Roadmap
Vidlens is open source and built in the open. Here's what already works, and 50+ improvements queued behind it. Want to reorder this list? Open an issue — real demand beats my guesses.
Shipped already live
Next being worked on
Later planned
Idea exploring
Shipped
- ShippedOffline Pack ZIP — video + notes + standalone viewer in one folder
- ShippedSelf-contained HTML report that loads your own video file for real offline seeking
- ShippedVoice comments & reactions — audio kept plus an on-device transcript, bundled into exports
- ShippedComments as SRT subtitles — read your notes over the video in VLC
- ShippedDirect video URL support (.mp4/.webm/.mov) with native playback
- ShippedComment editing, search and filters, plus recent-video quick resume
- ShippedKeyboard shortcuts and drag & drop upload
- ShippedPDF / CSV / JSON / TXT / SRT / HTML exports with an "include reactions" toggle
- ShippedReal video metadata (title, author, thumbnail) via oEmbed
Next up
- 01NextFrame-accurate stepping — comma/period keys to move one frame at a time on local video
- 02NextNote ranges — annotate a span (in/out points), not just a single instant
- 03NextColour-coded tags & categories for notes, with per-tag filtering and stats
- 04NextImport an Offline Pack back into the app — reopen data.json and keep annotating
- 05NextUndo / redo for note edits and deletions
- 06NextPlayback speed control (0.25×–2×) with a shortcut
- 07NextScreenshot the current frame and attach it to a note (local video)
- 08NextDark/light theme toggle honouring system preference
- 09NextMulti-language UI — French first, then Spanish and German
- 10NextMarkdown export with clickable timestamp links
Planned
- 11LaterChapters auto-generated from note density
- 12LaterWaveform / activity strip under the timeline
- 13LaterLoop a section between two timestamps for practice
- 14LaterBulk timestamp shift to re-sync notes after a re-edit
- 15LaterMerge two note sets from different reviewers
- 16LaterReviewer names on notes for multi-person passes
- 17LaterThreaded replies on a note
- 18LaterResolve / done state for feedback workflows
- 19LaterPriority levels (blocker / nice-to-have) with filtering
- 20LaterCustom emoji set — bring your own reaction palette
- 21LaterNote templates for repeated review checklists
- 22LaterAuto-save drafts so an interrupted note is never lost
- 23LaterFull-project backup / restore of every video's notes in one file
- 24LaterStorage manager showing space used per video, with cleanup
- 25LaterIndexedDB storage to lift the localStorage size ceiling
- 26LaterPWA install + offline app shell — use Vidlens itself with no connection
- 27LaterMobile-first layout pass with bigger touch targets
- 28LaterSwipe gestures for seeking on touch devices
- 29LaterPicture-in-picture while scrolling long note lists
- 30LaterResizable split view between player and notes
- 31LaterCompact / dense list mode for hundreds of notes
- 32LaterVirtualised note list for very large sets
- 33LaterStreaming ZIP writer so multi-GB packs never hit a memory ceiling
- 34LaterExport progress bar with cancel
- 35LaterWebVTT export alongside SRT
- 36LaterFinal Cut / Premiere marker export (XML / EDL)
- 37LaterYouTube chapter block ready to paste into a description
- 38LaterNotion / Obsidian friendly Markdown export presets
- 39LaterPrint stylesheet for clean paper notes
- 40LaterSubtitle file import (.srt/.vtt) as a transcript source
- 41LaterTranscript search with jump-to-match
- 42LaterSpeaker labels in transcripts
- 43LaterLocal Whisper-style transcription via WebGPU — no cloud, no upload
- 44LaterAuto-summary of notes generated fully on-device
- 45LaterScreen-reader pass with full ARIA live regions
- 46LaterHigh-contrast theme and configurable font size
- 47LaterCustomisable keyboard shortcuts
- 48LaterCommand palette (Ctrl+K) for every action
- 49LaterOnboarding tour for first-time visitors
- 50LaterSample video to try the app with zero setup
- 51LaterMore platforms: Rumble, Bilibili, Kick, Loom, Vidyard, PeerTube
- 52LaterPlaylist mode — annotate a series and keep one combined export
- 53LaterDeep links that open a video at a note (?v=…&t=…)
- 54LaterAutomated test suite in CI on every push
- 55LaterModular source split + JSDoc types for contributors
Exploring
- 56IdeaPeer-to-peer live review (WebRTC) — two people, same timeline, still no server
- 57IdeaOptional self-hosted sync for teams that want shared projects
- 58IdeaBrowser extension to annotate without leaving the video site
- 59IdeaScene detection in the browser to pre-mark cuts
- 60IdeaClip export — cut the marked range out of a local video with ffmpeg.wasm
Honest note on downloads: a page with no server can't pull protected
streams from YouTube & co. — their stream URLs are ciphered and cross-origin blocked.
Vidlens will keep making everything around that effortless (official routes, a
prefilled yt-dlp command, one-click attach) rather than pretend otherwise.