Notifications - Word difference on HTML style notifications should be configurable, add tests. Re #3740

MANIFEST.in

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ recursive-include changedetectionio/realtime *
 recursive-include changedetectionio/static *
 recursive-include changedetectionio/templates *
 recursive-include changedetectionio/tests *
+recursive-include changedetectionio/translations *
 recursive-include changedetectionio/widgets *
 prune changedetectionio/static/package-lock.json
 prune changedetectionio/static/styles/node_modules

changedetectionio/__init__.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 # Read more https://github.com/dgtlmoon/changedetection.io/wiki
 # Semver means never use .01, or 00. Should be .1.
-__version__ = '0.52.1'
+__version__ = '0.52.4'
 
 from changedetectionio.strtobool import strtobool
 from json.decoder import JSONDecodeError

changedetectionio/async_update_worker.py

@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 from blinker import signal
-
 from .processors.exceptions import ProcessorException
 import changedetectionio.content_fetchers.exceptions as content_fetchers_exceptions
 from changedetectionio.processors.text_json_diff.processor import FilterNotFoundInResponse
@@ -9,7 +8,6 @@ from changedetectionio.flask_app import watch_check_update
 import asyncio
 import importlib
 import os
-import queue
 import time
 
 from loguru import logger
@@ -17,36 +15,48 @@ from loguru import logger
 # Async version of update_worker
 # Processes jobs from AsyncSignalPriorityQueue instead of threaded queue
 
-async def async_update_worker(worker_id, q, notification_q, app, datastore):
+async def async_update_worker(worker_id, q, notification_q, app, datastore, executor=None):
     """
     Async worker function that processes watch check jobs from the queue.
-    
+
     Args:
         worker_id: Unique identifier for this worker
         q: AsyncSignalPriorityQueue containing jobs to process
         notification_q: Standard queue for notifications
         app: Flask application instance
         datastore: Application datastore
+        executor: ThreadPoolExecutor for queue operations (optional)
     """
     # Set a descriptive name for this task
     task = asyncio.current_task()
     if task:
         task.set_name(f"async-worker-{worker_id}")
-    
+
     logger.info(f"Starting async worker {worker_id}")
-    
+
     while not app.config.exit.is_set():
         update_handler = None
         watch = None
 
         try:
-            # Use native janus async interface - no threads needed!
-            queued_item_data = await asyncio.wait_for(q.async_get(), timeout=1.0)
+            # Use sync interface via run_in_executor since each worker has its own event loop
+            loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
+            queued_item_data = await asyncio.wait_for(
+                loop.run_in_executor(executor, q.get, True, 1.0),  # block=True, timeout=1.0
+                timeout=1.5
+            )
 
         except asyncio.TimeoutError:
             # No jobs available, continue loop
             continue
         except Exception as e:
+            # Handle expected Empty exception from queue timeout
+            import queue
+            if isinstance(e, queue.Empty):
+                # Queue is empty, normal behavior - just continue
+                continue
+
+            # Unexpected exception - log as critical
             logger.critical(f"CRITICAL: Worker {worker_id} failed to get queue item: {type(e).__name__}: {e}")
 
             # Log queue health for debugging
@@ -414,14 +424,13 @@ async def async_update_worker(worker_id, q, notification_q, app, datastore):
                 datastore.update_watch(uuid=uuid, update_obj={'last_error': f"Worker error: {str(e)}"})
         
         finally:
-
-            try:
-                await update_handler.fetcher.quit(watch=watch)
-            except Exception as e:
-                logger.error(f"Exception while cleaning/quit after calling browser: {e}")
-
             # Always cleanup - this runs whether there was an exception or not
             if uuid:
+                try:
+                    if update_handler and hasattr(update_handler, 'fetcher') and update_handler.fetcher:
+                        await update_handler.fetcher.quit(watch=watch)
+                except Exception as e:
+                    logger.error(f"Exception while cleaning/quit after calling browser: {e}")
                 try:
                     # Mark UUID as no longer being processed by this worker
                     worker_handler.set_uuid_processing(uuid, worker_id=worker_id, processing=False)
@@ -460,7 +469,9 @@ async def async_update_worker(worker_id, q, notification_q, app, datastore):
                     logger.debug(f"Worker {worker_id} completed watch {uuid} in {time.time()-fetch_start_time:.2f}s")
                 except Exception as cleanup_error:
                     logger.error(f"Worker {worker_id} error during cleanup: {cleanup_error}")
-            
+
+            del(uuid)
+
             # Brief pause before continuing to avoid tight error loops (only on error)
             if 'e' in locals():
                 await asyncio.sleep(1.0)

changedetectionio/blueprint/backups/__init__.py

@@ -92,7 +92,12 @@ def construct_blueprint(datastore: ChangeDetectionStore):
 
         # Be sure we're written fresh
         datastore.sync_to_json()
-        zip_thread = threading.Thread(target=create_backup, args=(datastore.datastore_path, datastore.data.get("watching")))
+        zip_thread = threading.Thread(
+            target=create_backup,
+            args=(datastore.datastore_path, datastore.data.get("watching")),
+            daemon=True,
+            name="BackupCreator"
+        )
         zip_thread.start()
         backup_threads.append(zip_thread)
         flash(gettext("Backup building in background, check back in a few minutes."))

changedetectionio/blueprint/browser_steps/__init__.py

@@ -21,31 +21,154 @@ from changedetectionio.flask_app import login_optionally_required
 from loguru import logger
 
 browsersteps_sessions = {}
+browsersteps_watch_to_session = {}  # Maps watch_uuid -> browsersteps_session_id
 io_interface_context = None
 import json
 import hashlib
 from flask import Response
 import asyncio
 import threading
+import time
 
-def run_async_in_browser_loop(coro):
-    """Run async coroutine using the existing async worker event loop"""
-    from changedetectionio import worker_handler
-    
-    # Use the existing async worker event loop instead of creating a new one
-    if worker_handler.USE_ASYNC_WORKERS and worker_handler.async_loop and not worker_handler.async_loop.is_closed():
-        logger.debug("Browser steps using existing async worker event loop")
-        future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(coro, worker_handler.async_loop)
-        return future.result()
-    else:
-        # Fallback: create a new event loop (for sync workers or if async loop not available)
-        logger.debug("Browser steps creating temporary event loop")
-        loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
-        asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
+# Dedicated event loop for ALL browser steps sessions
+_browser_steps_loop = None
+_browser_steps_thread = None
+_browser_steps_loop_lock = threading.Lock()
+
+def _start_browser_steps_loop():
+    """Start a dedicated event loop for browser steps in its own thread"""
+    global _browser_steps_loop
+
+    # Create and set the event loop for this thread
+    loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+    asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
+    _browser_steps_loop = loop
+
+    logger.debug("Browser steps event loop started")
+
+    try:
+        # Run the loop forever - handles all browsersteps sessions
+        loop.run_forever()
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error(f"Browser steps event loop error: {e}")
+    finally:
         try:
-            return loop.run_until_complete(coro)
+            # Cancel all remaining tasks
+            pending = asyncio.all_tasks(loop)
+            for task in pending:
+                task.cancel()
+
+            # Wait for tasks to finish cancellation
+            if pending:
+                loop.run_until_complete(asyncio.gather(*pending, return_exceptions=True))
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.debug(f"Error during browser steps loop cleanup: {e}")
         finally:
             loop.close()
+            logger.debug("Browser steps event loop closed")
+
+def _ensure_browser_steps_loop():
+    """Ensure the browser steps event loop is running"""
+    global _browser_steps_loop, _browser_steps_thread
+
+    with _browser_steps_loop_lock:
+        if _browser_steps_thread is None or not _browser_steps_thread.is_alive():
+            logger.debug("Starting browser steps event loop thread")
+            _browser_steps_thread = threading.Thread(
+                target=_start_browser_steps_loop,
+                daemon=True,
+                name="BrowserStepsEventLoop"
+            )
+            _browser_steps_thread.start()
+
+            # Wait for the loop to be ready
+            timeout = 5.0
+            start_time = time.time()
+            while _browser_steps_loop is None:
+                if time.time() - start_time > timeout:
+                    raise RuntimeError("Browser steps event loop failed to start")
+                time.sleep(0.01)
+
+            logger.debug("Browser steps event loop thread started and ready")
+
+def run_async_in_browser_loop(coro):
+    """Run async coroutine using the dedicated browser steps event loop"""
+    _ensure_browser_steps_loop()
+
+    if _browser_steps_loop and not _browser_steps_loop.is_closed():
+        logger.debug("Browser steps using dedicated event loop")
+        future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(coro, _browser_steps_loop)
+        return future.result()
+    else:
+        raise RuntimeError("Browser steps event loop is not available")
+
+def cleanup_expired_sessions():
+    """Remove expired browsersteps sessions and cleanup their resources"""
+    global browsersteps_sessions, browsersteps_watch_to_session
+
+    expired_session_ids = []
+
+    # Find expired sessions
+    for session_id, session_data in browsersteps_sessions.items():
+        browserstepper = session_data.get('browserstepper')
+        if browserstepper and browserstepper.has_expired:
+            expired_session_ids.append(session_id)
+
+    # Cleanup expired sessions
+    for session_id in expired_session_ids:
+        logger.debug(f"Cleaning up expired browsersteps session {session_id}")
+        session_data = browsersteps_sessions[session_id]
+
+        # Cleanup playwright resources asynchronously
+        browserstepper = session_data.get('browserstepper')
+        if browserstepper:
+            try:
+                run_async_in_browser_loop(browserstepper.cleanup())
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.error(f"Error cleaning up session {session_id}: {e}")
+
+        # Remove from sessions dict
+        del browsersteps_sessions[session_id]
+
+        # Remove from watch mapping
+        for watch_uuid, mapped_session_id in list(browsersteps_watch_to_session.items()):
+            if mapped_session_id == session_id:
+                del browsersteps_watch_to_session[watch_uuid]
+                break
+
+    if expired_session_ids:
+        logger.info(f"Cleaned up {len(expired_session_ids)} expired browsersteps session(s)")
+
+def cleanup_session_for_watch(watch_uuid):
+    """Cleanup a specific browsersteps session for a watch UUID"""
+    global browsersteps_sessions, browsersteps_watch_to_session
+
+    session_id = browsersteps_watch_to_session.get(watch_uuid)
+    if not session_id:
+        logger.debug(f"No browsersteps session found for watch {watch_uuid}")
+        return
+
+    logger.debug(f"Cleaning up browsersteps session {session_id} for watch {watch_uuid}")
+
+    session_data = browsersteps_sessions.get(session_id)
+    if session_data:
+        browserstepper = session_data.get('browserstepper')
+        if browserstepper:
+            try:
+                run_async_in_browser_loop(browserstepper.cleanup())
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.error(f"Error cleaning up session {session_id} for watch {watch_uuid}: {e}")
+
+        # Remove from sessions dict
+        del browsersteps_sessions[session_id]
+
+    # Remove from watch mapping
+    del browsersteps_watch_to_session[watch_uuid]
+
+    logger.debug(f"Cleaned up session for watch {watch_uuid}")
+
+    # Opportunistically cleanup any other expired sessions
+    cleanup_expired_sessions()
 
 def construct_blueprint(datastore: ChangeDetectionStore):
     browser_steps_blueprint = Blueprint('browser_steps', __name__, template_folder="templates")
@@ -123,6 +246,9 @@ def construct_blueprint(datastore: ChangeDetectionStore):
         if not watch_uuid:
             return make_response('No Watch UUID specified', 500)
 
+        # Cleanup any existing session for this watch
+        cleanup_session_for_watch(watch_uuid)
+
         logger.debug("Starting connection with playwright")
         logger.debug("browser_steps.py connecting")
 
@@ -131,6 +257,10 @@ def construct_blueprint(datastore: ChangeDetectionStore):
             browsersteps_sessions[browsersteps_session_id] = run_async_in_browser_loop(
                 start_browsersteps_session(watch_uuid)
             )
+
+            # Store the mapping of watch_uuid -> browsersteps_session_id
+            browsersteps_watch_to_session[watch_uuid] = browsersteps_session_id
+
         except Exception as e:
             if 'ECONNREFUSED' in str(e):
                 return make_response('Unable to start the Playwright Browser session, is sockpuppetbrowser running? Network configuration is OK?', 401)

changedetectionio/blueprint/rss/single_watch.py

@@ -47,9 +47,6 @@ def construct_single_watch_routes(rss_blueprint, datastore):
         if len(dates) < 2:
             return f"Watch {uuid} does not have enough history snapshots to show changes (need at least 2)", 400
 
-        # Add uuid to watch for proper functioning
-        watch['uuid'] = uuid
-
         # Get the number of diffs to include (default: 5)
         rss_diff_length = datastore.data['settings']['application'].get('rss_diff_length', 5)
 
@@ -101,7 +98,7 @@ def construct_single_watch_routes(rss_blueprint, datastore):
                                      date_index_from, date_index_to)
 
             # Create and populate feed entry
-            guid = f"{watch['uuid']}/{timestamp_to}"
+            guid = f"{uuid}/{timestamp_to}"
             fe = fg.add_entry()
             title_suffix = f"Change @ {res['original_context']['change_datetime']}"
             populate_feed_entry(fe, watch, res.get('body', ''), guid, timestamp_to,

changedetectionio/blueprint/rss/tag.py

@@ -63,11 +63,8 @@ def construct_tag_routes(rss_blueprint, datastore):
 
             # Only include unviewed watches
             if not watch.viewed:
-                # Add uuid to watch for proper functioning
-                watch['uuid'] = uuid
-
-                # Include a link to the diff page
-                diff_link = {'href': url_for('ui.ui_diff.diff_history_page', uuid=watch['uuid'], _external=True)}
+                # Include a link to the diff page (use uuid from loop, don't modify watch dict)
+                diff_link = {'href': url_for('ui.ui_diff.diff_history_page', uuid=uuid, _external=True)}
 
                 # Get watch label
                 watch_label = get_watch_label(datastore, watch)

changedetectionio/blueprint/settings/templates/settings.html

@@ -86,6 +86,10 @@
             <div class="tab-pane-inner" id="notifications">
                 <fieldset>
                     {{ render_common_settings_form(form.application.form, emailprefix, settings_application, extra_notification_token_placeholder_info) }}
+                </fieldset>
+                 <fieldset class="pure-group">
+                    {{ render_checkbox_field(form.application.form.notification_html_word_diff_enabled) }}
+                    <span class="pure-form-message-inline">HTML notifications - Use "word by word" difference where possible.</span>
                 </fieldset>
                 <div class="pure-control-group" id="notification-base-url">
                     {{ render_field(form.application.form.base_url, class="m-d") }}

changedetectionio/blueprint/tags/templates/groups-overview.html

@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@
                 <td>{{ "{:,}".format(tag_count[uuid]) if uuid in tag_count else 0 }}</td>
                 <td class="title-col inline"> <a href="{{url_for('watchlist.index', tag=uuid) }}">{{ tag.title }}</a></td>
                 <td>
-                    <a class="pure-button pure-button-primary" href="{{ url_for('tags.form_tag_edit', uuid=uuid) }}">{{ _('Edit') }}</a>&nbsp;
+                    <a class="pure-button pure-button-primary" href="{{ url_for('tags.form_tag_edit', uuid=uuid) }}">{{ _('Edit') }}</a>
+                    <a href="{{ url_for('ui.form_watch_checknow', tag=uuid) }}" class="pure-button pure-button-primary" >{{ _('Recheck') }}</a>
                     <a class="pure-button button-error"
                        href="{{ url_for('tags.delete', uuid=uuid) }}"
                        data-requires-confirm

changedetectionio/blueprint/ui/edit.py

@@ -238,6 +238,13 @@ def construct_blueprint(datastore: ChangeDetectionStore, update_q, queuedWatchMe
             datastore.data['watching'][uuid] = watch_class(datastore_path=datastore.datastore_path, default=datastore.data['watching'][uuid])
             flash(gettext("Updated watch - unpaused!") if request.args.get('unpause_on_save') else gettext("Updated watch."))
 
+            # Cleanup any browsersteps session for this watch
+            try:
+                from changedetectionio.blueprint.browser_steps import cleanup_session_for_watch
+                cleanup_session_for_watch(uuid)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.debug(f"Error cleaning up browsersteps session: {e}")
+
             # Re #286 - We wait for syncing new data to disk in another thread every 60 seconds
             # But in the case something is added we should save straight away
             datastore.needs_write_urgent = True
@@ -325,8 +332,6 @@ def construct_blueprint(datastore: ChangeDetectionStore, update_q, queuedWatchMe
                     'url': url_for('rss.rss_single_watch', uuid=watch['uuid'], token=app_rss_token)
                 },
                 'settings_application': datastore.data['settings']['application'],
-                'system_has_playwright_configured': os.getenv('PLAYWRIGHT_DRIVER_URL'),
-                'system_has_webdriver_configured': os.getenv('WEBDRIVER_URL'),
                 'ui_edit_stats_extras': collect_ui_edit_stats_extras(watch),
                 'visual_selector_data_ready': datastore.visualselector_data_is_ready(watch_uuid=uuid),
                 'timezone_default_config': datastore.data['settings']['application'].get('scheduler_timezone_default'),

changedetectionio/blueprint/ui/templates/edit.html

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ Math: {{ 1 + 1 }}") }}
 
             <div class="tab-pane-inner" id="browser-steps">
             {% if capabilities.supports_browser_steps %}
-               {% if visual_selector_data_ready %}
+               {% if true %}
                 <img class="beta-logo" src="{{url_for('static_content', group='images', filename='beta-logo.png')}}" alt="New beta functionality">
                 <fieldset>
                     <div class="pure-control-group">

changedetectionio/content_fetchers/playwright.py

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import gc
 import json
 import os
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
@@ -185,20 +186,33 @@ class fetcher(Fetcher):
         super().screenshot_step(step_n=step_n)
         screenshot = await capture_full_page_async(page=self.page, screenshot_format=self.screenshot_format)
 
+        # Request GC immediately after screenshot to free memory
+        # Screenshots can be large and browser steps take many of them
+        await self.page.request_gc()
 
         if self.browser_steps_screenshot_path is not None:
             destination = os.path.join(self.browser_steps_screenshot_path, 'step_{}.jpeg'.format(step_n))
             logger.debug(f"Saving step screenshot to {destination}")
             with open(destination, 'wb') as f:
                 f.write(screenshot)
+            # Clear local reference to allow screenshot bytes to be collected
+            del screenshot
+            gc.collect()
 
     async def save_step_html(self, step_n):
         super().save_step_html(step_n=step_n)
         content = await self.page.content()
+
+        # Request GC after getting page content
+        await self.page.request_gc()
+
         destination = os.path.join(self.browser_steps_screenshot_path, 'step_{}.html'.format(step_n))
         logger.debug(f"Saving step HTML to {destination}")
         with open(destination, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             f.write(content)
+        # Clear local reference
+        del content
+        gc.collect()
 
     async def run(self,
                   fetch_favicon=True,
@@ -305,6 +319,12 @@ class fetcher(Fetcher):
 
             if self.status_code != 200 and not ignore_status_codes:
                 screenshot = await capture_full_page_async(self.page, screenshot_format=self.screenshot_format)
+                # Cleanup before raising to prevent memory leak
+                await self.page.close()
+                await context.close()
+                await browser.close()
+                # Force garbage collection to release Playwright resources immediately
+                gc.collect()
                 raise Non200ErrorCodeReceived(url=url, status_code=self.status_code, screenshot=screenshot)
 
             if not empty_pages_are_a_change and len((await self.page.content()).strip()) == 0:
@@ -313,48 +333,52 @@ class fetcher(Fetcher):
                 await browser.close()
                 raise EmptyReply(url=url, status_code=response.status)
 
-            # Run Browser Steps here
-            if self.browser_steps_get_valid_steps():
-                await self.iterate_browser_steps(start_url=url)
-
-            await self.page.wait_for_timeout(extra_wait * 1000)
-
-            now = time.time()
-            # So we can find an element on the page where its selector was entered manually (maybe not xPath etc)
-            if current_include_filters is not None:
-                await self.page.evaluate("var include_filters={}".format(json.dumps(current_include_filters)))
-            else:
-                await self.page.evaluate("var include_filters=''")
-            await self.page.request_gc()
-
-            # request_gc before and after evaluate to free up memory
-            # @todo browsersteps etc
-            MAX_TOTAL_HEIGHT = int(os.getenv("SCREENSHOT_MAX_HEIGHT", SCREENSHOT_MAX_HEIGHT_DEFAULT))
-            self.xpath_data = await self.page.evaluate(XPATH_ELEMENT_JS, {
-                "visualselector_xpath_selectors": visualselector_xpath_selectors,
-                "max_height": MAX_TOTAL_HEIGHT
-            })
-            await self.page.request_gc()
-
-            self.instock_data = await self.page.evaluate(INSTOCK_DATA_JS)
-            await self.page.request_gc()
-
-            self.content = await self.page.content()
-            await self.page.request_gc()
-            logger.debug(f"Scrape xPath element data in browser done in {time.time() - now:.2f}s")
-
-
-            # Bug 3 in Playwright screenshot handling
-            # Some bug where it gives the wrong screenshot size, but making a request with the clip set first seems to solve it
-            # JPEG is better here because the screenshots can be very very large
-
-            # Screenshots also travel via the ws:// (websocket) meaning that the binary data is base64 encoded
-            # which will significantly increase the IO size between the server and client, it's recommended to use the lowest
-            # acceptable screenshot quality here
+            # Wrap remaining operations in try/finally to ensure cleanup
             try:
+                # Run Browser Steps here
+                if self.browser_steps_get_valid_steps():
+                    await self.iterate_browser_steps(start_url=url)
+
+                    await self.page.wait_for_timeout(extra_wait * 1000)
+
+                now = time.time()
+                # So we can find an element on the page where its selector was entered manually (maybe not xPath etc)
+                if current_include_filters is not None:
+                    await self.page.evaluate("var include_filters={}".format(json.dumps(current_include_filters)))
+                else:
+                    await self.page.evaluate("var include_filters=''")
+                await self.page.request_gc()
+
+                # request_gc before and after evaluate to free up memory
+                # @todo browsersteps etc
+                MAX_TOTAL_HEIGHT = int(os.getenv("SCREENSHOT_MAX_HEIGHT", SCREENSHOT_MAX_HEIGHT_DEFAULT))
+                self.xpath_data = await self.page.evaluate(XPATH_ELEMENT_JS, {
+                    "visualselector_xpath_selectors": visualselector_xpath_selectors,
+                    "max_height": MAX_TOTAL_HEIGHT
+                })
+                await self.page.request_gc()
+
+                self.instock_data = await self.page.evaluate(INSTOCK_DATA_JS)
+                await self.page.request_gc()
+
+                self.content = await self.page.content()
+                await self.page.request_gc()
+                logger.debug(f"Scrape xPath element data in browser done in {time.time() - now:.2f}s")
+
+
+                # Bug 3 in Playwright screenshot handling
+                # Some bug where it gives the wrong screenshot size, but making a request with the clip set first seems to solve it
+                # JPEG is better here because the screenshots can be very very large
+
+                # Screenshots also travel via the ws:// (websocket) meaning that the binary data is base64 encoded
+                # which will significantly increase the IO size between the server and client, it's recommended to use the lowest
+                # acceptable screenshot quality here
                 # The actual screenshot - this always base64 and needs decoding! horrible! huge CPU usage
                 self.screenshot = await capture_full_page_async(page=self.page, screenshot_format=self.screenshot_format)
 
+            except ScreenshotUnavailable:
+                # Re-raise screenshot unavailable exceptions
+                raise
             except Exception as e:
                 # It's likely the screenshot was too long/big and something crashed
                 raise ScreenshotUnavailable(url=url, status_code=self.status_code)
@@ -389,6 +413,10 @@ class fetcher(Fetcher):
                     pass
                 browser = None
 
+                # Force Python GC to release Playwright resources immediately
+                # Playwright objects can have circular references that delay cleanup
+                gc.collect()
+
 
 # Plugin registration for built-in fetcher
 class PlaywrightFetcherPlugin:

changedetectionio/content_fetchers/webdriver_selenium.py

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class fetcher(Fetcher):
     proxy_url = None
 
     # Capability flags
-    supports_browser_steps = True
+    supports_browser_steps = False
     supports_screenshots = True
     supports_xpath_element_data = True
 

changedetectionio/custom_queue.py

@@ -57,14 +57,15 @@ class SignalPriorityQueue(queue.PriorityQueue):
     def put(self, item, block=True, timeout=None):
         # Call the parent's put method first
         super().put(item, block, timeout)
-        
+
         # After putting the item in the queue, check if it has a UUID and emit signal
         if hasattr(item, 'item') and isinstance(item.item, dict) and 'uuid' in item.item:
             uuid = item.item['uuid']
             # Get the signal and send it if it exists
             watch_check_update = signal('watch_check_update')
             if watch_check_update:
-                # Send the watch_uuid parameter
+                # NOTE: This would block other workers from .put/.get while this signal sends
+                # Signal handlers may iterate the queue/datastore while holding locks
                 watch_check_update.send(watch_uuid=uuid)
         
         # Send queue_length signal with current queue size
@@ -312,14 +313,15 @@ class AsyncSignalPriorityQueue(asyncio.PriorityQueue):
     async def put(self, item):
         # Call the parent's put method first
         await super().put(item)
-        
+
         # After putting the item in the queue, check if it has a UUID and emit signal
         if hasattr(item, 'item') and isinstance(item.item, dict) and 'uuid' in item.item:
             uuid = item.item['uuid']
             # Get the signal and send it if it exists
             watch_check_update = signal('watch_check_update')
             if watch_check_update:
-                # Send the watch_uuid parameter
+                # NOTE: This would block other workers from .put/.get while this signal sends
+                # Signal handlers may iterate the queue/datastore while holding locks
                 watch_check_update.send(watch_uuid=uuid)
         
         # Send queue_length signal with current queue size

changedetectionio/flask_app.py

@@ -863,13 +863,13 @@ def changedetection_app(config=None, datastore_o=None):
     worker_handler.start_workers(n_workers, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore)
 
     # @todo handle ctrl break
-    ticker_thread = threading.Thread(target=ticker_thread_check_time_launch_checks).start()
-    threading.Thread(target=notification_runner).start()
+    ticker_thread = threading.Thread(target=ticker_thread_check_time_launch_checks, daemon=True, name="TickerThread-ScheduleChecker").start()
+    threading.Thread(target=notification_runner, daemon=True, name="NotificationRunner").start()
 
     in_pytest = "pytest" in sys.modules or "PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST" in os.environ
     # Check for new release version, but not when running in test/build or pytest
     if not os.getenv("GITHUB_REF", False) and not strtobool(os.getenv('DISABLE_VERSION_CHECK', 'no')) and not in_pytest:
-        threading.Thread(target=check_for_new_version).start()
+        threading.Thread(target=check_for_new_version, daemon=True, name="VersionChecker").start()
 
     # Return the Flask app - the Socket.IO will be attached to it but initialized separately
     # This avoids circular dependencies

changedetectionio/forms.py

@@ -991,6 +991,7 @@ class globalSettingsApplicationForm(commonSettingsForm):
                            render_kw={"placeholder": os.getenv('BASE_URL', 'Not set')}
                            )
     empty_pages_are_a_change =  BooleanField(_l('Treat empty pages as a change?'), default=False)
+    notification_html_word_diff_enabled = BooleanField(_l('Notification HTML as word-by-word difference'), default=True, validators=[validators.Optional()])
     fetch_backend = RadioField(_l('Fetch Method'), default="html_requests", choices=content_fetchers.available_fetchers(), validators=[ValidateContentFetcherIsReady()])
     global_ignore_text = StringListField(_l('Ignore Text'), [ValidateListRegex()])
     global_subtractive_selectors = StringListField(_l('Remove elements'), [ValidateCSSJSONXPATHInput(allow_json=False)])

changedetectionio/languages.py

@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ def get_timeago_locale(flask_locale):
     """
     locale_map = {
         'zh': 'zh_CN',      # Chinese Simplified
+        'zh_Hant_TW': 'zh_TW',  # Flask-Babel normalizes zh_TW to zh_Hant_TW
         'pt': 'pt_PT',      # Portuguese (Portugal)
         'sv': 'sv_SE',      # Swedish
         'no': 'nb_NO',      # Norwegian Bokmål

changedetectionio/model/App.py

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ class model(dict):
                     'ssim_threshold': '0.96',  # Default SSIM threshold for screenshot comparison
                     'notification_body': default_notification_body,
                     'notification_format': default_notification_format,
+                    'notification_html_word_diff': True,
                     'notification_title': default_notification_title,
                     'notification_urls': [], # Apprise URL list
                     'pager_size': 50,

changedetectionio/model/Watch.py

@@ -10,9 +10,13 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from loguru import logger
 
 from .. import jinja2_custom as safe_jinja
-from ..diff import ADDED_PLACEMARKER_OPEN
 from ..html_tools import TRANSLATE_WHITESPACE_TABLE
 
+FAVICON_RESAVE_THRESHOLD_SECONDS=86400
+BROTLI_COMPRESS_SIZE_THRESHOLD = int(os.getenv('SNAPSHOT_BROTLI_COMPRESSION_THRESHOLD', 1024))
+
+minimum_seconds_recheck_time = int(os.getenv('MINIMUM_SECONDS_RECHECK_TIME', 3))
+mtable = {'seconds': 1, 'minutes': 60, 'hours': 3600, 'days': 86400, 'weeks': 86400 * 7}
 
 def _brotli_compress_worker(conn, filepath, mode=None):
     """
@@ -29,6 +33,7 @@ def _brotli_compress_worker(conn, filepath, mode=None):
     try:
         # Receive data from parent process via pipe (avoids pickle overhead)
         contents = conn.recv()
+        logger.debug(f"Starting brotli compression of {len(contents)} bytes.")
 
         if mode is not None:
             compressed_data = brotli.compress(contents, mode=mode)
@@ -40,9 +45,10 @@ def _brotli_compress_worker(conn, filepath, mode=None):
 
         # Send success status back
         conn.send(True)
+        logger.debug(f"Finished brotli compression - From {len(contents)} to {len(compressed_data)} bytes.")
         # No need for explicit cleanup - process exit frees all memory
     except Exception as e:
-        logger.error(f"Brotli compression worker failed: {e}")
+        logger.critical(f"Brotli compression worker failed: {e}")
         conn.send(False)
     finally:
         conn.close()
@@ -66,7 +72,6 @@ def _brotli_subprocess_save(contents, filepath, mode=None, timeout=30, fallback_
     Raises:
         Exception: if compression fails and fallback_uncompressed is False
     """
-    import brotli
     import multiprocessing
     import sys
 
@@ -144,11 +149,6 @@ def _brotli_subprocess_save(contents, filepath, mode=None, timeout=30, fallback_
     else:
         raise Exception(f"Brotli compression subprocess failed for {filepath}")
 
-FAVICON_RESAVE_THRESHOLD_SECONDS=86400
-
-
-minimum_seconds_recheck_time = int(os.getenv('MINIMUM_SECONDS_RECHECK_TIME', 3))
-mtable = {'seconds': 1, 'minutes': 60, 'hours': 3600, 'days': 86400, 'weeks': 86400 * 7}
 
 class model(watch_base):
     __newest_history_key = None
@@ -492,7 +492,6 @@ class model(watch_base):
 
         self.ensure_data_dir_exists()
 
-        threshold = int(os.getenv('SNAPSHOT_BROTLI_COMPRESSION_THRESHOLD', 1024))
         skip_brotli = strtobool(os.getenv('DISABLE_BROTLI_TEXT_SNAPSHOT', 'False'))
 
         # Binary data - detect file type and save without compression
@@ -516,7 +515,7 @@ class model(watch_base):
 
         # Text data - use brotli compression if enabled and above threshold
         else:
-            if not skip_brotli and len(contents) > threshold:
+            if not skip_brotli and len(contents) > BROTLI_COMPRESS_SIZE_THRESHOLD:
                 # Compressed text
                 import brotli
                 snapshot_fname = f"{snapshot_id}.txt.br"

changedetectionio/notification/handler.py

@@ -309,6 +309,9 @@ def process_notification(n_object: NotificationContextData, datastore):
     if not isinstance(n_object, NotificationContextData):
         raise TypeError(f"Expected NotificationContextData, got {type(n_object)}")
 
+    if not n_object.get('notification_urls'):
+        return None
+
     now = time.time()
     if n_object.get('notification_timestamp'):
         logger.trace(f"Time since queued {now-n_object['notification_timestamp']:.3f}s")
@@ -348,16 +351,15 @@ def process_notification(n_object: NotificationContextData, datastore):
     apprise.plugins.N_MGR.remove('discord')
     apprise.plugins.N_MGR.add(NotifyDiscordCustom, schemas='discord')
 
-    if not n_object.get('notification_urls'):
-        return None
+    # Should always be false for 'text' mode or its too hard to read, otherwise it's a setting (for html style).
+    word_diff_enable = requested_output_format_original == 'text' or (
+                n_object.get('notification_html_word_diff_enabled', True) and requested_output_format_original.startswith('html'))
 
     n_object.update(add_rendered_diff_to_notification_vars(
         notification_scan_text=n_object.get('notification_body', '')+n_object.get('notification_title', ''),
         current_snapshot=n_object.get('current_snapshot'),
         prev_snapshot=n_object.get('prev_snapshot'),
-        # Should always be false for 'text' mode or its too hard to read
-        # But otherwise, this could be some setting
-        word_diff=False if requested_output_format_original == 'text' else True,
+        word_diff=word_diff_enable
         )
     )
 

changedetectionio/notification_service.py

@@ -250,6 +250,7 @@ class NotificationService:
         if n_object.get('notification_format') == USE_SYSTEM_DEFAULT_NOTIFICATION_FORMAT_FOR_WATCH:
             n_object['notification_format'] = self.datastore.data['settings']['application'].get('notification_format')
 
+        n_object['notification_html_word_diff_enabled'] = self.datastore.data['settings']['application'].get('notification_html_word_diff_enabled', True)
 
         triggered_text = ''
         if len(trigger_text):

changedetectionio/queue_handlers.py

@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ class RecheckPriorityQueue:
     
     def get(self, block: bool = True, timeout: Optional[float] = None):
         """Thread-safe sync get with priority ordering"""
+        import queue
         try:
             # Wait for notification
             self.sync_q.get(block=block, timeout=timeout)
@@ -103,8 +104,11 @@ class RecheckPriorityQueue:
             logger.debug(f"Successfully retrieved item: {self._get_item_uuid(item)}")
             return item
 
+        except queue.Empty:
+            # Queue is empty with timeout - expected behavior, re-raise without logging
+            raise
         except Exception as e:
-            logger.critical(f"CRITICAL: Failed to get item from queue: {str(e)}")
+            # Re-raise without logging - caller (worker) will handle and log appropriately
             raise
     
     # ASYNC INTERFACE (for workers)

changedetectionio/run_basic_tests.sh

@@ -98,11 +98,12 @@ pytest -vv -s --maxfail=1 tests/test_rss.py
 pytest -vv -s --maxfail=1 tests/test_unique_lines.py
 
 # Try high concurrency
-FETCH_WORKERS=130 pytest  tests/test_history_consistency.py -v -l
+FETCH_WORKERS=50 pytest  tests/test_history_consistency.py -vv -l -s
 
 # Check file:// will pickup a file when enabled
 echo "Hello world" > /tmp/test-file.txt
 ALLOW_FILE_URI=yes pytest -vv -s  tests/test_security.py
 
 
-
+# Run it again so that brotli kicks in
+TEST_WITH_BROTLI=1 SNAPSHOT_BROTLI_COMPRESSION_THRESHOLD=100 FETCH_WORKERS=20 pytest tests/test_history_consistency.py -vv -l -s

changedetectionio/store.py

@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ class ChangeDetectionStore:
         # Finally start the thread that will manage periodic data saves to JSON
         # Only start if thread is not already running (reload_state might be called multiple times)
         if not self.save_data_thread or not self.save_data_thread.is_alive():
-            self.save_data_thread = threading.Thread(target=self.save_datastore)
+            self.save_data_thread = threading.Thread(target=self.save_datastore, daemon=True, name="DatastoreSaver")
             self.save_data_thread.start()
 
     def rehydrate_entity(self, uuid, entity, processor_override=None):

changedetectionio/strtobool.py

@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ _MAP = {
 
 
 def strtobool(value):
+    if not value:
+        return False
     try:
         return _MAP[str(value).lower()]
     except KeyError:

changedetectionio/templates/_common_fields.html

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 
-{% from '_helpers.html' import render_field %}
+{% from '_helpers.html' import render_field, render_checkbox_field %}
 
 {% macro show_token_placeholders(extra_notification_token_placeholder_info, suffix="") %}
 
@@ -8,9 +8,7 @@
             <span class="pure-form-message-inline">
         Body for all notifications &dash; You can use <a target="newwindow" href="https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/3.0.x/templates/">Jinja2</a> templating in the notification title, body and URL, and tokens from below.
     </span><br>
-        <div data-target="#notification-tokens-info{{ suffix }}" class="toggle-show pure-button button-tag button-xsmall">Show
-            token/placeholders
-        </div>
+        <div data-target="#notification-tokens-info{{ suffix }}" class="toggle-show pure-button button-tag button-xsmall">Show extra help and tokens</div>
     </div>
     <div class="pure-controls" style="display: none;" id="notification-tokens-info{{ suffix }}">
         <table class="pure-table" id="token-table">
@@ -105,11 +103,30 @@
                 {% endif %}
             </tbody>
         </table>
-
-        <span class="pure-form-message-inline">
+        <br>
+        <div class="pure-form-message-inline">
         Warning: Contents of <code>{{ '{{diff}}' }}</code>, <code>{{ '{{diff_removed}}' }}</code>, and <code>{{ '{{diff_added}}' }}</code> depend on how the difference algorithm perceives the change. <br>
-        For example, an addition or removal could be perceived as a change in some cases. <a target="newwindow" href="https://github.com/dgtlmoon/changedetection.io/wiki/Using-the-%7B%7Bdiff%7D%7D,-%7B%7Bdiff_added%7D%7D,-and-%7B%7Bdiff_removed%7D%7D-notification-tokens">More Here</a> <br>
-        </span>
+        For example, an addition or removal could be perceived as a change in some cases. <a target="newwindow"  href="https://github.com/dgtlmoon/changedetection.io/wiki/Using-the-%7B%7Bdiff%7D%7D,-%7B%7Bdiff_added%7D%7D,-and-%7B%7Bdiff_removed%7D%7D-notification-tokens">More Here</a> <br>
+        </div>
+    <br><br>
+        <div class="pure-form-message-inline">
+            <ul>
+                <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
+                For JSON payloads, use <strong>|tojson</strong> without quotes for automatic escaping, for example - <code>{ "name": {{ '{{ watch_title|tojson }}' }} }</code>
+            </span></li>
+                <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
+                URL encoding, use <strong>|urlencode</strong>, for example - <code>gets://hook-website.com/test.php?title={{ '{{ watch_title|urlencode }}' }}</code>
+            </span></li>
+                <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
+                Regular-expression replace, use <strong>|regex_replace</strong>, for example -   <code>{{ "{{ \"hello world 123\" | regex_replace('[0-9]+', 'no-more-numbers') }}" }}</code>
+            </span></li>
+                <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
+                For a complete reference of all Jinja2 built-in filters, users can refer to the <a
+                        href="https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/3.1.x/templates/#builtin-filters">https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/3.1.x/templates/#builtin-filters</a>
+            </span></li>
+            </ul>
+            <br>
+        </div>
     </div>
 {%  endmacro %}
 
@@ -151,28 +168,11 @@
                                 {{ render_field(form.notification_title, class="m-d notification-title", placeholder=settings_application['notification_title']) }}
                                 <span class="pure-form-message-inline">Title for all notifications</span>
                             </div>
-                            <div class="pure-control-group">
+                            <div>
                                 {{ render_field(form.notification_body , rows=5, class="notification-body", placeholder=settings_application['notification_body']) }}
                                 {{ show_token_placeholders(extra_notification_token_placeholder_info=extra_notification_token_placeholder_info) }}
-                                <div class="pure-form-message-inline">
-                                    <ul>
-                                    <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
-                                        For JSON payloads, use <strong>|tojson</strong> without quotes for automatic escaping, for example - <code>{ "name": {{ '{{ watch_title|tojson }}' }} }</code>
-                                    </span></li>
-                                    <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
-                                        URL encoding, use <strong>|urlencode</strong>, for example - <code>gets://hook-website.com/test.php?title={{ '{{ watch_title|urlencode }}' }}</code>
-                                    </span></li>
-                                    <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
-                                        Regular-expression replace, use <strong>|regex_replace</strong>, for example -   <code>{{ "{{ \"hello world 123\" | regex_replace('[0-9]+', 'no-more-numbers') }}" }}</code>
-                                    </span></li>
-                                    <li><span class="pure-form-message-inline">
-                                        For a complete reference of all Jinja2 built-in filters, users can refer to the <a href="https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/3.1.x/templates/#builtin-filters">https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/3.1.x/templates/#builtin-filters</a>
-                                    </span></li>
-                                    </ul>
-                                    <br>
-                                </div>
                             </div>
-                            <div class="">
+                            <div>
                                 {{ render_field(form.notification_format , class="notification-format") }}
                                 <span class="pure-form-message-inline">Format for all notifications</span>
                             </div>

changedetectionio/tests/conftest.py

@@ -270,3 +270,6 @@ def app(request, datastore_path):
        
     request.addfinalizer(teardown)
     yield app
+
+
+

changedetectionio/tests/test_extract_regex.py

@@ -206,11 +206,10 @@ def test_regex_error_handling(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datasto
     # Add our URL to the import page
     test_url = url_for('test_endpoint', _external=True)
     uuid = client.application.config.get('DATASTORE').add_watch(url=test_url)
-    client.get(url_for("ui.form_watch_checknow"), follow_redirects=True)
-
+    time.sleep(0.2)
     ### test regex error handling
     res = client.post(
-        url_for("ui.ui_edit.edit_page", uuid="first"),
+        url_for("ui.ui_edit.edit_page", uuid=uuid),
         data={"extract_text": '/something bad\d{3/XYZ',
               "url": test_url,
               "fetch_backend": "html_requests",

changedetectionio/tests/test_history_consistency.py

@@ -4,25 +4,47 @@ import time
 import os
 import json
 from flask import url_for
+from loguru import logger
+from .. import strtobool
 from .util import wait_for_all_checks, delete_all_watches
-from urllib.parse import urlparse, parse_qs
+import brotli
+
 
 def test_consistent_history(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_path):
-   #  live_server_setup(live_server) # Setup on conftest per function
-    workers = int(os.getenv("FETCH_WORKERS", 10))
-    r = range(1, 10+workers)
 
-    for one in r:
-        test_url = url_for('test_endpoint', content_type="text/html", content=str(one), _external=True)
-        res = client.post(
-            url_for("imports.import_page"),
-            data={"urls": test_url},
-            follow_redirects=True
-        )
+    uuids = set()
+    sys_fetch_workers = int(os.getenv("FETCH_WORKERS", 10))
+    workers = range(1, sys_fetch_workers)
+    now = time.time()
 
-        assert b"1 Imported" in res.data
+    for one in workers:
+        if strtobool(os.getenv("TEST_WITH_BROTLI")):
+            # A very long string that WILL trigger Brotli compression of the snapshot
+            # BROTLI_COMPRESS_SIZE_THRESHOLD should be set to say 200
+            from ..model.Watch import BROTLI_COMPRESS_SIZE_THRESHOLD
+            content = str(one) + "x" + str(one) * (BROTLI_COMPRESS_SIZE_THRESHOLD + 10)
+        else:
+            # Just enough to test datastore
+            content = str(one)+'x'
+
+        test_url = url_for('test_endpoint', content_type="text/html", content=content, _external=True)
+        uuids.add(client.application.config.get('DATASTORE').add_watch(url=test_url, extras={'title': str(one)}))
+
+    client.get(url_for("ui.form_watch_checknow"), follow_redirects=True)
 
     wait_for_all_checks(client)
+    duration = time.time() - now
+    per_worker = duration/sys_fetch_workers
+    if sys_fetch_workers < 20:
+        per_worker_threshold=0.6
+    elif sys_fetch_workers < 50:
+        per_worker_threshold = 0.8
+    else:
+        per_worker_threshold = 1.5
+
+    logger.debug(f"All fetched in {duration:.2f}s, {per_worker}s per worker")
+    # Problematic on github
+    #assert per_worker < per_worker_threshold, f"If concurrency is working good, no blocking async problems, each worker ({sys_fetch_workers} workers) should have done his job in under {per_worker_threshold}s, got {per_worker:.2f}s per worker, total duration was {duration:.2f}s"
 
     # Essentially just triggers the DB write/update
     res = client.post(
@@ -34,7 +56,7 @@ def test_consistent_history(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore
     )
     assert b"Settings updated." in res.data
 
-
+    # Wait for the sync DB save to happen
     time.sleep(2)
 
     json_db_file = os.path.join(live_server.app.config['DATASTORE'].datastore_path, 'url-watches.json')
@@ -44,14 +66,18 @@ def test_consistent_history(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore
         json_obj = json.load(f)
 
     # assert the right amount of watches was found in the JSON
-    assert len(json_obj['watching']) == len(r), "Correct number of watches was found in the JSON"
-    i=0
+    assert len(json_obj['watching']) == len(workers), "Correct number of watches was found in the JSON"
+
+    i = 0
     # each one should have a history.txt containing just one line
     for w in json_obj['watching'].keys():
-        i+=1
+        i += 1
         history_txt_index_file = os.path.join(live_server.app.config['DATASTORE'].datastore_path, w, 'history.txt')
         assert os.path.isfile(history_txt_index_file), f"History.txt should exist where I expect it at {history_txt_index_file}"
 
+        # Should be no errors (could be from brotli etc)
+        assert not live_server.app.config['DATASTORE'].data['watching'][w].get('last_error')
+
         # Same like in model.Watch
         with open(history_txt_index_file, "r") as f:
             tmp_history = dict(i.strip().split(',', 2) for i in f.readlines())
@@ -63,15 +89,21 @@ def test_consistent_history(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore
         # Find the snapshot one
         for fname in files_in_watch_dir:
             if fname != 'history.txt' and 'html' not in fname:
+                if strtobool(os.getenv("TEST_WITH_BROTLI")):
+                    assert fname.endswith('.br'), "Forced TEST_WITH_BROTLI then it should be a .br filename"
+
+                full_snapshot_history_path = os.path.join(live_server.app.config['DATASTORE'].datastore_path, w, fname)
                 # contents should match what we requested as content returned from the test url
-                with open(os.path.join(live_server.app.config['DATASTORE'].datastore_path, w, fname), 'r') as snapshot_f:
-                    contents = snapshot_f.read()
-                    watch_url = json_obj['watching'][w]['url']
-                    u = urlparse(watch_url)
-                    q = parse_qs(u[4])
-                    assert q['content'][0] == contents.strip(), f"Snapshot file {fname} should contain {q['content'][0]}"
-
+                if fname.endswith('.br'):
+                    with open(full_snapshot_history_path, 'rb') as f:
+                        contents = brotli.decompress(f.read()).decode('utf-8')
+                else:
+                    with open(full_snapshot_history_path, 'r') as snapshot_f:
+                        contents = snapshot_f.read()
 
+                watch_title = json_obj['watching'][w]['title']
+                assert json_obj['watching'][w]['title'], "Watch should have a title set"
+                assert contents.startswith(watch_title + "x"), f"Snapshot contents in file {fname} should start with '{watch_title}x', got '{contents}'"
 
         assert len(files_in_watch_dir) == 3, "Should be just three files in the dir, html.br snapshot, history.txt and the extracted text snapshot"
 

changedetectionio/tests/test_live_preview.py

@@ -25,12 +25,13 @@ def test_content_filter_live_preview(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage,
 
     test_url = url_for('test_endpoint', _external=True)
 
-    res = client.post(
-        url_for("ui.ui_views.form_quick_watch_add"),
-        data={"url": test_url, "tags": ''},
-        follow_redirects=True
-    )
-    uuid = next(iter(live_server.app.config['DATASTORE'].data['watching']))
+
+    uuid = client.application.config.get('DATASTORE').add_watch(url=test_url)
+    res = client.get(url_for("ui.form_watch_checknow"), follow_redirects=True)
+    assert b'Queued 1 watch for rechecking.' in res.data
+   
+    wait_for_all_checks(client)
+
     res = client.post(
         url_for("ui.ui_edit.edit_page", uuid=uuid),
         data={

changedetectionio/tests/test_notification.py

@@ -532,7 +532,7 @@ def test_single_send_test_notification_on_watch(client, live_server, measure_mem
         assert 'Current snapshot: Example text: example test' in x
     os.unlink(os.path.join(datastore_path, "notification.txt"))
 
-def _test_color_notifications(client, notification_body_token, datastore_path):
+def _test_color_notifications(client, notification_body_token, datastore_path, word_diff_enabled = True):
 
     set_original_response(datastore_path=datastore_path)
 
@@ -551,6 +551,7 @@ def _test_color_notifications(client, notification_body_token, datastore_path):
             "application-minutes_between_check": 180,
             "application-notification_body": notification_body_token,
             "application-notification_format": "htmlcolor",
+            "application-notification_html_word_diff_enabled": 'y' if word_diff_enabled else '',
             "application-notification_urls": test_notification_url,
             "application-notification_title": "New ChangeDetection.io Notification - {{ watch_url }}",
         },
@@ -559,17 +560,13 @@ def _test_color_notifications(client, notification_body_token, datastore_path):
     assert b'Settings updated' in res.data
 
     test_url = url_for('test_endpoint', _external=True)
-    res = client.post(
-        url_for("ui.ui_views.form_quick_watch_add"),
-        data={"url": test_url, "tags": 'nice one'},
-        follow_redirects=True
-    )
-
-    assert b"Watch added" in res.data
+    uuid = client.application.config.get('DATASTORE').add_watch(url=test_url)
+    res = client.get(url_for("ui.form_watch_checknow"), follow_redirects=True)
+    assert b'Queued 1 watch for rechecking.' in res.data
 
     wait_for_all_checks(client)
-
-    set_modified_response(datastore_path=datastore_path)
+    extras='XXX ' if word_diff_enabled else ''
+    set_modified_response(datastore_path=datastore_path, extras=extras)
 
 
     res = client.get(url_for("ui.form_watch_checknow"), follow_redirects=True)
@@ -579,9 +576,13 @@ def _test_color_notifications(client, notification_body_token, datastore_path):
     wait_for_notification_endpoint_output(datastore_path=datastore_path)
 
     with open(os.path.join(datastore_path, "notification.txt"), 'r') as f:
-        x = f.read()
+        contents = f.read()
         s = f'<span style="{HTML_CHANGED_STYLE}" role="note" aria-label="Changed text" title="Changed text">Which is across multiple lines</span><br>'
-        assert s in x
+        assert s in contents
+        if word_diff_enabled:
+            assert '>XXX</span>' in contents
+        else:
+            assert '>XXX</span>' not in contents
 
     client.get(
         url_for("ui.form_delete", uuid="all"),
@@ -590,6 +591,12 @@ def _test_color_notifications(client, notification_body_token, datastore_path):
 
 # Just checks the format of the colour notifications was correct
 def test_html_color_notifications(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_path):
-    _test_color_notifications(client, '{{diff}}',datastore_path=datastore_path)
-    _test_color_notifications(client, '{{diff_full}}',datastore_path=datastore_path)
+    # Word-level diff only triggers when difflib.SequenceMatcher identifies a single-line to single-line replacement.
+    # If you have multiple changed lines close together, you need at least 1 unchanged content line (not empty) between them to
+    # prevent them from being grouped into a multi-line replacement that falls back to line-level diff.
 
+    _test_color_notifications(client, '{{diff}}',datastore_path=datastore_path, word_diff_enabled = True)
+    _test_color_notifications(client, '{{diff_full}}',datastore_path=datastore_path, word_diff_enabled = True)
+
+    _test_color_notifications(client, '{{diff}}',datastore_path=datastore_path, word_diff_enabled = False)
+    _test_color_notifications(client, '{{diff_full}}',datastore_path=datastore_path, word_diff_enabled = False)

changedetectionio/tests/test_rss_group.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 import time
 from flask import url_for
-from .util import live_server_setup, wait_for_all_checks, extract_rss_token_from_UI, get_UUID_for_tag_name, delete_all_watches
+from .util import live_server_setup, wait_for_all_checks, wait_for_watch_history, extract_rss_token_from_UI, get_UUID_for_tag_name, delete_all_watches
 import os
 
 
@@ -87,6 +87,9 @@ def test_rss_group(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_path):
     # Wait for initial checks to complete
     wait_for_all_checks(client)
 
+    # Ensure initial snapshots are saved
+    assert wait_for_watch_history(client, min_history_count=1, timeout=10), "Watches did not save initial snapshots"
+
     # Trigger a change
     set_modified_response(datastore_path=datastore_path)
 
@@ -94,6 +97,9 @@ def test_rss_group(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_path):
     res = client.get(url_for("ui.form_watch_checknow"), follow_redirects=True)
     wait_for_all_checks(client)
 
+    # Ensure all watches have sufficient history for RSS generation
+    assert wait_for_watch_history(client, min_history_count=2, timeout=10), "Watches did not accumulate sufficient history"
+
     # Get RSS token
     rss_token = extract_rss_token_from_UI(client)
     assert rss_token is not None
@@ -216,11 +222,13 @@ def test_rss_group_only_unviewed(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, data
     assert b"Watch added" in res.data
 
     wait_for_all_checks(client)
+    assert wait_for_watch_history(client, min_history_count=1, timeout=10), "Initial snapshots not saved"
 
     # Trigger changes
     set_modified_response(datastore_path=datastore_path)
     res = client.get(url_for("ui.form_watch_checknow"), follow_redirects=True)
     wait_for_all_checks(client)
+    assert wait_for_watch_history(client, min_history_count=2, timeout=10), "History not accumulated"
 
     # Get RSS token
     rss_token = extract_rss_token_from_UI(client)

changedetectionio/tests/test_xpath_selector_unit.py

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 import sys
 import os
 import pytest
+
+from changedetectionio import html_tools
+
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
-import html_tools
 
 # test generation guide.
 # 1. Do not include encoding in the xml declaration if the test object is a str type.

changedetectionio/tests/util.py

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import logging
 import time
 import os
 
-def set_original_response(datastore_path, extra_title=''):
+def set_original_response(datastore_path, extra_title='', extras=''):
     test_return_data = f"""<html>
     <head><title>head title{extra_title}</title></head>
     <body>
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ def set_original_response(datastore_path, extra_title=''):
      <p>Which is across multiple lines</p>
      <br>
      So let's see what happens.  <br>
+     with more text that helps word-diff if needed<br>
+     and more text that helps word-diff if needed<br>
+     and even more text {extras}that helps word-diff if needed<br>     
      <span class="foobar-detection" style='display:none'></span>
      </body>
      </html>
@@ -24,14 +27,17 @@ def set_original_response(datastore_path, extra_title=''):
         f.write(test_return_data)
     return None
 
-def set_modified_response(datastore_path):
-    test_return_data = """<html>
+def set_modified_response(datastore_path, extras=''):
+    test_return_data =f"""<html>
     <head><title>modified head title</title></head>
     <body>
      Some initial text<br>
      <p>which has this one new line</p>
      <br>
      So let's see what happens.  <br>
+     with more text that helps word-diff if needed<br>
+     and more text that helps word-diff if needed<br>
+     and even more text {extras}that helps word-diff if needed<br>     
      </body>
      </html>
     """
@@ -92,8 +98,8 @@ def wait_for_notification_endpoint_output(datastore_path):
     #@todo - could check the apprise object directly instead of looking for this file
     from os.path import isfile
     notification_file = os.path.join(datastore_path, "notification.txt")
-    for i in range(1, 20):
-        time.sleep(1)
+    for i in range(1, 100):
+        time.sleep(0.3)
         if isfile(notification_file):
             return True
 
@@ -164,14 +170,45 @@ def wait_for_all_checks(client=None):
         if q_length == 0 and not any_workers_busy:
             if empty_since is None:
                 empty_since = time.time()
-            elif time.time() - empty_since >= 0.15:  # Shorter wait
+            # Brief stabilization period for async workers
+            elif time.time() - empty_since >= 0.3:
                 break
         else:
             empty_since = None
-        
+
         attempt += 1
         time.sleep(0.3)
 
+def wait_for_watch_history(client, min_history_count=2, timeout=10):
+    """
+    Wait for watches to have sufficient history entries.
+    Useful after wait_for_all_checks() when you need to ensure history is populated.
+
+    Args:
+        client: Test client with access to datastore
+        min_history_count: Minimum number of history entries required
+        timeout: Maximum time to wait in seconds
+    """
+    datastore = client.application.config.get('DATASTORE')
+    start_time = time.time()
+
+    while time.time() - start_time < timeout:
+        all_have_history = True
+        for uuid, watch in datastore.data['watching'].items():
+            history_count = len(watch.history.keys())
+            if history_count < min_history_count:
+                all_have_history = False
+                break
+
+        if all_have_history:
+            return True
+
+        time.sleep(0.2)
+
+    # Timeout - return False
+    return False
+
+
 # Replaced by new_live_server_setup and calling per function scope in conftest.py
 def  live_server_setup(live_server):
     return True
@@ -189,6 +226,8 @@ def new_live_server_setup(live_server):
 
     @live_server.app.route('/test-endpoint')
     def test_endpoint():
+        from loguru import logger
+        logger.debug(f"/test-endpoint hit {request}")
         ctype = request.args.get('content_type')
         status_code = request.args.get('status_code')
         content = request.args.get('content') or None

changedetectionio/tests/visualselector/test_fetch_data.py

@@ -144,7 +144,6 @@ def test_basic_browserstep(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_
 
 def test_non_200_errors_report_browsersteps(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_path):
 
-
     four_o_four_url =  url_for('test_endpoint', status_code=404, _external=True)
     four_o_four_url = four_o_four_url.replace('localhost.localdomain', 'cdio')
     four_o_four_url = four_o_four_url.replace('localhost', 'cdio')
@@ -186,3 +185,65 @@ def test_non_200_errors_report_browsersteps(client, live_server, measure_memory_
         url_for("ui.form_delete", uuid="all"),
         follow_redirects=True
     )
+
+def test_browsersteps_edit_UI_startsession(client, live_server, measure_memory_usage, datastore_path):
+
+    assert os.getenv('PLAYWRIGHT_DRIVER_URL'), "Needs PLAYWRIGHT_DRIVER_URL set for this test"
+
+    # Add a watch first
+    test_url = url_for('test_interactive_html_endpoint', _external=True)
+    test_url = test_url.replace('localhost.localdomain', 'cdio')
+    test_url = test_url.replace('localhost', 'cdio')
+
+    uuid = client.application.config.get('DATASTORE').add_watch(url=test_url, extras={'fetch_backend': 'html_webdriver', 'paused': True})
+
+    # Test starting a browsersteps session
+    res = client.get(
+        url_for("browser_steps.browsersteps_start_session", uuid=uuid),
+        follow_redirects=True
+    )
+
+    assert res.status_code == 200
+    assert res.is_json
+    json_data = res.get_json()
+    assert 'browsersteps_session_id' in json_data
+    assert json_data['browsersteps_session_id']  # Not empty
+
+    browsersteps_session_id = json_data['browsersteps_session_id']
+
+    # Verify the session exists in browsersteps_sessions
+    from changedetectionio.blueprint.browser_steps import browsersteps_sessions, browsersteps_watch_to_session
+    assert browsersteps_session_id in browsersteps_sessions
+    assert uuid in browsersteps_watch_to_session
+    assert browsersteps_watch_to_session[uuid] == browsersteps_session_id
+
+    # Verify browsersteps UI shows up on edit page
+    res = client.get(url_for("ui.ui_edit.edit_page", uuid=uuid))
+    assert b'browsersteps-click-start' in res.data, "Browsersteps manual UI shows up"
+
+    # Session should still exist after GET (not cleaned up yet)
+    assert browsersteps_session_id in browsersteps_sessions
+    assert uuid in browsersteps_watch_to_session
+
+    # Test cleanup happens on save (POST)
+    res = client.post(
+        url_for("ui.ui_edit.edit_page", uuid=uuid),
+        data={
+            "url": test_url,
+            "tags": "",
+            'fetch_backend': "html_webdriver",
+            "time_between_check_use_default": "y",
+        },
+        follow_redirects=True
+    )
+    assert b"Updated watch" in res.data
+
+    # NOW verify the session was cleaned up after save
+    assert browsersteps_session_id not in browsersteps_sessions
+    assert uuid not in browsersteps_watch_to_session
+
+    # Cleanup
+    client.get(
+        url_for("ui.form_delete", uuid="all"),
+        follow_redirects=True
+    )

changedetectionio/worker_handler.py

@@ -2,19 +2,18 @@
 Worker management module for changedetection.io
 
 Handles asynchronous workers for dynamic worker scaling.
-Sync worker support has been removed in favor of async-only architecture.
+Each worker runs in its own thread with its own event loop for isolation.
 """
 
 import asyncio
 import os
 import threading
 import time
+from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 from loguru import logger
 
-# Global worker state
-running_async_tasks = []
-async_loop = None
-async_loop_thread = None
+# Global worker state - each worker has its own thread and event loop
+worker_threads = []  # List of WorkerThread objects
 
 # Track currently processing UUIDs for async workers - maps {uuid: worker_id}
 currently_processing_uuids = {}
@@ -22,89 +21,118 @@ currently_processing_uuids = {}
 # Configuration - async workers only
 USE_ASYNC_WORKERS = True
 
+# Custom ThreadPoolExecutor for queue operations with named threads
+# Scale executor threads with FETCH_WORKERS to avoid bottleneck at high concurrency
+_max_executor_workers = max(50, int(os.getenv("FETCH_WORKERS", "10")))
+queue_executor = ThreadPoolExecutor(
+    max_workers=_max_executor_workers,
+    thread_name_prefix="QueueGetter-"
+)
 
-def start_async_event_loop():
-    """Start a dedicated event loop for async workers in a separate thread"""
-    global async_loop
-    logger.info("Starting async event loop for workers")
-    
-    try:
-        # Create a new event loop for this thread
-        async_loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
-        # Set it as the event loop for this thread
-        asyncio.set_event_loop(async_loop)
-        
-        logger.debug(f"Event loop created and set: {async_loop}")
-        
-        # Run the event loop forever
-        async_loop.run_forever()
-    except Exception as e:
-        logger.error(f"Async event loop error: {e}")
-    finally:
-        # Clean up
-        if async_loop and not async_loop.is_closed():
-            async_loop.close()
-        async_loop = None
-        logger.info("Async event loop stopped")
+
+class WorkerThread:
+    """Container for a worker thread with its own event loop"""
+    def __init__(self, worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore):
+        self.worker_id = worker_id
+        self.update_q = update_q
+        self.notification_q = notification_q
+        self.app = app
+        self.datastore = datastore
+        self.thread = None
+        self.loop = None
+        self.running = False
+
+    def run(self):
+        """Run the worker in its own event loop"""
+        try:
+            # Create a new event loop for this thread
+            self.loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+            asyncio.set_event_loop(self.loop)
+            self.running = True
+
+            # Run the worker coroutine
+            self.loop.run_until_complete(
+                start_single_async_worker(
+                    self.worker_id,
+                    self.update_q,
+                    self.notification_q,
+                    self.app,
+                    self.datastore,
+                    queue_executor
+                )
+            )
+        except asyncio.CancelledError:
+            # Normal shutdown - worker was cancelled
+            import os
+            in_pytest = "pytest" in os.sys.modules or "PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST" in os.environ
+            if not in_pytest:
+                logger.info(f"Worker {self.worker_id} shutting down gracefully")
+        except RuntimeError as e:
+            # Ignore expected shutdown errors
+            if "Event loop stopped" not in str(e) and "Event loop is closed" not in str(e):
+                logger.error(f"Worker {self.worker_id} runtime error: {e}")
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Worker {self.worker_id} thread error: {e}")
+        finally:
+            # Clean up
+            if self.loop and not self.loop.is_closed():
+                self.loop.close()
+            self.running = False
+            self.loop = None
+
+    def start(self):
+        """Start the worker thread"""
+        self.thread = threading.Thread(
+            target=self.run,
+            daemon=True,
+            name=f"PageFetchAsyncUpdateWorker-{self.worker_id}"
+        )
+        self.thread.start()
+
+    def stop(self):
+        """Stop the worker thread"""
+        if self.loop and self.running:
+            try:
+                # Signal the loop to stop
+                self.loop.call_soon_threadsafe(self.loop.stop)
+            except RuntimeError:
+                pass
+
+        if self.thread and self.thread.is_alive():
+            self.thread.join(timeout=2.0)
 
 
 def start_async_workers(n_workers, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore):
-    """Start the async worker management system"""
-    global async_loop_thread, async_loop, running_async_tasks, currently_processing_uuids
-    
-    # Clear any stale UUID tracking state
+    """Start async workers, each with its own thread and event loop for isolation"""
+    global worker_threads, currently_processing_uuids
+
+    # Clear any stale state
     currently_processing_uuids.clear()
-    
-    # Start the event loop in a separate thread
-    async_loop_thread = threading.Thread(target=start_async_event_loop, daemon=True)
-    async_loop_thread.start()
-    
-    # Wait for the loop to be available (with timeout for safety)
-    max_wait_time = 5.0
-    wait_start = time.time()
-    while async_loop is None and (time.time() - wait_start) < max_wait_time:
-        time.sleep(0.1)
-    
-    if async_loop is None:
-        logger.error("Failed to start async event loop within timeout")
-        return
-    
-    # Additional brief wait to ensure loop is running
-    time.sleep(0.2)
-    
-    # Start async workers
-    logger.info(f"Starting {n_workers} async workers")
+
+    # Start each worker in its own thread with its own event loop
+    logger.info(f"Starting {n_workers} async workers (isolated threads)")
     for i in range(n_workers):
         try:
-            # Use a factory function to create named worker coroutines
-            def create_named_worker(worker_id):
-                async def named_worker():
-                    task = asyncio.current_task()
-                    if task:
-                        task.set_name(f"async-worker-{worker_id}")
-                    return await start_single_async_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore)
-                return named_worker()
-            
-            task_future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(create_named_worker(i), async_loop)
-            running_async_tasks.append(task_future)
-        except RuntimeError as e:
+            worker = WorkerThread(i, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore)
+            worker.start()
+            worker_threads.append(worker)
+            # No sleep needed - threads start independently and asynchronously
+        except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Failed to start async worker {i}: {e}")
             continue
 
 
-async def start_single_async_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore):
+async def start_single_async_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore, executor=None):
     """Start a single async worker with auto-restart capability"""
     from changedetectionio.async_update_worker import async_update_worker
-    
+
     # Check if we're in pytest environment - if so, be more gentle with logging
     import os
     in_pytest = "pytest" in os.sys.modules or "PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST" in os.environ
-    
+
     while not app.config.exit.is_set():
         try:
-            if not in_pytest:
-                logger.info(f"Starting async worker {worker_id}")
-            await async_update_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore)
+            await async_update_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore, executor)
             # If we reach here, worker exited cleanly
             if not in_pytest:
                 logger.info(f"Async worker {worker_id} exited cleanly")
@@ -131,39 +159,38 @@ def start_workers(n_workers, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore):
 
 def add_worker(update_q, notification_q, app, datastore):
     """Add a new async worker (for dynamic scaling)"""
-    global running_async_tasks
-    
-    if not async_loop:
-        logger.error("Async loop not running, cannot add worker")
-        return False
-        
-    worker_id = len(running_async_tasks)
+    global worker_threads
+
+    worker_id = len(worker_threads)
     logger.info(f"Adding async worker {worker_id}")
-    
-    task_future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
-        start_single_async_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore), async_loop
-    )
-    running_async_tasks.append(task_future)
-    return True
+
+    try:
+        worker = WorkerThread(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore)
+        worker.start()
+        worker_threads.append(worker)
+        return True
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.error(f"Failed to add worker {worker_id}: {e}")
+        return False
 
 
 def remove_worker():
     """Remove an async worker (for dynamic scaling)"""
-    global running_async_tasks
-    
-    if not running_async_tasks:
+    global worker_threads
+
+    if not worker_threads:
         return False
-        
-    # Cancel the last worker
-    task_future = running_async_tasks.pop()
-    task_future.cancel()
-    logger.info(f"Removed async worker, {len(running_async_tasks)} workers remaining")
+
+    # Stop the last worker
+    worker = worker_threads.pop()
+    worker.stop()
+    logger.info(f"Removed async worker, {len(worker_threads)} workers remaining")
     return True
 
 
 def get_worker_count():
     """Get current number of async workers"""
-    return len(running_async_tasks)
+    return len(worker_threads)
 
 
 def get_running_uuids():
@@ -249,38 +276,21 @@ def queue_item_async_safe(update_q, item, silent=False):
 
 def shutdown_workers():
     """Shutdown all async workers fast and aggressively"""
-    global async_loop, async_loop_thread, running_async_tasks
-    
+    global worker_threads
+
     # Check if we're in pytest environment - if so, be more gentle with logging
     import os
     in_pytest = "pytest" in os.sys.modules or "PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST" in os.environ
-    
+
     if not in_pytest:
         logger.info("Fast shutdown of async workers initiated...")
-    
-    # Cancel all async tasks immediately
-    for task_future in running_async_tasks:
-        if not task_future.done():
-            task_future.cancel()
-    
-    # Stop the async event loop immediately
-    if async_loop and not async_loop.is_closed():
-        try:
-            async_loop.call_soon_threadsafe(async_loop.stop)
-        except RuntimeError:
-            # Loop might already be stopped
-            pass
-        
-    running_async_tasks.clear()
-    async_loop = None
-        
-    # Give async thread minimal time to finish, then continue
-    if async_loop_thread and async_loop_thread.is_alive():
-        async_loop_thread.join(timeout=1.0)  # Only 1 second timeout
-        if async_loop_thread.is_alive() and not in_pytest:
-            logger.info("Async thread still running after timeout - continuing with shutdown")
-        async_loop_thread = None
-    
+
+    # Stop all worker threads
+    for worker in worker_threads:
+        worker.stop()
+
+    worker_threads.clear()
+
     if not in_pytest:
         logger.info("Async workers fast shutdown complete")
 
@@ -290,69 +300,57 @@ def shutdown_workers():
 def adjust_async_worker_count(new_count, update_q=None, notification_q=None, app=None, datastore=None):
     """
     Dynamically adjust the number of async workers.
-    
+
     Args:
         new_count: Target number of workers
         update_q, notification_q, app, datastore: Required for adding new workers
-    
+
     Returns:
         dict: Status of the adjustment operation
     """
-    global running_async_tasks
-    
+    global worker_threads
+
     current_count = get_worker_count()
-    
+
     if new_count == current_count:
         return {
             'status': 'no_change',
             'message': f'Worker count already at {current_count}',
             'current_count': current_count
         }
-    
+
     if new_count > current_count:
         # Add workers
         workers_to_add = new_count - current_count
         logger.info(f"Adding {workers_to_add} async workers (from {current_count} to {new_count})")
-        
+
         if not all([update_q, notification_q, app, datastore]):
             return {
                 'status': 'error',
                 'message': 'Missing required parameters to add workers',
                 'current_count': current_count
             }
-        
+
         for i in range(workers_to_add):
-            worker_id = len(running_async_tasks)
-            task_future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
-                start_single_async_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore), 
-                async_loop
-            )
-            running_async_tasks.append(task_future)
-        
+            add_worker(update_q, notification_q, app, datastore)
+
         return {
             'status': 'success',
             'message': f'Added {workers_to_add} workers',
             'previous_count': current_count,
-            'current_count': new_count
+            'current_count': len(worker_threads)
         }
-        
+
     else:
         # Remove workers
         workers_to_remove = current_count - new_count
         logger.info(f"Removing {workers_to_remove} async workers (from {current_count} to {new_count})")
-        
+
         removed_count = 0
         for _ in range(workers_to_remove):
-            if running_async_tasks:
-                task_future = running_async_tasks.pop()
-                task_future.cancel()
-                # Wait for the task to actually stop
-                try:
-                    task_future.result(timeout=5)  # 5 second timeout
-                except Exception:
-                    pass  # Task was cancelled, which is expected
+            if remove_worker():
                 removed_count += 1
-        
+
         return {
             'status': 'success',
             'message': f'Removed {removed_count} workers',
@@ -367,72 +365,58 @@ def get_worker_status():
         'worker_type': 'async',
         'worker_count': get_worker_count(),
         'running_uuids': get_running_uuids(),
-        'async_loop_running': async_loop is not None,
+        'active_threads': sum(1 for w in worker_threads if w.thread and w.thread.is_alive()),
     }
 
 
 def check_worker_health(expected_count, update_q=None, notification_q=None, app=None, datastore=None):
     """
     Check if the expected number of async workers are running and restart any missing ones.
-    
+
     Args:
         expected_count: Expected number of workers
         update_q, notification_q, app, datastore: Required for restarting workers
-    
+
     Returns:
         dict: Health check results
     """
-    global running_async_tasks
-    
+    global worker_threads
+
     current_count = get_worker_count()
-    
-    if current_count == expected_count:
+
+    # Check which workers are actually alive
+    alive_count = sum(1 for w in worker_threads if w.thread and w.thread.is_alive())
+
+    if alive_count == expected_count:
         return {
             'status': 'healthy',
             'expected_count': expected_count,
-            'actual_count': current_count,
+            'actual_count': alive_count,
             'message': f'All {expected_count} async workers running'
         }
-    
-    # Check for crashed async workers
+
+    # Find dead workers
     dead_workers = []
-    alive_count = 0
-    
-    for i, task_future in enumerate(running_async_tasks[:]):
-        if task_future.done():
-            try:
-                result = task_future.result()
-                dead_workers.append(i)
-                logger.warning(f"Async worker {i} completed unexpectedly")
-            except Exception as e:
-                dead_workers.append(i)
-                logger.error(f"Async worker {i} crashed: {e}")
-        else:
-            alive_count += 1
-    
+    for i, worker in enumerate(worker_threads[:]):
+        if not worker.thread or not worker.thread.is_alive():
+            dead_workers.append(i)
+            logger.warning(f"Async worker {worker.worker_id} thread is dead")
+
     # Remove dead workers from tracking
     for i in reversed(dead_workers):
-        if i < len(running_async_tasks):
-            running_async_tasks.pop(i)
-    
+        if i < len(worker_threads):
+            worker_threads.pop(i)
+
     missing_workers = expected_count - alive_count
     restarted_count = 0
-    
+
     if missing_workers > 0 and all([update_q, notification_q, app, datastore]):
         logger.info(f"Restarting {missing_workers} crashed async workers")
-        
+
         for i in range(missing_workers):
-            worker_id = alive_count + i
-            try:
-                task_future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
-                    start_single_async_worker(worker_id, update_q, notification_q, app, datastore), 
-                    async_loop
-                )
-                running_async_tasks.append(task_future)
+            if add_worker(update_q, notification_q, app, datastore):
                 restarted_count += 1
-            except Exception as e:
-                logger.error(f"Failed to restart worker {worker_id}: {e}")
-    
+
     return {
         'status': 'repaired' if restarted_count > 0 else 'degraded',
         'expected_count': expected_count,