ShortsBro User Guide

General build. Focused on floating media controls and Shorts auto-next.

smartphone Android movie YouTube Watch/Shorts bolt Shorts Auto-Next settings Configurable in Settings

Icons in this document are rendered with Material Symbols matching the app's Compose Material icons (Icons.*).

Start

When you launch the app, the default start page is m.youtube.com.

App launch screen (real capture) — Real capture: initial screen after launching ShortsBro

Basic Browsing

Type a URL in the address field to navigate.

Navigation Buttons

arrow_back Back arrow_forward Forward home Home refresh Reload

In the current build, the address-bar overflow menu (⋮) is removed. Open Settings from the floating controls (below).

YouTube Controls (Watch/Shorts)

Floating controls appear only on YouTube Watch or Shorts pages.

Floating Control Box (Draggable)

Media controls are shown as a floating button cluster near the bottom of the screen. Long-press and drag the cluster to reposition it.

Tap the hamburger button (menu) to open Settings. Layout (1/2 columns) and the volume slider are configured in Media Controls.

Floating control box on Shorts playback (real capture) — Real capture: floating controls during Shorts playback (hamburger, buttons, vertical volume slider)

Common Controls

menu Settings (hamburger) volume_up Sound (mute/unmute) replay_5 -5s forward_5 +5s settings Quality

Seek Buttons: Short / Long Press

Short press replay_5/forward_5 to jump 5 seconds. Long press to select a 10-second jump.

Speed & Quality (PRO)

In the PRO build, tapping the speed button opens a sheet where you can select both playback speed and video quality on the same screen. Available quality options depend on the YouTube player (e.g., Auto, 720p, 1080p). In the general build, speed/quality UI may be limited.

Shorts Auto-Next

When Auto Next for Shorts is enabled, ShortsBro automatically advances to the next Short after the current one ends.

Behavior

1) Detects Shorts completion
2) Attempts to move to the next Short
3) Uses fallback logic if looping/replay is detected

Delay

Configure the delay in Settings: 0s, 0.5s, or 1.0s.

Note

Auto-next depends on YouTube DOM/player structure and may break when YouTube updates.

Settings

On a YouTube playback screen, tap the hamburger button (menu) in the floating control box to open Settings.

Browsing

Auto Next for Shorts
Next Short Delay
Background Playback is not available in the general build.

Media Controls (Floating UI)

Volume Slider: show/hide the vertical volume slider next to the floating controls.
1 Column / 2 Columns: choose one or two columns for the floating buttons.
Toggle buttons individually: Sleep Timer Button, Speed Button, Skip Back Button, Skip Forward Button, Back Button.

Note: the timer icon represents Sleep Timer (PRO feature), not playback speed.

Controls Background Opacity (Slider)

Adjust the opacity of the background scrim behind the floating control box. Higher values improve visibility; lower values reduce screen obstruction.

Controls Background Opacity & Debug options (real capture) — Real capture: opacity slider and debug options

PRO Differences (Reference)

PRO unlocks features such as Sleep Timer and the speed/quality selection sheet. Labels and available toggles may differ by edition.

Debug

Useful when reporting issues or collecting evidence for reproducible bugs.

Debug Overlay

Shows URL, load state, errors, and console logs on-screen for screenshots.

Debug Log File

Writes debug events to a text file and keeps only the most recent ~30 minutes. Use Clear Log to reset.