diff --git a/HANDOFF.md b/HANDOFF.md
index f4ffa58..e59581f 100644
--- a/HANDOFF.md
+++ b/HANDOFF.md
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
status poll (4 s cadence while recovering) with **measured** elapsed/attempt only — the countdown was
dropped after the creator pointed out YouTube's cutoff depends on variables we cannot see. The
`chatEndedEvent` in the chat feed now prompts an immediate status check.
-- Next: 32·5 (ingest pre-flight),
+- **32·5 shipped**: ingest pre-flight (TCP, 2 s) aborts go-live before any API call, so a dead
+ network leaves no ghost broadcast.
+- Next:
then 32·2/32·3 (countdown + Back on air) which need YOUR measurement take: pull the network on a
private stream and time how long YouTube holds the broadcast.
- Open loop: `32·4` is proven by construction only — kill ffmpeg mid-recording and play the file.
diff --git a/Services/IngestProbe.cs b/Services/IngestProbe.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7a451d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Services/IngestProbe.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+using System;
+using System.Net.Sockets;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using ytLive.Helpers;
+
+namespace ytLive.Services;
+
+///
+/// TASK 32·5: can we actually reach YouTube's ingest right now? One TCP connect, nothing else.
+/// This is prevention, not recovery: "I forgot the VPN" used to produce a broadcast that YouTube
+/// created and nobody ever saw — the app looked live while the push had nowhere to go. Checking the
+/// socket before the API call means the failure is a message, not a ghost broadcast.
+///
+public interface IIngestProbe
+{
+ /// True when the ingest host accepted a TCP connection. False on any failure — the
+ /// point is a fast, unambiguous answer, not a diagnosis.
+ Task CanReachAsync(string rtmpUrl, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default);
+}
+
+/// Default probe: parse the RTMP URL, connect to the host on its port (1935 for rtmp) with a
+/// short timeout. Failures are logged and reported as "not reachable".
+public sealed class TcpIngestProbe : IIngestProbe
+{
+ public static readonly TimeSpan DefaultTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2);
+
+ private readonly TimeSpan _timeout;
+
+ public TcpIngestProbe(TimeSpan? timeout = null) => _timeout = timeout ?? DefaultTimeout;
+
+ public async Task CanReachAsync(string rtmpUrl, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+ {
+ if (!TryParse(rtmpUrl, out var host, out var port))
+ {
+ AppLog.Write($"Ingest probe: '{rtmpUrl}' is not a usable RTMP URL");
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ using var timeoutCts = CancellationTokenSource.CreateLinkedTokenSource(cancellationToken);
+ timeoutCts.CancelAfter(_timeout);
+ try
+ {
+ using var client = new TcpClient();
+ await client.ConnectAsync(host, port, timeoutCts.Token).ConfigureAwait(false);
+ return client.Connected;
+ }
+ catch (OperationCanceledException)
+ {
+ AppLog.Write($"Ingest probe: {host}:{port} did not answer within {_timeout.TotalSeconds:0.#} s");
+ return false;
+ }
+ catch (Exception ex)
+ {
+ AppLog.Write($"Ingest probe: {host}:{port} unreachable: {ex.Message}");
+ return false;
+ }
+ }
+
+ /// rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2/key → (a.rtmp.youtube.com, 1935).
+ /// rtmps uses 443, which is what YouTube's secure ingest listens on.
+ internal static bool TryParse(string? rtmpUrl, out string host, out int port)
+ {
+ host = string.Empty;
+ port = 1935;
+ if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(rtmpUrl)) return false;
+ if (!Uri.TryCreate(rtmpUrl, UriKind.Absolute, out var uri)) return false;
+ if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(uri.Host)) return false;
+
+ host = uri.Host;
+ port = uri.IsDefaultPort
+ ? (uri.Scheme.Equals("rtmps", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ? 443 : 1935)
+ : uri.Port;
+ return true;
+ }
+}
diff --git a/TASKS.md b/TASKS.md
index e322732..a805e1d 100644
--- a/TASKS.md
+++ b/TASKS.md
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ blocker; the smallest slice is 32·4 (fragmented MP4 on the record block).
| 55·2–3 | ☐ | Disk hygiene: delete `%TEMP%` alert clips on close + sweep at startup; low-disk guard before REC (slice 1 shipped) | [`task-55`](TASKS/task-55-disk-hygiene.md) |
| 40·A/C/D | ☐ | App Settings: active-camera picker; persist output resolution + surface transition defaults + confirm-before-End; accent consolidation | [`task-40`](TASKS/task-40-app-settings-round.md) |
| 3·20 | ☐ | RewardEvent persistence: canonical `RewardEvents` table + `superChatEvents.list` 30-day backfill (the session report and journey read it) | [`task-03`](TASKS/task-03-capture-pipeline.md) |
-| 32 | 🔶 | Stream resilience: **fragmented MP4 + blip retry + poll-driven RECONNECTING done 2026-11-05** (no countdown — YouTube's cutoff is not a constant); remaining — one-click Back on air → ingest pre-flight | [`task-32`](TASKS/task-32-stream-resilience.md) |
+| 32 | 🔶 | Stream resilience: **fragmented MP4 + blip retry + poll-driven RECONNECTING + ingest pre-flight done 2026-11-05** (no countdown — YouTube's cutoff is not a constant); remaining — one-click Back on air | [`task-32`](TASKS/task-32-stream-resilience.md) |
| 33 | ☐ | Bandwidth auto step-down: pure policy over dropped-frame rate, one-way within a broadcast | [`task-33`](TASKS/task-33-bandwidth-step-down.md) |
| 34 | ☐ | Scheduled streams (Text-drawer version) | [`task-34`](TASKS/task-34-scheduled-streams.md) |
| 35 | ☐ | Scene-linked audio | [`task-35`](TASKS/task-35-scene-linked-audio.md) |
diff --git a/TASKS/task-32-stream-resilience.md b/TASKS/task-32-stream-resilience.md
index 93b13dd..bafdb4d 100644
--- a/TASKS/task-32-stream-resilience.md
+++ b/TASKS/task-32-stream-resilience.md
@@ -49,9 +49,15 @@ the API — creator ruling 2026-09-01): no lying in the copy.
editor tolerance, cite the research). Test: `Args_RecordBlock_IsFragmentedMp4_SoACrashKeepsTheFile` — the flags are on the record block and
absent from the streaming block. Verified by construction only: the file still needs one real
interrupted-take check on Windows (kill ffmpeg mid-recording, play the result).
-5. ☐ **Pre-flight** — before broadcast insert, one TCP probe to the ingest host:1935 (~2s timeout).
+5. ✅ **Pre-flight** (shipped 2026-11-05) — before broadcast insert, one TCP probe to the ingest host:1935 (~2s timeout).
Unreachable → Error toast, no insert, no ghost broadcast ("check VPN/network"). The "forgot the
VPN" story, solved as prevention instead of recovery. Test: fake probe failure aborts go-live before any API call.
+ **Shipped:** `Services/IngestProbe.cs` (`IIngestProbe` + `TcpIngestProbe`, 2 s timeout, rtmp→1935 /
+ rtmps→443) and `MainViewModel.IngestPreflightAsync`, called BEFORE the first API call whenever a
+ cached ingest URL exists (first run probes after resolving the stream, still before any broadcast is
+ created). Tests: `IngestPreflightTests` — unreachable aborts, reachable continues, and the probe is
+ exercised against real sockets (a listening port answers true, the same port closed answers false
+ quickly).
### Design decisions
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Streaming.Operations.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Streaming.Operations.cs
index 35d96e3..6829ecd 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Streaming.Operations.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Streaming.Operations.cs
@@ -147,6 +147,22 @@ public partial class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
/// Creates the record file (auto-named ty-…-0000.mp4 in the record
/// folder) and returns its path, or null when the folder can't be prepared.
+ /// TASK 32·5 — is YouTube's ingest reachable right now? A false answer aborts go-live
+ /// before anything is created on YouTube: "I forgot the VPN" used to produce a broadcast that
+ /// nobody ever saw, and the app looked live while the push had nowhere to go.
+ internal async Task IngestPreflightAsync(string rtmpUrl)
+ {
+ var probe = IngestProbeOverride ?? new TcpIngestProbe();
+ if (await probe.CanReachAsync(rtmpUrl)) return true;
+
+ AppLog.Write("Ingest unreachable — go-live aborted before creating a broadcast",
+ AppLogMessageType.Error, AppLogErrorClass.Class1);
+ _notifications.Error("Can't reach YouTube's ingest",
+ "Nothing was created on YouTube. Check your network or VPN, then try again.");
+ StopStream(); // rollback: no ghost broadcast, no half-lit session
+ return false;
+ }
+
/// One-click go-live (TASK 5): ensure the reusable stream, create a
/// broadcast bound to it, then start the frame pump. The pump reads the RTMP
/// URL once at startup (FramePump.StartAsync), so the stream URL must be set
@@ -156,6 +172,13 @@ public partial class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
try
{
+ // TASK 32·5 — prevention. With a cached ingest URL we probe BEFORE the first API call, so
+ // a dead network costs nothing and leaves nothing behind on YouTube. First run (no cached
+ // URL yet) probes once the stream is resolved, still before any broadcast is created.
+ var cachedIngest = _reusableStreamUrl;
+ if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(cachedIngest) && !await IngestPreflightAsync(cachedIngest))
+ return;
+
var stream = await _youtubeStream.GetOrCreateReusableStreamAsync();
if (stream == null)
{
@@ -170,6 +193,9 @@ public partial class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
_reusableStreamUrl = stream.RtmpUrl;
_layoutStore.SaveReusableStream(stream);
+ if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(cachedIngest) && !await IngestPreflightAsync(stream.RtmpUrl))
+ return;
+
_currentBroadcastId = await _youtubeStream.CreateBroadcast(
StreamTitle, StreamDescription, DateTime.UtcNow);
_broadcastSeenLive = false;
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
index e65dd28..10ba32e 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs
@@ -505,6 +505,9 @@ public partial class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
/// a clip's backdrop.
internal static IChromaProbe? ChromaProbeOverride { get; set; }
+ /// Test seam (TASK 32·5): a fake ingest probe so tests never open a socket.
+ internal static IIngestProbe? IngestProbeOverride { get; set; }
+
private void LoadLayout()
{
_isLoading = true;
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/IngestPreflightTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/IngestPreflightTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..127c8f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/IngestPreflightTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Net;
+using System.Net.Sockets;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Microsoft.Data.Sqlite;
+using Xunit;
+using ytLive.Services;
+using ytLive.ViewModels;
+
+namespace ytLive.Tests;
+
+///
+/// TASK 32·5 Good Dog: "I forgot the VPN" used to create a broadcast on YouTube that nothing ever
+/// pushed to. Go-live now probes the ingest with one TCP connect first; a dead network costs two
+/// seconds and leaves nothing behind on YouTube.
+/// The gate is asserted through the view-model's own entry point, and the probe is asserted
+/// against real sockets — a listening port and a closed one — so neither half is a mock talking to a
+/// mock.
+///
+[Collection("RealApp")]
+public sealed class IngestPreflightTests
+{
+ private readonly RealAppHost _app;
+
+ public IngestPreflightTests(RealAppHost app) => _app = app;
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task UnreachableIngest_AbortsGoLive()
+ {
+ await _app.RunAsync(async () =>
+ {
+ var tempDb = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), $"ytLlive-ingest-{Guid.NewGuid():N}.db");
+ MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = tempDb;
+ MainViewModel.IngestProbeOverride = new FakeProbe(false);
+ var window = new MainWindow();
+ var vm = (MainViewModel)window.DataContext;
+ try
+ {
+ Assert.False(await vm.IngestPreflightAsync("rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2/key"),
+ "an unreachable ingest must abort go-live before anything is created on YouTube");
+ Assert.False(vm.IsLive);
+ }
+ finally
+ {
+ window.Close();
+ MainViewModel.IngestProbeOverride = null;
+ MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = null;
+ SqliteConnection.ClearAllPools();
+ try { File.Delete(tempDb); } catch { /* best-effort cleanup */ }
+ }
+ });
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task ReachableIngest_LetsGoLiveContinue()
+ {
+ await _app.RunAsync(async () =>
+ {
+ var tempDb = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), $"ytLlive-ingest-{Guid.NewGuid():N}.db");
+ MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = tempDb;
+ MainViewModel.IngestProbeOverride = new FakeProbe(true);
+ var window = new MainWindow();
+ var vm = (MainViewModel)window.DataContext;
+ try
+ {
+ Assert.True(await vm.IngestPreflightAsync("rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2/key"));
+ }
+ finally
+ {
+ window.Close();
+ MainViewModel.IngestProbeOverride = null;
+ MainViewModel.LayoutPathOverride = null;
+ SqliteConnection.ClearAllPools();
+ try { File.Delete(tempDb); } catch { /* best-effort cleanup */ }
+ }
+ });
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public void TheProbe_ParsesTheIngestUrl_AndDefaultsToTheRtmpPort()
+ {
+ Assert.True(TcpIngestProbe.TryParse("rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2/key", out var host, out var port));
+ Assert.Equal("a.rtmp.youtube.com", host);
+ Assert.Equal(1935, port);
+
+ Assert.True(TcpIngestProbe.TryParse("rtmps://a.rtmps.youtube.com/live2/key", out _, out var securePort));
+ Assert.Equal(443, securePort);
+
+ Assert.False(TcpIngestProbe.TryParse("not a url", out _, out _));
+ Assert.False(TcpIngestProbe.TryParse("", out _, out _));
+ }
+
+ [Fact]
+ public async Task TheProbe_AnswersFromRealSockets()
+ {
+ // A listener on loopback: reachable.
+ var listener = new TcpListener(IPAddress.Loopback, 0);
+ listener.Start();
+ var port = ((IPEndPoint)listener.LocalEndpoint).Port;
+ try
+ {
+ var probe = new TcpIngestProbe(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2));
+ Assert.True(await probe.CanReachAsync($"rtmp://127.0.0.1:{port}/live2/key"));
+ }
+ finally
+ {
+ listener.Stop();
+ }
+
+ // The same port, now closed: unreachable, and it must answer quickly rather than hang.
+ var closed = new TcpIngestProbe(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(400));
+ var clock = System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch.StartNew();
+ Assert.False(await closed.CanReachAsync($"rtmp://127.0.0.1:{port}/live2/key"));
+ Assert.True(clock.Elapsed < TimeSpan.FromSeconds(3),
+ $"the probe must fail fast, took {clock.Elapsed.TotalSeconds:0.0}s");
+ }
+
+ private sealed class FakeProbe : IIngestProbe
+ {
+ private readonly bool _reachable;
+ public FakeProbe(bool reachable) => _reachable = reachable;
+ public Task CanReachAsync(string rtmpUrl, CancellationToken cancellationToken = default)
+ => Task.FromResult(_reachable);
+ }
+}