Roku Control 2.1.0: fix "doesn't work" reviews, keyboard control, power-on, in-app feedback

[BlizzHacker]

Try it

Preview builds of this branch are published automatically while the PR has the build-installers label: preview-pr2.

• Windows: Roku.Control_2.1.0_x64-setup.exe. It's unsigned, so SmartScreen may need More info → Run anyway.
• Microsoft Store package (upload to Partner Center): RokuControl_2.1.0.0_x64.msix, packed with the Windows SDK's makeappx.
• macOS .dmg, Linux .deb / .rpm / .AppImage are on the same page.

Why

Recent Microsoft Store reviews are all 1★ with the same story: "didn't work at all, I only got as far as connecting it", "still doesn't work on the living room TV", "doesn't work except volume controls — error anywhere else". I traced each one to a cause in the code.

What reviewers saw	Cause	Fix
Nothing works after connecting	The app opened pointed at two hard-coded home TVs (192.168.0.126 / .124), and refreshing never changed the selection, so every button went to an address that doesn't exist on the user's network	Removed. Discovery runs on launch and the app selects what it finds
Only volume works	Roku OS 14.1+ ships "Control by mobile apps" in Limited mode, which answers HTTP 403 to everything except volume. Status codes were never checked	Errors are typed (unreachable / limited / unsupported); the app shows the exact setting to change, before you press anything if device-info reports it
Refresh spins forever	The fallback scan probed 762 fixed IPs one at a time with a 3 s timeout (~38 min)	Parallel probe of the machine's own private subnets (~2 s); SSDP now goes out every adapter (VPN / Hyper-V / WSL no longer swallow it)
"Connected" but not working	The green dot was sel ? 'on' : 'off', i.e. always green	A real device-info check every 8 s: connected / screen off / not responding / Limited mode
Worked yesterday, not today	Saved IPs went stale when DHCP moved the TV	Devices are matched by serial and re-found automatically
✕ and window dragging	process:allow-exit and core:window:allow-start-dragging were never granted	Added to capabilities

Also fixed: a system proxy could intercept LAN requests (the HTTP client is now direct-only); rapid presses could arrive out of order (commands are serialized); typed text didn't encode spaces/symbols/accents properly; & showed in channel names.

What's new

• Turn on from standby: PowerOn first; if the TV is off the network, Wake-on-LAN to every known MAC (from device-info, falling back to the OS ARP cache), with retries for about 25 s. If it still can't wake the TV, the app explains Fast TV start.
• Keyboard as a remote: arrows, Enter = OK, Backspace/Esc = Back, Space = Play, +/−/M volume, and more (? shows them all). Hold to repeat, the matching on-screen button lights up, and clicking a button never steals Enter.
• Live typing: letters appear in the TV's search box as you type. Paste, IME, mid-word edits and emoji all map to Backspaces plus new characters.
• Real channel icons, filter, "On now"; TV inputs by the names set on the TV.
• Add by IP (accepts pasted URLs), deep network scan, forget devices.
• Mini remote (📌), always on top.
• Help: troubleshooting for Limited mode, discovery, power-on and IP changes, plus a shortcut list and "copy diagnostics".
• Feedback straight to GitHub: Report a problem / Suggest an idea open new issue forms (added here), pre-filled with app version and Roku model/software. IPs are redacted; names, serials and MACs are never included.
• Footer: MoveWeight.com, Source code, Report a problem, Suggest an idea, Rate.
• One-time rating prompt after 10 minutes of active use: "no ads, no tracking… your input is what helps this grow." It only appears once the app has actually worked (≥ 5 successful commands), so people it failed for aren't asked. Windows opens the Store review dialog; other OSes open GitHub.
• CI: clippy + tests on Linux and Windows.
• Build installers workflow: Windows (setup .exe, .msi, Store .msix), macOS and Linux. It runs on demand, on v* tags (publishing a release: draft for plain versions, pre-release for suffixed ones), or on PRs labelled build-installers (publishing a preview-pr<N> pre-release).

Removed: the volume slider. Rokus can't report their volume, so it was always a guess. Press-and-hold −/+ is accurate.

Testing

• cargo test: 21 tests, including a fake Roku over loopback (403 → Limited, 404 → unsupported, Lit_ encoding and ordering, PowerOn → Home fallback on players, parallel subnet scan) plus parsers for device-info/apps/SSDP/ARP (Windows, macOS and Linux formats), MAC/magic-packet, and link allowlist.
• cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings is clean on Linux and cross-checked for x86_64-pc-windows-msvc. CI runs it natively on Windows too.
• 12 Playwright scenarios against the built UI with a mocked backend: discovery and status, shortcut ordering, hold-to-repeat, live typing diffs, Limited mode, offline + Turn on, no-device onboarding + add by IP, footer/GitHub links (asserting no IP/serial/MAC/name in reports), rating prompt timing and one-time behaviour, help, and mini mode.
• Launched the real Tauri binary under Xvfb: real IPC and discovery run, and the no-Roku onboarding renders.
• Installers built successfully on all three OSes, and makeappx accepted the MSIX manifest.
• Not tested on a real Roku or on Windows hardware. Please sanity-check the preview on a TV before submitting to the Store.

Before publishing

• The Store listing's privacy URL points to a gist. Update it with the new privacy.txt, or point it at docs/privacy.html.
• MSIX version is bumped to 2.1.0.0. Upload the .msix above in Partner Center → Roku Control → Start update → Packages, paste "What's new" from STORE-LISTING.txt, then submit for certification.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

https://claude.ai/code/session_01T1KVxxyYNj32N3J63JDkSK

[coderabbitai]

Important

• 🔍 Trigger review

This repository does not receive automatic reviews because it has fewer than 10 stars.

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Advanced

Run ID: fdf12c4c-6a41-4093-b981-a2cac6fed4c0

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands.}