Watch videos together — synced playback, floating chat, zero countdowns.
Download 0.47.0-alpha · All releases · Release notes
Windows x64 zip on that tag: MeowWatch-windows-x64.zip (.sig). After the first install, MeowWatch updates itself in-place from a signed Cloudflare R2 manifest.
Remote watch parties usually mean voice-call countdowns and drift. MeowWatch gives you one room code, synchronized playback, and chat on the video.
- Start or join a room — the code copies to your clipboard.
- Load the same video on both machines (drag-and-drop or paste a URL).
- Stay in sync — play, pause, and seek propagate through Syncplay.
- Talk while you watch — floating chat, reactions, and typing indicators.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Precision sync | Custom Dart Syncplay client with stateful heartbeat and convergence. |
| Floating chat | Glass-card overlay with corner snap, peek tab, and Tab-key toggle. |
| Three themes | Cozy, Cinema Noir, and Glass Aurora — persisted in SQLite. |
| Drag & drop playback | Drop a local video; libmpv handles playback. |
| Continue watching | SQLite history with resume position and one-click resume. |
| Smart auto-pause | Pauses when sync drops or a friend disconnects (2 s debounce). |
| Reactions & typing | Emoji bursts and typing indicators over a control channel. |
| Signed auto-update | Ed25519-verified in-app updates from Cloudflare R2. |
- Room code copied to clipboard on create.
- Idle cat mascot while waiting for a friend.
- Chat card remembers dock corner and size per room.
- Auto-assigned username when the field is blank.
- What's-new modal after updates.
- Flutter Windows desktop with commands-in / streams-out architecture.
- Custom Syncplay protocol client (TCP + startTLS).
- Headless-testable pure logic split from widgets.
- Drift/SQLite persistence for profiles, history, and settings.
- Signed release pipeline with fail-closed updater verification.
- Six shipped product phases, 40+ alpha releases.
| Subsystem | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| VideoCore | libmpv playback, keyboard shortcuts, drag-and-drop |
| SyncCore | Syncplay TCP + startTLS, heartbeat, roster |
| ChatStore | Messages, reactions, typing over Syncplay chat + control channel |
| Data layer | Drift/SQLite — profiles, history, settings, themes |
| UpdateService | R2 manifest + Ed25519 signature verification |
Pure sync and layout logic is split from widgets for headless unit tests.
- Download and extract the release zip.
- Run
meowwatch.exe. - Enter your name → Start new room (code copies automatically).
- Friend pastes the code → Join.
- Drop the same video on both windows.
| Platform | Status |
|---|---|
| Windows x64 | Available |
| Windows ARM64 | Coming soon (x64 runs under emulation today) |
| Linux desktop | Local compile target for two-window testing — not a release. See docs/LINUX.md. |
- Extract the zip and run
meowwatch.exe. - Both friends need the same video file (or a shared URL to resolve).
- Uses public Syncplay servers.
Windows x64 public alpha — six product phases shipped (solo playback → sync → chat → connect flow → themes → polish). Source is this repository.
Current release: 0.47.0-alpha
Contributor setup, CI, and release signing are documented in docs/AGENT_GUIDE.md. Intentional submissions are governed by the CLA — see CONTRIBUTING.md. Runtime helpers (yt-dlp, Deno) are covered in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.
flutter pub get
flutter analyze
flutter test
flutter build windows --releaseLinux two-window testing (not a shipped build): see docs/LINUX.md.
MeowWatch community source is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 only (AGPL-3.0-only). The project-specific application notice is in LICENSE-NOTICE.md.
Commercial licensing is available for organizations that require terms outside AGPL-3.0. Using the public project under AGPL-3.0 does not require a paid license.
The MeowWatch name and logo are covered by TRADEMARKS.md, not by the software license. Runtime helpers (yt-dlp Windows exe, Deno) are downloaded by the app and are not AGPL'd — see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.
MeowWatch · 0.47.0-alpha · Windows x64 public alpha