Updated version number

.gitignore

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+build/
+dist/

README.md

@@ -1,10 +1,19 @@
 # SMTC Bridge
 
-SMTC Bridge was designed to expose Windows *System Media Transport Controls (SMTC)* as a clean REST API.
+SMTC Bridge is a lightweight system tray application that exposes Windows ***System Media Transport Controls (SMTC)*** as a clean REST API.
 
-This was designed for developers to easily create their own "Now Playing" widgets that work with anything supported by SMTC, bypassing the complicated API limitations imposed by streaming platforms (fuck you Spotify).
+This tool allows developers to easily create their own "Now Playing" widgets that work with anything supported by SMTC, bypassing the complex API limitations imposed by streaming platforms (fuck you Spotify).
 
-Simply open run the system tray application, and a local web server will run in the background, accessible at `http://127.0.0.1:5000/now-playing/`
+Simply run the application, and a local web server will run in the background. By default, it can be accessed here after running the application:<br>
+[http://127.0.0.1:5000/now-playing/](http://127.0.0.1:5000/now-playing/)
+
+A ready-to-use "Now Playing" widget utilizing SMTC Bridge is available to try here:<br>
+**[https://widgets.nutty.gg/now-playing/settings/](https://widgets.nutty.gg/now-playing/settings/)**
+
+## Quick Start
+1. Download the latest `.exe` from the [Releases page](releases).
+2. Run the application — a tray icon will appear.
+3. Right-click the icon to view the API.
 
 ### Endpoints
 
@@ -13,10 +22,73 @@ Simply open run the system tray application, and a local web server will run in
 | `GET` | `/now-playing` | Returns the current media state as JSON. |
 | `GET` | `/sessions` | Returns a list of all active media sessions. |
 
-## Quick Start
+### Schema
-1. Download the latest `.exe` from the [Releases page](releases).
+The `/now-playing` endpoint provides a real-time snapshot of your active media sessions. Developers can integrate this into their own web widgets using the following JSON structure:
-2. Run the application — a tray icon will appear.
+
-3. Right-click the icon to view the API.
+```json
+{
+  "app_version": "string",
+  "current_session_id": "string",
+  "sessions": [
+    {
+      "source_app_id": "string",
+      "media_properties": {
+        "Title": "string",
+        "Artist": "string",
+        "AlbumTitle": "string",
+        "AlbumArtist": "string",
+        "Thumbnail": "string (base64)",
+        "AlbumTrackCount": "integer",
+        "TrackNumber": "integer",
+        "Genres": "array of strings",
+        "Subtitle": "string"
+      },
+      "playback_info": {
+        "PlaybackStatus": "integer",
+        "PlaybackType": "integer",
+        "PlaybackRate": "number or null",
+        "IsShuffleActive": "boolean",
+        "AutoRepeatMode": "integer"
+      },
+      "timeline_properties": {
+        "Position": "integer (ms)",
+        "StartTime": "integer (ms)",
+        "EndTime": "integer (ms)",
+        "MinSeekTime": "integer (ms)",
+        "MaxSeekTime": "integer (ms)",
+        "LastUpdatedTime": "string (ISO 8601)"
+      }
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+### Enums
+
+#### Playback Status
+| Value | Status | Description |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| `0` | `CLOSED` | Engine uninitialized or empty |
+| `1` | `OPENED` | Pipeline loaded but idling |
+| `2` | `CHANGING` | Buffering, track skipping, or seeking |
+| `3` | `STOPPED` | Track queued but fully stopped |
+| `4` | `PLAYING` | Audio actively streaming |
+| `5` | `PAUSED` | Audio frozen |
+
+#### Playback Type
+| Value | Type | Description |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| `0` | `UNKNOWN` | Generic audio wrapper |
+| `1` | `MUSIC` | Pure audio pipeline (Spotify, iTunes, etc.) |
+| `2` | `VIDEO` | Visual media feed (YouTube, Twitch, etc.) |
+| `3` | `IMAGE` | Static slideshow presentation hook |
+
+#### Auto Repeat Mode
+| Value | Mode | Description |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| `0` | `NONE` | Plays queue through and terminates |
+| `1` | `TRACK` | Single active song looping |
+| `2` | `LIST` | Parent playlist/album looping |
 
 ## Credits
 Built and maintained by **nutty**. 

smtc-bridge.pyw

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # Versioning
-APP_VERSION = "0.0.1"
+APP_VERSION = "0.0.4"
 DEVELOPER = "nutty"
 
 
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ try:
     import pystray
     import webbrowser
     import configparser
+    import time
     from PIL import Image
     from flask import Flask, jsonify
     from flask_cors import CORS
@@ -146,7 +147,11 @@ try:
 
     app = Flask(__name__)
     CORS(app)
-    ARTWORK_CACHE = {}
+
+    # Create a local temp directory for thumbnails
+    THUMB_DIR = os.path.join(tempfile.gettempdir(), 'smtc_bridge_thumbs')
+    if not os.path.exists(THUMB_DIR):
+        os.makedirs(THUMB_DIR)
 
 
 
@@ -155,8 +160,6 @@ try:
     ######################
 
     async def get_all_media_info():            
-        global ARTWORK_CACHE
-            
         try:
             # Instantiate the SMTC manager -> This allows use to "talk" to the Windows Media API
             manager = await SMTC.request_async()
@@ -262,29 +265,10 @@ try:
                     "Thumbnail": None 
                 }
 
-                # Add the album art (i.e. "Thumbnail") as a Base64 string.
+                # Read and save thumbnail to a local temp file with byte-hashing cache
-                # We will cache this so we don't have to read it every single call.
+                thumb_url = None
-                # Use the track title and artist as the key -> {title} - {artist}
+                if raw_media and raw_media.thumbnail:
-                
-                # Build the key
-                title = raw_media.title if raw_media else "Unknown"
-                artist = raw_media.artist if raw_media else "Unknown"
-                track_key = f"{title} - {artist}"
-                
-                # Check if the album art is cached.
-                # If yes:
-                #       - Retrieve it from the cache.
-                #       - Add it to the payload
-                if app_id in ARTWORK_CACHE and ARTWORK_CACHE[app_id]["track_key"] == track_key:
-                    media_data["Thumbnail"] = ARTWORK_CACHE[app_id]["base64"]
-                
-                # If not
-                #       - Read the Base64 string
-                #       - Cache the Base64 string
-                #       - Add it to the payload
-                elif raw_media and raw_media.thumbnail:
                     try:
-                        # Read the Base64 string
                         stream_ref = raw_media.thumbnail
                         stream = await stream_ref.open_read_async()
                         reader = DataReader(stream.get_input_stream_at(0))
@@ -292,16 +276,51 @@ try:
                         buffer = bytearray(stream.size)
                         reader.read_bytes(buffer)
                         
-                        img = Image.open(io.BytesIO(buffer))
+                        # Generate a safe filename based on the app_id
-                        base64_art = f"data:image/png;base64,{base64.b64encode(buffer).decode('utf-8')}"
+                        safe_app_id = "".join(c for c in app_id if c.isalnum() or c in ('_', '-'))
+                        thumb_filename = f"{safe_app_id}.jpg"
+                        thumb_path = os.path.join(THUMB_DIR, thumb_filename)
                         
-                        # Cache the Base64 string
+                        # Hash the raw image bytes to check if the artwork actually changed
-                        ARTWORK_CACHE[app_id] = {"track_key": track_key, "base64": base64_art}
+                        import hashlib
+                        img_hash = hashlib.md5(buffer).hexdigest()
                         
-                        # Add it to the payload
+                        # Track hashes in memory to avoid writing to disk if nothing changed
-                        media_data["Thumbnail"] = base64_art
+                        if not hasattr(get_all_media_info, "cache"):
-                    except Exception:
+                            get_all_media_info.cache = {}
+                        
+                        # Check if we already processed this exact artwork for this app
+                        if get_all_media_info.cache.get(safe_app_id) == img_hash and os.path.exists(thumb_path):
+                            # Artwork hasn't changed, reuse existing file and version timestamp
                             pass
+                        else:
+                            # Process and save with Pillow only when bytes actually change
+                            img = Image.open(io.BytesIO(buffer))
+                            if img.mode in ("RGBA", "P"):
+                                img = img.convert("RGB")
+
+                            # Save at full resolution, but use faster compression settings
+                            img.save(
+                                thumb_path, 
+                                "JPEG", 
+                                quality=40,          # Sweet spot for small size / high visual fidelity
+                                subsampling=2,       # Faster compression algorithm for low-end CPUs
+                                optimize=False       # Skips the extra CPU pass
+                            )
+                            
+                            # Update cache hash
+                            get_all_media_info.cache[safe_app_id] = img_hash
+                        
+                        # Use file modification time as the version token so browsers cache it aggressively
+                        thumb_version = int(os.path.getmtime(thumb_path) * 1000)
+                        
+                        # Construct the URL with the version query parameter
+                        thumb_url = f"http://{HOST}:{PORT}/artwork/{safe_app_id}?v={thumb_version}"
+                    except Exception:
+                        thumb_url = None
+
+                # Add the local URL to the payload
+                media_data["Thumbnail"] = thumb_url
 
                 # Finally, assemble all the data into a session object, and add it to the session list
                 sessions_list.append({
@@ -326,6 +345,12 @@ try:
     ### ENDPOINTS ###
     #################
 
+    @app.route('/artwork/<app_identifier>')
+    def serve_artwork(app_identifier):
+        from flask import send_from_directory
+        # Serve the cached thumbnail directly from the temp directory
+        return send_from_directory(THUMB_DIR, f"{app_identifier}.jpg")
+
     @app.route('/now-playing')
     def now_playing():
         loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
@@ -392,7 +417,7 @@ try:
             pystray.MenuItem("View Data (JSON)", lambda: webbrowser.open(f"http://{HOST}:{PORT}/now-playing")),
             pystray.MenuItem("View Active Sessions", lambda: webbrowser.open(f"http://{HOST}:{PORT}/sessions")),
             pystray.Menu.SEPARATOR,
-            pystray.MenuItem("★ Customize Overlay", lambda: webbrowser.open(f"https://beta.nutty.gg/now-playing/settings/")),
+            pystray.MenuItem("★ Customize Overlay", lambda: webbrowser.open(f"https://widgets.nutty.gg/now-playing/settings/")),
             pystray.MenuItem("★ Try my stream widgets!", lambda: webbrowser.open(f"https://nutty.gg/collections/member-exclusive-widgets")),
             pystray.Menu.SEPARATOR,
             pystray.MenuItem("Quit", on_quit)