[vlc-devel] [Feature request] Automatically persist and restore per-video custom bookmarks without a playlist

[Kevin Du]

Hello VLC developers,

I use VLC 3.0.23 Vetinari and would like to request automatic,
persistent custom bookmarks associated with each video.

Current experience:
I create a bookmark while watching a video, close VLC, and later
reopen the same video directly. The Custom Bookmarks window is empty.
Keeping the bookmark requires an additional Save Playlist to File
step, and retrieving it requires opening that saved playlist instead
of simply opening the video.

This is redundant and unintuitive. Creating a bookmark already
expresses the intention to save a place for later. Requiring two
separate saving actions—Create Bookmark, then Save Playlist—makes the
first action feel incomplete, without an obvious indication that the
bookmark will otherwise be lost. It also makes users manage a separate
playlist file for something they expect to belong to the video.

Requested behavior:
1. When a user creates a bookmark, automatically save its timestamp
and name in VLC-managed application storage, such as a local
application data file or database, associated with that video. Do not
require modifying the video file.
2. Persist bookmark additions, renames, and deletions as they happen,
so they survive closing VLC and restarting the laptop.
3. When the same video is opened directly again, automatically load
its saved bookmarks into the Custom Bookmarks window/menu. The user
should not have to find or open a playlist first. The request is to
populate the bookmark interface automatically; forcing a popup every
time is not necessary.
4. Let the user delete an individual bookmark or clear all bookmarks
for the current video. Save that deletion automatically so removed
bookmarks do not return next time. No playlist export or resave should
be required.
5. Keep bookmarks associated with the correct video, avoiding
collisions between different videos with the same filename.
6. Keep playlist export available for users who want it, but make it
optional for ordinary bookmark persistence.

Example acceptance scenario:
- Open a video directly and create bookmarks at 12:30 and 27:10.
- Close VLC and restart the laptop.
- Open that same video directly: both bookmarks are available again.
- Delete the 12:30 bookmark, close VLC, and reopen the video: only
27:10 remains.
- Clear the remaining bookmark and reopen again: the bookmark list stays empty.
None of these actions should require saving or opening a playlist file.

These are explicitly created bookmarks and should remain available
until the user deletes them or deliberately clears stored bookmark
data; they should not disappear merely because a video falls out of
the recent-media list.

This is separate from my earlier request about automatically
remembering the last playback position. Here the goal is to preserve
the multiple places a user deliberately marks within a video.

This is a feature and usability proposal, not a tested code patch. If
a newer VLC version already implements this behavior, please point me
to it; otherwise, please consider it for a future release or direct me
to an existing issue.

Thank you,
Kevin