocol, using a dedicated profile at
`~/Library/Application Support/tvctl/chrome-profile`. Used where a login or
DRM is needed. Chrome refuses DevTools control of your everyday profile, so
tvctl has its own; sign in to each service once with `tvctl auth login`.
Always-on-top is not available in this backend.
A plugin lists its backends in order of preference. If a plugin declares
`prefer_backend_when_logged_in` and you are logged in, that backend is used
(YouTube: Chrome, so Premium accounts get no ads). `open --backend` overrides.
Run tvctl from a terminal on the Mac's own screen. A server started from an
SSH session cannot use the macOS keychain, where Chrome keeps the key for its
saved cookies, so logins would not be saved or loaded: such a server refuses
`auth login` and adds a `warning` to `auth status`, `server status` and Chrome
players (`server status` also shows `ssh_session`). Stop it with
`tvctl server down` and start tvctl again from the Mac's screen.
`auth login` opens the login page in a plain Chrome (not controlled, because
Google refuses sign-in in automated browsers) on tvctl's profile. Sign in, then
quit that Chrome with Cmd+Q; tvctl then checks the login cookies.
## Services
| `youtube` | webview (logged out), chrome (logged in) | optional (Premium: no ads) | all; `audio` only in chrome |
| `spotify` | chrome | required | play, pause, toggle, next, previous, seek, volume, mute |
| `netflix` | chrome | required | all except previous, quality |
| `primevideo` | chrome | required (amazon.com and/or amazon.co.jp account with Prime Video) | all except previous |
Spotify links: tracks, albums, playlists, artists and episodes on
`open.spotify.com`. A track link plays that track; other pages start from the top.
Spotify opens in its large cover-art view (shown inside the window, so window
layouts keep working). The plugin drives the web player's UI (no public API), so Spotify UI
changes can break it; the E2E tests detect that.
Netflix links: `netflix.com/watch/<id>` (and `?t=<seconds>`) and
`netflix.com/title/<id>` (plays like the page's Play button: a show resumes its
current episode). Status includes `episode` {title, number, season} and
`next_episode`; `next` switches to it in place. Subtitles prefer full subtitles
over closed captions (`type`: `PRIMARY` / `ASSISTIVE`), audio prefers regular
tracks over audio description; exact track ids from `list` also work. Speeds are
Netflix's menu rates (0.5 to 1.5). Netflix has no quality setting on the web.
Ads (plans with ads) are not skipped and are handled like Prime Video's
(`ad_showing`, refused actions, deferred `--start`/`--subtitles`). The plugin
uses Netflix's internal player API (seeking through it; setting the video
element's time directly breaks playback with error M7375).
Prime Video links: `amazon.com/gp/video/detail/<id>` and `amazon.com/dp/<ASIN>`
(US), `amazon.co.jp/gp/video/detail/<id>` (Japan, also with a language prefix
such as `/-/en/`), and `primevideo.com/detail/<id>` (opened on amazon.com).
The US and Japanese stores are separate accounts; sign in to each you use
(`auth login primevideo` and `auth login primevideo --site jp`); `auth status`
shows both under `sites`. A series page plays the episode its Play button would (usually the
next one to watch); a title resumes where it was left unless `--start` is given.
`next` starts the next episode (`next_episode` in status). Speeds are the
player's fixed rates (0.75 to 2); qualities are its data-usage settings `good`,
`better`, `best`. Ads are not skipped: while one plays, `ad_showing` is true,
`ad_remaining` gives the seconds left, seeking/subtitles/audio/speed are
refused, and `--start`/`--subtitles` of `open` are applied when it ends
(`pending`). Amazon limits simultaneous streams per account; a window that
cannot play reports the player's message (e.g. "Maximum Streams Playing") as an
error. The plugin uses the web player's internal stores (no public API), so
Prime Video changes can break it; the E2E tests detect that.
## Plugins
Each service is a directory `plugins/<name>/`:
- `plugin.toml`:
- `name`, `description`, `domains` (subdomains match too), `backends`
- `actions`: supported player actions; optional `[unsupported_actions]` lists
actions a backend lacks (e.g. `webview = ["audio"]`). The server refuses
other actions with an error listing the supported ones, and
`tvctl plugins` shows both, so agents can check before calling.
- optional `[auth]`: `login_url`, `cookie_url`, `logged_in_cookies`,
`prefer_backend_when_logged_in`, `login_mode` (`plain` by default, or `controlled`).
Services with several separately signed-in sites (e.g. regional stores)
name the main site with `site` and add others as
`[auth.sites.<name>]` with their own `login_url`, `cookie_url` and
`logged_in_cookies`; `auth login <service> --site <name>` signs in to one,
and the service counts as logged in when any site is.
- `webview.html`: the page for the WebView backend.
- `frame.js` (optional): injected into that WebView's subframes.
- `chrome.js`: the adapter for the Chrome backend. It is loaded into every
document of the player window, so it can restore its page state after reloads.
Adapters define `window.__tvctl.run(action)`, which returns a status object.
Actions: `open {url, start, paused, subtitles}`, `status`, `play`, `pause`,
`toggle`, `next`, `previous`, `seek {seconds, relative}`, `subtitles {lang}`, `audio {lang}`,
`volume {level, muted}`, `speed {rate}`, `quality {level}`. Unsupported actions
throw. In the Chrome backend, `open` may return `{"navigate": url}` to be loaded
at another URL first.
Built-in plugins are compiled into the binary. Plugins in `$TVCTL_PLUGIN_DIR`
or `~/.config/tvctl/plugins/<name>/` are loaded when the server starts and
override built-ins with the same name.
## Environment
- `TVCTL_SOCKET`: server socket (default `$TMPDIR/tvctl.sock`; the log is
next to it as `tvctl.log`)
- `TVCTL_DATA_DIR`: data directory (Chrome profile, login state)
- `TVCTL_PLUGIN_DIR`: external plugin directory
- `TVCTL_CHROME`: Chrome executable
- `TVCTL_IDLE_SECS`: idle time before an on-demand server stops (default 5)
For plugin development, the hidden command `tvctl __eval <ID> <JS>` evaluates
JavaScript in a Chrome-backend player page and prints the (awaited) result.
## Tests
```sh
cargo test # unit tests
cargo test --test e2e_fake -- --ignored --test-threads=1 # all commands, both backends, offline
cargo test --test e2e_youtube -- --ignored --test-threads=1 # real YouTube (network)
TVCTL_E2E_PROFILE="$HOME/Library/Application Support/tvctl" \
cargo test --test e2e_spotify -- --ignored --test-threads=1 # real Spotify (needs login)
TVCTL_E2E_PROFILE="$HOME/Library/Application Support/tvctl" \
cargo test --test e2e_primevideo -- --ignored --test-threads=1 # real Prime Video (needs login)
TVCTL_E2E_PROFILE="$HOME/Library/Application Support/tvctl" \
cargo test --test e2e_netflix -- --ignored --test-threads=1 # real Netflix (needs login)
```
The end-to-end tests open windows. `e2e_fake` uses a fake plugin and a local site.
`e2e_youtube` uses a fresh logged-out profile, so ads may play and the tests
wait for them. To use your logged-in profile instead, set
`TVCTL_E2E_PROFILE="$HOME/Library/Application Support/tvctl"`.