The creator couldn't add a webcam to Live (grayed app-wide) and nothing in the
app explained why. Ground truth from the live DB: one Webcam identity AND one
WebcamSceneConfig in the Chat scene — so the gray was the single-identity rule
working, but the reason was unobservable. This slice makes the webcam a
resource the app validates and locks, mirroring how OBS reserves its devices.
At startup we enumerate the OS once (ValidateWebcamResourceStartupAsync, fired
after LoadLayout, stored as WebcamStartupValidationTask for tests to await):
- 0 webcams -> app runs on, layer inactive, no alarm
- exactly 1 -> attempt CameraManager.AcquireAsync as an app-wide lock; on
failure show a persistent red alert at the bottom of the Layers panel
(WebcamLockAlert + Retry) that re-polls every 5s and clears itself the
moment the camera locks, or on any first real frame
- >=2 -> deliberately no auto-lock; camera selection belongs to the App
Settings dialog (gear) — next slice
CameraManager.IsRunning(deviceId) tells the pass a session already exists
(started OR still starting) so loaded identity configs count as the lock and
the pass never double-acquires. Test seams mirror LayoutPathOverride:
CameraEnumeratorOverride / CameraFrameSourceFactoryOverride so the startup
probe never touches real hardware under test.
Good Dog test: WebcamStartupResourceTests x3 — single-cam locked + app runs on,
zero-cams no-alarm/no-lock, lock-fails -> red alert -> Retry -> clears. Full
suite 304/304, build 0 warnings, scope-check passed.
Docs in-commit: TASKS Open items + ai.md Webcam section + HANDOFF rewrite.
Also corrects the record: 'NVIDIA Broadcast opens the webcam exclusively' was a
suspect-list claim (CameraConflictProbe reads process names only, no handles)
— not restated as fact.
gramps