From 5561d9a3792013e333c0243add9016472120f0f6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: npeter83 <npeter83+claude@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2026 03:16:27 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?feat(downloads):=20every=20ready=20file=20is=20?=
 =?UTF-8?q?phone-safe=20=E2=80=94=20uploads=20and=20clips=20too?=
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

A share link is opened on whatever the friend holds. Measured on an iPhone and an iPad: AV1,
Matroska, HEVC tagged hev1 and MP3 inside an .mp4 fail there; Chrome and Firefox add HEVC and
10-bit / 4:4:4 H.264. The old check judged the codec NAME only and ran on downloads only, so a
10-bit H.264 passed, an upload went out exactly as it came (an iPhone's HEVC .mov, a webm, an mkv)
and a fast trim kept its source's codecs.

One rule now, `downloads/playable.py`: video is H.264 8-bit 4:2:0 + AAC in .mp4, audio-only is
.mp3 or AAC .m4a; `plan` says what must change, `build_cmd` re-encodes only the failing stream (or
remuxes). The worker applies it to a download, an editor clip and — new — an upload: media that
fails the rule is queued (asset pending, job queued) and the worker converts it, keeping only the
converted file (owner's choice). Until then the original sits at rel_path, so Retry starts from it
and a delete removes it; an upload that lost its last holder mid-conversion is reaped by the GC.
Every libx264 run (edit, concat, conversion) now pins `-pix_fmt yuv420p` — without it a 10-bit
source came out High 10. The download cache signature moves to v5 so a cached 10-bit asset
re-derives. The upload toast says when the file is still converting (HU/EN).

Tests: the plan for every measured class; real ffmpeg turning a 10-bit Matroska + Opus and an
mp3-in-mp4 into files the rule accepts (red without the pixel-format pin); the queued upload's
delete, cancel-then-GC, failed conversion and real worker conversion (the cleanup tests red
without their rules); the toast (red without the branch). Live on localdev: 9 fixture uploads
converted, every served file probed H.264 High yuv420p + AAC, or mp3 / m4a.
---
 backend/app/downloads/edit.py                 | 117 ++----------
 backend/app/downloads/formats.py              |  19 +-
 backend/app/downloads/gc.py                   |  23 +++
 backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py             | 171 +++++++++++++-----
 backend/app/downloads/playable.py             |  99 ++++++++++
 backend/app/downloads/probe.py                |  63 +++++--
 backend/app/downloads/runner.py               |   4 +-
 backend/app/downloads/service.py              |  12 +-
 backend/app/downloads/upload.py               |  36 ++--
 backend/app/routes/downloads.py               |   3 +-
 backend/tests/test_download_deprioritize.py   |  14 +-
 backend/tests/test_download_output.py         |  45 +----
 backend/tests/test_formats.py                 |  17 --
 backend/tests/test_playable.py                | 157 ++++++++++++++++
 backend/tests/test_public_unlock_limit.py     |   5 +-
 backend/tests/test_upload.py                  | 157 +++++++++++++++-
 .../src/components/UploadDialog.dom.test.tsx  |  18 +-
 frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.tsx      |  13 +-
 frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/downloads.json   |   1 +
 frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/downloads.json   |   1 +
 frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts             |   3 +-
 21 files changed, 712 insertions(+), 266 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 backend/app/downloads/playable.py
 create mode 100644 backend/tests/test_playable.py

diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/edit.py b/backend/app/downloads/edit.py
index d191d14a..38c90f5d 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/edit.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/edit.py
@@ -188,6 +188,13 @@ def clip_duration(spec: dict, source_duration: int | None) -> int | None:
 
 # --- ffmpeg: trim / crop --------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+# Every libx264 / aac re-encode in this package uses these, so a re-encoded file is always the
+# phone-safe shape (`playable`): `-pix_fmt yuv420p` pins 8-bit 4:2:0 — without it libx264 keeps a
+# 10-bit or 4:4:4 source's pixel format and writes H.264 High 10 / High 4:4:4, which browsers decode
+# only patchily (the one safe H.264 is 8-bit 4:2:0).
+X264_ARGS = ["-c:v", "libx264", "-preset", "veryfast", "-crf", "20", "-pix_fmt", "yuv420p"]
+AAC_ARGS = ["-c:a", "aac", "-b:a", "192k"]
+
 
 def build_edit_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path, spec: dict, out_ext: str) -> list[str]:
     """ffmpeg command for a trim/crop edit. `-progress pipe:1` streams machine-readable progress.
@@ -225,18 +232,7 @@ def build_edit_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path, spec: dict, out_ext: str) -> list[str]
         # the exact cut). A crop adds the filter; an accurate trim re-encodes with no filter.
         if crop:
             cmd += ["-vf", f"crop={crop['w']}:{crop['h']}:{crop['x']}:{crop['y']}"]
-        cmd += [
-            "-c:v",
-            "libx264",
-            "-preset",
-            "veryfast",
-            "-crf",
-            "20",
-            "-c:a",
-            "aac",
-            "-b:a",
-            "192k",
-        ]
+        cmd += [*X264_ARGS, *AAC_ARGS]
     else:
         cmd += ["-c", "copy", "-avoid_negative_ts", "make_zero"]
 
@@ -297,16 +293,8 @@ def build_concat_plan(src: Path, dest: Path, spec: dict, out_ext: str, staging:
             "[v]",
             "-map",
             "[a]",
-            "-c:v",
-            "libx264",
-            "-preset",
-            "veryfast",
-            "-crf",
-            "20",
-            "-c:a",
-            "aac",
-            "-b:a",
-            "192k",
+            *X264_ARGS,
+            *AAC_ARGS,
         ]
     else:
         listp = staging / "concat.txt"
@@ -474,14 +462,7 @@ def run_ffmpeg(
         raise StatedFailure(f"ffmpeg failed ({ret}): {''.join(err_tail)[-300:]}")
 
 
-# --- ffmpeg: universal browser playability --------------------------------------------------
-# A downloaded file must play in EVERY browser, whatever the source shipped. Universal = H.264
-# video + AAC/MP3 audio in an mp4 container: H.264 is the only video codec all browsers decode
-# (VP9/AV1 fail on Safari/iOS; HEVC fails on Chrome/Firefox), and mp4/AAC is the safe pairing.
-# Anything else is fixed post-download: re-encode the offending stream(s), or just remux when the
-# codecs are already fine but the container isn't.
-_BROWSER_SAFE_VCODEC = ("h264",)
-_BROWSER_SAFE_ACODEC = ("aac", "mp3")
+# --- ffprobe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 def run_ffprobe_json(
@@ -493,8 +474,8 @@ def run_ffprobe_json(
 ) -> dict | None:
     """One ffprobe call → its parsed JSON dict, or None on any failure (timeout, non-zero exit,
     missing binary, unparseable output). The SINGLE ffprobe-JSON-invocation point in the downloads
-    package: the browser-playability codec probe here and the shared media probe (`probe.probe_media`,
-    used by both the download worker's finalize and the upload ingest) both go through it, so the
+    package: the shared media probe (`probe.probe_json`: the stored facts and the phone-safe rule) goes
+    through it, so the
     subprocess flags/timeout/error handling live in one place instead of drifting copies."""
     args = ["ffprobe", "-v", "error"]
     if show_streams:
@@ -517,35 +498,6 @@ def run_ffprobe_json(
         return None
 
 
-def _codecs_from_streams(streams: list) -> tuple[str | None, str | None]:
-    """(video_codec, audio_codec) lowercased from an ffprobe JSON stream list — the first of each kind.
-
-    Parsed from the JSON `streams` list, NOT ffprobe's flat `default=nw=1` output: there the fields
-    arrive in ffprobe's own struct order, which puts `codec_name` BEFORE `codec_type`, so a line-by-line
-    "remember the last codec_type" parser attributes every name to the PREVIOUS stream. Measured on real
-    downloads: an ordinary H.264+AAC mp4 probed as `v=aac a=None` — the browser-playability check then
-    believed the video stream was AAC and re-encoded a perfectly fine file on every download. Reading each
-    stream dict by its own `codec_type` is immune to that ordering."""
-    vcodec = acodec = None
-    for s in streams:
-        name = (s.get("codec_name") or "").lower() or None
-        ctype = (s.get("codec_type") or "").lower()
-        if ctype == "video" and vcodec is None:
-            vcodec = name
-        elif ctype == "audio" and acodec is None:
-            acodec = name
-    return vcodec, acodec
-
-
-def probe_codecs(path: Path) -> tuple[str | None, str | None]:
-    """Return (video_codec, audio_codec) lowercased via one ffprobe call; None for a missing
-    stream or if ffprobe fails (a failed probe is treated as 'leave it alone' upstream)."""
-    data = run_ffprobe_json(path, entries="stream=codec_type,codec_name")
-    if data is None:
-        return None, None
-    return _codecs_from_streams(data.get("streams") or [])
-
-
 def probe_duration(path: Path) -> int:
     """Media duration in whole seconds via ffprobe, or 0 if unknown — a progress denominator for a
     re-encode when the yt-dlp info dict carried no `duration` (some URL/live extractions)."""
@@ -577,49 +529,6 @@ def probe_duration(path: Path) -> int:
         return 0
 
 
-def browser_transcode_flags(
-    vcodec: str | None, acodec: str | None, is_mp4: bool
-) -> tuple[bool, bool, bool]:
-    """Decide what (if anything) makes a file universally browser-playable. Returns
-    (needs_change, reencode_video, reencode_audio). needs_change=False => already H.264 + AAC/MP3
-    in mp4. A None codec (no such stream, or a failed probe) is never re-encoded."""
-    rv = bool(vcodec) and vcodec not in _BROWSER_SAFE_VCODEC
-    ra = bool(acodec) and acodec not in _BROWSER_SAFE_ACODEC
-    return (rv or ra or not is_mp4), rv, ra
-
-
-def build_browser_safe_cmd(
-    src: Path, dest: Path, reencode_video: bool, reencode_audio: bool, threads: int | None = None
-) -> list[str]:
-    """ffmpeg command that lands `src` as a browser-safe mp4 (faststart): re-encode only the
-    stream(s) that need it (libx264 / aac), stream-copy the rest, always into mp4. `-progress
-    pipe:1` streams machine-readable progress for run_ffmpeg. `threads` caps the encoder so a
-    re-encode can't claim every core on the shared box (see the worker-child de-prioritization)."""
-    cmd = [
-        "ffmpeg",
-        "-y",
-        "-hide_banner",
-        "-loglevel",
-        "error",
-        "-nostdin",
-        "-progress",
-        "pipe:1",
-        "-nostats",
-        "-i",
-        str(src),
-    ]
-    cmd += (
-        ["-c:v", "libx264", "-preset", "veryfast", "-crf", "20"]
-        if reencode_video
-        else ["-c:v", "copy"]
-    )
-    cmd += ["-c:a", "aac", "-b:a", "192k"] if reencode_audio else ["-c:a", "copy"]
-    if threads and threads > 0:
-        cmd += ["-threads", str(threads)]
-    cmd += ["-movflags", "+faststart", str(dest)]
-    return cmd
-
-
 # --- filmstrip (editor scrub track) ---------------------------------------------------------
 
 _SB_COLS = 12
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/formats.py b/backend/app/downloads/formats.py
index a8deef1e..edf5dc8a 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/formats.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/formats.py
@@ -182,7 +182,9 @@ _DEFAULTS = {
 # v4: EVERY download is clamped to the mp4/H.264/AAC compat profile (no more mkv/webm/VP9/AV1/Opus
 # opt-out), so any asset cached under an old non-compat spec — or a stale non-H.264 mp4 that slipped
 # the v3 net — must re-derive through the current browser-safe guarantee.
-_SIG_VERSION = 4
+# v5: the phone-safe rule (`playable`) also judges the pixel format, so a cached 10-bit / 4:4:4 H.264
+# asset (which v4 let through as "H.264") re-derives as 8-bit 4:2:0 instead of being reused.
+_SIG_VERSION = 5
 # Audio-only downloads version on their own, so a change to the audio bytes doesn't re-download every
 # cached video. v5: an extracted .mp3/.m4a is stored as itself instead of remuxed into an .mp4 that
 # iPad's WebKit refuses to play, so a cached remuxed audio asset must re-derive.
@@ -219,12 +221,13 @@ def normalize(spec: dict) -> dict:
         s["embed_subs"] = False
     # Browser-playability guarantee: the Download module exists to download → share → PLAY
     # in-browser, so every output must play in EVERY browser, iOS/Safari/WebKit included. The only
-    # universally-safe combo is mp4 + H.264 + AAC/MP3, so we CLAMP the spec to it HERE — the single
-    # point every path (picker, stored profile, raw API) flows through — instead of only hiding
-    # options in the UI. Non-mp4 containers (mkv doesn't play at all; webm/VP9/AV1 fail iOS) and any
-    # explicit vcodec are coerced to the compat profile; Opus audio (Safari-flaky as a bare file)
-    # falls back to AAC/m4a. A source that exposes no H.264 is still caught by the worker's
-    # browser-safe re-encode (`_ensure_browser_playable`), so playback is guaranteed end-to-end.
+    # universally-safe combo is mp4 + H.264 + AAC (an .mp3/.m4a for audio), so we CLAMP the spec to
+    # it HERE — the single point every path (picker, stored profile, raw API) flows through — instead
+    # of only hiding options in the UI. Non-mp4 containers (mkv plays nowhere on iOS; AV1 fails there,
+    # and webm/VP9 plays only on recent devices) and any explicit vcodec are coerced to the compat
+    # profile; Opus audio falls back to AAC/m4a. A source that exposes no H.264 (or a 10-bit one) is
+    # still caught by the worker's phone-safe step (`downloads.playable`), so playback is guaranteed
+    # end-to-end.
     s["container"] = "mp4"
     s["vcodec"] = None
     if s["audio_format"] not in ("m4a", "mp3"):
@@ -351,7 +354,7 @@ def build_ydl_opts(
         # inside mp4 — a VP9/AV1-in-mp4 file shows a broken player there — so H.264 is selected at the
         # SELECTION level, not merely preferred: a sort key can't conjure an H.264 stream a source
         # doesn't expose as video-only. A source that ships only non-H.264 is caught after download by
-        # the worker's browser-safe re-encode (`_ensure_browser_playable`).
+        # the worker's phone-safe step (`downloads.playable`).
         if s["mode"] == "v":
             # Video-only: keep it audio-free. Prefer an H.264 video-only stream, then any video-only,
             # and only fall to a progressive (audio-bearing) `best` as a last resort.
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/gc.py b/backend/app/downloads/gc.py
index 60267f98..8218cf40 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/gc.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/gc.py
@@ -232,6 +232,29 @@ def run_download_gc(db: Session) -> dict:
     if orphans:
         db.commit()
 
+    # 4b. Reap unheld uploads. An upload carries no expires_at and is never re-enqueued, so the passes
+    #     above never free one that lost its last holder outside `release_asset` — a conversion that
+    #     finished after its job was cancelled, or one cancelled mid-run (the asset was `downloading`
+    #     then). Its file, ready or still the unconverted original, sits at `rel_path`.
+    unheld = (
+        db.execute(
+            select(MediaAsset).where(
+                MediaAsset.source_kind == "upload",
+                MediaAsset.ref_count == 0,
+                MediaAsset.status != "downloading",
+            )
+        )
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    for asset in unheld:
+        if asset.rel_path:  # no holder is left to tell, so no notice — just the file and the row
+            storage.delete_asset_files(settings.download_root, asset.rel_path)
+        db.delete(asset)
+        reaped += 1
+    if unheld:
+        db.commit()
+
     # 5. Orphan FILE sweep — remove on-disk cruft no surviving asset owns (old accented dirs, stale
     #    posters). Runs last so the keep-set reflects the assets that survived passes 2-4.
     swept = _sweep_orphan_files(db, settings.download_root)
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py b/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py
index e2554fbe..3d3510ea 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ from app.config import settings
 from app.db import SessionLocal
 from app.downloads import edit as editmod
 from app.downloads import errors as dlerrors
-from app.downloads import adapters, credentials, formats, mediakind, probe, quota, service, storage
+from app.downloads import adapters, credentials, formats, mediakind, playable, probe, quota
+from app.downloads import service, storage
 from app.downloads import urlguard
 from app.downloads.jobdb import (
     _edit_staging_dir,
@@ -416,48 +417,50 @@ def _download_settings() -> tuple[str, int]:
         )
 
 
-def _ensure_browser_playable(job_id: int, produced: Path, spec: dict, info: dict) -> Path:
-    """Make an mp4-compat-profile download play in every browser: H.264 + AAC/MP3 in mp4. If the
-    download (whatever the source shipped) isn't already that, re-encode the offending stream(s) —
-    or just remux when the codecs are fine but the container isn't. **Scope:** only the mp4 compat
-    profile is normalized; an explicit `vcodec` or a non-mp4 custom profile is the user opting out
-    of the guarantee and is left as-is (so a `webm` profile can still ship VP9/Opus). Returns the
-    file to store (converted, or the original) and corrects `info`'s codec fields to match disk.
+def _ensure_phone_safe(
+    job_id: int,
+    produced: Path,
+    out_dir: Path,
+    phase: str,
+    total_s: int | None = None,
+    *,
+    keep_source: bool = False,
+) -> Path:
+    """Bring a file that is about to become a ready library asset into the phone-safe shape
+    (`playable`), writing any converted copy into `out_dir`. Returns the file to store — `produced`
+    itself when it already is that shape, or isn't media at all — and removes `produced` once a
+    converted copy exists, unless `keep_source` (an upload's original, which must outlive the
+    conversion until the database points at the new file). The job shows `phase` with real ffmpeg
+    progress while it converts.
 
-    An audio download (mode "a") is never touched: yt-dlp already extracted it to .mp3 / .m4a, which
-    every browser plays as audio/mpeg / audio/mp4. Remuxing it into .mp4 served an mp3 as video/mp4,
-    which iPad's WebKit refuses to play (prod job 268)."""
-    if spec.get("mode") == "a" or spec.get("container") != "mp4" or spec.get("vcodec"):
+    Every ready path calls this — a download, an upload's worker conversion and an editor clip — so
+    a share link can only ever serve the one shape every phone and browser plays."""
+    p = playable.plan(probe.probe_json(produced), produced.suffix)
+    if p is None or not p.needs_change:
         return produced
-    vcodec, acodec = editmod.probe_codecs(produced)
-    is_mp4 = produced.suffix.lower() == ".mp4"
-    needs, reenc_v, reenc_a = editmod.browser_transcode_flags(vcodec, acodec, is_mp4)
-    if not needs:
-        return produced
-
-    dest = produced.with_name(produced.stem + ".browser.mp4")
-    action = "re-encode" if (reenc_v or reenc_a) else "remux"
+    dest = out_dir / f"{produced.stem}.safe.{p.ext}"
+    action = "re-encode" if (p.reencode_video or p.reencode_audio) else "remux"
     log.info(
-        "job %s: %s (v=%s a=%s mp4=%s) -> browser-safe mp4", job_id, action, vcodec, acodec, is_mp4
+        "job %s: %s (video=%s audio=%s) -> phone-safe .%s",
+        job_id,
+        action,
+        p.reencode_video,
+        p.reencode_audio,
+        p.ext,
+        extra=logs.event("download.phone_safe", job_id=job_id, action=action, ext=p.ext),
     )
-    _set_job(job_id, phase="processing", progress=0, speed_bps=None, eta_s=None)
-    # Prefer the info duration; probe the file when the extractor didn't provide one, so a long
-    # re-encode still shows real progress instead of a frozen 0%.
-    total_s = int(info["duration"]) if info.get("duration") else editmod.probe_duration(produced)
+    _set_job(job_id, phase=phase, progress=0, speed_bps=None, eta_s=None)
+    # A re-encode with no known length would hold a frozen 0%; probe the file for a denominator.
     editmod.run_ffmpeg(
-        editmod.build_browser_safe_cmd(
-            produced, dest, reenc_v, reenc_a, threads=editmod.encode_thread_cap()
-        ),
-        total_s=total_s,
-        on_progress=_ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id, "processing"),
+        playable.build_cmd(produced, dest, p, threads=editmod.encode_thread_cap()),
+        total_s=total_s or editmod.probe_duration(produced),
+        on_progress=_ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id, phase),
         should_cancel=_cancel_poll(job_id),
     )
-    produced.unlink(missing_ok=True)
-    # Keep the stored asset metadata truthful about what's now on disk.
-    if reenc_v:
-        info["vcodec"] = "h264"
-    if reenc_a:
-        info["acodec"] = "aac"
+    if not dest.exists():
+        raise StatedFailure("ffmpeg produced no output file")
+    if not keep_source:
+        produced.unlink(missing_ok=True)
     return dest
 
 
@@ -522,7 +525,13 @@ def _download(
         adapter = adapters.resolve_adapter(source_kind, source_ref, info)
 
         produced = _produced_file(info, staging)
-        produced = _ensure_browser_playable(job_id, produced, spec, info)
+        produced = _ensure_phone_safe(
+            job_id,
+            produced,
+            staging,
+            "processing",
+            int(info["duration"]) if info.get("duration") else None,
+        )
         ext = produced.suffix.lstrip(".").lower()
         # Codecs/dims/duration come from a PROBE of the produced file — the ground truth — NOT yt-dlp's
         # `info` dict, whose fields are absent for some sources (Facebook among them): deriving
@@ -722,9 +731,12 @@ def _log_download_failed(job_id: int, msg: str, code: str | None, exc: BaseExcep
     )
 
 
-def _fail_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int, msg: str, exc: BaseException | None = None) -> None:
-    """Fail an edit job, and say so ONCE — every way an edit fails comes through here, so this is
-    where its line and its event code live. `exc` is the exception when there was one.
+def _fail_edit(
+    job_id: int, asset_id: int, msg: str, exc: BaseException | None = None, *, what: str = "edit"
+) -> None:
+    """Fail a local ffmpeg job — an edit, or an upload's conversion (`what="upload"`) — and say so
+    ONCE: every way one fails comes through here, so this is where its line and its event code
+    (`<what>.job.failed`) live. `exc` is the exception when there was one.
 
     Its traceback goes with the line unless the message already tells it all (`_failure_stack`).
     Logged after the write, as on the download error path."""
@@ -746,12 +758,13 @@ def _fail_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int, msg: str, exc: BaseException | None =
     # `msg` is the user's copy; ffmpeg's stderr tail in it can name the source file, whose path is
     # built from the channel and the title.
     log.warning(
-        "edit job %s failed: %s",
+        "%s job %s failed: %s",
+        what,
         job_id,
         formats.log_safe(msg),
         extra={
             **logs.event(
-                "edit.job.failed",
+                f"{what}.job.failed",
                 job_id=job_id,
                 asset_id=asset_id,
                 **({"error_type": type(exc).__name__} if exc is not None else {}),
@@ -811,6 +824,10 @@ def _process_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
         )
         if not dest_staging.exists():
             raise StatedFailure("ffmpeg produced no output file")
+        # A fast trim stream-copies the source's codecs and container, so the clip is only as
+        # playable as its source: hold it to the same rule as every other ready file.
+        dest_staging = _ensure_phone_safe(job_id, dest_staging, staging, "editing", total_s)
+        out_ext = dest_staging.suffix.lstrip(".").lower() or out_ext
 
         rel = storage.edit_rel_path(user_id, asset_id, out_ext)
         storage.place_file(dest_staging, settings.download_root, rel)
@@ -867,3 +884,73 @@ def _process_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
         _fail_edit(job_id, asset_id, str(exc)[:500], exc)
     finally:
         shutil.rmtree(staging, ignore_errors=True)
+
+
+def _convert_upload(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
+    """Convert a queued upload into the phone-safe shape (`playable`) and make it ready.
+
+    The original sits at the asset's `rel_path` (see `upload`); the converted file replaces it there
+    under the new extension, and only then is the original removed — so a failed or stopped
+    conversion leaves the original in place for Retry, and a delete still finds it by `rel_path`."""
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+        old_rel = asset.rel_path if asset else None
+        duration = asset.duration_s if asset else None
+    src = storage.safe_abs_path(settings.download_root, old_rel) if old_rel else None
+    if old_rel is None or src is None or not src.exists():
+        _fail_edit(job_id, asset_id, "The uploaded file is missing.", what="upload")
+        return
+    staging = _staging_dir(asset_id)
+    try:
+        shutil.rmtree(staging, ignore_errors=True)
+        staging.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        safe = _ensure_phone_safe(job_id, src, staging, "processing", duration, keep_source=True)
+        ext = safe.suffix.lstrip(".").lower()
+        new_rel = Path(old_rel).with_suffix(f".{ext}").as_posix()
+        if safe != src:
+            storage.place_file(safe, settings.download_root, new_rel)
+        final = storage.abs_path(settings.download_root, new_rel)
+        vcodec, acodec, width, height, dur = probe.probe_media(final)
+        with SessionLocal() as db:
+            asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+            if asset:
+                asset.status = "ready"
+                asset.rel_path = new_rel
+                asset.container = ext
+                asset.size_bytes = final.stat().st_size
+                asset.vcodec, asset.acodec = vcodec, acodec
+                asset.width, asset.height = width or asset.width, height or asset.height
+                asset.duration_s = dur or asset.duration_s
+                asset.error = None
+                asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+            job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
+            owner_id = job.user_id if job else None
+            title = asset.title if asset else None
+            finalized = service.finalize_if_running(
+                db, job_id, status=JobStatus.DONE, progress=100, phase=None
+            )
+            db.commit()
+            if finalized:
+                _notify_download_done(db, owner_id, title, job_id, kind="download")
+        if new_rel != old_rel:
+            src.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        if finalized:
+            log.info(
+                "upload job %s converted: asset %s",
+                job_id,
+                asset_id,
+                extra=logs.event("upload.job.done", job_id=job_id, asset_id=asset_id, ext=ext),
+            )
+    except editmod.EditAborted:
+        # Paused/canceled mid-encode: the original is untouched; free the asset for a later retry.
+        _reset_asset_pending(asset_id)
+        log.info(
+            "upload job %s conversion aborted (pause/cancel)",
+            job_id,
+            extra=logs.event("upload.job.aborted", job_id=job_id),
+        )
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — surface the failure, keep the worker alive
+        # silent-ok: not silent — `_fail_edit` is the report, and it takes `exc` for its stack.
+        _fail_edit(job_id, asset_id, str(exc)[:500], exc, what="upload")
+    finally:
+        shutil.rmtree(staging, ignore_errors=True)
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/playable.py b/backend/app/downloads/playable.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8de66bcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/playable.py
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+"""The phone-safe rule: what a library file must be so it plays wherever a share link lands.
+
+A shared `/watch` link is opened by whoever got it, on whatever they hold: an iPhone's WebKit, an
+Android Chrome, a desktop Firefox. The one shape every one of them plays:
+
+  * video → H.264, 8-bit 4:2:0 (`yuv420p`, or its full-range twin `yuvj420p`), AAC audio, in .mp4
+  * audio only → MP3 in .mp3, or AAC in .m4a
+
+Measured on the owner's iPhone + iPad (2026-10-05): AV1, Matroska, HEVC tagged `hev1` and MP3
+inside an .mp4 all fail there. VP9/WebM, HEVC `hvc1` and 10-bit H.264 played on those devices, but
+Chrome and Firefox do not decode HEVC and browsers decode 10-bit / 4:4:4 H.264 only patchily, so the
+rule is the shape every browser plays, not the shape one device plays.
+
+Every file that becomes a ready library asset passes through here — a download, an upload (the
+worker converts it, see `upload`), and an editor clip — so a link can only ever serve this shape.
+`plan` says what (if anything) must change; `build_cmd` is the one ffmpeg command that changes it:
+re-encode only the stream that fails, copy the rest, or just remux when only the container is wrong.
+"""
+
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from app.downloads import edit as editmod
+from app.downloads import probe
+
+_SAFE_VCODEC = "h264"
+_SAFE_PIX_FMTS = frozenset({"yuv420p", "yuvj420p"})
+_VIDEO_EXT = "mp4"
+# An audio-only file: the codec, and the extension it plays in. Anything else becomes AAC in .m4a.
+_AUDIO_HOME = {"mp3": "mp3", "aac": "m4a"}
+_AUDIO_FALLBACK_EXT = "m4a"
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class Plan:
+    """What makes one file phone-safe. `ext` is the extension the safe file has (no dot)."""
+
+    ext: str
+    has_video: bool
+    reencode_video: bool
+    reencode_audio: bool
+    needs_change: bool
+
+
+def plan(data: dict | None, ext: str) -> Plan | None:
+    """The phone-safe plan for a file whose `probe.probe_json` is `data` and whose extension is
+    `ext`; None when it is not media at all (an unreadable probe, a still image, no audio or video
+    stream) — such a file is a download-only 'file' and never plays inline, so there is nothing to
+    make safe."""
+    if data is None:
+        return None
+    video, audio = probe.primary_streams(data)
+    ext = ext.lower().lstrip(".")
+    if video is not None:
+        rv = (video.get("codec_name") or "").lower() != _SAFE_VCODEC or (
+            video.get("pix_fmt") or ""
+        ).lower() not in _SAFE_PIX_FMTS
+        ra = audio is not None and (audio.get("codec_name") or "").lower() != "aac"
+        return Plan(_VIDEO_EXT, True, rv, ra, rv or ra or ext != _VIDEO_EXT)
+    if audio is not None:
+        home = _AUDIO_HOME.get((audio.get("codec_name") or "").lower())
+        target = home or _AUDIO_FALLBACK_EXT
+        return Plan(target, False, False, home is None, home is None or ext != target)
+    return None
+
+
+def build_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path, p: Plan, threads: int | None = None) -> list[str]:
+    """The ffmpeg command that writes `src` to `dest` (whose suffix is `p.ext`) in the phone-safe
+    shape: the failing stream(s) re-encoded with the package's shared encoder settings, the rest
+    stream-copied. An audio-only result drops any cover-art stream. `-progress pipe:1`
+    streams machine-readable progress; `threads` caps the encoder so a re-encode cannot claim every
+    core on the shared box (see the worker-child de-prioritization)."""
+    cmd = [
+        "ffmpeg",
+        "-y",
+        "-hide_banner",
+        "-loglevel",
+        "error",
+        "-nostdin",
+        "-progress",
+        "pipe:1",
+        "-nostats",
+        "-i",
+        str(src),
+    ]
+    # Exactly the two streams `plan` judged: `V` is a video stream that is not cover art. Nothing
+    # else rides along — a subtitle or data track the .mp4 muxer cannot take would fail the run.
+    if p.has_video:
+        cmd += ["-map", "0:V:0", "-map", "0:a:0?"]
+        cmd += editmod.X264_ARGS if p.reencode_video else ["-c:v", "copy"]
+    else:
+        cmd += ["-map", "0:a:0"]
+    cmd += editmod.AAC_ARGS if p.reencode_audio else ["-c:a", "copy"]
+    if threads and threads > 0:
+        cmd += ["-threads", str(threads)]
+    if p.ext in ("mp4", "m4a"):
+        cmd += ["-movflags", "+faststart"]
+    cmd += [str(dest)]
+    return cmd
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/probe.py b/backend/app/downloads/probe.py
index 04dd70d3..3e29d157 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/probe.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/probe.py
@@ -34,6 +34,28 @@ _IMAGE_FORMATS = {
 }
 
 
+def primary_streams(data: dict) -> tuple[dict | None, dict | None]:
+    """(video stream, audio stream) — the first of each kind — from a NON-None ffprobe JSON dict, by
+    the same reading the stored facts use: a still image / image-sequence container has neither (it
+    is a generic 'file'), and a video stream flagged `attached_pic` (an mp3/m4a's cover art) is not a
+    video track. The phone-safe rule (`playable`) judges exactly these two streams."""
+    fmt_names = {
+        n.strip() for n in ((data.get("format") or {}).get("format_name") or "").split(",")
+    }
+    if fmt_names & _IMAGE_FORMATS:
+        return None, None
+    video = audio = None
+    for stream in data.get("streams", []):
+        kind = stream.get("codec_type")
+        if kind == "video" and video is None:
+            if (stream.get("disposition") or {}).get("attached_pic"):
+                continue  # cover art, not a video track
+            video = stream
+        elif kind == "audio" and audio is None:
+            audio = stream
+    return video, audio
+
+
 def _facts_from_probe(
     data: dict,
 ) -> tuple[str | None, str | None, int | None, int | None, int | None]:
@@ -45,19 +67,11 @@ def _facts_from_probe(
     fmt_names = {n.strip() for n in (fmt.get("format_name") or "").split(",")}
     if fmt_names & _IMAGE_FORMATS:
         return None, None, None, None, None
-
-    vcodec = acodec = None
-    width = height = None
-    for stream in data.get("streams", []):
-        kind = stream.get("codec_type")
-        if kind == "video" and vcodec is None:
-            if (stream.get("disposition") or {}).get("attached_pic"):
-                continue  # cover art, not a video track
-            vcodec = stream.get("codec_name")
-            width = stream.get("width")
-            height = stream.get("height")
-        elif kind == "audio" and acodec is None:
-            acodec = stream.get("codec_name")
+    video, audio = primary_streams(data)
+    vcodec = video.get("codec_name") if video else None
+    width = video.get("width") if video else None
+    height = video.get("height") if video else None
+    acodec = audio.get("codec_name") if audio else None
 
     duration = None
     try:
@@ -71,16 +85,29 @@ def _facts_from_probe(
     return vcodec, acodec, width, height, duration
 
 
-def probe_media(path: Path) -> tuple[str | None, str | None, int | None, int | None, int | None]:
-    """(vcodec, acodec, width, height, duration_s) from one ffprobe call; all None if ffprobe fails
-    or the file isn't playable media (an unprobeable file — or a still image — is treated as a generic
-    non-media file, so it becomes a download-only 'file' rather than a broken 'video')."""
-    data = editmod.run_ffprobe_json(path, show_streams=True, show_format=True)
+def probe_json(path: Path) -> dict | None:
+    """The full ffprobe JSON (streams + format) of `path`, or None when ffprobe could not read it —
+    the one call both the stored facts (`facts`) and the phone-safe rule read from."""
+    return editmod.run_ffprobe_json(path, show_streams=True, show_format=True)
+
+
+def facts(
+    data: dict | None,
+) -> tuple[str | None, str | None, int | None, int | None, int | None]:
+    """(vcodec, acodec, width, height, duration_s) of a `probe_json` result; all None when it is None
+    (an unprobeable file is treated as a generic non-media file, so it becomes a download-only 'file'
+    rather than a broken 'video')."""
     if data is None:
         return None, None, None, None, None
     return _facts_from_probe(data)
 
 
+def probe_media(path: Path) -> tuple[str | None, str | None, int | None, int | None, int | None]:
+    """(vcodec, acodec, width, height, duration_s) from one ffprobe call; all None if ffprobe fails
+    or the file isn't playable media (a still image is a generic 'file', see `primary_streams`)."""
+    return facts(probe_json(path))
+
+
 def resolve_media_facts(
     path: Path, info: dict
 ) -> tuple[str | None, str | None, int | None, int | None, int | None]:
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/runner.py b/backend/app/downloads/runner.py
index b609e32e..654de3e8 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/runner.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/runner.py
@@ -95,12 +95,14 @@ def _run(job_id, asset_id, job_kind, source_kind, source_ref, spec, user_id) ->
     (`cause=child_exit`)."""
     # Imported here (not at module top) so the child pays the yt-dlp import cost only when it has
     # real work, and to keep the import graph obvious: runner is a thin entry over the pipeline.
-    from app.downloads.pipeline import _download, _process_edit
+    from app.downloads.pipeline import _convert_upload, _download, _process_edit
 
     with formats.hiding(source_ref):
         try:
             if job_kind == "edit":
                 _process_edit(job_id, asset_id)
+            elif job_kind == "upload":
+                _convert_upload(job_id, asset_id)
             else:
                 _download(job_id, asset_id, source_kind, source_ref, spec, user_id)
         except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — whatever it is, it is reported here or raw
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/service.py b/backend/app/downloads/service.py
index f643d04d..22c2a019 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/service.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/service.py
@@ -318,14 +318,22 @@ def release_asset(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> None:
     re-enqueuing the same (source,format) — get_or_create_asset would reset that row to `pending` and
     +1 it, and deleting it under that would FK-null the new job's asset (a lost update on ref_count).
     A ready asset is still freed at ref==0 (its file is the point); an orphaned errored row is cheap
-    (no file) and gets reused+reset by the next enqueue, or reclaimed by a later GC pass."""
+    (no file) and gets reused+reset by the next enqueue, or reclaimed by a later GC pass.
+
+    An UPLOAD is the exception: it is never shared or re-enqueued (its ref is unique), and while it
+    waits for or failed its phone-safe conversion the original file already sits at `rel_path` — so
+    it is freed at ref==0 whatever its state, except mid-conversion (`downloading`: the worker child
+    still reads it; the GC upload pass takes it once the child has stopped)."""
     if not job.asset_id or job.status not in HOLDING:
         return
     asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id)
     if asset is None:
         return
     new_count = decr_ref_count(db, asset.id)
-    if new_count == 0 and asset.status == "ready":
+    freeable = asset.status == "ready" or (
+        asset.source_kind == "upload" and asset.status != "downloading"
+    )
+    if new_count == 0 and freeable:
         if asset.rel_path:
             storage.delete_asset_files(settings.download_root, asset.rel_path)
         db.delete(asset)
diff --git a/backend/app/downloads/upload.py b/backend/app/downloads/upload.py
index ea565c50..e7ebd443 100644
--- a/backend/app/downloads/upload.py
+++ b/backend/app/downloads/upload.py
@@ -2,14 +2,21 @@
 
 A user-uploaded file joins the SAME library as a downloaded one, so it inherits the whole function
 set already built (metadata chips, share links, and — for media — in-app play/edit). Unlike a
-download it bypasses yt-dlp AND the worker entirely: the file is already on the host, so ingest
-probes it, places it on disk, and creates an already-`ready` MediaAsset + `done` DownloadJob in one
-step — the same "the file exists, mark it done now" shortcut `service.enqueue` takes on a cache hit.
+download it bypasses yt-dlp: the file is already on the host, so ingest probes it and places it on
+disk. A file that already is the phone-safe shape (`playable`) — or is not media at all — becomes an
+already-`ready` MediaAsset + `done` DownloadJob in one step, the same "the file exists, mark it done
+now" shortcut `service.enqueue` takes on a cache hit.
+
+Media that is NOT phone-safe (an iPhone's HEVC .mov, a VP9 .webm, an .mkv) is placed as it came and
+queued: the asset stays `pending` and the job `queued`, and the download worker converts it
+(`pipeline._convert_upload`) — so a share link never hands a friend a file their phone cannot play.
+Only the converted file is kept (the owner's choice: one file per upload; a 10-bit HDR original
+becomes 8-bit SDR). Until then the original sits at the asset's `rel_path`, which is what a failed
+conversion's Retry starts from again, and what a delete removes (`service.release_asset`).
 
 Kinds (the invariant lives in `mediakind`): a probe with a real video stream -> video, audio-only
 -> audio, neither -> a generic 'file' (pdf/zip/docx/…) that is download-only and never rendered
-inline (see the force-download serving in the file/watch routes). This module is the ingest seam a
-future sub-function (e.g. convert) plugs a new adapter into, mirroring how it sidesteps the worker.
+inline (see the force-download serving in the file/watch routes).
 
 An upload does NOT get an `expires_at`: it's user-provided and may be irreplaceable (there's no
 source to re-download), so it doesn't age out on the retention clock the way a re-fetchable download
@@ -24,7 +31,8 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app.config import settings
 from app.downloads import edit as editmod
-from app.downloads import mediakind, probe, quota, service, storage
+from app.downloads import mediakind, playable, probe, quota, service, storage
+from app.downloads.status import JobStatus
 from app.models import DownloadJob, MediaAsset, display_text
 
 
@@ -44,15 +52,19 @@ def ingest_upload(
     size: int,
     display_name: str | None = None,
 ) -> DownloadJob:
-    """Ingest an already-uploaded file at `src_path` into `user_id`'s library and return the `done`
-    job. `src_path` is MOVED into place on success (the caller stages it to a temp file first).
+    """Ingest an already-uploaded file at `src_path` into `user_id`'s library and return its job —
+    `done`, or `queued` for the worker's phone-safe conversion (see the module docstring). `src_path`
+    is MOVED into place on success (the caller stages it to a temp file first).
 
     Raises quota.QuotaExceeded (holdings/footprint cap) — checked BEFORE any disk write, so a
     rejected upload leaves nothing behind and the caller just cleans up its temp file."""
     quota.check_upload(db, user_id, size)  # the file's size is known → charge it up front
 
-    vcodec, acodec, width, height, duration = probe.probe_media(src_path)
+    data = probe.probe_json(src_path)
+    vcodec, acodec, width, height, duration = probe.facts(data)
     kind = mediakind.derive(vcodec, acodec)
+    safe = playable.plan(data, Path(filename).suffix) if kind != mediakind.FILE else None
+    convert = safe is not None and safe.needs_change
 
     # An upload never dedups (each file is its own asset): a random ref makes the cache key unique,
     # so `format_sig` is a constant marker rather than a format hash.
@@ -73,7 +85,7 @@ def ingest_upload(
         final = storage.abs_path(settings.download_root, rel)
         actual_size = final.stat().st_size if final.exists() else size
 
-        asset.status = "ready"
+        asset.status = "pending" if convert else "ready"
         asset.rel_path = rel
         asset.size_bytes = actual_size
         asset.container = storage.upload_ext(filename)
@@ -100,8 +112,8 @@ def ingest_upload(
             source_ref=ref,
             profile_snapshot={},
             display_name=display_text(display_name),
-            status="done",
-            progress=100,
+            status=JobStatus.QUEUED if convert else JobStatus.DONE,
+            progress=0 if convert else 100,
             queue_pos=service.next_queue_pos(db),
         )
         db.add(job)
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/downloads.py b/backend/app/routes/downloads.py
index d2e1c5d2..49e656dc 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/downloads.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/downloads.py
@@ -502,7 +502,8 @@ def upload_download(
     (video/audio) gets the full function set, a generic file is download-only. The body IS the file
     (see the header note above); `spool_upload` has already authenticated the caller and streamed it
     to a temp path under the download volume, so what is left here is the non-yt-dlp ingest which
-    probes + places it and returns an already-`done` job.
+    probes + places it and returns its job — `done`, or `queued` for the worker's phone-safe
+    conversion (`downloads.upload`).
 
     A sync (threadpool) handler on purpose: the ingest does blocking work — an ffprobe of up to 30s
     plus sync DB writes — so it must NOT run on the event loop. The streaming half is async because
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_download_deprioritize.py b/backend/tests/test_download_deprioritize.py
index 0264a4c5..1e16a25c 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_download_deprioritize.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_download_deprioritize.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import pytest
 
 from app.config import settings
 from app.downloads import edit as editmod
+from app.downloads import playable
 from app.downloads import runner
 
 
@@ -32,11 +33,12 @@ class TestEncodeThreadCap:
         assert editmod.encode_thread_cap() == 1  # max(1, 2 - 1)
 
 
-class TestBrowserSafeThreads:
+_REENCODE_VIDEO = playable.Plan("mp4", True, True, False, True)
+
+
+class TestPhoneSafeThreads:
     def test_threads_flag_added_when_capped(self):
-        cmd = editmod.build_browser_safe_cmd(
-            "/in.mkv", "/out.mp4", reencode_video=True, reencode_audio=False, threads=2
-        )
+        cmd = playable.build_cmd("/in.mkv", "/out.mp4", _REENCODE_VIDEO, threads=2)
         assert "-threads" in cmd
         assert cmd[cmd.index("-threads") + 1] == "2"
         # The cap precedes the output file, so it binds the encoder (not input decoding).
@@ -44,9 +46,7 @@ class TestBrowserSafeThreads:
 
     @pytest.mark.parametrize("threads", [0, None])
     def test_no_threads_flag_when_uncapped(self, threads):
-        cmd = editmod.build_browser_safe_cmd(
-            "/in.mkv", "/out.mp4", reencode_video=True, reencode_audio=False, threads=threads
-        )
+        cmd = playable.build_cmd("/in.mkv", "/out.mp4", _REENCODE_VIDEO, threads=threads)
         assert "-threads" not in cmd
 
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_download_output.py b/backend/tests/test_download_output.py
index 9d888b75..4e286817 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_download_output.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_download_output.py
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ with "PosixPath('.') has an empty name" instead of downloading."""
 
 import pytest
 
-from app.downloads.edit import _codecs_from_streams, _concat_quote, run_ffprobe_json
+from app.downloads.edit import _concat_quote, run_ffprobe_json
 from app.downloads.pipeline import _media_info, _produced_file
 from pathlib import Path, PurePosixPath
 
@@ -105,46 +105,9 @@ class TestMediaInfo:
         assert _media_info(info)["id"] == "vid"
 
 
-class TestCodecsFromStreams:
-    # ffprobe emits codec_name BEFORE codec_type, so the old line parser shifted every name onto
-    # the previous stream and an H.264+AAC mp4 came back as (aac, None) → a needless re-encode.
-    # _codecs_from_streams reads each stream dict by its own codec_type, immune to that ordering.
-    def test_reads_each_stream_by_its_own_type(self):
-        streams = [
-            {"codec_name": "h264", "codec_type": "video"},
-            {"codec_name": "aac", "codec_type": "audio"},
-        ]
-        assert _codecs_from_streams(streams) == ("h264", "aac")
-
-    def test_audio_first_ordering_is_handled(self):
-        streams = [
-            {"codec_name": "AAC", "codec_type": "audio"},
-            {"codec_name": "H264", "codec_type": "video"},
-        ]
-        assert _codecs_from_streams(streams) == ("h264", "aac")
-
-    def test_extra_streams_do_not_win_over_the_first_of_their_kind(self):
-        streams = [
-            {"codec_name": "h264", "codec_type": "video"},
-            {"codec_name": "vp9", "codec_type": "video"},
-            {"codec_name": "mov_text", "codec_type": "subtitle"},
-            {"codec_name": "opus", "codec_type": "audio"},
-        ]
-        assert _codecs_from_streams(streams) == ("h264", "opus")
-
-    def test_audio_only_and_video_only(self):
-        assert _codecs_from_streams([{"codec_name": "opus", "codec_type": "audio"}]) == (
-            None,
-            "opus",
-        )
-        assert _codecs_from_streams([{"codec_name": "av1", "codec_type": "video"}]) == ("av1", None)
-
-    def test_empty_stream_list(self):
-        assert _codecs_from_streams([]) == (None, None)
-
-
 class TestRunFfprobeJson:
-    """The single ffprobe-JSON invocation point (shared by probe_codecs + probe.probe_media). A failed
+    """The single ffprobe-JSON invocation point (`probe.probe_json`, which the stored facts and the
+    phone-safe rule both read). A failed
     probe or unparseable output must degrade to None, not raise — the malformed-input safety the old
     parse_probe_streams string parser used to own now lives here."""
 
@@ -174,7 +137,7 @@ class TestRunFfprobeJson:
 
         monkeypatch.setattr(subprocess, "run", lambda *a, **k: _R())
         data = run_ffprobe_json(Path("x"), entries="stream=codec_type,codec_name")
-        assert _codecs_from_streams(data["streams"]) == ("h264", None)
+        assert data["streams"] == [{"codec_name": "h264", "codec_type": "video"}]
 
 
 class TestConcatQuote:
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_formats.py b/backend/tests/test_formats.py
index abf79b1c..ab461d42 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_formats.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_formats.py
@@ -94,23 +94,6 @@ def test_audio_only_unaffected():
     assert _opts({"mode": "a", "audio_format": "m4a"})["format"] == "bestaudio/best"
 
 
-def test_browser_transcode_flags_universal_playability():
-    F = editmod.browser_transcode_flags
-    # Already universal: H.264 + AAC in mp4 → no change.
-    assert F("h264", "aac", True) == (False, False, False)
-    assert F("h264", "mp3", True) == (False, False, False)
-    # Non-H.264 video → full video re-encode (AV1/VP9 fail iOS; HEVC fails Chrome/FF).
-    assert F("av1", "aac", True) == (True, True, False)
-    assert F("vp9", "opus", True) == (True, True, True)
-    assert F("hevc", "aac", True) == (True, True, False)
-    # H.264 but bad audio → audio-only transcode (video copied).
-    assert F("h264", "opus", True) == (True, False, True)
-    # Codecs fine but wrong container → remux only (no re-encode).
-    assert F("h264", "aac", False) == (True, False, False)
-    # A failed probe / missing stream is never re-encoded.
-    assert F(None, None, True) == (False, False, False)
-
-
 # --- SEC-13 · one enqueue is one bounded download -------------------------------------------
 
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_playable.py b/backend/tests/test_playable.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ddb58e35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_playable.py
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+"""The phone-safe rule (`downloads.playable`): what a library file must be so a share link plays
+on any phone or browser, and the one ffmpeg command that makes it so.
+
+The plan table is the measured device verdict, class by class: what failed on a real iPhone + iPad
+(AV1, Matroska, HEVC, MP3 inside an .mp4) must change, and so must what browsers other than Safari
+cannot be trusted with (10-bit / 4:4:4 H.264, VP9, Opus). The ffmpeg cases run the real encoder and
+probe its output, because the rule is about the bytes, not the flags.
+"""
+
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from app.downloads import playable, probe
+
+# conftest turns a missing ffmpeg into a hard error in the gate (SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB), so this
+# only ever skips on an explicit pure-logic run.
+needs_ffmpeg = pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("ffmpeg") is None, reason="ffmpeg not available")
+
+
+def _data(video=None, audio=None, fmt="mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2", cover=False):
+    streams = []
+    if cover:
+        streams.append(
+            {"codec_type": "video", "codec_name": "mjpeg", "disposition": {"attached_pic": 1}}
+        )
+    if video:
+        codec, pix = video
+        streams.append({"codec_type": "video", "codec_name": codec, "pix_fmt": pix})
+    if audio:
+        streams.append({"codec_type": "audio", "codec_name": audio})
+    return {"streams": streams, "format": {"format_name": fmt}}
+
+
+# (probe, extension) -> (ext, reencode_video, reencode_audio, needs_change)
+CASES = {
+    "h264 8-bit + aac in mp4": (_data(("h264", "yuv420p"), "aac"), "mp4", ("mp4", 0, 0, 0)),
+    "full-range h264 is still 8-bit 4:2:0": (
+        _data(("h264", "yuvj420p"), "aac"),
+        "mp4",
+        ("mp4", 0, 0, 0),
+    ),
+    "10-bit h264": (_data(("h264", "yuv420p10le"), "aac"), "mp4", ("mp4", 1, 0, 1)),
+    "4:4:4 h264": (_data(("h264", "yuv444p"), "aac"), "mp4", ("mp4", 1, 0, 1)),
+    "hevc (an iPhone's .mov)": (_data(("hevc", "yuv420p10le"), "aac"), "mov", ("mp4", 1, 0, 1)),
+    "vp9 + opus webm": (_data(("vp9", "yuv420p"), "opus"), "webm", ("mp4", 1, 1, 1)),
+    "av1": (_data(("av1", "yuv420p"), "aac"), "mp4", ("mp4", 1, 0, 1)),
+    "h264 + aac in mkv: remux only": (_data(("h264", "yuv420p"), "aac"), "mkv", ("mp4", 0, 0, 1)),
+    "h264 + opus in mp4": (_data(("h264", "yuv420p"), "opus"), "mp4", ("mp4", 0, 1, 1)),
+    "mp3 beside video in mp4": (_data(("h264", "yuv420p"), "mp3"), "mp4", ("mp4", 0, 1, 1)),
+    "a silent h264 video": (_data(("h264", "yuv420p")), "mp4", ("mp4", 0, 0, 0)),
+    "mp3": (_data(audio="mp3", fmt="mp3"), "mp3", ("mp3", 0, 0, 0)),
+    "mp3 with cover art": (_data(audio="mp3", fmt="mp3", cover=True), "mp3", ("mp3", 0, 0, 0)),
+    "mp3 inside an mp4: remux to .mp3": (_data(audio="mp3"), "mp4", ("mp3", 0, 0, 1)),
+    "aac in m4a": (_data(audio="aac"), "m4a", ("m4a", 0, 0, 0)),
+    "aac audio-only in mp4: remux to .m4a": (_data(audio="aac"), "mp4", ("m4a", 0, 0, 1)),
+    "opus in ogg": (_data(audio="opus", fmt="ogg"), "ogg", ("m4a", 0, 1, 1)),
+}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("name", CASES)
+def test_the_plan_for_each_class(name):
+    data, ext, (want_ext, rv, ra, needs) = CASES[name]
+    p = playable.plan(data, ext)
+    assert p is not None
+    assert (p.ext, p.reencode_video, p.reencode_audio, p.needs_change) == (
+        want_ext,
+        bool(rv),
+        bool(ra),
+        bool(needs),
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "data",
+    [
+        None,  # ffprobe could not read it
+        {"streams": [], "format": {"format_name": "pdf"}},
+        _data(("png", "rgb24"), fmt="png_pipe"),  # a still image is a download-only file
+    ],
+)
+def test_a_file_that_is_not_media_has_no_plan(data):
+    assert playable.plan(data, "bin") is None
+
+
+def test_the_extension_is_read_with_or_without_its_dot():
+    data = _data(("h264", "yuv420p"), "aac")
+    assert playable.plan(data, ".MP4") == playable.plan(data, "mp4")
+    assert not playable.plan(data, ".MP4").needs_change
+
+
+def test_a_video_re_encode_pins_8_bit_420_and_maps_only_the_judged_streams():
+    p = playable.Plan("mp4", True, True, False, True)
+    cmd = playable.build_cmd(Path("/in.mov"), Path("/out.mp4"), p)
+    assert cmd[cmd.index("-pix_fmt") + 1] == "yuv420p"
+    assert cmd[cmd.index("-c:v") + 1] == "libx264"
+    assert cmd[cmd.index("-c:a") + 1] == "copy"
+    maps = [cmd[i + 1] for i, a in enumerate(cmd) if a == "-map"]
+    assert maps == ["0:V:0", "0:a:0?"]  # never cover art, never a subtitle the muxer refuses
+    assert cmd[-3:] == ["-movflags", "+faststart", "/out.mp4"]
+
+
+def test_an_audio_remux_copies_the_audio_alone():
+    p = playable.Plan("mp3", False, False, False, True)
+    cmd = playable.build_cmd(Path("/in.mp4"), Path("/out.mp3"), p)
+    assert [cmd[i + 1] for i, a in enumerate(cmd) if a == "-map"] == ["0:a:0"]
+    assert "-c:v" not in cmd and "-pix_fmt" not in cmd
+    assert cmd[cmd.index("-c:a") + 1] == "copy"
+    assert "-movflags" not in cmd  # an .mp3 has no moov atom to move
+
+
+# --- the real encoder ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _ffmpeg(*args: str) -> None:
+    subprocess.run(["ffmpeg", "-y", "-loglevel", "error", *args], check=True)
+
+
+def _convert(src: Path, tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
+    p = playable.plan(probe.probe_json(src), src.suffix)
+    assert p is not None and p.needs_change
+    dest = tmp_path / f"out.{p.ext}"
+    subprocess.run(playable.build_cmd(src, dest, p), check=True, capture_output=True)
+    return dest
+
+
+@needs_ffmpeg
+def test_a_10_bit_matroska_with_opus_comes_out_phone_safe(tmp_path):
+    src = tmp_path / "in.mkv"
+    _ffmpeg(
+        "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "testsrc2=size=160x120:rate=10:duration=1",
+        "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "sine=duration=1",
+        "-c:v", "libx264", "-pix_fmt", "yuv420p10le", "-c:a", "libopus",
+        str(src),
+    )  # fmt: skip
+    out = _convert(src, tmp_path)
+    data = probe.probe_json(out)
+    video, audio = probe.primary_streams(data)
+    assert (video["codec_name"], video["pix_fmt"], video["profile"]) == ("h264", "yuv420p", "High")
+    assert audio["codec_name"] == "aac"
+    assert out.suffix == ".mp4"
+    assert not playable.plan(data, out.suffix).needs_change  # the rule accepts its own output
+
+
+@needs_ffmpeg
+def test_mp3_inside_an_mp4_comes_out_as_an_mp3(tmp_path):
+    # The one unsafe file prod held: an audio download remuxed into .mp4, which iPhone and iPad
+    # both refused to play.
+    src = tmp_path / "in.mp4"
+    _ffmpeg("-f", "lavfi", "-i", "sine=duration=1", "-c:a", "libmp3lame", "-f", "mp4", str(src))
+    out = _convert(src, tmp_path)
+    data = probe.probe_json(out)
+    assert out.suffix == ".mp3"
+    assert probe.primary_streams(data)[1]["codec_name"] == "mp3"
+    assert not playable.plan(data, out.suffix).needs_change
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_public_unlock_limit.py b/backend/tests/test_public_unlock_limit.py
index 816575a2..d4fc12d6 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_public_unlock_limit.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_public_unlock_limit.py
@@ -20,7 +20,10 @@ _PW = "open sesame"
 @pytest.fixture
 def unlock_url(as_user, make_user, tmp_path, monkeypatch, upload_headers):
     monkeypatch.setattr(settings, "download_root", str(tmp_path))
-    monkeypatch.setattr(probemod, "probe_media", lambda _p: ("h264", "aac", 320, 240, 5))
+    video = {"codec_type": "video", "codec_name": "h264", "pix_fmt": "yuv420p"}
+    audio = {"codec_type": "audio", "codec_name": "aac"}
+    data = {"streams": [video, audio], "format": {"format_name": "mov,mp4", "duration": "5"}}
+    monkeypatch.setattr(probemod, "probe_json", lambda _p: data)
     owner = as_user(make_user())
     job = owner.post(
         "/api/downloads/upload", content=b"fake-video", headers=upload_headers("clip.mp4")
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_upload.py b/backend/tests/test_upload.py
index 39de2ca2..db0699fd 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_upload.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_upload.py
@@ -7,15 +7,18 @@ guards that keep an upload out of paths that assume a re-fetchable source (edit
 
 DB-backed (real Postgres) — skipped when no database is reachable. `settings.download_root` is
 pointed at a per-test tmp dir so ingest's on-disk moves are isolated. The ingest/route tests
-monkeypatch the shared `probe.probe_media` so they don't shell out to ffprobe; the classifier's OWN
+monkeypatch the shared `probe.probe_json` so they don't shell out to ffprobe; the classifier's OWN
 parsing (image → file, cover-art skip, dims, duration) is covered directly by `TestProbeClassifier`
-below, which stubs one level down (`run_ffprobe_json`) and exercises the real `probe_media`.
+below, which stubs one level down (`run_ffprobe_json`) and exercises the real `probe_media`. The
+phone-safe conversion of an upload runs the real ffmpeg (`TestPhoneSafeUpload`).
 """
 
 import ast
 import asyncio
 import io
 import pathlib
+import shutil
+import subprocess
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import pytest
@@ -25,9 +28,11 @@ from app.config import settings
 from app.routes._common import capped_stream_to
 from sqlalchemy import select
 
-from app.downloads import mediakind, quota, storage
+from app.downloads import gc as gcmod
+from app.downloads import mediakind, pipeline, playable, quota, service, storage
 from app.downloads import probe as probemod
 from app.downloads import upload as uploadmod
+from app.downloads.stated import StatedFailure
 from app.models import DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX, DownloadJob, DownloadQuota, MediaAsset
 
 
@@ -51,9 +56,20 @@ def _root(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
 
 
 def _probe(monkeypatch, result):
-    # upload ingest now calls the shared `probe.probe_media` (same ground-truth ffprobe the download
-    # worker uses); patch it at that shared home.
-    monkeypatch.setattr(probemod, "probe_media", lambda _p: result)
+    """Stub the shared ffprobe call (`probe.probe_json`, the same ground truth the download worker
+    reads) with the JSON a file of these (vcodec, acodec, width, height, duration) would give — its
+    video 8-bit 4:2:0, so an H.264 + AAC .mp4 is already phone-safe and ingests straight to `done`.
+    All-None is a file ffprobe could not read."""
+    v, a, w, h, d = result
+    streams = []
+    if v:
+        streams.append(
+            {"codec_type": "video", "codec_name": v, "pix_fmt": "yuv420p", "width": w, "height": h}
+        )
+    if a:
+        streams.append({"codec_type": "audio", "codec_name": a})
+    data = {"streams": streams, "format": {"format_name": "mov,mp4", "duration": d}}
+    monkeypatch.setattr(probemod, "probe_json", lambda _p: data if streams else None)
 
 
 def test_ingest_generic_file_is_download_only(db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch):
@@ -281,7 +297,7 @@ def test_upload_route_generic_forces_download(
 
 
 def test_upload_route_media_html_extension_not_served_as_html(
-    as_user, make_user, _root, monkeypatch, upload_headers
+    db, as_user, make_user, _root, monkeypatch, upload_headers
 ):
     """The XSS guard: a MEDIA-classified upload (real codecs) named with an executable extension must
     NOT be served with a guessed text/html type. The served Content-Type comes from the verified
@@ -298,6 +314,14 @@ def test_upload_route_media_html_extension_not_served_as_html(
     assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
     job = r.json()
     assert job["asset"]["media_kind"] == "video" and job["asset"]["container"] == "html"
+    # Media in no phone-safe container is queued for conversion to .mp4, so today it is never served
+    # as .html at all. The serving guard below is the second line: a row from before that rule (or
+    # one whose conversion is skipped some day) must still not run as HTML.
+    assert job["status"] == "queued"
+    row = db.get(DownloadJob, job["id"])
+    db.get(MediaAsset, row.asset_id).status = "ready"
+    row.status = "done"
+    db.commit()
 
     # Authenticated endpoint: never text/html.
     fr = c.get(f"/api/downloads/{job['id']}/file")
@@ -1014,3 +1038,122 @@ class TestResolveMediaFacts:
         )
         assert (v, a) == (None, "aac")
         assert mediakind.derive(v, a) == mediakind.AUDIO
+
+
+# --- the phone-safe conversion (an iPhone's HEVC, a webm, an mkv) ------------------------------
+
+
+def _queued_upload(db, make_user, root, monkeypatch, name="clip.mov"):
+    """An upload no phone could play as it is: probed as HEVC, so ingest queues it."""
+    _probe(monkeypatch, ("hevc", "aac", 640, 360, 6))
+    src = root / "src.bin"
+    src.write_bytes(b"hevc bytes")
+    job = uploadmod.ingest_upload(db, make_user().id, filename=name, src_path=src, size=10)
+    return job, db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id)
+
+
+class TestPhoneSafeUpload:
+    def test_an_unsafe_video_is_queued_for_the_worker_not_done(
+        self, db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch
+    ):
+        job, asset = _queued_upload(db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch)
+        assert (job.status, job.progress, asset.status) == ("queued", 0, "pending")
+        assert asset.rel_path.endswith(".mov")  # the original waits at rel_path for the worker
+        assert storage.abs_path(str(_root), asset.rel_path).exists()
+
+    def test_a_safe_video_still_lands_done(self, db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch):
+        _probe(monkeypatch, ("h264", "aac", 640, 360, 6))
+        src = _root / "src.bin"
+        src.write_bytes(b"h264 bytes")
+        job = uploadmod.ingest_upload(
+            db, make_user().id, filename="clip.mp4", src_path=src, size=10
+        )
+        assert job.status == "done" and db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id).status == "ready"
+
+    def test_deleting_a_queued_upload_removes_its_original(self, db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch):
+        job, asset = _queued_upload(db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch)
+        path, asset_id = storage.abs_path(str(_root), asset.rel_path), asset.id
+        service.delete(db, job)
+        assert not path.exists()
+        assert db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id) is None
+
+    def test_one_cancelled_mid_conversion_is_reaped_once_the_worker_let_go(
+        self, db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch
+    ):
+        job, asset = _queued_upload(db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch)
+        path, asset_id = storage.abs_path(str(_root), asset.rel_path), asset.id
+        asset.status = "downloading"  # the worker child is reading the original
+        job.status = "running"
+        db.commit()
+        service.cancel(db, job)
+        assert path.exists()  # never pulled out from under a running ffmpeg
+        db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id).status = "pending"  # the worker stopped the child and let go
+        db.commit()
+        gcmod.run_download_gc(db)
+        db.expire_all()
+        assert not path.exists()
+        assert db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id) is None
+
+    def test_a_failed_conversion_keeps_the_original_for_retry(
+        self, db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch
+    ):
+        job, asset = _queued_upload(db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch)
+        path = storage.abs_path(str(_root), asset.rel_path)
+        job.status, asset.status = "running", "downloading"
+        db.commit()
+
+        def _ffmpeg_fails(*_a, **_k):
+            raise StatedFailure("ffmpeg failed (1): unsupported")
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(pipeline.editmod, "run_ffmpeg", _ffmpeg_fails)
+        pipeline._convert_upload(job.id, asset.id)
+        db.expire_all()
+        assert (db.get(DownloadJob, job.id).status, db.get(MediaAsset, asset.id).status) == (
+            "error",
+            "error",
+        )
+        assert path.exists()
+        service.resume(db, db.get(DownloadJob, job.id))
+        assert db.get(MediaAsset, asset.id).status == "pending"  # Retry converts from it again
+
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("ffmpeg") is None, reason="ffmpeg not available")
+    def test_the_worker_converts_it_and_keeps_only_the_safe_file(
+        self, db, make_user, _root, monkeypatch
+    ):
+        # Real bytes, real probe, real ffmpeg: a 10-bit H.264 + Opus Matroska, the kind of file
+        # that reached the share page as-is before this rule.
+        src = _root / "src.mkv"
+        subprocess.run(
+            [
+                "ffmpeg", "-y", "-loglevel", "error",
+                "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "testsrc2=size=160x120:rate=10:duration=1",
+                "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "sine=duration=1",
+                "-c:v", "libx264", "-pix_fmt", "yuv420p10le", "-c:a", "libopus", str(src),
+            ],
+            check=True,
+        )  # fmt: skip
+        job = uploadmod.ingest_upload(
+            db, make_user().id, filename="holiday.mkv", src_path=src, size=src.stat().st_size
+        )
+        asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id)
+        original = storage.abs_path(str(_root), asset.rel_path)
+        assert job.status == "queued"
+        job.status, asset.status = "running", "downloading"  # what the worker's claim does
+        db.commit()
+
+        pipeline._convert_upload(job.id, asset.id)
+
+        db.expire_all()
+        asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id)
+        assert db.get(DownloadJob, job.id).status == "done"
+        assert (asset.status, asset.container, asset.vcodec, asset.acodec) == (
+            "ready",
+            "mp4",
+            "h264",
+            "aac",
+        )
+        final = storage.abs_path(str(_root), asset.rel_path)
+        assert final.suffix == ".mp4" and final.exists()
+        assert asset.size_bytes == final.stat().st_size
+        assert not original.exists()  # one file per upload
+        assert not playable.plan(probemod.probe_json(final), final.suffix).needs_change
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.dom.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.dom.test.tsx
index 4a3ca217..097d0561 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.dom.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.dom.test.tsx
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import { render, screen, fireEvent, waitFor, cleanup } from "@testing-library/re
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
 
 const h = vi.hoisted(() => ({
-  uploadDownload: vi.fn(async (_f: File, _o: unknown) => ({ id: 42 })),
+  uploadDownload: vi.fn(async (_f: File, _o: unknown) => ({ id: 42, status: "done" })),
   // The dialog reads the per-file upload cap so it can refuse an over-cap file before spending the
   // user's bandwidth on it. Generous by default; the cap test below lowers it.
   downloadUsage: vi.fn(async () => ({ upload_max_bytes: 1_000_000 })),
@@ -78,9 +78,25 @@ describe("UploadDialog", () => {
     expect(passedFile).toBe(f);
     expect((opts as { displayName?: string }).displayName).toBe("My notes");
     await waitFor(() => expect(h.notify).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1));
+    expect(h.notify.mock.calls[0]![0]).toMatchObject({ message: "downloads.upload.added" });
     await waitFor(() => expect(onClose).toHaveBeenCalled());
   });
 
+  it("says so when the server queued the upload for its phone-safe conversion", async () => {
+    // A video no phone could play as it is (an iPhone's HEVC .mov) comes back `queued`, not `done`:
+    // "File uploaded" alone would send the user to a Library row that is still converting.
+    h.uploadDownload.mockResolvedValueOnce({ id: 43, status: "queued" });
+    wrap();
+    fireEvent.change(fileInput(), {
+      target: { files: [new File(["x"], "clip.mov", { type: "video/quicktime" })] },
+    });
+    fireEvent.click(screen.getByText("downloads.upload.submit"));
+    await waitFor(() => expect(h.notify).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1));
+    expect(h.notify.mock.calls[0]![0]).toMatchObject({
+      message: "downloads.upload.addedConverting",
+    });
+  });
+
   it("keeps Upload disabled until a file is chosen", () => {
     wrap();
     const btn = screen.getByText("downloads.upload.submit").closest("button")!;
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.tsx b/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.tsx
index d410e70e..414624e4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/UploadDialog.tsx
@@ -19,7 +19,14 @@ import { Input } from "./ui/Input";
 // Local-file ingest. A general upload — ANY file type, no format list: media
 // (video/audio) joins the library with the full function set, a generic file is download-only. The
 // file is streamed to the server via XHR so this dialog can show real upload progress. On success it
-// lands in the Library as an already-`done` job, so we invalidate + point the user there.
+// lands in the Library as an already-`done` job — or, for media no phone could play as it is (an
+// iPhone's HEVC, a webm, an mkv), as a `queued` job the worker converts first — so we invalidate,
+// say which, and point the user there.
+// Out here, not inline in the upload handler: a `?:` inside its `try` makes the React Compiler
+// skip the whole dialog.
+const uploadedKey = (status: string) =>
+  status === "done" ? "downloads.upload.added" : "downloads.upload.addedConverting";
+
 export default function UploadDialog({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
   const { t, i18n } = useTranslation();
   const lang = i18n.language;
@@ -73,7 +80,7 @@ export default function UploadDialog({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
     setPct(0);
     const displayName = name.trim() || undefined;
     try {
-      await api.uploadDownload(file, {
+      const job = await api.uploadDownload(file, {
         displayName,
         onProgress: setPct,
         signal: ac.signal,
@@ -81,7 +88,7 @@ export default function UploadDialog({ onClose }: { onClose: () => void }) {
       invalidateDownloads(qc);
       notify({
         level: "success",
-        message: t("downloads.upload.added"),
+        message: t(uploadedKey(job.status)),
         action: { label: t("downloads.dialog.view"), onClick: () => navigateTo("downloads") },
       });
       onClose();
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/downloads.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/downloads.json
index a385c9ce..95684f65 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/downloads.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/en/downloads.json
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
     "uploading": "Uploading… {{pct}}%",
     "uploadProgress": "Upload progress",
     "added": "File uploaded",
+    "addedConverting": "File uploaded — converting it so it plays on any phone",
     "failed": "Couldn't upload the file"
   },
   "tabs": {
diff --git a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/downloads.json b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/downloads.json
index 0e9c92e9..8371a869 100644
--- a/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/downloads.json
+++ b/frontend/src/i18n/locales/hu/downloads.json
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
     "uploading": "Feltöltés… {{pct}}%",
     "uploadProgress": "Feltöltés folyamata",
     "added": "Fájl feltöltve",
+    "addedConverting": "Fájl feltöltve — átalakítjuk, hogy minden telefonon lejátszható legyen",
     "failed": "Nem sikerült feltölteni a fájlt"
   },
   "tabs": {
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts
index 2c05db1d..fcac578d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api/downloads.ts
@@ -196,7 +196,8 @@ export const downloadsApi = {
   }): Promise<DownloadJob> => req("/api/downloads", { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify(body) }),
   // Ingest a local file into the library. Sent via XHR rather than `req` so the dialog can
   // show upload progress; any file type is accepted (media gets the full function set, a generic
-  // file is download-only). Returns the already-`done` job the ingest creates.
+  // file is download-only). Returns the job the ingest creates: `done`, or `queued` while the
+  // worker converts media no phone could play as it is (`downloads/upload.py`).
   // The body IS the file, and the two names ride as headers. Not a style choice: a multipart part is
   // a DECLARED body, which FastAPI reads and spools BEFORE the route's `current_user` dependency
   // runs — so with the old shape an unauthenticated caller could make the server write the whole