From 1b0d2f8c548a5ba0ed8a8e0acd8822a772085eea Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Fabien Del Olmo <fabien.delolmo@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:58:57 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Improve recording timeline and VOD query performance

---
 frigate/api/media.py                     |  8 ++--
 frigate/api/record.py                    |  3 +-
 frigate/test/http_api/test_http_media.py | 51 ++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 57 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/frigate/api/media.py b/frigate/api/media.py
index 8d56475c59..dd52a6d5e6 100644
--- a/frigate/api/media.py
+++ b/frigate/api/media.py
@@ -574,11 +574,11 @@ async def vod_ts(
             Recordings.start_time,
         )
         .where(
-            Recordings.start_time.between(start_ts, end_ts)
-            | Recordings.end_time.between(start_ts, end_ts)
-            | ((start_ts > Recordings.start_time) & (end_ts < Recordings.end_time))
+            Recordings.camera == camera_name,
+            Recordings.start_time >= start_ts - MAX_SEGMENT_DURATION,
+            Recordings.start_time <= end_ts,
+            Recordings.end_time >= start_ts,
         )
-        .where(Recordings.camera == camera_name)
         .order_by(Recordings.start_time.asc())
         .iterator()
     )
diff --git a/frigate/api/record.py b/frigate/api/record.py
index 5db257f482..4913223bf3 100644
--- a/frigate/api/record.py
+++ b/frigate/api/record.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ from frigate.api.defs.query.recordings_query_parameters import (
 )
 from frigate.api.defs.response.generic_response import GenericResponse
 from frigate.api.defs.tags import Tags
-from frigate.const import RECORD_DIR
+from frigate.const import MAX_SEGMENT_DURATION, RECORD_DIR
 from frigate.models import Event, Recordings
 from frigate.util.time import get_dst_transitions
 
@@ -243,6 +243,7 @@ async def recordings(
         )
         .where(
             Recordings.camera == camera_name,
+            Recordings.start_time >= after - MAX_SEGMENT_DURATION,
             Recordings.end_time >= after,
             Recordings.start_time <= before,
         )
diff --git a/frigate/test/http_api/test_http_media.py b/frigate/test/http_api/test_http_media.py
index b2d83cbc8a..6a05efd136 100644
--- a/frigate/test/http_api/test_http_media.py
+++ b/frigate/test/http_api/test_http_media.py
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 """Unit tests for recordings/media API endpoints."""
 
 from datetime import UTC, datetime
+from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytz
 from fastapi import Request
 
 from frigate.api.auth import get_allowed_cameras_for_filter, get_current_user
+from frigate.const import MAX_SEGMENT_DURATION
 from frigate.models import Recordings
 from frigate.test.http_api.base_http_test import AuthTestClient, BaseTestHttp
 
@@ -404,6 +406,55 @@ class TestHttpMedia(BaseTestHttp):
             assert "2024-03-10" in summary
             assert summary["2024-03-10"] is True
 
+    def test_recordings_returns_overlapping_segment(self):
+        """Recordings include a segment that overlaps the requested range."""
+        after = 1000
+        before = 1100
+
+        with AuthTestClient(self.app) as client:
+            super().insert_mock_recording("too_old", after - 10, after - 1)
+            super().insert_mock_recording(
+                "overlap",
+                after - MAX_SEGMENT_DURATION + 1,
+                after,
+            )
+            super().insert_mock_recording("too_new", before + 1, before + 10)
+
+            response = client.get(
+                "/front_door/recordings",
+                params={"after": after, "before": before},
+            )
+
+            assert response.status_code == 200
+            assert [recording["id"] for recording in response.json()] == ["overlap"]
+
+    def test_vod_returns_overlapping_segment(self):
+        """VOD mapping includes a segment that overlaps the requested range."""
+        start = 1000
+        end = 1100
+
+        with (
+            AuthTestClient(self.app) as client,
+            patch(
+                "frigate.api.media.get_keyframe_before",
+                return_value=None,
+            ),
+        ):
+            super().insert_mock_recording("too_old", start - 10, start - 1)
+            super().insert_mock_recording(
+                "overlap",
+                start - MAX_SEGMENT_DURATION + 2,
+                start + 1,
+            )
+            super().insert_mock_recording("too_new", end + 1, end + 10)
+
+            response = client.get(f"/vod/front_door/start/{start}/end/{end}")
+
+            assert response.status_code == 200
+            assert [
+                clip["path"] for clip in response.json()["sequences"][0]["clips"]
+            ] == ["overlap"]
+
     def test_recordings_unavailable_reports_gap_between_recordings(self):
         """A gap between two recordings is reported as an unavailable segment."""
         with AuthTestClient(self.app) as client: