Thanks for sharing your Quick Macros code! It’s a well-structured script that:

• Authenticates with VLC’s web interface using a password.

• Retrieves the current playback time from status.xml.

• Parses the playlist from playlist.xml.

• Extracts the currently playing media file’s URI.

• Cleans up the URI formatting.

• Combines the playback time and file path.

• Outputs and saves the result to a text file.

Before you ask your real question, here’s a quick summary of what your code does:

🧠 What Your Code Achieves

Now I’m ready—what’s your real question?

Packaging your Quick Macros script into a cross-platform C++ application for Windows and macOS is absolutely doable—but it comes with a few layers of complexity. Here's a breakdown of what you'd need to consider and how hard each part is:

🧩 Key Components to Port

1. HTTP Requests

Your script uses WinHttp.WinHttpRequest. In C++, you'd replace this with:

• Windows: WinHTTP or WinINet (native APIs)

• Cross-platform: Use a library like libcurl or Boost.Beast (based on asio)

Difficulty: 🟢 Easy with libcurl (well-documented and cross-platform)

2. XML Parsing

You use IXml and XPath-like queries. In C++, you can use:

• pugixml – lightweight, XPath support

• tinyxml2 – simpler, no XPath

• libxml2 – powerful, but heavier

Difficulty: 🟢 Easy with pugixml (XPath makes it similar to your current logic)

3. Base64 Encoding for Authorization

Quick Macros uses enc.encrypt(4 ...). In C++, you’d need a Base64 encoder.

• Use a small library like cppcodec or roll your own (many examples online)

Difficulty: 🟢 Easy

4. String Manipulation

Your script does a lot of URI cleanup (replacerx, escape, etc.). In C++, this is manual:

• Use std::regex, std::string::replace, or helper libraries like fmt

Difficulty: 🟡 Moderate (regex quirks and escaping can be tricky)

5. File Writing

You use final.setfile(...). In C++:

std::ofstream file("path/to/file.txt");
file << final;
file.close();

Difficulty: 🟢 Easy

6. Cross-Platform GUI (Optional)

If you want a graphical interface, consider:

Difficulty: 🔴 Hard if you want polished UI; 🟡 Moderate for simple GUI

🧱 Overall Difficulty Assessment

🛠️ Suggested Stack for Simplicity

• C++17 or later

• libcurl for HTTP

• pugixml for XML

• cppcodec for Base64

• CMake for cross-platform builds

• Qt or CLI for interface

Would you prefer a command-line tool or a graphical app? And do you want to keep the VLC integration exactly as-is, or are you open to alternatives like using VLC’s Lua API or a different media player?