Video Commander 2026.9.0 is now available. The headline feature is a built-in remote file browser for Amazon S3 — inspect, play, and analyze media straight from your buckets without downloading it first.
Remote S3 File Browser
Add an S3 source and Video Commander gives you a Remote Files panel in the sidebar for browsing buckets and prefixes just like a local folder. Pick any object and load it directly into Inspect, Player, or Analyze. You can also paste an s3://bucket/path URL straight into the source bar.
Credentials use the standard AWS credential chain — the same environment variables, config, and ~/.aws/credentials profiles your other tools already use. Named profiles are selectable from a dropdown, and no secrets are ever stored inside the app.
Behind the scenes, S3 objects are accessed through short-lived presigned HTTPS URLs. That means range requests work transparently: Inspect can read box structure, the Player can seek, and Analyze can run VMAF — all without pulling the entire file down first.
Encodes can write back to S3 too — pick S3 as the output target in Convert and the result is uploaded to the bucket when the job finishes.
Settings and Sources, Now In-App
Settings and Sources have moved out of separate OS windows and into in-app modals built on the shared dialog component. A settings gear now sits in the title bar next to the license badge, and the native Cmd+, shortcut and app menu open the same modals.
Collapsible Sidebar and Window State
The sidebar now collapses to a 64px icon-only rail, and your preference persists across sessions. On narrow windows it auto-collapses to the rail instead of switching layouts, then restores when there's room again.
Window size and position are remembered between launches, the window now enforces a 600×400 minimum, and it starts hidden until it can be shown at the correct dimensions — no more startup flash.
Non-Disruptive Updates
Updates no longer relaunch the app out from under you. They still download in the background, but instead of restarting on their own, an Update button appears in the title bar once a new version is staged. Click it to restart and apply the update, or it applies automatically the next time you quit and reopen the app.
Opt-Out Telemetry
This release adds anonymous, opt-out product analytics and crash reporting to help us understand which features get used and catch crashes we'd otherwise never hear about. It's on by default and controlled by a single toggle in Settings → Privacy. No personal data is collected — only low-cardinality events like app launches and job outcomes.
Also in 2026.9.0
- Structured logging with a debug-logs toggle in Settings and a Show in Finder button for the log directory.
- Refreshed accent color from indigo to blue across the app.
Download
Download the latest build from the download page.