refactor(producer): extract captureStreamingStage (single-machine fusion)

Move the streaming encode fusion path (`useStreamingEncode === true` with
successful encoder spawn) out of `executeRenderJob` into
`services/render/stages/captureStreamingStage.ts`. The stage owns:

- `spawnStreamingEncoder` invocation, including the abort-rethrow vs.
  graceful-fallback handling.
- Parallel + sequential capture-to-stdin loops (Stage 4 absorbs Stage 5
  for streaming renders).
- The streaming encoder's `close()` + result check.
- Defensive cleanup of the streaming encoder in the stage's own
  `try/finally`.

The stage returns either `{ success: true, ... }` (sequencer skips the
disk path AND inline Stage 5) or `{ success: false }` (sequencer falls
back to the disk path). The sequencer's `useStreamingEncode` flag is
no longer flipped imperatively — the result type makes the branch
selection explicit.

Hard constraints preserved verbatim:
- `probeSession` is closed at the same code points (parallel: after
  capture; sequential: in session finally). The local binding nulls
  via the returned result.
- `lastBrowserConsole` is set to the buffer of whichever session was
  active last (probe close path or sequential session finally).
- `job.framesRendered` is updated per-frame; `Streaming frame N/M
  [(K workers)]` `updateJobStatus` payloads fire at the same 30-frame
  and completion checkpoints (parallel) or every frame (sequential),
  with the same percentage math `25 + frameProgress * 55`.
- `Streaming encode failed: <err>` still throws on the encoder's
  `success: false` close result.
- The defensive `try/finally` close-on-throw is preserved, now inside
  the stage instead of the orchestrator.
- `perfStages.captureMs` is still set by the sequencer from
  `stage4Start`; the stage also returns `encodeMs` for the encoder's
  overlapped duration (assigned to `perfStages.encodeMs`).

Removes the orphaned `createFrameReorderBuffer` and
`prepareCaptureSessionForReuse` imports from the orchestrator after
the streaming code moved.

Verified inside `Dockerfile.test`:
- 5/5 fixtures PASS (font-variant-numeric, many-cuts, variables-prod,
  sub-composition-video, gsap-letters-render-compat).
- `gsap-letters-render-compat` (single-worker render, 4s duration)
  exercises the new streaming stage end-to-end —
  `streaming-encode gate enabled=true` confirmed in the log.
- The other 4 fixtures exercise the disk path (workerCount > 1).

Known follow-up: same runtime import cycle situation as captureStage —
the stage imports `updateJobStatus` and types from
`renderOrchestrator.ts`, which imports the stage back. Safe (deferred
to runtime); a future PR will flatten this once all 8 stages are
extracted.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

packages/producer/src/services/render/stages/captureStreamingStage.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,305 @@
+/**
+ * captureStreamingStage — single-machine fused capture + encode path.
+ *
+ * Streaming mode pipes captured frame buffers directly into ffmpeg's stdin
+ * via `spawnStreamingEncoder`, skipping disk writes and the separate
+ * Stage 5 encode step. In effect, Stage 4 (capture) absorbs Stage 5
+ * (encode) for renders that fit the single-machine fusion path.
+ *
+ * The streaming path is gated by `shouldUseStreamingEncode(...)` upstream:
+ *   - Disabled when output is png-sequence (no encoder).
+ *   - Disabled for parallel renders auto-selected by calibration where the
+ *     ordered streaming writer would stall later workers behind earlier
+ *     ranges (the orchestrator decides this; the stage is told via input).
+ *   - Disabled in distributed mode (which writes chunks to disk).
+ *
+ * If `spawnStreamingEncoder` fails for any non-abort reason, the stage
+ * returns `{ success: false }` and the sequencer falls back to the disk
+ * capture path. This mirrors the original orchestrator's flag-flip
+ * (`useStreamingEncode = false`).
+ *
+ * Hard constraints preserved verbatim from the in-process renderer:
+ *   - `probeSession` is closed when the parallel path takes over, OR in
+ *     the sequential session's `finally`. Either way the local binding
+ *     is nulled and the result returns the updated value.
+ *   - `lastBrowserConsole` is set to the buffer of whichever session
+ *     was active last (probe close path, or sequential session finally).
+ *   - `job.framesRendered` is updated per-frame; `Streaming frame N/M`
+ *     `updateJobStatus` payloads fire at the same 30-frame and
+ *     completion checkpoints (parallel) or every frame (sequential).
+ *   - Encoder close + result inspection happens inside the stage; a
+ *     `Streaming encode failed: ...` error throws on `success: false`.
+ *   - Defensive cleanup of `streamingEncoder` happens in the stage's
+ *     own `finally` regardless of success/failure, gated on
+ *     `streamingEncoderClosed` so it's idempotent.
+ *
+ * Known follow-up (same as captureStage): this stage imports
+ * `updateJobStatus` from `renderOrchestrator.ts`, re-introducing the
+ * cycle PR 1.3.5 broke. A subsequent PR will consolidate capture
+ * helpers into a shared module.
+ */
+
+import {
+  type BeforeCaptureHook,
+  type CaptureOptions,
+  type CaptureSession,
+  type EngineConfig,
+  type StreamingEncoder,
+  captureFrameToBuffer,
+  closeCaptureSession,
+  createCaptureSession,
+  createFrameReorderBuffer,
+  distributeFrames,
+  executeParallelCapture,
+  initializeSession,
+  prepareCaptureSessionForReuse,
+  spawnStreamingEncoder,
+} from "@hyperframes/engine";
+import type { FileServerHandle } from "../../fileServer.js";
+import type { ProducerLogger } from "../../../logger.js";
+import {
+  updateJobStatus,
+  type ProgressCallback,
+  type RenderJob,
+} from "../../renderOrchestrator.js";
+
+/**
+ * Pre-built ffmpeg streaming-encoder options, exactly matching the
+ * second argument to `spawnStreamingEncoder`. The sequencer constructs
+ * this from its in-scope preset / dimensions / quality fields and
+ * passes it through so the stage doesn't have to reach back for the
+ * preset's internal shape.
+ */
+export type StreamingEncoderOptions = Parameters<typeof spawnStreamingEncoder>[1];
+
+export interface CaptureStreamingStageInput {
+  fileServer: FileServerHandle;
+  workDir: string;
+  framesDir: string;
+  videoOnlyPath: string;
+  job: RenderJob;
+  /**
+   * `job.totalFrames` is `number | undefined` in the public type — the
+   * sequencer narrows it via the probeStage result before calling here.
+   */
+  totalFrames: number;
+  cfg: EngineConfig;
+  log: ProducerLogger;
+  workerCount: number;
+  probeSession: CaptureSession | null;
+  /** For the spawn-failure log message context only. */
+  outputFormat: string;
+  /** Pre-built encoder options; passed straight to `spawnStreamingEncoder`. */
+  streamingEncoderOptions: StreamingEncoderOptions;
+  buildCaptureOptions: () => CaptureOptions;
+  createRenderVideoFrameInjector: () => BeforeCaptureHook | null;
+  abortSignal: AbortSignal | undefined;
+  assertNotAborted: () => void;
+  onProgress?: ProgressCallback;
+}
+
+export type CaptureStreamingStageResult =
+  | {
+      /** Streaming path ran successfully — sequencer should skip the disk path AND Stage 5 encode. */
+      success: true;
+      /** Wall-clock ms for the capture phase (`Date.now() - stage4Start` is the sequencer's job). */
+      captureDurationMs: number;
+      /** Wall-clock ms for the encode phase (overlapped with capture; from the encoder's own report). */
+      encodeMs: number;
+      probeSession: CaptureSession | null;
+      lastBrowserConsole: string[];
+      workerCount: number;
+    }
+  | {
+      /** Spawn failed (non-abort) — sequencer should fall back to the disk path. */
+      success: false;
+    };
+
+export async function runCaptureStreamingStage(
+  input: CaptureStreamingStageInput,
+): Promise<CaptureStreamingStageResult> {
+  const {
+    fileServer,
+    workDir,
+    framesDir,
+    videoOnlyPath,
+    job,
+    totalFrames,
+    cfg,
+    log,
+    outputFormat,
+    streamingEncoderOptions,
+    buildCaptureOptions,
+    createRenderVideoFrameInjector,
+    abortSignal,
+    assertNotAborted,
+    onProgress,
+  } = input;
+  let { workerCount, probeSession } = input;
+  let lastBrowserConsole: string[] = [];
+
+  let streamingEncoder: StreamingEncoder | null = null;
+  let streamingEncoderClosed = false;
+
+  try {
+    streamingEncoder = await spawnStreamingEncoder(
+      videoOnlyPath,
+      streamingEncoderOptions,
+      abortSignal,
+    );
+    assertNotAborted();
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (abortSignal?.aborted) {
+      if (streamingEncoder && !streamingEncoderClosed) {
+        await (streamingEncoder as StreamingEncoder).close().catch(() => {});
+        streamingEncoderClosed = true;
+      }
+      throw err;
+    }
+    log.warn("[Render] Streaming encoder spawn failed; falling back to disk-frame encode.", {
+      error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err),
+      outputFormat,
+      workerCount,
+      durationSeconds: job.duration,
+    });
+    return { success: false };
+  }
+
+  const streamStart = Date.now();
+  const currentEncoder: StreamingEncoder = streamingEncoder;
+
+  try {
+    // ── Streaming capture + encode (Stage 4 absorbs Stage 5) ──────────
+    // Streaming encode is locked in here; capture retries may shrink
+    // workerCount later, but must not grow a streaming render past one worker.
+    const reorderBuffer = createFrameReorderBuffer(0, totalFrames);
+
+    if (workerCount > 1) {
+      // Parallel capture → streaming encode
+      const tasks = distributeFrames(totalFrames, workerCount, workDir);
+
+      const onFrameBuffer = async (frameIndex: number, buffer: Buffer): Promise<void> => {
+        await reorderBuffer.waitForFrame(frameIndex);
+        currentEncoder.writeFrame(buffer);
+        reorderBuffer.advanceTo(frameIndex + 1);
+      };
+
+      await executeParallelCapture(
+        fileServer.url,
+        workDir,
+        tasks,
+        buildCaptureOptions(),
+        createRenderVideoFrameInjector,
+        abortSignal,
+        (progress) => {
+          job.framesRendered = progress.capturedFrames;
+          const frameProgress = progress.capturedFrames / progress.totalFrames;
+          const progressPct = 25 + frameProgress * 55;
+
+          if (
+            progress.capturedFrames % 30 === 0 ||
+            progress.capturedFrames === progress.totalFrames
+          ) {
+            updateJobStatus(
+              job,
+              "rendering",
+              `Streaming frame ${progress.capturedFrames}/${progress.totalFrames} (${workerCount} workers)`,
+              Math.round(progressPct),
+              onProgress,
+            );
+          }
+        },
+        onFrameBuffer,
+        cfg,
+      );
+
+      if (probeSession) {
+        lastBrowserConsole = probeSession.browserConsoleBuffer;
+        await closeCaptureSession(probeSession);
+        probeSession = null;
+      }
+    } else {
+      // Sequential capture → streaming encode
+
+      const videoInjector = createRenderVideoFrameInjector();
+      const session =
+        probeSession ??
+        (await createCaptureSession(
+          fileServer.url,
+          framesDir,
+          buildCaptureOptions(),
+          videoInjector,
+          cfg,
+        ));
+      if (probeSession) {
+        prepareCaptureSessionForReuse(session, framesDir, videoInjector);
+        probeSession = null;
+      }
+
+      try {
+        if (!session.isInitialized) {
+          await initializeSession(session);
+        }
+        assertNotAborted();
+        lastBrowserConsole = session.browserConsoleBuffer;
+
+        for (let i = 0; i < totalFrames; i++) {
+          assertNotAborted();
+          const time = (i * job.config.fps.den) / job.config.fps.num;
+          const { buffer } = await captureFrameToBuffer(session, i, time);
+          await reorderBuffer.waitForFrame(i);
+          currentEncoder.writeFrame(buffer);
+          reorderBuffer.advanceTo(i + 1);
+          job.framesRendered = i + 1;
+
+          const frameProgress = (i + 1) / totalFrames;
+          const progress = 25 + frameProgress * 55;
+
+          updateJobStatus(
+            job,
+            "rendering",
+            `Streaming frame ${i + 1}/${totalFrames}`,
+            Math.round(progress),
+            onProgress,
+          );
+        }
+      } finally {
+        lastBrowserConsole = session.browserConsoleBuffer;
+        await closeCaptureSession(session);
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Close encoder and get result
+    const encodeResult = await currentEncoder.close();
+    streamingEncoderClosed = true;
+    assertNotAborted();
+
+    if (!encodeResult.success) {
+      throw new Error(`Streaming encode failed: ${encodeResult.error}`);
+    }
+
+    return {
+      success: true,
+      captureDurationMs: Date.now() - streamStart,
+      encodeMs: encodeResult.durationMs,
+      probeSession,
+      lastBrowserConsole,
+      workerCount,
+    };
+  } finally {
+    // Defensive cleanup: if the streaming branch threw before
+    // currentEncoder.close() (e.g. capture failure, abort, broken pipe),
+    // the ffmpeg subprocess would otherwise leak. close() is idempotent so
+    // this is safe to call alongside the success-path close — we just gate
+    // on the flag to avoid redundant work.
+    if (streamingEncoder && !streamingEncoderClosed) {
+      try {
+        await streamingEncoder.close();
+      } catch (err) {
+        log.warn("streamingEncoder defensive close failed", {
+          err: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err),
+        });
+      }
+    }
+  }
+}

packages/producer/src/services/renderOrchestrator.ts

@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ import {
   initializeSession,
   closeCaptureSession,
   captureFrameToBuffer,
-  prepareCaptureSessionForReuse,
   type CaptureOptions,
   type CaptureVideoMetadataHint,
   type CaptureSession,
@@ -59,7 +58,6 @@ import {
   type ParallelProgress,
   type WorkerTask,
   spawnStreamingEncoder,
-  createFrameReorderBuffer,
   type StreamingEncoder,
   analyzeCompositionHdr,
   runFfmpeg,
@@ -101,6 +99,7 @@ import { runProbeStage } from "./render/stages/probeStage.js";
 import { runExtractVideosStage } from "./render/stages/extractVideosStage.js";
 import { runAudioStage } from "./render/stages/audioStage.js";
 import { runCaptureStage } from "./render/stages/captureStage.js";
+import { runCaptureStreamingStage } from "./render/stages/captureStreamingStage.js";
 
 /**
  * Wrap a cleanup operation so it never throws, but logs any failure.
@@ -3081,281 +3080,154 @@ export async function executeRenderJob(
         }
         hdrVideoFrameSources.clear();
       }
-    } else // ── Standard capture paths (SDR or DOM-only HDR) ──────────────────
-    // Streaming encode mode: pipe frame buffers directly to FFmpeg stdin,
-    // skipping disk writes and the separate Stage 5 encode step.
-    {
-      let streamingEncoder: StreamingEncoder | null = null;
-      let streamingEncoderClosed = false;
-
+    } else {
+      // ── Standard capture paths (SDR or DOM-only HDR) ──────────────────
+      // Streaming encode mode pipes frame buffers directly to FFmpeg stdin,
+      // skipping disk writes and the separate Stage 5 encode step. If the
+      // streaming spawn fails (non-abort) the stage returns { success: false }
+      // and we fall back to the disk path below.
+      let streamingHandled = false;
       if (useStreamingEncode) {
-        try {
-          streamingEncoder = await spawnStreamingEncoder(
-            videoOnlyPath,
-            {
-              fps: job.config.fps,
-              width,
-              height,
-              codec: preset.codec,
-              preset: preset.preset,
-              quality: effectiveQuality,
-              bitrate: effectiveBitrate,
-              pixelFormat: preset.pixelFormat,
-              useGpu: job.config.useGpu,
-              imageFormat: captureOptions.format || "jpeg",
-              hdr: preset.hdr,
-            },
-            abortSignal,
-          );
-          assertNotAborted();
-        } catch (err) {
-          if (abortSignal?.aborted) {
-            if (streamingEncoder && !streamingEncoderClosed) {
-              await streamingEncoder.close().catch(() => {});
-              streamingEncoderClosed = true;
-            }
-            throw err;
-          }
+        const streamingRes = await runCaptureStreamingStage({
+          fileServer,
+          workDir,
+          framesDir,
+          videoOnlyPath,
+          job,
+          totalFrames,
+          cfg,
+          log,
+          workerCount,
+          probeSession,
+          outputFormat,
+          streamingEncoderOptions: {
+            fps: job.config.fps,
+            width,
+            height,
+            codec: preset.codec,
+            preset: preset.preset,
+            quality: effectiveQuality,
+            bitrate: effectiveBitrate,
+            pixelFormat: preset.pixelFormat,
+            useGpu: job.config.useGpu,
+            imageFormat: captureOptions.format || "jpeg",
+            hdr: preset.hdr,
+          },
+          buildCaptureOptions,
+          createRenderVideoFrameInjector,
+          abortSignal,
+          assertNotAborted,
+          onProgress,
+        });
+        if (streamingRes.success) {
+          streamingHandled = true;
+          workerCount = streamingRes.workerCount;
+          probeSession = streamingRes.probeSession;
+          lastBrowserConsole = streamingRes.lastBrowserConsole;
+          perfStages.captureMs = Date.now() - stage4Start;
+          perfStages.encodeMs = streamingRes.encodeMs; // Overlapped with capture
+        } else {
           useStreamingEncode = false;
-          streamingEncoder = null;
-          log.warn("[Render] Streaming encoder spawn failed; falling back to disk-frame encode.", {
-            error: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err),
-            outputFormat,
-            workerCount,
-            durationSeconds: job.duration,
-          });
         }
       }
 
-      try {
-        if (useStreamingEncode && streamingEncoder) {
-          // ── Streaming capture + encode (Stage 4 absorbs Stage 5) ──────────
-          // Streaming encode is locked in here; capture retries may shrink
-          // workerCount later, but must not grow a streaming render past one worker.
-          const reorderBuffer = createFrameReorderBuffer(0, totalFrames);
-          const currentEncoder = streamingEncoder;
+      if (!streamingHandled) {
+        // ── Disk-based capture (original flow) ────────────────────────────
+        const captureRes = await runCaptureStage({
+          fileServer,
+          workDir,
+          framesDir,
+          job,
+          totalFrames,
+          cfg,
+          log,
+          workerCount,
+          probeSession,
+          needsAlpha,
+          captureAttempts,
+          buildCaptureOptions,
+          createRenderVideoFrameInjector,
+          abortSignal,
+          assertNotAborted,
+          onProgress,
+        });
+        workerCount = captureRes.workerCount;
+        probeSession = captureRes.probeSession;
+        lastBrowserConsole = captureRes.lastBrowserConsole;
 
-          if (workerCount > 1) {
-            // Parallel capture → streaming encode
-            const tasks = distributeFrames(job.totalFrames, workerCount, workDir);
+        perfStages.captureMs = Date.now() - stage4Start;
 
-            const onFrameBuffer = async (frameIndex: number, buffer: Buffer): Promise<void> => {
-              await reorderBuffer.waitForFrame(frameIndex);
-              currentEncoder.writeFrame(buffer);
-              reorderBuffer.advanceTo(frameIndex + 1);
-            };
-
-            await executeParallelCapture(
-              fileServer.url,
-              workDir,
-              tasks,
-              buildCaptureOptions(),
-              createRenderVideoFrameInjector,
-              abortSignal,
-              (progress) => {
-                job.framesRendered = progress.capturedFrames;
-                const frameProgress = progress.capturedFrames / progress.totalFrames;
-                const progressPct = 25 + frameProgress * 55;
-
-                if (
-                  progress.capturedFrames % 30 === 0 ||
-                  progress.capturedFrames === progress.totalFrames
-                ) {
-                  updateJobStatus(
-                    job,
-                    "rendering",
-                    `Streaming frame ${progress.capturedFrames}/${progress.totalFrames} (${workerCount} workers)`,
-                    Math.round(progressPct),
-                    onProgress,
-                  );
-                }
-              },
-              onFrameBuffer,
-              cfg,
+        if (isPngSequence) {
+          // ── Stage 5 (png-sequence): copy captured PNGs to outputDir ──────
+          // No encoder, no mux, no faststart — captured frames already carry
+          // alpha and are the deliverable. We rename to `frame_NNNNNN.png`
+          // (zero-padded) so consumers (After Effects, Nuke, Fusion, ffmpeg
+          // image2 demuxer) can globbed-import without surprises.
+          const stage5Start = Date.now();
+          updateJobStatus(job, "encoding", "Writing PNG sequence", 75, onProgress);
+          if (!existsSync(outputPath)) mkdirSync(outputPath, { recursive: true });
+          const captured = readdirSync(framesDir)
+            .filter((name) => name.endsWith(".png"))
+            .sort();
+          if (captured.length === 0) {
+            throw new Error(
+              `[Render] png-sequence output requested but no PNGs were captured to ${framesDir}`,
             );
-
-            if (probeSession) {
-              lastBrowserConsole = probeSession.browserConsoleBuffer;
-              await closeCaptureSession(probeSession);
-              probeSession = null;
-            }
-          } else {
-            // Sequential capture → streaming encode
-
-            const videoInjector = createRenderVideoFrameInjector();
-            const session =
-              probeSession ??
-              (await createCaptureSession(
-                fileServer.url,
-                framesDir,
-                buildCaptureOptions(),
-                videoInjector,
-                cfg,
-              ));
-            if (probeSession) {
-              prepareCaptureSessionForReuse(session, framesDir, videoInjector);
-              probeSession = null;
-            }
-
-            try {
-              if (!session.isInitialized) {
-                await initializeSession(session);
-              }
-              assertNotAborted();
-              lastBrowserConsole = session.browserConsoleBuffer;
-
-              for (let i = 0; i < totalFrames; i++) {
-                assertNotAborted();
-                const time = (i * job.config.fps.den) / job.config.fps.num;
-                const { buffer } = await captureFrameToBuffer(session, i, time);
-                await reorderBuffer.waitForFrame(i);
-                currentEncoder.writeFrame(buffer);
-                reorderBuffer.advanceTo(i + 1);
-                job.framesRendered = i + 1;
-
-                const frameProgress = (i + 1) / totalFrames;
-                const progress = 25 + frameProgress * 55;
-
-                updateJobStatus(
-                  job,
-                  "rendering",
-                  `Streaming frame ${i + 1}/${job.totalFrames}`,
-                  Math.round(progress),
-                  onProgress,
-                );
-              }
-            } finally {
-              lastBrowserConsole = session.browserConsoleBuffer;
-              await closeCaptureSession(session);
-            }
           }
+          captured.forEach((name, i) => {
+            const dst = join(outputPath, `frame_${String(i + 1).padStart(6, "0")}.png`);
+            copyFileSync(join(framesDir, name), dst);
+          });
+          if (hasAudio && existsSync(audioOutputPath)) {
+            // Sidecar audio for callers that need to re-mux later. png-sequence
+            // has no container of its own, so this is the only place audio
+            // can land alongside the frames.
+            copyFileSync(audioOutputPath, join(outputPath, "audio.aac"));
+            log.info(`[Render] png-sequence: audio.aac sidecar written to ${outputPath}/audio.aac`);
+          }
+          perfStages.encodeMs = Date.now() - stage5Start;
+        } else {
+          // ── Stage 5: Encode ───────────────────────────────────────────────
+          const stage5Start = Date.now();
+          updateJobStatus(job, "encoding", "Encoding video", 75, onProgress);
 
-          // Close encoder and get result
-          const encodeResult = await currentEncoder.close();
-          streamingEncoderClosed = true;
+          const frameExt = needsAlpha ? "png" : "jpg";
+          const framePattern = `frame_%06d.${frameExt}`;
+          const encoderOpts = {
+            fps: job.config.fps,
+            width,
+            height,
+            codec: preset.codec,
+            preset: preset.preset,
+            quality: effectiveQuality,
+            bitrate: effectiveBitrate,
+            pixelFormat: preset.pixelFormat,
+            useGpu: job.config.useGpu,
+            hdr: preset.hdr,
+          };
+          const encodeResult = enableChunkedEncode
+            ? await encodeFramesChunkedConcat(
+                framesDir,
+                framePattern,
+                videoOnlyPath,
+                encoderOpts,
+                chunkedEncodeSize,
+                abortSignal,
+              )
+            : await encodeFramesFromDir(
+                framesDir,
+                framePattern,
+                videoOnlyPath,
+                encoderOpts,
+                abortSignal,
+              );
           assertNotAborted();
 
           if (!encodeResult.success) {
-            throw new Error(`Streaming encode failed: ${encodeResult.error}`);
+            throw new Error(`Encoding failed: ${encodeResult.error}`);
           }
 
-          perfStages.captureMs = Date.now() - stage4Start;
-          perfStages.encodeMs = encodeResult.durationMs; // Overlapped with capture
-        } else {
-          // ── Disk-based capture (original flow) ────────────────────────────
-          const captureRes = await runCaptureStage({
-            fileServer,
-            workDir,
-            framesDir,
-            job,
-            totalFrames,
-            cfg,
-            log,
-            workerCount,
-            probeSession,
-            needsAlpha,
-            captureAttempts,
-            buildCaptureOptions,
-            createRenderVideoFrameInjector,
-            abortSignal,
-            assertNotAborted,
-            onProgress,
-          });
-          workerCount = captureRes.workerCount;
-          probeSession = captureRes.probeSession;
-          lastBrowserConsole = captureRes.lastBrowserConsole;
-
-          perfStages.captureMs = Date.now() - stage4Start;
-
-          if (isPngSequence) {
-            // ── Stage 5 (png-sequence): copy captured PNGs to outputDir ──────
-            // No encoder, no mux, no faststart — captured frames already carry
-            // alpha and are the deliverable. We rename to `frame_NNNNNN.png`
-            // (zero-padded) so consumers (After Effects, Nuke, Fusion, ffmpeg
-            // image2 demuxer) can globbed-import without surprises.
-            const stage5Start = Date.now();
-            updateJobStatus(job, "encoding", "Writing PNG sequence", 75, onProgress);
-            if (!existsSync(outputPath)) mkdirSync(outputPath, { recursive: true });
-            const captured = readdirSync(framesDir)
-              .filter((name) => name.endsWith(".png"))
-              .sort();
-            if (captured.length === 0) {
-              throw new Error(
-                `[Render] png-sequence output requested but no PNGs were captured to ${framesDir}`,
-              );
-            }
-            captured.forEach((name, i) => {
-              const dst = join(outputPath, `frame_${String(i + 1).padStart(6, "0")}.png`);
-              copyFileSync(join(framesDir, name), dst);
-            });
-            if (hasAudio && existsSync(audioOutputPath)) {
-              // Sidecar audio for callers that need to re-mux later. png-sequence
-              // has no container of its own, so this is the only place audio
-              // can land alongside the frames.
-              copyFileSync(audioOutputPath, join(outputPath, "audio.aac"));
-              log.info(
-                `[Render] png-sequence: audio.aac sidecar written to ${outputPath}/audio.aac`,
-              );
-            }
-            perfStages.encodeMs = Date.now() - stage5Start;
-          } else {
-            // ── Stage 5: Encode ───────────────────────────────────────────────
-            const stage5Start = Date.now();
-            updateJobStatus(job, "encoding", "Encoding video", 75, onProgress);
-
-            const frameExt = needsAlpha ? "png" : "jpg";
-            const framePattern = `frame_%06d.${frameExt}`;
-            const encoderOpts = {
-              fps: job.config.fps,
-              width,
-              height,
-              codec: preset.codec,
-              preset: preset.preset,
-              quality: effectiveQuality,
-              bitrate: effectiveBitrate,
-              pixelFormat: preset.pixelFormat,
-              useGpu: job.config.useGpu,
-              hdr: preset.hdr,
-            };
-            const encodeResult = enableChunkedEncode
-              ? await encodeFramesChunkedConcat(
-                  framesDir,
-                  framePattern,
-                  videoOnlyPath,
-                  encoderOpts,
-                  chunkedEncodeSize,
-                  abortSignal,
-                )
-              : await encodeFramesFromDir(
-                  framesDir,
-                  framePattern,
-                  videoOnlyPath,
-                  encoderOpts,
-                  abortSignal,
-                );
-            assertNotAborted();
-
-            if (!encodeResult.success) {
-              throw new Error(`Encoding failed: ${encodeResult.error}`);
-            }
-
-            perfStages.encodeMs = Date.now() - stage5Start;
-          }
-        }
-      } finally {
-        // Defensive cleanup: if the streaming encoder branch threw before
-        // currentEncoder.close() (e.g. capture failure, abort, broken pipe),
-        // the ffmpeg subprocess would otherwise leak. close() is idempotent so
-        // this is safe to call alongside the success-path close — we just gate
-        // on the flag to avoid redundant work.
-        if (streamingEncoder && !streamingEncoderClosed) {
-          try {
-            await streamingEncoder.close();
-          } catch (err) {
-            log.warn("streamingEncoder defensive close failed", {
-              err: err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err),
-            });
-          }
+          perfStages.encodeMs = Date.now() - stage5Start;
         }
       }
     } // end SDR capture paths block