every.channel/evolution/proposals/ECP-0107-forge-nbc-popup-aware-verizon-auth-automation.md

ECP-0107: Forge NBC Popup-Aware Verizon Auth Automation

Why

The forge NBC worker now reaches the MVPD picker and can select Verizon Fios, but the next step opens a separate Verizon FiOS - sign in popup window.

The Linux browser worker was still treating auth as a single-tab flow, so it kept retrying the MVPD picker instead of entering credentials in the popup and returning to the main NBC watch surface.

Decision

1. Treat forge NBC auth as a browser-wide flow, not a single-tab flow.
2. Detect and interact with popup tabs whose title or URL indicate MVPD sign-in.
3. Support operational-only Verizon credentials via environment variables or *_FILE paths:
   • EVERY_CHANNEL_NBC_MVPD_USERNAME
   • EVERY_CHANNEL_NBC_MVPD_PASSWORD
   • EVERY_CHANNEL_NBC_MVPD_USERNAME_FILE
   • EVERY_CHANNEL_NBC_MVPD_PASSWORD_FILE
4. After Adobe background-login completion, close auxiliary auth tabs and resume the primary NBC tab.
5. Suppress Chrome crash-restore UI in the forge browser worker so popup automation reaches the actual MVPD login form instead of browser chrome.
6. Allow the Linux NixOS module to point the NBC worker at root-managed MVPD credential files without committing secret values.
7. Treat post-auth NBC profile sign-in as optional when live media requests are already in flight; do not force-navigate away from that surface while CSSOTT/CMAF playback activity is active.

Consequences

• Forge NBC bootstrap can complete the Verizon popup without manual browser typing when credentials are provided operationally.
• The credential path stays outside committed repo configuration and can be supplied differently per host or per session.
• Hosts that want unattended recovery can reference root-managed credential files declaratively without placing the credentials themselves in git.
• The worker avoids aborting its own live-session startup by bouncing away from an optional NBC profile screen after Verizon auth has already unlocked media delivery.
• Future MVPD integrations can extend the same popup-aware browser model instead of adding more picker-only retries.

Rejected Alternatives

• Keep forcing the MVPD picker tab until the popup resolves itself: rejected because the Verizon popup is the actual login surface.
• Store MVPD credentials in committed Nix or repo files: rejected because the secret is operator material and does not belong in versioned configuration.