0.12.0

Fix playback + download of default torrents

AUTHORS.md

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 - Thomas Watson Steen (w@tson.dk)
 - anonymlol (anonymlol7@gmail.com)
 - Gediminas Petrikas (gedas18@gmail.com)
+- Alberto Miranda (codealchemist@gmail.com)
 - Adam Gotlib (gotlib.adam+dev@gmail.com)
 - Rémi Jouannet (remijouannet@gmail.com)
 - Andrea Tupini (tupini07@gmail.com)

bin/package.js

@@ -484,6 +484,11 @@ function buildLinux (cb) {
       dest: destPath,
       expand: true,
       cwd: filesPath
+    }, {
+      src: ['./**'],
+      dest: path.join('/usr', 'share'),
+      expand: true,
+      cwd: path.join(config.STATIC_PATH, 'linux', 'share')
     }], function (err) {
       if (err) return cb(err)
       console.log(`Linux: Created ${destArch} deb.`)

package.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "webtorrent-desktop",
   "description": "WebTorrent, the streaming torrent client. For Mac, Windows, and Linux.",
-  "version": "0.11.0",
+  "version": "0.12.0",
   "author": {
     "name": "WebTorrent, LLC",
     "email": "feross@webtorrent.io",

src/main/external-player.js

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+module.exports = {
+  spawn,
+  kill,
+  checkInstall
+}
+
+var cp = require('child_process')
+var vlcCommand = require('vlc-command')
+
+var log = require('./log')
+var windows = require('./windows')
+
+// holds a ChildProcess while we're playing a video in an external player, null otherwise
+var proc
+
+function checkInstall (path, cb) {
+  // check for VLC if external player has not been specified by the user
+  // otherwise assume the player is installed
+  if (path == null) return vlcCommand((err) => cb(!err))
+  process.nextTick(() => cb(true))
+}
+
+function spawn (path, url, title) {
+  if (path != null) return spawnExternal(path, [url])
+
+  // Try to find and use VLC if external player is not specified
+  vlcCommand(function (err, vlcPath) {
+    if (err) return windows.main.dispatch('externalPlayerNotFound')
+    var args = ['--play-and-exit', '--video-on-top', '--quiet', `--meta-title=${JSON.stringify(title)}`, url]
+    spawnExternal(vlcPath, args)
+  })
+}
+
+function kill () {
+  if (!proc) return
+  log('Killing external player, pid ' + proc.pid)
+  proc.kill('SIGKILL') // kill -9
+  proc = null
+}
+
+function spawnExternal (path, args) {
+  log('Running external media player:', path + ' ' + args.join(' '))
+
+  proc = cp.spawn(path, args, {stdio: 'ignore'})
+
+  // If it works, close the modal after a second
+  var closeModalTimeout = setTimeout(() =>
+    windows.main.dispatch('exitModal'), 1000)
+
+  proc.on('close', function (code) {
+    clearTimeout(closeModalTimeout)
+    if (!proc) return // Killed
+    log('External player exited with code ', code)
+    if (code === 0) {
+      windows.main.dispatch('backToList')
+    } else {
+      windows.main.dispatch('externalPlayerNotFound')
+    }
+    proc = null
+  })
+
+  proc.on('error', function (e) {
+    log('External player error', e)
+  })
+}

src/main/handlers.js

@@ -280,6 +280,9 @@ function installLinux () {
   var config = require('../config')
   var log = require('./log')
 
+  // Do not install in user dir if running on system
+  if (/^\/opt/.test(process.execPath)) return
+
   installDesktopFile()
   installIconFile()
 

src/main/index.js

@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ if (process.platform === 'win32') {
 }
 
 if (!shouldQuit) {
-  // Prevent multiple instances of app from running at same time. New instances signal
+  // Prevent multiple instances of app from running at same time. New instances
-  // this instance and quit.
+  // signal this instance and quit.
   shouldQuit = app.makeSingleInstance(onAppOpen)
   if (shouldQuit) {
     app.quit()
@@ -159,7 +159,10 @@ function processArgv (argv) {
     } else if (arg.startsWith('-psn')) {
       // Ignore Mac launchd "process serial number" argument
       // Issue: https://github.com/feross/webtorrent-desktop/issues/214
-    } else {
+    } else if (arg !== '.') {
+      // Ignore '.' argument, which gets misinterpreted as a torrent id, when a
+      // development copy of WebTorrent is started while a production version is
+      // running.
       torrentIds.push(arg)
     }
   })

src/main/ipc.js

@@ -14,16 +14,13 @@ var menu = require('./menu')
 var powerSaveBlocker = require('./power-save-blocker')
 var shell = require('./shell')
 var shortcuts = require('./shortcuts')
-var vlc = require('./vlc')
+var externalPlayer = require('./external-player')
 var windows = require('./windows')
 var thumbar = require('./thumbar')
 
 // Messages from the main process, to be sent once the WebTorrent process starts
 var messageQueueMainToWebTorrent = []
 
-// holds a ChildProcess while we're playing a video in VLC, null otherwise
-var vlcProcess
-
 function init () {
   var ipc = electron.ipcMain
 
@@ -115,52 +112,17 @@ function init () {
   ipc.on('setAllowNav', (e, ...args) => menu.setAllowNav(...args))
 
   /**
-   * VLC
+   * External Media Player
-   * TODO: Move most of this code to vlc.js
    */
 
-  ipc.on('checkForVLC', function (e) {
+  ipc.on('checkForExternalPlayer', function (e, path) {
-    vlc.checkForVLC(function (isInstalled) {
+    externalPlayer.checkInstall(path, function (isInstalled) {
-      windows.main.send('checkForVLC', isInstalled)
+      windows.main.send('checkForExternalPlayer', isInstalled)
     })
   })
 
-  ipc.on('vlcPlay', function (e, url, title) {
+  ipc.on('openExternalPlayer', (e, ...args) => externalPlayer.spawn(...args))
-    var args = ['--play-and-exit', '--video-on-top', '--no-video-title-show', '--quiet', `--meta-title=${title}`, url]
+  ipc.on('quitExternalPlayer', () => externalPlayer.kill())
-    log('Running vlc ' + args.join(' '))
-
-    vlc.spawn(args, function (err, proc) {
-      if (err) return windows.main.dispatch('vlcNotFound')
-      vlcProcess = proc
-
-      // If it works, close the modal after a second
-      var closeModalTimeout = setTimeout(() =>
-        windows.main.dispatch('exitModal'), 1000)
-
-      vlcProcess.on('close', function (code) {
-        clearTimeout(closeModalTimeout)
-        if (!vlcProcess) return // Killed
-        log('VLC exited with code ', code)
-        if (code === 0) {
-          windows.main.dispatch('backToList')
-        } else {
-          windows.main.dispatch('vlcNotFound')
-        }
-        vlcProcess = null
-      })
-
-      vlcProcess.on('error', function (e) {
-        log('VLC error', e)
-      })
-    })
-  })
-
-  ipc.on('vlcQuit', function () {
-    if (!vlcProcess) return
-    log('Killing VLC, pid ' + vlcProcess.pid)
-    vlcProcess.kill('SIGKILL') // kill -9
-    vlcProcess = null
-  })
 
   // Capture all events
   var oldEmit = ipc.emit

src/main/power-save-blocker.js

@@ -13,7 +13,10 @@ var blockId = 0
  * display.
  */
 function enable () {
-  disable() // Stop the previous power saver block, if one exists.
+  if (electron.powerSaveBlocker.isStarted(blockId)) {
+    // If a power saver block already exists, do nothing.
+    return
+  }
   blockId = electron.powerSaveBlocker.start('prevent-display-sleep')
   log(`powerSaveBlocker.enable: ${blockId}`)
 }
@@ -23,6 +26,7 @@ function enable () {
  */
 function disable () {
   if (!electron.powerSaveBlocker.isStarted(blockId)) {
+    // If a power saver block does not exist, do nothing.
     return
   }
   electron.powerSaveBlocker.stop(blockId)

src/main/vlc.js

@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-module.exports = {
-  checkForVLC,
-  spawn
-}
-
-var cp = require('child_process')
-var vlcCommand = require('vlc-command')
-
-// Finds if VLC is installed on Mac, Windows, or Linux.
-// Calls back with true or false: whether VLC was detected
-function checkForVLC (cb) {
-  vlcCommand((err) => cb(!err))
-}
-
-// Spawns VLC with child_process.spawn() to return a ChildProcess object
-// Calls back with (err, childProcess)
-function spawn (args, cb) {
-  vlcCommand(function (err, vlcPath) {
-    if (err) return cb(err)
-    cb(null, cp.spawn(vlcPath, args))
-  })
-}

src/main/windows/main.js

@@ -143,7 +143,11 @@ function setBounds (bounds, maximize) {
     }
     // Resize the window's content area (so window border doesn't need to be taken
     // into account)
-    main.win.setContentBounds(bounds, true)
+    if (bounds.contentBounds) {
+      main.win.setContentBounds(bounds, true)
+    } else {
+      main.win.setBounds(bounds, true)
+    }
   } else {
     log('setBounds: not setting bounds because of window maximization')
   }

src/renderer/controllers/media-controller.js

@@ -22,12 +22,12 @@ module.exports = class MediaController {
     if (state.location.url() === 'player') {
       state.playing.result = 'error'
       state.playing.location = 'error'
-      ipcRenderer.send('checkForVLC')
+      ipcRenderer.send('checkForExternalPlayer', state.saved.prefs.externalPlayerPath)
-      ipcRenderer.once('checkForVLC', function (e, isInstalled) {
+      ipcRenderer.once('checkForExternalPlayer', function (e, isInstalled) {
         state.modal = {
           id: 'unsupported-media-modal',
           error: error,
-          vlcInstalled: isInstalled
+          externalPlayerInstalled: isInstalled
         }
       })
     }
@@ -42,15 +42,16 @@ module.exports = class MediaController {
     this.state.playing.mouseStationarySince = new Date().getTime()
   }
 
-  vlcPlay () {
+  openExternalPlayer () {
-    ipcRenderer.send('vlcPlay', this.state.server.localURL, this.state.window.title)
+    var state = this.state
-    this.state.playing.location = 'vlc'
+    ipcRenderer.send('openExternalPlayer', state.saved.prefs.externalPlayerPath, state.server.localURL, state.window.title)
+    state.playing.location = 'external'
   }
 
-  vlcNotFound () {
+  externalPlayerNotFound () {
     var modal = this.state.modal
     if (modal && modal.id === 'unsupported-media-modal') {
-      modal.vlcNotFound = true
+      modal.externalPlayerNotFound = true
     }
   }
 }

src/renderer/controllers/playback-controller.js

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ const State = require('../lib/state')
 const ipcRenderer = electron.ipcRenderer
 
 // Controls playback of torrents and files within torrents
-// both local (<video>,<audio>,VLC) and remote (cast)
+// both local (<video>,<audio>,external player) and remote (cast)
 module.exports = class PlaybackController {
   constructor (state, config, update) {
     this.state = state
@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ module.exports = class PlaybackController {
 
   // Skip (aka seek) to a specific point, in seconds
   skipTo (time) {
+    if (!Number.isFinite(time)) {
+      console.error('Tried to skip to a non-finite time ' + time)
+      return console.trace()
+    }
     if (isCasting(this.state)) Cast.seek(time)
     else this.state.playing.jumpToTime = time
   }
@@ -241,16 +245,17 @@ module.exports = class PlaybackController {
         return this.update()
       }
 
+      state.window.title = torrentSummary.files[state.playing.fileIndex].name
+
       // play in VLC if set as default player (Preferences / Playback / Play in VLC)
-      if (this.state.saved.prefs.playInVlc) {
+      if (this.state.saved.prefs.openExternalPlayer) {
-        dispatch('vlcPlay')
+        dispatch('openExternalPlayer')
         this.update()
         cb()
         return
       }
 
       // otherwise, play the video
-      state.window.title = torrentSummary.files[state.playing.fileIndex].name
       this.update()
 
       ipcRenderer.send('onPlayerOpen')
@@ -266,8 +271,8 @@ module.exports = class PlaybackController {
     if (isCasting(state)) {
       Cast.stop()
     }
-    if (state.playing.location === 'vlc') {
+    if (state.playing.location === 'external') {
-      ipcRenderer.send('vlcQuit')
+      ipcRenderer.send('quitExternalPlayer')
     }
 
     // Save volume (this session only, not in state.saved)

src/renderer/controllers/subtitles-controller.js

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ const fs = require('fs-extra')
 const path = require('path')
 const parallel = require('run-parallel')
 
+const remote = electron.remote
+
 const {dispatch} = require('../lib/dispatcher')
 
 module.exports = class SubtitlesController {
@@ -11,7 +13,7 @@ module.exports = class SubtitlesController {
   }
 
   openSubtitles () {
-    electron.remote.dialog.showOpenDialog({
+    remote.dialog.showOpenDialog({
       title: 'Select a subtitles file.',
       filters: [ { name: 'Subtitles', extensions: ['vtt', 'srt'] } ],
       properties: [ 'openFile' ]

src/renderer/controllers/torrent-list-controller.js

@@ -84,21 +84,30 @@ module.exports = class TorrentListController {
     var s = TorrentSummary.getByKey(this.state, torrentKey)
     if (!s) throw new Error('Missing key: ' + torrentKey)
 
-    // Use Downloads folder by default
+    // New torrent: give it a path
-    if (!s.path) s.path = this.state.saved.prefs.downloadPath
+    if (!s.path) {
+      // Use Downloads folder by default
+      s.path = this.state.saved.prefs.downloadPath
+      return start()
+    }
 
+    // Existing torrent: check that the path is still there
     fs.stat(TorrentSummary.getFileOrFolder(s), function (err) {
       if (err) {
         s.error = 'path-missing'
         return
       }
+      start()
+    })
+
+    function start () {
       ipcRenderer.send('wt-start-torrenting',
         s.torrentKey,
         TorrentSummary.getTorrentID(s),
         s.path,
         s.fileModtimes,
         s.selections)
-    })
+    }
   }
 
   // TODO: use torrentKey, not infoHash
@@ -263,7 +272,7 @@ function deleteFile (path) {
 // Delete all files in a torrent
 function moveItemToTrash (torrentSummary) {
   var filePath = TorrentSummary.getFileOrFolder(torrentSummary)
-  ipcRenderer.send('moveItemToTrash', filePath)
+  if (filePath) ipcRenderer.send('moveItemToTrash', filePath)
 }
 
 function showItemInFolder (torrentSummary) {

src/renderer/lib/cast.js

@@ -396,7 +396,9 @@ function stop () {
 
 function stoppedCasting () {
   state.playing.location = 'local'
-  state.playing.jumpToTime = state.playing.currentTime
+  state.playing.jumpToTime = Number.isFinite(state.playing.currentTime)
+    ? state.playing.currentTime
+    : 0
   update()
 }
 

src/renderer/lib/migrations.js

@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ module.exports = {
   run
 }
 
-var semver = require('semver')
+const semver = require('semver')
-var config = require('../../config')
+const config = require('../../config')
+const TorrentSummary = require('./torrent-summary')
+const fs = require('fs')
 
 // Change `state.saved` (which will be saved back to config.json on exit) as
 // needed, for example to deal with config.json format changes across versions
@@ -29,13 +31,15 @@ function run (state) {
     migrate_0_11_0(state.saved)
   }
 
+  if (semver.lt(version, '0.12.0')) {
+    migrate_0_12_0(state.saved)
+  }
+
   // Config is now on the new version
   state.saved.version = config.APP_VERSION
 }
 
 function migrate_0_7_0 (saved) {
-  console.log('migrate to 0.7.0')
-
   var fs = require('fs-extra')
   var path = require('path')
 
@@ -50,7 +54,6 @@ function migrate_0_7_0 (saved) {
     // * Finally, now we're getting rid of torrentPath altogether
     var src, dst
     if (ts.torrentPath) {
-      console.log('replacing torrentPath %s', ts.torrentPath)
       if (path.isAbsolute(ts.torrentPath) || ts.torrentPath.startsWith('..')) {
         src = ts.torrentPath
       } else {
@@ -67,7 +70,6 @@ function migrate_0_7_0 (saved) {
 
     // Replace posterURL with posterFileName
     if (ts.posterURL) {
-      console.log('replacing posterURL %s', ts.posterURL)
       var extension = path.extname(ts.posterURL)
       src = path.isAbsolute(ts.posterURL)
         ? ts.posterURL
@@ -91,7 +93,7 @@ function migrate_0_7_0 (saved) {
 }
 
 function migrate_0_7_2 (saved) {
-  if (!saved.prefs) {
+  if (saved.prefs == null) {
     saved.prefs = {
       downloadPath: config.DEFAULT_DOWNLOAD_PATH
     }
@@ -99,8 +101,37 @@ function migrate_0_7_2 (saved) {
 }
 
 function migrate_0_11_0 (saved) {
-  if (saved.prefs.isFileHandler === undefined) {
+  if (saved.prefs.isFileHandler == null) {
     // The app used to make itself the default torrent file handler automatically
     saved.prefs.isFileHandler = true
   }
 }
+
+function migrate_0_12_0 (saved) {
+  if (saved.prefs.openExternalPlayer == null && saved.prefs.playInVlc != null) {
+    saved.prefs.openExternalPlayer = saved.prefs.playInVlc
+  }
+  delete saved.prefs.playInVlc
+
+  // Undo a terrible bug where clicking Play on a default torrent on a fresh
+  // install results in a "path missing" error
+  // See https://github.com/feross/webtorrent-desktop/pull/806
+  var defaultTorrentFiles = [
+    '6a9759bffd5c0af65319979fb7832189f4f3c35d.torrent',
+    '88594aaacbde40ef3e2510c47374ec0aa396c08e.torrent',
+    '6a02592d2bbc069628cd5ed8a54f88ee06ac0ba5.torrent',
+    '02767050e0be2fd4db9a2ad6c12416ac806ed6ed.torrent',
+    '3ba219a8634bf7bae3d848192b2da75ae995589d.torrent'
+  ]
+  saved.torrents.forEach(function (torrentSummary) {
+    if (!defaultTorrentFiles.includes(torrentSummary.torrentFileName)) return
+    var fileOrFolder = TorrentSummary.getFileOrFolder(torrentSummary)
+    if (!fileOrFolder) return
+    try {
+      fs.statSync(fileOrFolder)
+    } catch (e) {
+      // Default torrent with "missing path" error. Clear path.
+      delete torrentSummary.path
+    }
+  })
+}

src/renderer/lib/state.js

@@ -100,7 +100,10 @@ function setupSavedState (cb) {
 
   var saved = {
     prefs: {
-      downloadPath: config.DEFAULT_DOWNLOAD_PATH
+      downloadPath: config.DEFAULT_DOWNLOAD_PATH,
+      isFileHandler: false,
+      openExternalPlayer: false,
+      externalPlayerPath: null
     },
     torrents: config.DEFAULT_TORRENTS.map(createTorrentObject),
     version: config.APP_VERSION /* make sure we can upgrade gracefully later */

src/renderer/lib/telemetry.js

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ function init (state) {
   }
 
   var now = new Date()
+  telemetry.version = config.APP_VERSION
   telemetry.timestamp = now.toISOString()
   telemetry.localTime = now.toTimeString()
   telemetry.screens = getScreenInfo()
@@ -32,6 +33,8 @@ function init (state) {
 
   if (config.IS_PRODUCTION) {
     postToServer()
+    // If the user keeps WebTorrent running for a long time, post every 24h
+    setInterval(postToServer, 12 * 3600 * 1000)
   } else {
     // Development: telemetry used only for local debugging
     // Empty uncaught errors, etc at the start of every run
@@ -116,8 +119,6 @@ function getApproxNumTorrents (state) {
 
 // An uncaught error happened in the main process or in one of the windows
 function logUncaughtError (procName, err) {
-  console.error('uncaught error', procName, err)
-
   // Not initialized yet? Ignore.
   // Hopefully uncaught errors immediately on startup are fixed in dev
   if (!telemetry) return
@@ -125,7 +126,10 @@ function logUncaughtError (procName, err) {
   var message, stack
   if (err instanceof Error) {
     message = err.message
-    stack = err.stack
+    // Remove the first part of each file path in the stack trace.
+    // - Privacy: remove personal info like C:\Users\<full name>
+    // - Aggregation: this lets us find which stacktraces occur often
+    stack = err.stack.replace(/\(.*app.asar/g, '(...')
   } else {
     message = String(err)
     stack = ''

src/renderer/lib/torrent-summary.js

@@ -52,5 +52,6 @@ function getByKey (state, torrentKey) {
 // module. Store root folder explicitly to avoid hacky path processing below.
 function getFileOrFolder (torrentSummary) {
   var ts = torrentSummary
+  if (!ts.path || !ts.files || ts.files.length === 0) return null
   return path.join(ts.path, ts.files[0].path.split('/')[0])
 }

src/renderer/main.js

@@ -198,14 +198,14 @@ const dispatchHandlers = {
   'checkForSubtitles': () => controllers.subtitles.checkForSubtitles(),
   'addSubtitles': (files, autoSelect) => controllers.subtitles.addSubtitles(files, autoSelect),
 
-  // Local media: <video>, <audio>, VLC
+  // Local media: <video>, <audio>, external players
   'mediaStalled': () => controllers.media.mediaStalled(),
   'mediaError': (err) => controllers.media.mediaError(err),
   'mediaSuccess': () => controllers.media.mediaSuccess(),
   'mediaTimeUpdate': () => controllers.media.mediaTimeUpdate(),
   'mediaMouseMoved': () => controllers.media.mediaMouseMoved(),
-  'vlcPlay': () => controllers.media.vlcPlay(),
+  'openExternalPlayer': () => controllers.media.openExternalPlayer(),
-  'vlcNotFound': () => controllers.media.vlcNotFound(),
+  'externalPlayerNotFound': () => controllers.media.externalPlayerNotFound(),
 
   // Remote casting: Chromecast, Airplay, etc
   'toggleCastMenu': (deviceType) => lazyLoadCast().toggleMenu(deviceType),
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ function setDimensions (dimensions) {
   )
 
   ipcRenderer.send('setAspectRatio', aspectRatio)
-  ipcRenderer.send('setBounds', {x: null, y: null, width, height})
+  ipcRenderer.send('setBounds', {contentBounds: true, x: null, y: null, width, height})
   state.playing.aspectRatio = aspectRatio
 }
 

src/renderer/views/player.js

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ const React = require('react')
 const Bitfield = require('bitfield')
 const prettyBytes = require('prettier-bytes')
 const zeroFill = require('zero-fill')
+const path = require('path')
 
 const TorrentSummary = require('../lib/torrent-summary')
 const {dispatch, dispatcher} = require('../lib/dispatcher')
@@ -281,9 +282,12 @@ function renderCastScreen (state) {
     castIcon = 'tv'
     castType = 'DLNA'
     isCast = true
-  } else if (state.playing.location === 'vlc') {
+  } else if (state.playing.location === 'external') {
+    // TODO: get the player name in a more reliable way
+    var playerPath = state.saved.prefs.externalPlayerPath
+    var playerName = playerPath ? path.basename(playerPath).split('.')[0] : 'VLC'
     castIcon = 'tv'
-    castType = 'VLC'
+    castType = playerName
     isCast = false
   } else if (state.playing.location === 'error') {
     castIcon = 'error_outline'

src/renderer/views/preferences.js

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 const React = require('react')
 const remote = require('electron').remote
 const dialog = remote.dialog
+const path = require('path')
 
 const {dispatch} = require('../lib/dispatcher')
 
@@ -34,24 +35,11 @@ function renderPlaybackSection (state) {
     description: '',
     icon: 'settings'
   }, [
-    renderPlayInVlcSelector(state)
+    renderOpenExternalPlayerSelector(state),
+    renderExternalPlayerSelector(state)
   ])
 }
 
-function renderPlayInVlcSelector (state) {
-  return renderCheckbox({
-    key: 'play-in-vlc',
-    label: 'Play in VLC',
-    description: 'Media will play in VLC',
-    property: 'playInVlc',
-    value: state.saved.prefs.playInVlc
-  },
-  state.unsaved.prefs.playInVlc,
-  function (value) {
-    dispatch('updatePreferences', 'playInVlc', value)
-  })
-}
-
 function renderDownloadPathSelector (state) {
   return renderFileSelector({
     key: 'download-path',
@@ -92,6 +80,41 @@ function renderFileHandlers (state) {
   }
 }
 
+function renderExternalPlayerSelector (state) {
+  return renderFileSelector({
+    label: 'External Media Player',
+    description: 'Progam that will be used to play media externally',
+    property: 'externalPlayerPath',
+    options: {
+      title: 'Select media player executable',
+      properties: [ 'openFile' ]
+    }
+  },
+  state.unsaved.prefs.externalPlayerPath || '<VLC>',
+  function (filePath) {
+    if (path.extname(filePath) === '.app') {
+      // Get executable in packaged mac app
+      var name = path.basename(filePath, '.app')
+      filePath += '/Contents/MacOS/' + name
+    }
+    dispatch('updatePreferences', 'externalPlayerPath', filePath)
+  })
+}
+
+function renderOpenExternalPlayerSelector (state) {
+  return renderCheckbox({
+    key: 'open-external-player',
+    label: 'Play in External Player',
+    description: 'Media will play in external player',
+    property: 'openExternalPlayer',
+    value: state.saved.prefs.openExternalPlayer
+  },
+  state.unsaved.prefs.openExternalPlayer,
+  function (value) {
+    dispatch('updatePreferences', 'openExternalPlayer', value)
+  })
+}
+
 // Renders a prefs section.
 // - definition should be {icon, title, description}
 // - controls should be an array of vdom elements

src/renderer/views/unsupported-media-modal.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 const React = require('react')
 const electron = require('electron')
+const path = require('path')
 
 const {dispatcher} = require('../lib/dispatcher')
 
@@ -10,11 +11,15 @@ module.exports = class UnsupportedMediaModal extends React.Component {
     var message = (err && err.getMessage)
       ? err.getMessage()
       : err
-    var actionButton = state.modal.vlcInstalled
+    var playerPath = state.saved.prefs.externalPlayerPath
-      ? (<button className='button-raised' onClick={dispatcher('vlcPlay')}>Play in VLC</button>)
+    var playerName = playerPath
+      ? path.basename(playerPath).split('.')[0]
+      : 'VLC'
+    var actionButton = state.modal.externalPlayerInstalled
+      ? (<button className='button-raised' onClick={dispatcher('openExternalPlayer')}>Play in {playerName}</button>)
       : (<button className='button-raised' onClick={() => this.onInstall}>Install VLC</button>)
-    var vlcMessage = state.modal.vlcNotFound
+    var playerMessage = state.modal.externalPlayerNotFound
-      ? 'Couldn\'t run VLC. Please make sure it\'s installed.'
+      ? 'Couldn\'t run external player. Please make sure it\'s installed.'
       : ''
     return (
       <div>
@@ -24,7 +29,7 @@ module.exports = class UnsupportedMediaModal extends React.Component {
           <button className='button-flat' onClick={dispatcher('backToList')}>Cancel</button>
           {actionButton}
         </p>
-        <p className='error-text'>{vlcMessage}</p>
+        <p className='error-text'>{playerMessage}</p>
       </div>
     )
   }
@@ -34,6 +39,6 @@ module.exports = class UnsupportedMediaModal extends React.Component {
 
     // TODO: dcposch send a dispatch rather than modifying state directly
     var state = this.props.state
-    state.modal.vlcInstalled = true // Assume they'll install it successfully
+    state.modal.externalPlayerInstalled = true // Assume they'll install it successfully
   }
 }

static/linux/share/applications/webtorrent-desktop.desktop

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+[Desktop Entry]
+Name=WebTorrent
+Version=1.0
+GenericName=BitTorrent Client
+X-GNOME-FullName=WebTorrent
+Comment=Download and share files over BitTorrent
+Encoding=UTF-8
+Type=Application
+Icon=webtorrent-desktop
+Terminal=false
+Path=/opt/webtorrent-desktop
+Exec=/opt/webtorrent-desktop/WebTorrent %U
+TryExec=/opt/webtorrent-desktop/WebTorrent
+StartupNotify=false
+Categories=Network;FileTransfer;P2P;
+MimeType=application/x-bittorrent;x-scheme-handler/magnet;x-scheme-handler/stream-magnet;
+
+Actions=CreateNewTorrent;OpenTorrentFile;OpenTorrentAddress;
+
+[Desktop Action CreateNewTorrent]
+Name=Create New Torrent...
+Exec=/opt/webtorrent-desktop/WebTorrent -n
+Path=/opt/webtorrent-desktop
+
+[Desktop Action OpenTorrentFile]
+Name=Open Torrent File...
+Exec=/opt/webtorrent-desktop/WebTorrent -o
+Path=/opt/webtorrent-desktop
+
+[Desktop Action OpenTorrentAddress]
+Name=Open Torrent Address...
+Exec=/opt/webtorrent-desktop/WebTorrent -u
+Path=/opt/webtorrent-desktop