Video pipeline fixes: visibility strip, rich briefs, spotlight timing + fps (#369)

* feat(video): pipeline visibility — strip, state-aware queue, render-error capture Task 1 of the 2026-07-09 video-pipeline review. New CEO-gated GET /video/pipeline lists every in-flight video item (authoring statuses, rendering attempt n/max, terminal failures with the error — now stamped onto the video_draft marker instead of dying as a log line). source_task_id exposed on both video schemas. Panel: pipeline strip on the Social page, state-aware queue empty copy, title/script on queue rows, missing cuts disabled instead of a blank player, notifications deep-link related_task_id. MAX_VIDEO_RENDER_ATTEMPTS moved to the markers policy layer (single source of truth). * feat(video): rich authoring briefs — changelog section, brand voice, kit pointer Task 2 of the 2026-07-09 video-pipeline review. The release brief is now a structured block (full CHANGELOG section capped at 4000 chars + highlights) instead of one LLM-compressed sentence; brand_voice and a motion/kit design-bar pointer are appended centrally in open_video_task so release, spotlight, and on-demand paths all inherit them. suggested_input_props seeded on the video_draft marker; third acceptance criterion pins the design bar; propose_video docstring points at the kit. * fix(video): spotlight video drafts on CEO approval, renderer honors data-fps Task 4 of the 2026-07-09 video-pipeline review. The companion-video hook moves from propose_feature_spotlight (HoM authoring time) to XPostService approve's posted-success branch for x_feature drafts, mirroring the release-publish seam — a rejected spotlight no longer burns a ux-dev cycle; wants_video/video_script ride the x_feature_ref marker. Best-effort: a video-engine failure never breaks the post. render.js reads data-fps from the composition HTML (clamped 24-60, fallback 30) instead of hardcoding 30; parseFps covered by node --test. --------- Co-authored-by: Renn F <rennf93@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-08-03 07:23:24 +02:00 · 2026-07-09 08:31:08 +02:00
parent 12b91d17a2
commit 18998c4a42
28 changed files with 1677 additions and 190 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
+import { render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import type { ReactNode } from "react";
+import type { VideoPipelineItem } from "@/lib/api/video";
+
+const { listPipeline } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  listPipeline: vi.fn(async (): Promise<VideoPipelineItem[]> => []),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/api", () => ({
+  videoApi: { listPipeline },
+}));
+
+import { VideoPipelineStrip } from "../video-pipeline-strip";
+
+function withQueryClient(ui: ReactNode) {
+  const client = new QueryClient({
+    defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false } },
+  });
+  return <QueryClientProvider client={client}>{ui}</QueryClientProvider>;
+}
+
+const AUTHORING: VideoPipelineItem = {
+  task_id: "vp-1",
+  title: "Video: launch teaser",
+  occasion: "launch",
+  status: "in_progress",
+  pr_number: null,
+  composition_id: null,
+  render_status: null,
+  render_attempts: 0,
+  max_attempts: 5,
+  render_error: null,
+};
+
+const AWAITING_APPROVAL: VideoPipelineItem = {
+  ...AUTHORING,
+  task_id: "vp-2",
+  status: "awaiting_ceo_approval",
+};
+
+const RENDERING: VideoPipelineItem = {
+  ...AUTHORING,
+  task_id: "vp-3",
+  status: "completed",
+  composition_id: "Intro",
+  render_attempts: 2,
+};
+
+const FAILED: VideoPipelineItem = {
+  ...AUTHORING,
+  task_id: "vp-4",
+  status: "completed",
+  composition_id: "Intro",
+  render_status: "failed",
+  render_attempts: 5,
+  render_error: "sidecar timeout",
+};
+
+describe("VideoPipelineStrip", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    listPipeline.mockClear();
+  });
+  afterEach(() => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("renders nothing when the pipeline is empty", async () => {
+    render(withQueryClient(<VideoPipelineStrip />));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(listPipeline).toHaveBeenCalled());
+    expect(screen.queryByText("Video Pipeline")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("shows a stage chip per in-flight item, including the failure reason", async () => {
+    listPipeline.mockResolvedValueOnce([
+      AUTHORING,
+      AWAITING_APPROVAL,
+      RENDERING,
+      FAILED,
+    ]);
+    render(withQueryClient(<VideoPipelineStrip />));
+
+    expect(await screen.findByText("Video Pipeline")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText("Authoring")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText("Awaiting your approval")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText("Rendering (attempt 2/5)")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByText("Render failed: sidecar timeout"),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("deep-links only the awaiting-approval row to the task", async () => {
+    listPipeline.mockResolvedValueOnce([AUTHORING, AWAITING_APPROVAL]);
+    render(withQueryClient(<VideoPipelineStrip />));
+    await screen.findByText("Video Pipeline");
+
+    const reviewLinks = screen.getAllByRole("link", { name: "Review" });
+    expect(reviewLinks).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(reviewLinks[0]).toHaveAttribute("href", "/tasks/vp-2");
+  });
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import {
+  derivePipelineStage,
+  pipelineStageLabel,
+  pipelineStageColor,
+} from "../video-pipeline-utils";
+
+const BASE = {
+  status: "in_progress",
+  render_status: null,
+  render_attempts: 0,
+  max_attempts: 5,
+  render_error: null,
+};
+
+describe("derivePipelineStage", () => {
+  it.each([
+    "backlog",
+    "pending",
+    "claimed",
+    "in_progress",
+    "blocked",
+    "paused",
+    "verifying",
+    "needs_revision",
+  ])("maps %s to authoring", (status) => {
+    expect(derivePipelineStage({ ...BASE, status })).toEqual({
+      kind: "authoring",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    "awaiting_qa",
+    "awaiting_documentation",
+    "awaiting_pr_review",
+    "awaiting_pm_review",
+  ])("maps %s to in_review", (status) => {
+    expect(derivePipelineStage({ ...BASE, status })).toEqual({
+      kind: "in_review",
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("maps awaiting_ceo_approval to awaiting_approval", () => {
+    expect(
+      derivePipelineStage({ ...BASE, status: "awaiting_ceo_approval" }),
+    ).toEqual({ kind: "awaiting_approval" });
+  });
+
+  it("maps a completed task with no render_status to rendering, carrying attempts", () => {
+    expect(
+      derivePipelineStage({
+        ...BASE,
+        status: "completed",
+        render_status: null,
+        render_attempts: 2,
+        max_attempts: 5,
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ kind: "rendering", attempt: 2, maxAttempts: 5 });
+  });
+
+  it("maps a completed task with render_status='failed' to render_failed, carrying the reason", () => {
+    expect(
+      derivePipelineStage({
+        ...BASE,
+        status: "completed",
+        render_status: "failed",
+        render_error: "sidecar timeout",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ kind: "render_failed", reason: "sidecar timeout" });
+  });
+
+  it("render_failed carries a null reason when the marker holds none", () => {
+    expect(
+      derivePipelineStage({
+        ...BASE,
+        status: "completed",
+        render_status: "failed",
+        render_error: null,
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({ kind: "render_failed", reason: null });
+  });
+});
+
+describe("pipelineStageLabel", () => {
+  it("labels every stage kind", () => {
+    expect(pipelineStageLabel({ kind: "authoring" })).toBe("Authoring");
+    expect(pipelineStageLabel({ kind: "in_review" })).toBe("In review");
+    expect(pipelineStageLabel({ kind: "awaiting_approval" })).toBe(
+      "Awaiting your approval",
+    );
+    expect(
+      pipelineStageLabel({ kind: "rendering", attempt: 2, maxAttempts: 5 }),
+    ).toBe("Rendering (attempt 2/5)");
+    expect(
+      pipelineStageLabel({ kind: "render_failed", reason: "boom" }),
+    ).toBe("Render failed: boom");
+    expect(pipelineStageLabel({ kind: "render_failed", reason: null })).toBe(
+      "Render failed",
+    );
+  });
+});
+
+describe("pipelineStageColor", () => {
+  it("returns a distinct class per stage kind", () => {
+    const stages: Parameters<typeof pipelineStageColor>[0][] = [
+      { kind: "authoring" },
+      { kind: "in_review" },
+      { kind: "awaiting_approval" },
+      { kind: "rendering", attempt: 1, maxAttempts: 5 },
+      { kind: "render_failed", reason: null },
+    ];
+    const colors = stages.map(pipelineStageColor);
+    expect(new Set(colors).size).toBe(colors.length);
+  });
+});
@@ -2,51 +2,68 @@ import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach, afterEach } from "vitest";
 import { fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 import type { ReactNode } from "react";
-import type { VideoPost } from "@/lib/api/video";
+import type { VideoPipelineItem, VideoPost } from "@/lib/api/video";

 const { resolveApproveRef } = vi.hoisted(() => ({
  resolveApproveRef: { current: null as null | ((v: unknown) => void) },
 }));

-const { listPosts, approve, reject, requestVideo, getMediaBlob } = vi.hoisted(
-  () => ({
-    listPosts: vi.fn(
-      async () =>
-        [
-          {
-            task_id: "v-1",
-            source: "video_post",
-            title: "Video: release v0.19.0",
-            status: "pending",
-            occasion: "release",
-            script: "RoboCo v0.19.0 just shipped!",
-            platforms: ["x", "tiktok"],
-            x_caption: "RoboCo v0.19.0 is here!",
-            tiktok_caption: "New RoboCo drop!",
+const {
+  listPosts,
+  listPipeline,
+  approve,
+  reject,
+  requestVideo,
+  getMediaBlob,
+} = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  listPosts: vi.fn(
+    async () =>
+      [
+        {
+          task_id: "v-1",
+          source: "video_post",
+          title: "Video: release v0.19.0",
+          status: "pending",
+          occasion: "release",
+          script: "RoboCo v0.19.0 just shipped!",
+          platforms: ["x", "tiktok"],
+          x_caption: "RoboCo v0.19.0 is here!",
+          tiktok_caption: "New RoboCo drop!",
+          mp4_paths: {
+            vertical: "/fake/vertical.mp4",
+            square: "/fake/square.mp4",
          },
-        ] as VideoPost[],
-    ),
-    // Deferred so the test can freeze the approve mid-flight.
-    approve: vi.fn(
-      () =>
-        new Promise((r) => {
-          resolveApproveRef.current = r as (v: unknown) => void;
-        }),
-    ),
-    reject: vi.fn(async () => ({})),
-    requestVideo: vi.fn(async () => ({
-      status: "opened",
-      task_id: "v-2",
-      detail: "Video-authoring task opened.",
-    })),
-    getMediaBlob: vi.fn(
-      async () => new Blob(["fake-mp4-bytes"], { type: "video/mp4" }),
-    ),
-  }),
-);
+        },
+      ] as VideoPost[],
+  ),
+  listPipeline: vi.fn(async (): Promise<VideoPipelineItem[]> => []),
+  // Deferred so the test can freeze the approve mid-flight.
+  approve: vi.fn(
+    () =>
+      new Promise((r) => {
+        resolveApproveRef.current = r as (v: unknown) => void;
+      }),
+  ),
+  reject: vi.fn(async () => ({})),
+  requestVideo: vi.fn(async () => ({
+    status: "opened",
+    task_id: "v-2",
+    detail: "Video-authoring task opened.",
+  })),
+  getMediaBlob: vi.fn(
+    async () => new Blob(["fake-mp4-bytes"], { type: "video/mp4" }),
+  ),
+}));

 vi.mock("@/lib/api", () => ({
-  videoApi: { listPosts, approve, reject, requestVideo, getMediaBlob },
+  videoApi: {
+    listPosts,
+    listPipeline,
+    approve,
+    reject,
+    requestVideo,
+    getMediaBlob,
+  },
 }));

 import { VideoPostQueue } from "../video-post-queue";
@@ -61,6 +78,7 @@ function withQueryClient(ui: ReactNode) {
 describe("VideoPostQueue", () => {
  beforeEach(() => {
    listPosts.mockClear();
+    listPipeline.mockClear();
    approve.mockClear();
    reject.mockClear();
    requestVideo.mockClear();
@@ -87,6 +105,46 @@ describe("VideoPostQueue", () => {
    expect(screen.getByDisplayValue("New RoboCo drop!")).toBeInTheDocument();
  });

+  it("shows the fetched title and script instead of dropping them", async () => {
+    render(withQueryClient(<VideoPostQueue />));
+    expect(
+      await screen.findByText("Video: release v0.19.0"),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByText("RoboCo v0.19.0 just shipped!"),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("flags a missing cut as disabled instead of silently blanking the player", async () => {
+    listPosts.mockResolvedValueOnce([
+      {
+        task_id: "v-1",
+        source: "video_post",
+        title: "Video: release v0.19.0",
+        status: "pending",
+        occasion: "release",
+        script: "RoboCo v0.19.0 just shipped!",
+        platforms: ["x", "tiktok"],
+        x_caption: "RoboCo v0.19.0 is here!",
+        tiktok_caption: "New RoboCo drop!",
+        mp4_paths: { vertical: "/fake/vertical.mp4" }, // square never rendered
+      },
+    ] as VideoPost[]);
+    render(withQueryClient(<VideoPostQueue />));
+    await screen.findByText("release");
+
+    const squareButton = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /1:1/ });
+    expect(squareButton).toHaveTextContent("(missing)");
+    expect(squareButton).toBeDisabled();
+    // The present cut is unaffected — no "(missing)" suffix, not disabled.
+    const verticalButton = screen.getByRole("button", { name: /9:16/ });
+    expect(verticalButton).not.toHaveTextContent("(missing)");
+    expect(verticalButton).not.toBeDisabled();
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(getMediaBlob).toHaveBeenCalledWith("v-1", "vertical"),
+    );
+  });
+
  // H15: the 30s refetchInterval produces a new `post` prop, but useState
  // initializes once — so a server-side re-draft between the CEO opening the
  // card and approving would be silently overwritten by the stale initial
@@ -242,12 +300,36 @@ describe("VideoPostQueue", () => {
    );
  });

-  it("shows an empty-state card (with the request action) when there are no drafts", async () => {
+  it("shows the keys/engine empty copy when nothing is in the pipeline either", async () => {
    listPosts.mockResolvedValueOnce([]);
+    listPipeline.mockResolvedValueOnce([]);
    render(withQueryClient(<VideoPostQueue />));
    expect(await screen.findByText(/No drafts yet/)).toBeInTheDocument();
    expect(
      screen.getByRole("button", { name: /Request a video/ }),
    ).toBeInTheDocument();
  });
+
+  it("shows an in-flight count instead of the keys/engine copy when the pipeline is non-empty", async () => {
+    listPosts.mockResolvedValueOnce([]);
+    listPipeline.mockResolvedValueOnce([
+      {
+        task_id: "vp-1",
+        title: "Video: launch teaser",
+        occasion: "launch",
+        status: "in_progress",
+        pr_number: null,
+        composition_id: null,
+        render_status: null,
+        render_attempts: 0,
+        max_attempts: 5,
+        render_error: null,
+      },
+    ] as VideoPipelineItem[]);
+    render(withQueryClient(<VideoPostQueue />));
+    expect(
+      await screen.findByText(/1 video in flight — nothing rendered yet/),
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/No drafts yet/)).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
 });
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+"use client";
+
+import Link from "next/link";
+import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { videoApi } from "@/lib/api";
+import type { VideoPipelineItem } from "@/lib/api/video";
+import {
+  derivePipelineStage,
+  pipelineStageColor,
+  pipelineStageLabel,
+} from "./video-pipeline-utils";
+import {
+  Card,
+  CardContent,
+  CardDescription,
+  CardHeader,
+  CardTitle,
+} from "@/components/ui/card";
+import { Badge } from "@/components/ui/badge";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
+import { Film } from "lucide-react";
+
+// One row: title + occasion + a colored stage chip. The stage chip is
+// derived (never fetched) from status + render_status/render_attempts —
+// see video-pipeline-utils.ts, unit-tested directly there. Only the
+// "awaiting your approval" stage deep-links out (the CEO decision the
+// pipeline is surfacing); every other stage is just visibility.
+function PipelineRow({ item }: { item: VideoPipelineItem }) {
+  const stage = derivePipelineStage(item);
+  return (
+    <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2 rounded-lg border p-3 text-sm">
+      <Film className="h-4 w-4 shrink-0 text-muted-foreground" />
+      <span className="font-medium">{item.title}</span>
+      {item.occasion && <Badge variant="outline">{item.occasion}</Badge>}
+      <Badge className={`${pipelineStageColor(stage)} text-white`}>
+        {pipelineStageLabel(stage)}
+      </Badge>
+      {stage.kind === "awaiting_approval" && (
+        <Link
+          href={`/tasks/${item.task_id}`}
+          prefetch={false}
+          className="ml-auto"
+        >
+          <Button variant="outline" size="sm">
+            Review
+          </Button>
+        </Link>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+// Social page visibility strip: every source=video item still moving
+// through authoring/review/rendering, above the Video Post Queue. Renders
+// nothing (not even an empty-state card) when the pipeline is empty — the
+// queue's own state-aware copy already covers "nothing in flight". Polls
+// on the same 30s cadence as the queue.
+export function VideoPipelineStrip({ className }: { className?: string }) {
+  const { data: items, isLoading } = useQuery({
+    queryKey: ["video", "pipeline"],
+    queryFn: () => videoApi.listPipeline(),
+    refetchInterval: 30000,
+  });
+
+  if (isLoading || !items || items.length === 0) return null;
+
+  return (
+    <Card className={className}>
+      <CardHeader>
+        <CardTitle className="flex items-center gap-2">
+          <Film className="h-5 w-5" />
+          Video Pipeline
+          <Badge variant="secondary">{items.length}</Badge>
+        </CardTitle>
+        <CardDescription>
+          Every video in flight — authoring, review, or rendering — before it
+          lands in the queue below.
+        </CardDescription>
+      </CardHeader>
+      <CardContent className="space-y-2">
+        {items.map((item) => (
+          <PipelineRow key={item.task_id} item={item} />
+        ))}
+      </CardContent>
+    </Card>
+  );
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/**
+ * Pure stage derivation for the video pipeline strip (extracted for direct
+ * unit testing). A VideoPipelineItem's `status` covers the pre-render
+ * delivery lifecycle; once it reaches COMPLETED, `render_status` /
+ * `render_attempts` (from the orchestration_markers.video_draft JSON) take
+ * over to describe the render loop's own retry/failure states.
+ */
+
+import type { VideoPipelineItem } from "@/lib/api/video";
+
+export type PipelineStage =
+  | { kind: "authoring" }
+  | { kind: "in_review" }
+  | { kind: "awaiting_approval" }
+  | { kind: "rendering"; attempt: number; maxAttempts: number }
+  | { kind: "render_failed"; reason: string | null };
+
+// Statuses between "self-verified" and "PM merges" — the dev's work is done,
+// a reviewer/PM is looking at it.
+const IN_REVIEW_STATUSES = new Set([
+  "awaiting_qa",
+  "awaiting_documentation",
+  "awaiting_pr_review",
+  "awaiting_pm_review",
+]);
+
+/**
+ * Derives the pipeline strip's stage chip from an item's raw fields. Only
+ * reads the subset of VideoPipelineItem the derivation needs, so callers
+ * (and tests) can pass a partial fixture.
+ */
+export function derivePipelineStage(
+  item: Pick<
+    VideoPipelineItem,
+    "status" | "render_status" | "render_attempts" | "max_attempts" | "render_error"
+  >,
+): PipelineStage {
+  if (item.status === "completed") {
+    if (item.render_status === "failed") {
+      return { kind: "render_failed", reason: item.render_error };
+    }
+    // render_status unset (or any non-terminal value) — still retrying.
+    return {
+      kind: "rendering",
+      attempt: item.render_attempts,
+      maxAttempts: item.max_attempts,
+    };
+  }
+  if (item.status === "awaiting_ceo_approval") return { kind: "awaiting_approval" };
+  if (IN_REVIEW_STATUSES.has(item.status)) return { kind: "in_review" };
+  return { kind: "authoring" };
+}
+
+/** Human-readable label for a stage — the chip's display text. */
+export function pipelineStageLabel(stage: PipelineStage): string {
+  switch (stage.kind) {
+    case "authoring":
+      return "Authoring";
+    case "in_review":
+      return "In review";
+    case "awaiting_approval":
+      return "Awaiting your approval";
+    case "rendering":
+      return `Rendering (attempt ${stage.attempt}/${stage.maxAttempts})`;
+    case "render_failed":
+      return stage.reason ? `Render failed: ${stage.reason}` : "Render failed";
+  }
+}
+
+/** Tailwind bg class for the stage badge — mirrors task-status-badge.tsx. */
+export function pipelineStageColor(stage: PipelineStage): string {
+  switch (stage.kind) {
+    case "authoring":
+      return "bg-blue-600";
+    case "in_review":
+      return "bg-teal-600";
+    case "awaiting_approval":
+      return "bg-amber-600";
+    case "rendering":
+      return "bg-purple-500";
+    case "render_failed":
+      return "bg-red-600";
+  }
+}
@@ -83,7 +83,11 @@ function VideoPostRow({
  onReject: (post: VideoPost) => void;
  approving: boolean;
 }) {
-  const [cut, setCut] = useState<VideoCut>("vertical");
+  // Default to whichever cut actually rendered — a missing vertical cut
+  // (mp4_paths lacks the key) must not open on a guaranteed-blank player.
+  const [cut, setCut] = useState<VideoCut>(() =>
+    post.mp4_paths?.vertical ? "vertical" : "square",
+  );
  const [editX, setEditX] = useState(post.platforms.includes("x"));
  const [editTiktok, setEditTiktok] = useState(
    post.platforms.includes("tiktok"),
@@ -101,7 +105,13 @@ function VideoPostRow({
  // A native <video src> GET doesn't carry axios's auth headers, so fetch
  // the cut as a Blob (through axios) and drive <video> off an object URL
  // instead. Re-fetches on cut change; always revokes the previous URL.
+  // Skips the fetch entirely when mp4_paths has no entry for this cut — the
+  // JSX below never renders <video> in that case (falls back to a missing-
+  // cut placeholder instead), so a stale videoSrc is simply never read.
  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!post.mp4_paths?.[cut]) {
+      return;
+    }
    let cancelled = false;
    let objectUrl: string | null = null;
    videoApi
@@ -118,7 +128,7 @@ function VideoPostRow({
      cancelled = true;
      if (objectUrl) URL.revokeObjectURL(objectUrl);
    };
-  }, [post.task_id, cut]);
+  }, [post.task_id, cut, post.mp4_paths]);

  const xOverLimit = editX && xCaption.length > MAX_X_CAPTION_CHARS;
  const tiktokOverLimit =
@@ -140,33 +150,52 @@ function VideoPostRow({
        {post.occasion && <Badge variant="outline">{post.occasion}</Badge>}
      </div>

+      <p className="mb-1 text-sm font-medium">{post.title}</p>
+      {post.script && (
+        <p className="mb-3 line-clamp-2 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+          {post.script}
+        </p>
+      )}
+
      <div className="mb-3 space-y-2">
        <div className="flex gap-2">
          <Button
            type="button"
            size="sm"
            variant={cut === "vertical" ? "default" : "outline"}
+            disabled={!post.mp4_paths?.vertical}
+            title={
+              post.mp4_paths?.vertical ? undefined : "9:16 hasn't rendered yet"
+            }
            onClick={() => setCut("vertical")}
          >
-            9:16
+            9:16{!post.mp4_paths?.vertical && " (missing)"}
          </Button>
          <Button
            type="button"
            size="sm"
            variant={cut === "square" ? "default" : "outline"}
+            disabled={!post.mp4_paths?.square}
+            title={post.mp4_paths?.square ? undefined : "1:1 hasn't rendered yet"}
            onClick={() => setCut("square")}
          >
-            1:1
+            1:1{!post.mp4_paths?.square && " (missing)"}
          </Button>
        </div>
-        <video
-          key={`${post.task_id}-${cut}`}
-          controls
-          className="mx-auto max-h-96 w-full rounded-md bg-black object-contain"
-          src={videoSrc ?? undefined}
-        >
-          Your browser does not support embedded video.
-        </video>
+        {post.mp4_paths?.[cut] ? (
+          <video
+            key={`${post.task_id}-${cut}`}
+            controls
+            className="mx-auto max-h-96 w-full rounded-md bg-black object-contain"
+            src={videoSrc ?? undefined}
+          >
+            Your browser does not support embedded video.
+          </video>
+        ) : (
+          <div className="flex h-48 items-center justify-center rounded-md border border-dashed text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+            This cut hasn&apos;t rendered yet
+          </div>
+        )}
      </div>

      <div className="space-y-3">
@@ -388,6 +417,14 @@ export function VideoPostQueue({ className }: { className?: string }) {
    queryFn: () => videoApi.listPosts(),
    refetchInterval: 30000,
  });
+  // Only consulted for the empty-state copy below — tells apart "nothing
+  // rendered yet, but N videos are moving through the pipeline" from a
+  // truly idle engine. Same 30s cadence as the queue + the pipeline strip.
+  const { data: pipeline } = useQuery({
+    queryKey: ["video", "pipeline"],
+    queryFn: () => videoApi.listPipeline(),
+    refetchInterval: 30000,
+  });

  const invalidate = () =>
    queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["video", "posts"] });
@@ -476,9 +513,9 @@ export function VideoPostQueue({ className }: { className?: string }) {
          </CardHeader>
          <CardContent>
            <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
-              No drafts yet. Set your keys in Settings → X (Twitter) / TikTok
-              Credentials and enable the video engine — or request one on demand
-              above.
+              {pipeline && pipeline.length > 0
+                ? `${pipeline.length} video${pipeline.length === 1 ? "" : "s"} in flight — nothing rendered yet. Check the pipeline above for status.`
+                : "No drafts yet. Set your keys in Settings → X (Twitter) / TikTok Credentials and enable the video engine — or request one on demand above."}
            </p>
          </CardContent>
        </Card>