[richiemcilroy]

Summary

• A Windows 10 user reported that recordings would not start. Every target (display, area, window) failed at CreateCaptureSession with E_ACCESSDENIED, but the app only showed screen pipeline setup: oneshot canceled. The capture thread died before start could hear back, and the real reason only reached the log.
• When the capture thread cannot create its capturer, it now leaves the reason on the first-frame channel. start returns that reason instead of the cancelled reply.
• E_ACCESSDENIED from CreateCaptureSession now says that Windows denied Cap access to screen capture, and points at the privacy settings and security software.
• No timing change: setup still returns straight away, and the success path is untouched.

Test plan

• Windows build and recording jobs green
• Recording on Windows starts as before (real-capture CI)

Confidence Score: 5/5

This PR appears safe to merge.

Summary

Windows screen-capture startup now returns the capturer’s failure reason instead of a canceled-channel error.

• Windows recording startup now shows why screen capture could not start.

No actionable issues found. Windows build and real-capture checks were not run.

_{Reviews (1) · Last reviewed commit: "fix(recording): say why Windows screen c..." · Reviewed by Greptile}

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Project	Deployment	Actions	Updated
cap-status	Ready	Preview	Oct 27, 2026 10:28pm UTC

[capy-ai]

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