catacomb/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-27-android-engine-feasibility-findings.md
Luna d739fd76ee docs(android-spike): Q1 yt-dlp-on-Android findings + verdict (RISKY)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-06-27 01:56:20 -07:00

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# Android Engine Feasibility — Findings
Companion to `2026-06-27-android-engine-feasibility-research.md`.
Each section ends with a verdict: **proven / risky / unsolved**.
## Q1 — yt-dlp on Android
**Verdict: RISKY.** yt-dlp *runs* on-device in shipping apps (Seal, YTDLnis,
SealPlus) — proven. But Catacomb's specific need is the asterisk: **`curl_cffi`
TLS impersonation is documented broken on Android** (yt-dlp #15505 Jan 2026;
#14106 aarch64 Linux), and impersonation is the exact reason Catacomb pins
nightly yt-dlp. The yt-dlp *binary* update story is good — **youtubedl-android**
(yausername) exposes `UpdateChannel.NIGHTLY` to pull fresh builds post-install,
no app-store release, across all four ABIs. Chaquopy is ruled out: no runtime
update path.
- **Recommended mechanism:** youtubedl-android (only approach with runtime
nightly updates + production proof).
- **Risk carried forward:** the anti-bot layer (impersonation + the Deno-based
bgutil POT loopback, which has no Android port) needs a rethink — feeds Q2/Q3.
- Full evidence + sources: `q1-yt-dlp-android-report.md`.
## Q2 — JS runtime (deno's job)
_pending_
## Q3 — POT / Proof-of-Origin
_pending_
## Q4 — Rust core via JNI
_pending_
## Synthesis — go / no-go
_pending_