Snagit COM Local Development Loop
Overview
This skill keeps most development deterministic and screen-safe. Logic is tested against a fake capture adapter; the smallest live probe uses a licensed interactive workstation and one operator-selected window only when necessary.
Prerequisites
- A repository with a narrow capture adapter and tests
- TechSmith's official Snagit COM samples and guide pinned for reference
- Optional licensed Windows workstation with an interactive session
- Disposable local output directory, deadline, and artifact cleanup policy
Tool Discipline
Use Read, Glob, and Grep to inspect local scripts, manifests, logs, and tests. Use WebFetch only for current primary TechSmith documentation. Use Write or Edit only after confirming the target repository file and approval boundary.
Current Contract
- Keep COM creation behind one adapter so unit tests do not require Snagit.
- Load official enum definitions rather than scattering unexplained integers.
- Model
Capture()as asynchronous and cover success, false result, timeout, and invalid output path. - A live loop captures only an explicitly selected test window and never runs continuously.
Licensing and Authentication
TechSmith desktop activation is not API authentication. Resolve individual sign-in versus business-key or approved offline activation before execution. Redact all keys, account identifiers, activation artifacts, and sensitive endpoint details.
Instructions
- Inspect repository conventions, existing adapter boundaries, test runner, fixtures, and output policy.
- Copy or translate only the needed contracts from TechSmith's official sample; retain source attribution.
- Write fake-adapter tests for enum mapping, configuration order, timeout, success checks, path containment, and cleanup.
- Run lint and unit tests on every change without starting Snagit.
- When a live probe is justified, confirm operator/window/destination, run once, and compare evidence with the fake contract.
- Edit the adapter or tests from the observed mismatch, rerun, and remove disposable output.
Approval Boundaries
Do not turn the development loop into a background screen recorder, poll the desktop indefinitely, or commit captured images and videos as fixtures.
Output
Return changed files, offline test results, live-probe authorization/result, contract differences, artifact cleanup, and the next bounded experiment.
Error Handling
| Condition | Response |
|---|---|
| Official sample differs from adapter | Update the adapter contract and add a regression test before another live probe. |
| No interactive workstation | Continue with fakes and mark live behavior unverified. |
| Capture timeout | Stop the COM operation and inspect state; do not loop forever. |
| Fixture contains sensitive pixels | Remove it from history and replace it with synthetic metadata. |
Examples
The example below shows the minimum redacted evidence expected from a successful invocation of this operator workflow.
iteration=7; offline_tests=18_pass; live_probe=one-window; output=deleted; contract_delta=none