fix(video): prevent space bar from pausing video in fullscreen#1278
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Browsers treat <video> elements specially: Space toggles play/pause at the element level as a built-in behavior. The existing keyDownHandler on document calls preventDefault, but DOM event propagation runs element -> parent -> document, so the video element processes the Space keydown and pauses playback before the document-level handler ever fires. The existing workaround attaches a keyup listener on the video element that calls .play() to undo the pause, but this produces a visible pause/unpause flicker on every space press and does not work in Safari. Fix: add a keydown listener directly on the <video> element that calls preventDefault for Space. This intercepts the event at the element level before the browser's native toggle runs, so the pause never occurs. The existing keyup force-play handler is retained as a safety net for any browser that still manages to pause the stream. Fixes jetkvm#265
adamshiervani
approved these changes
Mar 16, 2026
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Fixes #265
Problem
Pressing Space in fullscreen mode pauses the video stream. Reported across Chrome, Edge, and Safari. The stream resumes on the next Space press but this makes fullscreen unusable for typing.
Root cause
Browsers treat
<video>elements specially — Space toggles play/pause as a built-in behavior at the element level. The existingkeyDownHandlerondocumentcallspreventDefault(), but DOM event propagation runs element → parent → ... → document. The video element processes the Space keydown and pauses playback before the document-level handler ever fires.The existing workaround (
videoKeyUpHandlerat line 390) attaches a keyup listener on the video element that detects the pause and calls.play()to undo it, but:Fix
Add a
keydownlistener directly on the<video>element that callspreventDefault()for Space. This intercepts the event at the element level before the browser's native toggle runs, so the pause never occurs.The existing keyup force-play handler is retained as a safety net for any browser that still manages to pause the stream.