LiquidCat 0.4.0 — Floating activity, update alerts & a smoother setup

🐱 LiquidCat 0.4.0 — Floating activity, update alerts & a smoother setup

A big quality-of-life release: a cleaner, more compact interface, faster and more reliable dependency setup, and LiquidCat now tells you when a new version is out.

✨ What's new

• Floating Activity: in Downloader and Local files, the activity card now floats in the corner. It appears when a job starts and hides on its own a few seconds after it finishes. In Queue it stays in place as before. The Cancel button now lives right inside it.
• Technical log on demand: Details opens the full log in its own window, so the main view stays clean.
• Update alerts: LiquidCat checks GitHub when it starts. If a new version is out, a badge appears next to the name; click it to open the release.
• Settings → About: see your version, check for updates manually and open the release notes.
• A window that fits: LiquidCat opens at the size its content needs and adapts when a video preview loads or is cleared.
• New layout: advanced options on top, with Destination and Download side by side.
• Friendlier sounds: soft chimes for “done”, “error” and “formats ready” replace the old system beeps.

⚡ Faster & more reliable setup

• FFmpeg downloads ~70× faster: it now comes from the official GitHub mirror of the same Gyan build (about 15 seconds instead of ~20 minutes), with gyan.dev kept as a fallback.
• Always an up-to-date yt-dlp: LiquidCat uses its own copy and keeps it updated, instead of relying on an older one found on your system.
• No pointless downloads: Update checks first and tells you when you already have the latest version. The dialog now shows a green check (or a red cross) when it finishes.
• Clear YouTube errors: when YouTube asks to confirm you're not a bot, LiquidCat explains what to do in your language.

🛠️ Fixes

• Long links and paths end in “…” instead of being cut off, and scroll to the cursor while you edit them.
• The video description in the preview shows up again.
• Neo Brutalist themes: square corners and more spacing, so the hard shadows line up.
• Error dialogs adapt to their message and are easier to read.
• Local files now starts with your detected GPU instead of the CPU.
• LiquidCat no longer reads your clipboard on its own; use the paste button or Ctrl+V.

📦 Platforms

• Windows x86_64: LiquidCat-0.4.0-windows-x86_64.exe