Add automatic retry mechanism for hotkey registration

[tomstetson]

Summary

• Add automatic retry mechanism for hotkey registration to handle race conditions at startup
• Fixes the common issue where OneDrive (or other apps) temporarily claim PrintScreen hotkeys before ShareX can register them
• New configurable settings: HotkeyRetryEnabled, HotkeyRetryCount, HotkeyRetryDelayMs
• Backward compatible - existing UpdateHotkeys() method preserved

Problem

When ShareX starts, it immediately attempts to register global hotkeys using the Win32 RegisterHotKey API. Other applications like OneDrive often claim these same hotkeys (PrintScreen, Alt+PrintScreen) during their own startup sequence, causing:

1. ShareX calls RegisterAllHotkeys() immediately at startup
2. OneDrive has already registered the hotkey
3. RegisterHotKey returns false, hotkey status set to Failed
4. "Hotkey registration failed" error dialog shown
5. User must manually restart ShareX or open Hotkey Settings

Note: OneDrive claims these hotkeys even when its screenshot feature is disabled.

Solution

New Method: UpdateHotkeysWithBackgroundRetry()

• Performs initial registration synchronously (fast startup)
• If hotkeys fail, starts background retry task (fire-and-forget)
• Does not block IsReady - CLI invocations from second instances work immediately
• Shows error dialog only after all retry attempts are exhausted

New Configuration Settings (ApplicationConfig)

Setting	Default	Range	Description
HotkeyRetryEnabled	true	-	Enable/disable automatic retry
HotkeyRetryCount	3	1-10	Number of retry attempts
HotkeyRetryDelayMs	2000	500-30000	Delay between retries (ms)

Security Considerations

Settings are clamped to safe ranges to prevent DoS via malicious config files:

• Max retry count: 10 (prevents infinite loops)
• Max delay: 30 seconds (prevents extreme startup delays)
• Worst case: 10 × 30s = 5 minutes background retry window

Files Changed

File	Changes
ShareX/ApplicationConfig.cs	Added 3 new settings for retry configuration
ShareX/HotkeyManager.cs	Added UpdateHotkeysWithBackgroundRetry(), RetryFailedHotkeysInBackgroundAsync(), and HasFailedHotkeys()
ShareX/Forms/MainForm.cs	Updated InitHotkeys() to use non-blocking retry method

Related Issues

• OneDrive causing hotkey conflict #6581 - OneDrive causing hotkey conflict
• Hotkey registration failed #3431 - Hotkey registration failed (every Windows 10 install)
• Conflict with OneDrive #5720 - Conflict with OneDrive
• Suggestion: Specific instructions regarding OneDrive and hotkey conflict. #6193 - Suggestion for OneDrive instructions
• Windows 10, ShareX always fails to register standard shortcuts because of Onedrive #1144 - Windows 10 standard shortcuts fail
• Error on startup - Unable to register hotkey #7461 - Error on startup - Unable to register hotkey

[chatgpt-codex-connector]

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Reviewed commit: 9257f5a787

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[chatgpt-codex-connector]

Avoid blocking InitHotkeys on retry delays

Awaiting UpdateHotkeysWithRetryAsync here means startup readiness is delayed by the full retry window whenever hotkey registration fails (e.g., OneDrive holding PrintScreen). Because IsReady isn’t set until InitHotkeys completes (see UpdateControls), WaitFormLoad(5000) in Program.cs gives up after 5 seconds and drops command-line arguments from a second instance if the retries take longer than that. This makes CLI invocations flaky specifically in the hotkey-conflict scenario the change is trying to improve. Consider running retries without blocking readiness (e.g., fire-and-forget or set IsReady before waiting), or otherwise ensuring WaitFormLoad still succeeds during long retries.

Useful? React with 👍 / 👎.

[tomstetson]

Addressed Codex Review Feedback

Thanks for the review! I've updated the implementation to address the P2 - Avoid blocking InitHotkeys on retry delays feedback.

Changes Made:

• Renamed UpdateHotkeysWithRetryAsync() → UpdateHotkeysWithBackgroundRetry()
• Initial registration is now synchronous - returns immediately after first attempt
• Retries run in background via fire-and-forget (_ = RetryFailedHotkeysInBackgroundAsync())
• IsReady is set immediately after initial registration, before retries complete

Result:

• WaitFormLoad(5000) now succeeds immediately since IsReady is set right away
• CLI invocations from second instances work correctly even during retry window
• Retries still happen in background and show error dialog only after exhausting all attempts