release: 0.106.0 (feature/e39-files)

- past the list's cap a search waits in a skeleton, never showing the newest files' 'no match' for a
  file the server is about to find; a sort keeps its stand-in rows
- the viewer keeps the file it was opened on when a server answer replaces the rows under it
- a drop another zone took still clears the page's drop overlay
- 'The first N items' only for a server sort; the past-the-end notice no longer claims the file exists
- a failed server search is tested to say so

.dockerignore

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 *.env.local
 **/__pycache__/
 **/*.pyc
+**/.coverage
 .venv/
 venv/
 # Docker patterns are anchored at the context root with NO implicit `**/` (unlike .gitignore, where

.env.example

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ ALLOWED_EMAILS=
 # Admin emails (subset of the above) get the admin role.
 ADMIN_EMAILS=
 
-# Logging (E22). LOG_LEVEL is the BOOTSTRAP level — the level a process starts at and the only one
+# Logging. LOG_LEVEL is the BOOTSTRAP level — the level a process starts at and the only one
 # the worker/download child read; the API's running level is the admin Configuration page's
 # `log_level` knob, which takes effect without a restart. TRACE | DEBUG | INFO | WARNING | ERROR, in
 # any letter case; any other value stops the boot with an error. LOG_FORMAT is "json" (one object per
@@ -73,13 +73,13 @@ SMTP_FROM=
 # of them and false on the rest, to avoid double quota use and write races.
 SCHEDULER_ENABLED=true
 
-# --- Download center ---
-# The Download Center adds a `worker` container (runs the yt-dlp/ffmpeg job loop) and a small
+# --- Files library & downloads ---
+# Downloading adds a `worker` container (runs the yt-dlp/ffmpeg job loop) and a small
 # `bgutil-pot` sidecar (mints YouTube tokens) — both come up automatically with docker compose.
-# Downloaded media defaults to a Docker-managed named volume. Set DOWNLOAD_HOST_PATH to a host
+# The Files library defaults to a Docker-managed named volume. Set FILES_HOST_PATH to a host
 # directory instead — e.g. one your Plex server can read — to keep the Plex-style tree there.
 # The path must be writable by the container user (uid of `appuser`, 1000): chown 1000:1000 <dir>.
-# DOWNLOAD_HOST_PATH=/mnt/media/youtube
+# FILES_HOST_PATH=/mnt/media/youtube
 
 # --- Plex integration (optional) ---
 # The optional Plex module browses/plays your Plex library, playing the LOCAL physical file
@@ -89,6 +89,6 @@ SCHEDULER_ENABLED=true
 # to /plex-media inside the container (the local side of the admin "path map", whose default is
 # /data=/plex-media). Leave unset if you don't use Plex.
 # PLEX_MEDIA_HOST_PATH=/mnt/media
-# Optional: scratch dir for on-the-fly HLS remux segments. Defaults to DOWNLOAD_ROOT; point it at
+# Optional: scratch dir for on-the-fly HLS remux segments. Defaults to FILES_ROOT; point it at
 # fast local storage if your download volume is slow.
 # PLEX_HLS_DIR=/var/tmp/plex-hls

.git-blame-ignore-revs

@@ -2,8 +2,11 @@
 # whole-repo reformatting does not bury the real authorship of each line.
 # Configure once per clone:  git config blame.ignoreRevsFile .git-blame-ignore-revs
 #
-# Prettier one-time repo-wide format pass (R2 S1b, 2026-07-21)
+# Prettier one-time repo-wide format pass (2026-07-21)
 51c36c2071728d2cd7ae580b7bfdf21f6867a347
 
 # ruff format one-time backend + scripts pass (line-length 100, 2026-08-23)
 b1832afd180866b922521148603db447020c57a4
+
+# Plan-code purge from comments, one-time (2026-10-04)
+4aaaaa786017278460e0b4f94cc0d3374e0e37e2

.gitea/workflows/check.yml

@@ -1,119 +0,0 @@
-# Server-side mirror of the local `siftlode check` gate (E1 S3 / DX-1), so `main` is always green
-# independent of any one machine. Two jobs match the two local lanes:
-#   frontend — tsc (3 projects) + eslint + prettier --check + knip + vitest
-#   backend  — ruff + the full pytest suite (pure-logic + the DB-backed lane) against a real Postgres
-#
-# They are declared side by side but they DO NOT run in parallel: the lab has a single act_runner
-# with one slot, so they queue. Measured across runs #86-#91 — the backend job starts at the exact
-# second the frontend one ends, every time, and the pair costs ~4 + ~6 = **~10 minutes from the
-# push**. Anything that waits on this gate has to budget for the sum, not the max; the ops
-# `release` read-back timed out on its first real run for believing otherwise.
-#
-# Runner: the lab act_runner (LXC 115) mounts the Docker socket, so service containers work. The backend
-# runs pytest NATIVELY against a `postgres` service (not the local docker-compose.test.yml, whose
-# bind-mount is unreliable under a mounted-socket runner); fidelity is kept by installing the SAME pinned
-# requirements, Postgres 16, and ffmpeg, and by setting SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1 so a DB/ffmpeg that
-# failed to come up is a hard error, never a silent skip.
-#
-# The frontend container's node major is NOT free: it must equal the prod build image's and the dev
-# machine's, because vitest/tsc read the engine's own Intl and web-API implementations and those split
-# between majors. `.nvmrc` is the single source of truth and
-# `frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts` fails this gate if any of them drift apart.
-name: gate
-
-# Branch pushes only. A release pushes `main` and then the `v<ver>` tag, and a bare `on: [push]`
-# treated the tag as a second push of the IDENTICAL commit — every release ran this whole gate
-# twice, to the same verdict, for nothing (runs #81-#90 are five such pairs). `branches: ['**']`
-# keeps every branch covered and drops tag refs.
-#
-# It has to be `branches`, NOT the `tags-ignore` this obviously wants to be. Gitea's matchPushEvent
-# requires EVERY named filter to match, and each one bails on the wrong ref kind: `tags-ignore`
-# starts with `if !refName.IsTag() { break }`, so a filter meant to skip tags rejects every BRANCH
-# push and the gate stops running entirely. `branches` bails the same way on a tag, which is the
-# direction we want. (Measured in go-gitea v1.27.3 modules/actions/workflows.go, not assumed — it
-# differs from GitHub, where `tags-ignore` alone leaves branches unfiltered.)
-#
-# If that filter were ever wrong the gate would not run at all — which is why `siftlode release`
-# now ends by reading the verdict back for the sha it pushed, and says so out loud when there is
-# no run for it. A gate that silently stops running is the failure this repo already lived through.
-on:
-  push:
-    branches: ["**"]
-  pull_request:
-
-jobs:
-  frontend:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    container: node:24-bookworm
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        working-directory: frontend
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - run: npm ci
-      - run: npm run typecheck
-      - run: npm run lint
-      - run: npm run format:check
-      - run: npm run knip
-      - run: npm run test
-
-  backend:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    # A combined python+node image: python 3.12 (matches the prod Dockerfile) for the tests, and node
-    # so the JS actions (checkout) run. actions/setup-python is NOT usable here — the runner can't reach
-    # GitHub's python-versions download, so it must be baked into the image.
-    #
-    # This node runs the checkout action, never our code, so it is deliberately OUTSIDE the engine
-    # contract the frontend job is held to — it tracks `.nvmrc` as hygiene (node 20 went EOL in April
-    # 2026), but a missing upstream tag here must never be able to block the gate.
-    container: nikolaik/python-nodejs:python3.12-nodejs24
-    services:
-      postgres:
-        image: postgres:16-alpine
-        env:
-          POSTGRES_USER: siftlode
-          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: siftlode
-          POSTGRES_DB: siftlode_test
-        options: >-
-          --health-cmd "pg_isready -U siftlode -d siftlode_test"
-          --health-interval 2s
-          --health-timeout 3s
-          --health-retries 30
-    env:
-      DATABASE_URL: postgresql+psycopg://siftlode:siftlode@postgres:5432/siftlode_test
-      SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB: "1"
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      # ffmpeg for the poster/thumbnail tests; postgresql-client for the readiness wait below.
-      - run: apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ffmpeg postgresql-client
-      - name: Wait for Postgres
-        run: until pg_isready -h postgres -U siftlode -d siftlode_test; do sleep 1; done
-      - run: pip install --no-cache-dir -r backend/requirements.lock -r backend/requirements-dev.txt
-      - name: ruff
-        run: python -m ruff check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts
-      - name: ruff format --check
-        run: python -m ruff format --check --config backend/ruff.toml backend scripts
-      # The ninth lane (E27 S3). Run from backend/ so it resolves exactly as the local lane does —
-      # pyrightconfig.json's include/extraPaths are relative to the config, but the baseline is
-      # found relative to the working directory. New errors fail; the ~200 pre-existing ones are in
-      # .basedpyright/baseline.json and burn down epic by epic. Matching is per (file, rule, column
-      # span) plus a count, so a new error of the SAME shape in a file where a sibling was just
-      # fixed is absorbed — burn the hot files down first.
-      #
-      # The second step is not redundant. basedpyright TIGHTENS the baseline in place when the count
-      # drops, with no --writebaseline, and CI throws its workspace away — so without this a
-      # burn-down is green here and red on the developer's `siftlode check`, which has the same
-      # guard. Two gates over one tree must not answer differently.
-      - name: basedpyright
-        run: python -m basedpyright --project pyrightconfig.json
-        working-directory: backend
-      - name: basedpyright baseline is committed
-        run: git diff --exit-code -- backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json
-      - name: pytest
-        run: python -m pytest
-        working-directory: backend
-      # Dependency CVE audit over the pinned lock. Non-blocking for now (informational) — a real CVE
-      # shows up in the run without failing the gate; tighten to a hard fail once the noise is known.
-      - name: pip-audit (advisory)
-        run: pip install --no-cache-dir pip-audit && pip-audit -r backend/requirements.lock
-        continue-on-error: true

.gitignore

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ __pycache__/
 venv/
 .mypy_cache/
 .pytest_cache/
+.coverage
 .ruff_cache/
 
 # Node / frontend
@@ -28,9 +29,9 @@ frontend/e2e/.auth/
 *.sql.gz
 backups/
 
-# Download center: locally downloaded media (the DOWNLOAD_ROOT bind mount at the repo root).
+# Download center: locally downloaded media (the FILES_ROOT bind mount at the repo root).
 # Anchored with a leading slash so it does NOT also ignore the backend/app/downloads package.
-/downloads/
+/files/
 
 # OS / editor
 .DS_Store
@@ -41,3 +42,4 @@ Thumbs.db
 # TypeScript incremental build artifacts — machine-local, absolute-path-bearing, and no gate lane
 # reads or regenerates them, so a committed one is stale from the commit that adds it.
 *.tsbuildinfo
+frontend/e2e/.speed/

.trivyignore.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# The CVE gate's allowlist. The publish gate scans the built image and the committed tree with
+# Trivy and fails on any HIGH or CRITICAL finding that has a fix available. A finding that cannot be
+# fixed yet is let through ONLY by an entry here, and every entry carries both:
+#   statement   — why it is acceptable for now (what is exposed, what is not)
+#   expired_at  — the date it stops being accepted; after it, the gate fails again on its own
+# A contract test (frontend/src/lib/gates.contract.test.ts) refuses an entry without either, and
+# docs/gates.md lists them.
+#
+# Example:
+#   vulnerabilities:
+#     - id: CVE-2026-00000
+#       statement: in libfoo's XML path, which nothing in the image calls; no fixed Debian build yet
+#       expired_at: 2026-12-31
+vulnerabilities: []
+secrets: []

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,118 @@ edit the release notes and re-run the generator.
 
 Upgrading, pinning a version and rolling back: [docs/self-hosting.md](docs/self-hosting.md#upgrading).
 
+## 0.106.0 — 2026-10-13
+
+### New
+
+- Files: one library for everything you keep — downloads, clips and your own uploads of any file — in a folder per site plus folders of your own, each keeping its files as long as you choose. Documents, pictures and text open in a viewer.
+- Downloads: paste a link anywhere on a page to download it, and the tray shows what is running and what is done. The Downloads page is gone: your files are in Files, and your download settings are under Settings › Downloads.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Self-hosting: the library is now mounted at /files (FILES_HOST_PATH). Old settings keep working; if you used the default volume, copy it over once — see the upgrade notes.
+
+## 0.105.0 — 2026-10-10
+
+### New
+
+- Clips: mark a range of what you're watching — a YouTube video or a Plex item — set its ends to the tenth, crop it to a frame drawn on the picture, and cut it straight into your downloads.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Downloads: a download, a clip or an editor clip that doesn't fit in the storage you have left says so, and is never stored over your cap; YouTube downloads reach their format's height again.
+- Player: focus rings, the chosen track or tab, sliders and the progress bar's head are amber on the dark player in every theme, so they show in a light theme too.
+
+## 0.104.0 — 2026-10-10
+
+### New
+
+- YouTube: a card's menu filters the feed to its channel and back, and the player gives the video more room — its side panel shuts on demand.
+- Plex: a card's picture plays it and its title opens its page; a show card puts on the episode it would continue or start, and an episode links up to its show.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Plex: summaries written as HTML read as clean text, and a Surprise draw stays put until you reshuffle. A video marked watched in the player stays out of an Unwatched feed. Plus smaller keyboard and focus fixes.
+
+## 0.103.0 — 2026-10-08
+
+### New
+
+- Plex: “Add to collection…” in a movie's or show's menu ticks the title into or out of your collections, or names a new one with it inside — one step instead of a trip to the Collections page.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Plex player: subtitles rise above the control bar while it shows and slide back when it hides, so the bar never covers them — on an iPad too.
+- iPad: the header search fits the touch screen, tooltips no longer stick, the Plex player page no longer scrolls or shows a blue band, and the fullscreen button stays hidden where the browser cannot really go fullscreen.
+- The playlist, collection and tag menus say when their list is loading or failed to load (with a retry) instead of showing it as empty, and work from the keyboard. Plus smaller fixes in the YouTube player's title line.
+
+## 0.102.0 — 2026-10-08
+
+### New
+
+- The library and shared-link players answer the keyboard's and the system's media keys, and resume where you stopped.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Plex player: the browser Back closes the panels over the video one at a time, and only the credits at the very end move on to the next episode. Plus smaller fixes around resume points and stopping a stream.
+
+## 0.101.0 — 2026-10-06
+
+### New
+
+- A shared link plays on any phone, iPhone and iPad included: downloads, clips and uploads are kept in a format every phone plays, and an upload in another format is converted after it arrives.
+- A shared link opens much faster: its page no longer loads the whole app.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- The YouTube player keeps its size on a short window and when maximised — before, it could shrink to a thin strip. Plus smaller fixes around uploads and clips.
+
+## 0.100.0 — 2026-10-05
+
+### New
+
+- Direct messages are gone: the Messages page, the chat dock and their encryption keys were removed with their stored messages, and the privacy policy no longer describes end-to-end encrypted chat.
+- The shared demo account is gone, with its sign-in entry and its whitelist.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Sign-in security without email: when a Google sign-in takes over an account someone else registered first, or makes it an admin through the admin list, its password is cleared and its sessions end. The owner sets a new one in Settings.
+- Pressing Back onto a page that no longer exists opens the feed instead of breaking the app.
+- Behind the scenes: tidier checks and comments across the code.
+
+## 0.99.2 — 2026-10-04
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Settings: the download worker's concurrency and the log level now take effect within seconds — before, the worker ignored both until it was rebuilt.
+- The YouTube quota history no longer grows forever: the daily cleanup prunes it after a year (Configuration → Quota → Quota history kept).
+- The live-search button no longer says a search spends the API quota: with the default website source the search itself is free. It names the cost when the official API is selected.
+
+## 0.99.1 — 2026-10-04
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Behind the scenes: every release is now checked by one script on the build machine, including the security audit of every dependency.
+
+## 0.99.0 — 2026-10-04
+
+### New
+
+- Nearly every screen is now compiled by the React Compiler, so lists and menus re-render less.
+- The channel list's row menu opens and closes without redrawing the table.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- A failed or empty answer from YouTube or Plex no longer empties a playlist, a mirror or your Plex watch history: Siftlode keeps what it had until a complete answer arrives.
+- Plex watch states un-watched on Plex now sync for each library on its own, even if another library is briefly unreachable.
+- A channel with no uploads no longer fails its backfill on every run.
+- “This playlist no longer exists” appears only for a list you picked yourself.
+- A filter on a deleted tag matches nothing and its chip says so, and the tag cleanup keeps tags a saved view filters on.
+- A channel filter names its channels from the first moment, and a playlist reopened from the cache keeps its rows.
+- The bug report opens on its title, and a dialog whose form loads late gives the form the focus once.
+- The Plex backdrop crossfade setting is respected even with reduced motion on.
+- Smaller fixes to keyboard focus, undo and loading states.
+
 ## 0.98.0 — 2026-10-03
 
 ### New

CLAUDE.md

@@ -5,20 +5,23 @@ be developed that way. This file is the rules of the road: read it before you to
 loaded into every agent session, so keep it **short and true**. A rule here that has gone stale is
 worse than no rule — if you change how the code works, change this file in the same commit.
 
-Siftlode is a self-hosted YouTube reader (+ a local Plex browser/player and a download center). It is a
+Siftlode is a self-hosted YouTube reader (+ a local Plex browser/player and a files library with downloads). It is a
 **modular monolith**: one Postgres, one FastAPI process (uvicorn + APScheduler), one worker process
 (yt-dlp/ffmpeg), one PO-token sidecar. React 19 (with the React Compiler) + react-query frontend, with a
 router-free navigation provider.
 
 ## The gate — never merge or ship red
 
-The local gate is **ruff (`check` + `format --check`) + basedpyright (backend) + typecheck (3 tsc projects) + eslint + prettier
---check + knip + vitest + pytest**. It runs on every `publish`, which **refuses to build on failure — there is deliberately no
-`--skip` flag.** Run it and get it green **before** any merge, release, or handing work to review.
+The local gate is **ruff (`check` + `format --check`) + basedpyright (backend) + the lock check + typecheck (3 tsc projects) +
+eslint + prettier --check + knip + vitest + vite build + pytest + pip-audit + npm audit**. It runs
+before every `release` merges and on every `publish`, which **refuses to build on failure — there is deliberately no `--skip`
+flag**; a release also requires the Playwright suite, and the image must pass a Trivy scan before it is pushed. Run it and get it
+green **before** any merge, release, or handing work to review.
 
-- Full gate (agents with the private ops dispatcher): `siftlode check`.
-- Directly, without the dispatcher: `cd frontend && npm run typecheck && npm run lint && npm run knip && npm run test`, plus backend `ruff check backend` + `ruff format --check backend` and `pytest` (the DB-lane needs Postgres).
-- **The backend type lane runs in the test image, not on the host** — `requirements.lock` cannot be installed on Windows (uvloop), and a type checker without the real packages reports nonsense. It fails on NEW errors only; the pre-existing ones sit in `backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json` and burn down epic by epic. Fixed some? Regenerate with `--writebaseline`.
+- Full gate: `bash scripts/check.sh` (`lint` for the static lanes only); the private ops dispatcher's `siftlode check` runs the same script. Single lanes: [`docs/development.md`](docs/development.md) § The gate.
+- **There is no CI** (owner, 2026-10-04): this gate, run here, is the only one — green before every hand-over, and `release` refuses to merge without it.
+- **A gate with any real hit is never switched off or narrowed** — not a lint rule, a compiler flag, a lane or a release step. Fix the sites, or suppress each one inline naming its invariant (`-- why`, lint-enforced). What stays narrowed is in [`docs/gates.md`](docs/gates.md), and a contract test fails when a narrowing is missing from it. The effective ESLint config of every scope and the gate/lane lines are pinned in `frontend/src/lib/gates.snapshot.json`: any gate change fails until you regenerate it (`GATE_SNAPSHOT=update`, see gates.md) — then read that diff as a gate change. A comment saying "X is enforced by Y" is checked by running Y (E32: one such comment hid 95 functions the React Compiler skipped).
+- **The backend type lane runs in the test image, not on the host** — `requirements.lock` cannot be installed on Windows (uvloop), and a type checker without the real packages reports nonsense. It fails on NEW errors only; the pre-existing ones sit in `backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json` (no burn-down mandate, but none was ever triaged: a `reportOptional*` entry in code you touch may be a real bug). A run that fixed some rewrites it — commit that.
 - New DB-backed test? It must actually run, not silently skip — assume `SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=1`.
 
 ## Workflow
@@ -60,9 +63,10 @@ how it gets built. Concretely:
 
 `routes/*` (HTTP only: validation, auth-dependency, serialization) → domain packages `sync/`, `plex/`,
 `downloads/`, `youtube/`, `issues/` (shared by routes + scheduler + worker) → flat core (`auth`, `quota`,
-`sysconfig`, `state`, `audit`, `notifications`, `userscope`, `realtime`, `ratelimit`, `bodylimit`, `progress`, `collation`,
+`sysconfig`, `state`, `audit`, `notifications`, `userscope`, `ratelimit`, `bodylimit`, `progress`, `collation`,
 `security`, `logs`, `logsink`, `diagnostics`, `debugsession`) → `models/db/config`. **Dependency direction is one-way: core never imports routes.**
-Frontend: `main.tsx` provider tree → `App.tsx` shell → `moduleRegistry` route-chunks → module
+Frontend: `main.tsx` provider tree → `App.tsx` shell (a shared `/watch` link boots from its own
+entry, `watch.html` → `watchMain.tsx`, held app-free by a contract test) → `moduleRegistry` route-chunks → module
 components → the **platform layer `components/ui/`** (domain-free primitives: the popover engine and
 its menus, `Modal`/`Overlay`, `Button`/`form`, `DataTable`/`VirtualGrid`, `QueryState`, …). That
 boundary is one-way and **lint-enforced**, not just described: a platform component may not import a
@@ -77,37 +81,40 @@ CQRS, a repository/DI framework, a router library, a generic CRUD-router factory
 
 ## Canonical patterns — when you have a choice, pick THIS
 
-| Area                                 | Use                                                                                                                     | Not                                                                                  |
-| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
-| ORM                                  | SQLAlchemy 2.0 `select()`                                                                                               | `db.query(...)`                                                                      |
-| Request body                         | a Pydantic model                                                                                                        | `payload: dict`                                                                      |
-| Request SIZE                         | nothing — `bodylimit` caps every route (SEC-20); need more? add a ceiling to `ROUTE_MAX_BODY_BYTES`                     | `capped_body` on a route that does not read raw bytes itself                         |
-| Ownership check                      | `owned_or_404` / `get_or_404`                                                                                           | ad-hoc `_own_playlist`/`_owned`/`_own_job`                                           |
-| Admin gate import                    | `app.auth`                                                                                                              | the `app.routes.admin` re-export                                                     |
-| Upstream failure status              | `422` with JSON detail                                                                                                  | `502` (reserve 502 for raw byte-proxies)                                             |
-| User-facing error                    | structured `detail` (`{code, reason}`)                                                                                  | a bare English string under a bilingual UI                                           |
-| Mutation response                    | `{"ok": true, …}` (`{"deleted": id}`), test-held                                                                        | a bare `{"unsubscribed"}`/`{"cleared": n}`, no `ok`                                  |
-| Transaction commit                   | the handler commits; helpers `flush` (test-held list)                                                                   | helpers that commit (only `quota` owns its session)                                  |
-| Admin knob storage                   | `sysconfig` (values)                                                                                                    | env / `app_state` / `scheduler_settings` scatter                                     |
-| Job status word                      | the `downloads/status.py` StrEnum                                                                                       | loose `"canceled"`/`"cancelled"` literals                                            |
-| Current time                         | inline `datetime.now(timezone.utc)`                                                                                     | new `now_utc`/`_now` helpers                                                         |
-| FE per-account state                 | `usePref`                                                                                                               | raw `readAccount`/`writeAccount` or bespoke hooks                                    |
-| FE button                            | `ui/Button` (a `SIZES` rung) · `IconButton` · `Pressable` (a clickable card/row) · `Chip` · `DragHandle`                | a raw `<button>` or `FocusSafeButton` outside the control primitives (lint-enforced) |
-| FE keyboard shortcut                 | a row in `lib/keymap.ts` + `dispatch()`                                                                                 | a private `keydown` listener with its own key literals                               |
-| FE list/grid keys                    | `NavGrid`/`keyboardNav` + `navItemAttrs` + `data-nav-open`                                                              | a private arrow-key / roving-tabindex handler                                        |
-| FE view push (history)               | `rememberNavPosition()` right before `history.pushState`                                                                | a push that forgets: Back strands focus on `<body>`                                  |
-| FE text field / checkbox / slider    | `ui/Input` · `Textarea` · `InnerInput` in a `fieldClass` frame · `Checkbox`/`CheckRow` · `Slider`                       | a raw `<input>`/`<textarea>` anywhere but those primitives (lint-enforced)           |
-| FE glass surface                     | a role: `SURFACE.panel` / `card` / `menu` / `popover` / `tooltip` (`ui/surfaces.ts`)                                    | a bare `glass`/`glass-card`/`glass-menu` beside a hand-picked radius (lint-enforced) |
-| FE static label / button-like link   | `Badge` (flat, no edge) · `LinkButton` / `IconLink`                                                                     | a glass pill that reads as a chip; an `<a>` hand-painted like a button               |
-| FE control                           | `SegmentedToggle`; a long or user's list: `FilterSelect`                                                                | a native `<select>` (lint-enforced)                                                  |
-| FE loading/empty/error               | `QueryState` / `StateMessage`                                                                                           | ad-hoc conditionals                                                                  |
-| FE failed write                      | `meta.failTitle`, else `notifyActionError(err, title)`                                                                  | a bare `catch {}` or `notify()` with no error attached                               |
-| FE network call                      | `req`/`uploadReq`/`beacon`, or `lib/http.ts` `send` (public pages)                                                      | a bare `fetch`/`XMLHttpRequest`/`WebSocket` (lint-enforced)                          |
-| FE diagnostics                       | `lib/log.ts` (`log.info("event.code", msg, attrs)`); a filter change → `lib/filterLog.ts`, a player → `lib/mediaLog.ts` | `console.*` (lint-enforced); a value only a higher level may carry, logged unguarded |
-| FE state that MIRRORS a prop/query   | derive it, or hold a draft (`draft ?? server`)                                                                          | a copy an effect re-syncs — that paints the stale value first                        |
-| FE state reset on a key change       | adjust it DURING render against a remembered key                                                                        | `useEffect(() => setX(init), [key])`                                                 |
-| FE effect that must not re-subscribe | `useEffectEvent` (React 19.2+), else a latest-value ref                                                                 | an excused dep list asserting the same thing in prose                                |
-| FE hook suppression                  | an inline `eslint-disable-next-line` NAMING the invariant                                                               | `eslint-suppressions.json` (deliberately absent — E27 S2)                            |
+| Area                                 | Use                                                                                                                                                                                               | Not                                                                                                                                                     |
+| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| ORM                                  | SQLAlchemy 2.0 `select()`                                                                                                                                                                         | `db.query(...)`                                                                                                                                         |
+| Request body                         | a Pydantic model                                                                                                                                                                                  | `payload: dict`                                                                                                                                         |
+| Request SIZE                         | nothing — `bodylimit` caps every route (SEC-20); need more? add a ceiling to `ROUTE_MAX_BODY_BYTES`                                                                                               | `capped_body` on a route that does not read raw bytes itself                                                                                            |
+| Ownership check                      | `owned_or_404` / `get_or_404`                                                                                                                                                                     | ad-hoc `_own_playlist`/`_owned`/`_own_job`                                                                                                              |
+| Admin gate import                    | `app.auth`                                                                                                                                                                                        | the `app.routes.admin` re-export                                                                                                                        |
+| Upstream failure status              | `422` with JSON detail                                                                                                                                                                            | `502` (reserve 502 for raw byte-proxies)                                                                                                                |
+| User-facing error                    | structured `detail` (`{code, reason}`)                                                                                                                                                            | a bare English string under a bilingual UI                                                                                                              |
+| Mutation response                    | `{"ok": true, …}` (`{"deleted": id}`), test-held                                                                                                                                                  | a bare `{"unsubscribed"}`/`{"cleared": n}`, no `ok`                                                                                                     |
+| Transaction commit                   | the handler commits; helpers `flush` (test-held list)                                                                                                                                             | helpers that commit (only `quota` owns its session)                                                                                                     |
+| Admin knob storage                   | `sysconfig` (values)                                                                                                                                                                              | env / `app_state` / `scheduler_settings` scatter                                                                                                        |
+| Job status word                      | the `downloads/status.py` StrEnum                                                                                                                                                                 | loose `"canceled"`/`"cancelled"` literals                                                                                                               |
+| Current time                         | inline `datetime.now(timezone.utc)`                                                                                                                                                               | new `now_utc`/`_now` helpers                                                                                                                            |
+| FE per-account state                 | `usePref`                                                                                                                                                                                         | raw `readAccount`/`writeAccount` or bespoke hooks                                                                                                       |
+| FE keyboard shortcut                 | a row in `lib/keymap.ts` + `dispatch()`                                                                                                                                                           | a private `keydown` listener with its own key literals                                                                                                  |
+| FE list/grid keys                    | `NavGrid`/`keyboardNav` + `navItemAttrs` + `data-nav-open`                                                                                                                                        | a private arrow-key / roving-tabindex handler                                                                                                           |
+| FE view push (history)               | `rememberNavPosition()` right before `history.pushState`                                                                                                                                          | a push that forgets: Back strands focus on `<body>`                                                                                                     |
+| FE static label / button-like link   | `Badge` (flat, no edge) · `LinkButton` / `IconLink`                                                                                                                                               | a glass pill that reads as a chip; an `<a>` hand-painted like a button                                                                                  |
+| FE loading/empty/error               | `QueryState` / `StateMessage`                                                                                                                                                                     | ad-hoc conditionals                                                                                                                                     |
+| FE failed write                      | `meta.failTitle`, else `notifyActionError(err, title)`                                                                                                                                            | a bare `catch {}` or `notify()` with no error attached                                                                                                  |
+| FE player on a native media element  | `lib/mediaSession` (`useMediaSession`) + `lib/mediaKeys` + `lib/resume` (`useResume`), the element held as STATE                                                                                  | a private `navigator.mediaSession` / `keydown` / position-saving effect per player                                                                      |
+| FE diagnostics                       | `lib/log.ts` (`log.info("event.code", msg, attrs)`); a filter change → `lib/filterLog.ts`, a player → `lib/mediaLog.ts`                                                                           | `console.*` (lint-enforced); a value only a higher level may carry, logged unguarded                                                                    |
+| FE state that MIRRORS a prop/query   | derive it, or hold a draft (`draft ?? server`)                                                                                                                                                    | a copy an effect re-syncs — that paints the stale value first                                                                                           |
+| FE state reset on a key change       | adjust it DURING render against a remembered key                                                                                                                                                  | `useEffect(() => setX(init), [key])`                                                                                                                    |
+| FE effect that must not re-subscribe | `useEffectEvent` (React 19.2+); a handler or timer: `useLatest` / `useStableCallback`                                                                                                             | a render-phase `ref.current = x` — the React Compiler skips the component                                                                               |
+| FE hook suppression                  | an inline `eslint-disable-next-line` NAMING the invariant                                                                                                                                         | `eslint-suppressions.json` (deliberately absent — E27 S2)                                                                                               |
+| FE popover / scroll-fade ref         | destructure it: `const { setReference } = pop.refs`, then `ref={setReference}`                                                                                                                    | `ref={pop.refs.setReference}` / `ref={fade.ref}` — the compiler then treats the whole object as a ref and skips                                         |
+| FE async handler with cleanup        | `try { … } catch { … }`, then the cleanup after it (steps that `return` early go in their own function); a conditional, loop or `?.` the `try` needs goes before it or into a module-level helper | `try/finally`, or a `?:` / `??` / loop / `?.` inside `try` — the React Compiler skips the whole component (and `react-hooks/todo` misses most of these) |
+
+Not repeated here, because a lint rule refuses the wrong one and its message names the right one:
+buttons (`ui/Button`, `IconButton`, `Pressable`, `Chip`, `DragHandle`), text fields and native
+controls (`ui/Input`, `Checkbox`, `Slider`, …), glass surfaces (`SURFACE.*`), a native `<select>`
+(`SegmentedToggle` / `FilterSelect`), and network calls (`req` / `uploadReq` / `beacon`, `lib/http.ts`).
 
 ## House rules that bite (learned from real bugs)
 
@@ -120,7 +127,8 @@ CQRS, a repository/DI framework, a router library, a generic CRUD-router factory
   "no results". Reads degrade honestly; writes are conditional (`UPDATE … WHERE status='running'`).
 - **i18n parity.** HU/EN, zero key drift. Every user-facing string is translated.
 - **Comment the "why", keep it current.** This codebase uses comments as its architecture doc; a stale
-  "why" is a liability, so update it when the behavior changes.
+  "why" is a liability, so update it when the behavior changes. Say the why itself, never the plan
+  step that produced it: no epic, sprint or review-round ids in the code (`planCodes.contract.test.ts`).
 
 ---
 

Dockerfile

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ ARG BUILD_DATE=
 
 # Stage 1: build the frontend SPA
 # The major is pinned to `.nvmrc` and held there by frontend/src/lib/nodeEngine.contract.test.ts:
-# this image, the CI gate's image and the dev machine must be ONE engine (see that test for why).
+# this image and the dev machine the gate runs on must be ONE engine (see that test for why).
 FROM node:24-alpine AS frontend
 WORKDIR /fe
 # Deps first, keyed on the lockfile, so editing app source never re-resolves node_modules.
@@ -39,22 +39,25 @@ ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
 WORKDIR /app
 
 # Create the app user BEFORE the copies so files land already-owned via COPY --chown (a trailing
-# `chown -R /app` would rewrite every file into a duplicate layer). /downloads must be appuser-owned
+# `chown -R /app` would rewrite every file into a duplicate layer). /files must be appuser-owned
 # so a fresh named volume mounted there inherits that ownership (Docker copies the image dir's
 # ownership into a new empty volume) — the worker/API can then write without a manual chown. A bind
 # mount to a host path instead needs that path writable by this uid (see docs/self-hosting.md).
 RUN adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" appuser \
-    && mkdir -p /downloads \
-    && chown appuser /app /downloads
+    && mkdir -p /files \
+    && chown appuser /app /files
 
-# ffmpeg: merge separate video+audio streams + postprocessing, and the Plex VAAPI transcode (E6 S1).
+# ffmpeg: merge separate video+audio streams + postprocessing, and the Plex VAAPI transcode.
 # intel-media-va-driver (iHD): the VA driver ffmpeg's h264_vaapi needs — libva2 ships in the base but
 # no driver, so without this `vainfo`/`h264_vaapi` fail and transcode silently falls back to libx264.
 # Harmless on hosts with no /dev/dri (the driver just goes unused). Deno: the JavaScript runtime yt-dlp
 # uses to solve YouTube's "n" signature challenge for the web player clients (required alongside the PO
 # token, else only storyboards are offered). yt-dlp auto-detects deno on PATH.
+# `apt-get upgrade`: the base image is a snapshot, and the Debian security fixes released since it
+# was cut are only in the archive — the first Trivy scan found one (pcre2) fixed upstream but not in it.
 ARG DENO_VERSION=v2.9.1
 RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get upgrade -y --no-install-recommends \
     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ffmpeg intel-media-va-driver unzip curl ca-certificates \
     && curl -fsSL "https://github.com/denoland/deno/releases/download/${DENO_VERSION}/deno-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.zip" -o /tmp/deno.zip \
     && unzip -o /tmp/deno.zip -d /usr/local/bin \
@@ -76,11 +79,14 @@ RUN printf 'Types: deb\nURIs: http://deb.debian.org/debian\nSuites: bookworm\nCo
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Install from the PINNED lock (requirements.lock, generated from requirements.txt) so the image is
-# byte-reproducible and the exact versions are the ones pip-audit scanned in CI — not whatever floats
-# up from the floor ranges on build day. Regenerate the lock when requirements.txt changes (see its header).
+# byte-reproducible and the exact versions are the ones the gate's pip-audit scanned — not whatever
+# floats up from the floor ranges on build day. Regenerate the lock when requirements.txt changes (see its header).
+# pip itself is removed once it has installed the lock: nothing runs it at runtime, and it carries
+# its own VENDORED copies of urllib3, msgpack and setuptools, which Trivy reports as the image's own —
+# an attack surface and a CVE stream for a tool the running app never calls.
 COPY backend/requirements.lock .
 RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/root/.cache/pip \
-    pip install --upgrade pip && pip install -r requirements.lock
+    pip install --upgrade pip && pip install -r requirements.lock && pip uninstall -y pip
 
 COPY --chown=appuser backend/ .
 # Read at runtime by config.py as the app_version (a committed single source of truth).

README.md

@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@ blocker and SponsorBlock keep working.
   tags to slice the feed by.
 - **Playlists with two-way YouTube sync** — build them locally, keep them in sync in both directions.
 - **In-app player** with resume, plus keyboard/scroll controls.
-- **Download Center** — save videos to the server with yt-dlp in a Plex-friendly layout (format
-  presets, per-user storage quota), trim / crop / split & join them in a built-in editor, then save
-  to your device, share with another user, or hand out a public watch link.
+- **Files** — one library for everything you keep: paste a link anywhere in the app to download it
+  with yt-dlp (format presets, per-user storage quota, the running downloads in a tray), upload your
+  own files, sort them into folders, trim / crop / split & join videos in a built-in editor, play them
+  where you left off, then save to your device, share with another user, or hand out a public watch
+  link that plays on any phone.
 - **Plex library** *(optional)* — point Siftlode at your own Plex server to browse and play its
   movies and shows alongside your feed, with watch state kept in sync.
 - **Multi-user** with per-user private state, a shared catalog, and a fair daily API-quota guard.

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.98.0
+0.106.0

backend/.basedpyright/baseline.json

@@ -437,14 +437,6 @@
                     "lineCount": 1
                 }
             },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 12,
-                    "endColumn": 13,
-                    "lineCount": 10
-                }
-            },
             {
                 "code": "reportAttributeAccessIssue",
                 "range": {
@@ -548,64 +540,6 @@
                 }
             }
         ],
-        "./app/plex/stream.py": [
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 51,
-                    "endColumn": 55,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 23,
-                    "endColumn": 25,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 18,
-                    "endColumn": 31,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 75,
-                    "endColumn": 79,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 10,
-                    "endColumn": 23,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 10,
-                    "endColumn": 12,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 10,
-                    "endColumn": 17,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            }
-        ],
         "./app/plex/sync.py": [
             {
                 "code": "reportArgumentType",
@@ -638,14 +572,6 @@
                     "endColumn": 89,
                     "lineCount": 1
                 }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 17,
-                    "endColumn": 18,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
             }
         ],
         "./app/plex/tmdb.py": [
@@ -801,38 +727,6 @@
             }
         ],
         "./app/routes/downloads.py": [
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 29,
-                    "endColumn": 33,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 37,
-                    "endColumn": 47,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 29,
-                    "endColumn": 33,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 40,
-                    "endColumn": 50,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
             {
                 "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
                 "range": {
@@ -872,112 +766,6 @@
                     "endColumn": 54,
                     "lineCount": 1
                 }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 29,
-                    "endColumn": 33,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 40,
-                    "endColumn": 50,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            }
-        ],
-        "./app/routes/messages.py": [
-            {
-                "code": "reportCallIssue",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 11,
-                    "endColumn": 43,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 23,
-                    "endColumn": 27,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportCallIssue",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 13,
-                    "endColumn": 5,
-                    "lineCount": 7
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 8,
-                    "endColumn": 15,
-                    "lineCount": 5
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportReturnType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 15,
-                    "endColumn": 72,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportCallIssue",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 30,
-                    "endColumn": 48,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 41,
-                    "endColumn": 44,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 36,
-                    "endColumn": 38,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 71,
-                    "endColumn": 73,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 30,
-                    "endColumn": 39,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportOptionalMemberAccess",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 27,
-                    "endColumn": 29,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
             }
         ],
         "./app/routes/playlists.py": [
@@ -1298,22 +1086,6 @@
                     "endColumn": 48,
                     "lineCount": 1
                 }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 39,
-                    "endColumn": 45,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 38,
-                    "endColumn": 43,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
             }
         ],
         "./app/routes/plex/playback.py": [
@@ -1384,16 +1156,6 @@
                 }
             }
         ],
-        "./app/routes/public.py": [
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 57,
-                    "endColumn": 71,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            }
-        ],
         "./app/routes/scheduler.py": [
             {
                 "code": "reportArgumentType",
@@ -1619,14 +1381,6 @@
                     "lineCount": 1
                 }
             },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 38,
-                    "endColumn": 43,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            },
             {
                 "code": "reportArgumentType",
                 "range": {
@@ -1650,24 +1404,6 @@
                     "endColumn": 36,
                     "lineCount": 1
                 }
-            },
-            {
-                "code": "reportArgumentType",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 46,
-                    "endColumn": 52,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
-            }
-        ],
-        "./app/youtube/rss.py": [
-            {
-                "code": "reportGeneralTypeIssues",
-                "range": {
-                    "startColumn": 10,
-                    "endColumn": 15,
-                    "lineCount": 1
-                }
             }
         ]
     }

backend/alembic/versions/0050_asset_poster.py

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Create Date: 2026-07-07
 
 Some sources (a direct media URL like a reddit v.redd.it HLS manifest) carry no thumbnail, so the
 download shows a blank image box. The worker now extracts a representative frame with ffmpeg and
-saves it as a poster sidecar; `poster_path` (relative to download_root) records it so the card /
+saves it as a poster sidecar; `poster_path` (relative to files_root) records it so the card /
 watch page / link preview can fall back to it. Nullable — only set when there was no thumbnail.
 """
 

backend/alembic/versions/0097_drop_messages.py

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+"""messages: drop direct messaging (the owner's decision, 2026-10-04)
+
+Chat — end-to-end encrypted direct messages plus the server's welcome note — was never used: prod held
+two welcome notes, no message between people, and one key. Its tables go with its code. The rows are
+not migrated anywhere; the nightly backup holds them.
+
+The downgrade restores the schema as it stood (0026 + 0027), empty: a message can't be brought back
+from a migration, and the E2EE key blobs were only ever readable by their owner's browser anyway.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0097_drop_messages"
+down_revision: str | None = "0096_videos_sort_indexes"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_table("message_keys")
+    op.drop_index("ix_messages_created_at", table_name="messages")
+    op.drop_index("ix_messages_recipient_id", table_name="messages")
+    op.drop_index("ix_messages_sender_id", table_name="messages")
+    op.drop_table("messages")
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.create_table(
+        "messages",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), primary_key=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "sender_id", sa.Integer(), sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=True
+        ),
+        sa.Column(
+            "recipient_id",
+            sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("body", sa.Text(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("read_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False
+        ),
+        sa.Column("kind", sa.String(length=16), nullable=False, server_default="user"),
+        sa.Column("ciphertext", sa.Text(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("iv", sa.String(length=32), nullable=True),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_messages_sender_id", "messages", ["sender_id"])
+    op.create_index("ix_messages_recipient_id", "messages", ["recipient_id"])
+    op.create_index("ix_messages_created_at", "messages", ["created_at"])
+    op.create_table(
+        "message_keys",
+        sa.Column(
+            "user_id",
+            sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            primary_key=True,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("public_key", sa.Text(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("wrapped_private_key", sa.Text(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("salt", sa.String(length=64), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("wrap_iv", sa.String(length=32), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("key_check", sa.Text(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column(
+            "created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False
+        ),
+    )

backend/alembic/versions/0098_drop_demo_account.py

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+"""demo: drop the shared demo account (the owner's decision, 2026-10-04)
+
+The demo account — one shared user that whitelisted emails entered from the login page, reset on a
+schedule — goes with its code. Prod held the demo user and 10 whitelist rows.
+
+The upgrade deletes the demo user first (its playlists, states and subscriptions cascade; audit and
+quota rows keep their history with the actor nulled, as for any deleted account), then the traces
+that only the demo code could render: its audit rows (whitelist edits, manual resets, and every row
+about the reset job — its runs and its interval changes), the reset job's interval override and its
+completion notices. Nothing is migrated anywhere; the nightly backup holds the rows.
+
+The downgrade restores the schema as it stood (0014), empty: the demo user is created lazily on its
+first sign-in, so an empty `demo_whitelist` is the whole of its state.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0098_drop_demo_account"
+down_revision: str | None = "0097_drop_messages"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.execute("DELETE FROM users WHERE is_demo")
+    op.execute(
+        "DELETE FROM audit_log WHERE action IN ('demo_add', 'demo_remove', 'demo_reset')"
+        " OR (target_type = 'job' AND target_id = 'demo_reset')"
+    )
+    op.execute("DELETE FROM scheduler_settings WHERE job_id = 'demo_reset'")
+    op.execute("DELETE FROM notifications WHERE data->>'job_id' = 'demo_reset'")
+    op.drop_index("ix_demo_whitelist_email", table_name="demo_whitelist")
+    op.drop_table("demo_whitelist")
+    op.drop_index("ix_users_is_demo", table_name="users")
+    op.drop_column("users", "is_demo")
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.add_column(
+        "users",
+        sa.Column("is_demo", sa.Boolean(), nullable=False, server_default=sa.false()),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_users_is_demo", "users", ["is_demo"])
+    op.create_table(
+        "demo_whitelist",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), primary_key=True),
+        sa.Column("email", sa.String(length=320), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("note", sa.Text(), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column("added_by", sa.String(length=320), nullable=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "created_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=sa.func.now(), nullable=False
+        ),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_demo_whitelist_email", "demo_whitelist", ["email"], unique=True)

backend/alembic/versions/0099_library_states.py

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+"""library: a resume point per user and library item
+
+The library player opened every item at 0:00. `library_states` keeps where a user stopped, per job
+(their own download, or one shared with them) — the same shape as `video_states`' position, without a
+status: the library has no "watched". It starts empty; the downgrade drops it.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0099_library_states"
+down_revision: str | None = "0098_drop_demo_account"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.create_table(
+        "library_states",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), primary_key=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "user_id",
+            sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.Column(
+            "job_id",
+            sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("download_jobs.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("position_seconds", sa.Integer(), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("progress_updated_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=False),
+        sa.UniqueConstraint("user_id", "job_id", name="uq_library_user_job"),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_library_states_job_id", "library_states", ["job_id"])
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_index("ix_library_states_job_id", table_name="library_states")
+    op.drop_table("library_states")

backend/alembic/versions/0100_drop_plex_item_markers.py

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+"""plex_items: drop `markers`, a column nothing writes or reads
+
+Intro/credits markers are read live from Plex for the item the player opens (with Plex's `final` flag
+on the block that ends it); this cached copy was never filled — every row is NULL. The downgrade
+restores the empty column.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0100_drop_plex_item_markers"
+down_revision: str | None = "0099_library_states"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_column("plex_items", "markers")
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.add_column("plex_items", sa.Column("markers", sa.JSON(), nullable=True))

backend/alembic/versions/0101_plex_text_plain.py

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+"""Plex summaries and taglines as plain text
+
+Revision ID: 0101_plex_text_plain
+Revises: 0100_drop_plex_item_markers
+Create Date: 2026-10-08
+
+Some Plex agents write a summary as HTML (`<p>…</p>`, `&aacute;`), and the app showed the tags as
+text. The sync now stores every summary and tagline through `plain_text` (app/plex/plaintext.py);
+this cleans the rows it wrote before, through the same function, so nothing waits for a full resync.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+from app.plex.plaintext import plain_text
+
+revision: str = "0101_plex_text_plain"
+down_revision: str | None = "0100_drop_plex_item_markers"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+_COLUMNS = {
+    "plex_items": ("summary", "summary_hu", "tagline", "tagline_hu"),
+    "plex_shows": ("summary", "summary_hu", "tagline", "tagline_hu"),
+    "plex_collections": ("summary",),
+}
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    conn = op.get_bind()
+    for table, columns in _COLUMNS.items():
+        for col in columns:
+            rows = conn.execute(
+                sa.text(f"SELECT id, {col} FROM {table} WHERE {col} ~ '[<&]'")
+            ).fetchall()
+            updates = [
+                {"id": rid, "v": clean}
+                for rid, value in rows
+                if (clean := plain_text(value)) != value
+            ]
+            if updates:
+                conn.execute(sa.text(f"UPDATE {table} SET {col} = :v WHERE id = :id"), updates)
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    pass  # the markup is not wanted back; the next sync would clean it again

backend/alembic/versions/0102_file_folders.py

@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+"""The Files library: folders, and a file's retention on the user's job
+
+Revision ID: 0102_file_folders
+Revises: 0101_plex_text_plain
+Create Date: 2026-10-11
+
+Every download, clip and upload of a user now sits in a folder of their Files library
+(`app.downloads.folders`): a source folder made per origin (YouTube, Plex, uploads, one per other
+site) or one of their own. How long a file stays moves from the shared asset to each user's job
+(`download_jobs.expires_at`, stamped from the folder's `retention_days`), so one user keeping a file
+no longer depends on another's copy; the asset's own `expires_at` / `gc_notified` go.
+
+This places every existing job in its source folder and carries each done job's expiry over from
+the asset it holds (an upload keeps none). The source-key rule is copied here, frozen, from
+`folders.source_key_for` as it is today — a migration must not follow the code's later changes.
+"""
+
+from urllib.parse import urlsplit
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0102_file_folders"
+down_revision: str | None = "0101_plex_text_plain"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+_FRONT_DOORS = ("www.", "m.", "mobile.", "web.")
+_YOUTUBE_HOSTS = {"youtube.com", "youtu.be", "youtube-nocookie.com", "music.youtube.com"}
+_DEFAULT_RETENTION_DAYS = 30  # config.download_retention_days on the day this was written
+
+
+def _site_key(url: str) -> str:
+    host = (urlsplit(url).hostname or "").lower().rstrip(".")
+    for door in _FRONT_DOORS:
+        if host.startswith(door) and host.count(".") > 1:
+            host = host[len(door) :]
+            break
+    if host in _YOUTUBE_HOSTS:
+        return "youtube"
+    return f"site:{host or 'unknown'}"
+
+
+def _asset_key(kind: str | None, ref: str | None) -> str:
+    if kind == "youtube":
+        return "youtube"
+    if kind == "url" and ref:
+        return _site_key(ref)
+    return "upload"
+
+
+def _key(job, jobs_by_id, assets) -> str:
+    kind = job.source_kind
+    if kind == "youtube":
+        return "youtube"
+    if kind == "upload":
+        return "upload"
+    if kind == "clip":
+        spec = job.edit_spec or {}
+        return "plex" if spec.get("source") == "plex" else "youtube"
+    if kind == "url":
+        return _site_key(job.source_ref)
+    if kind == "edit":
+        parent = jobs_by_id.get(job.source_job_id)
+        if parent is not None and parent.id != job.id:
+            return _key(parent, jobs_by_id, assets)
+        asset = assets.get(job.source_asset_id)
+        if asset is not None:
+            return _asset_key(asset.source_kind, asset.source_ref)
+    return "upload"
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.create_table(
+        "file_folders",
+        sa.Column("id", sa.Integer(), primary_key=True),
+        sa.Column(
+            "user_id",
+            sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.Column("kind", sa.String(16), nullable=False),
+        sa.Column("source_key", sa.String(260)),  # "site:" + a host (<= 253)
+        sa.Column("name", sa.String(255)),
+        sa.Column("retention_days", sa.Integer()),
+        sa.Column(
+            "created_at",
+            sa.DateTime(timezone=True),
+            server_default=sa.func.now(),
+            nullable=False,
+        ),
+        sa.UniqueConstraint("user_id", "source_key", name="uq_file_folder_source"),
+        sa.CheckConstraint(
+            "(kind = 'source' AND source_key IS NOT NULL AND name IS NULL)"
+            " OR (kind = 'own' AND name IS NOT NULL AND source_key IS NULL)",
+            name="ck_file_folder_kind",
+        ),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_file_folders_user_id", "file_folders", ["user_id"])
+    op.create_index(
+        "uq_file_folder_own_name",
+        "file_folders",
+        ["user_id", sa.text("lower(name)")],
+        unique=True,
+        postgresql_where=sa.text("name IS NOT NULL"),
+    )
+
+    op.add_column(
+        "download_jobs",
+        sa.Column(
+            "folder_id",
+            sa.Integer(),
+            sa.ForeignKey("file_folders.id", ondelete="RESTRICT"),
+        ),
+    )
+    op.add_column(
+        "download_jobs",
+        sa.Column("kept", sa.Boolean(), server_default="false", nullable=False),
+    )
+    op.add_column("download_jobs", sa.Column("expires_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True)))
+    op.add_column(
+        "download_jobs",
+        sa.Column("expiry_warned", sa.Boolean(), server_default="false", nullable=False),
+    )
+    op.create_index("ix_download_jobs_folder_id", "download_jobs", ["folder_id"])
+    op.create_index("ix_download_jobs_expires_at", "download_jobs", ["expires_at"])
+
+    conn = op.get_bind()
+    raw = conn.execute(
+        sa.text("SELECT value FROM system_config WHERE key = 'download_retention_days'")
+    ).scalar()
+    retention = int(raw) if raw not in (None, "") else _DEFAULT_RETENTION_DAYS
+
+    jobs = conn.execute(
+        sa.text(
+            "SELECT j.id, j.user_id, j.source_kind, j.source_ref, j.edit_spec, j.source_job_id,"
+            " j.source_asset_id, j.status, j.asset_id, a.expires_at AS asset_expires_at"
+            " FROM download_jobs j LEFT JOIN media_assets a ON a.id = j.asset_id"
+        )
+    ).fetchall()
+    jobs_by_id = {j.id: j for j in jobs}
+    assets = {
+        a.id: a
+        for a in conn.execute(sa.text("SELECT id, source_kind, source_ref FROM media_assets"))
+    }
+
+    folder_ids: dict[tuple[int, str], int] = {}
+    for job in jobs:
+        key = _key(job, jobs_by_id, assets)
+        slot = (job.user_id, key)
+        if slot not in folder_ids:
+            folder_ids[slot] = conn.execute(
+                sa.text(
+                    "INSERT INTO file_folders (user_id, kind, source_key, retention_days)"
+                    " VALUES (:u, 'source', :k, :r) RETURNING id"
+                ),
+                {"u": job.user_id, "k": key, "r": None if key == "upload" else retention},
+            ).scalar_one()
+        # A done file keeps the expiry it had (its asset's); an upload had none and keeps none.
+        expires = job.asset_expires_at if job.status == "done" and key != "upload" else None
+        conn.execute(
+            sa.text("UPDATE download_jobs SET folder_id = :f, expires_at = :e WHERE id = :id"),
+            {"f": folder_ids[slot], "e": expires, "id": job.id},
+        )
+
+    op.drop_column("media_assets", "expires_at")
+    op.drop_column("media_assets", "gc_notified")
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.add_column("media_assets", sa.Column("expires_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True)))
+    op.add_column(
+        "media_assets",
+        sa.Column("gc_notified", sa.Boolean(), server_default="false", nullable=False),
+    )
+    # The asset goes when its last holder would: the latest of its holders' expiries (a holder that
+    # never expires keeps the asset unexpired).
+    op.execute(
+        "UPDATE media_assets a SET expires_at = sub.e FROM ("
+        " SELECT asset_id, CASE WHEN bool_or(expires_at IS NULL) THEN NULL ELSE max(expires_at) END"
+        " AS e FROM download_jobs WHERE asset_id IS NOT NULL AND status = 'done' GROUP BY asset_id"
+        ") sub WHERE a.id = sub.asset_id AND a.source_kind <> 'upload'"
+    )
+    op.drop_index("ix_download_jobs_expires_at", table_name="download_jobs")
+    op.drop_index("ix_download_jobs_folder_id", table_name="download_jobs")
+    op.drop_column("download_jobs", "expiry_warned")
+    op.drop_column("download_jobs", "expires_at")
+    op.drop_column("download_jobs", "kept")
+    op.drop_column("download_jobs", "folder_id")
+    op.drop_index("uq_file_folder_own_name", table_name="file_folders")
+    op.drop_index("ix_file_folders_user_id", table_name="file_folders")
+    op.drop_table("file_folders")

backend/alembic/versions/0103_files_sha256.py

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+"""The Files library: a file's SHA-256, and the expired rows retired
+
+Revision ID: 0103_files_sha256
+Revises: 0102_file_folders
+Create Date: 2026-10-11
+
+`media_assets.sha256` holds the file's hash once it is known (an upload is hashed while it streams
+in, any other file on the first ask), so a machine fetching a file can check what it got.
+
+An expired file now leaves its user's library (`downloads.gc`). Before, an expired download stayed
+as a fileless "expired · download again" row (a done job with no asset). Those rows hold nothing on
+disk and the library no longer shows them, so they are deleted here rather than left behind
+unseen; their shares and public links go with them (ON DELETE CASCADE), and those already served
+nothing. The downgrade cannot bring them back.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0103_files_sha256"
+down_revision: str | None = "0102_file_folders"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.add_column("media_assets", sa.Column("sha256", sa.String(64)))
+    op.execute("DELETE FROM download_jobs WHERE status = 'done' AND asset_id IS NULL")
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_column("media_assets", "sha256")

backend/alembic/versions/0104_job_ready_at.py

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+"""A file's "Added" is when it became done
+
+Revision ID: 0104_job_ready_at
+Revises: 0103_files_sha256
+Create Date: 2026-10-12
+
+`download_jobs.ready_at` is when a job became done, and the Files library sorts and dates by it: a
+download that failed for days and then went through used to sit days down the list, under its
+request date. Every path to done stamps it, held by `ck_download_jobs_ready_at`.
+
+A done job from before has no record of that moment (its "ready to watch" notice never named the
+job, so it cannot be matched back), so it takes its request date, which is where it already sat.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0104_job_ready_at"
+down_revision: str | None = "0103_files_sha256"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.add_column("download_jobs", sa.Column("ready_at", sa.DateTime(timezone=True)))
+    op.execute(
+        """
+        UPDATE download_jobs SET ready_at = created_at WHERE status = 'done'
+        """
+    )
+    op.create_check_constraint(
+        "ck_download_jobs_ready_at", "download_jobs", "status <> 'done' OR ready_at IS NOT NULL"
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_constraint("ck_download_jobs_ready_at", "download_jobs", type_="check")
+    op.drop_column("download_jobs", "ready_at")

backend/alembic/versions/0105_job_source_key.py

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+"""A file remembers where it came from
+
+Revision ID: 0105_job_source_key
+Revises: 0104_job_ready_at
+Create Date: 2026-10-12
+
+`download_jobs.source_key` is the origin a file came from — the source folder it may go back to —
+recorded when it is placed. An edit used to work its origin out through its parent each time, and
+once the parent was deleted or expired it fell back to "upload": moved into an own folder, it could
+no longer go back to its folder, and deleting that folder sent it to Uploads to stay forever.
+
+A file in a source folder takes that folder's key. One already in an own folder is left NULL and
+keeps being worked out (`folders.source_key_for`), as before.
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+revision: str = "0105_job_source_key"
+down_revision: str | None = "0104_job_ready_at"
+branch_labels: str | None = None
+depends_on: str | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    op.add_column("download_jobs", sa.Column("source_key", sa.String(260)))
+    op.execute(
+        """
+        UPDATE download_jobs j SET source_key = f.source_key
+          FROM file_folders f
+         WHERE f.id = j.folder_id AND f.kind = 'source'
+        """
+    )
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.drop_column("download_jobs", "source_key")

backend/app/README.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Backend conventions
 
 The rules below are already followed across `backend/app` — they lived only in a few module
-docstrings (`demo.py`, `userscope.py`, `routes/_common.py`) until this file collected them (E3 S3,
+docstrings (`userscope.py`, `routes/_common.py`) until this file collected them (E3 S3,
 B-core-20). When you add code, match these so the next reader doesn't have to guess "which pattern do
 I copy".
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ Three layers, by *who* runs the code — not by feature:
    `issues/bundle.py` is the one definition of a bug report's files, for the zip export and the tracker.
 
 3. **Flat `app/*.py` core modules — cross-cutting primitives.** `auth`, `sysconfig`, `quota`, `audit`,
-   `notifications`, `userscope`, `realtime`, `ratelimit`, `progress`, `logs` (the one logging
+   `notifications`, `userscope`, `ratelimit`, `progress`, `logs` (the one logging
    configuration), `logsink` (its `log_events` table), `diagnostics` (a user's consented log
    level), `debugsession` (a recording that tags its user's lines, E16) and `collation` (A→Z in the
    reader's alphabet, E30), … are single-file primitives many layers import. They depend on nothing above them (a core
@@ -72,7 +72,9 @@ mutation it records, so an audit entry can never exist without its change (or vi
 ## The gate
 
 Everything below must be green before a change is done (run via `siftlode check`):
-`ruff` (backend) · `tsc` ×3 + `eslint` + `prettier` + `knip` (frontend) · `vitest` · `pytest`. The
-pytest lane runs in `backend/docker-compose.test.yml` — an ephemeral Postgres + the backend tree
-bind-mounted — so the DB-backed integration tests (the `db` fixture) actually run; `SIFTLODE_TEST_
-REQUIRE_DB=1` there turns a would-be silent skip into a hard failure. See `docs/development.md`.
+`ruff` + `basedpyright` (backend) · the lock check + `tsc` ×3 + `eslint` + `prettier` + `knip` +
+`vite build` (frontend) · `vitest` · `pytest`. The pytest lane runs in `backend/docker-compose.test.yml`
+— an ephemeral Postgres + the backend tree bind-mounted — so the DB-backed integration tests (the `db`
+fixture) actually run; a missing database is a hard failure, not a silent skip, unless a hand run asks
+for pure-logic only with `SIFTLODE_TEST_REQUIRE_DB=0`. See `docs/development.md`, and `docs/gates.md`
+for what each gate deliberately leaves out.

backend/app/audit.py

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class AuditAction:
     USER_SUSPEND = "user_suspend"
     USER_UNSUSPEND = "user_unsuspend"
     USER_DELETE = "user_delete"
-    # E9.5 S5: an admin let a stuck registrant in, or re-sent their confirmation link. Both are
+    # An admin let a stuck registrant in, or re-sent their confirmation link. Both are
     # recorded because both are the admin acting ON someone's access, not merely reading a list.
     USER_ACTIVATE = "user_activate"
     USER_VERIFY_RESEND = "user_verify_resend"
@@ -36,12 +36,9 @@ class AuditAction:
     INVITE_DENY = "invite_deny"
     INVITE_ADD = "invite_add"
     INVITE_DELETE = "invite_delete"
-    # E9.5 S6: the admin chose to tell someone their address is whitelisted. Adding the address is
+    # The admin chose to tell someone their address is whitelisted. Adding the address is
     # silent, so this is the act that actually reaches a person — and the one worth a record.
     INVITE_SEND = "invite_send"
-    DEMO_ADD = "demo_add"
-    DEMO_REMOVE = "demo_remove"
-    DEMO_RESET = "demo_reset"
     DISCOVERY_PURGE = "discovery_purge"
     # Config
     CONFIG_SET = "config_set"
@@ -58,9 +55,20 @@ class AuditAction:
     DOWNLOAD_CREDENTIAL_DELETE = "download_credential_delete"
     # The log itself was cleared (a single row survives the clear as tamper-evidence)
     AUDIT_CLEAR = "audit_clear"
-    # E16: a user sent a debug session's issue to the tracker — the one act that takes their log
+    # A user sent a debug session's issue to the tracker — the one act that takes their log
     # off this instance, so it is recorded (target = the session, summary = the issue's URL).
     ISSUE_CREATE = "issue_create"
+    # The Files library (`routes.files`): what a user put in, took out, kept or reorganised. Ids
+    # only — a file's or folder's name is the user's own text, not the admin's to read here.
+    FILE_UPLOAD = "file_upload"
+    FILE_DELETE = "file_delete"
+    FILE_KEEP = "file_keep"
+    FILE_UNKEEP = "file_unkeep"
+    FILE_MOVE = "file_move"
+    FILE_FOLDER_CREATE = "file_folder_create"
+    FILE_FOLDER_RENAME = "file_folder_rename"
+    FILE_FOLDER_RETENTION = "file_folder_retention"
+    FILE_FOLDER_DELETE = "file_folder_delete"
 
 
 def record(

backend/app/auth.py

@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ def operator_contact() -> str | None:
     return next(iter(sorted(settings.admin_email_set)), None)
 
 
-DEMO_GOOGLE_SUB = "__demo__"
-DEMO_EMAIL = "demo@siftlode.local"
 MAX_SESSION_ACCOUNTS = 6
 
 # OAuth scope vocabulary — the atoms + the request bundles, kept together as core. has_*_scope check
@@ -69,7 +67,7 @@ def has_write_scope(user: User) -> bool:
 def env_allowed_canonicals() -> set[str]:
     """The env bootstrap allow-list, in CANONICAL form — the only shape it may be compared in.
 
-    S3 canonicalised the Invite branch of `is_allowed` and left this one matching the literal string,
+    Canonicalising only the Invite branch of `is_allowed` left this one matching the literal string,
     which is the 2026-09-03 lockout with a different source of truth: an operator who writes
     `first.last@gmail.com` into ALLOWED_EMAILS is refused when Google answers with the undotted
     primary, and a `+tag`ged entry can never match at all, because a Google account cannot contain a
@@ -129,7 +127,7 @@ def can_activate(db: Session, user: User) -> bool:
     Lives in core so the admin surface and the /api/me badge count answer from ONE definition; a
     button that appears and a number that counts must never disagree about who is stuck.
     """
-    if user.is_demo or user.is_suspended or user.is_active:
+    if user.is_suspended or user.is_active:
         return False
     return is_allowed(db, user.email)
 
@@ -147,7 +145,6 @@ def count_pending_activations(db: Session) -> int:
     rows = (
         db.execute(
             select(User).where(
-                User.is_demo.is_(False),
                 User.is_suspended.is_(False),
                 User.is_active.is_(False),
             )
@@ -188,24 +185,6 @@ def find_user_by_email(db: Session, email: str) -> User | None:
     return candidates[0] if len(candidates) == 1 else None
 
 
-def get_or_create_demo_user(db: Session) -> User:
-    """The one shared demo user, created on first use. No OAuth token / YouTube scope, so
-    has_read_scope/has_write_scope are False and every YouTube-touching path is closed to it."""
-    user = db.query(User).filter(User.is_demo.is_(True)).one_or_none()
-    if user is None:
-        user = User(
-            google_sub=DEMO_GOOGLE_SUB,
-            email=DEMO_EMAIL,
-            display_name="Demo",
-            role="user",
-            is_demo=True,
-            preferences={"language": "en"},
-        )
-        db.add(user)
-        db.commit()
-    return user
-
-
 def revoke_google_token(token: str | None) -> None:
     """Best-effort revocation of a Google OAuth grant at Google's endpoint. Revoking the refresh
     token tears down the whole grant, so a later sign-in starts from a clean consent (no scopes
@@ -278,8 +257,7 @@ ACTIVE_ACCOUNT_HEADER = "x-siftlode-account"
 
 def resolved_user_id(conn: HTTPConnection, *, strict: bool = True) -> tuple[int | None, bool]:
     """Which account this connection acts as, and whether that's the session's default account.
-    Takes any HTTPConnection — an HTTP Request OR a WebSocket — so the WS push channel shares this
-    exact per-tab resolution instead of re-implementing it.
+    Takes an HTTPConnection rather than a Request: it reads only the session and the headers.
 
     The signed cookie holds the *wallet* (`account_ids`, every account signed into this browser)
     plus a default `user_id`. A caller may name its account with the X-Siftlode-Account header (or
@@ -297,8 +275,8 @@ def resolved_user_id(conn: HTTPConnection, *, strict: bool = True) -> tuple[int
     """
     default_id = conn.session.get("user_id")
     wallet = conn.session.get("account_ids") or []
-    # Header for normal XHR; ?account= for contexts that can't set headers (WebSocket, and a
-    # plain <a> file download). Both are wallet-gated below.
+    # Header for normal XHR; ?account= for a context that can't set headers (a plain <a> file
+    # download). Both are wallet-gated below.
     hdr = conn.headers.get(ACTIVE_ACCOUNT_HEADER) or conn.query_params.get("account")
     if hdr:
         try:
@@ -362,12 +340,12 @@ def _session_user(request: Request, db: Session, user_id: int | None, is_default
     if default_id and default_id not in accounts:
         accounts.append(default_id)
         request.session["account_ids"] = accounts[-MAX_SESSION_ACCOUNTS:]
-    # Attribute this request's log lines to the account (E22). Here, not in the request middleware:
+    # Attribute this request's log lines to the account. Here, not in the request middleware:
     # this is the one place a session becomes an account, and the middleware runs outside both the
     # session middleware and this task's context. `request.state` is shared across middleware layers
     # (it lives on the ASGI scope), so the access-log line can read it back. The user's consented
-    # diagnostics level rides along: their requests are logged — and stored — in that detail (S5).
-    # So does a debug session the request names (E16): only the caller's own open one counts, and a
+    # diagnostics level rides along: their requests are logged — and stored — in that detail.
+    # So does a debug session the request names: only the caller's own open one counts, and a
     # header naming anything else is ignored rather than refused — a stale tab must keep working.
     session = debugsession.from_header(db, user, request.headers.get(debugsession.HEADER))
     level, until = debugsession.level_for(user, session)
@@ -403,25 +381,10 @@ def optional_current_user(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> Us
         return None
 
 
-def require_human(user: User = Depends(current_user)) -> User:
-    """Reject the shared demo account from actions that need a real Google/YouTube identity
-    or spend the shared quota. Most YouTube paths are already closed to it implicitly (it has
-    no token, so has_read_scope/has_write_scope are False); this makes the boundary explicit
-    where there's no scope check to lean on."""
-    if user.is_demo:
-        # Structured, because `req` leaves 403 to the caller and `notifyActionError` only shows a
-        # STRUCTURED detail — a plain string here reached the demo user as their caller's generic
-        # "couldn't do that", with no hint that the demo account is the reason (round 6). Affordances
-        # this gate sits behind are not all UI-gated on `is_demo` (the comfort shelf is not).
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail={"code": "demo"})
-    return user
-
-
-def require_write_scope(user: User = Depends(require_human)) -> User:
+def require_write_scope(user: User = Depends(current_user)) -> User:
     """Dependency: require the YouTube write scope (subscribe/unsubscribe, playlist export/edit).
     Single source of truth for the write gate — replaces the inline `if not has_write_scope(user)`
-    checks that had drifted into three different 403 messages across channels/playlists. Layers on
-    `require_human` because writing to YouTube needs a real, non-demo identity."""
+    checks that had drifted into three different 403 messages across channels/playlists."""
     if not has_write_scope(user):
         raise refused(403, "youtube_editing_off")
     return user

backend/app/bodylimit.py

@@ -59,9 +59,9 @@ DEFAULT_MAX_BODY_BYTES = 1024 * 1024
 # a say.
 #
 # Both listed routes now satisfy that. The screenshot route always did (`capped_body` streams it,
-# and the owner check resolves first). The upload route did NOT until P1: it declared
+# and the owner check resolves first). The upload route did NOT at first: it declared
 # `file: UploadFile = File(...)`, so an anonymous caller could make the process write the whole
-# per-file allowance to temp before `require_human` refused them — this middleware bounded that
+# per-file allowance to temp before the auth dependency refused them — this middleware bounded that
 # number but could not stop the writing. It now reads its own body from a dependency declared after
 # the auth one, so its in-handler cap measures bytes as they arrive, like everything else here.
 #
@@ -73,12 +73,12 @@ DEFAULT_MAX_BODY_BYTES = 1024 * 1024
 # `POST /api/diagnostics/events` is absent: its `capped_body` limit is 512 KiB, already below the
 # default, so listing it could only widen what it accepts.
 ROUTE_MAX_BODY_BYTES: dict[tuple[str, str], int] = {
-    # Ingesting a local file. The body IS the file since P1 — no multipart envelope to allow for —
+    # Ingesting a local file. The body IS the file now — no multipart envelope to allow for —
     # so this ceiling and the route's own cap count exactly the same bytes. `sysconfig`'s
     # `download_upload_max_bytes` is bounded by this same constant (see sysconfig.SPECS), so an
     # admin can only ever LOWER the route's cap below the edge, never raise it past one.
     #
-    # WHICH LAYER ANSWERS, measured rather than assumed (deep-review round 1):
+    # WHICH LAYER ANSWERS, measured rather than assumed:
     #   * knob LOWERED (an override below the default) — the route's cap is the smaller number, so
     #     `capped_stream_to` trips first and answers 422 `upload_too_large` carrying the admin's own
     #     figure, after draining the rest of the body so the client can read it.
@@ -92,8 +92,8 @@ ROUTE_MAX_BODY_BYTES: dict[tuple[str, str], int] = {
     # So this 413 is a refusal a real user meets on a default install, not a theoretical edge, and
     # it has to be as readable as the route's own: the client localizes `too_large` (`errors.tooLarge`)
     # exactly as it does `upload_too_large`, and the upload dialog refuses an over-cap file before
-    # sending it at all, off the `upload_max_bytes` that `GET /api/downloads/usage` reports.
-    ("POST", "/api/downloads/upload"): settings.download_upload_max_bytes,
+    # sending it at all, off the `upload_max_bytes` that `GET /api/files/usage` reports.
+    ("POST", "/api/files/upload"): settings.download_upload_max_bytes,
     ("POST", "/api/debug-sessions/{sid}/screenshots"): debugsession.SCREENSHOT_MAX_BYTES,
 }
 
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ class BodyLimitMiddleware:
 
         try:
             await self.app(scope, counting_receive, guarded_send)
-        except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — only swallowed when WE caused it, see below
+        except Exception:  # only swallowed when WE caused it, see below
             # ClientDisconnect (or whatever a handler raises on a truncated read) is the expected
             # consequence of the disconnect we just faked, and the caller must get the 413 rather
             # than a 500. Anything raised when we did NOT refuse is a real failure and is re-raised

backend/app/collation.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""Alphabetical order in the reader's language (E30 S3).
+"""Alphabetical order in the reader's language.
 
 Why not the database default: the Postgres image is Alpine, and musl's `en_US.utf8` collation is BYTE
 order — every accented initial sorted after "Z" ("Zorró < Életrajzi < Ötödik"), in every A→Z list the

backend/app/config.py

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Literal, get_args, get_origin
 
-from pydantic import Field, ValidationInfo, field_validator, model_validator
+from pydantic import AliasChoices, Field, ValidationInfo, field_validator, model_validator
 from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings, SettingsConfigDict
 
 # Shipped placeholder; production must override it. Used by the startup guard below.
@@ -146,8 +146,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     autotag_interval_minutes: int = 30
     subscriptions_resync_minutes: int = 360
     playlist_sync_minutes: int = 360
-    # How often the shared demo account is auto-reset to a clean baseline (communal sandbox).
-    demo_reset_minutes: int = 720
     # --- Maintenance / validation job ---
     # Runs once a day by default (admin-tunable via the Scheduler dashboard). Grace periods
     # are in days because that's the granularity that matters; the rolling re-validation
@@ -173,9 +171,13 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     feed_default_hidden_live: str = "live,upcoming"
 
     # --- Download center (yt-dlp) ---
-    # Root directory (inside the container) for downloaded media — a Docker volume/bind mount.
+    # Root directory (inside the container) for the files library — a Docker volume/bind mount.
     # Env-only (a mount path can't live in the DB). The worker lays a Plex-style tree under it.
-    download_root: str = "/downloads"
+    # DOWNLOAD_ROOT is its old name: an install still on the old compose file (mounted at
+    # /downloads, DOWNLOAD_ROOT=/downloads) keeps finding its files after it pulls a new image.
+    files_root: str = Field(
+        default="/files", validation_alias=AliasChoices("FILES_ROOT", "DOWNLOAD_ROOT", "files_root")
+    )
     # Whether THIS process runs the download worker loop. On for the dedicated worker
     # container, off for the API (which keeps the scheduler). Mirrors scheduler_enabled.
     worker_enabled: bool = False
@@ -183,15 +185,18 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     # for YouTube Proof-of-Origin tokens (bypasses bot-detection + unlocks high-quality
     # formats). Empty disables it (yt-dlp still works, but may hit "confirm you're not a bot").
     download_pot_base_url: str = "http://bgutil-pot:4416"
-    # yt-dlp player clients (comma-separated). PRIMARY = android_vr: high-quality DASH, no PO
-    # token / JS runtime needed, reliable for normal use. On a bot/DRM/format failure (YouTube's
-    # per-client responses are flaky, and android_vr can get bot-flagged under heavy load) the
-    # worker retries with the FALLBACK set — the POT-capable web clients (web needs the token +
-    # Deno) plus android for audio. Both admin-tunable when YouTube shifts what works.
+    # yt-dlp player clients (comma-separated). PRIMARY = tv_simply: measured 2026-10-10 as the one
+    # client that is offered 1080p+ AND finishes the fetch, its stream token minted by the bgutil
+    # sidecar. android_vr (the primary until then) was still offered 2160p, but every fetch died
+    # with HTTP 403 — it now needs a stream PO token the sidecar cannot mint — and the fallback
+    # below served 360p only, so every download came out at 360p without failing. On a
+    # bot/DRM/format failure the worker retries with the FALLBACK set — the POT-capable web clients
+    # (web needs the token + Deno) plus android, whose 360p is the last resort. Both admin-tunable
+    # (env) when YouTube shifts what works.
     # A SIGNED-IN download (the user added YouTube cookies) keeps only the cookie-capable clients
     # of these two sets — yt-dlp drops the rest, so android_vr / android / ios never run there.
     # See adapters.YouTubeAdapter._COOKIE_CAPABLE.
-    download_player_clients: str = "android_vr"
+    download_player_clients: str = "tv_simply"
     download_player_clients_fallback: str = "web_safari,web,android"
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -244,7 +249,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     download_default_max_bytes: int = 5_368_709_120  # 5 GiB
     download_default_max_concurrent: int = 2
     download_default_max_jobs: int = 50
-    # Per-file cap for local uploads (E7). Unlike a download (whose size is unknown until the worker
+    # Per-file cap for local uploads. Unlike a download (whose size is unknown until the worker
     # finishes), an upload's size is known at ingest, so this bounds a single file directly; the
     # user's overall byte footprint is still governed by download_default_max_bytes.
     # ge=1: this number is also the EDGE ceiling (`bodylimit.ROUTE_MAX_BODY_BYTES`), where 0 is a
@@ -260,12 +265,15 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     # Admin audit log: how long to keep rows (days; 0 = keep forever) + how often the GC runs.
     audit_retention_days: int = 180
     audit_gc_minutes: int = 1440
+    # YouTube quota history (quota_events): days kept (0 = forever). A year, so the admin usage view's
+    # longest window (365 days) stays whole; the same daily cleanup job prunes it.
+    quota_retention_days: int = 365
     # On-disk layout: "plex" (Channel/Season YYYY/… [id].ext + .nfo/poster) or "flat".
     download_layout: DownloadLayout = "plex"
     # Default SponsorBlock (skip sponsor segments) for new custom profiles.
     sponsorblock_default: bool = False
 
-    # --- Diagnostics / logging (E22) ---
+    # --- Diagnostics / logging ---
     # BOOTSTRAP level only: the running level is the `log_level` admin knob (sysconfig), applied at
     # startup and on change without a restart. This is what a process logs at before it can reach
     # the database — and the only knob the worker/runner children read, since they are short-lived.
@@ -298,7 +306,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     plex_path_map: str = ""
     # Which Plex library section keys are exposed (comma-separated). Empty = all enabled sections.
     plex_libraries: str = ""
-    # HU-overlay mapping (E5 S5): comma-separated `huSectionKey:enSectionKey` pairs. Each named HU
+    # HU-overlay mapping: comma-separated `huSectionKey:enSectionKey` pairs. Each named HU
     # section is synced as a non-browsable overlay whose Hungarian metadata is written onto the EN
     # twin section's rows (matched by guid). Empty = no overlays. E.g. "3:4,5:1".
     plex_overlay_map: str = ""
@@ -308,7 +316,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     plex_sync_interval_min: int = 360
     # How often the incremental Plex→Siftlode watch-state reconcile runs, in minutes (Phase C):
     # a cheap history + on-deck pull plus a re-push of any states that failed their immediate push.
-    # 15 min (S2): with Plex now the source of truth (prompt write-back on the ~10s checkpoint +
+    # 15 min: with Plex now the source of truth (prompt write-back on the ~10s checkpoint +
     # Plex-authoritative pull), a faster incremental pull keeps Siftlode close to Plex-side changes.
     plex_watch_sync_interval_min: int = 15
     # How often the FULL watch-state reconcile runs, in minutes (Phase C). A whole-section rescan
@@ -323,7 +331,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     # each one is a whole segmented copy of the film on the scratch volume, written faster than
     # realtime. One account holds at most two regardless (plex/stream.py `_MAX_SESSIONS_PER_USER`).
     plex_max_sessions: int = 8
-    # --- Transcode (playable="transcode") re-encode tuning (E6 S1) ---
+    # --- Transcode (playable="transcode") re-encode tuning ---
     # Hardware-encoder policy: "auto" = VAAPI (h264_vaapi) when the iGPU render node is present AND the
     # source codec is hardware-decodable, else libx264 software; "on" = force VAAPI wherever the render
     # node exists (skip the decodability gate); "off" = always software. See plex/stream.py `_select_encode`.
@@ -341,12 +349,12 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     plex_transcode_crf: int = 20
     plex_transcode_max_height: int = 1080
     # Where on-the-fly HLS remux segments are written (transient, reaped). Empty → a `.plex-hls`
-    # dir under download_root. On localdev the download_root is a slow Windows bind-mount, so point
-    # this at a fast container-local path (e.g. /var/tmp/plex-hls); prod's download_root is fast
+    # dir under files_root. On localdev the files_root is a slow Windows bind-mount, so point
+    # this at a fast container-local path (e.g. /var/tmp/plex-hls); prod's files_root is fast
     # local disk, so the default is fine there.
     plex_hls_dir: str = ""
 
-    # --- TMDB enrichment (E5 S2; optional — enriches the Plex catalog from TMDB) ---
+    # --- TMDB enrichment (optional — enriches the Plex catalog from TMDB) ---
     # TMDB API key (v3 api_key, 32 hex chars). Server-side only; stored encrypted when set via the
     # admin Config page. Empty → the TMDB enrichment job no-ops. Feeds keywords / crew / budget /
     # revenue / TMDb score / recommendations / backdrops onto the mirrored Plex rows, matched by the
@@ -356,7 +364,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     # Metadata language for TMDB fetches (keyword/overview locale). Stored EN by default.
     tmdb_language: str = "en-US"
 
-    # --- Bug reports (E16): where a debug session's issue goes. All three empty = no tracker; the
+    # --- Bug reports: where a debug session's issue goes. All three empty = no tracker; the
     # composer still exports a zip. The repository must be PRIVATE — an issue carries the reporter's
     # log — and app/issues/gitea.py refuses a public one. Runtime knobs (sysconfig, admin UI). ---
     issues_gitea_url: str = ""
@@ -366,7 +374,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     tmdb_enrich_interval_min: int = 120
     # Titles fetched per TMDB enrichment run (TMDB is fast + generously rate-limited).
     tmdb_enrich_batch: int = 100
-    # How often the people job (E30 S6) fetches a batch of person bios from TMDB and portraits through Plex,
+    # How often the people job fetches a batch of person bios from TMDB and portraits through Plex,
     # in minutes, and how many of each per run: ~18k linked people at 300 per 10 min is about ten hours
     # once, then only the newcomers.
     people_enrich_interval_min: int = 10

backend/app/debugsession.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""Debug sessions (E16): Start → reproduce → Stop, and the evidence a bug report is built from.
+"""Debug sessions: Start → reproduce → Stop, and the evidence a bug report is built from.
 
 While a session is open its user's browser names it in `X-Debug-Session` on every request. The auth
 dependency accepts the header only for the caller's OWN open session (anything else is ignored, never
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ def set_delivery(db: Session, session: DebugSession, state: dict, token: str) ->
     every step. It is stamped from `token` here instead, and only after the ROW confirms the claim
     is still ours. Without that check the write is a full-column overwrite with no WHERE: a send
     that lost its lease came back and stomped the take-over send's committed links, then put its
-    own dead token back on an idle session (deep-review round 4). `release_send` has always made
+    own dead token back on an idle session. `release_send` has always made
     the same check; this is the other half of it."""
     if claim_owner(db, session) != token:
         raise SendClaimLost(session.id)

backend/app/demo.py

@@ -1,82 +0,0 @@
-"""Demo-account service: reset the shared demo sandbox to a clean, seeded baseline.
-
-Shared by the admin's manual reset endpoint (routes/admin.py) and the scheduled demo-reset job
-(scheduler.py). Lives in the service layer, not routes, so the scheduler can call it without an
-`app.routes -> app.scheduler` import cycle (the reason its import used to be lazy).
-"""
-
-from sqlalchemy import delete, func, select
-from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
-
-from app.models import Playlist, PlaylistItem, Subscription, User, Video, VideoState
-
-
-def _seed_demo_playlists(db: Session, demo: User) -> int:
-    """Seed a few sample playlists from the shared catalog so a freshly-reset demo isn't
-    empty — gives visitors something to play with. Best-effort: skips silently if the
-    catalog is too small."""
-    recent = (
-        db.execute(
-            select(Video.id)
-            .where(Video.is_short.is_(False), Video.live_status == "none")
-            .order_by(Video.published_at.desc().nullslast())
-            .limit(60)
-        )
-        .scalars()
-        .all()
-    )
-    if not recent:
-        return 0
-    samples = [
-        ("Fresh picks", recent[0:10]),
-        ("Quick watch", recent[10:18]),
-        ("Saved for later", recent[18:26]),
-    ]
-    created = 0
-    for pos, (name, vids) in enumerate(samples):
-        if not vids:
-            continue
-        pl = Playlist(user_id=demo.id, name=name, position=pos)
-        db.add(pl)
-        db.flush()
-        for ipos, vid in enumerate(vids):
-            db.add(PlaylistItem(playlist_id=pl.id, video_id=vid, position=ipos))
-        created += 1
-    return created
-
-
-def _seed_demo_subscriptions(db: Session, demo: User, n: int = 14) -> int:
-    """Seed the demo with a handful of catalog channels (the ones with the most videos) so its
-    Channel manager isn't empty — gives visitors something to explore and matches the landing-page
-    screenshot. Idempotent: clears the demo's subscriptions first, then re-adds the top N."""
-    db.execute(delete(Subscription).where(Subscription.user_id == demo.id))
-    top = (
-        db.execute(
-            select(Video.channel_id)
-            .where(Video.channel_id.is_not(None))
-            .group_by(Video.channel_id)
-            .order_by(func.count().desc())
-            .limit(n)
-        )
-        .scalars()
-        .all()
-    )
-    for channel_id in top:
-        db.add(Subscription(user_id=demo.id, channel_id=channel_id))
-    return len(top)
-
-
-def reset_demo_state(db: Session, demo: User) -> int:
-    """Wipe the demo account's per-user state (watch/save/hide states, playlists, preferences)
-    back to a clean baseline and re-seed a few sample playlists + channel subscriptions. Returns
-    the seeded playlist count. Shared by the admin's manual reset button and the scheduled demo
-    reset (see scheduler)."""
-    db.execute(delete(VideoState).where(VideoState.user_id == demo.id))
-    # Playlist items cascade on playlist delete (ondelete="CASCADE").
-    db.execute(delete(Playlist).where(Playlist.user_id == demo.id))
-    demo.preferences = {"language": "en"}
-    db.commit()
-    seeded = _seed_demo_playlists(db, demo)
-    _seed_demo_subscriptions(db, demo)
-    db.commit()
-    return seeded

backend/app/diagnostics.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""A user's diagnostics level (E22 S5): what they consented to, and for how long.
+"""A user's diagnostics level: what they consented to, and for how long.
 
 Three levels, named in the UI Alap / Részletes / Teljes:
 
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ Three levels, named in the UI Alap / Részletes / Teljes:
 
 A raised level always lapses after `ELEVATION_HOURS`: the expiry is computed HERE at consent time,
 never taken from the client, and an expired level reads as INFO without anything having to clear it.
-The shared demo account cannot raise its level — its log would mix every visitor's session.
 
 Core layer: imports `models` and `sysconfig`.
 """
@@ -27,7 +26,7 @@ DiagnosticsLevel = Literal["INFO", "DEBUG", "TRACE"]
 LEVELS: tuple[str, ...] = get_args(DiagnosticsLevel)
 BASE: DiagnosticsLevel = "INFO"
 ELEVATION_HOURS = 24
-# How long a debug session records at most (E16, app/debugsession.py). Here, beside the other
+# How long a debug session records at most (app/debugsession.py). Here, beside the other
 # consent window, because the start dialog's consent text states it and reads it from `state`.
 SESSION_MINUTES = 60
 

backend/app/discover/__init__.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""E24 — the read-model behind the Home surface ("Mit nézzek most?").
+"""The read-model behind the Home surface ("Mit nézzek most?").
 
 The anti-paralysis answer layer: one hero suggestion, a cross-source resume rail, and the user's own
 comfort shelf, all served from our own Postgres with no upstream call at serve time (the same rule

backend/app/discover/budget.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""The time budget — E24's replacement for "what mood are you in?".
+"""The time budget — the replacement for "what mood are you in?".
 
 `random-gondolatok` 15/D asked for a mood questionnaire before the recommendations. The same file's
 later BA-interview note (#23) says the mood half is not what makes this work: the friction is

backend/app/discover/pins.py

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 from app.discover import cards, queries
 from app.models import Channel, ComfortPin, PlexItem, PlexShow, Playlist, User, Video
 from app.plex import rollup
-from app.plex.cards import leaf_card, show_card
+from app.plex.cards import SHOW_NEW, leaf_card, show_card
 from app.plex.lookups import by_rating_key
 
 # kind -> the ComfortPin column that holds it. The client's vocabulary and the schema's, in one place.
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ def resolve_ref(db: Session, user: User, kind: str, ref: str) -> tuple[str, obje
     translation belongs here rather than in five call sites.
 
     The COLUMN half of every answer comes from `PIN_COLUMNS`; only the LOOKUP differs per kind
-    (a direct `db.get`, a rating-key translation, an int parse plus an ownership check). Before the
-    E24 review the branches spelled the column names out again and `PIN_COLUMNS` had no readers at
+    (a direct `db.get`, a rating-key translation, an int parse plus an ownership check). Before a
+    review the branches spelled the column names out again and `PIN_COLUMNS` had no readers at
     all — a constant that called itself the one vocabulary while nothing spoke it."""
     col = PIN_COLUMNS.get(kind)
     if col is None:
@@ -203,8 +203,8 @@ def _shelf_card(db: Session, user: User, pin: ComfortPin, batch: _Batch, lang: s
         sh = db.get(PlexShow, pin.plex_show_id)
         if sh is None:
             return None
-        status = rollup.state_map(db, user.id, [sh.id]).get(sh.id, "new")
-        card = cards.from_plex(show_card(sh, status, lang=lang))
+        state = rollup.state_map(db, user.id, [sh.id]).get(sh.id, SHOW_NEW)
+        card = cards.from_plex(show_card(sh, state, lang=lang))
         ep = queries.next_episode(db, user.id, sh.id, lang=lang)
         nxt = cards.from_plex(ep) if ep else None
 

backend/app/discover/queries.py

@@ -256,16 +256,20 @@ def plex_in_progress(
     if show_libs:
         prog = rollup.agg_subquery(db, uid, include_resumed=True).subquery()
         sq = apply_show_state_filter(
-            select(PlexShow, prog.c.resumed_at).join(prog, prog.c.show_id == PlexShow.id),
+            select(PlexShow, prog.c.resumed_at, prog.c.total, prog.c.watched, prog.c.inprog).join(
+                prog, prog.c.show_id == PlexShow.id
+            ),
             prog.c.total,
             prog.c.watched,
             prog.c.inprog,
             "in_progress",
         ).where(PlexShow.library_id.in_(show_libs))
-        for sh, resumed_at in db.execute(
+        for sh, resumed_at, total, watched, inprog in db.execute(
             sq.order_by(prog.c.resumed_at.desc().nullslast()).limit(limit)
         ).all():
-            out.append((resumed_at, show_card(sh, "in_progress", lang=lang)))
+            out.append(
+                (resumed_at, show_card(sh, rollup.show_state(total, watched, inprog), lang=lang))
+            )
 
     return out
 

backend/app/downloads/adapters.py

@@ -106,7 +106,8 @@ class YouTubeAdapter(SourceAdapter):
     # `player_client=android_vr` yt-dlp logs `Skipping client "android_vr" since it does not support
     # cookies`, drops it, and the request that is left with no client fails with "Requested format is
     # not available" — which is already a retriable marker above, so the cost is a wasted attempt
-    # rather than a hard failure. Our primary set is android_vr ALONE, so without this filter every
+    # rather than a hard failure. Our primary set is tv_simply ALONE, which cannot carry cookies either
+    # (measured on yt-dlp 2026.08.19: `SUPPORTS_COOKIES` False), so without this filter every
     # signed-in download would burn its first attempt that way before reaching the POT-backed web
     # fallback the cookie exists for. The list is yt-dlp's own INNERTUBE_CLIENTS[...]
     # ["SUPPORTS_COOKIES"], pinned by test_adapters against the installed yt-dlp, so a version bump
@@ -156,7 +157,7 @@ class YouTubeAdapter(SourceAdapter):
 
 class FacebookAdapter(SourceAdapter):
     key = "facebook"
-    # Measured (E11.5, yt-dlp 2026.07.04): with the user's cookie, some reels answer a plain request
+    # Measured (yt-dlp 2026.07.04): with the user's cookie, some reels answer a plain request
     # with "Cannot parse data" and parse only when the request looks like Chrome. Impersonation is a
     # SECOND attempt behind that one error, not the default: the links that already download with the
     # cookie keep their proven path, and only the ones stuck at the wall go through curl_cffi. Without
@@ -166,7 +167,7 @@ class FacebookAdapter(SourceAdapter):
     _POST_PAGE_MAX_BYTES = 16 * 1024 * 1024
 
     def resolve_url(self, url: str, ydl_opts: dict) -> str:
-        # Measured (E11.5 S4): given a group post's link, yt-dlp either finds no formats or — worse —
+        # Measured: given a group post's link, yt-dlp either finds no formats or — worse —
         # downloads ANOTHER video from the page's feed data. The post's own video is the one Video node
         # in the page scripts that carry the post id; its watch link downloads (plain first, then the
         # Chrome retry above). Needs the cookie: signed out, the page is the login wall.
@@ -176,7 +177,7 @@ class FacebookAdapter(SourceAdapter):
         with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
             raw = ydl.urlopen(url).read(self._POST_PAGE_MAX_BYTES)
         page = raw.decode("utf-8", "replace")
-        # Measured (E11.5 review): a refused or expired cookie gets the login page (~450 KB, a login
+        # Measured: a refused or expired cookie gets the login page (~450 KB, a login
         # form, no post id at all), which is not a post without a video — the user's cookie is the cause.
         if _quoted(post_id) not in page:
             raise StatedFailure(POST_NOT_SHOWN_MESSAGE)

backend/app/downloads/backfill.py

@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ def run() -> dict:
             if a.poster_path is None:
                 # Record a self-hosted poster for every download (the reliable og:image source):
                 # ensure_poster returns the existing <base>.jpg thumbnail sidecar, or cuts a frame.
-                rel = editmod.ensure_poster(a, settings.download_root)
+                rel = editmod.ensure_poster(a, settings.files_root)
                 if rel:
                     a.poster_path = rel
                     filled_poster += 1

backend/app/downloads/clip.py

@@ -0,0 +1,289 @@
+"""Ad-hoc clips: a marked range of a YouTube video or a Plex item, cut into a new per-user asset.
+
+A clip never needs the whole source first. A YouTube clip fetches only its range (yt-dlp's
+`download_ranges`; measured: 3-7 s whether the video runs four minutes or an hour, and the fetched
+range starts on the marked frame), and a Plex clip reads the library file in place. Either way the
+range then goes through ONE re-encode built here, so every clip has the same shape whatever its
+source: frame-exact at both ends, H.264 at most 1080p (an HDR source tonemapped to SDR — kept as
+10-bit PQ it played washed out), stereo AAC, in an .mp4 that plays on any phone.
+
+A clip may also crop the picture to a frame the user drew over the playing video. The frame is
+given in fractions of the box it was drawn in, with that box's aspect: the YouTube iframe never
+tells its picture's size, so the frame there is drawn over the player's 16:9 box (a short's 9:16),
+and the cut maps it onto the real picture (`crop_filter`) — what lies over a letterbox bar is dropped.
+
+The spec is stored on the job (`DownloadJob.edit_spec`) and is the clip's whole identity: its
+signature is the asset's cache key, so marking the same range again is an instant cache hit, and a
+different range or audio track is a different clip.
+"""
+
+import hashlib
+import json
+import math
+import re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from app.downloads.edit import AAC_ARGS, EVEN_FRAME, INPUT_GUARD, X264_ARGS
+from app.plex.sync import HDR_TRANSFERS
+
+SOURCES = ("youtube", "plex")
+# Owner's cap: a clip is a moment, not a way to export a whole film to a public link.
+MAX_CLIP_S = 600
+MIN_CLIP_S = 1
+MAX_HEIGHT = 1080
+# What yt-dlp fetches the range in (formats.normalize fills the rest): the clip's own ceiling, so the
+# re-encode never upscales and never throws away a better source than it keeps.
+YOUTUBE_FETCH_SPEC = {"mode": "av", "max_height": MAX_HEIGHT, "container": "mp4"}
+# Bump when the spec → output-bytes mapping changes, so a cached clip re-derives.
+_SIG_VERSION = 1
+
+_YOUTUBE_ID = re.compile(r"[A-Za-z0-9_-]{11}")
+_RATING_KEY = re.compile(r"[0-9]{1,32}")
+_MAX_AUDIO_TRACK = 63
+# HDR → SDR as measured on the owner's 4K HDR files (2026-10-10): linearise, tonemap (hable),
+# convert the primaries and transfer to BT.709 and back to 8-bit 4:2:0.
+_TONEMAP = (
+    "zscale=t=linear:npl=100,format=gbrpf32le,zscale=p=bt709,tonemap=hable:desat=0,"
+    "zscale=t=bt709:m=bt709:r=tv,format=yuv420p"
+)
+_SCALE = f"scale=-2:'min({MAX_HEIGHT},ih)'"
+# A crop frame is at least this share of its box on each side (the player's frame holds the same
+# floor), and what is left of it on the real picture at least _MIN_VISIBLE of it.
+MIN_CROP = 0.1
+_MIN_VISIBLE = 0.05
+# The box aspects a frame may be drawn in: a 9:16 short to a 21:9 film, with room either side.
+_CROP_ASPECTS = (0.25, 4.0)
+# Float slack on the frame's far edges (x + w, y + h), which the client rounds to 4 decimals.
+_EDGE_SLACK = 1e-3
+
+
+class ClipError(Exception):
+    """A clip request that cannot be cut; `reason` is an i18n-mappable key, `params` the numbers its
+    message names (the cap itself, so the client never says a stale one)."""
+
+    def __init__(self, reason: str, **params: float):
+        self.reason = reason
+        self.params = params
+        super().__init__(reason)
+
+
+def normalize(
+    source: str,
+    ref: str,
+    start_s: float,
+    end_s: float,
+    audio_track: int | None = None,
+    crop: dict | None = None,
+) -> dict:
+    """The validated, canonical clip spec. Times are rounded to the millisecond and a crop to four
+    decimals, so the same marks always give the same cache key. Raises ClipError."""
+    if source not in SOURCES:
+        raise ClipError("bad_source")
+    pattern = _YOUTUBE_ID if source == "youtube" else _RATING_KEY
+    if not isinstance(ref, str) or not pattern.fullmatch(ref):
+        raise ClipError("bad_source")
+    if not (math.isfinite(start_s) and math.isfinite(end_s)) or start_s < 0:
+        raise ClipError("bad_range")
+    start, end = round(start_s, 3), round(end_s, 3)
+    if end - start < MIN_CLIP_S:
+        raise ClipError("too_short")
+    if end - start > MAX_CLIP_S:
+        raise ClipError("too_long", limit_s=MAX_CLIP_S)
+    spec: dict = {"source": source, "ref": ref, "start_s": start, "end_s": end}
+    if source == "plex" and audio_track is not None:
+        if not 0 <= audio_track <= _MAX_AUDIO_TRACK:
+            raise ClipError("bad_audio")
+        spec["audio_track"] = audio_track
+    frame = _crop(crop)
+    if frame is not None:
+        spec["crop"] = frame
+    return spec
+
+
+def _crop(raw: dict | None) -> dict | None:
+    """A crop frame, canonical — or None for no crop, which a frame over the whole box also is (the
+    same clip as one cut without a frame, so the same cache key)."""
+    if raw is None:
+        return None
+    try:
+        x, y, w, h, aspect = (float(raw[k]) for k in ("x", "y", "w", "h", "aspect"))
+    except (KeyError, TypeError, ValueError) as e:
+        raise ClipError("bad_crop") from e
+    if not all(math.isfinite(v) for v in (x, y, w, h, aspect)):
+        raise ClipError("bad_crop")
+    lo, hi = _CROP_ASPECTS
+    if not lo <= aspect <= hi or x < 0 or y < 0:
+        raise ClipError("bad_crop")
+    if w < MIN_CROP - _EDGE_SLACK or h < MIN_CROP - _EDGE_SLACK:
+        raise ClipError("bad_crop")
+    if x + w > 1 + _EDGE_SLACK or y + h > 1 + _EDGE_SLACK:
+        raise ClipError("bad_crop")
+    frame = {"x": x, "y": y, "w": min(w, 1 - x), "h": min(h, 1 - y), "aspect": aspect}
+    frame = {k: round(v, 4) for k, v in frame.items()}
+    if (frame["x"], frame["y"], frame["w"], frame["h"]) == (0, 0, 1, 1):
+        return None
+    return frame
+
+
+def duration(spec: dict) -> float:
+    return spec["end_s"] - spec["start_s"]
+
+
+def sig(spec: dict) -> str:
+    """The clip's cache signature: the spec itself, versioned."""
+    body = json.dumps({**spec, "_v": _SIG_VERSION}, sort_keys=True, separators=(",", ":"))
+    return hashlib.sha256(body.encode()).hexdigest()[:24]
+
+
+def asset_ref(user_id: int, spec: dict) -> str:
+    """The asset's `source_ref`. The user id makes a clip private to whoever cut it, like an edit:
+    never dedup-shared, never cache-served to someone else."""
+    return f"{user_id}:{spec['source']}:{spec['ref']}"
+
+
+def reference_url(spec: dict) -> str | None:
+    """Where a YouTube clip came from: its video at the clip's start. A Plex clip has no public page."""
+    if spec.get("source") != "youtube" or not spec.get("ref"):
+        return None
+    return f"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v={spec['ref']}&t={int(spec.get('start_s') or 0)}s"
+
+
+def is_hdr(probe: dict) -> bool:
+    """Whether the first video stream of an ffprobe `-show_streams` JSON carries an HDR transfer."""
+    for s in probe.get("streams") or []:
+        if s.get("codec_type") == "video":
+            # PQ / HLG: an 8-bit SDR encode must tonemap them (the one set the Plex stream uses).
+            return s.get("color_transfer") in HDR_TRANSFERS
+    return False
+
+
+def display_aspect(probe: dict) -> float | None:
+    """The picture's shape as a player shows it, from an ffprobe `-show_streams` JSON: the first video
+    stream's width × its sample aspect ratio over its height, turned a quarter when the stream says
+    it is rotated (ffmpeg turns such a stream upright before any filter of ours, so a crop is cut
+    from the upright picture). None when the stream has no size."""
+    for s in probe.get("streams") or []:
+        if s.get("codec_type") != "video":
+            continue
+        w, h = s.get("width"), s.get("height")
+        if not isinstance(w, int) or not isinstance(h, int) or w <= 0 or h <= 0:
+            return None
+        dar = w * (_ratio(s.get("sample_aspect_ratio")) or 1.0) / h
+        return 1 / dar if _quarter_turned(s) else dar
+    return None
+
+
+def _ratio(v: object) -> float | None:
+    """'32:27' → 1.185…; '0:1', 'N/A', a missing or malformed value → None."""
+    if not isinstance(v, str) or ":" not in v:
+        return None
+    num, _, den = v.partition(":")
+    try:
+        n, d = float(num), float(den)
+    except ValueError:  # silent-ok: a malformed ratio reads as none given; the caller takes 1:1
+        return None
+    return n / d if n > 0 and d > 0 else None
+
+
+def _quarter_turned(stream: dict) -> bool:
+    rotation: object = (stream.get("tags") or {}).get("rotate")
+    for sd in stream.get("side_data_list") or []:
+        if "rotation" in sd:
+            rotation = sd["rotation"]
+    try:
+        return round(float(str(rotation))) % 180 == 90
+    except ValueError:  # silent-ok: no (None) or a malformed rotation: the stream is upright
+        return False
+
+
+def crop_filter(crop: dict, dar: float) -> str | None:
+    """The ffmpeg `crop` for a frame drawn in a box of `crop["aspect"]`, over a picture of display
+    aspect `dar` fitted into that box as a player fits it (whole, centred, bars on the short sides).
+    The frame's part over a bar is dropped: "" when what is left is the whole picture, None when too
+    little of the frame lies on the picture at all.
+
+    In fractions of the input's own width and height, so a sample aspect ratio other than 1:1 (an
+    anamorphic DVD) needs nothing of its own, and floored to even pixels: an even 4:2:0 frame, and a
+    window that never runs past the picture's far edge."""
+    box = crop["aspect"]
+    pic_w, pic_h = (1.0, box / dar) if dar > box else (dar / box, 1.0)
+
+    def span(start: float, size: float, extent: float) -> tuple[float, float]:
+        origin = (1 - extent) / 2
+        a = min(1.0, max(0.0, (start - origin) / extent))
+        b = min(1.0, max(0.0, (start + size - origin) / extent))
+        return a, b - a
+
+    x, w = span(crop["x"], crop["w"], pic_w)
+    y, h = span(crop["y"], crop["h"], pic_h)
+    if w < _MIN_VISIBLE or h < _MIN_VISIBLE:
+        return None
+    if w > 1 - 1e-4 and h > 1 - 1e-4:
+        return ""
+
+    def px(axis: str, f: float) -> str:
+        return f"trunc({axis}*{f:.6f}/2)*2"
+
+    return f"crop={px('iw', w)}:{px('ih', h)}:{px('iw', x)}:{px('ih', y)}"
+
+
+def audio_track_count(probe: dict) -> int:
+    return sum(1 for s in probe.get("streams") or [] if s.get("codec_type") == "audio")
+
+
+def build_cmd(
+    src: Path,
+    dest: Path,
+    start_s: float,
+    dur_s: float,
+    *,
+    audio_track: int | None,
+    hdr: bool,
+    threads: int,
+    crop: str = "",
+) -> list[str]:
+    """ffmpeg for one clip: an input seek (decodes from the keyframe before `start_s` and drops the
+    frames up to it, so the clip starts on the marked frame), the first video stream, the chosen audio
+    track (the first when none was chosen; none at all is fine), no subtitles, data or chapters.
+    A `crop` (crop_filter) comes first: the tonemap and the scale then work on the frame it keeps."""
+    vf = ",".join([*([crop] if crop else []), *([_TONEMAP] if hdr else []), _SCALE, EVEN_FRAME])
+    audio = f"0:a:{audio_track}" if audio_track is not None else "0:a:0?"
+    return [
+        "ffmpeg",
+        "-y",
+        "-hide_banner",
+        "-loglevel",
+        "error",
+        "-nostdin",
+        "-progress",
+        "pipe:1",
+        "-nostats",
+        "-ss",
+        f"{start_s:.3f}",
+        *INPUT_GUARD,
+        "-i",
+        str(src),
+        "-t",
+        f"{dur_s:.3f}",
+        "-map",
+        "0:v:0",
+        "-map",
+        audio,
+        "-sn",
+        "-dn",
+        # A source's chapters would ride into the .mp4 as a data track of their own (an mkv's
+        # chapter list came out as `bin_data`); a clip of a moment has no chapters to keep.
+        "-map_chapters",
+        "-1",
+        "-vf",
+        vf,
+        *X264_ARGS,
+        "-threads",
+        str(threads),
+        *AAC_ARGS,
+        "-ac",
+        "2",
+        "-movflags",
+        "+faststart",
+        str(dest),
+    ]

backend/app/downloads/credentials.py

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app import logs
+from app.downloads import clip as clipmod
 from app.downloads import formats
 from app.downloads.adapters import _host_is
 from app.models import DownloadCredential, MediaAsset
@@ -249,8 +250,8 @@ def usable_cookie(
 
     If (2) fails the asset is the SHARED (unsalted) one — attaching the cookie would poison the
     global cache with a private-group video, so we attach nothing. An unreadable blob (rotated key →
-    InvalidToken) also yields None; the download then fails honestly on the login wall (S3's
-    `login_required`)."""
+    InvalidToken) also yields None; the download then fails honestly on the login wall (the
+    `login_required` category)."""
     host_key = host_key_for_url(url)
     if host_key is None:
         return None
@@ -259,6 +260,28 @@ def usable_cookie(
         return None
     if not is_authed_asset(asset, spec, user_id, url):
         return None  # shared asset — never attach a cookie to a non-private identity
+    return _readable(cred, user_id, host_key)
+
+
+def usable_clip_cookie(
+    db: Session, user_id: int, url: str | None, asset: MediaAsset, clip_spec: dict
+) -> str | None:
+    """`usable_cookie` for an ad-hoc clip's range fetch. The second gate is the clip's own identity:
+    a clip asset is private by construction (`clip.asset_ref` names its user, see downloads/clip),
+    so a cookie goes with it exactly when that asset is THIS user's clip of `clip_spec`. Without it a
+    video YouTube gates signed out could never be clipped, while its download goes through."""
+    host_key = host_key_for_url(url)
+    if host_key is None:
+        return None
+    cred = get_credential(db, user_id, host_key)
+    if cred is None:
+        return None
+    if asset.source_kind != "clip" or asset.source_ref != clipmod.asset_ref(user_id, clip_spec):
+        return None
+    return _readable(cred, user_id, host_key)
+
+
+def _readable(cred: DownloadCredential, user_id: int, host_key: str) -> str | None:
     raw = decrypt_optional(cred.cookies_enc)
     if not raw:
         log.warning(
@@ -284,6 +307,14 @@ def resolve_cookiefile(
     return _write_cookiefile(raw, staging) if raw else None
 
 
+def resolve_clip_cookiefile(
+    db: Session, user_id: int, url: str | None, asset: MediaAsset, clip_spec: dict, staging: Path
+) -> Path | None:
+    """`resolve_cookiefile` for an ad-hoc clip (`usable_clip_cookie`)."""
+    raw = usable_clip_cookie(db, user_id, url, asset, clip_spec)
+    return _write_cookiefile(raw, staging) if raw else None
+
+
 def _write_cookiefile(raw: str, staging: Path) -> Path:
     """Write the cookie blob to a private 0600 file under `staging/.auth/` and return its path.
 

backend/app/downloads/edit.py

@@ -188,6 +188,51 @@ 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"]
+# The last step of every video filter chain a libx264 re-encode runs: 4:2:0 halves the chroma, so
+# libx264 refuses an odd width or height ("width not divisible by 2") — measured on an odd source
+# that is not 4:2:0 already (a 4:4:4 or RGB screen capture, 1365x767). A crop of a 4:2:0 source is
+# rounded to its chroma grid by ffmpeg itself; this holds every other path to the encoder to the same
+# even frame. Rounding down to even costs at most one pixel row/column.
+EVEN_FRAME = "scale=trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2"
+
+# The demuxers ffmpeg/ffprobe may use to open a library file — single-file containers only. Without
+# it ffmpeg picks the demuxer from the file's CONTENT and NAME, and an upload's name is the user's:
+# a playlist-type demuxer (HLS, DASH, concat) opens whatever local paths its entries name, so a
+# crafted upload could copy another user's clip or a Plex file into its own converted asset. A file
+# no demuxer here can open fails the probe, and an unprobeable upload is a download-only 'file'.
+MEDIA_DEMUXERS = (
+    "mov",  # mp4, m4a, mov, 3gp
+    "matroska",  # mkv, webm
+    "mpegts",
+    "mpeg",
+    "avi",
+    "asf",
+    "flv",
+    "ogg",
+    "mp3",
+    "aac",
+    "ac3",
+    "eac3",
+    "flac",
+    "wav",
+    "w64",
+    "aiff",
+    "caf",
+    "amr",
+)
+INPUT_GUARD = ["-format_whitelist", ",".join(MEDIA_DEMUXERS)]
+# A downloaded thumbnail is the remote site's bytes under the suffix yt-dlp gave it (`.png`, `.webp`,
+# `.jpg` — `pipeline._THUMB_SUFFIXES`): only the single-image demuxers those open, so a "thumbnail"
+# that is really a playlist cannot pull a local file into the poster. Anything else fails, and the
+# poster falls back to a cut frame (`ensure_poster`).
+THUMB_GUARD = ["-format_whitelist", "png_pipe,jpeg_pipe,webp_pipe"]
+
 
 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.
@@ -214,7 +259,7 @@ def build_edit_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path, spec: dict, out_ext: str) -> list[str]
     ]
     if start:
         cmd += ["-ss", f"{start:.3f}"]
-    cmd += ["-i", str(src)]
+    cmd += [*INPUT_GUARD, "-i", str(src)]
     if end is not None:
         dur = end - start
         if dur > 0:
@@ -222,21 +267,9 @@ def build_edit_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path, spec: dict, out_ext: str) -> list[str]
 
     if reencode:
         # Input -ss + re-encode is frame-accurate (decodes from the prior keyframe, discards up to
-        # 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",
-        ]
+        # the exact cut). A crop adds the filter; an accurate trim only evens the frame.
+        cropf = f"crop={crop['w']}:{crop['h']}:{crop['x']}:{crop['y']}," if crop else ""
+        cmd += ["-vf", cropf + EVEN_FRAME, *X264_ARGS, *AAC_ARGS]
     else:
         cmd += ["-c", "copy", "-avoid_negative_ts", "make_zero"]
 
@@ -284,11 +317,14 @@ def build_concat_plan(src: Path, dest: Path, spec: dict, out_ext: str, staging:
         parts, labels = [], []
         for i, s in enumerate(segs):
             st, en = s["start_s"], s["end_s"]
-            parts.append(f"[0:v]trim=start={st}:end={en},setpts=PTS-STARTPTS{cropf}[v{i}]")
+            parts.append(
+                f"[0:v]trim=start={st}:end={en},setpts=PTS-STARTPTS{cropf},{EVEN_FRAME}[v{i}]"
+            )
             parts.append(f"[0:a]atrim=start={st}:end={en},asetpts=PTS-STARTPTS[a{i}]")
             labels.append(f"[v{i}][a{i}]")
         parts.append(f"{''.join(labels)}concat=n={len(segs)}:v=1:a=1[v][a]")
         cmd = head + [
+            *INPUT_GUARD,
             "-i",
             str(src),
             "-filter_complex",
@@ -297,26 +333,23 @@ 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"
-        lines = []
+        lines = ["ffconcat version 1.0"]
         for s in segs:
             lines.append(f"file '{_concat_quote(src)}'")
+            # ffmpeg hands the list's whitelist (which must name `concat` to read the list) down to
+            # the file it names, so a library file whose bytes are a concat list would be read as one
+            # and open the paths inside it. Each entry's own whitelist replaces the inherited one.
+            lines.append(f"option format_whitelist {INPUT_GUARD[1]}")
             lines.append(f"inpoint {s['start_s']}")
             lines.append(f"outpoint {s['end_s']}")
         prep[listp] = "\n".join(lines) + "\n"
-        cmd = head + ["-f", "concat", "-safe", "0", "-i", str(listp), "-c", "copy"]
+        guard = ["-format_whitelist", "concat," + INPUT_GUARD[1]]
+        cmd = head + ["-f", "concat", "-safe", "0", *guard, "-i", str(listp), "-c", "copy"]
 
     if out_ext in ("mp4", "m4a", "mov"):
         cmd += ["-movflags", "+faststart"]
@@ -400,7 +433,7 @@ def escalate_kill(proc: subprocess.Popen, terminate, kill, grace_s: float, label
     try:
         proc.wait(timeout=grace_s)
     except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-        # noqa TRY400: the exception IS the message here. A TimeoutExpired's traceback is this
+        # TRY400: the exception IS the message here. A TimeoutExpired's traceback is this
         # `wait` call and nothing else — it would add three frames and no fact the line lacks.
         log.error("%s pid %s survived SIGKILL", label, proc.pid)  # noqa: TRY400
 
@@ -456,7 +489,7 @@ def run_ffmpeg(
         try:
             ret = proc.wait(timeout=_FFMPEG_EXIT_GRACE_S)
         except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:  # pipes closed but the process lingers
-            raise StatedFailure("ffmpeg did not exit after closing its output")
+            raise StatedFailure("ffmpeg did not exit after closing its output") from None
     except BaseException:
         # ONE exit path stops the process, so the invariant is unconditional: nothing leaves this
         # function with ffmpeg still running. Not just our own EditAborted/stall — `on_progress`
@@ -474,14 +507,7 @@ 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(
@@ -493,10 +519,10 @@ 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"]
+    args = ["ffprobe", "-v", "error", *INPUT_GUARD]
     if show_streams:
         args.append("-show_streams")
     if show_format:
@@ -517,35 +543,6 @@ 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)."""
@@ -555,6 +552,7 @@ def probe_duration(path: Path) -> int:
                 "ffprobe",
                 "-v",
                 "error",
+                *INPUT_GUARD,
                 "-show_entries",
                 "format=duration",
                 "-of",
@@ -577,49 +575,6 @@ 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
@@ -655,6 +610,7 @@ def build_storyboard_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path, duration_s: int | None, geom: di
         "-loglevel",
         "error",
         "-nostdin",
+        *INPUT_GUARD,
         "-i",
         str(src),
         "-frames:v",
@@ -678,6 +634,7 @@ def build_poster_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path, at_s: float) -> list[str]:
         "-nostdin",
         "-ss",
         f"{max(0.0, at_s):.3f}",
+        *INPUT_GUARD,
         "-i",
         str(src),
         "-frames:v",
@@ -699,6 +656,7 @@ def build_thumbnail_jpg_cmd(src: Path, dest: Path) -> list[str]:
         "-loglevel",
         "error",
         "-nostdin",
+        *THUMB_GUARD,
         "-i",
         str(src),
         "-frames:v",
@@ -734,7 +692,7 @@ def _step_failure(err: BaseException) -> str:
 
 
 def _is_jpeg(path: Path) -> bool:
-    """True if the file starts with the JPEG SOI marker (FF D8 FF)."""
+    """True if the file starts with the JPEG SOI marker (0xFF 0xD8 0xFF)."""
     try:
         with path.open("rb") as f:
             return f.read(3) == b"\xff\xd8\xff"
@@ -774,7 +732,7 @@ def thumbnail_to_jpg(src: Path | None, dest: Path, timeout_s: int = 30) -> Path
     return dest if dest.exists() else None
 
 
-def ensure_poster(asset, download_root: str, timeout_s: int = 30) -> str | None:
+def ensure_poster(asset, files_root: str, timeout_s: int = 30) -> str | None:
     """Generate a poster frame for a ready asset that has no thumbnail (e.g. a direct media URL
     like a reddit HLS manifest, which yt-dlp can't get a thumbnail for). Written as the media's
     `<base>.jpg` sidecar — so Plex uses it too and `delete_asset_files` cleans it up — and returned
@@ -782,7 +740,7 @@ def ensure_poster(asset, download_root: str, timeout_s: int = 30) -> str | None:
     short clip) dodges black intro frames."""
     if not asset.rel_path:
         return None
-    root = Path(download_root)
+    root = Path(files_root)
     src = root / asset.rel_path
     if not src.exists():
         return None
@@ -798,7 +756,7 @@ def ensure_poster(asset, download_root: str, timeout_s: int = 30) -> str | None:
     return rel if dest.exists() else None
 
 
-def ensure_storyboard(asset, download_root: str, timeout_s: int = 90) -> dict | None:
+def ensure_storyboard(asset, files_root: str, timeout_s: int = 90) -> dict | None:
     """Return the filmstrip meta for a ready source asset, generating the sprite on first use.
 
     Best-effort + time-bounded: for a very long/high-res source the one-pass decode can be slow,
@@ -810,7 +768,7 @@ def ensure_storyboard(asset, download_root: str, timeout_s: int = 90) -> dict |
     if not asset.rel_path:
         return None
     geom = storyboard_geometry(asset.duration_s)
-    root = Path(download_root)
+    root = Path(files_root)
     rel = f".storyboards/asset-{asset.id}.jpg"
     dest = root / rel
 

backend/app/downloads/errors.py

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ explanation (and decides whether a retry makes sense). The raw text stays availa
 "details" disclosure. This is the same string-matching approach the worker already trusts for
 `_RETRIABLE_MARKERS` — kept here as the single source of truth for "what kind of failure is this".
 
-**The failure catalog** (`_CATALOG`, E11.5). A category is generic: "Sign-in required" cannot tell a
+**The failure catalog** (`_CATALOG`). A category is generic: "Sign-in required" cannot tell a
 Facebook user that the cookie they already gave was refused, and yt-dlp words several different
 Facebook walls identically (`Cannot parse data`). A catalog entry is scoped to ONE host and may also
 depend on whether a cookie was attached and on the kind of link, and names a `detail` code the UI has
@@ -37,9 +37,10 @@ from app.downloads.credentials import host_key_for_url
 
 # Worker-authored strings that this module owns because each is coupled to `_RULES`.
 #
-# QUOTA_FULL_MESSAGE is raised by the worker and must classify back to `quota_exceeded`; its rule
-# below matches a fragment of it, and test_download_errors pins the pair, because a message and its
-# rule drifting apart is exactly how a category silently becomes unreachable.
+# QUOTA_FULL_MESSAGE and the three *_TOO_BIG_MESSAGEs are raised by the worker and must classify
+# back to `quota_exceeded`; their rules below match a fragment of each, and test_download_errors pins
+# each one, because a message and its rule drifting apart is exactly how a
+# category silently becomes unreachable.
 #
 # NETWORK_REDACTED_MESSAGE REPLACES a message after classification (`user_error_text`). It is written
 # to the shared asset too, and a second job that inherits that failed asset re-diagnoses the stored
@@ -49,10 +50,24 @@ from app.downloads.credentials import host_key_for_url
 # "produced no output file" have markers here; the urlguard refusal deliberately has none and
 # classifies as `unknown` — it is a refusal, not a diagnosis, and no category would say more.
 #
-# A source adapter's verdicts on a link (`SourceAdapter.resolve_url`, E11.5 S4) are adapters.py's
+# A source adapter's verdicts on a link (`SourceAdapter.resolve_url`) are adapters.py's
 # constants, imported above; each has a rule below that gives its category back, and a catalog entry
 # that gives the site's sentence.
 QUOTA_FULL_MESSAGE = "Your download storage is full — free up space, then try again."
+# A download, a cut clip, or an upload's converted file, held to the space left, which is not zero:
+# "full" would be untrue. All three classify by the one phrase they share.
+DOWNLOAD_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE = (
+    "The video is larger than the download storage you have left — free up space, then try again."
+)
+CLIP_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE = (
+    "The clip is larger than the download storage you have left — "
+    "free up space or cut a shorter clip, then try again."
+)
+CONVERTED_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE = (
+    "The converted file is larger than the download storage you have left — "
+    "free up space, then try again."
+)
+UPLOAD_MISSING_MESSAGE = "The uploaded file is missing."
 NETWORK_REDACTED_MESSAGE = "The server could not reach that address."
 
 # (marker, category) — first match wins, so order most-specific → most-general. Matching is
@@ -61,6 +76,7 @@ _RULES: tuple[tuple[str, str], ...] = (
     # Our own refusal: the worker found the user already at their storage cap (SEC-13). Placed
     # first — it is our wording, so it can never be a false match on an upstream message.
     ("download storage is full", "quota_exceeded"),
+    ("larger than the download storage you have left", "quota_exceeded"),
     # Our own redaction of a transport failure (see NETWORK_REDACTED_MESSAGE) — our wording too.
     (NETWORK_REDACTED_MESSAGE.lower(), "network"),
     # Our own verdicts on a post link (adapters.py) — our wording too: its page holds no single video,
@@ -98,6 +114,8 @@ _RULES: tuple[tuple[str, str], ...] = (
     # An edit's source download went away — our own wording, and MORE specific than the generic
     # "no longer available" below, so it must be matched first.
     ("source download is no longer available", "source_missing"),
+    # An upload's original went away before its conversion ran — our wording (UPLOAD_MISSING_MESSAGE).
+    (UPLOAD_MISSING_MESSAGE.lower().rstrip("."), "upload_missing"),
     ("source file is missing", "source_missing"),
     # Private / deleted / removed / terminated.
     ("private video", "unavailable"),
@@ -126,6 +144,13 @@ _RULES: tuple[tuple[str, str], ...] = (
     ("postprocessing", "postprocess"),
     ("produced no output file", "postprocess"),
     ("no output file", "postprocess"),
+    # yt-dlp's own verdict that its extractor did not understand the site's answer: it appends this
+    # request for a bug report to an UNEXPECTED extraction failure, never to an expected one (a private,
+    # removed or geo-blocked video says so in words matched above). Measured 2026-10-12: a TikTok link
+    # failed with it on every attempt under yt-dlp 2026.07.04 and downloads under 2026.08.19 — the
+    # site changed and a newer yt-dlp is the cure. After the media-format and post-processing rules,
+    # whose texts can carry the same request; before the network ones, which are about the transport.
+    ("please report this issue", "site_changed"),
     # Network / transport.
     ("unable to download", "network"),
     ("http error", "network"),
@@ -263,6 +288,15 @@ def classify(msg: str | None) -> str:
     return "unknown"
 
 
+def classify_conversion(msg: str | None) -> str:
+    """The category of an upload's failed conversion. The generic ffmpeg categories speak of a
+    download ("the video downloaded but…"), which an upload never was: a failed encode or an
+    unrecognised failure of one is `convert_failed`; a category of its own (a full quota, a missing
+    original) stays as it is."""
+    code = classify(msg)
+    return "convert_failed" if code in ("postprocess", "unknown") else code
+
+
 def diagnose(
     msg: str | None, *, url: str | None = None, cookie_attached: bool = False
 ) -> Diagnosis:

backend/app/downloads/folders.py

@@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
+"""The folders of the Files library — where each of a user's files sits.
+
+A folder is a row, never a directory: on disk a file stays where the download layout put it (one
+shared asset can be held by several users), so a rename or a move is a column update. Two kinds:
+
+- a SOURCE folder is made automatically, one per origin a user has files from (YouTube, Plex clips,
+  uploads, one per other site). Its `source_key` names the origin; the client renders its name
+  from the key, in the reader's language.
+- an OWN folder is the user's, with the name they gave it.
+
+Every file of a user is in exactly one folder. The folder a new file lands in is decided here
+(`source_key_for` + `source_folder`), at every place a job is created, so the rule lives once. A file
+moves only into one of the user's own folders or back to its own source folder (`move`): a YouTube
+file in the TikTok folder would be a lie the folder's name tells.
+
+Retention is the folder's: a source folder keeps a file `download_retention_days` (the value when the
+folder was made; the user can change it), Uploads and own folders keep it until it is deleted. A
+done file carries its own `expires_at`, stamped by `done_expiry` when it finishes — unless the user
+kept it — and its `ready_at`, the moment it finished (`stamp_done`).
+"""
+
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from enum import StrEnum
+from urllib.parse import urlsplit
+
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+
+from app import sysconfig
+from app.downloads.status import JobStatus
+from app.models import DownloadJob, FileFolder, MediaAsset
+
+
+class FolderKind(StrEnum):
+    SOURCE = "source"
+    OWN = "own"
+
+
+class SourceKey(StrEnum):
+    """The fixed origins. Any other site is `site:<host>` (see `site_key`)."""
+
+    YOUTUBE = "youtube"
+    PLEX = "plex"
+    UPLOAD = "upload"
+
+
+SITE_PREFIX = "site:"
+
+# A host's leading label that only says "the same site, another front door".
+_FRONT_DOORS = ("www.", "m.", "mobile.", "web.")
+_YOUTUBE_HOSTS = {"youtube.com", "youtu.be", "youtube-nocookie.com", "music.youtube.com"}
+
+
+def site_key(url: str) -> str:
+    """The source key of a page on some site: `site:<host>` without its front door (www., m.),
+    or the YouTube key for a YouTube address that arrived as a plain URL."""
+    host = (urlsplit(url).hostname or "").lower().rstrip(".")
+    for door in _FRONT_DOORS:
+        if host.startswith(door) and host.count(".") > 1:
+            host = host[len(door) :]
+            break
+    if host in _YOUTUBE_HOSTS:
+        return SourceKey.YOUTUBE
+    return f"{SITE_PREFIX}{host or 'unknown'}"
+
+
+def source_key_for(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> str:
+    """The origin a job's file came from — the source folder it belongs in.
+
+    The one recorded when it was placed, else: youtube → YouTube; a clip → the clip's source
+    (YouTube or Plex); an upload → Uploads; a URL → its site; an edit → wherever its parent's file
+    came from (its parent job, or, once that is deleted, the parent's asset)."""
+    if job.source_key:
+        return job.source_key
+    kind = job.source_kind
+    if kind == "youtube":
+        return SourceKey.YOUTUBE
+    if kind == "upload":
+        return SourceKey.UPLOAD
+    if kind == "clip":
+        return (
+            SourceKey.PLEX if (job.edit_spec or {}).get("source") == "plex" else SourceKey.YOUTUBE
+        )
+    if kind == "url":
+        return site_key(job.source_ref)
+    if kind == "edit":
+        parent = db.get(DownloadJob, job.source_job_id) if job.source_job_id else None
+        if parent is not None and parent.id != job.id:
+            return source_key_for(db, parent)
+        asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.source_asset_id) if job.source_asset_id else None
+        if asset is not None:
+            if asset.source_kind == "youtube":
+                return SourceKey.YOUTUBE
+            if asset.source_kind == "upload":
+                return SourceKey.UPLOAD
+            if asset.source_kind == "url":
+                return site_key(asset.source_ref)
+    return SourceKey.UPLOAD
+
+
+def source_folder(db: Session, user_id: int, key: str) -> FileFolder:
+    """The user's source folder for `key`, made on first use. A race on the unique (user, key) is
+    settled by re-selecting, inside a SAVEPOINT so the caller's own pending writes survive."""
+    stmt = select(FileFolder).where(FileFolder.user_id == user_id, FileFolder.source_key == key)
+    folder = db.execute(stmt).scalar_one_or_none()
+    if folder is not None:
+        return folder
+    retention = (
+        None if key == SourceKey.UPLOAD else sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_retention_days")
+    )
+    folder = FileFolder(
+        user_id=user_id, kind=FolderKind.SOURCE, source_key=key, retention_days=retention
+    )
+    try:
+        with db.begin_nested():
+            db.add(folder)
+            db.flush()
+    # silent-ok: the expected outcome of the race the savepoint exists for — another request made
+    # the same folder first; re-selecting it is the whole handling.
+    except IntegrityError:
+        folder = db.execute(stmt).scalar_one()
+    return folder
+
+
+def place(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> None:
+    """Put a new job's file in its source folder, and record that origin on it. Called wherever a
+    job is created; the job must carry its `user_id`, `source_kind` and source refs already."""
+    key = source_key_for(db, job)
+    job.source_key = key
+    job.folder_id = source_folder(db, job.user_id, key).id
+
+
+def done_expiry(db: Session, folder_id: int | None, kept: bool) -> datetime | None:
+    """When a file that finishes now goes: its folder's retention from now, or never (kept, or a
+    folder that keeps files)."""
+    if kept or folder_id is None:
+        return None
+    # Read under a share lock, held to the caller's commit: a retention change (`set_retention` locks
+    # the folder) waits for this file and restamps it too, or this read waits for the change and
+    # takes the new value — never the old value stamped on a file the change did not see.
+    days = db.execute(
+        select(FileFolder.retention_days)
+        .where(FileFolder.id == folder_id)
+        .with_for_update(read=True)
+    ).scalar()
+    return None if days is None else datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(days=days)
+
+
+def stamp_done(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> None:
+    """Stamp a job that just became done (in this session): when it did, and its expiry."""
+    job.ready_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    job.expires_at = done_expiry(db, job.folder_id, job.kept)
+    job.expiry_warned = False
+
+
+class FolderError(Exception):
+    """A folder change the rules refuse; `reason` is the refusal the route answers with."""
+
+    def __init__(self, reason: str) -> None:
+        super().__init__(reason)
+        self.reason = reason
+
+
+def own_folder(db: Session, user_id: int, folder_id: int, *, hold: bool = True) -> FileFolder:
+    """The user's folder `folder_id` that a file is about to be put in — held (FOR SHARE) until the
+    caller's transaction ends, so a delete of the folder waits for the file and then takes it home
+    with the rest (`delete_own` locks it FOR UPDATE), never failing on its foreign key. `hold=False`
+    only looks (a check ahead of a long wait, which must not hold a lock through it). Another user's
+    folder answers like a missing one."""
+    stmt = select(FileFolder).where(FileFolder.id == folder_id)
+    if hold:
+        stmt = stmt.with_for_update(read=True)
+    folder = db.execute(stmt.execution_options(populate_existing=True)).scalar_one_or_none()
+    if folder is None or folder.user_id != user_id:
+        raise FolderError("file_folder_gone")
+    return folder
+
+
+def upload_target(db: Session, user_id: int, folder_id: int, *, hold: bool = True) -> FileFolder:
+    """The folder an upload asked to land in, if it may: one of the user's own folders, or their
+    Uploads folder. A file put in a site's folder would claim an origin it does not have."""
+    folder = own_folder(db, user_id, folder_id, hold=hold)
+    if folder.kind == FolderKind.SOURCE and folder.source_key != SourceKey.UPLOAD:
+        raise FolderError("file_folder_not_its_source")
+    return folder
+
+
+def restamp(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> None:
+    """Start a file's clock again from now: it moved to another folder, or its user stopped keeping
+    it. A file not done yet gets its expiry when it finishes (`stamp_done`), so it has none now."""
+    done = job.status == JobStatus.DONE
+    job.expires_at = done_expiry(db, job.folder_id, job.kept) if done else None
+    job.expiry_warned = False
+
+
+def set_kept(db: Session, job: DownloadJob, kept: bool) -> None:
+    """Keep a file until its user deletes it, or hand it back to its folder's retention."""
+    job.kept = kept
+    restamp(db, job)
+
+
+def move(db: Session, job: DownloadJob, folder: FileFolder) -> None:
+    """Put a file in `folder` — one of its user's own folders, or the source folder it came from.
+    The caller has checked that `folder` is the job's user's."""
+    if folder.kind == FolderKind.SOURCE and folder.source_key != source_key_for(db, job):
+        raise FolderError("file_folder_not_its_source")
+    if folder.id == job.folder_id:
+        return
+    job.folder_id = folder.id
+    restamp(db, job)
+
+
+def _hold_for_change(db: Session, folder: FileFolder) -> None:
+    """Lock `folder` FOR UPDATE and read it afresh into the same object: a change waits out a file
+    being put in it or stamped from it right now (`own_folder`, `done_expiry`), and works from what
+    another change that landed first left, not from what the caller read before the wait. The row is
+    consumed on purpose: an ORM result refreshes the object only as its rows are fetched."""
+    fresh = db.execute(
+        select(FileFolder)
+        .where(FileFolder.id == folder.id)
+        .with_for_update()
+        .execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
+    if fresh is None:
+        raise FolderError("file_folder_gone")
+
+
+def set_retention(db: Session, folder: FileFolder, days: int | None) -> int | None:
+    """Change how long `folder` keeps a file (None = until deleted). The done files already in it
+    move by the difference — each keeps the age it has — but none ends up closer than the GC's
+    warning window, so a shortened retention still warns before it takes anything. Returns the
+    retention it replaced (equal to `days` when nothing changed)."""
+    _hold_for_change(db, folder)  # so the file arriving now is among the ones restamped below
+    old = folder.retention_days
+    if old == days:
+        return old
+    folder.retention_days = days
+    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    floor = now + timedelta(days=sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_gc_grace_days"))
+    # Locked as they are read: one moved out or deleted meanwhile is no longer this folder's to time.
+    jobs = db.execute(
+        select(DownloadJob)
+        .where(
+            DownloadJob.folder_id == folder.id,
+            DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.DONE,
+            DownloadJob.kept.is_(False),
+        )
+        .with_for_update()
+        .execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+    ).scalars()
+    for job in jobs:
+        if days is None:
+            job.expires_at = None
+        elif old is None or job.expires_at is None:
+            job.expires_at = max(now + timedelta(days=days), floor)
+        else:
+            job.expires_at = max(job.expires_at + timedelta(days=days - old), floor)
+        job.expiry_warned = False
+    return old
+
+
+def delete_own(db: Session, folder: FileFolder) -> int:
+    """Delete one of a user's own folders. Its files are not deleted: each goes back to the source
+    folder it came from, its clock starting there now. Returns how many moved."""
+    if folder.kind != FolderKind.OWN:
+        raise FolderError("file_folder_not_own")
+    _hold_for_change(db, folder)  # so the file arriving now is taken home too
+    # Locked as they are read: a file moved out meanwhile stays where it went, and one deleted
+    # meanwhile is not written back (its gone row would fail the delete).
+    jobs = (
+        db.execute(
+            select(DownloadJob)
+            .where(DownloadJob.folder_id == folder.id)
+            .with_for_update()
+            .execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+        )
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    for job in jobs:
+        job.folder_id = source_folder(db, job.user_id, source_key_for(db, job)).id
+        restamp(db, job)
+    db.flush()  # the files leave before the folder goes: its foreign key RESTRICTs the delete
+    db.delete(folder)
+    return len(jobs)

backend/app/downloads/formats.py

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ spec shape (all keys optional; defaults + browser-playability clamp applied by `
     vcodec         always coerced to null → H.264 selected (see `normalize`); no opt-out
     embed_subs     bool     embed_chapters bool     embed_thumbnail bool     sponsorblock bool
 
-`normalize` clamps container/vcodec/audio_format so EVERY download plays in-browser (E7); the
+`normalize` clamps container/vcodec/audio_format so EVERY download plays in-browser; the
 `container`/`vcodec` keys survive only so an old stored profile deserializes without error.
 """
 
@@ -105,6 +105,28 @@ def log_safe(text: object) -> str:
     return _PATH_RE.sub("…", text)
 
 
+# yt-dlp's HTTP downloader, refusing a file announced larger than `max_filesize`, logs this line and
+# RETURNS — no exception and no file (measured; test_formats holds it against the pinned yt-dlp).
+_OVER_CAP_LINE = "File is larger than max-filesize"
+_OVER_CAP: contextvars.ContextVar[list[bool] | None] = contextvars.ContextVar(
+    "formats_over_cap", default=None
+)
+
+
+@contextlib.contextmanager
+def watching_size_cap() -> Iterator[list[bool]]:
+    """While yt-dlp works inside it: a one-slot flag, set when it refused a file over the size cap
+    (`build_ydl_opts(max_bytes=…)`). It then returns as if it had downloaded, and all the caller
+    would find is no file — a processing fault, to anyone reading it, for what is the owner's
+    storage. A context variable, like `hiding`: yt-dlp's logger calls run on the extraction's thread."""
+    flag = [False]
+    token = _OVER_CAP.set(flag)
+    try:
+        yield flag
+    finally:
+        _OVER_CAP.reset(token)
+
+
 class _YdlLog:
     """yt-dlp's logger protocol, pointed at ours.
 
@@ -124,6 +146,8 @@ class _YdlLog:
     is the one line whose level should say so."""
 
     def _emit(self, level: int, msg: str) -> None:
+        if _OVER_CAP_LINE in msg and (over := _OVER_CAP.get()) is not None:
+            over[0] = True
         # The line goes as an ARGUMENT, not as the format string. yt-dlp writes progress as
         # `[download]  53.2% of 12.00MiB`, and while stdlib logging only applies `%` formatting to
         # a record that has args, this way the question never arises — and it is the shape ruff's
@@ -182,7 +206,9 @@ _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.
@@ -217,14 +243,15 @@ def normalize(spec: dict) -> dict:
     # Audio-only files can't embed subtitles/thumbnails as video; keep the flags meaningful.
     if s["mode"] == "a":
         s["embed_subs"] = False
-    # Browser-playability guarantee (E7): the Download module exists to download → share → PLAY
+    # 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"):
@@ -274,12 +301,15 @@ def build_ydl_opts(
     `extractor_args` with the player-client set + bgutil PO-token base_url); it is merged onto the
     generic options below. Everything here is source-agnostic.
 
-    `cookiefile` is the acting user's per-host cookies.txt path (S6), attached ONLY by the worker
+    `cookiefile` is the acting user's per-host cookies.txt path, attached ONLY by the worker
     after the host-scope + private-asset gate in `downloads.credentials`. It is set AFTER the `extra`
     merge so a source adapter can never clobber it.
 
-    `max_bytes` (SEC-13) is the caller's remaining storage budget; yt-dlp refuses a format larger
-    than it rather than filling the disk and only then being caught by the quota accounting."""
+    `max_bytes` (SEC-13) is the caller's remaining storage budget; yt-dlp's HTTP downloader refuses
+    a file announced larger than it rather than filling the disk and only then being caught by the
+    quota accounting. Its ffmpeg downloader (a `download_ranges` fetch) does not read it, nor does
+    a fragmented download (YouTube's formats: measured, 718 MB fetched with 1 MB left) — so the
+    pipeline also holds every produced file to what is left by its real size."""
     s = normalize(spec)
     h = s["max_height"]
     opts: dict = {
@@ -329,7 +359,7 @@ def build_ydl_opts(
     if max_bytes and max_bytes > 0:
         opts["max_filesize"] = max_bytes
 
-    # The acting user's per-host cookie (S6). AFTER the adapter merge on purpose: an adapter must not
+    # The acting user's per-host cookie. AFTER the adapter merge on purpose: an adapter must not
     # be able to override the authenticated session the worker resolved for this specific user.
     if cookiefile:
         opts["cookiefile"] = cookiefile
@@ -351,7 +381,7 @@ 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.

backend/app/downloads/gc.py

@@ -1,82 +1,165 @@
 """Download retention garbage collector (a scheduler job).
 
 Five passes each run:
-  1. Pre-expiry warning — for ready assets expiring within the grace window, notify each holder
-     once (gc_notified flag) so a download isn't silently deleted.
-  2. Expiry deletion — delete assets past their TTL (files + row). The FK SET NULL nulls the
-     holders' jobs' asset_id, so those jobs surface as "expired" (re-downloadable) in the UI.
-  3. LRU eviction — if a total cache cap is set and exceeded, delete least-recently-accessed
-     ready assets until back under it.
+  1. Pre-expiry warning — a done file whose `expires_at` (its folder's retention, `folders`) falls
+     within the grace window, and that its user did not keep, warns its user once (`expiry_warned`).
+  2. Expiry — such a file past its `expires_at` leaves the library: the job is deleted and its hold
+     released, so the shared file goes with its last holder.
+  3. LRU eviction — if a total cache cap is set and exceeded, delete least-recently-accessed ready
+     assets (never an upload, never one a user kept) until back under it; each holder's file leaves
+     their library, with a notice.
   4. Orphan reap — delete errored, fileless, unreferenced asset rows (they carry no TTL, so
      passes 1-3 skip them; benign row-count hygiene).
   5. Orphan FILE sweep — delete on-disk files/dirs no surviving asset owns (cruft left when a
-     re-download renames an asset, e.g. old accented channel dirs), skipping system trees and
-     anything newer than an hour so an in-flight download is never touched.
+     re-download renames an asset, e.g. old accented channel dirs, or an upload's stranded file).
+     It skips the dot-prefixed system trees (all but `.uploads`) and anything newer than an hour,
+     so an in-flight download is never touched.
 
-Runs in the API process (which mounts DOWNLOAD_ROOT). Pure disk/DB work — no YouTube quota.
+Runs in the API process (which mounts FILES_ROOT). Pure disk/DB work — no YouTube quota.
 """
 
 import time
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
 
-from sqlalchemy import func, select
+from sqlalchemy import func, or_, select, update
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app import logs, sysconfig
 from app.config import settings
-from app.downloads import storage
+from app.downloads import quota, service, storage
+from app.downloads.status import JobStatus
 from app.models import DownloadJob, MediaAsset
 from app.notifications import create_notification
 
 log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
-# Dot-prefixed top-level trees that are NOT part of the Plex/flat asset layout — the orphan sweep
-# never touches them (user clips, Plex HLS/img caches, in-progress staging, editor storyboards).
-_SYSTEM_TREE = {".edits", ".plex-hls", ".plex-img-cache", ".staging", ".storyboards"}
+# The one dot-prefixed top-level tree the orphan sweep enters. The others are not part of the asset
+# layout (user clips, Plex HLS/img caches, in-progress staging, editor storyboards) and are skipped.
+_UPLOAD_TREE = ".uploads"
 _ORPHAN_MIN_AGE_S = 3600  # only sweep files older than this, so an in-flight download is never hit
 
 
-def _holders(db: Session, asset_id: int) -> list[int]:
-    return list(
-        db.execute(
-            select(DownloadJob.user_id).where(DownloadJob.asset_id == asset_id).distinct()
-        ).scalars()
+def _notify(db: Session, job: DownloadJob, asset: MediaAsset | None, ntype: str) -> None:
+    title = job.display_name or (asset.title if asset else None) or "download"
+    create_notification(
+        db,
+        user_id=job.user_id,
+        type=ntype,
+        title=title,  # English fallback; the client renders a translated message from data
+        data={
+            "kind": ntype,
+            "title": title,
+            "video_id": asset.source_ref if asset else None,
+            "job_id": job.id,
+        },
+        commit=False,
     )
 
 
-def _notify_holders(db: Session, asset: MediaAsset, ntype: str) -> None:
-    title = asset.title or "download"
-    for uid in _holders(db, asset.id):
-        create_notification(
-            db,
-            user_id=uid,
-            type=ntype,
-            title=title,  # English fallback; the client renders a translated message from data
-            data={"kind": ntype, "title": asset.title, "video_id": asset.source_ref},
-            commit=False,
+def _relock_expired(
+    db: Session, job_id: int, asset_id: int | None, now: datetime
+) -> DownloadJob | None:
+    """Re-read an expired job under the lock order the user routes take (`own_job_for_update`: the
+    asset, then the job) and say whether it is still to go. Between the pass's SELECT and here a
+    user may have deleted or re-downloaded it (dropping it again would release its asset a second
+    time, freeing a file another job still holds) or kept or moved it (it is no longer expired)."""
+    if asset_id is not None:
+        db.execute(select(MediaAsset.id).where(MediaAsset.id == asset_id).with_for_update())
+    job = db.execute(
+        select(DownloadJob)
+        .where(DownloadJob.id == job_id)
+        .with_for_update()
+        .execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
+    still = (
+        job is not None
+        and job.asset_id == asset_id
+        and job.status == JobStatus.DONE
+        and not job.kept
+        and job.expires_at is not None
+        and job.expires_at <= now
+    )
+    return job if still else None
+
+
+def _mark_warned(db: Session, job_id: int, expires_at: datetime) -> DownloadJob | None:
+    """Mark one file warned if it still goes when the pass saw it go — not deleted, kept, moved or
+    re-timed since (each of those sets a fresh expiry, and its own warning to come) — and return it.
+    The UPDATE's row lock holds it so until the commit."""
+    hit = db.execute(
+        update(DownloadJob)
+        .where(
+            DownloadJob.id == job_id,
+            DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.DONE,
+            DownloadJob.kept.is_(False),
+            DownloadJob.expiry_warned.is_(False),
+            DownloadJob.expires_at == expires_at,
         )
+        .values(expiry_warned=True)
+        .returning(DownloadJob.id)
+        .execution_options(synchronize_session=False)
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
+    return db.get(DownloadJob, job_id) if hit is not None else None
 
 
-def _delete_asset(db: Session, asset: MediaAsset, ntype: str) -> None:
-    if asset.rel_path:
-        storage.delete_asset_files(settings.download_root, asset.rel_path)
-    _notify_holders(db, asset, ntype)
-    db.delete(asset)  # jobs.asset_id -> NULL via FK ON DELETE SET NULL
+def _on_disk(db: Session) -> int:
+    """The bytes the cache holds now (every asset whose file is on disk)."""
+    return (
+        db.execute(
+            select(func.coalesce(func.sum(MediaAsset.size_bytes), 0)).where(quota.ON_DISK)
+        ).scalar()
+        or 0
+    )
 
 
-def _sweep_orphan_files(db: Session, download_root: str) -> int:
-    """Delete media/sidecar files (and now-empty dirs) under DOWNLOAD_ROOT that no `ready` asset
+def _relock_evictable(db: Session, asset_id: int) -> tuple[MediaAsset | None, list[DownloadJob]]:
+    """Re-read an eviction candidate and its holders under their locks (the asset, then its jobs —
+    the order the user routes take): between the pass's SELECT and here a holder may have kept it,
+    or every holder deleted it."""
+    asset = db.execute(
+        select(MediaAsset)
+        .where(MediaAsset.id == asset_id)
+        .with_for_update()
+        .execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
+    holders = (
+        db.execute(
+            select(DownloadJob)
+            .where(DownloadJob.asset_id == asset_id)
+            .with_for_update()
+            .execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+        )
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    return asset, list(holders)
+
+
+def _drop_job(db: Session, job: DownloadJob, ntype: str) -> None:
+    """Take a file out of its user's library: tell them, release the job's hold on the asset (the
+    file goes with the last holder), delete the row (its shares and links cascade)."""
+    _notify(db, job, db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id) if job.asset_id else None, ntype)
+    service.release_asset(db, job)
+    db.delete(job)
+
+
+def _sweep_orphan_files(db: Session, files_root: str) -> int:
+    """Delete media/sidecar files (and now-empty dirs) under FILES_ROOT that no `ready` asset
     owns — cruft left when a re-download changes an asset's on-disk name (e.g. an old accented
-    channel dir, or a poster from a superseded naming scheme). Skips the dot-prefixed system trees
-    and only removes files older than `_ORPHAN_MIN_AGE_S`, so a just-completed or in-flight download
-    is never deleted, and only files NOT owned by a surviving asset."""
-    root = Path(download_root)
+    channel dir, or a poster from a superseded naming scheme) — or, under `.uploads`, that no upload
+    row names at all. Skips the other dot-prefixed system trees and only removes files older than
+    `_ORPHAN_MIN_AGE_S`, so a just-completed or in-flight download is never deleted, and only files
+    NOT owned by a surviving asset."""
+    root = Path(files_root)
     if not root.is_dir():
         return 0
     keep: set[Path] = set()
+    # An upload's file is on disk from ingest on, whatever its state (a queued conversion's original,
+    # a failed one kept for Retry), so every upload row keeps its file — not only a ready one.
     for rel in db.execute(
         select(MediaAsset.rel_path).where(
-            MediaAsset.status == "ready", MediaAsset.rel_path.is_not(None)
+            or_(MediaAsset.status == "ready", MediaAsset.source_kind == "upload"),
+            MediaAsset.rel_path.is_not(None),
         )
     ).scalars():
         media = (root / rel).resolve()
@@ -99,7 +182,10 @@ def _sweep_orphan_files(db: Session, download_root: str) -> int:
 
     unreclaimed = 0
     for entry in root.iterdir():
-        if entry.name.startswith("."):  # .edits / .plex-* / .staging / .storyboards + any dotfile
+        # .edits / .plex-* / .staging / .storyboards + any dotfile — but `.uploads` is swept: a
+        # conversion stopped between placing the new file and the commit that points at it (or the
+        # unlink of the original after it) leaves a file no row names, and nothing else finds it.
+        if entry.name.startswith(".") and entry.name != _UPLOAD_TREE:
             continue
         files = [entry] if entry.is_file() else [p for p in entry.rglob("*") if p.is_file()]
         for f in files:
@@ -143,74 +229,95 @@ def run_download_gc(db: Session) -> dict:
     grace_days = sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_gc_grace_days")
     warned = expired = evicted = reaped = 0
 
-    # 1. Pre-expiry warnings.
+    # 1. Pre-expiry warnings — one per file, the first run inside the grace window. Each mark is
+    #    conditional on the expiry the SELECT saw and committed on its own: a file deleted since is
+    #    passed over (a write to its gone row would fail the whole run), and one kept, moved or re-timed
+    #    since keeps its fresh expiry unwarned.
     warn_before = now + timedelta(days=grace_days)
-    soon = (
-        db.execute(
-            select(MediaAsset).where(
-                MediaAsset.status == "ready",
-                MediaAsset.gc_notified.is_(False),
-                MediaAsset.expires_at.is_not(None),
-                MediaAsset.expires_at > now,
-                MediaAsset.expires_at <= warn_before,
-            )
+    soon = db.execute(
+        select(DownloadJob.id, DownloadJob.expires_at).where(
+            DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.DONE,
+            DownloadJob.kept.is_(False),
+            DownloadJob.expiry_warned.is_(False),
+            DownloadJob.expires_at.is_not(None),
+            DownloadJob.expires_at > now,
+            DownloadJob.expires_at <= warn_before,
         )
-        .scalars()
-        .all()
-    )
-    for asset in soon:
-        _notify_holders(db, asset, "download_expiring")
-        asset.gc_notified = True
-        warned += 1
-    if soon:
+    ).all()
+    db.rollback()  # the pass-1 snapshot holds no locks; each mark takes its own below
+    for job_id, expires_at in soon:
+        job = _mark_warned(db, job_id, expires_at)
+        if job is not None:
+            asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id) if job.asset_id else None
+            _notify(db, job, asset, "download_expiring")
+            warned += 1
         db.commit()
 
-    # 2. Expiry deletion (ready assets past TTL, and any errored leftovers with a TTL).
-    dead = (
-        db.execute(
-            select(MediaAsset).where(
-                MediaAsset.status.in_(("ready", "error")),
-                MediaAsset.expires_at.is_not(None),
-                MediaAsset.expires_at <= now,
-            )
+    # 2. Expiry — a file past its folder's retention leaves the library (warned in pass 1).
+    #    Each file is re-checked under its locks and committed on its own: the release unlinks the
+    #    file at once, so it must never act on what the SELECT saw a while ago.
+    dead = db.execute(
+        select(DownloadJob.id, DownloadJob.asset_id).where(
+            DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.DONE,
+            DownloadJob.kept.is_(False),
+            DownloadJob.expires_at.is_not(None),
+            DownloadJob.expires_at <= now,
         )
-        .scalars()
-        .all()
-    )
-    for asset in dead:
-        _delete_asset(db, asset, "download_expired")
-        expired += 1
-    if dead:
+    ).all()
+    db.rollback()  # the pass-2 snapshot holds no locks; each file takes its own below
+    for job_id, asset_id in dead:
+        job = _relock_expired(db, job_id, asset_id, now)
+        if job is not None:
+            _drop_job(db, job, "download_expired")
+            expired += 1
         db.commit()
 
-    # 3. LRU eviction over the total cache cap.
+    # 3. LRU eviction over the total cache cap: the disk's safety net. Never an upload (no source to
+    #    fetch again) and never a file anyone kept; an evicted file leaves every holder's library.
     cap = sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_total_max_bytes")
     if cap > 0:
-        total = (
-            db.execute(
-                select(func.coalesce(func.sum(MediaAsset.size_bytes), 0)).where(
-                    MediaAsset.status == "ready"
-                )
-            ).scalar()
-            or 0
-        )
-        if total > cap:
-            candidates = (
+        if _on_disk(db) > cap:
+            kept_assets = select(DownloadJob.asset_id).where(
+                DownloadJob.kept.is_(True), DownloadJob.asset_id.is_not(None)
+            )
+            candidate_ids = (
                 db.execute(
-                    select(MediaAsset)
-                    .where(MediaAsset.status == "ready")
+                    select(MediaAsset.id)
+                    .where(
+                        MediaAsset.status == "ready",
+                        MediaAsset.source_kind != "upload",
+                        MediaAsset.id.not_in(kept_assets),
+                    )
                     .order_by(MediaAsset.last_access_at.asc().nulls_first())
                 )
                 .scalars()
                 .all()
             )
-            for asset in candidates:
-                if total <= cap:
+            db.rollback()
+            for asset_id in candidate_ids:
+                # Counted afresh before each: a file deleted since (this one, an upload, a candidate
+                # further down) has freed its space, and no other user's file goes for that space.
+                if _on_disk(db) <= cap:
                     break
-                total -= asset.size_bytes or 0
-                _delete_asset(db, asset, "download_evicted")
+                # Locked and re-read like an expiry: since the SELECT a holder may have kept it,
+                # every holder deleted it, or someone asked for it again (a fresh cache hit).
+                asset, holders = _relock_evictable(db, asset_id)
+                if (
+                    asset is None
+                    or asset.status != "ready"
+                    or any(j.kept for j in holders)
+                    or (asset.last_access_at is not None and asset.last_access_at > now)
+                ):
+                    db.commit()
+                    continue
+                for job in holders:
+                    _notify(db, job, asset, "download_evicted")
+                    db.delete(job)
+                if asset.rel_path:
+                    storage.delete_asset_files(settings.files_root, asset.rel_path)
+                db.delete(asset)
                 evicted += 1
-            db.commit()
+                db.commit()
 
     # 4. Reap orphaned errored rows (no file, no holder). get_or_create_asset resets a still-
     #    referenced errored row to pending on re-enqueue, so these only accumulate once every
@@ -232,9 +339,32 @@ def run_download_gc(db: Session) -> dict:
     if orphans:
         db.commit()
 
+    # 4b. Reap unheld uploads. An upload carries no expires_at, is never evicted and 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, is 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.files_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)
+    swept = _sweep_orphan_files(db, settings.files_root)
 
     result = {
         "warned": warned,

backend/app/downloads/jobdb.py

@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ def _reset_asset_pending(asset_id: int) -> None:
 
 
 def _staging_dir(asset_id: int) -> Path:
-    return Path(settings.download_root) / ".staging" / f"asset-{asset_id}"
+    return Path(settings.files_root) / ".staging" / f"asset-{asset_id}"
 
 
 def _edit_staging_dir(asset_id: int) -> Path:
-    return Path(settings.download_root) / ".staging" / f"edit-{asset_id}"
+    return Path(settings.files_root) / ".staging" / f"edit-{asset_id}"

backend/app/downloads/og.py

@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ def _watch_tags(token: str, db: Session) -> str | None:
         if image_dims is None and image.endswith("poster.jpg") and asset.poster_path:
             # safe_abs_path returns None if the poster file is missing (gc'd) or escapes the root —
             # guard it, else _jpeg_size(None) would raise an uncaught AttributeError on this public page.
-            poster_abs = storage.safe_abs_path(settings.download_root, asset.poster_path)
+            poster_abs = storage.safe_abs_path(settings.files_root, asset.poster_path)
             image_dims = _jpeg_size(poster_abs) if poster_abs else None
         if image_dims:
             tags.append(_tag("og:image:width", str(image_dims[0])))
@@ -147,13 +147,14 @@ def _watch_tags(token: str, db: Session) -> str | None:
     return "\n    ".join(tags)
 
 
-def render_watch_html(token: str, index_html: Path, db: Session) -> str | None:
-    """Return index.html with the OG block replaced for this watch token, or None to serve the
-    generic page unchanged (invalid/expired/not-ready link, or a template without the markers)."""
+def render_watch_html(token: str, page_html: Path, db: Session) -> str | None:
+    """Return the watch page (watch.html) with the OG block replaced for this token, or None to
+    serve the generic page unchanged (invalid/expired/not-ready link, or a template without the
+    markers)."""
     tags = _watch_tags(token, db)
     if tags is None:
         return None
-    text = index_html.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    text = page_html.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
     if "<!--OG:START-->" not in text:
         return None
     # A function replacement avoids re.sub interpreting backslashes/group refs in `tags`.

backend/app/downloads/pipeline.py

@@ -3,17 +3,20 @@
 import re
 import shutil
 import time
-from datetime import date, datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from datetime import date, datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import yt_dlp
+from yt_dlp.utils import download_range_func
 
 from app import logs, sysconfig
 from app.config import settings
 from app.db import SessionLocal
+from app.downloads import clip as clipmod
 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,
@@ -25,7 +28,9 @@ from app.downloads.jobdb import (
 )
 from app.downloads.stated import StatedFailure
 from app.downloads.status import JobStatus
-from app.models import DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX, DownloadJob, MediaAsset
+from app.models import DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX, DownloadJob, MediaAsset, PlexItem
+from app.plex import lookups as plex_lookups
+from app.plex import paths as plex_paths
 from app.notifications import create_notification
 from app.titles import normalize_title
 
@@ -36,6 +41,15 @@ class _Aborted(Exception):
     """Raised inside the progress hook when the job was paused/canceled mid-download."""
 
 
+class _ClipFetchFailed(Exception):
+    """A clip's YouTube range fetch failed: its message and the download catalog's diagnosis, so a
+    clip on YouTube's wall says what a download of the same video would."""
+
+    def __init__(self, msg: str, diagnosis: dlerrors.Diagnosis):
+        super().__init__(msg)
+        self.diagnosis = diagnosis
+
+
 class _OwnerRefused(Exception):
     """A refusal that belongs to THIS job's owner, not to the source.
 
@@ -58,6 +72,10 @@ _DB_WRITE_INTERVAL_S = 1.0
 _CANCEL_POLL_INTERVAL_S = 1.0
 
 _THUMB_SUFFIXES = (".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp")
+# The job phase while a file is brought into the phone-safe shape (`_ensure_phone_safe`) for a
+# download or an upload. Its own word, not yt-dlp's "processing": it reports ffmpeg's real progress,
+# so the queue row shows a % for it, where yt-dlp's post-steps only get an indeterminate pulse.
+CONVERTING = "converting"
 # yt-dlp's working files in the staging dir. None of them is ever the finished media, but several
 # CAN be the biggest file there (a video-only per-format stream, an abandoned fragment run), so the
 # staging fallback must exclude them by name — picking one would store e.g. a silent video-only
@@ -73,20 +91,28 @@ _YTDLP_TEMP_RE = re.compile(
 
 def _notify_download_done(db, user_id: int | None, title: str | None, job_id, *, kind: str) -> None:
     """Post a best-effort 'ready' notice to the owner's inbox — downloads/edits used to finish
-    silently while scheduler jobs and playlist-push already notified (R11 feedback symmetry). A
+    silently while scheduler jobs and playlist-push already notified (feedback symmetry). A
     notification failure must never mask the completed job, so it is isolated + rolled back (mirrors
-    scheduler._notify_done). `kind` ("download"/"edit") lets the inbox pick accurate copy; the
+    scheduler._notify_done). `kind` ("download"/"edit"/"upload") lets the inbox pick accurate copy; the
     English title here is only a fallback for an unknown type. `user_id`/`title` are captured by the
-    caller BEFORE its commit, so reading them here needs no post-commit refresh of an expired row."""
+    caller BEFORE its commit; only the folder is read here, once, for the notice's "Open"."""
     if user_id is None:
         return
     try:
+        # The notice's "Open" lands on the file in its folder: both ride along (a folder the file
+        # has left since is the page's to notice — it then looks among every file).
+        job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
         create_notification(
             db,
             user_id=user_id,
             type="download_done",
             title=f"Ready to watch: {title}" if title else "Ready to watch",
-            data={"title": title, "kind": kind},
+            data={
+                "title": title,
+                "kind": kind,
+                "job_id": job_id,
+                "folder_id": job.folder_id if job else None,
+            },
         )
     except Exception:
         db.rollback()
@@ -208,7 +234,7 @@ def _cancel_poll(job_id: int, interval_s: float = _CANCEL_POLL_INTERVAL_S, *, no
 
     def cancelled() -> bool:
         if not state["cancelled"] and allow():
-            state["cancelled"] = _job_status(job_id) not in ("running", None)
+            state["cancelled"] = _job_status(job_id) not in (JobStatus.RUNNING, None)
         return state["cancelled"]
 
     return cancelled
@@ -219,7 +245,7 @@ def _ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id: int, phase: str, *, now=time.monotonic):
     when the whole-percent value changed (the bar shows integers), plus a separate once-per-interval
     heartbeat while the percent is stuck (so a slow re-encode isn't mistaken for a stall)."""
     # Progress writes have their OWN 1/interval budget so a heartbeat can never delay a real write (the
-    # round-1 concern). The heartbeat, in turn, is gated on `last_touch` — the last DB write OR beat —
+    # original concern). The heartbeat, in turn, is gated on `last_touch` — the last DB write OR beat —
     # so a progress write (which already refreshes updated_at) suppresses a redundant heartbeat that
     # same interval, keeping active downloads at ~1 write/interval, not two.
     allow_write = _rate_limiter(_DB_WRITE_INTERVAL_S, now=now)
@@ -328,7 +354,7 @@ def _media_info(info: dict) -> dict:
 
 
 def _extract_with_fallback(
-    job_id, asset_id, url, spec, staging, adapter, cookiefile=None, max_bytes=None
+    job_id, asset_id, url, spec, staging, adapter, cookiefile=None, max_bytes=None, section=None
 ):
     """Download via yt-dlp using the source `adapter`'s client sets + options. For YouTube the adapter
     supplies the primary player-client set then a POT-backed fallback (retried on a bot/DRM/format
@@ -341,10 +367,17 @@ def _extract_with_fallback(
     (adapters.POST_*_MESSAGE) instead of letting yt-dlp guess, and a failed page read fails the
     download as itself.
 
-    `cookiefile` (S6) is the acting user's per-host cookies.txt, already gated by
-    `credentials.resolve_cookiefile`; passed to every attempt so the fallback stays authenticated.
+    `cookiefile` is the acting user's per-host cookies.txt, already gated by
+    `credentials.resolve_cookiefile` (a clip: `resolve_clip_cookiefile`); passed to every attempt so
+    the fallback stays authenticated.
 
-    `max_bytes` (SEC-13) is the owner's remaining storage budget, applied to every attempt."""
+    `max_bytes` (SEC-13) is the owner's remaining storage budget, applied to every attempt. A
+    `section` fetch goes through yt-dlp's ffmpeg downloader, which does not read it: a clip holds
+    its own output to the cap (`_process_clip`).
+
+    `section` = (start_s, end_s) fetches only that range (an ad-hoc clip, see downloads/clip): the
+    range is stream-copied, and its first frame is the marked one (measured), so the clip's own
+    re-encode starts at 0 instead of re-fetching keyframes at the cut."""
     client_sets = adapter.client_sets(authed=cookiefile is not None)
     outtmpl = str(staging / "%(id)s.%(ext)s")
     # Resolving may read a page first — network time the stall watchdog must not see as a stall.
@@ -370,6 +403,9 @@ def _extract_with_fallback(
             max_bytes=max_bytes,
         )
         opts["postprocessor_hooks"] = [_make_pp_hook(job_id)]
+        if section is not None:
+            opts["download_ranges"] = download_range_func([], [section])
+            opts["force_keyframes_at_cuts"] = False
         _touch_job(job_id)  # stall-watchdog heartbeat: extraction writes no progress, so a slow /
         # multi-client-set fallback would otherwise cross the stall timeout with a stale updated_at.
         # (Per-ATTEMPT only; a single extract_info that itself runs past the stall timeout is still
@@ -406,58 +442,58 @@ def _extract_with_fallback(
     raise last_exc  # unreachable (loop either returns or raises)
 
 
-def _download_settings() -> tuple[str, int]:
-    """Layout + retention days from the DB config (admin-overridable on the Configuration page),
-    falling back to the env defaults. Read here, not from `settings`, so an admin edit takes effect."""
+def _download_layout() -> str:
+    """The on-disk layout from the DB config (admin-overridable on the Configuration page), falling
+    back to the env default. Read here, not from `settings`, so an admin edit takes effect. (How long
+    a file stays is its folder's, stamped on the job when it is done — `folders.done_expiry`.)"""
     with SessionLocal() as db:
-        return (
-            sysconfig.get_str(db, "download_layout"),
-            sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_retention_days"),
-        )
+        return sysconfig.get_str(db, "download_layout")
 
 
-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
 
 
@@ -483,7 +519,7 @@ def _download(
                 urlguard.check_url(url)
             except urlguard.BlockedUrl as e:
                 raise StatedFailure(f"Refusing to download from this address ({e.reason}).") from e
-        # S6: attach the acting user's per-host cookie ONLY when it's host-scoped to this URL AND
+        # Attach the acting user's per-host cookie ONLY when it's host-scoped to this URL AND
         # this asset is that user's private, salted identity (the double gate lives in credentials).
         remaining_bytes: int | None = None
         with SessionLocal() as cdb:
@@ -495,8 +531,8 @@ def _download(
             # SEC-13: what this user has left. `check_enqueue` only compared the footprint as it
             # stood when the job was QUEUED — a download's size is unknown until it finishes, so a
             # single job could previously blow through the cap by any amount. Handing the remainder
-            # to yt-dlp as `max_filesize` makes the format selector refuse an oversized file up
-            # front instead.
+            # to yt-dlp as `max_filesize` makes it refuse an oversized file (its HTTP downloader
+            # checks the announced size) instead.
             remaining_bytes = quota.remaining_bytes(cdb, user_id)
         # …and zero is a REFUSAL, not "no limit". Earlier jobs of this user may have filled the cap
         # while this one sat in the queue, and 0 is not an expressible yt-dlp `max_filesize`, so
@@ -505,8 +541,8 @@ def _download(
         # free space, which is what the `quota_exceeded` category tells them.
         if remaining_bytes == 0:
             raise _OwnerRefused(dlerrors.QUOTA_FULL_MESSAGE)
-        info = _media_info(
-            _extract_with_fallback(
+        with formats.watching_size_cap() as over_cap:
+            fetched = _extract_with_fallback(
                 job_id,
                 asset_id,
                 url,
@@ -516,13 +552,30 @@ def _download(
                 cookiefile=str(cookiefile) if cookiefile else None,
                 max_bytes=remaining_bytes,
             )
-        )
+        info = _media_info(dict(fetched))
+        # yt-dlp refused a file larger than what is left: it returns with no file, which would
+        # otherwise read as a processing fault. The owner's storage, so the owner's refusal.
+        if over_cap[0]:
+            raise _OwnerRefused(dlerrors.DOWNLOAD_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE)
         # Re-resolve now that yt-dlp's info reveals the true source (a bare/redirected url only
         # identifies post-extraction) so the .nfo uniqueid type + uploader_url agree on one source.
         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,
+            CONVERTING,
+            int(info["duration"]) if info.get("duration") else None,
+        )
+        # Held to the cap by its real size, as a clip is: yt-dlp's `max_filesize` only stops a plain
+        # HTTP file that announces its size, and YouTube's fragmented formats never meet it
+        # (measured: 718 MB fetched with 1 MB left). Read again — other jobs may have landed.
+        with SessionLocal() as qdb:
+            room = quota.remaining_bytes(qdb, user_id)
+        if room is not None and produced.stat().st_size > room:
+            raise _OwnerRefused(dlerrors.DOWNLOAD_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE)
         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
@@ -541,19 +594,18 @@ def _download(
             thumbnail_url=info.get("thumbnail"),
         )
 
-        layout, retention_days = _download_settings()
+        layout = _download_layout()
         rel = storage.rel_path(meta, ext, layout, asset_id=asset_id)
         thumb = _find_thumbnail(staging, produced)
         # Convert the raw thumbnail (webp/png/jpeg) to a real JPEG ourselves — robustly — for the
         # poster + og:image sidecar, now that yt-dlp's fatal thumbnail convertor is gone. On failure
         # this is None and write_sidecars writes no poster, so ensure_poster cuts a frame instead.
         poster_jpg = editmod.thumbnail_to_jpg(thumb, staging / "poster.jpg")
-        storage.place_file(produced, settings.download_root, rel)
-        nfo_ok = storage.write_sidecars(settings.download_root, rel, meta, poster_jpg)
+        storage.place_file(produced, settings.files_root, rel)
+        nfo_ok = storage.write_sidecars(settings.files_root, rel, meta, poster_jpg)
 
-        final = storage.abs_path(settings.download_root, rel)
+        final = storage.abs_path(settings.files_root, rel)
         size = final.stat().st_size if final.exists() else None
-        expires = datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(days=retention_days)
 
         with SessionLocal() as db:
             asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
@@ -579,12 +631,11 @@ def _download(
                 # (og:image) source — a remote thumbnail, esp. Facebook's signed CDN URL, expires
                 # and can't be relied on cross-origin. write_sidecars already wrote <base>.jpg from
                 # the thumbnail; ensure_poster returns that, or cuts a frame if there was none.
-                asset.poster_path = editmod.ensure_poster(asset, settings.download_root)
+                asset.poster_path = editmod.ensure_poster(asset, settings.files_root)
                 asset.source_webpage_url = info.get("webpage_url")
                 asset.nfo_written = nfo_ok
                 asset.error = None
                 asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
-                asset.expires_at = expires
             job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
             # Capture the owner before commit expires the row (avoids a refresh SELECT just to notify).
             owner_id = job.user_id if job else None
@@ -722,9 +773,19 @@ 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",
+    diagnosis: dlerrors.Diagnosis | None = None,
+) -> None:
+    """Fail a local ffmpeg job — an edit, a clip, 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; `diagnosis` replaces the
+    plain category when the failure was a fetch the download catalog can name (a clip's).
 
     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."""
@@ -739,19 +800,25 @@ def _fail_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int, msg: str, exc: BaseException | None =
             job_id,
             status=JobStatus.ERROR,
             error=msg,
-            error_code=dlerrors.classify(msg),
+            error_code=diagnosis.code
+            if diagnosis
+            else dlerrors.classify_conversion(msg)
+            if what == "upload"
+            else dlerrors.classify(msg),
+            error_detail=diagnosis.detail if diagnosis else None,
             phase=None,
         )
         db.commit()
     # `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 {}),
@@ -777,7 +844,7 @@ def _process_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
     if not src_ready or not src_rel:
         _fail_edit(job_id, asset_id, "The source download is no longer available.")
         return
-    src_path = storage.abs_path(settings.download_root, src_rel)
+    src_path = storage.abs_path(settings.files_root, src_rel)
     if not src_path.exists():
         _fail_edit(job_id, asset_id, "The source file is missing.")
         return
@@ -811,13 +878,24 @@ 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
+        # New storage on the owner's footprint, held to what is left by its real size, as a
+        # download and a player clip are.
+        if user_id is not None:
+            with SessionLocal() as qdb:
+                room = quota.remaining_bytes(qdb, user_id)
+            if room is not None and dest_staging.stat().st_size > room:
+                raise StatedFailure(dlerrors.CLIP_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE)
 
         rel = storage.edit_rel_path(user_id, asset_id, out_ext)
-        storage.place_file(dest_staging, settings.download_root, rel)
-        final = storage.abs_path(settings.download_root, rel)
+        storage.place_file(dest_staging, settings.files_root, rel)
+        final = storage.abs_path(settings.files_root, rel)
         size = final.stat().st_size if final.exists() else None
-        _, retention_days = _download_settings()
-        expires = datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(days=retention_days)
+        # The clip's real frame: a re-encode evens an odd crop or source (`editmod.EVEN_FRAME`).
+        _, _, out_w, out_h, _ = probe.probe_media(final)
 
         with SessionLocal() as db:
             asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
@@ -827,14 +905,15 @@ def _process_edit(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
                 asset.size_bytes = size
                 asset.container = out_ext
                 asset.duration_s = total_s or asset.duration_s
-                if crop:
+                if out_w and out_h:
+                    asset.width, asset.height = out_w, out_h
+                elif crop:
                     asset.width = edit_spec["crop"]["w"]
                     asset.height = edit_spec["crop"]["h"]
                 else:
                     asset.width, asset.height = src_w, src_h
                 asset.error = None
                 asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
-                asset.expires_at = expires
             job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
             # Capture owner + title before commit expires the rows (avoids a refresh SELECT).
             owner_id = job.user_id if job else None
@@ -867,3 +946,388 @@ 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 _clip_room(user_id: int) -> int | None:
+    """What the clip's owner may still store (`quota.remaining_bytes`), refusing at zero — see
+    `_download`: zero is a refusal, not "no limit"."""
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        remaining = quota.remaining_bytes(db, user_id)
+    if remaining == 0:
+        raise _OwnerRefused(dlerrors.QUOTA_FULL_MESSAGE)
+    return remaining
+
+
+def _clip_source(
+    job_id: int, asset_id: int, spec: dict, staging: Path, remaining: int | None
+) -> tuple[Path, float, str | None]:
+    """The file a clip is cut from, where in it the clip starts, and the source's title when only
+    the fetch could tell it. A YouTube clip fetches ONLY its range into `staging` (so it starts at
+    0 there); a Plex clip reads the library file in place."""
+    if spec["source"] == "youtube":
+        url = service.source_url("youtube", spec["ref"])
+        cookiefile: Path | None = None
+        with SessionLocal() as db:
+            job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
+            asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+            # Signed in when the user has a YouTube cookie, as their downloads are: YouTube gates
+            # single videos signed out ("not a bot"), and the clip is theirs alone.
+            if job and asset:
+                cookiefile = credentials.resolve_clip_cookiefile(
+                    db, job.user_id, url, asset, spec, staging
+                )
+        _set_job(job_id, phase="downloading", progress=0)
+        try:
+            with formats.watching_size_cap() as over_cap:
+                info = _extract_with_fallback(
+                    job_id,
+                    asset_id,
+                    url,
+                    formats.normalize(clipmod.YOUTUBE_FETCH_SPEC),
+                    staging,
+                    adapters.resolve_adapter("youtube", spec["ref"]),
+                    cookiefile=str(cookiefile) if cookiefile else None,
+                    max_bytes=remaining,
+                    section=(spec["start_s"], spec["end_s"]),
+                )
+            # Should yt-dlp's own cap ever refuse the range (see `_download`): the owner's storage.
+            if over_cap[0]:
+                raise _OwnerRefused(dlerrors.CLIP_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE)
+        except (_Aborted, _OwnerRefused):
+            raise
+        except Exception as exc:  # re-raised below with the download catalog's diagnosis
+            msg = str(exc)[:500]
+            raise _ClipFetchFailed(
+                msg, dlerrors.diagnose(msg, url=url, cookie_attached=cookiefile is not None)
+            ) from exc
+        finally:
+            # Never leave a plaintext session cookie on disk past the fetch (see `_download`).
+            if cookiefile is not None:
+                cookiefile.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        info = _media_info(dict(info))
+        title = normalize_title(adapters.resolve_adapter("youtube", spec["ref"]).title(info))
+        return _produced_file(info, staging), 0.0, title
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        item = plex_lookups.by_rating_key(db, PlexItem, spec["ref"])
+        src = plex_paths.local_media_path(db, item.file_path) if item else None
+    if src is None:
+        raise StatedFailure("The library file is not reachable from here.")
+    return src, spec["start_s"], None
+
+
+def _clip_crop(spec: dict, data: dict) -> str:
+    """The clip's crop filter, from its frame and the picture the file really holds ("" for none)."""
+    frame = spec.get("crop")
+    if not frame:
+        return ""
+    dar = clipmod.display_aspect(data)
+    if dar is None:
+        raise StatedFailure("The picture's size could not be read, so the crop cannot be placed.")
+    crop = clipmod.crop_filter(frame, dar)
+    if crop is None:
+        raise StatedFailure("The crop frame lies outside the picture.")
+    return crop
+
+
+def _process_clip(job_id: int, asset_id: int) -> None:
+    """Cut an ad-hoc clip (downloads/clip): fetch or open its source, ONE re-encode to the clip
+    shape, then into the user's library beside their edits."""
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
+        if job is None:
+            return
+        spec = dict(job.edit_spec or {})
+        user_id = job.user_id
+    staging = _edit_staging_dir(asset_id)
+    try:
+        if staging.exists():
+            shutil.rmtree(staging, ignore_errors=True)
+        staging.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        # Refused before the fetch and the encode when the owner's storage is already full.
+        remaining = _clip_room(user_id)
+        src, start, fetched_title = _clip_source(job_id, asset_id, spec, staging, remaining)
+        data = probe.probe_json(src)
+        if not data:
+            raise StatedFailure("The source file could not be read.")
+        audio_track = spec.get("audio_track")
+        tracks = clipmod.audio_track_count(data)
+        if tracks == 0:
+            # A silent source: the player still names its track 0, and the clip is silent too.
+            audio_track = None
+        elif audio_track is not None and audio_track >= tracks:
+            raise StatedFailure("The chosen audio track is not in the file.")
+        crop = _clip_crop(spec, data)
+        total_s = clipmod.duration(spec)
+        out = staging / "clip.mp4"
+        _set_job(job_id, phase="editing", progress=0, speed_bps=None, eta_s=None)
+        editmod.run_ffmpeg(
+            clipmod.build_cmd(
+                src,
+                out,
+                start,
+                total_s,
+                audio_track=audio_track,
+                hdr=clipmod.is_hdr(data),
+                threads=editmod.encode_thread_cap(),
+                crop=crop,
+            ),
+            total_s,
+            on_progress=_ffmpeg_progress_writer(job_id, "editing"),
+            should_cancel=_cancel_poll(job_id),
+        )
+        if not out.exists():
+            raise StatedFailure("ffmpeg produced no output file")
+        # The phone-safe shape by construction; still held to the rule every ready file meets.
+        out = _ensure_phone_safe(job_id, out, staging, "editing", round(total_s))
+        # Held to the cap by its real size: a range fetch passes yt-dlp's `max_filesize` to its
+        # ffmpeg downloader, which never reads it, and a Plex clip fetches nothing at all. Read
+        # again, since other jobs of this owner may have landed during the encode.
+        remaining = _clip_room(user_id)
+        if remaining is not None and out.stat().st_size > remaining:
+            raise _OwnerRefused(dlerrors.CLIP_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE)
+        ext = out.suffix.lstrip(".").lower() or "mp4"
+        rel = storage.edit_rel_path(user_id, asset_id, ext)
+        storage.place_file(out, settings.files_root, rel)
+        final = storage.abs_path(settings.files_root, rel)
+        vcodec, acodec, width, height, _ = probe.probe_media(final)
+
+        with SessionLocal() as db:
+            asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+            if asset:
+                asset.status = "ready"
+                asset.rel_path = rel
+                asset.size_bytes = final.stat().st_size if final.exists() else None
+                asset.container = ext
+                asset.vcodec, asset.acodec, asset.width, asset.height = (
+                    vcodec,
+                    acodec,
+                    width,
+                    height,
+                )
+                asset.duration_s = round(total_s)
+                asset.media_kind = mediakind.derive(vcodec, acodec)
+                # The clip's own frame as its poster: the link preview shows the moment, and a Plex
+                # item has no public thumbnail at all.
+                asset.poster_path = editmod.ensure_poster(asset, settings.files_root)
+                asset.error = None
+                asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+            fields: dict = {"status": JobStatus.DONE, "progress": 100, "phase": None}
+            # A video outside the catalog was queued as "Clip (clip)": the fetch has its title now.
+            placeholder = service.clip_title(None, None)
+            if asset and fetched_title and asset.title == placeholder:
+                named = service.clip_title(fetched_title, None)
+                asset.title = named
+                if job_row := db.get(DownloadJob, job_id):
+                    if job_row.display_name == placeholder:
+                        fields["display_name"] = named[:DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX]
+            title = asset.title if asset else None
+            finalized = service.finalize_if_running(db, job_id, **fields)
+            db.commit()
+            if finalized:
+                _notify_download_done(db, user_id, title, job_id, kind="edit")
+                log.info(
+                    "clip job %s done: asset %s",
+                    job_id,
+                    asset_id,
+                    extra=logs.event(
+                        "clip.job.done", job_id=job_id, asset_id=asset_id, source=spec["source"]
+                    ),
+                )
+    except (_Aborted, editmod.EditAborted):
+        # Paused/canceled mid-fetch or mid-encode: free the asset for a later retry.
+        _reset_asset_pending(asset_id)
+        log.info(
+            "clip job %s aborted (pause/cancel)",
+            job_id,
+            extra=logs.event("clip.job.aborted", job_id=job_id),
+        )
+    except _OwnerRefused as exc:
+        # Quota full: the job fails, the asset goes back to pending for a Retry once there is room
+        # (the download's handling; see `_download`).
+        msg = str(exc)[:500]
+        with SessionLocal() as db:
+            service.finalize_if_running(
+                db,
+                job_id,
+                status=JobStatus.ERROR,
+                error=msg,
+                error_code=dlerrors.classify(msg),
+                error_detail=None,
+                phase=None,
+            )
+            db.commit()
+        _reset_asset_pending(asset_id)
+        log.info(
+            "clip job %s refused for its owner: %s",
+            job_id,
+            formats.log_safe(msg),
+            extra=logs.event("clip.job.refused", job_id=job_id),
+        )
+    except _ClipFetchFailed as exc:
+        # silent-ok: not silent — `_fail_edit` is the report, with the fetch's diagnosis.
+        _fail_edit(job_id, asset_id, str(exc), exc, what="clip", diagnosis=exc.diagnosis)
+    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="clip")
+    finally:
+        shutil.rmtree(staging, ignore_errors=True)
+
+
+def _check_converted_fits(owner_id: int | None, old_size: int, new_size: int) -> None:
+    """Refuse a converted upload that would push its owner over the storage cap: the upload was
+    charged at its original size, and a re-encode can come out larger. The original stays, counted,
+    for the owner to delete or keep."""
+    if owner_id is None:
+        return
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        if not quota.fits_after_conversion(db, owner_id, old_size, new_size):
+            raise StatedFailure(dlerrors.CONVERTED_TOO_BIG_MESSAGE)
+
+
+def _unplace(placed: Path | None) -> None:
+    """Remove a converted upload that was placed at its new rel but never committed: the row still
+    names the original, so nothing else would ever find this file."""
+    if placed is not None:
+        placed.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+
+
+def _conversion_landed(asset_id: int, new_rel: str) -> bool | None:
+    """After the commit that makes a converted upload ready RAISED: did it land anyway? A commit can
+    reach the server and lose its answer (the connection drops after COMMIT). True/False by what the
+    row now says; None when the row cannot be read either."""
+    try:
+        with SessionLocal() as db:
+            asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+            return asset is not None and asset.status == "ready" and asset.rel_path == new_rel
+    except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — "cannot tell" is the answer, the caller acts on it
+        # silent-ok: the caller re-raises the commit's own error, which `_fail_edit` reports.
+        return None
+
+
+def _drop_original(job_id: int, src: Path) -> None:
+    """Remove an upload's original once the converted file is committed in its place. Best effort:
+    the job is done and its file is ready, so a failure here must not fail it — the original is
+    named by no row now, and the GC's `.uploads` sweep takes it."""
+    try:
+        src.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+    except OSError as exc:
+        log.warning(
+            "upload job %s: original not removed, left to the GC sweep: %s",
+            job_id,
+            exc,
+            extra=logs.event("upload.original.unlink_failed", job_id=job_id),
+        )
+
+
+def _free_unheld_upload(asset_id: int) -> bool:
+    """Free an upload no job holds any more — cancelled or deleted while its conversion ran, when
+    `release_asset` had to leave it because the conversion still read its file. Once that has
+    stopped, free it as the release would have; left alone, its file would sit on disk counted by no
+    owner's footprint until the GC's upload pass. False when a job still holds it (paused)."""
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+        if asset is None or asset.ref_count != 0:
+            return False
+        if asset.rel_path:
+            storage.delete_asset_files(settings.files_root, asset.rel_path)
+        db.delete(asset)
+        db.commit()
+    return 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`.
+    A converted file placed but never committed is removed again on the way out. When the commit's
+    own outcome is unknown neither file is removed: the row names one of them, and the GC's `.uploads`
+    sweep takes the one it does not — as it does an original whose unlink after the commit failed."""
+    with SessionLocal() as db:
+        asset = db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id)
+        old_rel = asset.rel_path if asset else None
+        old_ext = asset.container if asset else None
+        old_size = (asset.size_bytes or 0) if asset else 0
+        duration = asset.duration_s if asset else None
+        job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
+        owner_id = job.user_id if job else None
+    src = storage.safe_abs_path(settings.files_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, dlerrors.UPLOAD_MISSING_MESSAGE, what="upload")
+        return
+    staging = _staging_dir(asset_id)
+    placed: Path | None = None  # the converted file while it is at its new rel, uncommitted
+    try:
+        shutil.rmtree(staging, ignore_errors=True)
+        staging.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        safe = _ensure_phone_safe(job_id, src, staging, CONVERTING, duration, keep_source=True)
+        ext = safe.suffix.lstrip(".").lower()
+        new_rel = storage.with_ext(old_rel, old_ext, ext)
+        if safe != src:
+            _check_converted_fits(owner_id, old_size, safe.stat().st_size)
+            storage.place_file(safe, settings.files_root, new_rel)
+            if new_rel != old_rel:
+                placed = storage.abs_path(settings.files_root, new_rel)
+        final = storage.abs_path(settings.files_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)
+            title = asset.title if asset else None
+            finalized = service.finalize_if_running(
+                db, job_id, status=JobStatus.DONE, progress=100, phase=None
+            )
+            try:
+                db.commit()
+            except Exception:
+                landed = _conversion_landed(asset_id, new_rel)
+                if landed is False:
+                    raise  # rolled back: the original is still the asset's file — fail as any step
+                # Landed, or cannot tell: the converted file may be the asset's file now, so it is
+                # never removed blind (the sweep takes whichever file no row names).
+                placed = None
+                if landed is None:
+                    raise
+                db.rollback()
+            placed = None
+            if finalized:
+                _notify_download_done(db, owner_id, title, job_id, kind="upload")
+        if new_rel != old_rel:
+            _drop_original(job_id, src)
+        if not finalized:
+            _free_unheld_upload(asset_id)  # finished after its job was cancelled or deleted
+        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. A paused job keeps it for its
+        # resume; one cancelled or deleted holds it no more, so it is freed now.
+        _unplace(placed)
+        if not _free_unheld_upload(asset_id):
+            _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.
+        _unplace(placed)
+        _fail_edit(job_id, asset_id, str(exc)[:500], exc, what="upload")
+
+    finally:
+        shutil.rmtree(staging, ignore_errors=True)

backend/app/downloads/playable.py

@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+"""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",
+        *editmod.INPUT_GUARD,
+        "-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?"]
+        if p.reencode_video:
+            cmd += ["-vf", editmod.EVEN_FRAME, *editmod.X264_ARGS]
+        else:
+            cmd += ["-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

backend/app/downloads/preview.py

@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+"""What a library file previews as — the single home of the preview allow-list.
+
+A generic file (`media_kind == "file"`; video and audio have their players) previews by its stored
+`container`, the upload's cleaned extension, and ONLY through this table: an image is shown as an
+image, a PDF in the browser's own viewer, and a text format as plain text. Anything else has no
+preview. The served Content-Type comes from here too, never from a guess on the name, and HTML / SVG
+sit in the TEXT list on purpose: rendered on this origin, an uploaded page would run with the
+reader's session. The route adds `CSP: sandbox` on top, so even a mislabelled file (a "png" that is
+really a page) gets no script and no origin.
+
+The serializer hands the kind to the client (`asset.preview`), so the library and the server can
+never disagree on which files open a preview.
+"""
+
+import codecs
+from typing import Literal
+
+from app.downloads import mediakind
+
+PreviewKind = Literal["image", "pdf", "text"]
+
+IMAGE_TYPES: dict[str, str] = {
+    "png": "image/png",
+    "jpg": "image/jpeg",
+    "jpeg": "image/jpeg",
+    "gif": "image/gif",
+    "webp": "image/webp",
+    "avif": "image/avif",
+    "bmp": "image/bmp",
+}
+
+PDF_TYPE = "application/pdf"
+
+# Read as text: notes, data, subtitles, config and source. HTML and SVG belong here (see above).
+TEXT_EXTS: frozenset[str] = frozenset(
+    {
+        "txt", "text", "md", "markdown", "log", "csv", "tsv", "json", "jsonl", "ndjson", "xml",
+        "yaml", "yml", "toml", "ini", "conf", "cfg", "properties", "env", "srt", "vtt", "ass", "ssa",
+        "sub", "nfo", "cue", "m3u", "m3u8", "html", "htm", "xhtml", "svg", "css", "scss", "less",
+        "js", "mjs", "cjs", "ts", "tsx", "jsx", "py", "rb", "php", "pl", "lua", "go", "rs", "java",
+        "kt", "kts", "swift", "c", "h", "cc", "cpp", "hpp", "cs", "sh", "bash", "zsh", "fish", "ps1",
+        "bat", "cmd", "sql", "r", "dart", "diff", "patch", "tex", "rst", "adoc", "gradle", "dockerfile",
+    }
+)  # fmt: skip
+
+TEXT_TYPE = "text/plain; charset=utf-8"
+
+# A text preview is the file's head: enough to read, never a whole log loaded into a tab.
+TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES = 1 << 20
+# A NUL byte in the first this-many bytes means the "text" is not text.
+BINARY_SNIFF_BYTES = 8192
+
+
+def kind(media_kind: str | None, container: str | None) -> PreviewKind | None:
+    """The preview a library file gets, or None (a media file plays instead; others download)."""
+    if media_kind != mediakind.FILE:
+        return None
+    ext = (container or "").lower()
+    if ext in IMAGE_TYPES:
+        return "image"
+    if ext == "pdf":
+        return "pdf"
+    if ext in TEXT_EXTS:
+        return "text"
+    return None
+
+
+def media_type(preview: PreviewKind, container: str | None) -> str:
+    """The Content-Type a preview is served with: from this table, never guessed from the name."""
+    if preview == "image":
+        return IMAGE_TYPES[(container or "").lower()]
+    if preview == "pdf":
+        return PDF_TYPE
+    return TEXT_TYPE
+
+
+# A text that is not UTF-8 is read as Central European Windows: what an old Hungarian subtitle or
+# note is written in (its ő and ű are not in Latin-1).
+FALLBACK_ENCODING = "cp1250"
+_BOMS = (
+    (codecs.BOM_UTF8, "utf-8-sig"),
+    (codecs.BOM_UTF16_LE, "utf-16"),
+    (codecs.BOM_UTF16_BE, "utf-16"),
+)
+
+
+def looks_binary(head: bytes) -> bool:
+    """Whether the start of a "text" file is binary after all (a NUL in it)."""
+    return b"\x00" in head[:BINARY_SNIFF_BYTES]
+
+
+def text_utf8(head: bytes) -> bytes | None:
+    """A text file's head as UTF-8, the one charset the preview is served in; None when it is not text.
+    A byte-order mark names its encoding (UTF-16 is full of NULs, so it is read before the binary
+    check); else UTF-8 is kept as it is — a character cut at the size cap included, the reader shows
+    that one as a replacement mark — and anything else is read as `FALLBACK_ENCODING`."""
+    for bom, encoding in _BOMS:
+        if head.startswith(bom):
+            return head.decode(encoding, errors="replace").encode()
+    if looks_binary(head):
+        return None
+    try:
+        head.decode("utf-8")
+    except UnicodeDecodeError as e:  # silent-ok: not UTF-8 is an answer — read it as the fallback
+        if not (e.reason == "unexpected end of data" and e.end == len(head)):
+            return head.decode(FALLBACK_ENCODING, errors="replace").encode()
+    return head

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]:
@@ -94,18 +121,18 @@ def resolve_media_facts(
     is authoritative — INCLUDING a deliberate None (cover-art-only audio, a still image). A per-field
     `probe or info` fallback would let `info`'s stale vcodec resurrect a video track the file doesn't
     have (yt-dlp reports a progressive `vcodec` for an audio-mode download whose video it then strips),
-    mislabelling an audio download as a broken in-app 'video'. Only when ffprobe could NOT read the
-    file at all do we fall back to `info` (the pre-probe behaviour, a safety net); the cosmetic
-    dimensions and the duration still gap-fill from `info` in either case."""
+    mislabelling an audio download as a broken in-app 'video'. When ffprobe could NOT read the file
+    at all, no codec is reported: the probe runs with the media demuxer whitelist, so a file it
+    cannot open is one the player and the editor cannot open either — and taking `info`'s codecs
+    for it would make it an editable 'video' whose bytes are whatever the remote site served. The
+    cosmetic dimensions and the duration still gap-fill from `info` in either case."""
     data = editmod.run_ffprobe_json(path, show_streams=True, show_format=True)
-    info_v = info.get("vcodec") if info.get("vcodec") not in (None, "none") else None
-    info_a = info.get("acodec") if info.get("acodec") not in (None, "none") else None
     info_w = int(info["width"]) if info.get("width") else None
     info_h = int(info["height"]) if info.get("height") else None
     info_d = int(info["duration"]) if info.get("duration") else None
     if data is None:
-        # ffprobe could not read the file — fall back to the extractor's info entirely.
-        return info_v, info_a, info_w, info_h, info_d
+        # Unreadable to the guarded probe: a download-only 'file' (no codecs → media_kind FILE).
+        return None, None, info_w, info_h, info_d
     pv, pa, pw, ph, pd = _facts_from_probe(data)
     # Probe ran → its codecs win outright (a None means "no such track", not "unknown"); info only
     # gap-fills the width/height/duration the probe couldn't read.

backend/app/downloads/quota.py

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 """Per-user download limits + footprint accounting.
 
 A user's *footprint* is the total size of the ready assets their library references (cache hits
-count — it's "how much disk you're responsible for", not "how much you personally downloaded").
+count — it's "how much disk you're responsible for", not "how much you personally downloaded"). An
+upload counts from the moment it lands, ready or not: its original is on disk while its conversion
+waits, and stays there when the conversion fails (for Retry) — bytes a ready-only sum never saw.
 Limits come from a per-user DownloadQuota row if the admin set one, else the sysconfig defaults.
 `unlimited` (e.g. the admin's own account) bypasses the byte cap.
 
@@ -13,21 +15,30 @@ the footprint as it stood when the job was created and earlier jobs may have fil
 That is a per-job ceiling, not an aggregate ledger: concurrent jobs of one user each read the same
 remainder (in-flight bytes are not `ready`, so `footprint` cannot see them), so a wave of
 max_concurrent downloads can still land over the cap — the deliberate trade, since a download's size
-is unknown until it finishes. Edit jobs do not consult it at all (tracked as SEC-19).
+is unknown until it finishes. CLIP jobs consult it before their fetch or encode and again with
+their output's real size before it is placed. Edit jobs do not consult it at all (tracked as SEC-19).
 """
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 
-from sqlalchemy import func, select
+from sqlalchemy import and_, func, or_, select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app import sysconfig
+from app.downloads.status import JobKind, JobStatus
 from app.models import DownloadJob, DownloadQuota, MediaAsset
 
 # Jobs a user is considered to be "holding" (occupy a job slot / footprint). Terminal failures
 # (error, canceled) don't count.
-_HOLDING = ("queued", "running", "paused", "done")
-_RUNNING = ("queued", "running")
+_HOLDING = (JobStatus.QUEUED, JobStatus.RUNNING, JobStatus.PAUSED, JobStatus.DONE)
+_RUNNING = (JobStatus.QUEUED, JobStatus.RUNNING)
+# An asset whose file is on disk: a ready one, or an upload in any state (its original lands at
+# ingest, see the module docstring). Every byte sum — a user's footprint, the GC's total-cap pass,
+# the admin's storage view — reads it, so they all count the same disk.
+ON_DISK = or_(
+    MediaAsset.status == "ready",
+    and_(MediaAsset.source_kind == "upload", MediaAsset.rel_path.is_not(None)),
+)
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -56,7 +67,8 @@ def resolve(db: Session, user_id: int) -> QuotaLimits:
         # "at limit" checks — the worker's claim-window exclusion vs at_concurrency_limit — since a
         # 0-limit user is "capped" with zero running jobs, which the SQL exclusion can't see. Keep
         # them consistent by never letting the effective limit drop below 1. (To BLOCK a user's
-        # downloads, suspend them or set max_jobs=0, not max_concurrent=0.)
+        # downloads, suspend them — the worker leaves a suspended user's queued jobs unclaimed — or
+        # set max_jobs=0, not max_concurrent=0.)
         return QuotaLimits(row.max_bytes, max(1, row.max_concurrent), row.max_jobs, row.unlimited)
     return QuotaLimits(
         max_bytes=sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_default_max_bytes"),
@@ -67,12 +79,17 @@ def resolve(db: Session, user_id: int) -> QuotaLimits:
 
 
 def footprint(db: Session, user_id: int) -> int:
-    """Total bytes of the distinct ready assets this user's active jobs reference."""
+    """Total bytes of the distinct assets this user's jobs hold on disk: the ready ones their active
+    jobs reference, and every upload of theirs — including one whose conversion failed, which keeps
+    its original (see the module docstring)."""
     held_assets = (
         select(DownloadJob.asset_id)
         .where(
             DownloadJob.user_id == user_id,
-            DownloadJob.status.in_(_HOLDING),
+            or_(
+                DownloadJob.status.in_(_HOLDING),
+                and_(DownloadJob.job_kind == JobKind.UPLOAD, DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.ERROR),
+            ),
             DownloadJob.asset_id.is_not(None),
         )
         .distinct()
@@ -80,7 +97,7 @@ def footprint(db: Session, user_id: int) -> int:
     return int(
         db.execute(
             select(func.coalesce(func.sum(MediaAsset.size_bytes), 0)).where(
-                MediaAsset.id.in_(held_assets), MediaAsset.status == "ready"
+                MediaAsset.id.in_(held_assets), ON_DISK
             )
         ).scalar()
         or 0
@@ -111,7 +128,7 @@ def at_concurrency_limit(db: Session, user_id: int) -> bool:
     lim = resolve(db, user_id)
     if lim.unlimited:
         return False
-    running = _count(db, user_id, ("running",))
+    running = _count(db, user_id, (JobStatus.RUNNING,))
     return running >= lim.max_concurrent
 
 
@@ -160,6 +177,18 @@ def check_upload(db: Session, user_id: int, add_bytes: int) -> None:
         raise QuotaExceeded("max_bytes", lim.max_bytes, projected)
 
 
+def fits_after_conversion(db: Session, user_id: int, old_bytes: int, new_bytes: int) -> bool:
+    """Whether an upload converted from `old_bytes` (what it is charged at now) to `new_bytes` keeps
+    its owner within the cap. A re-encode can come out larger than the original, and nothing else
+    re-checks it once the upload was let in."""
+    if new_bytes <= old_bytes:  # a smaller file never breaks a cap the larger one was let in under
+        return True
+    lim = resolve(db, user_id)
+    if lim.unlimited:
+        return True
+    return footprint(db, user_id) - old_bytes + new_bytes <= lim.max_bytes
+
+
 def usage(db: Session, user_id: int) -> dict:
     """Compact usage snapshot for the UI (footprint + counts vs limits)."""
     lim = resolve(db, user_id)

backend/app/downloads/runner.py

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ from app.config import settings
 from app.db import SessionLocal
 from app.downloads import edit as editmod
 from app.downloads import formats
+from app.downloads.status import JobKind
 from app.models import DownloadJob
 
 log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ def main() -> None:
     logs.configure_logging("runner")
     _deprioritize()
     if len(sys.argv) != 2:
-        # noqa T201: a usage line is for the person who typed the command. Logging is already
+        # T201: a usage line is for the person who typed the command. Logging is already
         # configured here, and in a deployment it writes JSON records — the one reader of this
         # line wants the bare sentence, not a record with a request id they do not have.
         print(  # noqa: T201
@@ -95,16 +96,20 @@ 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_clip, _process_edit
 
     with formats.hiding(source_ref):
         try:
-            if job_kind == "edit":
+            if job_kind == JobKind.EDIT:
                 _process_edit(job_id, asset_id)
+            elif job_kind == JobKind.UPLOAD:
+                _convert_upload(job_id, asset_id)
+            elif job_kind == JobKind.CLIP:
+                _process_clip(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
-            # noqa TRY400: the stack goes with it scrubbed (`scrubbed_stack`); `exc_info` is raw.
+            # TRY400: the stack goes with it scrubbed (`scrubbed_stack`); `exc_info` is raw.
             log.error(  # noqa: TRY400
                 "the download child for job %s failed",
                 job_id,

backend/app/downloads/service.py

@@ -16,11 +16,22 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app.config import settings
 from app.downloads import adapters
+from app.downloads import clip as clipmod
 from app.downloads import credentials
 from app.downloads import edit as editmod
-from app.downloads import formats, mediakind, quota, storage
-from app.downloads.status import HOLDING, JobStatus
-from app.models import DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX, Channel, DownloadJob, MediaAsset, Video
+from app.downloads import folders, formats, mediakind, quota, storage
+from app.downloads.status import HOLDING, JobKind, JobStatus
+from app.models import (
+    DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX,
+    Channel,
+    DownloadJob,
+    MediaAsset,
+    PlexItem,
+    PlexShow,
+    Video,
+)
+from app.plex import lookups as plex_lookups
+from app.plex import paths as plex_paths
 
 
 class EditError(Exception):
@@ -38,12 +49,15 @@ def source_url(source_kind: str, source_ref: str) -> str:
 
 
 def reference_url(job, asset) -> str | None:
-    """The clean "downloaded from" URL for a job — shared by the private Downloads page and the public
+    """The clean "downloaded from" URL for a job — shared by the Files library and the public
     watch page so both surfaces always agree. None for edit derivatives (a clip's source is the user's
-    own earlier download, not a web page); else the canonical page URL yt-dlp recorded; else one derived
-    from source_kind+source_ref (covers queued/older rows before the worker fills it)."""
-    if job is None or job.job_kind == "edit":
+    own earlier download, not a web page) and for a Plex clip (the library is not a public page); a
+    YouTube clip links its video at the clip's start; else the canonical page URL yt-dlp recorded; else
+    one derived from source_kind+source_ref (covers queued/older rows before the worker fills it)."""
+    if job is None or job.job_kind == JobKind.EDIT:
         return None
+    if job.job_kind == JobKind.CLIP:
+        return clipmod.reference_url(job.edit_spec or {})
     if asset is not None and asset.source_webpage_url:
         return asset.source_webpage_url
     if job.source_kind in ("youtube", "url"):
@@ -51,6 +65,23 @@ def reference_url(job, asset) -> str | None:
     return None
 
 
+def library_left_behind(db: Session, files_root: str) -> bool:
+    """True when the library names files and none of the newest of them is under `files_root` — a
+    fresh, empty volume mounted in the library's place (a compose file changed under an install, its
+    old volume left behind). The mount check cannot see that: the new volume is a real mount."""
+    rels = (
+        db.execute(
+            select(MediaAsset.rel_path)
+            .where(MediaAsset.status == "ready", MediaAsset.rel_path.is_not(None))
+            .order_by(MediaAsset.id.desc())
+            .limit(20)
+        )
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    return bool(rels) and not any(storage.abs_path(files_root, r).exists() for r in rels if r)
+
+
 def get_or_create_asset(
     db: Session, source_kind: str, source_ref: str, format_sig: str
 ) -> MediaAsset:
@@ -63,7 +94,12 @@ def get_or_create_asset(
         MediaAsset.source_ref == source_ref,
         MediaAsset.format_sig == format_sig,
     )
-    asset = db.execute(stmt).scalar_one_or_none()
+    # Locked to the caller's commit: a release or the GC freeing this asset meanwhile (they lock it
+    # too) either waits for the new hold, or has deleted the row by the time this read returns — and
+    # the caller then gets a fresh one, never a job pointing at a row that is gone.
+    asset = db.execute(
+        stmt.with_for_update().execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
     if asset is not None:
         # A previously-FAILED shared asset must be re-attempted for the new job about to hold it —
         # reset it to pending (+clear the error) so the worker actually re-downloads instead of
@@ -180,16 +216,18 @@ def enqueue(
         profile_snapshot=spec,
         display_name=display_name
         or (asset.title[:DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX] if asset.status == "ready" and asset.title else None),
-        status="queued",
+        status=JobStatus.QUEUED,
         queue_pos=next_queue_pos(db),
     )
     db.add(job)
+    folders.place(db, job)
     incr_ref_count(db, asset.id)
 
     # Cache hit: the file already exists — no worker round-trip needed.
     if asset.status == "ready":
-        job.status = "done"
+        job.status = JobStatus.DONE
         job.progress = 100
+        folders.stamp_done(db, job)
         asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
 
     db.commit()
@@ -197,7 +235,7 @@ def enqueue(
     return job
 
 
-def _clip_title(source_title: str | None, display_name: str | None) -> str:
+def clip_title(source_title: str | None, display_name: str | None) -> str:
     # Clipped to DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX, not to a literal: this feeds `DownloadJob.display_name` through
     # `enqueue_edit`, the same column `display_text` guards. A machine-made title, so it is clipped
     # rather than run through `display_text` — blank here means "no title", not None.
@@ -239,7 +277,7 @@ def enqueue_edit(
     ref = f"{user_id}:{src_asset.id}"[:512]
     asset = get_or_create_asset(db, "edit", ref, sig)
     if not asset.title:
-        asset.title = _clip_title(src_asset.title, display_name)
+        asset.title = clip_title(src_asset.title, display_name)
         asset.uploader = src_asset.uploader
         asset.thumbnail_url = src_asset.thumbnail_url
         asset.upload_date = src_asset.upload_date
@@ -251,7 +289,7 @@ def enqueue_edit(
     job = DownloadJob(
         user_id=user_id,
         asset_id=asset.id,
-        job_kind="edit",
+        job_kind=JobKind.EDIT,
         source_kind="edit",
         source_ref=ref,
         source_job_id=source_job.id,
@@ -259,15 +297,106 @@ def enqueue_edit(
         edit_spec=spec,
         profile_snapshot={},
         display_name=display_name or asset.title[:DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX],
-        status="queued",
+        status=JobStatus.QUEUED,
         queue_pos=next_queue_pos(db),
     )
     db.add(job)
+    folders.place(db, job)
     incr_ref_count(db, asset.id)
 
     if asset.status == "ready":  # identical clip already produced for this user → instant
-        job.status = "done"
+        job.status = JobStatus.DONE
         job.progress = 100
+        folders.stamp_done(db, job)
+        asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+
+    db.commit()
+    db.refresh(job)
+    return job
+
+
+def _clip_source_facts(db: Session, spec: dict) -> dict:
+    """Title, uploader, thumbnail and length of what a clip is cut from, read from our own catalog.
+    Raises ClipError when a Plex item is unknown or its file cannot be read here — said at enqueue,
+    rather than as a job that fails in the queue a minute later."""
+    if spec["source"] == "youtube":
+        video = db.get(Video, spec["ref"])
+        if video is None:  # not in the catalog: titled "Clip" until yt-dlp names it (worker)
+            return {"title": None, "uploader": None, "thumbnail_url": None, "length_s": None}
+        channel = db.get(Channel, video.channel_id)
+        return {
+            "title": video.title,
+            "uploader": channel.title if channel else None,
+            "thumbnail_url": video.thumbnail_url,
+            "length_s": video.duration_seconds,
+        }
+    item = plex_lookups.by_rating_key(db, PlexItem, spec["ref"])
+    if item is None:
+        raise clipmod.ClipError("not_found")
+    if plex_paths.local_media_path(db, item.file_path) is None:
+        raise clipmod.ClipError("media_missing")
+    title = item.title
+    show = db.get(PlexShow, item.show_id) if item.show_id else None
+    if show is not None:
+        episode = (
+            f"S{item.season_number}·E{item.episode_number}"
+            if item.season_number is not None and item.episode_number is not None
+            else None
+        )
+        title = " — ".join(p for p in (show.title, episode, item.title) if p)
+    return {
+        "title": title,
+        "uploader": None,
+        # Plex art is served through our own authenticated routes, never a public URL; the worker
+        # cuts the clip's poster from the clip itself.
+        "thumbnail_url": None,
+        "length_s": item.duration_s,
+    }
+
+
+def enqueue_clip(
+    db: Session, user_id: int, spec: dict, display_name: str | None = None
+) -> DownloadJob:
+    """Queue an ad-hoc clip (`clipmod.normalize`d spec) for `user_id`: a NEW per-user asset cut
+    straight from the source — a YouTube range or a Plex library file (see downloads/clip).
+
+    Raises ClipError (unknown or unreachable source, a range past its end) or quota.QuotaExceeded."""
+    facts = _clip_source_facts(db, spec)
+    # One second of grace: a mark set on the last frame may round past the catalog's whole seconds.
+    if facts["length_s"] and spec["end_s"] > facts["length_s"] + 1:
+        raise clipmod.ClipError("past_end")
+
+    quota.check_enqueue(db, user_id)
+
+    ref = clipmod.asset_ref(user_id, spec)[:512]
+    asset = get_or_create_asset(db, "clip", ref, clipmod.sig(spec))
+    if not asset.title:
+        asset.title = clip_title(facts["title"], display_name)
+        asset.uploader = facts["uploader"]
+        asset.thumbnail_url = facts["thumbnail_url"]
+        asset.duration_s = round(clipmod.duration(spec))
+        asset.media_kind = mediakind.VIDEO
+
+    job = DownloadJob(
+        user_id=user_id,
+        asset_id=asset.id,
+        job_kind=JobKind.CLIP,
+        source_kind="clip",
+        source_ref=ref,
+        edit_spec=spec,
+        profile_snapshot={},
+        display_name=display_name or asset.title[:DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX],
+        status=JobStatus.QUEUED,
+        queue_pos=next_queue_pos(db),
+    )
+    db.add(job)
+    folders.place(db, job)
+    incr_ref_count(db, asset.id)
+
+    if asset.status == "ready":  # the same range was already cut for this user → instant
+        job.status = JobStatus.DONE
+        job.progress = 100
+        folders.stamp_done(db, job)
         asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
 
     db.commit()
@@ -291,6 +420,8 @@ def finalize_if_running(db: Session, job_id: int, **fields) -> bool:
     if not fields:
         return False
     db.flush()  # asset-then-job lock order: push pending asset writes before we lock the job row
+    if fields.get("status") == JobStatus.DONE:
+        return _finalize_done(db, job_id, {**fields, "ready_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc)})
     # A Core UPDATE with the guard as a WHERE — same atomic "only while still running" write as the
     # rest of the codebase's 2.0 statements, no hand-built SQL string. synchronize_session=False: this
     # is a terminal write, so we don't pay to sync the (about-to-be-discarded) ORM identity map. Bound
@@ -304,6 +435,41 @@ def finalize_if_running(db: Session, job_id: int, **fields) -> bool:
     return result.rowcount > 0
 
 
+def _finalize_done(db: Session, job_id: int, fields: dict) -> bool:
+    """`finalize_if_running` for a job that finished: done is when a file's retention starts, its
+    folder's unless the user kept it. The expiry is written only while the job is still where it was
+    read from — a move, a keep, or its folder's delete (which sends its files home) landing while the
+    folder's retention was read sends the read round again, never stamping a folder's retention on a
+    file now in another one."""
+    while True:
+        held = db.execute(
+            select(DownloadJob.folder_id, DownloadJob.kept, DownloadJob.status).where(
+                DownloadJob.id == job_id
+            )
+        ).one_or_none()
+        if held is None or held.status != JobStatus.RUNNING:
+            return False
+        stamped = {
+            **fields,
+            "expires_at": folders.done_expiry(db, held.folder_id, held.kept),
+            "expiry_warned": False,
+        }
+        hit = db.execute(
+            update(DownloadJob)
+            .where(
+                DownloadJob.id == job_id,
+                DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.RUNNING.value,
+                DownloadJob.folder_id.is_not_distinct_from(held.folder_id),
+                DownloadJob.kept == held.kept,
+            )
+            .values(**stamped)
+            .returning(DownloadJob.id)
+            .execution_options(synchronize_session=False)
+        ).scalar_one_or_none()
+        if hit is not None:
+            return True
+
+
 def release_asset(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> None:
     """Drop this job's hold on its asset when it leaves a holding state. Once NO job holds the
     asset anymore, delete the file + row immediately — a deleted download should free its disk,
@@ -318,16 +484,24 @@ 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)
+            storage.delete_asset_files(settings.files_root, asset.rel_path)
         db.delete(asset)
 
 
@@ -456,4 +630,6 @@ def redownload(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> None:
     # name would survive the rebuild).
     job.display_name = None
     job.queue_pos = next_queue_pos(db)  # tail of the queue, not its stale original slot
+    job.expires_at = None  # stamped again when the rebuild is done
+    job.expiry_warned = False
     db.commit()

backend/app/downloads/status.py

@@ -33,6 +33,27 @@ HOLDING = frozenset(
     {JobStatus.QUEUED, JobStatus.RUNNING, JobStatus.PAUSED, JobStatus.DONE, JobStatus.ERROR}
 )
 
+
+class JobKind(StrEnum):
+    """What a job produces, which decides the worker path that runs it and what the library may do
+    with the result (only a DOWNLOAD has a web source to fetch again)."""
+
+    DOWNLOAD = "download"  # yt-dlp fetches a source into a shared, deduplicated asset
+    EDIT = "edit"  # a per-user trim/crop of a file already in the library
+    UPLOAD = "upload"  # a file the user sent; the worker only converts it
+    CLIP = (
+        "clip"  # a per-user range of a YouTube video or a Plex item, cut straight from the source
+    )
+
+
+# A job kind with no web source to fetch again: Re-download refuses these.
+NOT_REFETCHABLE = frozenset({JobKind.EDIT, JobKind.UPLOAD, JobKind.CLIP})
+
+
 # States a route sets to STOP a running job. The worker's supervisor must step in (kill the child, free
 # the asset, leave the route's status intact) when it observes one of these on a job it is running.
 STOPPED_BY_ROUTE = frozenset({JobStatus.PAUSED, JobStatus.CANCELED})
+
+
+# A job that will not move again on its own: the queue lists it only briefly after it got here.
+FINISHED = frozenset({JobStatus.DONE, JobStatus.CANCELED})

backend/app/downloads/storage.py

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ a Plex library using a metadata agent picks up rich info. Channel = "show", vide
 date-based — the community-standard mapping for YouTube-in-Plex.
 """
 
+import os
 import re
 import shutil
 import unicodedata
@@ -67,6 +68,57 @@ _FOLD_MAP = str.maketrans(
 )
 
 
+def _mount_points(mountinfo: str) -> list[str]:
+    """The mount points a /proc/<pid>/mountinfo table lists (its fifth field, octal escapes undone)."""
+    points = []
+    for line in mountinfo.splitlines():
+        fields = line.split(" ")
+        if len(fields) > 4:
+            points.append(re.sub(r"\\([0-7]{3})", lambda m: chr(int(m.group(1), 8)), fields[4]))
+    return points
+
+
+def _in_container() -> bool:
+    return Path("/.dockerenv").exists() or Path("/run/.containerenv").exists()
+
+
+def _read_mountinfo() -> str | None:
+    try:
+        return Path("/proc/self/mountinfo").read_text()
+    # silent-ok: no mount table to read (not Linux) — the caller then cannot tell, and refuses nothing.
+    except OSError:
+        return None
+
+
+def files_root_problem(
+    root: str, mountinfo: str | None = None, in_container: bool | None = None
+) -> str | None:
+    """Why `root` cannot be the files library's volume, or None when it can. In a container, a root
+    that is no mount of its own (nor inside one) is the image's empty directory: the library would
+    answer 404 for every file, and what a download writes would go when the container does — the
+    state an install is in when its compose file still mounts the library somewhere else.
+
+    Asked of the kernel's mount table, not by comparing devices: a storage driver that keeps the
+    container's root on the host's own disk (vfs, the fallback under Docker-in-LXC on older ZFS) gives
+    a mounted volume the same device as `/`. Outside a container a plain directory is a fine root."""
+    path = Path(root)
+    if not path.is_dir():
+        return f"{root} does not exist"
+    if in_container if in_container is not None else _in_container():
+        table = mountinfo if mountinfo is not None else _read_mountinfo()
+        if table is not None:
+            real = os.path.realpath(root)
+            mounted = any(
+                m != "/" and (real == m or real.startswith(m.rstrip("/") + "/"))
+                for m in _mount_points(table)
+            )
+            if not mounted:
+                return f"{root} is not a mounted volume (it is the container's own empty directory)"
+    if not os.access(path, os.W_OK):
+        return f"{root} is not writable"
+    return None
+
+
 def _ascii_fold(text: str) -> str:
     """Transliterate to pure ASCII: apply the explicit map, NFKD-split accented letters and drop
     the combining marks (á→a, ő→o), then strip any leftover non-ASCII (non-Latin scripts that have
@@ -122,7 +174,7 @@ def display_filename(name: str) -> str:
 
 
 def rel_path(meta: MediaMeta, ext: str, layout: str = "plex", asset_id: int | None = None) -> str:
-    """Path of the media file relative to DOWNLOAD_ROOT (forward slashes).
+    """Path of the media file relative to FILES_ROOT (forward slashes).
 
     `asset_id` disambiguates the file. A MediaAsset is unique on (source_kind, source_ref,
     format_sig), so the SAME video downloaded in two formats is two distinct assets — but without
@@ -144,7 +196,7 @@ def rel_path(meta: MediaMeta, ext: str, layout: str = "plex", asset_id: int | No
 
 
 def edit_rel_path(user_id: int, asset_id: int, ext: str) -> str:
-    """On-disk path (relative to DOWNLOAD_ROOT) for a phase-2 editor derivative.
+    """On-disk path (relative to FILES_ROOT) for a phase-2 editor derivative.
 
     Kept in a per-user `.edits/` tree — device-downloadable via the file endpoint, but NOT part of
     the Plex library (these are user clips, not canonical episodes; there are no .nfo/poster
@@ -161,20 +213,32 @@ def _clean_upload_ext(filename: str) -> str:
 
 
 def upload_rel_path(user_id: int, asset_id: int, filename: str) -> str:
-    """On-disk path (relative to DOWNLOAD_ROOT) for a locally-uploaded file.
+    """On-disk path (relative to FILES_ROOT) for a locally-uploaded file.
 
     Kept in a per-user `.uploads/` tree — device-downloadable via the file endpoint, but NOT part of
     the Plex library (an upload is arbitrary user content, not a canonical episode; no .nfo/poster
     episode sidecars). The name is system-decided and bound to the asset id (`_a{id}` keeps two
     same-named uploads apart); the original filename is display metadata only. The extension is
     preserved (shell-safe, bounded) so the served file + its Content-Disposition carry a correct
-    suffix; an extensionless upload stays extensionless."""
-    stem = sanitize(Path(filename).stem, 80)
+    suffix; an extensionless upload stays extensionless.
+
+    The stem holds no dot, so the last dot of the name is always the extension's: every sibling
+    derived by swapping it (`with_suffix` — the poster, the converted file) keeps `_a{id}`. A dotted
+    stem with no extension ('Holiday.2024.ä') once lost it, and two such uploads shared one file."""
+    stem = sanitize(Path(filename).stem, 80).replace(".", "_")
     ext = _clean_upload_ext(filename)
     suffix = f".{ext}" if ext else ""
     return f".uploads/{user_id}/{stem}_a{asset_id}{suffix}"
 
 
+def with_ext(rel: str, old_ext: str | None, ext: str) -> str:
+    """`rel` with its extension — `old_ext`, the stored `container`, None for a bare name — swapped
+    for `ext`. Not `Path.with_suffix`: on a bare name whose stem holds a dot (an upload placed before
+    the stems lost their dots) that would take the stem's tail for the extension, and `_a{id}` with it."""
+    base = rel[: -len(old_ext) - 1] if old_ext and rel.endswith(f".{old_ext}") else rel
+    return f"{base}.{ext}"
+
+
 def upload_ext(filename: str) -> str | None:
     """The stored `container` for an uploaded file: its shell-safe lowercased extension, or None when
     the upload has no extension (a bare name). Shares `_clean_upload_ext` with `upload_rel_path` so the
@@ -238,24 +302,27 @@ def download_filename(display_name: str, container: str | None, path: Path) -> s
     return f"{base}.{ext}"
 
 
-def abs_path(download_root: str, rel: str) -> Path:
-    return Path(download_root) / rel
+def abs_path(files_root: str, rel: str) -> Path:
+    return Path(files_root) / rel
 
 
-def safe_abs_path(download_root: str, rel: str) -> Path | None:
-    """The resolved absolute path for `rel`, but ONLY if it stays inside DOWNLOAD_ROOT and exists on
-    disk — otherwise None. Centralizes the path-traversal + existence guard every file-serving endpoint
-    shares, so the containment check lives in exactly one place."""
-    root = Path(download_root).resolve()
-    path = abs_path(download_root, rel).resolve()
+def safe_abs_path(files_root: str, rel: str | None) -> Path | None:
+    """The resolved absolute path for `rel`, but ONLY if it stays inside FILES_ROOT and exists on
+    disk — otherwise None (no `rel` at all included: an asset without a file has nothing to serve).
+    Centralizes the path-traversal + existence guard every file-serving endpoint shares, so the
+    containment check lives in exactly one place."""
+    if not rel:
+        return None
+    root = Path(files_root).resolve()
+    path = abs_path(files_root, rel).resolve()
     if root not in path.parents or not path.exists():
         return None
     return path
 
 
-def place_file(staging_file: Path, download_root: str, rel: str) -> None:
-    """Move a completed staging file into its final location under DOWNLOAD_ROOT."""
-    dest = abs_path(download_root, rel)
+def place_file(staging_file: Path, files_root: str, rel: str) -> None:
+    """Move a completed staging file into its final location under FILES_ROOT."""
+    dest = abs_path(files_root, rel)
     dest.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     shutil.move(str(staging_file), str(dest))
 
@@ -289,9 +356,9 @@ def _sidecar(media: Path, ext: str) -> Path:
     return media.with_suffix(ext)
 
 
-def write_sidecars(download_root: str, rel: str, meta: MediaMeta, thumb_src: Path | None) -> bool:
+def write_sidecars(files_root: str, rel: str, meta: MediaMeta, thumb_src: Path | None) -> bool:
     """Write `<basename>.nfo` + `<basename>.jpg` next to the media file. Returns True if written."""
-    media = abs_path(download_root, rel)
+    media = abs_path(files_root, rel)
     try:
         _sidecar(media, ".nfo").write_text(_nfo_xml(meta), encoding="utf-8")
         if thumb_src and thumb_src.exists():
@@ -307,9 +374,9 @@ def write_sidecars(download_root: str, rel: str, meta: MediaMeta, thumb_src: Pat
         return False
 
 
-def delete_asset_files(download_root: str, rel: str) -> None:
+def delete_asset_files(files_root: str, rel: str) -> None:
     """Remove the media file and its sidecars; prune now-empty parent dirs (best effort)."""
-    media = abs_path(download_root, rel)
+    media = abs_path(files_root, rel)
     for p in (media, _sidecar(media, ".nfo"), _sidecar(media, ".jpg")):
         try:
             p.unlink()
@@ -323,7 +390,7 @@ def delete_asset_files(download_root: str, rel: str) -> None:
                 extra=logs.event("download.asset.file_unlink_failed", reason=type(exc).__name__),
             )
     # Prune empty Season/Channel dirs up to (but not including) the root.
-    root = Path(download_root).resolve()
+    root = Path(files_root).resolve()
     parent = media.parent
     while parent != root and root in parent.parents:
         try:

backend/app/downloads/upload.py

@@ -1,15 +1,24 @@
-"""Local file ingest for the download center (E7 S5) — the non-yt-dlp path into the media library.
+"""Local file ingest for the download center — the non-yt-dlp path into the media library.
 
 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 H.264 with its colour tags kept — still tagged HDR (HLG/PQ, BT.2020), not tone-mapped
+to SDR (the owner's choice too). 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
@@ -22,9 +31,12 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
+from app import audit
+from app.audit import AuditAction
 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 folders, mediakind, playable, probe, quota, service, storage
+from app.downloads.status import JobKind, JobStatus
 from app.models import DownloadJob, MediaAsset, display_text
 
 
@@ -43,16 +55,33 @@ def ingest_upload(
     src_path: Path,
     size: int,
     display_name: str | None = None,
+    sha256: str | None = None,
+    folder_id: int | 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). `sha256` is the
+    hash of those bytes, when the caller took it on the way in; `folder_id` the folder it asked for
+    (`folders.upload_target`), else its Uploads folder.
+
+    Raises folders.FolderError when that folder is not one an upload may land in (or is gone).
 
     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
+    if folder_id is not None:
+        # Refused before any work; held only once the job is about to name it (below), not through
+        # the probe and the poster, which a rename or delete of the folder would wait out.
+        folders.upload_target(db, user_id, folder_id, hold=False)
 
-    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)
+    # Judged by the extension the file is PLACED under (and the worker re-judges), not the raw one:
+    # 'clip.mp4~' is stored as .mp4, and judging 'mp4~' queued a conversion with nothing to convert.
+    ext = storage.upload_ext(filename) or ""
+    safe = playable.plan(data, ext) 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.
@@ -64,19 +93,23 @@ def ingest_upload(
     db.flush()  # need asset.id for the on-disk path
 
     rel = storage.upload_rel_path(user_id, asset.id, filename)
-    storage.place_file(src_path, settings.download_root, rel)
+    storage.place_file(src_path, settings.files_root, rel)
     # From here the file is on disk under `.uploads/`. If the transaction fails before it commits, the
-    # asset/job rows roll back but the placed file would be ORPHANED — nothing references it, the
-    # per-user delete path keys off asset.rel_path (which is gone), and the GC orphan sweep skips the
-    # dot-prefixed `.uploads/` tree. So roll back the on-disk side too on any failure.
+    # asset/job rows roll back and nothing names the placed file: the per-user delete path keys off
+    # asset.rel_path (which is gone), and the GC's `.uploads` sweep reaches it only an hour later. So
+    # roll back the on-disk side too — unless the commit itself raised after it landed (see below).
+    asset_id = asset.id
     try:
-        final = storage.abs_path(settings.download_root, rel)
+        final = storage.abs_path(settings.files_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
+        # The hash names the bytes that arrived: a conversion replaces them, so it is kept only
+        # when the file stays as it came.
+        asset.sha256 = None if convert else sha256
         asset.size_bytes = actual_size
-        asset.container = storage.upload_ext(filename)
+        asset.container = ext or None
         asset.vcodec = vcodec
         asset.acodec = acodec
         asset.width = width
@@ -90,25 +123,37 @@ def ingest_upload(
             # A frame poster gives the library row a thumbnail + the share link an og:image. Audio has
             # no frame and a generic file no player, so neither gets one. Best-effort (ffmpeg decodes
             # server side even for a codec the browser can't play).
-            asset.poster_path = editmod.ensure_poster(asset, settings.download_root)
+            asset.poster_path = editmod.ensure_poster(asset, settings.files_root)
 
         job = DownloadJob(
             user_id=user_id,
             asset_id=asset.id,
-            job_kind="upload",
+            job_kind=JobKind.UPLOAD,
             source_kind="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)
+        folders.place(db, job)
+        if folder_id is not None:
+            job.folder_id = folders.upload_target(db, user_id, folder_id).id
+        if not convert:
+            folders.stamp_done(db, job)
         service.incr_ref_count(db, asset.id)
+        db.flush()
+        audit.record(db, user_id, AuditAction.FILE_UPLOAD, target_type="file", target_id=job.id)
         db.commit()
     except Exception:
         db.rollback()
+        if _row_landed(db, asset_id) is not False:
+            # The commit reached the server and lost its answer, or the row cannot be read: the file
+            # may be the asset's now, so it is never removed blind — the sweep takes it if no row
+            # names it.
+            raise
         # The rows are gone; remove the now-unreferenced file so no bytes leak. Clean the poster by its
         # DETERMINISTIC path (rel with a .jpg suffix, the same path ensure_poster writes to) rather than
         # ensure_poster's return value: it writes the frame directly to that path and returns None on an
@@ -116,7 +161,17 @@ def ingest_upload(
         # return would skip that orphan. unlink is missing_ok, so the poster path is a harmless no-op
         # when none was generated (audio/file, or a video whose poster never started).
         for leaked in (rel, str(Path(rel).with_suffix(".jpg"))):
-            storage.abs_path(settings.download_root, leaked).unlink(missing_ok=True)
+            storage.abs_path(settings.files_root, leaked).unlink(missing_ok=True)
         raise
     db.refresh(job)
     return job
+
+
+def _row_landed(db: Session, asset_id: int) -> bool | None:
+    """After the ingest transaction raised: is the asset row there anyway? A commit can reach the
+    server and lose its answer (the connection drops after COMMIT). None when it cannot be read."""
+    try:
+        return db.get(MediaAsset, asset_id) is not None
+    except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — "cannot tell" is the answer, the caller acts on it
+        # silent-ok: the caller re-raises the ingest's own error.
+        return None

backend/app/email.py

@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ def _next_step(verify_link: str | None, has_account: bool, hours: int, lang: str
 
     Three states, because a mail that guesses wrong sends someone looking for a link that isn't
     coming — or worse, tells them to sign in when their address is still unconfirmed and sign-in will
-    refuse them (E9.5 S4 named that state on screen; the mail must not contradict it).
+    refuse them (the sign-in screen names that state; the mail must not contradict it).
 
     The link branch is the point of the C option: in the common ordering — approve first, the person
     signs up later, or signs up and waits — they would otherwise have to find and open TWO separate
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ def send_access_invitation(
     the closing line offers no deadline — nudging is the one thing this mail must not do.
 
     Its language is the one place the app has no signal to read: the admin typed this address in, so
-    nobody has ever told us how to address its owner. That is why the send button asks (E9.5 S7).
+    nobody has ever told us how to address its owner. That is why the send button asks.
     """
     admin, contact = _reply_contact(lang)
     body = mailtext.text(

backend/app/feedquery.py

@@ -106,15 +106,30 @@ def _tag_visible(user: User):
     return or_(ChannelTag.user_id.is_(None), ChannelTag.user_id == user.id)
 
 
-def tags_by_category(db: Session, tag_ids: list[int]) -> dict[str, list[int]]:
+# The pseudo-category of a selected tag id no Tag row answers (a saved view or the feed state outlives
+# a deleted tag). It filters like a category whose tags no channel carries — to nothing, in the SQL and
+# in feed_summary's mirror alike — instead of the id being dropped, which showed the WHOLE feed under
+# the view's old name. No real category is called this (language/topic/other).
+MISSING_TAG_CATEGORY = "missing"
+
+
+def tags_by_category(db: Session, user: User, tag_ids: list[int]) -> dict[str, list[int]]:
     """Group tag ids by their category (language/topic/other). The single source for the category split
     shared by the feed's tag WHERE (filtered_query) and the facet/count summary (feed_summary), so the
-    two can't disagree on which selected tag belongs to which category."""
+    two can't disagree on which selected tag belongs to which category. An unknown id lands in
+    MISSING_TAG_CATEGORY — and so does another user's private tag: resolving it to its real category
+    told the caller which foreign ids exist."""
     if not tag_ids:
         return {}  # skip the pointless `WHERE id IN ()` round-trip on the no-tag-filter hot path
     out: dict[str, list[int]] = {}
-    for tid, cat in db.execute(select(Tag.id, Tag.category).where(Tag.id.in_(tag_ids))).all():
+    visible = or_(Tag.user_id.is_(None), Tag.user_id == user.id)
+    for tid, cat in db.execute(
+        select(Tag.id, Tag.category).where(Tag.id.in_(tag_ids), visible)
+    ).all():
         out.setdefault(cat, []).append(tid)
+    known = {tid for ids in out.values() for tid in ids}
+    if missing := [tid for tid in tag_ids if tid not in known]:
+        out[MISSING_TAG_CATEGORY] = missing
     return out
 
 
@@ -304,7 +319,7 @@ def filtered_query(
         # ALL its selected tags. ⚠️ feed_summary.passes() reimplements this exact rule in Python for the
         # sidebar count/facets — keep the two in lockstep (equivalence-tested by
         # test_feed_summary_matches_count_plus_facets).
-        by_category = tags_by_category(db, tags)
+        by_category = tags_by_category(db, user, tags)
         # Facet counting drops the category being counted so its own chips don't zero each
         # other out (standard drill-down faceting: a category's count ignores its own
         # selections but still honours the other categories' filters).
@@ -395,7 +410,7 @@ def feed_summary(db: Session, user: User, **params) -> dict:
         return {"count": 0, "facets": {}}
 
     # channel -> its visible tag ids, plus each tag's category (for grouping the facet output).
-    visible = or_(ChannelTag.user_id.is_(None), ChannelTag.user_id == user.id)
+    visible = _tag_visible(user)
     channel_tags: dict[str, set[int]] = {}
     tag_category: dict[int, str] = {}
     for cid, tid, cat in db.execute(
@@ -410,7 +425,7 @@ def feed_summary(db: Session, user: User, **params) -> dict:
     # base channel carries still filters everything out for its category — matching the SQL `IN (empty)`
     # behaviour).
     selected_by_cat: dict[str, set[int]] = {
-        cat: set(ids) for cat, ids in tags_by_category(db, params.get("tags") or []).items()
+        cat: set(ids) for cat, ids in tags_by_category(db, user, params.get("tags") or []).items()
     }
 
     def passes(ch_tags: set[int], exclude_cat: str | None) -> bool:
@@ -438,7 +453,7 @@ def feed_summary(db: Session, user: User, **params) -> dict:
         # Drop this category's own selections so its chips keep independent counts; a conjunctive
         # topic-AND keeps them (each remaining chip narrows to channels that ALSO have the selected).
         exclude = None if tag_modes.get(category, "or") == "and" else category
-        for cid, ch_tags in channel_tags.items():
+        for ch_tags in channel_tags.values():
             if not passes(ch_tags, exclude):
                 continue
             for tid in ch_tags:
@@ -448,7 +463,7 @@ def feed_summary(db: Session, user: User, **params) -> dict:
 
 
 def feed_years(db: Session, user: User, **params) -> list[dict]:
-    """Per-year video counts for the current filter context (item 8 / E8·S2): powers the year control's
+    """Per-year video counts for the current filter context: powers the year control's
     quick chips + the "more…" per-year-counts dialog. Every OTHER filter (tags, channels, content type,
     search, watch state, scope) still applies, but the publish-date narrowing itself is DROPPED —
     published_after/before and max_age_days — so the year list is the full set of years available and
@@ -544,7 +559,7 @@ def sort_keys(sort: str, seed: int, rank_expr=None, lang: str | None = None) ->
     return table.get(sort) or table["newest"]
 
 
-# Relevance ranks only the newest RANK_WINDOW matches (E31): ts_rank reads every match's tsvector, and
+# Relevance ranks only the newest RANK_WINDOW matches: ts_rank reads every match's tsvector, and
 # a broad word matches most of the library ("a" ranked 193k rows in 6.8 s on prod, against 1.1 s to just
 # find them). The rows past the window keep rank 0, so they follow the ranked ones newest first; a word
 # that broad has no meaningful relevance order anyway, and a specific one fits the window whole.
@@ -656,7 +671,7 @@ def encode_cursor(keys: list[dict], row, window: datetime | None = None) -> str:
 def _cursor_dt(v):
     """A cursor's timestamp: aware or refused. The server writes only aware ones (timestamptz), and
     windowed_relevance_rows compares them in Python, where a naive one beside an aware one raises — a
-    500 for a hand-made cursor instead of the 400 (E31 review 2)."""
+    500 for a hand-made cursor instead of the 400."""
     if v is None:
         return None
     dt = datetime.fromisoformat(v)
@@ -671,8 +686,8 @@ def decode_cursor(keys: list[dict], cursor: str) -> tuple[list, str, datetime |
         raw = payload["k"]
         if len(raw) != len(keys):
             raise ValueError("key arity mismatch")
-        vals = [_cursor_dt(v) if k["kind"] == "dt" else v for k, v in zip(keys, raw)]
-        for k, v in zip(keys, vals):
+        vals = [_cursor_dt(v) if k["kind"] == "dt" else v for k, v in zip(keys, raw, strict=True)]
+        for k, v in zip(keys, vals, strict=True):
             if v is None and not k["nullable"]:
                 raise ValueError("null value for a non-nullable key")
         window = payload.get("w")

backend/app/issues/__init__.py

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
-"""Bug reports built from debug sessions (E16): the files an issue carries, and where they go —
-downloaded as a zip, or (S4) sent to a Gitea issue tracker. The session itself — what is recorded
+"""Bug reports built from debug sessions: the files an issue carries, and where they go —
+downloaded as a zip, or sent to a Gitea issue tracker. The session itself — what is recorded
 and tagged — is the core module `app/debugsession.py`."""

backend/app/issues/bundle.py

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ Gitea upload, so the two cannot drift apart.
     in their language; the server does not rewrite it);
   * `client.log` / `server.log` — the session's evidence (`debugsession.bundle`) minus the rows the
     user took out, one JSON object per line, browser rows and server rows apart. `.log`, not
-    `.jsonl`: Gitea refuses that extension (measured, plans/e16 S0);
+    `.jsonl`: Gitea refuses that extension (measured);
   * the screenshots, in the order they were taken.
 
 Every row is already redacted twice (at capture, and again when stored), and nothing here adds a

backend/app/issues/gitea.py

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-"""The Gitea issue tracker a debug session's issue goes to (E16 S4) — measured against Gitea 1.27.1
-before a line of this was written (plans/e16-debug-issue.md, S0).
+"""The Gitea issue tracker a debug session's issue goes to — measured against Gitea 1.27.1
+before a line of this was written.
 
 Configured by an admin (sysconfig `issues_gitea_url` / `_repo` / `_token`, the token encrypted at
 rest). The repository must be PRIVATE: an issue carries its reporter's log — page titles, filter
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ def target(db: Session) -> dict | None:
 @contextmanager
 def _client(settings: tuple[str, str, str]) -> Iterator[tuple[httpx.Client, str]]:
     # Takes the settings already read, not the session: reading them HERE opened a transaction one
-    # line after `deliver` had ended one, and held it across the calls below (deep-review round 4).
+    # line after `deliver` had ended one, and held it across the calls below.
     url, repo, token = settings
     if not (url and repo and token):
         raise GiteaError("not_configured")
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ def deliver(
     # call, so nothing holds a snapshot (and an idle connection) across minutes of tracker I/O.
     # The settings are read HERE and handed to `_client`, not read inside it: reading them there
     # was a SELECT one line after this commit, which reopened the transaction and held it — idle,
-    # with its snapshot pinned — across the repository check and the create (deep-review round 4
+    # with its snapshot pinned — across the repository check and the create (a review
     # measured it in pg_stat_activity). A comment saying otherwise sat right here.
     checkpoint()
     with _client(settings) as (client, repo):
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ def deliver(
             )
             # Built ON the state read at the start so nothing already in it is dropped. The claim
             # is NOT among those things, whatever this comment used to say: `set_delivery` strips
-            # any `sending` passed to it and stamps the row's own from `token` (round 4 — removing
+            # any `sending` passed to it and stamps the row's own from `token` (removing
             # the spread left the whole suite green, because the claim never travelled here).
             state = {
                 **state,
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ def deliver(
                 # already open on the tracker and this is what would have recorded its link. We
                 # still must not write — another send owns the row and is opening its own issue —
                 # so say which issue was left behind, because nothing else will.
-                # noqa TRY400: the traceback is one SendClaimLost carrying the session id and
+                # TRY400: the traceback is one SendClaimLost carrying the session id and
                 # nothing else; the issue number below is the whole news.
                 log.error(  # noqa: TRY400
                     "an issue was created by a send that had already lost its claim",

backend/app/logs.py

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ the logs were both unjoinable and leaky. `configure_logging()` replaces all four
 Event shape — the OpenTelemetry log data model, without the SDK; one JSON object per line:
     ts · level · sev · source · logger · event · msg · attrs
 plus whatever correlation the context carries (`request_id`, `user_id`, `debug_session_id`,
-`job_id`) and the app version. That shape is what E22.6's admin console filters on and what a Gitea
+`job_id`) and the app version. That shape is what the admin log console filters on and what a Gitea
 issue attachment will carry, so it is deliberately flat and stable.
 
 Call sites stay ordinary stdlib logging:
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ class _RequestScope:
         self.user_id: int | None = None
         # The user's consented diagnostics level as a logging number; None at the base level.
         self.level: int | None = None
-        # The user's own open debug session this request named (E16), else None.
+        # The user's own open debug session this request named, else None.
         self.debug_session_id: str | None = None
 
 
@@ -122,11 +122,11 @@ def set_user(
     debug_session: str | None = None,
 ) -> None:
     """Attribute the rest of this request's log lines to `user_id`, and log them at the user's
-    consented diagnostics `level` until `until` (E22 S5; "INFO" = no elevation). Called from the
+    consented diagnostics `level` until `until` ("INFO" = no elevation). Called from the
     auth dependency — the one place the session is actually resolved into an account — rather than
     from the request middleware, which runs OUTSIDE the session middleware.
 
-    `debug_session` tags every line with the user's open debug session (E16). The caller has
+    `debug_session` tags every line with the user's open debug session. The caller has
     already checked it is theirs and open; a session's level arrives here as `level`/`until`.
 
     The root logger's floor is tracked per elevation: a request without the session's header (an
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ def bind(**fields: Any):
     try:
         yield
     finally:
-        for key, token in zip(keys, tokens):
+        for key, token in zip(keys, tokens, strict=True):
             _CONTEXT_VARS[key].reset(token)
 
 
@@ -334,7 +334,7 @@ _RECORD_STANDARD = frozenset(
 class ContextFilter(logging.Filter):
     """Copies the correlation contextvars onto the record. A Filter (not the formatter) so the
     values are captured at emit time, before a QueueHandler can move the record to another
-    thread — the DB sink in S3 depends on that."""
+    thread — the DB sink depends on that."""
 
     def filter(self, record: logging.LogRecord) -> bool:
         for name, var in _CONTEXT_VARS.items():
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ class ContextFilter(logging.Filter):
 
 class LevelGate(logging.Filter):
     """The configured level, enforced at the HANDLER, with one exception: the lines of a request
-    whose user raised their diagnostics level (E22 S5).
+    whose user raised their diagnostics level.
 
     The root logger's level cannot do this alone: it is one number for the whole process, and the
     point is to log ONE user's requests in detail while everyone else's stay at the base level. So
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ class TextFormatter(logging.Formatter):
 # --- configuration -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Third-party loggers that are noisy at our own level. Pinned explicitly so the diagnostics knob can
 # lower the ROOT level to DEBUG/TRACE without drowning the output in SQL statements and HTTP chatter
-# — raising THESE is a deliberate, separate act (E22.6's console).
+# — raising THESE is a deliberate, separate act (the admin log console).
 _THIRD_PARTY_LEVELS = {
     "sqlalchemy": "WARNING",
     "sqlalchemy.engine": "WARNING",
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ def get_logger(name: str) -> logging.Logger:
     `siftlode.plex.sync`.
 
     The names were literals before, and 25 of them covered 34 modules — six different Plex modules
-    all called themselves `siftlode.plex`, so neither a level pinned per logger nor E22.6's console
+    all called themselves `siftlode.plex`, so neither a level pinned per logger nor the console's
     filter could tell a sync line from a stream line. Derived from `__name__` there is exactly one
     name per module, it cannot drift from the file it sits in, and `test_logger_names.py` fails if a
     module hand-rolls one again.
@@ -562,12 +562,12 @@ def current_level() -> str:
     return logging.getLevelName(_base_level or logging.getLogger().getEffectiveLevel())
 
 
-# --- per-user elevation (E22 S5) -----------------------------------------------------------
+# --- per-user elevation -----------------------------------------------------------
 # The base level (`LOG_LEVEL`, then the admin knob). NOTSET until configure_logging runs — a unit
 # test, a script — so the gate lets everything through there, as it did before the gate existed.
 _base_level = logging.NOTSET
 # → (level number, expiry) for every elevation this process has seen and not yet expired: a user's
-# own, by user id, and a debug session's (E16), by (user id, session id) — its requests alone carry
+# own, by user id, and a debug session's, by (user id, session id) — its requests alone carry
 # its level, so it is tracked apart from the user's own requests.
 _ElevationKey = int | tuple[int, str]
 _elevations: dict[_ElevationKey, tuple[int, datetime]] = {}
@@ -667,7 +667,7 @@ def current_source() -> str:
 
 
 # --- request logging -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-# A client may supply its own request id so a browser log line and a server line join up (E22 S4).
+# A client may supply its own request id so a browser log line and a server line join up.
 # Accepted only in this shape: it ends up in a log field, and an unbounded header would be a way to
 # write arbitrary text into the log.
 _REQUEST_ID_RE = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z0-9._-]{8,64}$")
@@ -688,10 +688,11 @@ _POLLED_ROUTES = frozenset(
     {
         "/api/me",
         "/api/me/notifications/unread_count",
-        "/api/messages/unread_count",
         "/api/downloads",
         "/api/downloads/index",
-        "/api/downloads/usage",
+        "/api/files",
+        "/api/files/folders",
+        "/api/files/usage",
         "/api/sync/my-status",
         "/api/admin/scheduler",
         "/api/admin/downloads",

backend/app/logsink.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""The `log_events` sink (E22 S3): the stored copy of the log the diagnostics console reads.
+"""The `log_events` sink: the stored copy of the log the diagnostics console reads.
 
 stdout stays the complete log (docker keeps 3×50 MB of it); this table keeps the part worth querying
 for `log_retention_days`:
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ for `log_retention_days`:
   * every WARNING and above,
   * the `http.request` line of every request at INFO or above (not the DEBUG-level health checks and
     static files),
-  * every line of a request whose user raised their diagnostics level (E22 S5 — `logs.LevelGate`
+  * every line of a request whose user raised their diagnostics level (`logs.LevelGate`
     marks them), which is the detail they consented to have kept,
   * nothing a caller marked `extra={logs.PERSIST: False}` — how the request log caps anonymous
     traffic per client.
@@ -347,8 +347,8 @@ def gc(db: Session, retention_days: int) -> int:
 
 
 def serialize(row: LogEvent) -> dict:
-    """A stored row as the API sends it — one shape for every reader: the admin console (E22.6) and
-    a debug session's evidence list (E16)."""
+    """A stored row as the API sends it — one shape for every reader: the admin console and
+    a debug session's evidence list."""
     return {
         "id": row.id,
         "ts": iso(row.ts),

backend/app/mailtext.py

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 """Bilingual text for every outbound mail, and the one resolver that decides which language a
-recipient gets (E9.5 S7).
+recipient gets.
 
 Why a catalog instead of literals in `email.py`: HU/EN parity is a house rule for every user-facing
 string, and a mail is the one user-facing surface the reader CANNOT re-render by switching the UI
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ def lang_for_user(user: User | None) -> str:
 
 def lang_for_email(db: Session, email: str) -> str:
     """The language for an address that may not have an account yet: their own account preference,
-    else the language they filled our access-request form in, else English.
+    else the language their access request came in (the locale Google reported), else English.
 
     Matched CANONICALLY like every other identity lookup in this epic, and it walks past rows that
     carry no usable code instead of stopping at the first one — prod really does hold two accounts
@@ -82,8 +82,8 @@ def lang_for_email(db: Session, email: str) -> str:
 # a name, not a translated string, and giving them keys would invite someone to "translate" them.
 MAIL_TEXT: dict[str, dict[str, str]] = {
     # ── How long a link lasts ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-    # Rendered, not interpolated as a raw hour count: the approval mail's token lives seven days
-    # (E9.5 S6), and "expires in 168 hours" is a unit no reader converts.
+    # Rendered, not interpolated as a raw hour count: the approval mail's token lives seven days,
+    # and "expires in 168 hours" is a unit no reader converts.
     "duration.hours": {"en": "{n} hours", "hu": "{n} óra"},
     "duration.days": {"en": "{n} days", "hu": "{n} nap"},
     # ── Shared closing fragments ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

backend/app/main.py

@@ -1,38 +1,38 @@
 import asyncio
 import math
+import mimetypes
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager, suppress
 from pathlib import Path
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, Request
 from fastapi.encoders import jsonable_encoder
 from fastapi.exceptions import RequestValidationError
-
-# Logging is configured HERE, before the route modules are imported, so every logger they create at
-# import time is already covered. ONE format for the api, the worker, the download child and alembic
-# alike (app/logs.py) — this replaces the old uvicorn --log-config + the hand-rolled fallback that
-# used to live here, and uvicorn's access log is replaced by the `http.request` middleware below.
-from app import logs
-from app.logs import configure_logging, current_level, log_requests, set_level
-
-configure_logging("api")
-
-log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from fastapi.responses import FileResponse, HTMLResponse, JSONResponse
 from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles
 from sqlalchemy.exc import DataError
 from starlette.middleware.sessions import SessionMiddleware
 
-from app import bodylimit
-from app import collation
-from app import logsink
-from app import state
-from app import sysconfig
-from app.config import settings
-from app.db import SessionLocal, engine
-from app.plex import stream as plex_stream
-from app.plex import subtitles as plex_subtitles
-from app.routes import (
+# Logging is configured HERE, before the app's own modules are imported, so a line one of them logs
+# WHILE importing already has the format (a logger is configured whenever it is created —
+# app/logs.py — but a line emitted before `configure_logging` goes out raw). ONE format for the api,
+# the worker, the download child and alembic alike — this replaces the old uvicorn --log-config +
+# the hand-rolled fallback that used to live here, and uvicorn's access log is replaced by the
+# `http.request` middleware below. The imports after it are E402 on purpose, each one marked.
+from app import logs
+from app.logs import configure_logging, current_level, log_requests, set_level
+
+configure_logging("api")
+
+log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
+from app import bodylimit, collation, logsink, state, sysconfig  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
+from app.config import settings  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
+from app.db import SessionLocal, engine  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
+from app.downloads import service as download_service  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
+from app.downloads import storage  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
+from app.plex import stream as plex_stream  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
+from app.plex import subtitles as plex_subtitles  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
+from app.routes import (  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
     admin,
     admin_logs as admin_logs_routes,
     audit as audit_routes,
@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ from app.routes import (
     discover as discover_routes,
     downloads,
     feed,
+    files as files_routes,
     health,
     me,
-    messages,
     notifications,
     playlists,
     plex as plex_routes,
@@ -60,12 +60,16 @@ from app.routes import (
     tags,
     version,
 )
-from app.scheduler import shutdown_scheduler, start_scheduler
+from app.scheduler import shutdown_scheduler, start_scheduler  # noqa: E402 — logging is configured first
 
 
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
     log.info("Siftlode starting up")
+    problem = storage.files_root_problem(settings.files_root)
+    if problem:
+        # The rest of the app still serves; the files library cannot (the worker refuses to start).
+        log.critical("The files library is not reachable: %s. See docs/self-hosting.md.", problem)
     # The stored copy of the log (log_events). The entrypoint has already migrated the schema.
     logsink.start()
     # First-run: if the instance isn't configured yet, mint a fresh one-time setup token and print
@@ -77,10 +81,22 @@ async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
         # booting — an unreachable or not-yet-migrated database has to start into the env level.
         try:
             set_level(sysconfig.get_str(db, "log_level"))
-        except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — any DB/config failure keeps the bootstrap level
+        except Exception:  # any DB/config failure keeps the bootstrap level
             # With the traceback: this catch spans a connection, a query and a coercion at boot,
             # and `%s` of the exception does not say which of them raised.
             log.exception("could not read the stored log level; staying at %s", current_level())
+        if not problem:
+            try:
+                left = download_service.library_left_behind(db, settings.files_root)
+            except Exception:  # a database not reachable yet: the check is a hint, never a gate
+                log.exception("could not check the files library against its database")
+            else:
+                if left:
+                    log.critical(
+                        "The files library is empty but the database names files: the volume "
+                        "mounted at %s is not the one that holds them. See docs/self-hosting.md.",
+                        settings.files_root,
+                    )
         if not state.is_configured(db):
             token = state.rotate_setup_token(db)
             url = f"{settings.app_base}/setup?token={token}"
@@ -134,7 +150,7 @@ async def _reap_hls_sessions() -> None:
     A FINISHED session is reaped on the short rule here, not kept for the full idle window: an open
     player checkpoints every 10 s and that route touches the session, so a paused viewer is no longer
     invisible to this pass (see `reap_idle`). Keeping every finished session for ten minutes instead
-    held one whole segmented copy of a film per item on the download volume (round 5)."""
+    held one whole segmented copy of a film per item on the download volume."""
     while True:
         await asyncio.sleep(_HLS_REAP_EVERY_S)
         try:
@@ -190,8 +206,8 @@ async def _nul_in_text(request: Request, exc: DataError) -> JSONResponse:
     NUL in text, so the driver refuses to even send the query — and a `%00` in a query parameter or
     an escaped NUL in a JSON body (a playlist's `contains=`, a reorder's key list, a collection
     search) was a 500 with a traceback wherever it reached a comparison. Guarding each site did not
-    hold: round 3 guarded the by-rating_key lookup and missed the rest. Any other DataError is left
-    alone — re-raised, it stays the 500 it always was."""
+    hold: an earlier fix guarded the by-rating_key lookup and missed the rest. Any other DataError
+    is left alone — re-raised, it stays the 500 it always was."""
     if "NUL (0x00)" not in str(exc.orig):
         raise exc
     return JSONResponse(
@@ -270,7 +286,8 @@ async def static_cache_headers(request, call_next):
 # Baseline security response headers (SEC-1). A minimal, safe set that needs no per-route tuning:
 # nosniff stops MIME-confusion, the Referrer-Policy keeps the (private) app URL from leaking to
 # external sites the user follows, `frame-ancestors 'none'` blocks click-jacking by refusing to be
-# iframed anywhere (we never embed our own pages; we embed OTHERS, which this does not affect), and
+# iframed anywhere (we embed OTHERS, which this does not affect; the one own answer the app frames, a
+# library file's preview, sets its own `frame-ancestors 'self'` — these are defaults, `setdefault`), and
 # Permissions-Policy turns off powerful features the app never uses. `X-Frame-Options: DENY` duplicates
 # the frame-ancestors intent for legacy engines that never implemented CSP frame-ancestors (belt and
 # suspenders — modern browsers use the CSP directive and ignore the header). A full Content-Security-Policy
@@ -313,13 +330,13 @@ app.include_router(me.router)
 app.include_router(diagnostics_routes.router)
 app.include_router(debug_sessions_routes.router)
 app.include_router(notifications.router)
-app.include_router(messages.router)
 app.include_router(channels.router)
 app.include_router(playlists.router)
 app.include_router(saved_views.router)
 app.include_router(plex_routes.router)
 app.include_router(downloads.router)
 app.include_router(downloads.admin_router)
+app.include_router(files_routes.router)
 app.include_router(public_routes.router)
 app.include_router(admin.router)
 app.include_router(config_routes.router)
@@ -332,8 +349,6 @@ app.include_router(setup_routes.router)
 
 # Ensure modern image types resolve to the right Content-Type when FileResponse guesses from the
 # filename (the runtime's mimetypes db doesn't always know .webp → it'd fall back to octet-stream).
-import mimetypes
-
 mimetypes.add_type("image/webp", ".webp")
 mimetypes.add_type("image/avif", ".avif")
 
@@ -345,6 +360,8 @@ STATIC_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "static_spa"
 # stay cached but forces revalidation (cheap 304 via the FileResponse ETag) on every load. The
 # hashed bundles under /assets can cache forever (a new build changes their filename).
 INDEX_HTML = STATIC_DIR / "index.html"
+# A public share link's own page: the player alone, without the app's bundle (frontend/watch.html).
+WATCH_HTML = STATIC_DIR / "watch.html"
 INDEX_HEADERS = {"Cache-Control": "no-cache"}
 app.mount(
     "/assets",
@@ -360,16 +377,16 @@ async def index() -> FileResponse:
 
 @app.get("/watch/{token}")
 async def watch_page(token: str):
-    """Serve the SPA for a public share link, but with per-video Open Graph tags injected so the
+    """Serve the public player page for a share link, with per-video Open Graph tags injected so the
     link unfurls richly (title/channel/thumbnail) in Messenger/social crawlers. A real browser
-    ignores the extra tags and hydrates WatchPage as usual; invalid/expired/password links fall
-    back to the generic card."""
+    ignores the extra tags and boots WatchPage; invalid/expired/password links fall back to the
+    generic card."""
     from app.downloads import og
 
     with SessionLocal() as db:
-        rendered = og.render_watch_html(token, INDEX_HTML, db)
+        rendered = og.render_watch_html(token, WATCH_HTML, db)
     if rendered is None:
-        return FileResponse(INDEX_HTML, headers=INDEX_HEADERS)
+        return FileResponse(WATCH_HTML, headers=INDEX_HEADERS)
     return HTMLResponse(rendered, headers=INDEX_HEADERS)
 
 
@@ -387,4 +404,8 @@ async def spa_fallback(full_path: str) -> FileResponse:
             # Real SPA-root assets (welcome images, favicon, robots.txt) rarely change and have
             # stable names, so a moderate cache is safe and satisfies the cache-lifetime audit.
             return FileResponse(candidate, headers={"Cache-Control": "public, max-age=604800"})
+    # A /watch/ path the route above does not match (a trailing segment, no token) is still the
+    # player's: WatchPage reads the token off the path and says when a link is gone.
+    if full_path.startswith("watch/"):
+        return FileResponse(WATCH_HTML, headers=INDEX_HEADERS)
     return FileResponse(INDEX_HTML, headers=INDEX_HEADERS)

backend/app/models.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from datetime import date, datetime
+from datetime import date, datetime, timezone
 
 from sqlalchemy import (
     BigInteger,
@@ -18,11 +18,13 @@ from sqlalchemy import (
     Text,
     UniqueConstraint,
     func,
+    text,
 )
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import JSONB, TSVECTOR
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Mapped, mapped_column, relationship, validates
 
 from app.db import Base
+from app.utils import canonical_email
 
 # Every user-supplied display string in this schema shares one width, and it lives HERE so the
 # columns below are declared with it rather than with a literal: a name a person typed goes into
@@ -37,7 +39,7 @@ def display_text(raw: str | None) -> str | None:
     blank -> None.
 
     One definition because there are SIX writers and they had drifted: `POST /api/downloads`,
-    `POST /api/downloads/edit`, `POST /api/downloads/upload`, the metadata PATCH's two fields, and
+    `POST /api/downloads/edit`, `POST /api/files/upload`, the library PATCH's two fields, and
     the Google sign-in callback. Only the PATCH truncated. Truncating is the right answer rather
     than refusing: the name is a label on work the user has already done — a file already
     transferred, an account already authenticated — and losing its tail is not worth failing the
@@ -51,9 +53,6 @@ def display_text(raw: str | None) -> str | None:
     return (raw or "").strip()[:DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX] or None
 
 
-from app.utils import canonical_email
-
-
 # The resume-position columns (VideoState / PlexState.position_seconds) are int4. The checkpoint
 # routes bound their bodies by this, so an out-of-range position is a 422 rather than a 500.
 POSITION_MAX_S = 2**31 - 1
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ POSITION_MAX_S = 2**31 - 1
 
 class TimestampMixin:
     """Adds a server-defaulted `created_at`. Models that index created_at or order it
-    differently (QuotaEvent, Notification, Message) keep their own column on purpose."""
+    differently (QuotaEvent, Notification) keep their own column on purpose."""
 
     created_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now())
 
@@ -103,15 +102,15 @@ class User(Base, TimestampMixin, CanonicalEmailMixin):
     # Google sign-in that failed to find it), and a migration must not merge accounts on its own.
     email_canonical: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(320), index=True, server_default="")
     # The address Google asserted for this account, recorded at sign-in / link time. NOT the same
-    # thing as `email`: since E9.5 S3 a Google sign-in no longer overwrites the address the user
+    # thing as `email`: a Google sign-in no longer overwrites the address the user
     # registered with, so a deliberate `me+siftlode@gmail.com` survives — and this is where the other
     # half of the truth lives, for the UI to show when the two differ. NULL until the next Google
     # sign-in for accounts linked before this column existed.
     google_email: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(320))
-    # argon2id hash for email+password login; NULL for Google-only / demo accounts.
+    # argon2id hash for email+password login; NULL for Google-only accounts.
     password_hash: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(255))
     # When SEC-10 dropped a preset password on Google adoption (see the single caller of
-    # auth.revoke_preset_password_if_unverified; admin approval no longer revokes — E9.5 S1). Without
+    # auth.revoke_untrusted_preset_password; admin approval no longer revokes). Without
     # this trace a revoked account was indistinguishable from a Google-only one, so it failed the
     # password-reset eligibility check and could never be recovered — it could neither sign in nor
     # reset. Set = "had a password, lost it to the guard" -> reset-eligible. Cleared whenever a
@@ -125,7 +124,8 @@ class User(Base, TimestampMixin, CanonicalEmailMixin):
     is_active: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=True, server_default="true")
     # Admin-imposed access block, distinct from is_active (approval lifecycle). A suspended
     # account can't sign in by any method and its live sessions are rejected; the user is told
-    # why and pointed at the operator's contact. The demo account is never suspendable.
+    # why and pointed at the operator's contact. The worker leaves its queued downloads unclaimed
+    # until the block is lifted (`worker._claim_job`).
     is_suspended: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False, server_default="false")
     # Server-side session revocation (SA4): a monotonic counter bumped on password reset, password
     # change, or "log out everywhere". A signed session cookie records the epoch it was minted under;
@@ -134,9 +134,9 @@ class User(Base, TimestampMixin, CanonicalEmailMixin):
     session_epoch: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0, server_default="0")
     # When this account last signed in (Google or password), stamped by the one sign-in path,
     # routes/auth._establish_session. NULL = not since the column existed (0085; no backfill is
-    # possible). The shared demo account is never stamped — its "last login" would mean nobody.
+    # possible).
     last_login_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    # The diagnostics level this user consented to (E22 S5) and when it lapses back to the base
+    # The diagnostics level this user consented to and when it lapses back to the base
     # level. Both NULL = base. Written only by `PUT /api/me/diagnostics`, which computes the expiry
     # itself; read through `app.diagnostics.effective_level`, never directly (an expired level is
     # not cleared eagerly — it simply stops counting).
@@ -148,12 +148,6 @@ class User(Base, TimestampMixin, CanonicalEmailMixin):
     # The user's own YouTube channel id, resolved lazily (channels.list?mine=true) and
     # cached. Used to exclude their own channel from playlist discovery. NULL = unresolved.
     yt_channel_id: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(32))
-    # The single shared "demo" account: signed into without Google OAuth (via a whitelisted
-    # email on the login page), has no OAuth token / YouTube scope, and its per-user state is
-    # shared by everyone who enters this way. Exactly one such row is expected.
-    is_demo: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(
-        Boolean, default=False, server_default="false", index=True
-    )
     # Free-form UI preferences (theme, color scheme, font scale, default filters…).
     preferences: Mapped[dict | None] = mapped_column(JSON)
 
@@ -220,25 +214,12 @@ class Invite(Base, CanonicalEmailMixin):
     # The language this person asked us in ("en"/"hu"), captured when the request was made: the page
     # their form was on, or the locale Google reported for a refused sign-in. NULL for a row the
     # admin whitelisted by hand — nobody has told us anything about that mailbox, which is exactly
-    # why the invitation send asks (E9.5 S7). Captured rather than derived for the same reason
+    # why the invitation send asks. Captured rather than derived for the same reason
     # `preferences.language` and `google_email` are: the signal exists only in that one moment and
     # cannot be backfilled afterwards.
     lang: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(8))
 
 
-class DemoWhitelist(Base, TimestampMixin):
-    """Emails that may enter the shared demo account from the login page (no Google OAuth).
-    A hidden, admin-curated list of "keys to the same door" — every entry logs into the one
-    shared demo user. Distinct from Invite (which gates real Google sign-in)."""
-
-    __tablename__ = "demo_whitelist"
-
-    id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(primary_key=True)
-    email: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(320), unique=True, index=True)
-    note: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
-    added_by: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(320))  # admin email
-
-
 class Channel(Base, TimestampMixin):
     """A YouTube channel. Shared across all users (one channel's videos are the same
     for everyone), so its expensive metadata is fetched and stored only once."""
@@ -483,6 +464,27 @@ class VideoState(Base, UpdatedAtMixin):
     progress_updated_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
 
 
+class LibraryState(Base):
+    """Where a user stopped in a library item (their own download, or one shared with them) — the
+    library player's resume point. Keyed by the JOB, not the file: a job is the user's library entry,
+    a re-download keeps it, and deleting the job deletes the row; the shared file under it may outlive
+    both. A revoked share leaves its recipient's row behind, unread — only a job the user can still
+    reach is ever read or written — and it is back if the item is shared again. Rows exist only for a
+    position worth keeping (see `routes._common.kept_position`); no row means "from the start"."""
+
+    __tablename__ = "library_states"
+    __table_args__ = (UniqueConstraint("user_id", "job_id", name="uq_library_user_job"),)
+
+    id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(primary_key=True)
+    user_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"))
+    job_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(
+        ForeignKey("download_jobs.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), index=True
+    )
+    # int4: a checkpoint body must stay under POSITION_MAX_S, or the flush is a DataError (a 500).
+    position_seconds: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, nullable=False)
+    progress_updated_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True), nullable=False)
+
+
 class SearchFind(Base, TimestampMixin):
     """Per-user record of a video the user surfaced via their own live YouTube search.
 
@@ -588,7 +590,7 @@ class AuditLog(Base):
 
 
 class LogEvent(Base):
-    """One stored log event (E22 S3) — the `log_events` table the diagnostics console reads. Rows are
+    """One stored log event — the `log_events` table the diagnostics console reads. Rows are
     written by app/logsink.py's background writer, never inside a request's transaction, already
     redacted (the same `logs.record_fields` the stdout line is built from).
 
@@ -601,7 +603,7 @@ class LogEvent(Base):
     __tablename__ = "log_events"
     __table_args__ = (
         Index("ix_log_events_user_ts", "user_id", "ts"),
-        # E16: an issue's bundle is `WHERE debug_session_id = …`; nearly every row has none.
+        # An issue's bundle is `WHERE debug_session_id = …`; nearly every row has none.
         Index(
             "ix_log_events_debug_session",
             "debug_session_id",
@@ -627,7 +629,7 @@ class LogEvent(Base):
 
 
 class DebugSession(Base):
-    """One recording: Start → reproduce → Stop (E16, app/debugsession.py). While it is open, every
+    """One recording: Start → reproduce → Stop (app/debugsession.py). While it is open, every
     request of its user that names it (`X-Debug-Session`) is logged at `level` and tagged with `id`,
     and the issue it ends in is built from the rows carrying that tag. `until` is the hard cap the
     server set at Start; an open session past it is over whether or not the sweep has closed it yet.
@@ -652,12 +654,12 @@ class DebugSession(Base):
     # app/debugsession.py `EndReason`: stopped by the user, or past `until`.
     ended_reason: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(16))
     issue_url: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(512))
-    # The issue being written from it (E16 S3; app/debugsession.py `save_draft` holds its shape).
+    # The issue being written from it (app/debugsession.py `save_draft` holds its shape).
     draft: Mapped[dict | None] = mapped_column(JSONB)
 
 
 class DebugScreenshot(Base):
-    """A screenshot attached to a debug session (E16) — pasted, dropped, or captured from the pill.
+    """A screenshot attached to a debug session — pasted, dropped, or captured from the pill.
     Stored in the row: bounded per session (app/debugsession.py), and gone with it by cascade."""
 
     __tablename__ = "debug_screenshots"
@@ -816,44 +818,6 @@ class Notification(Base):
     )
 
 
-class Message(Base):
-    """A message in the notification module (phase 2).
-
-    Two kinds share this table:
-      - `kind="user"`: a private, END-TO-END ENCRYPTED direct message between two users. The
-        server only ever stores `ciphertext` + `iv` (base64); it never holds the plaintext or
-        the keys, so not even an admin can read it. A conversation is just the set of messages
-        between two users — no separate thread entity; queries group by the {sender, recipient}
-        pair.
-      - `kind="system"`: a server-authored plaintext message (e.g. the welcome, or future admin
-        announcements). `sender_id` is NULL and `body` holds the text. These are non-private
-        boilerplate, readable without any E2EE key setup, and surface as a "Siftlode" conversation.
-
-    `read_at` is stamped when the recipient opens the thread (NULL = unread, feeds the nav
-    badge). The recipient FK cascades (and sender, for user messages) so a GDPR account erasure
-    removes that user's messages outright."""
-
-    __tablename__ = "messages"
-
-    id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(primary_key=True)
-    kind: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(16), default="user", server_default="user")
-    # NULL for system messages (no human sender).
-    sender_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(
-        ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), index=True
-    )
-    recipient_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(
-        ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), index=True
-    )
-    # System messages carry plaintext `body`; user messages carry `ciphertext`+`iv` (base64).
-    body: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
-    ciphertext: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
-    iv: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(32))
-    read_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    created_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(
-        DateTime(timezone=True), server_default=func.now(), index=True
-    )
-
-
 class MediaAsset(Base, TimestampMixin):
     """A physical downloaded media file — the SHARED cache layer of the download center.
 
@@ -863,12 +827,13 @@ class MediaAsset(Base, TimestampMixin):
     links to this ready asset instantly — no re-download, no cost. Only the SOURCE download is
     shared; per-user edited derivatives (phase 2) are never cached here.
 
-    `rel_path` is relative to `settings.download_root` (the mount), so the physical filename is
+    `rel_path` is relative to `settings.files_root` (the mount), so the physical filename is
     system-decided and bound to the source id — never renamed (the user's custom name is display
     metadata on `download_job`, applied only when downloading to their own machine). The naming
     fields (`title`/`uploader`/`upload_date`) are denormalized so the Plex-tree path can be built
-    uniformly for both catalog videos and ad-hoc URLs. `ref_count` (active jobs pointing here)
-    plus `last_access_at`/`expires_at` drive retention + LRU eviction in the GC job."""
+    uniformly for both catalog videos and ad-hoc URLs. `ref_count` (active jobs pointing here) frees
+    the file with its last holder, and `last_access_at` orders the GC's LRU eviction. How long a file
+    stays is not the asset's: each holder's job carries its own `expires_at` (its library folder's)."""
 
     __tablename__ = "media_assets"
     __table_args__ = (
@@ -884,10 +849,10 @@ class MediaAsset(Base, TimestampMixin):
     status: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(
         String(16), default="pending", server_default="pending", index=True
     )  # "pending" | "ready" | "error"
-    rel_path: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # relative to download_root
+    rel_path: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # relative to files_root
     storyboard_path: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # phase-2 filmstrip mosaic
     # A locally-generated poster frame (ffmpeg), set only when the source had NO thumbnail so the
-    # card / watch page / link preview can still show an image. Relative to download_root.
+    # card / watch page / link preview can still show an image. Relative to files_root.
     poster_path: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     size_bytes: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(BigInteger)
     duration_s: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(Integer)
@@ -903,8 +868,6 @@ class MediaAsset(Base, TimestampMixin):
     # earlier ad-hoc `vcodec is None and acodec` check lived only in links.py; consolidated here).
     media_kind: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(16))
     nfo_written: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False, server_default="false")
-    # Set once the GC has warned holders of the upcoming expiry, so it doesn't warn every run.
-    gc_notified: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False, server_default="false")
     # Denormalized naming/metadata for the Plex tree + ad-hoc display.
     title: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     uploader: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(255))
@@ -914,13 +877,21 @@ class MediaAsset(Base, TimestampMixin):
     upload_date: Mapped[date | None] = mapped_column(Date)
     thumbnail_url: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     # yt-dlp's canonical page URL for the source (webpage_url) — the clean "downloaded from"
-    # reference shown on the Downloads page. Null until the worker extracts it (older/queued rows
+    # reference shown in the Files library. Null until the worker extracts it (older/queued rows
     # fall back to a URL derived from source_kind+source_ref).
     source_webpage_url: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     error: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     ref_count: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0, server_default="0")
     last_access_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    expires_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
+    # The file's SHA-256 (hex), so a machine fetching it can check what it got. Hashed while an upload
+    # streams in, otherwise on the first ask (`routes.files`); NULL = not hashed yet.
+    sha256: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(64))
+
+    @validates("rel_path")
+    def _forget_hash(self, _key: str, rel_path: str | None) -> str | None:
+        # A hash names the bytes at `rel_path`: a new file there (a conversion, a retry) is not them.
+        self.sha256 = None
+        return rel_path
 
 
 class DownloadProfile(Base, TimestampMixin):
@@ -944,12 +915,53 @@ class DownloadProfile(Base, TimestampMixin):
     sort_order: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0, server_default="0")
 
 
+class FileFolder(Base, TimestampMixin):
+    """A folder of the Files library (`app.downloads.folders`): a row, never a directory.
+
+    A SOURCE folder (`source_key` set: youtube / plex / upload / site:<host>) is made the first time a
+    user gets a file from that origin; an OWN folder (`name` set) is one the user made. Every file —
+    a `DownloadJob` — sits in exactly one (`DownloadJob.folder_id`). `retention_days` is how long a
+    file stays once done (NULL = until deleted); a file's own `expires_at` is stamped from it."""
+
+    __tablename__ = "file_folders"
+    __table_args__ = (
+        UniqueConstraint("user_id", "source_key", name="uq_file_folder_source"),
+        Index(
+            "uq_file_folder_own_name",
+            "user_id",
+            func.lower(text("name")),
+            unique=True,
+            postgresql_where=text("name IS NOT NULL"),
+        ),
+        CheckConstraint(
+            "(kind = 'source' AND source_key IS NOT NULL AND name IS NULL)"
+            " OR (kind = 'own' AND name IS NOT NULL AND source_key IS NULL)",
+            name="ck_file_folder_kind",
+        ),
+    )
+
+    id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(primary_key=True)
+    user_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), index=True)
+    kind: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(16))  # folders.FolderKind
+    # "site:" + a host name (DNS caps one at 253 characters).
+    source_key: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(260))
+    name: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX))
+    retention_days: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(Integer)
+
+
+def _ready_on_insert(context) -> datetime | None:
+    """A job inserted already done (an upload kept as it came) was ready the moment it was made; one
+    that becomes done later is stamped then (`folders.stamp_done`, `service.finalize_if_running`)."""
+    done = context.get_current_parameters().get("status") == "done"
+    return datetime.now(timezone.utc) if done else None
+
+
 class DownloadJob(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     """A user's request to download one source — the per-user layer over `MediaAsset`.
 
     The worker claims `queued` jobs with ``FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED`` and writes live
-    `progress`/`speed_bps`/`eta_s`/`phase` here (the frontend polls via useLiveQuery — the
-    worker is a separate process and can't reach the in-process WS registry). `profile_snapshot`
+    `progress`/`speed_bps`/`eta_s`/`phase` here (the frontend polls via useLiveQuery: there is
+    no server push channel, and the worker is a separate process anyway). `profile_snapshot`
     freezes the spec at enqueue so later edits/deletion of the profile don't change this job.
     `display_name` is the user's own name for the file (display + the Content-Disposition on
     local download); the on-disk asset is never renamed. `asset_id` links to the shared file
@@ -962,7 +974,13 @@ class DownloadJob(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     point at the parent download the clip was cut from; `edit_spec` is the (trim/crop) recipe."""
 
     __tablename__ = "download_jobs"
-    __table_args__ = (Index("ix_download_jobs_claim", "status", "queue_pos"),)
+    __table_args__ = (
+        Index("ix_download_jobs_claim", "status", "queue_pos"),
+        # Every way a job becomes done stamps when (`folders.stamp_done`, `finalize_if_running`).
+        CheckConstraint(
+            "status <> 'done' OR ready_at IS NOT NULL", name="ck_download_jobs_ready_at"
+        ),
+    )
 
     id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(primary_key=True)
     user_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), index=True)
@@ -971,7 +989,9 @@ class DownloadJob(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     )
     source_kind: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(16))  # "youtube" | "url"
     source_ref: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(512))
-    # "download" (default) or "edit" (a per-user trim/crop derivative of another job).
+    # "download" (default), "edit" (a per-user trim/crop derivative of another job), "upload" (a
+    # user's own file, converted by the worker when it is not phone-safe — see `downloads.upload`) or
+    # "clip" (a range cut straight from a YouTube video or a Plex item — see `downloads.clip`).
     job_kind: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(16), default="download", server_default="download")
     # For edit jobs: the parent download this clip is cut from (SET NULL if the parent is deleted).
     source_job_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(
@@ -980,7 +1000,9 @@ class DownloadJob(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     source_asset_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(
         ForeignKey("media_assets.id", ondelete="SET NULL")
     )
-    # For edit jobs: the trim/crop recipe {trim?:{start_s,end_s}, crop?:{x,y,w,h}}.
+    # For edit jobs: the trim/crop recipe {trim?:{start_s,end_s}, crop?:{x,y,w,h}} in pixels. For clip
+    # jobs: the clip spec {source, ref, start_s, end_s, audio_track?, crop?:{x,y,w,h,aspect}}, its crop
+    # in fractions of the box it was drawn in (`downloads.clip.normalize`).
     edit_spec: Mapped[dict | None] = mapped_column(JSON)
     profile_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(
         ForeignKey("download_profiles.id", ondelete="SET NULL")
@@ -1007,6 +1029,27 @@ class DownloadJob(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     # The host-specific failure-catalog entry on top of the category (`facebook.login_wall`), or NULL.
     error_detail: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(48))  # see downloads.errors.diagnose
     queue_pos: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0, server_default="0")
+    # The Files library: the folder this file sits in (`downloads.folders.place` at creation; an own
+    # folder is emptied back into the source folders before it is deleted, hence RESTRICT), whether
+    # the user keeps it past its folder's retention, and when it goes (stamped once done; NULL =
+    # never). `expiry_warned` marks the one warning the GC sends before it deletes the file.
+    folder_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(
+        ForeignKey("file_folders.id", ondelete="RESTRICT"), index=True
+    )
+    # The origin the file came from (the source folder's key), recorded where it is placed: an edit
+    # traces its origin through its parent, and that parent may be deleted or expire later — the
+    # file must still know which source folder it may go back to. NULL only for a file placed before
+    # the column existed outside a source folder; `folders.source_key_for` works those out.
+    source_key: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(260))
+    kept: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False, server_default="false")
+    expires_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True), index=True)
+    expiry_warned: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False, server_default="false")
+    # When the file became done — what the library's "Added" means: a download that failed for days
+    # and then went through is new to its user, so it sorts as new. `created_at` stays when it was
+    # asked for (the queue's order). Set again when a file is made anew (a retry, a re-download).
+    ready_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(
+        DateTime(timezone=True), default=_ready_on_insert
+    )
 
 
 class DownloadShare(Base, TimestampMixin):
@@ -1096,29 +1139,6 @@ class DownloadCredential(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     cookies_enc: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text)  # Fernet ciphertext — never returned/logged
 
 
-class MessageKey(Base, TimestampMixin):
-    """A user's end-to-end-encryption key material for direct messaging (phase 2).
-
-    One row per user. `public_key` (base64 SPKI, ECDH P-256) is shared with others so they can
-    derive the pairwise conversation key. `wrapped_private_key` is the user's private key
-    encrypted IN THE BROWSER with a key derived (PBKDF2) from a message passphrase the server
-    never sees — so the server stores only an opaque blob it cannot unwrap. `salt`/`wrap_iv`
-    parameterise that derivation; `key_check` is a small ciphertext the client decrypts to
-    verify a passphrase on unlock. The server is purely a key directory + blob store; it can
-    never read any message."""
-
-    __tablename__ = "message_keys"
-
-    user_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(
-        ForeignKey("users.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), primary_key=True
-    )
-    public_key: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text)
-    wrapped_private_key: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text)
-    salt: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(64))
-    wrap_iv: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(32))
-    key_check: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(Text)
-
-
 # --- Plex integration (optional) -------------------------------------------------------------
 # A dedicated, self-contained catalog mirrored from a locally-reachable Plex server. Playback is
 # from the LOCAL physical file (Plex is metadata only); per-user watch state lives in plex_states
@@ -1139,7 +1159,7 @@ class PlexLibrary(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     kind: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(16))  # "movie" | "show"
     enabled: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=True, server_default="true")
     synced_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    # HU-overlay support (E5 S5). `metadata_lang` tags the section's metadata language. An OVERLAY
+    # HU-overlay support. `metadata_lang` tags the section's metadata language. An OVERLAY
     # library (overlay_of set) is the Hungarian-metadata twin of another section: it is never browsable
     # on its own — its titles' HU fields are written onto the matched EN rows (paired by `guid`).
     metadata_lang: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(8), default="en", server_default="en")
@@ -1168,7 +1188,7 @@ class PlexShow(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
         ForeignKey("plex_libraries.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), index=True
     )
     # Canonical external id (e.g. "tmdb:12345") — the key that pairs this EN row with its HU-overlay
-    # twin during sync (E5 S5). Indexed for the guid->row overlay match.
+    # twin during sync. Indexed for the guid->row overlay match.
     guid: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(64), index=True)
     title: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(512))
     summary: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
@@ -1198,7 +1218,7 @@ class PlexShow(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     )  # cast+directors, folded into search_vector
     # Set once the show's FULL cast has been rich-fetched by the backfill; NULL = still the listing top-3.
     people_enriched_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    # Rich-fetch-only detail fields, persisted by the same backfill that fills the full cast (E5 S5b) so
+    # Rich-fetch-only detail fields, persisted by the same backfill that fills the full cast so
     # the info page serves from this row instead of a live plex.metadata() call. NULL until enriched.
     imdb_rating: Mapped[float | None] = mapped_column(
         Float
@@ -1208,7 +1228,7 @@ class PlexShow(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     full_cast: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(
         JSONB(none_as_null=True)
     )  # ordered [{name, role, thumb}]
-    # --- TMDB enrichment (E5 S2): see the identical block on plex_items for the full rationale. Additive;
+    # --- TMDB enrichment: see the identical block on plex_items for the full rationale. Additive;
     #     served from the row; NULL until enriched. (`budget`/`revenue` stay NULL for shows — TV has none.) ---
     tmdb_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(Integer)
     tmdb_enriched_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
@@ -1226,10 +1246,10 @@ class PlexShow(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     production_countries: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSONB(none_as_null=True))  # [str]
     recommendations: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSONB(none_as_null=True))
     backdrops: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSONB(none_as_null=True))
-    # Hungarian-metadata twin fields, written by the overlay sync (E5 S5). NULL = no HU twin matched,
+    # Hungarian-metadata twin fields, written by the overlay sync. NULL = no HU twin matched,
     # so serving falls back to the EN columns. `people_text` is language-neutral, reused for both vectors.
     title_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(512))
-    tagline_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # the HU overlay's tagline (E30)
+    tagline_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # the HU overlay's tagline
     summary_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     genres_hu: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSONB(none_as_null=True))
     search_vector: Mapped[object | None] = mapped_column(
@@ -1291,7 +1311,7 @@ class PlexItem(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     )
     kind: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(16), index=True)  # "movie" | "episode"
     # Canonical external id (e.g. "tmdb:12345") — pairs a MOVIE row with its HU-overlay twin during
-    # sync (E5 S5); indexed for the guid->row match. Episodes carry it too but it's unused for them.
+    # sync; indexed for the guid->row match. Episodes carry it too but it's unused for them.
     guid: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(64), index=True)
     show_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(
         ForeignKey("plex_shows.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), index=True
@@ -1318,7 +1338,7 @@ class PlexItem(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     # Browser-playability class from ffprobe: "direct" | "remux" | "transcode" (None = unprobed).
     playable: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(12), index=True)
     probed_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    # Transcode HW-capability facet (E7 playback-class filter). NULL for non-transcode items; for a
+    # Transcode HW-capability facet (the playback-class filter). NULL for non-transcode items; for a
     # `playable="transcode"` item: True = the prod iGPU can hardware-transcode it (codec is HW-decodable
     # AND the source is 8-bit SDR), False = software libx264 only (AV1/XviD, or a 10-bit/HDR source that
     # breaks the VAAPI nv12 pipeline — see plex/stream.py). Derived by `plex.sync.transcode_hw_capable`:
@@ -1334,8 +1354,6 @@ class PlexItem(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     # bit-depth/HDR. NULL = never (the backfill's work-list). Only HW-decodable transcode items are
     # probed (the rest are SW-only by codec and need no bit-depth); see `_probe_media_batch`.
     media_probed_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    # Intro/credit markers: [{"type": "intro"|"credits", "start_s": int, "end_s": int}, ...]
-    markers: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSON)
     added_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True), index=True)
     # Filterable / orderable metadata mirrored from the Plex section listing (no extra API calls;
     # `rating` = Plex audienceRating, which is ~the IMDb score). The arrays back genre/person/studio
@@ -1354,7 +1372,7 @@ class PlexItem(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     people_text: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     # Set once the movie's FULL cast has been rich-fetched by the backfill; NULL = still the listing top-3.
     people_enriched_at: Mapped[datetime | None] = mapped_column(DateTime(timezone=True))
-    # Rich-fetch-only detail fields, persisted by the same backfill that fills the full cast (E5 S5b) so
+    # Rich-fetch-only detail fields, persisted by the same backfill that fills the full cast so
     # the info page serves from this row instead of a live plex.metadata() call. NULL until enriched.
     imdb_rating: Mapped[float | None] = mapped_column(
         Float
@@ -1364,7 +1382,7 @@ class PlexItem(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     full_cast: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(
         JSONB(none_as_null=True)
     )  # ordered [{name, role, thumb}]
-    # --- TMDB enrichment (E5 S2): matched by the canonical `guid` ("tmdb:12345"), filled by the TMDB
+    # --- TMDB enrichment: matched by the canonical `guid` ("tmdb:12345"), filled by the TMDB
     #     backfill job, SERVED FROM THIS ROW (never a live TMDB call). Additive — imdb_rating/rating
     #     above stay Plex-sourced; `tmdb_rating` is the distinct TMDb community score. NULL until enriched;
     #     `tmdb_enriched_at` is the "tried" watermark (stamped on a definitive no-match too, so an
@@ -1387,11 +1405,11 @@ class PlexItem(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     recommendations: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSONB(none_as_null=True))
     backdrops: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(
         JSONB(none_as_null=True)
-    )  # TMDB backdrop file_paths [str] (crossfade pool, S8)
-    # Hungarian-metadata twin fields, written by the overlay sync (E5 S5). NULL = no HU twin matched
+    )  # TMDB backdrop file_paths [str] (crossfade pool)
+    # Hungarian-metadata twin fields, written by the overlay sync. NULL = no HU twin matched
     # (serving falls back to the EN columns). `people_text` is language-neutral, reused for both vectors.
     title_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(String(512))
-    tagline_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # the HU overlay's tagline (E30)
+    tagline_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # the HU overlay's tagline
     summary_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
     genres_hu: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSONB(none_as_null=True))
     search_vector: Mapped[object | None] = mapped_column(
@@ -1430,15 +1448,15 @@ class PlexPerson(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
     id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(primary_key=True)
     name: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(String(255), unique=True, index=True)
     photo_thumb: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)  # proxied /person-image URL, or None
-    # TMDB person id, linked by name from a title's TMDB credits (E5 S2 lays the foundation; the /person
-    # biography fetch + person-page render land in S6). NULL until a TMDB-enriched title names this person.
+    # TMDB person id, linked by name from a title's TMDB credits (the /person
+    # biography fetch builds on it). NULL until a TMDB-enriched title names this person.
     tmdb_person_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(Integer)
-    # --- TMDB person enrichment (E5 S6): fetched from /person/{tmdb_person_id} by the people_enrich job
-    #     (E30 S6), or by the first person-page open the job hasn't reached, then SERVED FROM THE ROW. `tmdb_enriched_at` is the watermark (set even on a
+    # --- TMDB person enrichment: fetched from /person/{tmdb_person_id} by the people_enrich job,
+    #     or by the first person-page open the job hasn't reached, then SERVED FROM THE ROW. `tmdb_enriched_at` is the watermark (set even on a
     #     no-op fetch so it isn't retried every open). `known_for` = top combined-credits [{tmdb_id,
     #     media_type, title}], resolved to library rows by guid at serve time (like recommendations). ---
     biography: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
-    # TMDB's Hungarian biography (E30 S4), from the same request's `translations`; a Hungarian reader is
+    # TMDB's Hungarian biography, from the same request's `translations`; a Hungarian reader is
     # served it, and the instance-language `biography` when TMDB has none. Birthplace, aliases and
     # keywords have no Hungarian on TMDB, so they stay in the instance language.
     biography_hu: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(Text)
@@ -1479,7 +1497,7 @@ class PlexCollection(Base, TimestampMixin, UpdatedAtMixin):
 class PlexState(Base, UpdatedAtMixin):
     """Per-user watch state for a Plex item — mirrors VideoState. Lives in Siftlode's own DB so
     it works for users WITHOUT a Plex account (the whole point of the access-layer design).
-    `synced_to_plex` marks whether this state was pushed back to a linked Plex account (P5)."""
+    `synced_to_plex` marks whether this state was pushed back to a linked Plex account."""
 
     __tablename__ = "plex_states"
     __table_args__ = (UniqueConstraint("user_id", "item_id", name="uq_plex_user_item"),)
@@ -1558,7 +1576,7 @@ class PlexPlaylistItem(Base):
 
 
 class ComfortPin(Base, TimestampMixin):
-    """One entry on a user's comfort shelf — the anti-paralysis fallback: "just put on X" (E24).
+    """One entry on a user's comfort shelf — the anti-paralysis fallback: "just put on X".
 
     Deliberately NOT a boolean on `VideoState`/`PlexState`, and NOT a polymorphic `(kind, ref)` string
     pair. A flag cannot ORDER a shelf and cannot hold a channel or a show — and comfort media is

backend/app/plex/cache.py

@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 from app.config import settings
 
-CACHE_DIR = Path(settings.download_root) / ".plex-img-cache"
+CACHE_DIR = Path(settings.files_root) / ".plex-img-cache"

backend/app/plex/cards.py

@@ -3,9 +3,24 @@ playlists, and detail views render. Extracted from routes/plex/browse.py so the
 lives beside the other Plex read-model modules (detail.py, query.py) rather than inside the
 router. Pure functions — no DB, no request state."""
 
+from typing import NamedTuple
+
 from app.models import PlexItem, PlexShow, PlexState
 
 
+class ShowState(NamedTuple):
+    """A show's watch state rolled up from its episodes, as its card carries it. `resumable`: an unwatched
+    episode has a resume point, the one the card's Continue resumes and its Restart replays from 0. A
+    show part watched with its next episode untouched has none: Continue and Restart would both play
+    that episode from its start, so the card offers Play alone."""
+
+    status: str
+    resumable: bool
+
+
+SHOW_NEW = ShowState("new", False)
+
+
 # A card's wide backdrop, for a rail's landscape tile or a crossfading hero — but ONLY when the item
 # actually has art. `thumb` is always emitted (its endpoint placeholders a missing poster), but an
 # `art` URL for an item with no `art_key` would resolve to a broken/blank image on every card that
@@ -25,7 +40,7 @@ def norm_lang(lang: str | None) -> str:
     return "hu" if lang == "hu" else "en"
 
 
-# Every card speaks the reader's language (E30): `lang="hu"` serves the HU overlay twin's title and
+# Every card speaks the reader's language: `lang="hu"` serves the HU overlay twin's title and
 # summary, falling back to EN where a row has none — the same rule as browse.unified_library's
 # `title_col`/`summary_col`. These rails once served English to a Hungarian reader.
 def display_title(row: PlexItem | PlexShow, lang: str) -> str:
@@ -54,7 +69,7 @@ def movie_card(it: PlexItem, st: PlexState | None, *, lang: str) -> dict:
     }
 
 
-def show_card(sh: PlexShow, status: str = "new", *, lang: str) -> dict:
+def show_card(sh: PlexShow, state: ShowState = SHOW_NEW, *, lang: str) -> dict:
     return {
         "id": sh.rating_key,
         "type": "show",
@@ -66,7 +81,8 @@ def show_card(sh: PlexShow, status: str = "new", *, lang: str) -> dict:
         "art": _art_url(sh.rating_key, sh.art_key),
         "season_count": sh.child_count,
         # Aggregate watch-state across the show's episodes (new | in_progress | watched) → grid badge.
-        "status": status,
+        "status": state.status,
+        "resumable": state.resumable,
     }
 
 

backend/app/plex/client.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 Server-side ONLY: uses the admin ``X-Plex-Token`` from sysconfig. Playback never goes through
 this client — Siftlode plays the LOCAL physical file (see app.plex.paths). Plex is used purely for
-metadata, image proxying, and (P5) optional watch-state write-back. Requests JSON via the
+metadata, image proxying, and optional watch-state write-back. Requests JSON via the
 ``Accept: application/json`` header (Plex serves XML by default).
 """
 
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class PlexClient:
         except ValueError as e:
             raise PlexError("Plex returned a non-JSON response") from e
 
-    # --- Connectivity + sections (P0) ---
+    # --- Connectivity + sections ---
     def server_info(self) -> dict:
         """Root identity (friendlyName / version) — used by the admin 'Test connection'."""
         return self._get("/")
@@ -75,25 +75,29 @@ class PlexClient:
         mc = self._get("/library/sections")
         return mc.get("Directory", []) or []
 
-    # --- Catalog mirror (P1) ---
+    # --- Catalog mirror ---
     def section_items(
         self, key: str, item_type: int, start: int = 0, size: int = 200
-    ) -> tuple[list[dict], int]:
+    ) -> tuple[list[dict], int | None]:
         """A page of a section's top-level items. type 1 = movie, 2 = show. Returns
-        (items, total_size)."""
+        (items, total_size); the total is None when the answer carries none, so a container that
+        says "0" (a genuinely empty section) stays distinguishable from one that says nothing."""
         mc = self._get(
             f"/library/sections/{key}/all",
             params={
                 "type": item_type,
                 # includeGuids=1 carries each item's Guid array (tmdb/imdb/tvdb ids) in the cheap
                 # listing, so the sync can capture the canonical guid without a per-item rich fetch —
-                # the pairing key for the HU overlay (E5 S5).
+                # the pairing key for the HU overlay.
                 "includeGuids": 1,
                 "X-Plex-Container-Start": start,
                 "X-Plex-Container-Size": size,
             },
         )
-        return mc.get("Metadata", []) or [], int(mc.get("totalSize", mc.get("size", 0)) or 0)
+        # `totalSize` only: `size` is THIS page's count, and read as the total it made a single
+        # page look like the whole section — "complete" to a prune or a reconcile.
+        total = mc.get("totalSize")
+        return mc.get("Metadata", []) or [], None if total is None else int(total)
 
     def children(self, rating_key: str) -> list[dict]:
         """Direct children (show → seasons, season → episodes)."""
@@ -133,12 +137,17 @@ class PlexClient:
         mc = self._get(f"/library/collections/{rating_key}/children")
         return mc.get("Metadata", []) or []
 
-    # --- Collection editing (P2 — write-back to Plex; all shared/global, admin-gated in the routes) ---
+    # --- Collection editing (write-back to Plex; all shared/global, admin-gated in the routes) ---
     @property
     def machine_id(self) -> str:
-        """Server machineIdentifier — needed in the `uri` of collection add/create calls. Cached."""
+        """Server machineIdentifier — needed in the `uri` of collection add/create calls. Cached.
+        Without one the uri would read `server:///…`, a malformed write Plex answers in its own way;
+        it is refused here, by name."""
         if not getattr(self, "_machine_id", None):
-            self._machine_id = self._get("/identity").get("machineIdentifier") or ""
+            mid = self._get("/identity").get("machineIdentifier")
+            if not mid:
+                raise PlexError("Plex did not report its machine identifier")
+            self._machine_id = mid
         return self._machine_id
 
     def _write(self, method: str, path: str) -> dict:
@@ -158,12 +167,16 @@ class PlexClient:
         keys = ",".join(str(k) for k in rating_keys)
         return f"server://{self.machine_id}/com.plexapp.plugins.library/library/metadata/{keys}"
 
-    def create_collection(self, section_key: str, title: str, item_rating_key: str) -> dict:
-        """Create a (dumb) collection seeded with one item; returns its Metadata (incl. ratingKey)."""
+    def create_collection(
+        self, section_key: str, title: str, item_rating_key: str, item_type: int = 1
+    ) -> dict:
+        """Create a (dumb) collection seeded with one item; returns its Metadata (incl. ratingKey).
+        `item_type` is the Plex metadata type of its members — 1 movie, 2 show. Measured: a collection
+        made as type 1 in a TV section came out EMPTY with a show seed, and refused the show after."""
         uri = quote(self._metadata_uri(item_rating_key), safe="")
         mc = self._write(
             "POST",
-            f"/library/collections?type=1&smart=0&sectionId={section_key}"
+            f"/library/collections?type={item_type}&smart=0&sectionId={section_key}"
             f"&title={quote(title, safe='')}&uri={uri}",
         )
         items = mc.get("Metadata", []) or []
@@ -197,7 +210,7 @@ class PlexClient:
         items = mc.get("Metadata", []) or []
         return items[0] if items else None
 
-    # --- Watch-state write-back (P5 Phase B — Siftlode→Plex push; acts on the token's account) ---
+    # --- Watch-state write-back (Siftlode→Plex push; acts on the token's account) ---
     _LIBRARY_IDENTIFIER = "com.plexapp.plugins.library"
 
     def scrobble(self, rating_key: str) -> None:
@@ -234,7 +247,7 @@ class PlexClient:
             f"&state={state}&time={int(time_ms)}&duration={int(duration_ms)}",
         )
 
-    # --- Watch-state read for incremental sync (P5 Phase C) ---
+    # --- Watch-state read for incremental sync ---
     def accounts(self) -> list[dict]:
         """Server accounts (the owner + any managed/home users): id, name. Used to resolve the
         owner's accountID so the shared watch-history feed can be filtered to just their views."""

backend/app/plex/detail.py

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 """Parse the "info page" rich metadata out of a full Plex metadata dict, and persist the subset that
-the detail endpoints serve from the DB row (E5 S5b).
+the detail endpoints serve from the DB row.
 
 Shared by the live info-page path (routes.plex.browse) and the background rich re-sync (plex.sync) so
 the two never diverge — the same one-parser rule that keeps `people.py`'s cast handling consistent.
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ the two never diverge — the same one-parser rule that keeps `people.py`'s cast
 (genres/directors/studio/content_rating already land from the cheap listing at `_apply_facet_fields`)."""
 
 from app.plex import people
+from app.plex.plaintext import plain_text
 
 
 def rich_detail(meta: dict) -> dict:
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ def rich_detail(meta: dict) -> dict:
         "genres": [g.get("tag") for g in (meta.get("Genre") or []) if g.get("tag")][:8],
         "directors": [d.get("tag") for d in (meta.get("Director") or []) if d.get("tag")][:4],
         "studio": meta.get("studio"),
-        "tagline": meta.get("tagline"),
+        "tagline": plain_text(meta.get("tagline")),
         "cast": people.cast_from_meta(meta),
     }
 

backend/app/plex/genres.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""One Hungarian word per Plex genre (E30).
+"""One Hungarian word per Plex genre.
 
 Plex's Hungarian agent returns a MIXED vocabulary: some genres come back translated ("Dráma",
 "Vígjáték"), others stay English ("Action", "Adventure", "Biography"), and a title with no HU twin has

backend/app/plex/imgcache.py

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ _CT_EXT = {ct: ext for ext, ct in _EXT_CT}
 # Target box per variant — Plex resizes to these server-side. The full poster (400px) covers a detail
 # page's ≤224px poster at 2× DPR, the full art (1280px) a hero backdrop. A card is much smaller: a grid
 # poster is ~144px and a shelf's landscape art ~212px, so the `_sm` pair serves those at 1.33× DPR
-# (E31 S4e: cards fetched the 400 poster, 42 KB, and the 1280 art for a 212px picture). The browser
+# (cards used to fetch the 400 poster, 42 KB, and the 1280 art for a 212px picture). The browser
 # picks between a pair itself (`srcset`, built by the frontend's `lib/plexImage` cardImage, whose
 # widths plexImage.contract.test holds to these).
 SIZES = {

backend/app/plex/overlay.py

@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+"""The HU overlay: a Hungarian Plex section written onto its English twin's rows, split out of
+`plex/sync.py`, which runs it once per paired section during the full sync.
+
+The pairing is admin-configured (`plex_overlay_map`, ``huKey:enKey,...``). An overlay section creates
+no browsable rows of its own; it only fills the `*_hu` columns of the EN rows it matches by guid.
+`plex/sync.py` and this module import each other as MODULES (attribute access at call time), which is
+what lets either be imported first.
+"""
+
+from collections.abc import Iterable
+
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+
+from app import logs, sysconfig
+from app.models import PlexItem, PlexLibrary, PlexShow
+from app.plex import sync as plex_sync
+from app.plex.client import PlexClient
+from app.plex.genres import hu_genres
+from app.plex.plaintext import plain_text
+
+log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
+
+
+def overlay_map(db: Session) -> dict[str, str]:
+    """The configured HU-overlay pairing: {huSectionKey: enSectionKey} from `plex_overlay_map`
+    ('huKey:enKey,...'). Each HU section is synced as a non-browsable overlay onto its EN twin.
+    Malformed pairs are skipped."""
+    raw = sysconfig.get_str(db, "plex_overlay_map")
+    out: dict[str, str] = {}
+    for pair in raw.split(","):
+        hu, sep, en = pair.partition(":")
+        hu, en = hu.strip(), en.strip()
+        if sep and hu and en:
+            out[hu] = en
+    return out
+
+
+def sync_overlay(
+    db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, en_lib_id: int, stats: dict
+) -> None:
+    """Write an overlay section's Hungarian metadata onto its EN twin's rows, matched by guid. Creates
+    NO browsable rows — an overlay library is never listed on its own. Only title/summary/tagline/genres
+    differ by language; the language-neutral people_text feeds both search vectors. A show section's
+    episodes are overlaid too: the HU section lists every episode with its Hungarian title and
+    summary, and the episode rows live in the EN show library.
+
+    This is a full RECONCILE: after a COMPLETE HU listing every guid-bearing EN row's HU fields are
+    cleared, then the matches are repopulated — so an EN row whose HU twin vanished (or was re-guid'd)
+    falls back to EN instead of keeping stale Hungarian metadata. A listing cut short only adds. HU
+    items with no EN match are skipped."""
+    if lib.kind == "movie":
+        passes = [
+            (
+                plex_sync._TYPE_MOVIE,
+                select(PlexItem).where(
+                    PlexItem.library_id == en_lib_id,
+                    PlexItem.kind == "movie",
+                    PlexItem.guid.is_not(None),
+                ),
+            )
+        ]
+    else:
+        passes = [
+            (
+                plex_sync._TYPE_SHOW,
+                select(PlexShow).where(
+                    PlexShow.library_id == en_lib_id, PlexShow.guid.is_not(None)
+                ),
+            ),
+            (
+                plex_sync._TYPE_EPISODE,
+                select(PlexItem).where(
+                    PlexItem.library_id == en_lib_id,
+                    PlexItem.kind == "episode",
+                    PlexItem.guid.is_not(None),
+                ),
+            ),
+        ]
+    for item_type, rows_q in passes:
+        _overlay_pass(db, plex, lib, item_type, db.execute(rows_q).scalars(), stats)
+    db.flush()
+
+
+def _overlay_pass(
+    db: Session,
+    plex: PlexClient,
+    lib: PlexLibrary,
+    item_type: int,
+    rows: Iterable[PlexItem] | Iterable[PlexShow],
+    stats: dict,
+) -> None:
+    """One kind of the overlay (movies, shows or episodes) — see `sync_overlay`."""
+    # guid -> the EN rows carrying it (a list: two editions of one film can share a guid; both overlay).
+    by_guid: dict[str, list[PlexItem | PlexShow]] = {}
+    for r in rows:
+        if r.guid:  # the passes select guid-bearing rows only
+            by_guid.setdefault(r.guid, []).append(r)
+    # The HU listing is read first and applied after, so the clear can wait for its verdict.
+    hu_by_guid, complete = _read_hu_listing(plex, lib, item_type, by_guid)
+    episodes = item_type == plex_sync._TYPE_EPISODE
+    if complete:
+        _clear_hu(by_guid, episodes)
+    else:
+        stats["overlay_incomplete"] = stats.get("overlay_incomplete", 0) + 1
+        log.warning(
+            "the HU listing ended before the server's total; existing HU text is kept",
+            extra=logs.event("plex.sync.overlay_incomplete", library=lib.plex_key),
+        )
+    for g, meta in hu_by_guid.items():
+        targets = by_guid[g]
+        title_hu = (meta.get("title") or "").strip() or None
+        summary_hu = plain_text(meta.get("summary"))
+        tagline_hu = plain_text(meta.get("tagline"))
+        genres_hu = hu_genres(plex_sync._tags(meta, "Genre"))
+        for row in targets:
+            row.title_hu = title_hu
+            row.summary_hu = summary_hu
+            if not episodes:
+                row.tagline_hu = tagline_hu
+                row.genres_hu = genres_hu or row.genres_hu
+        stats["overlaid"] = stats.get("overlaid", 0) + 1
+
+
+def _read_hu_listing(
+    plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, item_type: int, by_guid: dict
+) -> tuple[dict[str, dict], bool]:
+    """The HU section's entries for the guids the EN side carries, and whether the walk reached the
+    server's total. The first HU entry for a guid wins; a dup HU item can't overwrite or double-count."""
+    progress: dict = {}
+    hu_by_guid: dict[str, dict] = {}
+    for meta in plex_sync._paginate(plex, lib.plex_key, item_type, progress):
+        g = plex_sync._canonical_guid(meta)
+        if g and g in by_guid and g not in hu_by_guid:
+            hu_by_guid[g] = meta
+    return hu_by_guid, bool(progress.get("complete"))
+
+
+def _clear_hu(by_guid: dict, episodes: bool) -> None:
+    """Reconcile step: clear HU fields on all guid-bearing rows; the matches are re-set after. Only
+    rows that actually held HU data become dirty (SQLAlchemy skips a no-net-change UPDATE), so this is
+    cheap. The genres are the exception: every row gets Hungarian ones, from its HU twin or, lacking
+    one, from its own English list — otherwise the HU genre list mixed "Drama" (no twin) with "Dráma".
+    Only after a COMPLETE listing: one a Plex hiccup cut short would clear the HU text of every title
+    it failed to reach, until the next full sync (the watch reconcile's twin)."""
+    for group in by_guid.values():
+        for row in group:
+            row.title_hu = row.summary_hu = None
+            if not episodes:
+                row.tagline_hu = None
+                row.genres_hu = hu_genres(row.genres)

backend/app/plex/people.py

@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ def people_by_credits(
     return [r[0] for r in rows]
 
 
-# --- Portraits (E30 S6) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# --- Portraits ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # A Plex CDN headshot is a full-size original (~170 KB on average, measured). Plex's photo transcoder
 # fits it into this box (~13 KB), which covers the largest place a portrait is drawn (the person page's
 # 6rem avatar) at 2x density and a raised text size. The box is part of the cache key, like a poster's:
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ _DEAD = frozenset({404, 410})
 
 
 def warm_portraits(db: Session, limit: int) -> dict:
-    """Cache up to `limit` not-yet-cached headshots, the most-credited people first (E30 S6), so a
+    """Cache up to `limit` not-yet-cached headshots, the most-credited people first, so a
     person's face comes from local disk. Needs Plex (the resize) and the Plex module on; without them
     nothing is prefetched — full-size originals for every person would cost gigabytes. A headshot Plex
     answers "not found" for is marked and left for PORTRAIT_RETRY; Plex failing in a row ends the run."""

backend/app/plex/plaintext.py

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+"""Plex text fields as plain text.
+
+Plex hands a summary over as the agent wrote it, and some agents (a Hungarian TV listing, for one)
+write HTML: `<p>…</p>` paragraphs and `&aacute;`-style entities. The app renders summaries as text,
+so the tags showed literally on the info page and the hover card, and a card's 300-character cut
+could land inside one. Every summary and tagline is stored through `plain_text`, and the migration
+that cleaned the existing rows calls it too, so the two cannot disagree.
+"""
+
+import html
+import re
+from html.entities import html5
+
+_BREAK = re.compile(r"<br\s*/?>", re.IGNORECASE)
+# A paragraph or block boundary: a blank line between the two. Only a tag name ends the match, so a
+# bare "<" in prose ("a < b", "<3") is left alone.
+_BLOCK = re.compile(r"</?(?:p|div|li|ul|ol|h[1-6]|blockquote)\b[^>]*>", re.IGNORECASE)
+_TAG = re.compile(r"</?[a-zA-Z][^>]*>")
+_BLANKS = re.compile(r"[ \t]*\n[ \t]*\n\s*")
+
+# A well-formed character reference only. `html.unescape` alone also decodes the legacy forms that
+# have no semicolon, so prose like "AT&notice" or "R&copy" came out as "AT¬ice" and "R©". A named
+# one counts only when its whole name is an entity: for "&notice;" `html.unescape` still falls back
+# to the legacy "&not" inside it.
+_REF = re.compile(r"&(?:#[0-9]+|#[xX][0-9a-fA-F]+|[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9]*);")
+
+
+def _decode(m: re.Match[str]) -> str:
+    ref = m.group()
+    if ref[1] != "#":
+        return html.unescape(ref) if ref[1:] in html5 else ref
+    if ref[2] in "xX":
+        return html.unescape(ref)
+    # `int()` refuses a decimal run past 4300 digits, and any number past seven significant digits is
+    # beyond U+10FFFF, which the parser turns into U+FFFD anyway.
+    digits = ref[2:-1].lstrip("0") or "0"
+    return "�" if len(digits) > 7 else html.unescape(f"&#{digits};")
+
+
+def plain_text(value: str | None) -> str | None:
+    """`value` with its markup gone: line breaks kept as newlines, paragraphs as a blank line,
+    every other tag dropped and entities decoded. None or an all-blank result stays None."""
+    if value is None:
+        return None
+    if "<" in value or "&" in value:
+        value = _BREAK.sub("\n", value)
+        value = _BLOCK.sub("\n\n", value)
+        value = _TAG.sub("", value)
+        value = _REF.sub(_decode, value)
+        value = _BLANKS.sub("\n\n", value)
+    return value.strip() or None

backend/app/plex/query.py

@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@ PLEX_SORT_KEYS: tuple[str, ...] = (
     "title",
 )
 
-# --- Language-aware column pickers (E5 S6) ----------------------------------
+# --- Language-aware column pickers ----------------------------------
 #
-# The HU-overlay twin (E5 S5) stores Hungarian metadata in `*_hu` columns on the SAME EN row. When
+# The HU-overlay twin stores Hungarian metadata in `*_hu` columns on the SAME EN row. When
 # the app language is `hu` we serve those, falling back to the EN column where a row has no HU twin.
 # Two flavours of picker, on purpose:
 #   * DISPLAY / FILTER (`title_col`/`genres_col`): `coalesce(*_hu, *)` — an EN fallback so a row with
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ PLEX_SORT_KEYS: tuple[str, ...] = (
 #     HU summary directly off the loaded row, so no `summary_col` SQL helper is needed.)
 #   * SEARCH (`vector_col` + `field_recheck`): the raw `*_hu` column coalesced to '' — MIRRORING the
 #     generated `search_vector_hu` definition (which uses `coalesce(title_hu, '')`, NOT an EN
-#     fallback), so the field recheck stays a strict subset of the GIN vector prefilter (the S2
-#     invariant). `people_text` is language-neutral and shared by both vectors.
+#     fallback), so the field recheck stays a strict subset of the GIN vector prefilter (the
+#     field-search invariant). `people_text` is language-neutral and shared by both vectors.
 
 
 def title_col(model, lang: str):
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ def meta_filter_conds(model, p: dict, lang: str = "en") -> list:
     stds = split_csv(p.get("studios"))
     if stds:  # OR
         conds.append(model.studio.in_(stds))
-    for kw in split_csv(p.get("keywords")):  # AND — TMDB keyword chips from the detail page (E5 S5)
+    for kw in split_csv(p.get("keywords")):  # AND — TMDB keyword chips from the detail page
         conds.append(model.keywords.contains([kw]))
     csel = split_csv(p.get("collections"))
     if (
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ def apply_meta_filters(q, model, p: dict, lang: str = "en"):
     return q.where(*conds) if conds else q
 
 
-# --- Playback-class filter (E7) — MOVIE-ONLY (a show is an aggregate with no single class) ---------
+# --- Playback-class filter — MOVIE-ONLY (a show is an aggregate with no single class) ---------
 # The 4 classes the feed filter + facet expose, derived from the stored `playable` + `transcode_hw`.
 # ONE definition (this SQL CASE) so the filter WHERE and the facet counts can't drift: `playable_conds`
 # filters on it, `facets` groups by it. transcode_hw IS NOT True groups NULL (unprobed) with software.
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ class LibraryFilters:
     actors: str | None = None
     actor_mode: str = "any"  # how multiple actors combine: any (OR, default) | all (AND)
     studios: str | None = None
-    keywords: str | None = None  # TMDB keyword chips (E5 S5), CSV; language-neutral
+    keywords: str | None = None  # TMDB keyword chips, CSV; language-neutral
     collections: str | None = None  # CSV of collection rating_keys
     collection_mode: str = "any"  # how multiple collections combine: any (OR, default) | all (AND)
     playable: str | None = None  # CSV of playback classes: direct|remux|transcode_hw|transcode_sw
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ class LibraryFilters:
 # watch state. The SAME predicate has to be applied in two places — `unified_library` (the grid) and
 # `facets.wsq` (so the facet counts reflect exactly the visible set) — and they MUST stay identical:
 # a hidden movie kept out of the grid must not inflate the facets either. These helpers are the one
-# home for that predicate so the two call sites can't drift (E3 S1; pinned by test_plex_facets_grid_
+# home for that predicate so the two call sites can't drift (pinned by test_plex_facets_grid_
 # parity). Callers pass the already-joined state expressions, so this module stays model-agnostic:
 #   * movies — `st` is an aliased PlexState outer-joined on (item_id, user_id).
 #   * shows  — `tot`/`wat`/`inp` are the coalesced totals from `rollup.agg_subquery`.
@@ -367,9 +367,9 @@ def apply_show_state_filter(query, tot, wat, inp, show: str):
 def content_libs(db: Session) -> tuple[list[int], list[int]]:
     """The BROWSABLE content libraries, partitioned into (movie_lib_ids, show_lib_ids) — the single
     source of the browse scope. Excludes HU overlay libraries (`overlay_of` set): those are never
-    browsed on their own, they only lend their Hungarian metadata to the EN twin's rows (E5 S5).
+    browsed on their own, they only lend their Hungarian metadata to the EN twin's rows.
 
-    Lives here, in the query layer, rather than in `routes/plex/_shared.py` where it started: E24's
+    Lives here, in the query layer, rather than in `routes/plex/_shared.py` where it started: the
     Home surface needs the same scope, and a domain package importing from `routes/` would invert the
     one-way dependency CLAUDE.md draws. It never touched request state, so nothing was lost by the
     move."""

backend/app/plex/rollup.py

@@ -9,14 +9,15 @@ from sqlalchemy import and_, case, func, or_, select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session, aliased
 
 from app.models import PlexItem, PlexState
+from app.plex.cards import ShowState
 
 # Sort sentinel for a rail row whose timestamp is missing, so `key=lambda r: r[0] or NO_TS` reads the
 # same at every rail that merges two type-homogeneous lists in Python.
 #
-# It is NOT a crash fix, whatever the E24 commit that introduced it says. The `(ts is not None, ts)`
+# It is NOT a crash fix, whatever the commit that introduced it says. The `(ts is not None, ts)`
 # key it replaced cannot raise: tuple comparison finds the first UNEQUAL element via `==`, so two
 # `(False, None)` keys compare equal and `None < None` is never reached — verified by execution
-# during the E24 epic-end review, over every permutation of null/non-null rows. What the sentinel
+# during a review, over every permutation of null/non-null rows. What the sentinel
 # buys is one idiom instead of two, and a key that says "missing sorts last" outright rather than
 # encoding it in a boolean flag. A BARE `r[0]` would genuinely raise, which is the mutation the
 # rails' tests do guard against.
@@ -32,6 +33,11 @@ def show_status(total: int, watched: int, inprog: int) -> str:
     return "new"
 
 
+def show_state(total: int, watched: int, inprog: int) -> ShowState:
+    """`show_status` plus whether an episode holds a resume point (the card's `ShowState`)."""
+    return ShowState(show_status(total, watched, inprog), (inprog or 0) > 0)
+
+
 def rollup(cards: list[dict]) -> dict:
     """From ORDERED episode cards → the aggregate watch status, the "on deck" episode to Resume (the
     last in-progress one, else the first unwatched), the first episode (for Play from the start), and
@@ -92,16 +98,16 @@ def agg_subquery(db: Session, user_id: int, include_resumed: bool = False):
     )
 
 
-def state_map(db: Session, user_id: int, show_ids: list[int]) -> dict[int, str]:
+def state_map(db: Session, user_id: int, show_ids: list[int]) -> dict[int, ShowState]:
     if not show_ids:
         return {}
     rows = db.execute(agg_subquery(db, user_id).where(PlexItem.show_id.in_(show_ids))).all()
-    return {r.show_id: show_status(r.total, r.watched, r.inprog) for r in rows}
+    return {r.show_id: show_state(r.total, r.watched, r.inprog) for r in rows}
 
 
 def item_state_map(db: Session, user_id: int, item_ids: list[int]) -> dict[int, PlexState]:
     """A user's PlexState rows for a set of leaf items (movies or episodes), keyed by item_id — the
-    leaf analogue of `state_map` (which rolls a show's episodes up to a status string). One batched
+    leaf analogue of `state_map` (which rolls a show's episodes up to a `ShowState`). One batched
     fetch, so the caller serializes cards without a per-card query. Empty in → empty dict (no `IN ()`)."""
     if not item_ids:
         return {}

backend/app/plex/stream.py

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ HLS muxer does the segmentation (the only reliable way to cut a stream-copy at k
 
 Sessions live in this (single) API process; a periodic reaper kills idle ones and frees the temp
 segments. The remux is CPU-light (video copy + a tiny audio transcode), so it runs fine on the
-CPU-only prod host; only P3's full transcode is CPU-heavy.
+CPU-only prod host; only the full transcode is CPU-heavy.
 """
 
 import os
@@ -35,13 +35,13 @@ from app.config import settings
 from app.downloads.edit import encode_thread_cap
 from app.models import PlexItem
 from app.plex import paths
-from app.plex.sync import HW_DECODABLE_CODECS
+from app.plex.sync import HDR_TRANSFERS, HW_DECODABLE_CODECS
 
 log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
 _HLS_ROOT = (
     Path(settings.plex_hls_dir)
     if settings.plex_hls_dir
-    else Path(settings.download_root) / ".plex-hls"
+    else Path(settings.files_root) / ".plex-hls"
 )
 _SEG_SECONDS = 6
 # Cold-start warm-up. A freshly-spawned ffmpeg has produced only the first segment (or two) by the
@@ -120,8 +120,8 @@ class HlsSession:
         # Unguessable per-session id, carried in the URLs the client is handed. A seek-restart
         # replaces the viewer's registered session for the item — and the old player's next request
         # for `seg_12.ts`, resolved by (viewer, rating_key) alone, was answered 200 with the NEW session's twelfth segment, produced from a different offset
-        # under `-copyts`. Wrong bytes, not an error, so the client's reclaim never fired on it
-        # (deep-review round 5). A request naming a session that is no longer registered is a 404,
+        # under `-copyts`. Wrong bytes, not an error, so the client's reclaim never fired on it.
+        # A request naming a session that is no longer registered is a 404,
         # which the player recovers from by restarting at the playhead.
         self.id = secrets.token_urlsafe(9)
         self.key = key  # the item's rating_key (what the logs name)
@@ -203,7 +203,8 @@ _HW_DECODABLE = HW_DECODABLE_CODECS
 # plain scale_vaapi=format=nv12 path (Gen 9.5 VPP refuses it) — it needs the OpenCL tonemap graph
 # (_venc_opts tonemap branch) when the OpenCL runtime is present, else software libx264. A 10-bit source
 # WITHOUT one of these transfers is SDR, not HDR, and must not be tone-mapped. See _probe_video_kind.
-_HDR_TRANSFERS = {"smpte2084", "arib-std-b67"}
+# THE single source is plex.sync (a clip's tonemap reads it too).
+_HDR_TRANSFERS = HDR_TRANSFERS
 
 
 # The three source classes that drive the transcode-pipeline choice (see _probe_video_kind).
@@ -245,6 +246,9 @@ def _probe_video_kind(src: Path) -> str:
             capture_output=True,
             text=True,
             timeout=10,
+            # A non-zero exit is a failed probe (CalledProcessError, a SubprocessError → the branch
+            # below), not an answer: whatever it printed before refusing is not the file's truth.
+            check=True,
         )
     except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError) as exc:
         # The safe kind is a real answer, but it is the answer for an 8-bit SDR source — a blind
@@ -410,7 +414,7 @@ def _venc_opts(
 def _render_node_present() -> bool:
     """Whether the VAAPI render node is available — i.e. `/dev/dri` was passed into the container.
     Present on prod after the iGPU enablement; absent on the CPU-only dev box and in the localdev
-    Docker. Its own function so the selection is monkeypatchable in tests and one place for S1c's knob."""
+    Docker. Its own function so the selection is monkeypatchable in tests and the one place to change it."""
     return Path(_VAAPI_DEVICE).exists()
 
 
@@ -502,6 +506,9 @@ def _probe_audio_langs(src: Path) -> list[str]:
             capture_output=True,
             text=True,
             timeout=10,
+            # A non-zero exit is a failed probe (CalledProcessError, a SubprocessError → the branch
+            # below), not an answer: whatever it printed before refusing is not the file's truth.
+            check=True,
         )
         return [ln.strip() for ln in out.stdout.splitlines()]
     except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError) as exc:
@@ -570,7 +577,7 @@ def _ffmpeg_cmd(
                 entry += ",default:yes"
             var.append(entry)
         # The name patterns come from the vocabulary functions, with ffmpeg's own placeholders passed
-        # through them — so the producer and the parser cannot spell the layout differently (round 7).
+        # through them — so the producer and the parser cannot spell the layout differently.
         args += _HLS_TAIL + [
             "-master_pl_name",
             _MASTER_PL,
@@ -615,6 +622,9 @@ def _probe_first_pts(seg: Path) -> float | None:
             capture_output=True,
             text=True,
             timeout=10,
+            # A non-zero exit is a failed probe (CalledProcessError, a SubprocessError → the branch
+            # below), not an answer: whatever it printed before refusing is not the file's truth.
+            check=True,
         )
         for line in out.stdout.splitlines():
             tok = line.strip().strip(",")
@@ -735,9 +745,9 @@ def start_session(
         # `replace_only` makes the supersede identity-aware for the runtime fallback: the whole
         # check-and-replace happens under ONE _lock, so a newer same-key session (a concurrent
         # seek-restart) installed between the fallback's decision and here is never clobbered. When the
-        # registered session is no longer `replace_only`, we abort and return None (the caller yields to
-        # whoever is registered now). The INITIAL spawn passes replace_only=None and always supersedes —
-        # that is the seek-restart's intended last-writer-wins.
+        # registered session is no longer `replace_only`, we abort and return None, and the caller
+        # answers with its own dead session — never the newer one, whose id a stale requester would
+        # stop. The INITIAL spawn never gets None — see its call site.
         # Software-fallback encode tuning — read only on the SW transcode path (the VAAPI path and
         # remux ignore preset/crf/max_height, and remux must not touch the DB for them).
         preset, crf, max_height = "veryfast", 20, 0
@@ -814,6 +824,7 @@ def start_session(
         return s
 
     s = _spawn(*_select_encode(db, item, transcode, src))
+    assert s is not None  # replace_only=None always supersedes: a seek-restart's last-writer-wins
     # Wait for the first video segment outside the lock (this blocks on ffmpeg, and we must not hold up
     # other sessions). Pass the proc so a HW session that dies at VAAPI init fails fast (not after 25s).
     ready = wait_for(_seg(0), timeout=25.0, proc=s.proc)
@@ -831,12 +842,13 @@ def start_session(
         )
         respawned = _spawn(False, False, replace_only=s)
         if respawned is None:
-            # Superseded/culled mid-fallback — yield whoever is registered now (a newer seek-restart), or
-            # our own now-dead session if the key was cap-culled. Never None here: the POST /session route
-            # turns a None return into a "Media file not found on disk" 404 — dishonest for a file that
-            # exists. A (dead) session instead degrades to a retryable 404 ("No active playback session" /
-            # "Not available yet") the client re-requests.
-            return current_session(user_id, key) or s
+            # Superseded/culled mid-fallback — answer with our own now-dead session. Never the newer one
+            # registered meanwhile: this answer goes to the request that LOST, whose player drops it as
+            # stale and stops the session it names (`stop_session`), which stopped the playback that won.
+            # Never None either: the POST /session route turns a None return into a "Media file not found
+            # on disk" 404 — dishonest for a file that exists. A dead session instead degrades to a
+            # retryable 404 ("No active playback session" / "Not available yet") the client re-requests.
+            return s
         s = respawned
         ready = wait_for(_seg(0), timeout=25.0, proc=s.proc)
     if ready:
@@ -878,7 +890,7 @@ def current_session(user_id: int, key: str) -> HlsSession | None:
 # The names ffmpeg writes into a session directory, in ONE place — and "one place" means the argv
 # BUILDS its patterns from these same functions (`segment_name("%d", "%v")`), not that a comment
 # says so. Getting this wrong is invisible in both directions: a name we failed to anticipate used
-# to fall back to "wait and see" (round 6's HIGH), and now that the rule is positive it falls back
+# to fall back to "wait and see", and now that the rule is positive it falls back
 # to a 404 instead — so the producer and the parser have to be literally the same spelling.
 #
 # MEASURED (ffmpeg 7.1.5 in the API container — the binary that actually writes these files — and
@@ -892,7 +904,7 @@ def current_session(user_id: int, key: str) -> HlsSession | None:
 # SESSION and not to HLS in general: a single-audio session can never write `master.m3u8`,
 # `stream_*.m3u8` or any `seg_<variant>_<n>.ts`, and a multi-audio one can never write `index.m3u8`
 # or `seg_<n>.ts`. Accepting the union meant a hopeless name of the other shape was waited out for
-# the full playlist/segment timeout — the threadpool parking this guard exists to end (round 7).
+# the full playlist/segment timeout — the threadpool parking this guard exists to end.
 _MASTER_PL = "master.m3u8"
 _INDEX_PL = "index.m3u8"
 _SEG_NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^seg_(?:([0-9a-z]{1,4})_)?(\d{1,9})\.ts$")
@@ -944,12 +956,12 @@ def artifact_may_arrive(s: "HlsSession", filename: str) -> bool:
     name belonging to the other shape is as hopeless here as a random string. Reading those as "an
     HLS name, so wait and see" left the whole class reachable — measured through the real route
     against a live single-audio session, `master.m3u8` and `stream_q7z.m3u8` were 404s after 30.0 s
-    and `seg_a0_0.ts` / `seg_zzzz_0.ts` after 20.1 s each (deep-review round 7).
+    and `seg_a0_0.ts` / `seg_zzzz_0.ts` after 20.1 s each.
 
     Saying no at once matters because the route that waits is a SYNC one: it holds a thread off the
     ~40-slot pool, and a pooled DB connection with it, for the whole timeout. An ordinary seek past
     the produced region was enough to park one for 20 s, and forty concurrent requests for a name
-    that will never exist parked the whole API (deep-review round 5). Round 5's guard read only
+    that will never exist parked the whole API. An earlier guard read only
     single-audio segment names, so both halves of that were still fully reachable: every multi-audio
     name fell through, and so did any `.m3u8`/`.vtt` name at all."""
     if filename in playlist_names(s.variants):
@@ -1084,15 +1096,15 @@ def reap_idle(finished_idle_s: float = _FINISHED_IDLE_S) -> int:
     A finished session is also what a PAUSED viewer has: a remux runs far faster than realtime, so
     ffmpeg is done a minute or two in and writes ENDLIST; hls.js then stops asking for the playlist,
     and with its forward buffer full a paused player fetches nothing at all. With the 30 s rule that
-    killed a one-minute pause, and playback died ~30 s after resuming (deep-review round 4).
+    killed a one-minute pause, and playback died ~30 s after resuming.
 
     What makes the short rule safe again is that fetching is no longer the only signal: a player
     parked MID-ITEM checkpoints its position every 10 s, and that route calls `touch_session`, so a
-    viewer who is merely paused says so far more often than this rule asks (round 5). The heartbeat
+    viewer who is merely paused says so far more often than this rule asks. The heartbeat
     stops once the item is finished or before a position is known (`usePlexProgress.flush`) — both
     states where reaping is correct, and where the player's 404 → reclaim recovers a viewer who
-    scrubs back in anyway. Do not restate this as "every 10 s whether or not it is playing": round 6
-    found that claim in two comments and not in the code. Round 4's blanket
+    scrubs back in anyway. Do not restate this as "every 10 s whether or not it is playing":
+    a review found that claim in two comments and not in the code. An earlier blanket
     `reap_abandoned` bought the same safety by keeping every finished session for ten minutes — each
     one a whole segmented copy of the film on a volume shared with the download center."""
     now = time.time()
@@ -1108,6 +1120,23 @@ def reap_idle(finished_idle_s: float = _FINISHED_IDLE_S) -> int:
     return dropped
 
 
+def stop_session(user_id: int, key: str, session_id: str) -> bool:
+    """Stop this viewer's session for `key` now, because the player that asked for it is gone (left
+    the item, closed, unloaded the page). Left to `reap_idle`, a transcode ran on to the end of the
+    film first — measured: ~4 cores for a minute after leaving a resumed 480p film.
+
+    Only while `session_id` is still the registered one: the player names the session it played, and
+    a seek-restart or a second tab may have replaced it meanwhile — that newer session is somebody's
+    current playback, not this request's to end."""
+    with _lock:
+        s = _sessions.get((user_id, key))
+        if s is None or s.id != session_id:
+            return False
+        _kill(s)
+        _sessions.pop((user_id, key), None)
+    return True
+
+
 def touch_session(user_id: int, key: str) -> None:
     """Say this viewer is still there for `key`, without fetching anything. `last_access` used to move
     only on an HLS file fetch, which a paused player does not do — so the only way to keep a paused

backend/app/plex/subtitles.py

@@ -162,7 +162,8 @@ def ffmpeg_to_vtt(src: str, sub_ord: int | None) -> str:
         "webvtt",
         "pipe:1",
     ]
-    r = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, timeout=EXTRACT_TIMEOUT_S)
+    # check=False: the exit status is read on the next line, with ffmpeg's own stderr as the reason.
+    r = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, timeout=EXTRACT_TIMEOUT_S, check=False)
     if r.returncode != 0 or not r.stdout:
         raise PlexError(
             (r.stderr or b"").decode("utf-8", "replace")[:200] or "ffmpeg subtitle convert failed"

backend/app/plex/sync.py

@@ -12,10 +12,9 @@ on a NON-empty listing — a section that returns zero items is left untouched,
 glitch that yields an empty page can't wipe a library (the metadata is cheap to re-sync; an accidental
 mass-delete is the only real risk). Library-level reconcile (dropping a whole removed section, the
 dead `enabled` column) is a separate follow-up. Cast + intro/credit markers are fetched lazily on the
-item-detail/player path (P2), not here.
+item-detail/player path, not here.
 """
 
-from collections.abc import Iterable
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 from sqlalchemy import func, select
@@ -23,10 +22,11 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app import logs, sysconfig
 from app.models import PlexCollection, PlexItem, PlexLibrary, PlexSeason, PlexShow
-from app.plex import detail, people
+from app.plex import detail, overlay, people
 from app.plex.client import PlexClient, PlexError, PlexNotConfigured
 from app.plex.genres import hu_genres
 from app.plex.lookups import by_rating_key
+from app.plex.plaintext import plain_text
 
 log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
 # Codecs/containers a browser can play in a native <video> without any transcoding.
@@ -64,9 +64,11 @@ def classify_playable(vcodec: str | None, acodec: str | None, container: str | N
 # outside it (AV1, MPEG-4 ASP/XviD…) is software-only even on the iGPU (it can't decode it to feed its
 # own encoder).
 HW_DECODABLE_CODECS = frozenset({"h264", "hevc", "h265", "vp9", "vc1", "mpeg2video"})
-# Color-transfer values marking an HDR source (PQ / HLG). A 10-bit/HDR source breaks the VAAPI
-# scale=nv12 path on Gen 9.5 (see plex.stream) → software transcode, so it counts as NOT HW-capable.
-_HDR_TRANSFERS = frozenset({"smpte2084", "arib-std-b67"})
+# Color-transfer values marking an HDR source (PQ / HLG). THE single source of this set: plex.stream
+# (the tonemap choice) and downloads.clip (a clip's tonemap) import it here, so a transfer added for
+# one is tonemapped by all. A 10-bit/HDR source breaks the VAAPI scale=nv12 path on Gen 9.5 (see
+# plex.stream) → software transcode, so it counts as NOT HW-capable.
+HDR_TRANSFERS = frozenset({"smpte2084", "arib-std-b67"})
 
 
 def transcode_hw_capable(
@@ -107,7 +109,7 @@ def _video_stream_props(meta: dict) -> tuple[int | None, bool]:
                 # whole library would drown the sync's own lines.
                 except (TypeError, ValueError):
                     depth = None
-                hdr = str(s.get("colorTrc") or "").lower() in _HDR_TRANSFERS
+                hdr = str(s.get("colorTrc") or "").lower() in HDR_TRANSFERS
                 return depth, hdr
     return None, False
 
@@ -151,7 +153,7 @@ _GUID_PREFERENCE = ("tmdb", "imdb", "tvdb")
 
 
 def _canonical_guid(meta: dict) -> str | None:
-    """The canonical external id used to pair an EN title with its HU-overlay twin (E5 S5). Reads the
+    """The canonical external id used to pair an EN title with its HU-overlay twin. Reads the
     `Guid` array (present only with includeGuids=1 in the listing), preferring tmdb > imdb > tvdb,
     normalised to '<provider>:<id>' (e.g. 'tmdb:12345'). None when no known provider id is present."""
     found: dict[str, str] = {}
@@ -194,20 +196,6 @@ def _enabled_section_keys(db: Session) -> set[str] | None:
     return keys or None
 
 
-def _overlay_map(db: Session) -> dict[str, str]:
-    """The configured HU-overlay pairing: {huSectionKey: enSectionKey} from `plex_overlay_map`
-    ('huKey:enKey,...'). Each HU section is synced as a non-browsable overlay onto its EN twin.
-    Malformed pairs are skipped."""
-    raw = sysconfig.get_str(db, "plex_overlay_map")
-    out: dict[str, str] = {}
-    for pair in raw.split(","):
-        hu, sep, en = pair.partition(":")
-        hu, en = hu.strip(), en.strip()
-        if sep and hu and en:
-            out[hu] = en
-    return out
-
-
 def sync(db: Session) -> dict:
     """Full reconcile of the enabled movie/show sections. Returns a small stats dict."""
     if not sysconfig.get_bool(db, "plex_enabled"):
@@ -223,7 +211,7 @@ def sync(db: Session) -> dict:
         "pruned": 0,
     }
     wanted = _enabled_section_keys(db)
-    overlay_map = _overlay_map(db)  # {huKey: enKey}
+    overlay_map = overlay.overlay_map(db)  # {huKey: enKey}
     overlay_keys = set(overlay_map)
     try:
         with PlexClient(db) as plex:
@@ -267,13 +255,13 @@ def sync(db: Session) -> dict:
                 lib.metadata_lang = "hu"
                 lib.overlay_of = en_lib.id
                 db.flush()
-                _sync_overlay(db, plex, lib, en_lib.id, stats)
+                overlay.sync_overlay(db, plex, lib, en_lib.id, stats)
                 db.commit()
             # Rich-fetch a bounded batch of not-yet-enriched titles' FULL cast, so the whole library
             # becomes filterable over successive runs (the cheap listing above only stored the top ~3).
             try:
                 stats["people_enriched"] = _enrich_people_batch(db, plex)
-            except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — best-effort; never fail the sync over a backfill
+            except Exception:  # best-effort; never fail the sync over a backfill
                 # With the traceback: a blind catch over a batch that fetches AND writes can be
                 # a Plex shape change, a DB error or our own bug, and `%s` told them apart badly.
                 log.exception("the Plex people-enrich batch failed")
@@ -282,7 +270,7 @@ def sync(db: Session) -> dict:
             # successive runs. Only HW-decodable-codec transcodes are probed — the rest are SW by codec.
             try:
                 stats["media_probed"] = _probe_media_batch(db, plex)
-            except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — best-effort; never fail the sync over a backfill
+            except Exception:  # best-effort; never fail the sync over a backfill
                 log.exception("the Plex media-probe batch failed")
     # silent-ok: the return value IS the report. `{"skipped": …}` goes to the scheduler, which
     # logs the job result, and to the admin route, which answers it to the caller.
@@ -296,7 +284,7 @@ def sync(db: Session) -> dict:
     # appear in ANY item's cast/directors — drop those rows, mirroring how Plex drops orphaned metadata.
     try:
         stats["people_pruned"] = people.prune_orphan_people(db)
-    except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — best-effort housekeeping; never fail the sync over it
+    except Exception:  # best-effort housekeeping; never fail the sync over it
         log.exception("the Plex people prune failed")
     log.info("Plex sync done: %s", stats)
     return stats
@@ -433,7 +421,10 @@ def _paginate(plex: PlexClient, key: str, item_type: int, progress: dict | None
     if progress is not None:
         # A truthy `total` we reached = a trustworthy complete listing. `total` unknown/zero-with-rows
         # (a Plex that doesn't report totalSize) is treated as NOT complete, so prune stays conservative.
+        # `total` itself is kept for a caller to whom a server that SAID 0 is news it can trust (the
+        # watch reconcile); an empty mirror or overlay must not read it so.
         progress["complete"] = bool(total) and start >= total
+        progress["total"] = total
 
 
 # The section listing exposes at most the top ~20 cast (Plex's own cap); a stored cast longer than this
@@ -459,7 +450,7 @@ def _apply_facet_fields(row, meta: dict) -> None:
     # full cast (up to 24, grown by the rich backfill/info-page enrich), silently breaking the
     # person-page cast filter for names past the top ~20. The watermark gate below (`people_enriched_at
     # is None`) normally protects this, but it is NOT enough on its own: a migration that resets the
-    # watermark re-opens the regression (0065 nulled it, which is exactly how the S5b fix got undone in
+    # watermark re-opens the regression (0065 nulled it, which is exactly how a fix got undone in
     # prod). So guard STRUCTURALLY too, by LENGTH against the listing cap: a stored cast LONGER than the
     # cap can only be an enriched fuller list, so keep it (robust to any watermark reset). A stored cast
     # at or below the cap is itself listing-sourced, so take the fresh listing — which tracks Plex cast
@@ -480,7 +471,7 @@ def _apply_item(row: PlexItem, lib_id: int, kind: str, meta: dict) -> None:
     # carries none (a server ignoring includeGuids mustn't wipe the overlay's only match key).
     row.guid = _canonical_guid(meta) or row.guid
     row.title = (meta.get("title") or "").strip() or "Untitled"
-    row.summary = meta.get("summary")
+    row.summary = plain_text(meta.get("summary"))
     row.year = meta.get("year")
     row.duration_s = _dur_s(meta)
     row.thumb_key = meta.get("thumb")
@@ -588,7 +579,7 @@ def _sync_shows(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, stats: dict) ->
             _canonical_guid(meta) or sh.guid
         )  # EN<->HU pairing key; keep prior if listing has none
         sh.title = (meta.get("title") or "").strip() or "Untitled"
-        sh.summary = meta.get("summary")
+        sh.summary = plain_text(meta.get("summary"))
         sh.year = meta.get("year")
         sh.thumb_key = meta.get("thumb")
         sh.art_key = meta.get("art")
@@ -661,98 +652,6 @@ def _sync_shows(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, stats: dict) ->
     _prune_stale(db, shows, shows_seen, stats, complete=shows_progress.get("complete", False))
 
 
-def _sync_overlay(
-    db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, en_lib_id: int, stats: dict
-) -> None:
-    """Write an overlay section's Hungarian metadata onto its EN twin's rows, matched by guid. Creates
-    NO browsable rows — an overlay library is never listed on its own. Only title/summary/tagline/genres
-    differ by language; the language-neutral people_text feeds both search vectors. A show section's
-    episodes are overlaid too (E30): the HU section lists every episode with its Hungarian title and
-    summary, and the episode rows live in the EN show library.
-
-    This is a full RECONCILE: every guid-bearing EN row's HU fields are cleared first, then the HU
-    section repopulates the matches — so an EN row whose HU twin vanished (or was re-guid'd) falls back
-    to EN instead of keeping stale Hungarian metadata. HU items with no EN match are skipped."""
-    if lib.kind == "movie":
-        passes = [
-            (
-                _TYPE_MOVIE,
-                select(PlexItem).where(
-                    PlexItem.library_id == en_lib_id,
-                    PlexItem.kind == "movie",
-                    PlexItem.guid.is_not(None),
-                ),
-            )
-        ]
-    else:
-        passes = [
-            (
-                _TYPE_SHOW,
-                select(PlexShow).where(
-                    PlexShow.library_id == en_lib_id, PlexShow.guid.is_not(None)
-                ),
-            ),
-            (
-                _TYPE_EPISODE,
-                select(PlexItem).where(
-                    PlexItem.library_id == en_lib_id,
-                    PlexItem.kind == "episode",
-                    PlexItem.guid.is_not(None),
-                ),
-            ),
-        ]
-    for item_type, rows_q in passes:
-        _overlay_pass(db, plex, lib, item_type, db.execute(rows_q).scalars(), stats)
-    db.flush()
-
-
-def _overlay_pass(
-    db: Session,
-    plex: PlexClient,
-    lib: PlexLibrary,
-    item_type: int,
-    rows: Iterable[PlexItem] | Iterable[PlexShow],
-    stats: dict,
-) -> None:
-    """One kind of the overlay (movies, shows or episodes) — see `_sync_overlay`."""
-    # guid -> the EN rows carrying it (a list: two editions of one film can share a guid; both overlay).
-    by_guid: dict[str, list[PlexItem | PlexShow]] = {}
-    for r in rows:
-        if r.guid:  # the passes select guid-bearing rows only
-            by_guid.setdefault(r.guid, []).append(r)
-    # Reconcile step: clear HU fields on all guid-bearing rows. Only rows that actually held HU data
-    # become dirty (SQLAlchemy skips a no-net-change UPDATE), so this is cheap; matches are re-set below.
-    # The genres are the exception: every row gets Hungarian ones, from its HU twin or, lacking one, from
-    # its own English list — otherwise the HU genre list mixed "Drama" (no twin) with "Dráma".
-    episodes = item_type == _TYPE_EPISODE
-    for group in by_guid.values():
-        for row in group:
-            row.title_hu = row.summary_hu = None
-            if not episodes:
-                row.tagline_hu = None
-                row.genres_hu = hu_genres(row.genres)
-    seen: set[str] = (
-        set()
-    )  # first HU entry for a guid wins; a dup HU item can't overwrite or double-count
-    for meta in _paginate(plex, lib.plex_key, item_type):
-        g = _canonical_guid(meta)
-        targets = by_guid.get(g) if g else None
-        if not targets or g in seen:
-            continue
-        seen.add(g)
-        title_hu = (meta.get("title") or "").strip() or None
-        summary_hu = meta.get("summary")
-        tagline_hu = (meta.get("tagline") or "").strip() or None
-        genres_hu = hu_genres(_tags(meta, "Genre"))
-        for row in targets:
-            row.title_hu = title_hu
-            row.summary_hu = summary_hu
-            if not episodes:
-                row.tagline_hu = tagline_hu
-                row.genres_hu = genres_hu or row.genres_hu
-        stats["overlaid"] = stats.get("overlaid", 0) + 1
-
-
 def _upsert_collection(
     db: Session, existing: PlexCollection | None, rk: str, lib_id: int, meta: dict
 ) -> PlexCollection:
@@ -763,7 +662,7 @@ def _upsert_collection(
         db.add(col)
     col.library_id = lib_id
     col.title = (meta.get("title") or "").strip() or "Untitled"
-    col.summary = meta.get("summary")
+    col.summary = plain_text(meta.get("summary"))
     col.thumb_key = meta.get("thumb")
     col.child_count = meta.get("childCount")
     col.smart = str(meta.get("smart")) == "1"
@@ -778,9 +677,11 @@ def resync_collection(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, rk: str)
     meta = plex.metadata(rk) or {}
     col = _upsert_collection(db, by_rating_key(db, PlexCollection, rk), rk, lib.id, meta)
     Model = PlexItem if lib.kind == "movie" else PlexShow
-    new_members = {
-        str(c.get("ratingKey")) for c in plex.collection_children(rk) if c.get("ratingKey")
-    }
+    children = _believed_children(plex, rk, meta)
+    if children is None:
+        db.flush()
+        return col
+    new_members = {str(c.get("ratingKey")) for c in children if c.get("ratingKey")}
     current = db.execute(select(Model).where(Model.collection_keys.contains([rk]))).scalars().all()
     for row in current:  # drop rk from rows that are no longer members
         if row.rating_key not in new_members:
@@ -793,6 +694,22 @@ def resync_collection(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, rk: str)
     return col
 
 
+def _believed_children(plex: PlexClient, rk: str, meta: dict) -> list[dict] | None:
+    """A collection's members, or None when the answer is not believed: no members from a collection
+    whose own listing counts some (`childCount`) is a glitch, not a collection emptied — the same
+    empty-answer rule as the collection listing's. Rebuilding on it showed the
+    collection empty until the next sync."""
+    children = plex.collection_children(rk)
+    count = str(meta.get("childCount") or "0")
+    if children or not count.isdigit() or int(count) == 0:
+        return children
+    log.warning(
+        "Plex listed no members for a non-empty collection; keeping its membership",
+        extra=logs.event("plex.sync.collection_children_empty", collection=rk),
+    )
+    return None
+
+
 def delete_collection_local(db: Session, lib: PlexLibrary, rk: str) -> None:
     """Local cleanup after a collection is deleted from Plex: strip rk from members + drop the row."""
     Model = PlexItem if lib.kind == "movie" else PlexShow
@@ -804,6 +721,19 @@ def delete_collection_local(db: Session, lib: PlexLibrary, rk: str) -> None:
     db.flush()
 
 
+def _rebuild_membership(
+    db: Session, lib: PlexLibrary, membership: dict[str, list[str]], kept: set[str]
+) -> None:
+    """Rebuild collection_keys on every member row of this library (clear + set), carrying over the
+    keys of a collection whose empty answer was not believed (`_believed_children`)."""
+    for Model in (PlexItem, PlexShow):
+        for row in db.execute(select(Model).where(Model.library_id == lib.id)).scalars():
+            held = [k for k in (row.collection_keys or []) if k in kept]
+            keys = [*membership.get(row.rating_key, []), *held]
+            row.collection_keys = list(dict.fromkeys(keys)) or None
+    db.flush()
+
+
 def _sync_collections(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, stats: dict) -> None:
     """Mirror a library's collections + membership. Reads never touch Plex afterwards. Membership is
     written as `collection_keys` on member movies (plex_items) / shows (plex_shows). A full reconcile:
@@ -815,7 +745,17 @@ def _sync_collections(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, stats: di
             select(PlexCollection).where(PlexCollection.library_id == lib.id)
         ).scalars()
     }
+    if not cols and existing:
+        # The catalog's own rule (see the module doc): an empty listing while we hold rows is a Plex
+        # glitch, not a library emptied of collections. Reconciling on it dropped every collection
+        # (its user-set `editable` flag with it) and every member's keys.
+        log.warning(
+            "Plex listed no collections for a library that has some; keeping them this run",
+            extra=logs.event("plex.sync.collections_empty", library=lib.plex_key),
+        )
+        return
     seen: set[str] = set()
+    kept: set[str] = set()  # collections whose empty children answer is not believed
     membership: dict[str, list[str]] = {}  # member rating_key -> [collection rating_key, ...]
     for meta in cols:
         rk = str(meta.get("ratingKey") or "")
@@ -823,7 +763,10 @@ def _sync_collections(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, stats: di
             continue
         _upsert_collection(db, existing.get(rk), rk, lib.id, meta)
         seen.add(rk)
-        for child in plex.collection_children(rk):
+        children = _believed_children(plex, rk, meta)
+        if children is None:
+            kept.add(rk)
+        for child in children or []:
             crk = str(child.get("ratingKey") or "")
             if crk:
                 membership.setdefault(crk, []).append(rk)
@@ -832,9 +775,4 @@ def _sync_collections(db: Session, plex: PlexClient, lib: PlexLibrary, stats: di
     for rk, col in existing.items():
         if rk not in seen:
             db.delete(col)
-    # Rebuild collection_keys on every member row of this library (clear + set).
-    for row in db.execute(select(PlexItem).where(PlexItem.library_id == lib.id)).scalars():
-        row.collection_keys = membership.get(row.rating_key) or None
-    for row in db.execute(select(PlexShow).where(PlexShow.library_id == lib.id)).scalars():
-        row.collection_keys = membership.get(row.rating_key) or None
-    db.flush()
+    _rebuild_membership(db, lib, membership, kept)

backend/app/plex/tmdb.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""TMDB enrichment for the mirrored Plex catalog (E5 S2).
+"""TMDB enrichment for the mirrored Plex catalog.
 
 A thin synchronous TMDB v3 client plus the parse/persist of the enrichment fields onto plex_items /
 plex_shows, matched by the stored canonical `guid` ("tmdb:12345", or imdb/tvdb resolved via /find).
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ class TmdbClient:
         return cast("list[dict] | None", self._get("/configuration/countries"))
 
     def fetch_person(self, person_id: int) -> dict | None:
-        """One person's bio + combined credits (E5 S6) + the bio's translations (E30 S4), in a single
+        """One person's bio + combined credits + the bio's translations, in a single
         append_to_response request."""
         return self._get(
             f"/person/{person_id}", {"append_to_response": "combined_credits,translations"}
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ def parse_tmdb(payload: dict, media_type: str) -> dict:
     crew.sort(key=lambda c: priority.get(c["job"], 99))
     crew = crew[:12]
 
-    # name -> tmdb person id, for the plex_people foundation (S6 fetches bios off these ids).
+    # name -> tmdb person id, for the plex_people foundation (bios are fetched off these ids).
     people: list[dict] = []
     for c in (credits.get("cast") or [])[:30]:
         if c.get("name") and c.get("id"):
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ def parse_tmdb(payload: dict, media_type: str) -> dict:
             c.get("name") for c in (payload.get("production_companies") or []) if c.get("name")
         ][:8]
         or None,
-        # The ISO code beside TMDB's English name (E30): the client names the country in the reader's
+        # The ISO code beside TMDB's English name: the client names the country in the reader's
         # language from the code; the name is the fallback for a code it cannot name.
         "production_countries": [
             {"code": c.get("iso_3166_1") or None, "name": c["name"]}
@@ -373,14 +373,14 @@ def enrich_batch(db: Session, tmdb: TmdbClient, limit: int) -> int:
 
 
 def _country(c: dict | str) -> dict:
-    """One stored production country as served: `{code, name}`. A row enriched before E30 stored the
+    """One stored production country as served: `{code, name}`. An older row stored the
     bare English name; until `backfill_country_codes` reaches it, it serves with no code (the client
     shows the name)."""
     return c if isinstance(c, dict) else {"code": None, "name": c}
 
 
 def backfill_country_codes(db: Session, tmdb: TmdbClient) -> int:
-    """Give the countries stored before E30 (bare English names) their ISO codes, from TMDB's own
+    """Give the older countries (bare English names) their ISO codes, from TMDB's own
     country list — the names came from that list, so they match it exactly. One request, and only
     while such a row is left: re-fetching each title instead would take the enrichment batch days.
     A name the list does not hold keeps no code. Returns the number of rows rewritten."""
@@ -418,7 +418,7 @@ def run_enrich(db: Session) -> dict:
 
 
 def run_people_enrich(db: Session) -> dict:
-    """Scheduler entry point of people_enrich (E30 S6): a batch of person bios (the most-credited
+    """Scheduler entry point of people_enrich: a batch of person bios (the most-credited
     first) and a batch of portraits. Each half is a no-op — never an error — without its TMDB key /
     without Plex."""
     batch = settings.people_enrich_batch
@@ -475,7 +475,7 @@ def resolve_recs(db: Session, recs: list[dict] | None, *, lang: str) -> list[dic
     """Tag each recommendation with whether it's in OUR library (matched by guid `tmdb:<id>`, bucketed
     by media_type — see resolve_library_guids) and, if so, its rating_key — so the client can deep-link
     the ones we have and merely display the rest. One we have is named as the library names it, in
-    `lang` (E30); one we lack keeps the title TMDB gave."""
+    `lang`; one we lack keeps the title TMDB gave."""
     if not recs:
         return []
     movies, shows = resolve_library_guids(db, recs)
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ def serve_block(db: Session, row, *, lang: str) -> dict | None:
     }
 
 
-# --- Person enrichment (E5 S6) -------------------------------------------------------------------
+# --- Person enrichment -------------------------------------------------------------------
 # A person's bio + birth facts + a "Known for" credit pool, fetched once — by the people_enrich job, or
 # by the first person-page open if the job has not reached them yet — and served from the plex_people row. `known_for` stores the top combined-credits ids; the person
 # endpoint resolves them to library rows by guid at serve time (like recommendations).
@@ -525,7 +525,7 @@ def serve_block(db: Session, row, *, lang: str) -> dict | None:
 # credits are often not the 15 a given library holds.
 _KNOWN_FOR_MAX = 40
 # TMDB genre ids of the shows a person visits as a guest (News, Reality, Talk). Ranked by popularity,
-# talk-show visits crowded out the films (Tom Cruise: 14 of 15 were talk shows; E30 S6).
+# talk-show visits crowded out the films (Tom Cruise: 14 of 15 were talk shows).
 _GUEST_GENRES = {10763, 10764, 10767}
 # A credit in which the person plays themselves ("Self", "Himself - Guest", "Herself (archive footage)").
 _SELF_CREDIT = re.compile(r"^\s*(self|himself|herself|themselves)\b", re.IGNORECASE)
@@ -646,7 +646,7 @@ _PEOPLE_FAILS_IN_A_ROW = 3
 
 
 def enrich_people_batch(db: Session, tmdb: TmdbClient, limit: int) -> dict:
-    """Fetch up to `limit` linked, not-yet-enriched people (E30 S6), the most-credited first, so a
+    """Fetch up to `limit` linked, not-yet-enriched people, the most-credited first, so a
     person page reads its bio from the row instead of waiting on TMDB. Each person is committed as it
     lands: a page open during the run already sees it. A failed lookup is skipped (left unstamped for the
     next run); _PEOPLE_FAILS_IN_A_ROW of them in a row end the batch."""

backend/app/plex/watch_sync.py

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ already pages) and upsert them into the owner's `plex_states`. Plex wins on over
 exist only in Siftlode are left untouched (union, Plex-authoritative on the intersection).
 
 Phases B (Siftlode→Plex push via scrobble/timeline) and C (incremental Plex→Siftlode via the watch
-history + onDeck) build on this and land in later ships. As of S2 Plex is the source of truth: the
+history + onDeck) build on this and land in later ships. Plex is now the source of truth: the
 player pushes the resume position back to Plex on the periodic checkpoint (not just the final flush),
 and the incremental pull resolves a genuine divergence to Plex's state (see `_pull_apply`) rather than
 running a last-write-wins comparison.
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app import logs, sysconfig
 from app.db import SessionLocal
-from app.models import PlexItem, PlexLink, PlexState
+from app.models import PlexItem, PlexLibrary, PlexLink, PlexState
 from app.plex.client import PlexClient, PlexError, PlexNotConfigured
 from app.plex.sync import (
     _TYPE_EPISODE,
@@ -72,13 +72,27 @@ def _rk_to_id(db: Session) -> dict[str, int]:
 
 def _scan_plex_states(
     db: Session, plex: PlexClient
-) -> tuple[dict[int, tuple[str, int, datetime | None, datetime | None]], int]:
+) -> tuple[dict[int, tuple[str, int, datetime | None, datetime | None]], int, set[str], set[str]]:
     """Scan the enabled movie/show sections and return ``{item_id: (status, pos, watched_at,
-    prog_at)}`` for every mirrored leaf Plex holds a watch signal for, plus the scanned-leaf count.
-    Shared by the one-time import and the full reconcile (both need Plex's whole current picture)."""
+    prog_at)}`` for every mirrored leaf Plex holds a watch signal for, the scanned-leaf count, the
+    keys of the sections SETTLED — walked to the server's total (or said empty by a server we mirror
+    nothing from) — and the keys of every section walked.
+    Shared by the one-time import and the full reconcile (both need Plex's whole current picture).
+    The settled keys matter to the reconcile alone: it reads "absent from the scan" as "Plex
+    un-watched it", which a walk cut short by a Plex hiccup does not mean (see `_paginate`). Settled
+    is decided PER SECTION: one section that never settles (a library emptied on Plex while its
+    mirrored items are kept) must not stop un-watches syncing in all the others."""
     item_id_by_rk = _rk_to_id(db)
     wanted = _enabled_section_keys(db)
+    # The sections we mirror something from: a total of 0 from one of those contradicts the mirror.
+    mirrored = set(
+        db.execute(
+            select(PlexLibrary.plex_key).join(PlexItem, PlexItem.library_id == PlexLibrary.id)
+        ).scalars()
+    )
     scanned = 0
+    settled: set[str] = set()
+    walked: set[str] = set()
     out: dict[int, tuple[str, int, datetime | None, datetime | None]] = {}
     for s in plex.sections():
         stype = s.get("type")
@@ -88,7 +102,10 @@ def _scan_plex_states(
         if wanted is not None and key not in wanted:
             continue
         item_type = _TYPE_MOVIE if stype == "movie" else _TYPE_EPISODE
-        for meta in _paginate(plex, key, item_type):
+        walked.add(key)
+        progress: dict = {}
+        before = scanned
+        for meta in _paginate(plex, key, item_type, progress):
             scanned += 1
             item_id = item_id_by_rk.get(str(meta.get("ratingKey") or ""))
             if item_id is None:
@@ -98,7 +115,15 @@ def _scan_plex_states(
             )
             if res is not None:
                 out[item_id] = res
-    return out, scanned
+        # A section the server SAYS is empty (total 0, nothing listed) settles too. Believed only for
+        # a section we mirror nothing from: one whose items we hold answering 0 is a Plex that lost
+        # the library for a moment, not one that un-watched all of it — so it is left
+        # unsettled, and its rows are not cleared.
+        listed = scanned > before
+        said_empty = progress.get("total") == 0 and not listed and key not in mirrored
+        if (progress.get("complete") and listed) or said_empty:
+            settled.add(key)
+    return out, scanned, settled, walked
 
 
 def import_owner_watch_state(db: Session, link: PlexLink) -> dict:
@@ -111,7 +136,8 @@ def import_owner_watch_state(db: Session, link: PlexLink) -> dict:
     stats = {"watched": 0, "in_progress": 0, "scanned": 0}
     try:
         with PlexClient(db) as plex:
-            scanned_states, stats["scanned"] = _scan_plex_states(db, plex)
+            # A partial scan is still safe here: the import only ever ADDS what Plex reports.
+            scanned_states, stats["scanned"], _settled, _walked = _scan_plex_states(db, plex)
             # One row per item (keyed by item_id → inherently de-duped) then bulk-UPSERT. An upsert is
             # idempotent AND concurrency-safe: a repeated/overlapping enable (the toggle firing twice
             # while the multi-second import runs) can't raise a duplicate-key error — it re-updates.
@@ -376,7 +402,7 @@ def _pull_apply(
         if st is not None and not st.synced_to_plex:
             st.synced_to_plex = True  # already matches Plex → just settle the flag, no churn
         return None
-    # Plex-authoritative (S2): on a genuine divergence for an item Plex knows about, Plex wins — no
+    # Plex-authoritative: on a genuine divergence for an item Plex knows about, Plex wins — no
     # last-write-wins tug-of-war. This is safe because prompt write-back (playback.py pushes the resume
     # position to Plex on the ~10s checkpoint, not just on the final flush) keeps Plex current, so a
     # local edit that's "newer" than Plex has almost always already been pushed and matched above by
@@ -590,6 +616,27 @@ def run_plex_watch_sync(db: Session) -> dict:
     return total
 
 
+def _clear_unwatched(db: Session, user_id: int, plex_states: dict, settled: set[str]) -> int:
+    """Clear the user's rows Plex no longer has a record for — the mirrored ones (Plex un-watched
+    them); hidden and dirty rows stay (a dirty one is re-pushed by `_repush_dirty`). Only rows of the
+    sections the scan SETTLED: a walk a Plex hiccup cut short leaves out rows it merely failed to
+    reach, and clearing those un-watched them here until the next complete run; an item of
+    a library the allowlist leaves out is absent from every scan, and was cleared on every run."""
+    n = 0
+    rows = db.execute(
+        select(PlexState)
+        .join(PlexItem, PlexItem.id == PlexState.item_id)
+        .join(PlexLibrary, PlexLibrary.id == PlexItem.library_id)
+        .where(PlexState.user_id == user_id, PlexLibrary.plex_key.in_(settled))
+    )
+    for st in rows.scalars().all():
+        if st.item_id in plex_states or st.status == "hidden" or not st.synced_to_plex:
+            continue
+        db.delete(st)
+        n += 1
+    return n
+
+
 def run_plex_watch_reconcile(db: Session) -> dict:
     """Scheduler job (default daily) — the authoritative full reconcile. Rescans every section and,
     per item, uses `synced_to_plex` to settle what the incremental feed can't:
@@ -608,7 +655,7 @@ def run_plex_watch_reconcile(db: Session) -> dict:
         try:
             with PlexClient(db) as plex:
                 _resolve_account_id(db, plex, link)
-                plex_states, scanned = _scan_plex_states(db, plex)
+                plex_states, scanned, settled, walked = _scan_plex_states(db, plex)
                 total["scanned"] += scanned
 
                 for item_id, (status, pos, watched_at, prog_at) in plex_states.items():
@@ -616,18 +663,19 @@ def run_plex_watch_reconcile(db: Session) -> dict:
                     if ch:
                         total["applied"] += 1
 
-                # Siftlode rows Plex no longer has a record for: clear the ones that were mirrored
-                # (Plex un-watched them); leave hidden + dirty (dirty gets re-pushed just below).
-                for st in (
-                    db.execute(select(PlexState).where(PlexState.user_id == link.user_id))
-                    .scalars()
-                    .all()
-                ):
-                    if st.item_id in plex_states or st.status == "hidden":
-                        continue
-                    if st.synced_to_plex:
-                        db.delete(st)
-                        total["cleared"] += 1
+                total["cleared"] += _clear_unwatched(db, link.user_id, plex_states, settled)
+                if unsettled := sorted(walked - settled):
+                    total["incomplete"] = total.get("incomplete", 0) + 1
+                    log.warning(
+                        "Plex sections %s were cut short or answered empty; their rows are not cleared"
+                        " this run",
+                        ", ".join(unsettled),
+                        extra=logs.event(
+                            "plex.watch.reconcile_incomplete",
+                            user_id=link.user_id,
+                            sections=unsettled,
+                        ),
+                    )
 
                 total["repushed"] += _repush_dirty(db, plex, link)
                 link.last_watch_sync_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)

backend/app/progress.py

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ its own thread/context) never cross wires. When no sink is bound (e.g. a manual
 """
 
 import contextvars
-from typing import Callable, Optional
+from typing import Callable, Literal, Optional
 
 Sink = Callable[[int, Optional[int], Optional[str]], None]
 
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def report(current: int, total: int | None = None, phase: str | None = None) ->
 
 
 class JobFailed(RuntimeError):
-    """A job's own failure, said so the reader's language can name it (E31): the client reads
+    """A job's own failure, said so the reader's language can name it: the client reads
     `scheduler.failure.<reason>` and interpolates `params` (keep them to values the reader may see —
     numbers, ids, short codes). The message is the English line the log and `last_error` keep. An
     upstream's own error (a timeout, a refused connection) is not one of these: it stays as raised,
@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ class bind:
         self._token = _sink.set(self._sink)
         return self
 
-    def __exit__(self, *exc) -> bool:
+    # Literal[False], not bool: this never swallows the job's exception, and saying so is what lets
+    # a type checker know a name assigned inside `with bind(...)` is bound after it.
+    def __exit__(self, *exc) -> Literal[False]:
         if self._token is not None:
             _sink.reset(self._token)
         return False

backend/app/quota.py

@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@ always be allowed; expensive backfill must yield to the remaining budget.
 
 import contextlib
 import contextvars
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from typing import Any, cast
 from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
 
-from sqlalchemy import func, select
+from sqlalchemy import delete, func, select
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import insert as pg_insert
+from sqlalchemy.engine import CursorResult
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app import sysconfig
@@ -96,6 +98,20 @@ def pacific_today():
     return datetime.now(_PACIFIC).date()
 
 
+def gc(db: Session, retention_days: int) -> int:
+    """Delete quota-history rows older than `retention_days` (<= 0 keeps them forever) and return how
+    many went. Flushes only; the cleanup job commits. Today's rows are never in reach: the per-user
+    search cap counts them, and the floor of two days outlasts any Pacific day (25 h at most)."""
+    if retention_days <= 0:
+        return 0
+    cutoff = datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(days=max(2, retention_days))
+    # A DELETE answers with a CursorResult; `execute` is typed as the general Result, without rowcount.
+    result = cast(
+        CursorResult[Any], db.execute(delete(QuotaEvent).where(QuotaEvent.created_at < cutoff))
+    )
+    return result.rowcount or 0
+
+
 def pacific_day_start_utc() -> datetime:
     """UTC instant of the current Pacific day's midnight — aligns 'today' with the budget reset."""
     start = datetime.now(_PACIFIC).replace(hour=0, minute=0, second=0, microsecond=0)

backend/app/realtime.py

@@ -1,68 +0,0 @@
-"""In-process WebSocket connection registry for live server→client push.
-
-Generic groundwork (notification module phase 2 is the first user): connections are kept in
-this process's memory, keyed by user_id, so a request handler can push an event to all of a
-user's open tabs/devices. Single-uvicorn-process assumption — if we ever run multiple workers,
-replace the in-memory map with a Redis pub/sub fan-out behind the same `push()` interface (same
-note as app.ratelimit).
-
-`push()` is intentionally SYNC-callable: ordinary (sync) route handlers run in a threadpool, so
-they schedule the actual send onto the WebSocket event loop via run_coroutine_threadsafe. The
-connect/disconnect/_push coroutines all run on that one loop, so the connection map is only ever
-mutated from a single thread.
-"""
-
-import asyncio
-from collections import defaultdict
-
-from starlette.websockets import WebSocket
-from app import logs
-
-log = logs.get_logger(__name__)
-
-
-class ConnectionManager:
-    def __init__(self) -> None:
-        self._conns: dict[int, set[WebSocket]] = defaultdict(set)
-        self._loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop | None = None
-
-    async def connect(self, user_id: int, ws: WebSocket) -> None:
-        self._loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
-        await ws.accept()
-        self._conns[user_id].add(ws)
-
-    async def disconnect(self, user_id: int, ws: WebSocket) -> None:
-        conns = self._conns.get(user_id)
-        if conns:
-            conns.discard(ws)
-            if not conns:
-                self._conns.pop(user_id, None)
-
-    async def _push(self, user_id: int, payload: dict) -> None:
-        for ws in list(self._conns.get(user_id, ())):
-            try:
-                await ws.send_json(payload)
-            except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — one dead socket must not stop the others
-                # Stale socket; it'll be cleaned up by its own disconnect handler. But this is
-                # also where a live update goes missing: the UI simply never changes, and there
-                # is no request behind it whose failure anyone could look up.
-                log.debug(
-                    "a live update could not be pushed to a socket",
-                    extra=logs.event(
-                        "realtime.push_failed", user_id=user_id, reason=type(exc).__name__
-                    ),
-                )
-
-    def push(self, user_id: int, payload: dict) -> None:
-        """Schedule a push onto the WebSocket event loop. Safe to call from a sync route
-        handler (threadpool). No-op if no WebSocket has ever connected (no loop captured)."""
-        loop = self._loop
-        if loop is None:
-            return
-        try:
-            asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(self._push(user_id, payload), loop)
-        except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — a closed loop or socket must not fail the caller
-            log.debug("ws push failed", exc_info=True)
-
-
-manager = ConnectionManager()

backend/app/routes/_common.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""Route-layer shared helpers for the API contract (R6 S1a).
+"""Route-layer shared helpers for the API contract.
 
 Small, dependency-light guards that several route modules had hand-rolled with subtle
 drift. Keeping them here (imported by the route modules) means the "fetch a row or 404"
@@ -6,19 +6,55 @@ and "fetch a row this user owns or 404" idioms have one definition, one status c
 one existence-leak policy.
 """
 
-from typing import IO, Any, TypeVar
+from typing import Any, Protocol, TypeVar
 
 from fastapi import HTTPException, Request
+from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app.db import Base
-from app.models import User
+from app.models import POSITION_MAX_S, User
 from app.issues import gitea
 from app.refusal import refused
 from app.youtube.client import YouTubeError, refusal_reason
 
 M = TypeVar("M", bound=Base)
 
+# Resume-position thresholds of a player that only keeps a resume point (the YouTube player, the
+# library's): positions below this are "didn't really start" and within this of the end are
+# "basically finished" — neither is worth storing, so the position is cleared instead (no progress
+# bar). The client's local resume (`lib/resume.ts`) keeps the same two numbers, held equal by
+# `resume.contract.test.ts` beside it. NB: the Plex player intentionally uses a LARGER finish margin
+# (30s) because it marks long-form items watched, not just clears a resume bar — see
+# routes/plex/playback.py.
+PROGRESS_MIN_SECONDS = 5
+FINISH_MARGIN_SECONDS = 10
+
+
+class ProgressIn(BaseModel):
+    """A player's resume checkpoint (sent every few seconds while it plays, and as a beacon when the
+    page goes away)."""
+
+    # Finite only: JSON parsing here accepts `Infinity`/`NaN`, and the handler's `int()` turned
+    # one into a 500.
+    model_config = ConfigDict(allow_inf_nan=False)
+
+    # Accept a float and truncate (`kept_position`) — the player may post a raw currentTime (a float),
+    # which the old `int(payload.get(...))` silently truncated. A plain `int` field would 422 that on
+    # the progress hot path, losing the resume position; `float` keeps the old tolerance.
+    # Bounded above by the int4 column (see POSITION_MAX_S): past it the flush was a 500.
+    position_seconds: float = Field(0, le=POSITION_MAX_S)
+    duration_seconds: float = Field(0, le=POSITION_MAX_S)
+
+
+def kept_position(body: ProgressIn) -> int:
+    """The whole-second resume point worth storing for `body`, or 0 for "clear it" (too early to
+    count as started, or close enough to the end to count as finished)."""
+    position = max(0, int(body.position_seconds))
+    duration = int(body.duration_seconds)
+    near_end = duration > 0 and position > duration - FINISH_MARGIN_SECONDS
+    return position if position >= PROGRESS_MIN_SECONDS and not near_end else 0
+
 
 def not_found(what: str = "generic") -> HTTPException:
     """The 404 for a row that is gone — structured, so the bilingual UI says it in the reader's
@@ -60,14 +96,17 @@ def owned_or_404(
     return obj
 
 
-def youtube_refusal(exc: Exception) -> HTTPException:
+def youtube_refusal(exc: Exception, *, playlist: bool = False) -> HTTPException:
     """The answer to an action YouTube refused: a 422 whose reason the UI translates
     (`errors.youtube.<reason>`). One definition, because the routes had grown three shapes of it —
     a bare English string quoting the upstream message, a playlist-scoped reason, and nothing at
     all (a raw 500 from the manual syncs). The upstream failure is already logged where it
     happened (`youtube.api.error`). A failure that is not the Data API's (the search scraper's) is
-    YouTube being unavailable to us — the retryable answer."""
-    reason = refusal_reason(exc) if isinstance(exc, YouTubeError) else "unavailable"
+    YouTube being unavailable to us — the retryable answer. `playlist`: the route acts on one
+    playlist the user picked, so a missing playlist is THAT one, gone (`refusal_reason`)."""
+    reason = (
+        refusal_reason(exc, playlist=playlist) if isinstance(exc, YouTubeError) else "unavailable"
+    )
     return HTTPException(status_code=422, detail={"code": "youtube", "reason": reason})
 
 
@@ -83,8 +122,14 @@ async def capped_body(request: Request, limit: int) -> bytes:
     return bytes(body)
 
 
+class ByteSink(Protocol):
+    """Where `capped_stream_to` writes: a file, or anything that takes the bytes on their way to one."""
+
+    def write(self, data: bytes, /) -> object: ...
+
+
 async def capped_stream_to(
-    request: Request, out: IO[bytes], limit: int, refusal: HTTPException
+    request: Request, out: ByteSink, limit: int, refusal: HTTPException
 ) -> int:
     """`capped_body`'s sibling for a body too large to hold: the same counting rule, written
     straight to `out` instead of accumulated, returning the size.
@@ -125,7 +170,7 @@ async def capped_stream_to(
 
 
 def issue_refused(exc: gitea.GiteaError) -> HTTPException:
-    """The refusal an issue-tracker failure (E16) answers as — the send, the preview and the
+    """The refusal an issue-tracker failure answers as — the send, the preview and the
     admin's connection test alike. Literal reasons, one per case: the frontend's contract test reads
     them to require a sentence for each in both languages."""
     match exc.reason:

backend/app/routes/admin.py

@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-"""Admin-only onboarding: review access requests (Invites), approve/deny, manual add.
-Also the demo-account admin surface: the demo email whitelist + a manual state reset."""
+"""Admin-only onboarding: review access requests (Invites), approve/deny, manual add."""
 
 from collections.abc import Iterable
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
@@ -19,15 +18,12 @@ from app.auth import (
     count_admins,
     env_allowed_canonicals,
     find_user_by_email,
-    get_or_create_demo_user,
     is_allowed,
     operator_contact,
     purge_user,
 )
 from app.db import get_db
-from app.demo import reset_demo_state
 from app.models import (
-    DemoWhitelist,
     Invite,
     User,
 )
@@ -131,7 +127,7 @@ def _welcome_mail_parts(db: Session, email: str) -> tuple[str | None, bool, int]
     """
     hours = int(APPROVAL_VERIFY_TTL.total_seconds() // 3600)
     user = find_user_by_email(db, email)
-    if user is None or user.is_demo:
+    if user is None:
         return None, False, hours
     if user.email_verified or not email_mod.email_enabled(db):
         return None, True, hours
@@ -142,20 +138,21 @@ def _activate_user_by_email(db: Session, email: str) -> None:
     """Approving access activates a matching (e.g. pending password-registration) account so
     it can sign in. No-op if no such user exists yet (a Google user is created at first login).
 
-    E9.5 S1: this path deliberately does NOT revoke a preset password. Revoking here destroyed the
+    This path deliberately does NOT revoke a preset password. Revoking here destroyed the
     password a legitimate registrant had just chosen and made "your password was cleared for
     security" the DEFAULT experience, because approve-before-verify is the normal ordering.
 
-    S1 justified that by saying `password_login` refuses an unverified account BEFORE it looks at
-    `is_active`, so a pre-emptor could not sign in "approved or not". A review of the finished epic
-    showed that argument only holds while the address stays unverified — and S6's approval mail
-    hands the real owner a confirmation link precisely so they will end that state. Nothing replaced
-    the revoke, and that is deliberate: round 2 of the same review tried "the newest registration
-    owns an unverified account" and reverted it, because the rule is symmetric — an attacker can
-    always register last — and it handed anonymous callers a write onto a real account's credential.
-    The owner's recourse is password-reset, which proves the mailbox, rewrites the hash and bumps
-    the session epoch. The residual is logged as SEC-16. The revoke also stays on the Google-adoption path
-    (auth.revoke_preset_password_if_unverified), where ownership is actually attested."""
+    That was once justified by saying `password_login` refuses an unverified account BEFORE it
+    looks at `is_active`, so a pre-emptor could not sign in "approved or not". A review of the
+    finished epic showed that argument only holds while the address stays unverified — and the
+    approval mail hands the real owner a confirmation link precisely so they will end that state.
+    Nothing replaced the revoke, and that is deliberate: the same review later tried "the newest
+    registration owns an unverified account" and reverted it, because the rule is symmetric — an
+    attacker can always register last — and it handed anonymous callers a write onto a real
+    account's credential. The owner's recourse is password-reset, which proves the mailbox, rewrites
+    the hash and bumps the session epoch. The residual is logged as SEC-16. The revoke also stays on
+    the Google-adoption path (auth.revoke_untrusted_preset_password), where ownership is
+    actually attested."""
     # Canonical, with the literal spelling preferred when both exist: approving
     # `npeter83.temu@gmail.com` must activate the account that registered as `npeter83temu@gmail.com`,
     # since Gmail delivers both to one mailbox and the admin decided about the mailbox.
@@ -400,19 +397,18 @@ def _serialize_user(u: User) -> dict:
         "is_active": u.is_active,
         "is_suspended": u.is_suspended,
         "email_verified": u.email_verified,
-        "is_demo": u.is_demo,
         "has_password": u.password_hash is not None,
         # Distinguishes "this account never had a password" (Google-only) from "SEC-10 cleared it" —
         # the same distinction _send_reset_if_eligible needs, and the one an admin has to see before
         # deciding what kind of help someone needs.
         "password_revoked_at": iso(u.password_revoked_at),
         "has_google": u.google_sub is not None,
-        # Only when it DIFFERS from the account address (E9.5 S3): "connected" is not the same
+        # Only when it DIFFERS from the account address: "connected" is not the same
         # statement as "connected as someone else", and the second one is the one that explains a
         # confusing sign-in.
         "google_email": u.google_email if u.google_email != u.email else None,
         "created_at": iso(u.created_at),
-        # NULL = no sign-in since the column existed (0085), or the shared demo account.
+        # NULL = no sign-in since the column existed (0085).
         "last_login_at": iso(u.last_login_at),
     }
 
@@ -435,14 +431,12 @@ def set_user_role(
     admin: User = Depends(admin_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
-    """Promote/demote a user. Guards: can't change your own role, can't touch the demo
-    account, and can't remove the last remaining admin. Emails the user when it actually changes."""
+    """Promote/demote a user. Guards: can't change your own role and can't remove the
+    last remaining admin. Emails the user when it actually changes."""
     role = body.role
     if role not in ("user", "admin"):
         raise refused(400, "invalid_role")
     target = get_or_404(db, User, user_id, what="user")
-    if target.is_demo:
-        raise refused(400, "demo_role")
     if target.id == admin.id:
         raise refused(400, "own_role")
     if (
@@ -490,14 +484,12 @@ def set_user_suspended(
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """Suspend or un-suspend an account. A suspended user can't sign in by any method and any
-    live session is dropped on its next request. Guards: can't suspend the demo account, can't
-    suspend yourself, and can't suspend the last active admin (that would lock admin out). On
+    live session is dropped on its next request; their queued downloads wait (the worker skips them)
+    until they are un-suspended. Guards: can't suspend yourself, and can't suspend the last active admin (that would lock admin out). On
     un-suspend the user is emailed they can return (suspend is announced reactively, on a blocked
     sign-in)."""
     suspended = body.suspended
     target = get_or_404(db, User, user_id, what="user")
-    if target.is_demo:
-        raise refused(400, "demo_suspend")
     if target.id == admin.id:
         raise refused(400, "own_suspend")
     if (
@@ -538,10 +530,8 @@ def admin_delete_user(
 ) -> dict:
     """Admin-triggered account deletion — the same full erasure a user can perform on themselves
     (cascade delete of all personal data + access-request cleanup + Google-grant revoke). Guards:
-    not the demo account, not yourself (use Settings → Account), and not the last admin."""
+    not yourself (use Settings → Account), and not the last admin."""
     target = get_or_404(db, User, user_id, what="user")
-    if target.is_demo:
-        raise refused(400, "demo_delete")
     if target.id == admin.id:
         raise refused(400, "own_delete")
     if (
@@ -563,10 +553,7 @@ def admin_delete_user(
     return {"deleted": user_id}
 
 
-# --- Demo account: email whitelist + state reset -------------------------------------
-
-
-# --- Stuck sign-ups: the admin lifeline (E9.5 S5, roadmap UX-25) ---------------------------------
+# --- Stuck sign-ups: the admin lifeline -----------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 def _pending_access_rows(db: Session) -> list[User]:
@@ -587,7 +574,6 @@ def _pending_access_rows(db: Session) -> list[User]:
         db.execute(
             select(User)
             .where(
-                User.is_demo.is_(False),
                 User.is_suspended.is_(False),
                 or_(User.is_active.is_(False), User.email_verified.is_(False)),
             )
@@ -625,7 +611,7 @@ def user_access(
     _: User = Depends(admin_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
-    """Everything the account panel shows about why this person can or cannot get in (E12 S5).
+    """Everything the account panel shows about why this person can or cannot get in.
 
     Its own endpoint rather than extra columns on /users: `is_allowed` and `can_activate` each run a
     query, and the panel opens for ONE user at a time — folding them into the list would pay that cost
@@ -644,7 +630,7 @@ def create_set_password_link(
     admin: User = Depends(admin_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
-    """Mint a one-time link that lets this account set a password, with no email involved (E12 S5).
+    """Mint a one-time link that lets this account set a password, with no email involved.
 
     The answer to SEC-15, SEC-16 and "no SMTP and someone forgot their password" at once. The admin
     hands the link over by whatever channel they trust; opening it sets a password and signs out
@@ -653,13 +639,8 @@ def create_set_password_link(
     Deliberately NOT gated on the account's state. It is useful for a pre-empted address, for a
     revoked password, for a Google-only account that wants one, and for a plain forgotten password on
     an instance with no mail — narrowing it to one of those would only make the admin's real case the
-    one it refuses. The demo account is the single exception: it is shared, so handing anyone a way to
-    change its password is handing them everyone else's session."""
+    one it refuses."""
     target = get_or_404(db, User, user_id, what="user")
-    if target.is_demo:
-        raise HTTPException(
-            status_code=400, detail={"code": "setpw", "reason": "demo", "email": target.email}
-        )
     url, expires_at = issue_set_password_link(db, target)
     # The URL itself is NOT recorded: the audit log is read by humans and kept long, and a live
     # credential-setting link is the last thing that belongs in it. That the link was issued, by whom,
@@ -692,8 +673,6 @@ def activate_user(
     already do exactly this by re-entering the address in the whitelist box (`add_invite` →
     `_activate_user_by_email`). What was missing was any way to know they had to."""
     target = get_or_404(db, User, user_id, what="user")
-    if target.is_demo:
-        raise refused(400, "demo_activate")
     if target.is_active:
         return _serialize_user(target)  # idempotent: a double click is not an error
     if not is_allowed(db, target.email):
@@ -731,7 +710,7 @@ def resend_user_verification(
     Not rate-limited: an admin is not a threat model to enumerate against, and the deliberate silence
     of the public endpoint is exactly what this exists to escape."""
     target = get_or_404(db, User, user_id, what="user")
-    if target.is_demo or target.email_verified:
+    if target.email_verified:
         raise HTTPException(
             status_code=409,
             detail={"code": "resend", "reason": "not_applicable", "email": target.email},
@@ -757,93 +736,6 @@ def resend_user_verification(
     return {"ok": True, "email": target.email}
 
 
-def _serialize_demo(row: DemoWhitelist) -> dict:
-    return {
-        "id": row.id,
-        "email": row.email,
-        "note": row.note,
-        "added_by": row.added_by,
-        "created_at": iso(row.created_at),
-    }
-
-
-@router.get("/demo/whitelist")
-def list_demo_whitelist(_: User = Depends(admin_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> list[dict]:
-    rows = (
-        db.execute(select(DemoWhitelist).order_by(DemoWhitelist.created_at.desc())).scalars().all()
-    )
-    return [_serialize_demo(r) for r in rows]
-
-
-class AddDemoWhitelistIn(BaseModel):
-    email: str = ""
-    note: str | None = None
-
-
-@router.post("/demo/whitelist")
-def add_demo_whitelist(
-    body: AddDemoWhitelistIn,
-    admin: User = Depends(admin_user),
-    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
-) -> dict:
-    """Add an email that may enter the shared demo account from the login page (no Google
-    sign-in). Idempotent — re-adding an existing email just returns it."""
-    email = body.email.strip().lower()
-    if not valid_email(email):
-        raise refused(400, "invalid_email")
-    row = db.execute(select(DemoWhitelist).where(DemoWhitelist.email == email)).scalar_one_or_none()
-    if row is None:
-        row = DemoWhitelist(
-            email=email,
-            note=(body.note or "").strip() or None,
-            added_by=admin.email,
-        )
-        db.add(row)
-        audit.record(
-            db, admin.id, AuditAction.DEMO_ADD, target_type="demo", target_id=email, summary=email
-        )
-        db.commit()
-    return _serialize_demo(row)
-
-
-@router.delete("/demo/whitelist/{entry_id}")
-def remove_demo_whitelist(
-    entry_id: int,
-    admin: User = Depends(admin_user),
-    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
-) -> dict:
-    row = db.get(DemoWhitelist, entry_id)
-    if row is not None:
-        audit.record(
-            db,
-            admin.id,
-            AuditAction.DEMO_REMOVE,
-            target_type="demo",
-            target_id=row.email,
-            summary=row.email,
-        )
-        db.delete(row)
-        db.commit()
-    return {"deleted": entry_id}
-
-
-@router.post("/demo/reset")
-def reset_demo(admin: User = Depends(admin_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
-    """Manually clean up the shared demo sandbox back to a baseline. A scheduled job does the
-    same automatically (admin-tunable interval); this is the admin's on-demand button."""
-    demo = get_or_create_demo_user(db)
-    seeded = reset_demo_state(db, demo)
-    audit.record(
-        db,
-        admin.id,
-        AuditAction.DEMO_RESET,
-        summary=f"{seeded} sample playlists re-seeded",
-        after={"playlists_seeded": seeded},  # the count as data: named in the reader's language
-    )
-    db.commit()
-    return {"ok": True, "reset": True, "playlists_seeded": seeded}
-
-
 @router.post("/purge-discovery")
 def purge_discovery(admin: User = Depends(admin_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
     """Reclaim all un-kept discovery content NOW (ignoring the grace period): live-search result

backend/app/routes/admin_logs.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""The admin diagnostics console's read side (E22.6): query `log_events`, the server's stored log.
+"""The admin diagnostics console's read side: query `log_events`, the server's stored log.
 
 Admin-only and read-only — rows leave the table through the retention job (`log_retention_days`),
 never through here. Reading is not audited: it changes nothing, and the console's live tail polls,

backend/app/routes/auth.py

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Auth HTTP endpoints (OAuth login/callback, register/verify, password, session mgmt).
 
-Split out of app/auth.py (R12 S2); the core auth surface (current_user, scopes, token
+Split out of app/auth.py; the core auth surface (current_user, scopes, token
 helpers) stays in app/auth.py, imported below."""
 
 import secrets
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ from app.auth import (
     WRITE_SCOPES,
     current_user,
     env_admin_canonicals,
+    env_allowed_canonicals,
     find_user_by_email,
-    get_or_create_demo_user,
     google_enabled,
     is_allowed,
     log,
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ from app.auth import (
 )
 from app.config import settings
 from app.db import SessionLocal, get_db
-from app.models import AuthToken, DemoWhitelist, Invite, OAuthToken, User, display_text
+from app.models import AuthToken, Invite, OAuthToken, User, display_text
 from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter, client_key
 from app.security import encrypt, hash_password, hash_token, verify_password
 from app.utils import canonical_email, valid_email
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ VERIFY_TTL = timedelta(hours=24)
 # in and sets no password.
 APPROVAL_VERIFY_TTL = timedelta(days=7)
 RESET_TTL = timedelta(hours=1)
-# An admin-issued set-password link (E12 S5) travels out of band — the admin has to actually reach the
+# An admin-issued set-password link travels out of band — the admin has to actually reach the
 # person and hand it over — so the one-hour reset window is far too short. A day matches VERIFY_TTL and
 # the affordance the admin was shown.
 ADMIN_SETPW_TTL = timedelta(hours=24)
@@ -72,7 +72,6 @@ _reset_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=5, window_seconds=300)
 # Separate from _reset_limiter on purpose: opening a link must not eat the budget for REQUESTING one.
 _reset_check_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=10, window_seconds=300)
 _verify_resend_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=5, window_seconds=300)
-_request_access_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=5, window_seconds=300)
 _suspend_email_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=1, window_seconds=3600)
 
 
@@ -92,8 +91,6 @@ def _notify_suspended(background: BackgroundTasks, user: User) -> None:
         )
 
 
-_demo_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=5, window_seconds=60)
-
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/auth", tags=["auth"])
 
 _oauth = OAuth()
@@ -161,24 +158,12 @@ def notify_admins_of_request(
             background.add_task(email_mod.send_admin_new_request, recipients, lang, requester)
 
 
-def is_demo_allowed(db: Session, email: str) -> bool:
-    """Whether this email may enter the shared demo account (no Google sign-in)."""
-    if not email:
-        return False
-    return (
-        db.execute(
-            select(DemoWhitelist).where(DemoWhitelist.email == email.lower())
-        ).scalar_one_or_none()
-        is not None
-    )
-
-
 class InviteRequest(NamedTuple):
     """What an access request settled on.
 
     `invite` is the row the request now lives under — which is NOT always the address that was just
     typed: one Gmail mailbox spelled two ways settles on whichever row already exists, and that row's
-    address is where mail will go. Callers that tell the user what happened need it (E9.5 S4).
+    address is where mail will go. Callers that tell the user what happened need it.
     `is_new` is the old boolean return in a name: true only when a row was created or a denied one
     reopened, i.e. exactly when admins should hear about it. A repeat request must not re-spam them.
     """
@@ -196,14 +181,14 @@ def upsert_pending_invite(db: Session, email: str, lang: str | None = None) -> I
     not reopen a decision that has already been made for that mailbox. The row is still STORED under
     the address as typed, because that is where mail has to go.
 
-    `lang` is the language of the surface the request came from — the sign-in page, or the locale
-    Google reported for a refused sign-in. The latest one wins: someone who asks again from a
-    Hungarian page is telling us something newer than last time. Anything unsupported is ignored
+    `lang` is the language the request came in — the locale Google reported for a refused sign-in.
+    The latest one wins: someone who asks again under another locale is telling us something newer
+    than last time. Anything unsupported is ignored
     rather than stored, so a forged body cannot put junk in the column.
 
     The commit contract is unchanged: this still commits ONLY when it writes something. Callers rely
     on that — `_register_account` persists its own flushed user precisely because a no-op here
-    commits nothing (E9.5 S6).
+    commits nothing.
     """
     email = (email or "").lower()
     if not valid_email(email):
@@ -215,6 +200,12 @@ def upsert_pending_invite(db: Session, email: str, lang: str | None = None) -> I
         .scalars()
         .all()
     )
+    # An address the env already lets in has nothing to ask for, and a pending row for it would be
+    # worse than nothing: `is_allowed` answers from the invite rows once any exist, so a stranger
+    # registering a sibling spelling (`b.ob@` beside an env-granted `bob@`) would lock the real
+    # owner out of a grant no admin could see.
+    if not rows and canon in env_allowed_canonicals():
+        return InviteRequest(None, False)
     # An approved row wins, so a denied duplicate can't mask an approval. Then a row that is not
     # DENIED, preferring the exact spelling — a denied sibling must never be picked while a pending
     # row exists, or the reopen branch below would fire and put one person in the admin's queue
@@ -254,7 +245,7 @@ def _access_notice_url(kind: str, email: str = "", inv: Invite | None = None) ->
 
     It rides the FRAGMENT, not the query string, for the same reason the verify/reset tokens do
     (SB3): a fragment never reaches the server, a proxy access log or a Referer header — and this
-    notice now carries the user's address. Naming it is the point of E9.5 S4: on 2026-09-03 a
+    notice now carries the user's address. Naming it is the point: on 2026-09-03 a
     registration as `npeter83.temu@` met an OAuth claim of `npeter83temu@`, and a screen that said
     "request recorded" without saying FOR WHAT hid the mismatch for a day.
 
@@ -306,9 +297,10 @@ class EmailPasswordIn(BaseModel):
     password: str | None = None
     # The language the sign-up page was in. Captured at registration because it is the ONLY moment
     # the choice exists anywhere the server can see: it lives in the browser until an account does,
-    # and a preference nobody recorded cannot be backfilled later (the lesson `google_email` taught
-    # in E9.5 S3 — those rows still read NULL until each user signs in again). Nothing reads it yet;
-    # the bilingual mail templates are E9.5 S7.
+    # and a preference nobody recorded cannot be backfilled later (as `google_email` showed: those
+    # rows still read NULL until each user signs in again). It is stored as the account's
+    # `preferences["language"]`, which the UI starts in and every mail to the account is written in
+    # (`mailtext.lang_for_user` / `lang_for_email`).
     lang: str | None = None
 
 
@@ -408,7 +400,7 @@ async def callback(
             return RedirectResponse(url=_access_notice_url("requested", email, req.invite))
         return RedirectResponse(url=_access_notice_url("denied"))
 
-    user = db.query(User).filter(User.google_sub == sub).one_or_none()
+    user = db.execute(select(User).where(User.google_sub == sub)).scalar_one_or_none()
     if user is None:
         # No account carries this Google identity yet. If one already exists for this MAILBOX —
         # e.g. an email+password registration — adopt the Google identity onto it instead of
@@ -421,7 +413,11 @@ async def callback(
         # (ids 13 and 14). Exact spelling still wins when both exist, so an account that already
         # matches literally is never passed over for a canonical sibling.
         canon = canonical_email(email)
-        candidates = db.query(User).filter(User.email_canonical == canon).order_by(User.id).all()
+        candidates = (
+            db.execute(select(User).where(User.email_canonical == canon).order_by(User.id))
+            .scalars()
+            .all()
+        )
         existing = next((u for u in candidates if u.email == email), None) or next(
             iter(candidates), None
         )
@@ -447,9 +443,10 @@ async def callback(
                 return RedirectResponse(url=_access_notice_url("denied"))
             user = existing
             user.google_sub = sub
-            # SEC-10: drop any password pre-set on this account while its email was still unverified,
-            # now that Google attests ownership (bumps the epoch to revoke any session it minted).
-            revoke_preset_password_if_unverified(user)
+            # SEC-10: drop any password nobody proved the mailbox for, now that Google attests
+            # ownership (bumps the epoch to revoke any session it minted). Runs before the
+            # activation below, which is what it reads.
+            revoke_untrusted_preset_password(user)
             # Google verified the email and is_allowed granted access, so finish activating a
             # previously pending password registration (otherwise current_user would bounce it).
             user.email_verified = True
@@ -480,7 +477,16 @@ async def callback(
     # default for a brand-new account (its role attribute is still unset before flush).
     # Canonical, like every other read of the env lists: a dotted or `+tag`ged ADMIN_EMAILS entry
     # would otherwise never bootstrap its admin, because Google answers with the plain primary.
+    #
+    # Becoming admin this way drops any password the account holds, on whichever sign-in it
+    # happens. Nothing here can tell who chose that password: without SMTP registration marks the
+    # address verified with no proof (and SMTP configured later never revisits it), and an admin's
+    # Activate vouches for access, not for the password. So a stranger who registered the address
+    # first, and was let in, would otherwise see their own live session become an admin one. The
+    # real owner, signed in through Google right now, sets a new password in Settings.
     if canonical_email(email) in env_admin_canonicals():
+        if user.role != "admin" and user.password_hash is not None:
+            _revoke_password(user)
         user.role = "admin"
     elif not user.role:
         user.role = "user"
@@ -515,7 +521,7 @@ def _sync_google_email(db: Session, user: User, email: str) -> None:
     of the spelling they chose, because sign-in matches the stored address first. Google returns the
     account's PRIMARY address, which need not be what they registered with — and can never contain a
     `+` at all — so without this guard every plus-tagged registration lost its tag on the first Google
-    sign-in. (E9.5 S3 made that reachable by matching adoption across spellings; the rewrite itself is
+    sign-in. (Matching adoption across spellings made that reachable; the rewrite itself is
     older.)
 
     Never overwrite with an address another account already owns either: that would hit the unique
@@ -525,7 +531,9 @@ def _sync_google_email(db: Session, user: User, email: str) -> None:
         return
     if canonical_email(user.email) == canonical_email(email):
         return  # same mailbox, their spelling — leave it alone
-    clash = db.query(User).filter(User.email == email, User.id != user.id).one_or_none()
+    clash = db.execute(
+        select(User).where(User.email == email, User.id != user.id)
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
     if clash is None:
         user.email = email
 
@@ -582,9 +590,11 @@ def _complete_link(
     if link_uid != request.session.get("user_id") and link_uid not in accounts:
         return RedirectResponse(url="/?link=error")
     user = db.get(User, link_uid)
-    if user is None or user.is_demo:
+    if user is None:
         return RedirectResponse(url="/?link=error")
-    other = db.query(User).filter(User.google_sub == sub, User.id != user.id).one_or_none()
+    other = db.execute(
+        select(User).where(User.google_sub == sub, User.id != user.id)
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
     if other is not None:
         return RedirectResponse(url="/?link=conflict")
     if user.google_sub is not None and user.google_sub != sub:
@@ -628,73 +638,12 @@ async def logout(request: Request):
     return JSONResponse({"ok": True, "switched": False})
 
 
-class AccessRequestIn(EmailIn):
-    # The language of the page this request was made from. Same reasoning as registration's `lang`
-    # (and the same shape): it is the ONLY moment this preference exists anywhere the server can
-    # see, since the requester has no account to carry it, and it decides what language the approval
-    # or denial mail is written in.
-    lang: str | None = None
-
-
-@router.post("/request-access")
-async def request_access(
-    body: AccessRequestIn,
-    request: Request,
-    background: BackgroundTasks,
-    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
-) -> dict:
-    """Public: ask for access. Idempotent — repeat requests for the same email don't
-    duplicate or re-spam admins (upsert answers `is_new=False` for an already-pending row).
-
-    Answers a uniform ``"pending"`` for EVERY outcome — already-allowed, newly-pending,
-    already-pending, and rate-limited alike. The old ``"approved"`` reply for an allow-listed
-    address made this a public enumeration oracle for the allow-list (which the rest of the module
-    is careful to avoid, cf. demo_login); an already-allowed user can still just sign in with Google.
-    Rate-limited per client IP like register/login/reset, and a block returns "pending" too so the
-    endpoint can't be probed for throttling either."""
-    email = (body.email or "").strip().lower()
-    if not valid_email(email):
-        raise refused(400, "invalid_email")
-    if not _request_access_limiter.allow(client_key(request)):
-        return {"ok": True, "status": "pending"}
-    if is_allowed(db, email):
-        return {"ok": True, "status": "pending"}  # already allowed — don't reveal it
-    req = upsert_pending_invite(db, email, body.lang)
-    if req.is_new:
-        notify_admins_of_request(db, background, email)
-    return {"ok": True, "status": "pending"}
-
-
-@router.post("/demo")
-def demo_login(body: EmailIn, request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
-    """Hidden demo entry: a whitelisted email logs straight into the shared demo account,
-    no Google OAuth. The login page fires this quietly (debounced) as the user types/pastes,
-    so there is no visible 'demo login' button. Rate-limited per IP; when blocked it answers
-    exactly like a non-match (authenticated=false) so the field can't be hammered as an
-    enumeration oracle. On a match it sets the session and the client reloads into the app."""
-    if not _demo_limiter.allow(client_key(request)):
-        return {"ok": True, "authenticated": False}
-    email = (body.email or "").strip().lower()
-    if valid_email(email) and is_demo_allowed(db, email):
-        demo = get_or_create_demo_user(db)
-        # Isolate the demo: drop any real-account wallet on this tab first, so the demo session
-        # can't switch to / act as a previously signed-in account via the multi-account header.
-        request.session.clear()
-        request.session["user_id"] = demo.id
-        _remember_epoch(request, demo)
-        # The demo key IS an address, so it is not in the line — see the denied branch above.
-        log.info("signed in", extra=logs.event("auth.login.ok", method="demo", uid=demo.id))
-        return {"ok": True, "authenticated": True}
-    return {"ok": True, "authenticated": False}
-
-
 def _establish_session(request: Request, user: User) -> None:
     """Sign `user` in for this browser session — the ONE sign-in path, shared by the Google callback
     and password login, so both join the same account switcher and both stamp `last_login_at` (the
     caller commits). Multi-session: every account that authenticated in this browser is remembered so
     the user can switch between them; only accounts that actually proved themselves HERE land in that
-    wallet (it is the proof they may be switched to). The demo entry deliberately does not come
-    through here: it clears the wallet instead, and its shared account has no meaningful last login."""
+    wallet (it is the proof they may be switched to)."""
     accounts = [a for a in (request.session.get("account_ids") or []) if a != user.id]
     accounts.append(user.id)
     request.session["account_ids"] = accounts[-MAX_SESSION_ACCOUNTS:]
@@ -784,7 +733,7 @@ def _consume_password_token(db: Session, raw: str | None) -> tuple[User, str] |
 
 
 def issue_set_password_link(db: Session, user: User) -> tuple[str, datetime]:
-    """An admin-issued, single-use link that lets `user` set a password without any email (E12 S5).
+    """An admin-issued, single-use link that lets `user` set a password without any email.
 
     One mechanism answers three things: SEC-15 (on a no-SMTP instance every registration is
     auto-verified, so a pre-empted address cannot be recovered by mail), SEC-16 (a pre-empted address
@@ -866,10 +815,10 @@ def _register_account(email: str, password: str, lang: str | None = None) -> Non
             # for the same input — so it is not a new capability, just the end of a dead end. An
             # account that is already confirmed still gets nothing: there is nothing to confirm.
             #
-            # And a re-send is ALL it does: the submitted password is discarded. E9.5's closing
+            # And a re-send is ALL it does: the submitted password is discarded. A closing
             # review tried "while the address is unverified, the newest registration owns it"
             # (replace the hash, kill the outstanding verify tokens) as a fix for address
-            # pre-emption, and round 2 showed it was worse than the problem — DO NOT REPEAT IT.
+            # pre-emption, and it proved worse than the problem — DO NOT REPEAT IT.
             # The rule is symmetric, and an attacker can always be last: it hands an unauthenticated
             # caller the power to overwrite a real registrant's chosen password and delete the
             # confirmation link already in their inbox, and on a SEC-10-stripped row (password_hash
@@ -878,7 +827,7 @@ def _register_account(email: str, password: str, lang: str | None = None) -> Non
             # primitive: password-reset accepts this account, proves the mailbox, rewrites the hash
             # and bumps the session epoch. The residual is logged as SEC-16.
             user = existing
-            if not user.email_verified and not user.is_demo and email_mod.email_enabled():
+            if not user.email_verified and email_mod.email_enabled():
                 send_verification_link(db, user)
             return
         # Without working SMTP we can't deliver a verification link, so email ownership can't gate
@@ -918,7 +867,7 @@ def _register_account(email: str, password: str, lang: str | None = None) -> Non
         db.commit()
         if email_ok:
             send_verification_link(db, user)
-        # Fired unconditionally, unlike the other two callers which gate on a fresh invite row: for
+        # Fired unconditionally, unlike the Google callback, which gates on a fresh invite row: for
         # an address the admin already approved, nothing lands in the Access-requests queue, so this
         # is the only place the account's existence is announced at all. Delivery is a separate
         # matter — with no working SMTP `_send` drops it, which is why the pre-approved registrant
@@ -928,7 +877,7 @@ def _register_account(email: str, password: str, lang: str | None = None) -> Non
 
 def issue_verification_link(db: Session, user: User, ttl: timedelta | None = None) -> str:
     """A fresh confirmation link for `user`, returned rather than sent — for a mail that carries the
-    link inside a larger message (the branching approval/invitation mails, E9.5 S6).
+    link inside a larger message (the branching approval/invitation mails).
 
     Same token machinery and the same fragment (SB3) as the standalone confirmation mail, so the two
     kinds of link cannot drift apart in shape or in how they are consumed."""
@@ -943,8 +892,8 @@ def send_verification_link(db: Session, user: User) -> bool:
     address is the one its owner chose to be reachable at, and a `+tag` there is usually deliberate.
     The token rides the URL FRAGMENT (#) so it can never reach a proxy/access log or a Referer (SB3).
 
-    One definition, three callers — registration, the self-service resend, and the admin-side resend
-    (E9.5 S5). The link's shape and TTL must not drift between them; a verification mail that differs
+    One definition, three callers — registration, the self-service resend, and the admin-side resend.
+    The link's shape and TTL must not drift between them; a verification mail that differs
     by who triggered it is a bug waiting to be discovered by exactly one user.
 
     Returns whether the mail actually went out, so a caller with a human waiting on the answer (the
@@ -967,8 +916,8 @@ def verify_email_confirm(body: TokenIn, db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
     dropped the password this account registered with, so sign-in would answer with the deliberately
     uniform "Invalid email or password" — true, but unreadable to the person who just proved they own
     the mailbox. Saying so leaks nothing: holding a valid single-use verify token for this account
-    already proves that much. Since E9.5 S1 the common source of that state is gone (admin approval no
-    longer revokes), leaving accounts stripped before that change and the Google-adoption path, so this
+    already proves that much. The common source of that state is gone (admin approval no longer
+    revokes), leaving accounts stripped before that change and the Google-adoption path, so this
     flag is rare now — but it must stay, because those users have no other way back in."""
     user = _consume_token(db, body.token, "verify")
     if user is None:
@@ -1012,7 +961,7 @@ def _resend_verify_if_eligible(email: str) -> None:
         return
     with SessionLocal() as db:
         user = find_user_by_email(db, email)
-        if user is not None and not user.email_verified and not user.is_demo:
+        if user is not None and not user.email_verified:
             send_verification_link(db, user)
 
 
@@ -1028,7 +977,7 @@ def _login_refused(status: int, reason: str, user: User | None = None, **extra)
     that proof (`invalid`, `rate_limited`) carry nothing at all, so they stay byte-identical for a
     real account and an unknown one.
 
-    Since E9.5 S1 the two gates are order-independent, so `approved` really can be true while
+    The two gates are order-independent, so `approved` really can be true while
     `email_verified` is false, and vice versa — the SPA renders whichever is actually outstanding
     rather than assuming a sequence.
     """
@@ -1058,11 +1007,11 @@ def password_login(
     email = (body.email or "").strip().lower()
     password = body.password or ""
     user = find_user_by_email(db, email)
-    # Always run the KDF (against a decoy hash for an unknown / passwordless / demo account) so the
+    # Always run the KDF (against a decoy hash for an unknown / passwordless account) so the
     # response time is the same whether or not the email exists — no timing-based enumeration.
-    candidate_hash = user.password_hash if (user and not user.is_demo) else None
+    candidate_hash = user.password_hash if user else None
     password_ok = verify_password(password, candidate_hash or _DECOY_PASSWORD_HASH)
-    if user is None or user.is_demo or not password_ok:
+    if user is None or not password_ok:
         raise _login_refused(401, "invalid")
     if user.is_suspended:
         _notify_suspended(background, user)
@@ -1101,7 +1050,7 @@ def password_reset_request(
 
 def _send_reset_if_eligible(email: str) -> None:
     """Background worker for password_reset_request: issue a reset token + email the link, but ONLY
-    for a real (non-demo) password account. Runs after the response with its own DB session, so the
+    for a password account. Runs after the response with its own DB session, so the
     request's timing never reveals whether the account exists. Token rides the URL FRAGMENT (#) so it
     can't leak into proxy/access logs or a Referer (SB3).
 
@@ -1112,7 +1061,7 @@ def _send_reset_if_eligible(email: str) -> None:
     proves identity through the session rather than by mail."""
     with SessionLocal() as db:
         user = find_user_by_email(db, email)
-        if user is None or user.is_demo:
+        if user is None:
             return
         if user.password_hash or user.password_revoked_at:
             raw = _issue_token(db, user, "reset", RESET_TTL)
@@ -1200,37 +1149,49 @@ def bump_session_epoch(user: User) -> None:
     user.session_epoch = (user.session_epoch or 0) + 1
 
 
-def revoke_preset_password_if_unverified(user: User) -> None:
+def revoke_untrusted_preset_password(user: User) -> None:
     """SEC-10 (account pre-emption): a password set on an account whose email was NEVER verified is
     untrusted — whoever registered the address (to pre-empt the real owner) could have chosen it. When
     the real owner attests ownership through Google, drop that password and bump the epoch to revoke any
-    session it minted; the owner re-sets one via password-reset. No-op for an already-verified account,
-    so a legit no-SMTP registration is unaffected.
+    session it minted; the owner re-sets one via password-reset, or from Settings while the Google
+    session lasts.
 
-    The Google-adoption callback is the ONLY caller (E9.5 S1). Admin approval used to call this too, and
-    dropping it was right for the reason S1 gave — the revoke destroyed the password a legitimate
+    A NEVER-ACTIVATED account is untrusted too, verified or not: without SMTP, registration marks the
+    address verified with no proof at all. For an ADMIN_EMAILS / ALLOWED_EMAILS address no invite row
+    gates the registration, so a stranger who registered it first would otherwise be activated here
+    with their own password still working. (An account the callback makes ADMIN loses its password
+    whatever its state — see the ADMIN_EMAILS block there.)
+
+    The Google-adoption callback is the ONLY caller. Admin approval used to call this too, and
+    dropping it was right for the reason given — the revoke destroyed the password a legitimate
     registrant had just chosen, and since the admin normally decides before the user reads their mail,
     that made the "your password was cleared" detour the DEFAULT path rather than an edge case.
 
-    S1 also claimed the revoke was REDUNDANT there, because `password_login` refuses an unverified
+    The revoke was also called REDUNDANT there, because `password_login` refuses an unverified
     account before it reads `is_active`. That part was wrong, and the epic's own review caught it: the
-    gate holds only while the address is unverified, and S6's approval mail exists to get the real
+    gate holds only while the address is unverified, and the approval mail exists to get the real
     owner to end that state — at which point a pre-emptor's password works. Nothing replaced the
     revoke, and that is deliberate. The review tried "the newest registration owns an unverified
     account" and reverted it: the rule is symmetric, so an attacker can simply register last, and it
     would have handed anonymous callers a write onto a real account's credential. What the owner
     actually has is password-reset, which proves the mailbox, rewrites the hash and bumps the epoch.
     The residual is logged as SEC-16; re-adding a caller here would put "your password was cleared"
-    back in front of every legitimate registrant, which is the whole reason S1 removed it.
+    back in front of every legitimate registrant, which is the whole reason it was removed.
 
     `password_revoked_at` is what makes "the owner re-sets one via password-reset" actually true. The
     revoke leaves `password_hash IS NULL`, which is also what a Google-only account looks like — and
     _send_reset_if_eligible keyed off exactly that, so a revoked account silently got no reset link and
     was locked out for good (it could not sign in either). The stamp separates the two cases."""
-    if not user.email_verified:
-        user.password_hash = None
-        user.password_revoked_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
-        bump_session_epoch(user)
+    if not user.email_verified or (not user.is_active and user.password_hash is not None):
+        _revoke_password(user)
+
+
+def _revoke_password(user: User) -> None:
+    """Drop the account's password, stamp why (so password-reset still accepts it) and end every
+    session it signed in."""
+    user.password_hash = None
+    user.password_revoked_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    bump_session_epoch(user)
 
 
 @router.post("/logout-others")
@@ -1239,9 +1200,7 @@ def logout_others(
 ) -> dict:
     """SA4: sign every OTHER session for this account out — bump the epoch so all existing cookies
     are rejected, then re-stamp THIS cookie so the caller stays signed in. For "I left myself logged
-    in somewhere" / a suspected session compromise. The demo account (shared) is excluded."""
-    if user.is_demo:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail={"code": "demo"})
+    in somewhere" / a suspected session compromise."""
     # Commit the bump BEFORE re-stamping this cookie, so a failed commit can't strand the current
     # session at a newer epoch than the DB (see set_password).
     bump_session_epoch(user)
@@ -1260,8 +1219,6 @@ async def link_google(
     """Start linking a Google account to the signed-in (e.g. password) account. Requests only
     the identity scopes — YouTube access is granted separately via /auth/upgrade. The callback
     sees `oauth_link_uid` and attaches the identity instead of creating a new account."""
-    if user.is_demo:
-        return RedirectResponse(url="/")
     client = google_oauth(db)
     if client is None:
         return RedirectResponse(url="/?link=error")
@@ -1287,8 +1244,6 @@ def set_password(
     """Set or change the signed-in account's password. Setting a first password (Google-only
     account) needs no current password — the session already proves identity. Changing an
     existing one requires the current password, so a hijacked session can't silently rotate it."""
-    if user.is_demo:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail={"code": "demo"})
     new_password = body.password or ""
     if len(new_password) < PASSWORD_MIN_LEN:
         raise refused(400, "weak_password", min=PASSWORD_MIN_LEN)
@@ -1319,10 +1274,6 @@ async def upgrade(
     (unsubscribe). The shared callback stores whatever Google returns, so `can_read` /
     `can_write` flip on once granted. Anything other than an explicit `write` defaults to
     the least-privileged read scope."""
-    # This is the browser-facing redirect entry point, so the shared demo account is bounced
-    # straight home (no YouTube link is ever attached to it) rather than shown a raw 403.
-    if user.is_demo:
-        return RedirectResponse(url="/")
     client = google_oauth(db)
     if client is None:
         return RedirectResponse(url="/")

backend/app/routes/channels.py

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 from app.collation import collated, sorted_words
 from app.mailtext import lang_for_user
 from app import logs, quota
-from app.auth import admin_user, current_user, require_human, require_write_scope
+from app.auth import admin_user, current_user, require_write_scope
 from app.db import get_db
 from app.models import (
     LIVE_OR_UPCOMING,
@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@ def list_channels(user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_
 
     # Per-channel aggregates over the shared catalog (channel_aggregates), computed on read rather than
     # denormalised: an Index Only Scan over a ~20 MB index, where it used to read every video's heap page
-    # (681 MB on prod, a 2–6 s first open once something else had pushed it out of memory, E31 S4d).
-    # (The Normal/Shorts/Live breakdown moved to the channel-detail page in R14, so it is no longer
+    # (681 MB on prod, a 2–6 s first open once something else had pushed it out of memory).
+    # (The Normal/Shorts/Live breakdown moved to the channel-detail page, so it is no longer
     # computed here — the manager table dropped its N/S/L column.)
     channel_ids = [c.id for _, c in rows]
     agg: dict[str, dict] = {}
@@ -163,8 +163,8 @@ def discover_channels(
     can judge a channel BEFORE subscribing — but we do NOT pull its videos. Most-present
     channels come first; subscribing is a separate action."""
     # Resolve & cache the user's own channel id so it can be excluded — you don't subscribe
-    # to yourself. Lazy + cached; needs OAuth, so demo / token-less users just skip it.
-    if user.yt_channel_id is None and user.token is not None and not user.is_demo:
+    # to yourself. Lazy + cached; needs OAuth, so token-less users just skip it.
+    if user.yt_channel_id is None and user.token is not None:
         try:
             with (
                 quota.attribute(user.id, quota.QuotaAction.CHANNELS_DISCOVER),
@@ -192,8 +192,7 @@ def discover_channels(
     # (fresh subscriber counts/thumbnails carry through without a re-query). Only the title can
     # change, which affects the tie-break order → re-sort in Python instead of re-hitting the DB.
     need = [ch.id for ch, _, _ in rows if ch.details_synced_at is None][:DISCOVERY_ENRICH_CAP]
-    # Skip the quota-spending enrich for the demo account (it just sees the stub metadata).
-    if need and not user.is_demo:
+    if need:
         try:
             with (
                 quota.attribute(user.id, quota.QuotaAction.CHANNELS_DISCOVER),
@@ -277,7 +276,7 @@ def _channel_detail_dict(
         "explored": explored,
         "blocked": blocked,
         "stored_videos": stored,
-        # Per-type breakdown (Normal / Shorts / Live) — R14 moved it off the manager table onto the
+        # Per-type breakdown (Normal / Shorts / Live) — moved off the manager table onto the
         # channel page. Same aggregation the manager list uses (count_normal = stored − shorts − live).
         "count_normal": count_normal,
         "count_short": count_short,
@@ -311,12 +310,12 @@ def channel_detail(
     Lazily fills the About metadata (view count, join date, banner, links) the first time it's
     needed (a stub) and refreshes it once it is stale (`DETAILS_MAX_AGE`), which is how a channel nobody subscribes to (an explored one, outside the
     subscription import) gets a banner that still resolves. The enrich uses the API key (1 unit,
-    cached after), so it's skipped for the quota-less demo account."""
+    cached after)."""
     channel = get_or_404(db, Channel, channel_id, what="channel")
     # No `published_at is None` sentinel: a terminated channel never gets one, so it re-fetched on
     # every view; rows enriched before that field existed are long past DETAILS_MAX_AGE anyway.
     stale = details_stale(channel, datetime.now(timezone.utc))
-    if stale and not user.is_demo:
+    if stale:
         try:
             with (
                 quota.attribute(user.id, quota.QuotaAction.CHANNELS_DISCOVER),
@@ -350,7 +349,7 @@ def channel_detail(
     )
     blocked = _is_blocked(db, user, channel_id)
     # Stored total + the Normal/Shorts/Live split in one grouped pass (same filters as the manager
-    # list), so the channel page can show the per-type breakdown R14 moved off the table.
+    # list), so the channel page can show the per-type breakdown that moved off the table.
     n_all, n_short, n_live = db.execute(
         select(
             func.count(Video.id),
@@ -389,7 +388,7 @@ def channel_detail(
 def explore_channel(
     channel_id: str,
     page_token: str | None = None,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """Open an un-subscribed channel for browsing. Records the exploration (a per-user,
@@ -397,7 +396,7 @@ def explore_channel(
     drives the later cleanup), flags the channel ephemeral unless someone organically follows
     it, then ingests one page of its uploads (newest-first) marked via_explore + enriched.
     Returns the next page token so the page can "load more". Guarded against the shared
-    backfill quota reserve; blocked for the demo account (it spends shared quota)."""
+    backfill quota reserve."""
     channel = get_or_404(db, Channel, channel_id, what="channel")
     if _is_blocked(db, user, channel_id):
         raise refused(403, "channel_blocked")
@@ -436,7 +435,7 @@ def explore_channel(
                 channel = db.get(Channel, channel_id)
             result = explore_ingest_page(db, yt, channel, page_token)
     except YouTubeError as exc:
-        raise youtube_refusal(exc)
+        raise youtube_refusal(exc) from exc
     return {
         "ok": True,
         "channel_id": channel_id,
@@ -493,10 +492,7 @@ def update_channel(
         sub.priority = body.priority
     if body.hidden is not None:
         sub.hidden = body.hidden
-    # The demo account is SHARED, so it must not persist deep_requested (a quota-relevant flag) onto
-    # the shared subscription — skip the write entirely for demo, which also keeps deep_turned_on
-    # False so the immediate backfill below can never fire for it.
-    if body.deep_requested is not None and not user.is_demo:
+    if body.deep_requested is not None:
         # Opt this channel into (or out of) full-history backfill. The deep scheduler
         # picks the flag up on its next run; turning it off won't undo already-fetched
         # videos, it just stops further deep paging if nobody else still wants it.
@@ -507,7 +503,7 @@ def update_channel(
 
     # Opting a channel into full history should give an immediate feed: if we haven't even
     # fetched its recent uploads yet, do that one channel now (cheap) instead of waiting for
-    # the scheduler. (deep_turned_on is only ever True for a non-demo user — see the guard above.)
+    # the scheduler.
     if deep_turned_on and channel is not None and channel.recent_synced_at is None:
         with quota.attribute(user.id, quota.QuotaAction.VIDEOS_BACKFILL_RECENT):
             run_recent_backfill(db, [channel], max_channels=1)
@@ -597,7 +593,7 @@ def subscribe(
             if "subscriptionDuplicate" in exc.reason.split(","):
                 yt_sub_id = ""
             else:
-                raise youtube_refusal(exc)
+                raise youtube_refusal(exc) from exc
         # Enrich a stub channel (title/thumbnail/subscriber count) so it shows up properly right
         # away, on BOTH the normal and the desync path — a resurfaced stub still needs metadata to
         # render. Keep the client open (we're still inside the `with`); a metadata failure here
@@ -658,7 +654,7 @@ def unsubscribe(
     except YouTubeError as exc:
         # 422 (a real, explainable error → speaking modal), not 502 which the client treats as
         # a transient "connection lost" gateway blip.
-        raise youtube_refusal(exc)
+        raise youtube_refusal(exc) from exc
     db.delete(sub)
     db.commit()
     return {"ok": True, "unsubscribed": channel_id}

backend/app/routes/config.py

@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ def test_issue_tracker(
     _: User = Depends(admin_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
-    """Check the configured issue tracker (E16): the repository answers with this token, takes
+    """Check the configured issue tracker: the repository answers with this token, takes
     issues, and is PRIVATE — the one it must be, since an issue carries its reporter's log."""
     try:
         return {"ok": True, **gitea.check(db)}

backend/app/routes/debug_sessions.py

@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
-"""Debug sessions (E16): Start → reproduce → Stop, the screenshots, and the evidence under review.
+"""Debug sessions: Start → reproduce → Stop, the screenshots, and the evidence under review.
 
 The session itself — what tags a request, its cap, its level — is `app/debugsession.py`. These routes
 are the user's handle on their OWN sessions only: another user's id 404s (`owned_or_404`), including
-for an admin, who reads everyone's lines in the diagnostics console instead. The shared demo account
-cannot record: its log would interleave every visitor under one account.
+for an admin, who reads everyone's lines in the diagnostics console instead.
 
 Screenshots arrive as a raw image body (`image/png`, `image/jpeg`, `image/webp`), not a multipart
 form — one image per request, capped while it arrives, and kept only if its bytes really are one of
@@ -21,7 +20,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
 from app import audit, debugsession, logs, logsink
 from app.audit import AuditAction
-from app.auth import require_human
+from app.auth import current_user
 from app.db import get_db, release_read_connection
 from app.issues import bundle, gitea
 from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter
@@ -51,7 +50,7 @@ _new_sessions = RateLimiter(max_events=20, window_seconds=3600)
 @router.post("")
 def start_session(
     body: StartIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """Start recording, or join the recording already running (another tab started it)."""
@@ -79,7 +78,7 @@ def start_session(
 
 @router.post("/{sid}/stop")
 def stop_session(
-    sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> dict:
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
     if session.ended_at is None:
@@ -93,7 +92,7 @@ def stop_session(
 
 
 @router.get("")
-def list_sessions(user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
+def list_sessions(user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
     sessions = db.scalars(
         select(DebugSession)
         .where(DebugSession.user_id == user.id)
@@ -105,14 +104,14 @@ def list_sessions(user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get
 
 @router.get("/{sid}")
 def get_session(
-    sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> dict:
     return _view(db, owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session"))
 
 
 @router.get("/{sid}/events")
 def session_events(
-    sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> dict:
     """The rows an issue from this session would carry — browser and server, in time order."""
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
@@ -141,7 +140,7 @@ class DraftIn(BaseModel):
 def save_draft(
     sid: str,
     body: DraftIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
@@ -162,7 +161,7 @@ def save_draft(
 
 @router.get("/{sid}/export")
 def export_session(
-    sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> Response:
     """The issue as a zip — the text, the two logs and the screenshots — for an instance without an
     issue tracker, or for sending it by hand. Built from the SAVED draft: what the composer shows is
@@ -182,7 +181,7 @@ def export_session(
     )
 
 
-# --- the issue tracker (S4) -----------------------------------------------------------------
+# --- the issue tracker ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Issues a user may open per hour — counted once the tracker is ASKED to open one (an answer that
 # goes missing may still have created it, so an attempt cannot be given back); finishing a half-sent
 # one, or an attempt refused before the tracker was asked, is not counted. The composer sends one at
@@ -208,9 +207,7 @@ def _issues_rate_limited() -> HTTPException:
 
 
 @router.post("/{sid}/issue")
-def send_issue(
-    sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
-) -> dict:
+def send_issue(sid: str, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
     """Send the session's issue to the tracker — from the SAVED draft, as the export is built — or
     finish a send that stopped half-way (the issue exists; only what is missing is sent)."""
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
@@ -302,7 +299,7 @@ class PreviewIn(BaseModel):
 def preview_issue(
     sid: str,
     body: PreviewIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """The body as the tracker will render it. Gitea sanitises its own output; the composer still
@@ -323,14 +320,14 @@ def _shot_view(shot: DebugScreenshot) -> dict:
 
 @router.get("/{sid}/screenshots")
 def list_screenshots(
-    sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> dict:
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
     return {"items": [_shot_view(s) for s in debugsession.screenshots(db, session)]}
 
 
 def _upload_target(
-    sid: str, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> DebugSession:
     return owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
 
@@ -393,7 +390,7 @@ def _screenshot_of(db: Session, session: DebugSession, shot_id: int) -> DebugScr
 
 @router.get("/{sid}/screenshots/{shot_id}")
 def get_screenshot(
-    sid: str, shot_id: int, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, shot_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> Response:
     shot = _session_screenshot(db, sid, shot_id, user)
     # `nosniff`: the type was checked against the bytes at upload, and the browser must not guess.
@@ -406,7 +403,7 @@ def get_screenshot(
 
 @router.delete("/{sid}/screenshots/{shot_id}")
 def delete_screenshot(
-    sid: str, shot_id: int, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+    sid: str, shot_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
 ) -> dict:
     session = owned_or_404(db, DebugSession, sid, user, what="debug_session")
     shot = _screenshot_of(db, session, shot_id)

backend/app/routes/diagnostics.py

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""The browser's log, sent while its user has a raised diagnostics level (E22 S5).
+"""The browser's log, sent while its user has a raised diagnostics level.
 
 The client keeps its log in memory (frontend `lib/log.ts`). Only after the user consented to Részletes
 or Teljes in Settings → Diagnosztika does it stream that log here, in batches, and each batch lands in
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Nothing from the body is trusted as-is:
     modified client would not;
   * an event below the consented level is dropped (a Részletes consent does not store what only
     Teljes may carry), and so is the whole batch once the level has lapsed — where an open debug
-    session the request names counts as consent to ITS level (E16), and only its own events keep
+    session the request names counts as consent to ITS level, and only its own events keep
     its tag;
   * the timestamp is clamped to the consent window, so a row cannot dodge the retention job by
     claiming to come from the future.
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ class ClientEvent(BaseModel):
     attrs: dict[str, Any] | None = None
     request_id: str | None = Field(default=None, pattern=r"^[A-Za-z0-9._-]{8,64}$")
     tab_id: str | None = Field(default=None, pattern=r"^[A-Za-z0-9_-]{1,32}$")
-    # The debug session the event was captured in (E16); kept only when it is the one this request
+    # The debug session the event was captured in; kept only when it is the one this request
     # names in `X-Debug-Session` and the auth dependency found it the caller's own and open.
     debug_session_id: str | None = Field(default=None, pattern=r"^[0-9a-f]{16}$")
     version: str | None = Field(default=None, max_length=64)
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ def ingest_events(
     body: ClientEventsIn = Depends(_parsed_events),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
-    # A debug session the request names raises the level for its own events (E16): starting one is
+    # A debug session the request names raises the level for its own events: starting one is
     # the consent to that level for its duration, whatever the user's own level is.
     session = debugsession.from_header(db, user, request.headers.get(debugsession.HEADER))
     level, _ = debugsession.level_for(user, session)

backend/app/routes/discover.py

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-"""E24 · the Home surface's HTTP shell.
+"""The Home surface's HTTP shell.
 
 Thin by construction: every decision — what counts as in progress, what fits a time budget, which
 tier the hero comes from — lives in `app/discover/`, so the scheduler, a future CLI or a test can ask
 the same questions without a request. This file validates, gates and serializes.
 
-The consolidated `GET /api/discover` mirrors the Plex Discover route's one-payload shape (E5 S4): a
+The consolidated `GET /api/discover` mirrors the Plex Discover route's one-payload shape: a
 landing page that fires four requests to answer one question would spend its whole budget on the
 thing it exists to remove.
 """
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
-from app.auth import current_user, require_human
+from app.auth import current_user
 from app.db import get_db
 from app.discover import hero as hero_mod
 from app.discover import pins, rails
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ def get_discover(
 # never reaches SQL — `hero.pick` uses it only as set membership over an already-bounded candidate
 # pool (the resume rail's `RAIL_LIMIT` rows, the shelf, `SURPRISE_DRAW` surprise draws) — so there is
 # no scan for a crafted URL to unbound, and the set is built in full before this slice anyway. The
-# comment that claimed otherwise was corrected in round 2; the request line's own length is what
+# comment that claimed otherwise was later corrected; the request line's own length is what
 # actually bounds a hostile `exclude`.
 MAX_EXCLUDE = 32
 
@@ -127,15 +127,14 @@ def list_pins(
 @router.post("/pins")
 def add_pin(
     body: PinIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """Pin something to the comfort shelf.
 
-    `require_human`, like every other personal-state write: the shared demo account must not be able
-    to curate a communal shelf. Re-pinning something already on the shelf is a no-op that returns the
-    existing pin rather than a 409 — the gesture is "make sure this is on my shelf", and the unique
-    constraint is the mechanism, not the message."""
+    Re-pinning something already on the shelf is a no-op that returns the existing pin rather than
+    a 409 — the gesture is "make sure this is on my shelf", and the unique constraint is the
+    mechanism, not the message."""
     resolved = pins.resolve_ref(db, user, body.kind, body.ref)
     if resolved is None:
         raise not_found("item")
@@ -170,7 +169,7 @@ def add_pin(
             # between `resolve_ref` confirming it and this INSERT (a Plex sync dropping a removed
             # item), which trips the FK. Semantically that is the same "no such thing" the pre-check
             # returns above — re-raising handed the user a 500 they could do nothing with.
-            raise not_found("item")
+            raise not_found("item") from None
         return {"ok": True, "id": winner.id, "created": False}
     return {"ok": True, "id": pin.id, "created": True}
 
@@ -178,7 +177,7 @@ def add_pin(
 @router.delete("/pins/{pin_id}")
 def remove_pin(
     pin_id: int,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     pin = owned_or_404(db, ComfortPin, pin_id, user, what="pin")
@@ -190,7 +189,7 @@ def remove_pin(
 @router.post("/pins/reorder")
 def reorder_pins(
     body: ReorderIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """Rewrite the shelf order from the list of pin ids the client shows.

backend/app/routes/feed.py

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from datetime import date, datetime, timezone
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, Query
-from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field
+from pydantic import BaseModel
 from sqlalchemy import and_, func, or_, select
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import insert as pg_insert
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
@@ -26,14 +26,19 @@ from app.feedquery import (
     windowed_relevance_rows,
 )
 from app.models import (
-    POSITION_MAX_S,
     ChannelTag,
     Tag,
     User,
     Video,
     VideoState,
 )
-from app.routes._common import get_or_404, youtube_refusal, not_found
+from app.routes._common import (
+    ProgressIn,
+    get_or_404,
+    kept_position,
+    not_found,
+    youtube_refusal,
+)
 from app.sync.videos import parse_iso8601_duration
 from app.utils import iso
 from app.youtube.client import YouTubeClient, YouTubeError
@@ -44,14 +49,6 @@ router = APIRouter(prefix="/api", tags=["feed"])
 # "saved" used to be a status; it's now membership in the built-in Watch later playlist.
 VALID_STATES = {"new", "watched", "hidden"}
 
-# Resume-position thresholds (mirror the client): positions below this are "didn't
-# really start" and within this of the end are "basically finished" — neither is worth
-# storing, so we clear the position instead (the video shows no progress bar).
-# NB: the Plex player intentionally uses a LARGER finish margin (30s) because it marks
-# long-form items watched, not just clears a resume bar — see routes/plex/playback.py.
-PROGRESS_MIN_SECONDS = 5
-FINISH_MARGIN_SECONDS = 10
-
 
 # Shared query parameters for /feed and /feed/count.
 def _feed_params(
@@ -133,7 +130,7 @@ def get_feed(
     # Expose each key column on the row so we can build the next cursor from the last item.
     query = query.add_columns(*[k["expr"].label(f"_k{i}") for i, k in enumerate(keys)])
     if vals is not None:
-        for k, v in zip(keys, vals):
+        for k, v in zip(keys, vals, strict=True):
             k["value"] = v
     if ranked and window is not None:
         rows = windowed_relevance_rows(db, query, keys, window, cursor_id, limit + 1)
@@ -235,7 +232,7 @@ def get_feed_years(
     user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
-    """Per-year video counts for the year control (item 8 / E8·S2): the quick recent-year chips and the
+    """Per-year video counts for the year control: the quick recent-year chips and the
     "more…" per-year-counts dialog. Every filter EXCEPT the publish-date narrowing applies, so picking a
     year re-queries the feed but not this list. Response: {"years": [{"year": <int>, "count": <int>}]},
     newest year first."""
@@ -326,23 +323,10 @@ def clear_video_state(
     return {"ok": True, "video_id": video_id, "status": "new", "position_seconds": 0}
 
 
-class VideoProgressIn(BaseModel):
-    # Finite only: JSON parsing here accepts `Infinity`/`NaN`, and the handler's `int()` turned
-    # one into a 500.
-    model_config = ConfigDict(allow_inf_nan=False)
-
-    # Accept a float and truncate (below) — the player may post a raw currentTime (a float), which
-    # the old `int(payload.get(...))` silently truncated. A plain `int` field would 422 that on the
-    # 10s progress hot path, losing the resume position; `float` keeps the old tolerance.
-    # Bounded above by the int4 column (see POSITION_MAX_S): past it the flush was a 500.
-    position_seconds: float = Field(0, le=POSITION_MAX_S)
-    duration_seconds: float = Field(0, le=POSITION_MAX_S)
-
-
 @router.post("/videos/{video_id}/progress")
 def set_video_progress(
     video_id: str,
-    body: VideoProgressIn,
+    body: ProgressIn,
     user: User = Depends(current_user),
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
@@ -350,22 +334,15 @@ def set_video_progress(
     Stores a per-user position on the video_states row without touching watch status, so a
     partially-watched video can render a progress bar and match the "in progress" filter.
     Trivially-early and near-finished positions clear the position rather than store it."""
-    position = int(body.position_seconds)
-    duration = int(body.duration_seconds)
-    if position < 0:
-        position = 0
+    position = kept_position(body)
 
     get_or_404(db, Video, video_id, what="video")
 
-    # Decide whether this position is worth keeping (else clear it).
-    near_end = duration > 0 and position > duration - FINISH_MARGIN_SECONDS
-    keep = position >= PROGRESS_MIN_SECONDS and not near_end
-
     row = db.execute(
         select(VideoState).where(VideoState.user_id == user.id, VideoState.video_id == video_id)
     ).scalar_one_or_none()
 
-    if not keep:
+    if not position:
         # Nothing meaningful to store: drop a status-less row entirely, otherwise just
         # zero the position (a saved/hidden video keeps its status).
         if row is not None:
@@ -419,11 +396,7 @@ def get_video_detail(
             "duration_seconds": v.duration_seconds,
         }
 
-    # The DB path above is free; the off-catalog YouTube lookup below spends a quota unit, so the
-    # demo account can't reach it — it just sees "unknown" for a video we don't already store.
-    if user.is_demo:
-        raise not_found("video")
-
+    # The DB path above is free; the off-catalog YouTube lookup below spends a quota unit.
     try:
         with (
             quota.attribute(user.id, quota.QuotaAction.VIDEOS_LOOKUP),
@@ -431,7 +404,7 @@ def get_video_detail(
         ):
             items = yt.get_videos([video_id])
     except YouTubeError as exc:
-        raise youtube_refusal(exc)
+        raise youtube_refusal(exc) from exc
     if not items:
         raise not_found("video")
 

backend/app/routes/files.py

@@ -0,0 +1,872 @@
+"""The Files library HTTP API — a user's files, the folders they sit in, and the file itself.
+
+A file in the library is a user's DONE job (`DownloadJob`) over its shared `MediaAsset`: the job is
+the per-user layer (name, folder, kept, expiry, shares and links all hang off it), the asset the
+bytes. Folders are rows (`downloads.folders`), so a rename or a move never touches the disk.
+
+In-flight jobs are not here: they are the download tray's (`routes.downloads`). The helpers above
+the routes are shared with that module — serialization, the ownership locks, the upload spool —
+because a download and a library file are one row at two moments.
+"""
+
+import base64
+import hashlib
+import os
+import tempfile
+import threading
+from collections.abc import AsyncIterator, Sequence
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import BinaryIO, Literal
+from urllib.parse import unquote, urlparse
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Query, Request
+from fastapi.responses import FileResponse, Response
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from sqlalchemy import func, or_, select, update
+from sqlalchemy.exc import IntegrityError
+from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
+
+from app import audit, sysconfig
+from app.audit import AuditAction
+from app.auth import current_user
+from app.collation import collated
+from app.config import settings
+from app.db import get_db, release_read_connection
+from app.downloads import folders, preview, quota, service, storage
+from app.downloads import upload as uploadmod
+from app.downloads.status import JobStatus
+from app.mailtext import lang_for_user
+from app.models import (
+    DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX,
+    DownloadJob,
+    DownloadShare,
+    FileFolder,
+    LibraryState,
+    MediaAsset,
+    User,
+    display_text,
+)
+from app.refusal import refused
+from app.routes._common import capped_stream_to, not_found, owned_or_404
+from app.utils import iso, like_escape
+
+router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/files", tags=["files"])
+
+# Cap the listing so a heavy library can't return an unbounded result set (the old Download Center's
+# own cap; far beyond any real library).
+MAX_LIST = 500
+# The longest a folder may keep a file, in days — ten years is "forever" in all but name.
+_MAX_RETENTION_DAYS = 3650
+_HASH_CHUNK = 1 << 20
+# How many files the hash route reads at once: each holds a threadpool thread for the whole read.
+_HASHERS = 2
+_HASHING = threading.BoundedSemaphore(_HASHERS)
+
+
+# --- shared with routes.downloads -------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def serialize(job: DownloadJob, asset: MediaAsset | None) -> dict:
+    ready = asset is not None and asset.status == "ready" and bool(asset.rel_path)
+    return {
+        "id": job.id,
+        "status": job.status,
+        "progress": job.progress,
+        "speed_bps": job.speed_bps,
+        "eta_s": job.eta_s,
+        "phase": job.phase,
+        "error": job.error,
+        "error_code": job.error_code,
+        "error_detail": job.error_detail,
+        "queue_pos": job.queue_pos,
+        "created_at": iso(job.created_at),
+        "ready_at": iso(job.ready_at),
+        "source_kind": job.source_kind,
+        "source_ref": job.source_ref,
+        "source_url": service.reference_url(job, asset),
+        # A locally-generated poster to fall back to when the source had no thumbnail.
+        "poster_url": f"/api/downloads/{job.id}/poster.jpg"
+        if (asset is not None and asset.poster_path)
+        else None,
+        "profile_id": job.profile_id,
+        "spec": job.profile_snapshot,
+        "display_name": job.display_name,
+        "display_uploader": job.display_uploader,
+        "display_uploader_url": job.display_uploader_url,
+        "extra_links": job.extra_links or [],
+        "job_kind": job.job_kind,
+        "source_job_id": job.source_job_id,
+        "edit_spec": job.edit_spec,
+        "can_download": ready and job.status == JobStatus.DONE,
+        # The Files library: its folder, whether the user keeps it, and when it goes (NULL = never).
+        "folder_id": job.folder_id,
+        "kept": job.kept,
+        "expires_at": iso(job.expires_at),
+        "asset": None
+        if asset is None
+        else {
+            "id": asset.id,
+            "status": asset.status,
+            "title": asset.title,
+            "uploader": asset.uploader,
+            "upload_date": iso(asset.upload_date),
+            "duration_s": asset.duration_s,
+            "size_bytes": asset.size_bytes,
+            "width": asset.width,
+            "height": asset.height,
+            "container": asset.container,
+            # "video" | "audio" | "file" — the library gates play/edit on this (media only); a
+            # generic uploaded file is download-only. Null while still in flight (set at finalize).
+            "media_kind": asset.media_kind,
+            "uploader_url": asset.uploader_url,
+            "thumbnail_url": asset.thumbnail_url,
+            # "image" | "pdf" | "text" | null — what `/preview` shows (`downloads/preview.py`).
+            "preview": preview.kind(asset.media_kind, asset.container),
+        },
+    }
+
+
+def assets_for(db: Session, jobs: Sequence[DownloadJob]) -> dict[int, MediaAsset]:
+    ids = {j.asset_id for j in jobs if j.asset_id}
+    if not ids:
+        return {}
+    rows = db.execute(select(MediaAsset).where(MediaAsset.id.in_(ids))).scalars()
+    return {a.id: a for a in rows}
+
+
+def positions_for(db: Session, user: User, jobs: Sequence[DownloadJob]) -> dict[int, int]:
+    """`user`'s resume point in each of `jobs` that has one (the library player's `library_states`)."""
+    ids = [j.id for j in jobs]
+    if not ids:
+        return {}
+    rows = db.execute(
+        select(LibraryState.job_id, LibraryState.position_seconds).where(
+            LibraryState.user_id == user.id, LibraryState.job_id.in_(ids)
+        )
+    ).all()
+    return {job_id: pos for job_id, pos in rows}
+
+
+def serialize_job(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> dict:
+    """Resolve a job's cache asset (if any) and serialize the pair — the resolve-then-serialize step
+    every single-job handler shares."""
+    asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id) if job.asset_id else None
+    return serialize(job, asset)
+
+
+def own_job_for_update(db: Session, user: User, job_id: int) -> DownloadJob:
+    """The ownership check (`owned_or_404`) for a transition that moves its asset's ref count (resume, cancel, delete, redownload)
+    or writes the status those decide on (pause). The job is re-read under a row lock, so two
+    overlapping requests for one job run one after the other and the second decides on the first's
+    committed result — never both releasing the same hold, and never a pause turning a job a cancel
+    just released back into a holder; either can free a file another job still holds.
+
+    The asset is locked BEFORE the job: the order a finishing worker child takes them in
+    (`service.finalize_if_running`), so the two can never deadlock."""
+    while True:
+        asset_id = owned_or_404(db, DownloadJob, job_id, user, what="download").asset_id
+        if asset_id is not None:
+            db.execute(select(MediaAsset.id).where(MediaAsset.id == asset_id).with_for_update())
+        job = db.execute(
+            select(DownloadJob)
+            .where(DownloadJob.id == job_id)
+            .with_for_update()
+            .execution_options(populate_existing=True)
+        ).scalar_one_or_none()
+        if job is None:
+            raise not_found("download")
+        if job.asset_id == asset_id:
+            return job
+        db.rollback()  # another request moved the job to another asset meanwhile: lock that one
+
+
+def quota_detail(e: quota.QuotaExceeded) -> dict:
+    """Structured error the trilingual client localizes (reason key + numbers), instead of a
+    pre-baked English string with a dot-decimal GB value. See lib/api.ts localizeDetail()."""
+    return {"code": "quota", "reason": e.reason, "limit": e.limit, "current": e.current}
+
+
+# The upload's filename and display name travel as HEADERS, not as multipart parts. That is not a
+# style choice: a DECLARED body parameter (`file: UploadFile = File(...)`) is read and spooled by
+# FastAPI *before the first dependency runs*, so the auth dependency could not gate it and an anonymous
+# caller could make the process write the whole per-file allowance to temp, per request (SEC-20
+# bounded the number but could not stop the writing). Reading the body ourselves, from a dependency
+# declared AFTER the auth one, is the only shape that closes it — the same one
+# `POST /api/debug-sessions/{sid}/screenshots` uses, and `test_body_limit.py` now enforces it for
+# every route with a raised ceiling rather than leaving it to a comment like this one.
+#
+# Headers are latin-1 on the wire, so both are percent-encoded by the client and unquoted here; a
+# Hungarian filename would otherwise be unsendable.
+UPLOAD_FILENAME_HEADER = "x-upload-filename"
+UPLOAD_DISPLAY_NAME_HEADER = "x-upload-display-name"
+# The folder the file goes in (its id); without it, the user's Uploads folder.
+UPLOAD_FOLDER_HEADER = "x-upload-folder"
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class SpooledUpload:
+    """What the body dependency hands the handler: the bytes already on disk and their hash, plus
+    the names and the folder that came alongside them."""
+
+    path: Path
+    size: int
+    sha256: str
+    user_id: int
+    filename: str
+    display_name: str | None
+    folder_id: int | None
+
+
+def _header_text(request: Request, name: str) -> str:
+    """One percent-encoded header, decoded. A header that is not valid UTF-8 once unquoted is the
+    caller's doing, not a server fault — it degrades to empty rather than 500ing, and the route's
+    own fallback names the file."""
+    raw = request.headers.get(name, "")
+    try:
+        return unquote(raw, errors="strict").strip()
+    except (UnicodeDecodeError, ValueError):
+        # silent-ok: a mis-encoded header is the caller's own malformed request, and this one is
+        # cosmetic — it names the file. Refusing the upload over it would fail a 500 MiB transfer on
+        # a label; logging it would hand any client a free log line per request.
+        return ""
+
+
+def _upload_folder(db: Session, user_id: int, raw: str) -> int | None:
+    """The folder id an upload asked for (`UPLOAD_FOLDER_HEADER`), checked; None when it asked for
+    none."""
+    if not raw.strip():
+        return None
+    try:
+        return folders.upload_target(db, user_id, int(raw), hold=False).id
+    except ValueError as e:
+        raise refused(409, "file_folder_gone") from e
+    except folders.FolderError as e:
+        raise refused(409, e.reason) from e
+
+
+class _HashingSink:
+    """The upload's file, hashing the bytes on their way in: the hash costs no second read."""
+
+    def __init__(self, out: BinaryIO) -> None:
+        self.out = out
+        self.hash = hashlib.sha256()
+
+    def write(self, data: bytes, /) -> int:
+        self.hash.update(data)
+        return self.out.write(data)
+
+
+async def spool_upload(
+    request: Request,
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
+    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
+) -> AsyncIterator[SpooledUpload]:
+    """Stream the request body to a staging temp file, enforcing the per-file cap as it arrives.
+
+    `user` is taken but unused: it is the whole point. Dependencies resolve in declaration order, so
+    naming `current_user` here makes the auth check a precondition of reading the body at all — a
+    stranger is refused before a byte moves. The `yield` shape owns the temp file's life: ingest
+    MOVES it into place on success (the unlink is then a no-op), and on any other exit — cap hit,
+    empty, quota, probe or move error, a client that vanished mid-upload — it is removed."""
+    cap = sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_upload_max_bytes")
+    user_id = user.id
+    # A folder the file may not go in is refused before the transfer, not after it.
+    folder_id = _upload_folder(db, user_id, request.headers.get(UPLOAD_FOLDER_HEADER, ""))
+    # Hand the pooled connection back BEFORE the transfer starts — see `db.release_read_connection`
+    # for why, and for the precondition it enforces. Everything this dependency still needs is
+    # already an int or a header in hand: touching an ORM attribute below would reload `user` and
+    # check a connection straight back out.
+    release_read_connection(db)
+    staging = Path(settings.files_root) / ".staging" / "uploads"
+    staging.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    fd, tmp = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=str(staging))
+    tmp_path = Path(tmp)
+    try:
+        with os.fdopen(fd, "wb") as out:
+            sink = _HashingSink(out)
+            size = await capped_stream_to(
+                request,
+                sink,
+                cap,
+                HTTPException(status_code=422, detail={"code": "upload_too_large", "limit": cap}),
+            )
+        yield SpooledUpload(
+            path=tmp_path,
+            size=size,
+            sha256=sink.hash.hexdigest(),
+            user_id=user_id,
+            filename=_header_text(request, UPLOAD_FILENAME_HEADER) or "upload",
+            display_name=display_text(_header_text(request, UPLOAD_DISPLAY_NAME_HEADER)),
+            folder_id=folder_id,
+        )
+    finally:
+        tmp_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+
+
+def accessible_job(db: Session, user: User, job_id: int) -> DownloadJob:
+    """A file the caller may read: their own, or one shared with them."""
+    job = db.get(DownloadJob, job_id)
+    if job is None:
+        raise not_found("download")
+    if job.user_id == user.id:
+        return job
+    shared = db.execute(
+        select(DownloadShare.id).where(
+            DownloadShare.job_id == job_id, DownloadShare.to_user_id == user.id
+        )
+    ).first()
+    if shared is None:
+        raise not_found("download")
+    return job
+
+
+# --- folders -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _serialize_folder(folder: FileFolder, count: int, size: int) -> dict:
+    return {
+        "id": folder.id,
+        "kind": folder.kind,
+        # A source folder's name is the client's to render from its key, in the reader's language.
+        "source_key": folder.source_key,
+        "name": folder.name,
+        "retention_days": folder.retention_days,
+        "count": count,
+        "size_bytes": size,
+        "created_at": iso(folder.created_at),
+    }
+
+
+@router.get("/folders")
+def list_folders(user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> list[dict]:
+    """The caller's folders with how many files each holds and their size. A source folder its
+    files have all left stays (count 0): the client decides whether to show it."""
+    done = (DownloadJob.folder_id == FileFolder.id) & (DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.DONE)
+    rows = db.execute(
+        select(
+            FileFolder,
+            func.count(DownloadJob.id),
+            func.coalesce(func.sum(MediaAsset.size_bytes), 0),
+        )
+        .outerjoin(DownloadJob, done)
+        .outerjoin(MediaAsset, MediaAsset.id == DownloadJob.asset_id)
+        .where(FileFolder.user_id == user.id)
+        .group_by(FileFolder.id)
+        .order_by(FileFolder.kind.desc(), FileFolder.source_key, FileFolder.name, FileFolder.id)
+    ).all()
+    return [_serialize_folder(f, count, int(size)) for f, count, size in rows]
+
+
+class FolderIn(BaseModel):
+    name: str = Field(min_length=1, max_length=DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX)
+
+
+def _folder_name(raw: str) -> str:
+    name = display_text(raw)
+    if not name:
+        raise refused(400, "file_folder_name_required")
+    return name
+
+
+@router.post("/folders")
+def create_folder(
+    body: FolderIn, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> dict:
+    folder = FileFolder(user_id=user.id, kind=folders.FolderKind.OWN, name=_folder_name(body.name))
+    try:
+        with db.begin_nested():
+            db.add(folder)
+            db.flush()
+    except IntegrityError as e:  # the unique (user, lower(name)): one folder per name
+        raise refused(409, "file_folder_name_taken") from e
+    audit.record(
+        db, user.id, AuditAction.FILE_FOLDER_CREATE, target_type="file_folder", target_id=folder.id
+    )
+    db.commit()
+    return _serialize_folder(folder, 0, 0)
+
+
+class UpdateFolderIn(BaseModel):
+    # Presence (model_fields_set) decides what is touched; retention_days null = keep forever.
+    name: str | None = Field(default=None, min_length=1, max_length=DISPLAY_TEXT_MAX)
+    retention_days: int | None = Field(default=None, ge=1, le=_MAX_RETENTION_DAYS)
+
+
+@router.patch("/folders/{folder_id}")
+def update_folder(
+    folder_id: int,
+    body: UpdateFolderIn,
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
+    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
+) -> dict:
+    """Rename one of the caller's own folders (a source folder's name is its origin's), and/or set
+    how long any of their folders keeps a file (`folders.set_retention`)."""
+    folder = owned_or_404(db, FileFolder, folder_id, user, what="folder")
+    sent = body.model_fields_set
+    if "name" in sent:
+        if folder.kind != folders.FolderKind.OWN:
+            raise refused(409, "file_folder_not_own")
+        folder.name = _folder_name(body.name or "")
+        try:
+            with db.begin_nested():
+                db.flush()
+        except IntegrityError as e:
+            raise refused(409, "file_folder_name_taken") from e
+        audit.record(
+            db,
+            user.id,
+            AuditAction.FILE_FOLDER_RENAME,
+            target_type="file_folder",
+            target_id=folder.id,
+        )
+    if "retention_days" in sent:
+        # The value replaced is the one read under the folder's lock, not the one read above it.
+        try:
+            before = folders.set_retention(db, folder, body.retention_days)
+        except folders.FolderError as e:
+            raise refused(409, e.reason) from e
+        if before != body.retention_days:
+            audit.record(
+                db,
+                user.id,
+                AuditAction.FILE_FOLDER_RETENTION,
+                target_type="file_folder",
+                target_id=folder.id,
+                before={"retention_days": before},
+                after={"retention_days": body.retention_days},
+            )
+    db.commit()
+    count, size = _folder_totals(db, folder.id)
+    return _serialize_folder(folder, count, size)
+
+
+def _folder_totals(db: Session, folder_id: int) -> tuple[int, int]:
+    count, size = db.execute(
+        select(func.count(DownloadJob.id), func.coalesce(func.sum(MediaAsset.size_bytes), 0))
+        .select_from(DownloadJob)
+        .outerjoin(MediaAsset, MediaAsset.id == DownloadJob.asset_id)
+        .where(DownloadJob.folder_id == folder_id, DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.DONE)
+    ).one()
+    return count, int(size)
+
+
+@router.delete("/folders/{folder_id}")
+def delete_folder(
+    folder_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> dict:
+    """Delete one of the caller's own folders; its files go back to their source folders."""
+    folder = owned_or_404(db, FileFolder, folder_id, user, what="folder")
+    try:
+        moved = folders.delete_own(db, folder)
+    except folders.FolderError as e:
+        raise refused(409, e.reason) from e
+    audit.record(
+        db,
+        user.id,
+        AuditAction.FILE_FOLDER_DELETE,
+        target_type="file_folder",
+        target_id=folder_id,
+        after={"files_moved": moved},
+    )
+    db.commit()
+    return {"ok": True, "deleted": folder_id, "files_moved": moved}
+
+
+@router.get("/usage")
+def my_usage(user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
+    """The caller's storage quota, plus the per-file upload cap.
+
+    The cap rides here rather than in `quota.usage` because it is not a quota value — it is a
+    `sysconfig` knob about one route — and this is the route layer, where composing the two is the
+    job. The upload dialog needs it to refuse an over-cap file BEFORE sending it: both server-side
+    caps answer too late to be pleasant (the edge ceiling refuses the request outright, see
+    `bodylimit.ROUTE_MAX_BODY_BYTES`), and making the user push 600 MB up the wire to be told the
+    limit is 500 is a bad answer even when it is a correct one. It is a convenience, not the
+    boundary: the caps stay where they are and still refuse a client that ignores this.
+    """
+    return {
+        **quota.usage(db, user.id),
+        "upload_max_bytes": sysconfig.get_int(db, "download_upload_max_bytes"),
+    }
+
+
+@router.delete("/shared/{job_id}")
+def remove_shared_with_me(
+    job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> dict:
+    """Remove a file that was shared WITH this user from their 'Shared with me' list. Deletes
+    only the recipient's share grant — the owner's job and the physical file are untouched (this is
+    a per-user dismissal, not a delete)."""
+    row = db.execute(
+        select(DownloadShare).where(
+            DownloadShare.job_id == job_id, DownloadShare.to_user_id == user.id
+        )
+    ).scalar_one_or_none()
+    if row is not None:
+        db.delete(row)
+        db.commit()
+    return {"ok": True, "removed": job_id}
+
+
+# --- files ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+@router.get("")
+def list_files(
+    folder_id: int | None = None,
+    q: str = Query("", max_length=200),
+    sort: Literal["added", "name", "size"] = "added",
+    order: Literal["asc", "desc"] = "desc",
+    scope: Literal["mine", "shared"] = "mine",
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
+    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
+) -> list[dict]:
+    """The caller's done files (`scope=mine`, optionally one folder's), or the ones shared with
+    them (`scope=shared`); searched by name and channel, sorted by when they were added, by name
+    (in the reader's alphabet) or by size."""
+    stmt = (
+        select(DownloadJob)
+        .join(MediaAsset, MediaAsset.id == DownloadJob.asset_id)
+        .where(DownloadJob.status == JobStatus.DONE)
+    )
+    shared = scope == "shared"
+    if shared:
+        stmt = stmt.join(DownloadShare, DownloadShare.job_id == DownloadJob.id).where(
+            DownloadShare.to_user_id == user.id
+        )
+    else:
+        stmt = stmt.where(DownloadJob.user_id == user.id)
+        if folder_id is not None:
+            stmt = stmt.where(DownloadJob.folder_id == folder_id)
+    name = func.coalesce(DownloadJob.display_name, MediaAsset.title, "")
+    term = q.strip()
+    if term:
+        like = f"%{like_escape(term)}%"
+        stmt = stmt.where(
+            or_(
+                name.ilike(like),
+                func.coalesce(DownloadJob.display_uploader, MediaAsset.uploader, "").ilike(like),
+            )
+        )
+    # A file is added to its owner's list when it is done, not when it was asked for (a download that
+    # failed for days and then went through is new); one shared with the caller, when it was shared.
+    key = {
+        "added": DownloadShare.created_at if shared else DownloadJob.ready_at,
+        "name": collated(name, lang_for_user(user)),
+        "size": MediaAsset.size_bytes,
+    }[sort]
+    first = key.asc() if order == "asc" else key.desc()
+    tie = DownloadJob.id.asc() if order == "asc" else DownloadJob.id.desc()
+    jobs = db.execute(stmt.order_by(first.nulls_last(), tie).limit(MAX_LIST)).scalars().all()
+    assets = assets_for(db, jobs)
+    positions = positions_for(db, user, jobs)
+    shared_at = _shared_at(db, user, jobs) if shared else {}
+    sources = source_keys(db, jobs)
+    return [
+        {
+            **serialize(j, assets.get(j.asset_id) if j.asset_id is not None else None),
+            "position_seconds": positions.get(j.id, 0),
+            "shared": shared,
+            "shared_at": iso(shared_at.get(j.id)),
+            "source_key": sources[j.id],
+        }
+        for j in jobs
+    ]
+
+
+def source_keys(db: Session, jobs: Sequence[DownloadJob]) -> dict[int, str]:
+    """Where each file came from (its source folder's key), for the list's Source column, the
+    "back to its source folder" move and the download tray's site: a file in a source folder has its folder's key; one moved into
+    an own folder (or someone else's, shared) is traced back by `folders.source_key_for`."""
+    ids = {j.folder_id for j in jobs if j.folder_id is not None}
+    by_id = (
+        {f.id: f for f in db.execute(select(FileFolder).where(FileFolder.id.in_(ids))).scalars()}
+        if ids
+        else {}
+    )
+    out: dict[int, str] = {}
+    for j in jobs:
+        folder = by_id.get(j.folder_id) if j.folder_id is not None else None
+        if folder is not None and folder.kind == folders.FolderKind.SOURCE and folder.source_key:
+            out[j.id] = folder.source_key
+        else:
+            out[j.id] = folders.source_key_for(db, j)
+    return out
+
+
+def _shared_at(db: Session, user: User, jobs: Sequence[DownloadJob]) -> dict[int, datetime]:
+    rows = db.execute(
+        select(DownloadShare.job_id, DownloadShare.created_at).where(
+            DownloadShare.to_user_id == user.id,
+            DownloadShare.job_id.in_([j.id for j in jobs]),
+        )
+    ).all()
+    return {job_id: at for job_id, at in rows}
+
+
+_MAX_EXTRA_LINKS = 8
+
+
+def _clean_url(raw) -> str | None:
+    """Accept only a plausible http(s) URL (these get rendered as clickable links + embedded in a
+    public watch page); anything else is dropped rather than trusted."""
+    if not isinstance(raw, str):
+        return None
+    url = raw.strip()
+    if not url:
+        return None
+    if not url.startswith(("http://", "https://")):
+        return None
+    # `urlparse` raises on a malformed authority; this function already has a "not a plausible URL"
+    # answer, so the typo belongs in it.
+    try:
+        parsed = urlparse(url)
+    # silent-ok: a typo in a link someone pasted. None is this function's "not a plausible URL"
+    # answer, the caller already has one, and any line here would carry the URL itself.
+    except ValueError:
+        return None
+    if not parsed.netloc:
+        return None
+    return url[:2048]
+
+
+class UpdateFileIn(BaseModel):
+    # Presence (model_fields_set) decides what is touched; a null/"" text falls back to the system
+    # value (the title, the channel). All display-only: the file on disk keeps its own name.
+    name: str | None = None
+    uploader: str | None = None
+    uploader_url: str | None = None
+    extra_links: list | None = None
+    folder_id: int | None = None
+    kept: bool | None = None
+
+
+@router.patch("/{job_id}")
+def update_file(
+    job_id: int,
+    body: UpdateFileIn,
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
+    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
+) -> dict:
+    """Rename a file and its channel, set its reference links (all display-only: the file on disk
+    keeps its own name), move it to another folder (`folders.move`), or keep it until deleted /
+    hand it back to its folder's retention."""
+    job = owned_or_404(db, DownloadJob, job_id, user, what="download")
+    sent = body.model_fields_set
+    if "name" in sent:
+        job.display_name = display_text(body.name)
+    if "uploader" in sent:
+        job.display_uploader = display_text(body.uploader)
+    if "uploader_url" in sent:
+        job.display_uploader_url = _clean_url(body.uploader_url)
+    if "extra_links" in sent:
+        raw = body.extra_links or []
+        cleaned = [u for u in (_clean_url(x) for x in raw) if u][:_MAX_EXTRA_LINKS]
+        job.extra_links = cleaned or None
+    if "folder_id" in sent:
+        if body.folder_id is None:
+            raise refused(400, "file_folder_gone")
+        before = job.folder_id
+        try:
+            folders.move(db, job, folders.own_folder(db, user.id, body.folder_id))
+        except folders.FolderError as e:
+            raise refused(409, e.reason) from e
+        if job.folder_id != before:
+            audit.record(
+                db,
+                user.id,
+                AuditAction.FILE_MOVE,
+                target_type="file",
+                target_id=job.id,
+                before={"folder_id": before},
+                after={"folder_id": job.folder_id},
+            )
+    if "kept" in sent and body.kept is not None and body.kept != job.kept:
+        folders.set_kept(db, job, body.kept)
+        action = AuditAction.FILE_KEEP if body.kept else AuditAction.FILE_UNKEEP
+        audit.record(db, user.id, action, target_type="file", target_id=job.id)
+    db.commit()
+    return serialize_job(db, job)
+
+
+@router.delete("/{job_id}")
+def delete_file(
+    job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> dict:
+    """Delete a file from the caller's library; the bytes go with their last holder."""
+    job = own_job_for_update(db, user, job_id)
+    audit.record(db, user.id, AuditAction.FILE_DELETE, target_type="file", target_id=job_id)
+    service.delete(db, job)  # commits, the audit row with it
+    return {"ok": True, "deleted": job_id}
+
+
+@router.post("/upload")
+def upload_file(
+    upload: SpooledUpload = Depends(spool_upload),
+    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
+) -> dict:
+    """Put a local file in the caller's library — in the folder `UPLOAD_FOLDER_HEADER` names, else
+    their Uploads folder. Any file type; media gets the player, a generic file is download-only.
+    The body IS the file (see the header note above `UPLOAD_FILENAME_HEADER`); `spool_upload` has
+    authenticated the caller, checked the folder and streamed it to disk already.
+
+    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."""
+    return serialize_job(db, ingest_spooled(db, upload))
+
+
+def ingest_spooled(db: Session, upload: SpooledUpload) -> DownloadJob:
+    """The spooled upload into the library (`upload.ingest_upload`, which commits its own rows),
+    its refusals answered as HTTP."""
+    if upload.size == 0:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail={"code": "upload_empty"})
+    try:
+        job = uploadmod.ingest_upload(
+            db,
+            upload.user_id,
+            filename=upload.filename,
+            src_path=upload.path,
+            size=upload.size,
+            display_name=upload.display_name,
+            sha256=upload.sha256,
+            folder_id=upload.folder_id,
+        )
+    except quota.QuotaExceeded as e:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=quota_detail(e)) from e
+    except folders.FolderError as e:  # the folder went while the file was on its way
+        raise refused(409, e.reason) from e
+    return job
+
+
+def _ready_file(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> tuple[MediaAsset, Path]:
+    asset = db.get(MediaAsset, job.asset_id) if job.asset_id else None
+    if asset is None or asset.status != "ready" or not asset.rel_path:
+        raise refused(409, "download_not_ready")
+    path = storage.safe_abs_path(settings.files_root, asset.rel_path)
+    if path is None:
+        raise not_found("file")
+    return asset, path
+
+
+def serve_file(db: Session, job: DownloadJob) -> FileResponse:
+    """The file of `job` (the caller may read it), range-aware, named by the user's display name.
+
+    The served Content-Type comes from the ffprobe-verified media_kind + a container allow-list
+    (`storage.served_media_type`), NEVER guessed from the file's own extension. A generic 'file' (and
+    any media whose container we don't recognise — e.g. a media/HTML polyglot named "evil.html")
+    returns None → a neutral force-download attachment, so uploaded HTML/SVG can't execute inline on
+    this origin. Recognised media is served with its real type so the in-app player streams it. Both
+    are range-aware (FileResponse → 206). A file whose hash is known says so (`Repr-Digest`, RFC
+    9530: the digest of the whole file, whichever range is asked for)."""
+    asset, path = _ready_file(db, job)
+    filename = storage.download_filename(
+        job.display_name or asset.title or asset.source_ref, asset.container, path
+    )
+    headers = {}
+    if asset.sha256:
+        digest = base64.b64encode(bytes.fromhex(asset.sha256)).decode()
+        headers["Repr-Digest"] = f"sha-256=:{digest}:"
+    asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)  # the handler commits it
+    media_type = storage.served_media_type(asset.media_kind, asset.container)
+    if media_type is None:
+        return FileResponse(
+            path,
+            filename=filename,
+            media_type="application/octet-stream",
+            content_disposition_type="attachment",
+            headers=headers,
+        )
+    return FileResponse(path, filename=filename, media_type=media_type, headers=headers)
+
+
+@router.get("/{job_id}/file")
+def get_file(job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
+    response = serve_file(db, accessible_job(db, user, job_id))
+    db.commit()
+    return response
+
+
+# A preview's own headers. `sandbox` leaves the answer no script and an opaque origin, whatever the
+# file turns out to hold; `frame-ancestors 'self'` lets the app's viewer frame a PDF (every other
+# answer keeps the app-wide 'none', main.py), with X-Frame-Options saying the same for old engines.
+PREVIEW_HEADERS = {
+    "Content-Security-Policy": "sandbox; frame-ancestors 'self'",
+    "X-Frame-Options": "SAMEORIGIN",
+}
+# Set on a text preview cut at `preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES`, so the viewer can say it shows the start.
+TRUNCATED_HEADER = "X-Preview-Truncated"
+
+
+@router.get("/{job_id}/preview")
+def preview_file(
+    job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> Response:
+    """The file shown in the library's viewer: an image or a PDF inline, a text format as plain text
+    (its first `TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES`). The type comes from `downloads/preview.py`'s allow-list, so
+    an HTML or SVG upload arrives as text, never as a page. Anything else: 415 `file_no_preview`."""
+    job = accessible_job(db, user, job_id)
+    asset, path = _ready_file(db, job)
+    kind = preview.kind(asset.media_kind, asset.container)
+    if kind is None:
+        raise refused(415, "file_no_preview")
+    headers = dict(PREVIEW_HEADERS)
+    if kind == "text":
+        with path.open("rb") as f:
+            head = f.read(preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES + 1)
+        if len(head) > preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES:
+            head = head[: preview.TEXT_PREVIEW_BYTES]
+            headers[TRUNCATED_HEADER] = "1"
+        text = preview.text_utf8(head)
+        if text is None:
+            raise refused(415, "file_no_preview")
+        asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+        db.commit()
+        return Response(text, media_type=preview.media_type(kind, asset.container), headers=headers)
+    filename = storage.download_filename(
+        job.display_name or asset.title or asset.source_ref, asset.container, path
+    )
+    asset.last_access_at = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    db.commit()
+    return FileResponse(
+        path,
+        filename=filename,
+        media_type=preview.media_type(kind, asset.container),
+        content_disposition_type="inline",
+        headers=headers,
+    )
+
+
+@router.get("/{job_id}/sha256")
+def get_sha256(
+    job_id: int, user: User = Depends(current_user), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
+) -> dict:
+    """The file's SHA-256 (hex), hashed now if it never was and kept on the asset for every holder.
+    A sync handler: hashing a large file is blocking disk work, so it runs in the threadpool — and
+    every other sync route shares that pool, so only `_HASHERS` files are hashed at a time (a caller
+    past that is told to come back), and none of them holds a database connection while it reads."""
+    asset, path = _ready_file(db, accessible_job(db, user, job_id))
+    if asset.sha256:
+        return {"sha256": asset.sha256}
+    asset_id = asset.id
+    if not _HASHING.acquire(blocking=False):
+        raise refused(429, "file_hash_busy")
+    try:
+        release_read_connection(db)
+        h = hashlib.sha256()
+        with path.open("rb") as f:
+            while chunk := f.read(_HASH_CHUNK):
+                h.update(chunk)
+    except OSError as e:
+        raise not_found("file") from e
+    finally:
+        _HASHING.release()
+    digest = h.hexdigest()
+    db.execute(
+        update(MediaAsset)
+        .where(MediaAsset.id == asset_id, MediaAsset.sha256.is_(None))
+        .values(sha256=digest)
+    )
+    db.commit()
+    return {"sha256": digest}

backend/app/routes/me.py

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from typing import Any
 
-from fastapi import APIRouter, BackgroundTasks, Depends, HTTPException, Request
+from fastapi import APIRouter, BackgroundTasks, Depends, Request
 from pydantic import BaseModel, RootModel
 from sqlalchemy import func, select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def my_accounts(
     """The accounts that have authenticated in this browser session (switchable without a
     new Google sign-in). The active one is flagged."""
     ids = request.session.get("account_ids") or [user.id]
-    rows = {u.id: u for u in db.query(User).filter(User.id.in_(ids)).all()}
+    rows = {u.id: u for u in db.execute(select(User).where(User.id.in_(ids))).scalars()}
     out = []
     for uid in ids:  # preserve recency order from the session
         u = rows.get(uid)
@@ -131,7 +131,6 @@ def get_me(
         "display_name": user.display_name,
         "avatar_url": user.avatar_url,
         "role": user.role,
-        "is_demo": user.is_demo,
         "has_google": user.google_sub is not None,
         # The address Google answers with, when it DIFFERS from the account's own. Same string for
         # most people, and then this is None so no surface has to decide whether to show it — the
@@ -141,13 +140,16 @@ def get_me(
         ),
         "has_password": user.password_hash is not None,
         # The account's latest sign-in on any device — shown in Settings → Account, so a sign-in the
-        # user does not recognise is something they can see (null: none since 0.88, or the demo).
+        # user does not recognise is something they can see (null: none since 0.88).
         "last_login_at": iso(user.last_login_at),
         # Instance-wide: whether Google sign-in / YouTube connect is available at all (the UI hides
         # YouTube-access affordances and the onboarding nudge when it isn't configured).
         "google_enabled": google_enabled(db),
         # Whether the optional Plex module is enabled (UI shows the Plex feed source when so).
         "plex_enabled": sysconfig.get_bool(db, "plex_enabled"),
+        # Which live-search source runs, so the search button can say what a search costs: "scrape"
+        # spends no API quota, "api" spends 100 units a page.
+        "search_source": sysconfig.get_str(db, "search_source"),
         "can_read": has_read_scope(user),
         "can_write": has_write_scope(user),
         "pending_invites": pending_invites,
@@ -156,12 +158,12 @@ def get_me(
         "pending_activations": pending_activations,
         "email_configured": email_configured,
         "preferences": user.preferences or {},
-        # The consented diagnostics level in force and when it lapses (E22 S5). The client applies
+        # The consented diagnostics level in force and when it lapses. The client applies
         # it to its own log and streams that log while it is raised.
         "diagnostics": diagnostics.state(db, user),
-        # The live debug session, if one is recording (E16) — a reload resumes it.
+        # The live debug session, if one is recording — a reload resumes it.
         "debug_session": _live_session(db, user),
-        # Where a bug report goes (E16 S4): the tracker's repository, or None — download only.
+        # Where a bug report goes: the tracker's repository, or None — download only.
         "issues": gitea.target(db),
     }
 
@@ -181,15 +183,8 @@ def delete_my_account(
     """GDPR self-service erasure: permanently delete the signed-in account and ALL its personal
     data — OAuth tokens, subscriptions, tags, watch/save/hide states, playlists, notifications —
     which all cascade on the users row. Quota-audit events are kept but anonymised (FK SET NULL).
-    The shared demo account can't be deleted, and the last remaining admin can't delete itself
-    (that would lock everyone out of the admin surfaces)."""
-    # Structured, like the other three demo refusals: `req` leaves 403 to the caller and
-    # `notifyActionError` discards a plain-string detail in favour of the caller's translated
-    # fallback, so a hand-written English sentence here reaches a Hungarian UI as a generic
-    # "couldn't do that" — or, on this affordance, as nothing at all. `reason` distinguishes it
-    # from the other sites' bare `{code: "demo"}` so the UI can say what specifically is refused.
-    if user.is_demo:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail={"code": "demo", "reason": "delete_account"})
+    The last remaining admin can't delete itself (that would lock everyone out of the admin
+    surfaces)."""
     if user.role == "admin" and count_admins(db) <= 1:
         raise refused(400, "only_admin_delete")
     user_id = user.id
@@ -239,10 +234,7 @@ def update_diagnostics(
 ) -> dict:
     """Raise the diagnostics level (the user consented in Settings → Diagnosztika) or return to the
     base. The expiry is the server's: a raised level always lapses after
-    `diagnostics.ELEVATION_HOURS`, whatever the client asks. The shared demo account cannot raise
-    it — its log would interleave every visitor's session under one account."""
-    if user.is_demo and body.level != diagnostics.BASE:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail={"code": "demo", "reason": "diagnostics"})
+    `diagnostics.ELEVATION_HOURS`, whatever the client asks."""
     diagnostics.set_level(user, body.level)
     db.commit()
     # The rest of THIS request, and the process's elevation registry, follow the new level now.

backend/app/routes/messages.py

@@ -1,479 +0,0 @@
-"""Direct messaging (notification module, phase 2): end-to-end encrypted user-to-user chat
-plus server-authored system messages, with live WebSocket delivery.
-
-E2EE model: every private message is encrypted IN THE BROWSER under a key both parties derive
-from ECDH(their private key, the other's public key). The server only ever stores ciphertext +
-iv and acts as a key directory (public keys) and an opaque blob store (each user's private key,
-wrapped client-side with a passphrase the server never sees). So not even an admin can read a
-user-to-user conversation. `kind="system"` messages (the welcome; future announcements) are
-plain server boilerplate — non-private, readable without any key setup, shown as a "Siftlode"
-conversation.
-
-Every endpoint is gated by `require_human` (the shared demo account can't message). Metadata
-(who messaged whom, when, read state) is NOT encrypted — standard for E2EE and needed for
-routing and unread counts.
-"""
-
-from datetime import datetime, timezone
-
-from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, WebSocket, WebSocketDisconnect
-from pydantic import BaseModel
-from sqlalchemy import and_, case, delete, func, or_, select
-from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
-
-from app.mailtext import lang_for_user
-from app.collation import collated
-from app.auth import require_human, resolved_user_id
-from app.db import SessionLocal, get_db
-from app.models import Message, MessageKey, User
-from app.ratelimit import RateLimiter
-from app.realtime import manager
-from app.security import verify_password
-from app.userscope import is_messageable_user, messageable_clauses
-from app.utils import iso
-from app.refusal import refused
-from app.routes._common import not_found
-
-router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/messages", tags=["messages"])
-
-MAX_CIPHERTEXT = 8000  # base64 of a generous plaintext + AES-GCM overhead
-SYSTEM_PARTNER_ID = 0  # synthetic conversation partner for system messages
-SYSTEM_NAME = "Siftlode"
-_send_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=30, window_seconds=60)
-_reset_key_limiter = RateLimiter(max_events=5, window_seconds=300)
-
-# The welcome is rendered server-side at creation time, so it carries its own translations
-# (one per supported UI language). Kept short and non-private (every new user gets the same text).
-WELCOME = {
-    "en": (
-        "Welcome to Siftlode! 👋\n\n"
-        "This is your private message inbox. Conversations with other members are end-to-end "
-        "encrypted — only you and the person you're chatting with can read them, not even an "
-        "admin. To start messaging someone, set up secure messaging with a passphrase first.\n\n"
-        "Enjoy your Feed!"
-    ),
-    "hu": (
-        "Üdv a Siftlode-on! 👋\n\n"
-        "Ez a privát üzenet-postafiókod. A többi taggal folytatott beszélgetések végpontig "
-        "titkosítottak — csak te és a beszélgetőpartnered olvashatja őket, még az admin sem. "
-        "Ha üzenni szeretnél valakinek, előbb állítsd be a biztonságos üzenetküldést egy "
-        "jelszóval.\n\n"
-        "Jó böngészést!"
-    ),
-}
-
-
-class KeySetupIn(BaseModel):
-    public_key: str
-    wrapped_private_key: str
-    salt: str
-    wrap_iv: str
-    key_check: str
-
-
-class KeyResetIn(BaseModel):
-    # Present only for password accounts; a Google-only account has no password to re-verify.
-    current_password: str | None = None
-
-
-class SendIn(BaseModel):
-    recipient_id: int
-    ciphertext: str
-    iv: str
-
-
-def _user_label(u: User) -> str:
-    return u.display_name or u.email.split("@")[0]
-
-
-def _serialize_user(u: User) -> dict:
-    return {"id": u.id, "name": _user_label(u), "avatar_url": u.avatar_url}
-
-
-def _system_partner() -> dict:
-    return {"id": SYSTEM_PARTNER_ID, "name": SYSTEM_NAME, "avatar_url": None}
-
-
-# The welcome's opening line in every language — how a stored copy is recognised. It was rendered
-# once, in the language of the day it was created, so an account that later switched language kept
-# reading it in the old one (E31 S1: the owner's, in English). Recognised here, it is served in the
-# reader's language instead. Derived from WELCOME itself, so a change to an OPENING line, or a
-# language taken out of WELCOME, orphans the copies already stored: they are served as stored. The
-# one retired language (German, 2026-07) left none on prod (checked 2026-10-02).
-_WELCOME_OPENINGS = {text.partition("\n")[0] for text in WELCOME.values()}
-
-
-def _system_body(body: str | None, lang: str | None) -> str | None:
-    """A system message's text for a reader of `lang`: the welcome in their language, any other as
-    stored."""
-    if body is None or lang is None or body.partition("\n")[0] not in _WELCOME_OPENINGS:
-        return body
-    return WELCOME.get(lang, WELCOME["en"])
-
-
-def _serialize_msg(m: Message, lang: str | None = None) -> dict:
-    """`lang`: the reader's language, for a system message's text (a user message is ciphertext)."""
-    return {
-        "id": m.id,
-        "kind": m.kind,
-        "sender_id": m.sender_id,
-        "recipient_id": m.recipient_id,
-        "body": _system_body(m.body, lang) if m.kind == "system" else m.body,
-        "ciphertext": m.ciphertext,
-        "iv": m.iv,
-        "read_at": iso(m.read_at),
-        "created_at": iso(m.created_at),
-    }
-
-
-def ensure_welcome(db: Session, user: User) -> None:
-    """Create the one-time system welcome message for a (human) user the first time it's needed.
-    Idempotent: guarded on whether any system message already exists for them."""
-    if user.is_demo:
-        return
-    exists = db.scalar(
-        select(Message.id).where(Message.recipient_id == user.id, Message.kind == "system").limit(1)
-    )
-    if exists:
-        return
-    lang = (user.preferences or {}).get("language")
-    body = WELCOME.get(lang, WELCOME["en"])
-    m = Message(kind="system", sender_id=None, recipient_id=user.id, body=body)
-    db.add(m)
-    db.commit()
-    db.refresh(m)
-    manager.push(user.id, {"type": "message", "message": _serialize_msg(m, lang_for_user(user))})
-
-
-# --- E2EE key directory / blob store -----------------------------------------
-
-
-@router.get("/keys/me")
-def my_key(user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
-    """My own key bundle. `configured` says whether secure messaging is set up; if so the
-    wrapped blob + params are returned so this device can unlock with the passphrase."""
-    k = db.get(MessageKey, user.id)
-    if k is None:
-        return {"configured": False}
-    return {
-        "configured": True,
-        "public_key": k.public_key,
-        "wrapped_private_key": k.wrapped_private_key,
-        "salt": k.salt,
-        "wrap_iv": k.wrap_iv,
-        "key_check": k.key_check,
-    }
-
-
-@router.post("/keys")
-def setup_keys(
-    payload: KeySetupIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
-    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
-) -> dict:
-    """Store this user's public key + passphrase-wrapped private key. Set-once: changing the
-    key would orphan every existing conversation key, so re-setup is rejected here."""
-    if db.get(MessageKey, user.id) is not None:
-        raise refused(409, "messaging_set_up")
-    db.add(
-        MessageKey(
-            user_id=user.id,
-            public_key=payload.public_key,
-            wrapped_private_key=payload.wrapped_private_key,
-            salt=payload.salt,
-            wrap_iv=payload.wrap_iv,
-            key_check=payload.key_check,
-        )
-    )
-    db.commit()
-    return {"ok": True, "configured": True}
-
-
-@router.post("/keys/reset")
-def reset_keys(
-    payload: KeyResetIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
-    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
-) -> dict:
-    """Forgotten-passphrase escape hatch: drop this user's secure-messaging key so they can set a
-    NEW passphrase (the set-once guard in setup_keys otherwise makes a lost passphrase a permanent
-    wall). Destroys the user's entire E2EE history BY DESIGN — every conversation key is derived
-    from this keypair, so replacing it orphans every stored ciphertext in both directions. Those
-    now-undecryptable `user` messages are deleted here (a clean slate for both parties) rather than
-    left as permanent "can't decrypt" clutter; `system` messages (plaintext) are untouched.
-
-    An account WITH a password must re-authenticate: a hijacked session must not be able to silently
-    reset messaging and then read the victim's future messages under a new passphrase. A password-
-    less (Google-only) account has nothing to re-verify, so it relies on its live session plus the
-    client-side danger confirmation."""
-    if not _reset_key_limiter.allow(str(user.id)):
-        raise refused(429, "too_many_attempts")
-    if user.password_hash and not verify_password(
-        payload.current_password or "", user.password_hash
-    ):
-        raise refused(403, "wrong_password")
-    # Delete the now-dead ciphertext first (both directions), then the wrapped keypair itself so a
-    # fresh setup is allowed. Order doesn't matter (no FK between them), but do it in one commit.
-    db.execute(
-        delete(Message).where(
-            Message.kind == "user",
-            or_(Message.sender_id == user.id, Message.recipient_id == user.id),
-        )
-    )
-    key = db.get(MessageKey, user.id)
-    if key is not None:
-        db.delete(key)
-    db.commit()
-    return {"ok": True, "configured": False}
-
-
-@router.get("/keys/{user_id}")
-def public_key(
-    user_id: int, user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
-) -> dict:
-    """A member's public key, for deriving the pairwise conversation key. MB2 (like get_thread):
-    resolve the target only if they're messageable OR we already share a thread, else the same
-    "User not found" as a non-existent id — so this can't be probed to enumerate user_ids or to
-    fetch keys for suspended/deactivated/demo accounts."""
-    cond = and_(
-        Message.kind == "user",
-        or_(
-            and_(Message.sender_id == user.id, Message.recipient_id == user_id),
-            and_(Message.sender_id == user_id, Message.recipient_id == user.id),
-        ),
-    )
-    p = db.get(User, user_id)
-    has_history = db.scalar(select(Message.id).where(cond).limit(1))
-    if p is None or (not is_messageable_user(p) and not has_history):
-        raise not_found("user")
-    k = db.get(MessageKey, user_id)
-    if k is None:
-        raise refused(404, "no_messaging")
-    return {"user_id": user_id, "public_key": k.public_key}
-
-
-# --- directory + conversations -----------------------------------------------
-
-
-@router.get("/users")
-def list_recipients(
-    user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)
-) -> list[dict]:
-    """Member directory for the recipient picker: messageable members (except me) who have set
-    up secure messaging (so a conversation key can be derived)."""
-    rows = (
-        db.execute(
-            select(User)
-            .join(MessageKey, MessageKey.user_id == User.id)
-            .where(User.id != user.id, *messageable_clauses())
-            .order_by(collated(func.coalesce(User.display_name, User.email), lang_for_user(user)))
-        )
-        .scalars()
-        .all()
-    )
-    return [_serialize_user(u) for u in rows]
-
-
-@router.get("/conversations")
-def list_conversations(user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
-    """One entry per conversation: each user partner (E2EE) plus the system "Siftlode" thread,
-    with the latest message + my unread count, newest first. Lazily creates the welcome on the
-    first open. User-message previews are ciphertext — the client decrypts them."""
-    ensure_welcome(db, user)
-    # The conversation partner for a message, from this user's perspective (system → 0).
-    partner_expr = case(
-        (Message.kind == "system", SYSTEM_PARTNER_ID),
-        (Message.sender_id == user.id, Message.recipient_id),
-        else_=Message.sender_id,
-    )
-    mine = or_(Message.sender_id == user.id, Message.recipient_id == user.id)
-    # Latest message per conversation in ONE query (DISTINCT ON, Postgres) instead of loading the
-    # user's whole message history into Python — bounded by the number of conversations.
-    latest = (
-        db.execute(
-            select(Message)
-            .where(mine)
-            .distinct(partner_expr)
-            .order_by(partner_expr, Message.created_at.desc())
-        )
-        .scalars()
-        .all()
-    )
-    # Unread incoming, grouped per conversation.
-    unread = dict(
-        db.execute(
-            select(partner_expr, func.count())
-            .where(mine, Message.recipient_id == user.id, Message.read_at.is_(None))
-            .group_by(partner_expr)
-        ).all()
-    )
-
-    def _pid(m: Message) -> int:
-        if m.kind == "system":
-            return SYSTEM_PARTNER_ID
-        return m.recipient_id if m.sender_id == user.id else m.sender_id
-
-    user_ids = [_pid(m) for m in latest if m.kind != "system"]
-    partners = {}
-    if user_ids:
-        partners = {
-            u.id: u for u in db.execute(select(User).where(User.id.in_(user_ids))).scalars().all()
-        }
-    items = []
-    for m in latest:
-        pid = _pid(m)
-        if pid == SYSTEM_PARTNER_ID:
-            partner = _system_partner()
-        elif pid in partners:
-            partner = _serialize_user(partners[pid])
-        else:
-            continue
-        items.append(
-            {
-                "partner": partner,
-                "last_message": _serialize_msg(m, lang_for_user(user)),
-                "unread": int(unread.get(pid, 0)),
-            }
-        )
-    items.sort(key=lambda x: x["last_message"]["created_at"] or "", reverse=True)
-    return {"items": items}
-
-
-@router.get("/conversations/{partner_id}")
-def get_thread(
-    partner_id: int,
-    mark_read: bool = True,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
-    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
-) -> dict:
-    """Full thread with a partner (or the system thread when partner_id == 0), oldest first.
-    Stamps unread incoming messages read unless mark_read=false."""
-    if partner_id == SYSTEM_PARTNER_ID:
-        ensure_welcome(db, user)
-        partner = _system_partner()
-        cond = and_(Message.recipient_id == user.id, Message.kind == "system")
-    else:
-        p = db.get(User, partner_id)
-        cond = and_(
-            Message.kind == "user",
-            or_(
-                and_(Message.sender_id == user.id, Message.recipient_id == partner_id),
-                and_(Message.sender_id == partner_id, Message.recipient_id == user.id),
-            ),
-        )
-        # MB2: don't leak arbitrary user identities. Resolve a partner only if they're messageable
-        # OR we already share a thread (so a conversation with a since-suspended/deactivated user
-        # still opens). Otherwise the same 404 as a non-existent id → no enumeration oracle.
-        has_history = db.scalar(select(Message.id).where(cond).limit(1))
-        if p is None or (not is_messageable_user(p) and not has_history):
-            raise not_found("user")
-        partner = _serialize_user(p)
-    msgs = (
-        db.execute(select(Message).where(cond).order_by(Message.created_at.asc())).scalars().all()
-    )
-    if mark_read:
-        now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
-        changed = False
-        for m in msgs:
-            if m.recipient_id == user.id and m.read_at is None:
-                m.read_at = now
-                changed = True
-        if changed:
-            db.commit()
-            # MB3: ping this user's OTHER tabs/devices that their unread dropped so the badge
-            # refreshes live instead of waiting for the next 20s poll. The client re-fetches the
-            # count on this signal, so no number is carried here.
-            manager.push(user.id, {"type": "unread"})
-    return {"partner": partner, "items": [_serialize_msg(m, lang_for_user(user)) for m in msgs]}
-
-
-@router.post("")
-def send_message(
-    payload: SendIn,
-    user: User = Depends(require_human),
-    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
-) -> dict:
-    """Send an end-to-end-encrypted message. The server stores only the ciphertext the client
-    produced, then pushes it live to the recipient (and the sender's other devices)."""
-    if not _send_limiter.allow(f"msg:{user.id}"):
-        raise refused(429, "message_rate")
-    ct = (payload.ciphertext or "").strip()
-    iv = (payload.iv or "").strip()
-    if not ct or not iv:
-        raise refused(400, "message_empty")
-    if len(ct) > MAX_CIPHERTEXT:
-        raise refused(400, "message_too_long")
-    if payload.recipient_id == user.id:
-        raise refused(400, "message_self")
-    recipient = db.get(User, payload.recipient_id)
-    if not is_messageable_user(recipient):
-        raise not_found("recipient")
-    if db.get(MessageKey, recipient.id) is None:
-        raise refused(404, "no_messaging")
-    m = Message(kind="user", sender_id=user.id, recipient_id=recipient.id, ciphertext=ct, iv=iv)
-    db.add(m)
-    db.commit()
-    db.refresh(m)
-    # Carry both parties so each recipient can open/flash the right dock window (the partner is
-    # whichever of from/to isn't them).
-    event = {
-        "type": "message",
-        "message": _serialize_msg(m),
-        "from": _serialize_user(user),
-        "to": _serialize_user(recipient),
-    }
-    manager.push(recipient.id, event)
-    manager.push(user.id, event)  # the sender's other open devices
-    return _serialize_msg(m)
-
-
-@router.get("/unread_count")
-def unread_count(user: User = Depends(require_human), db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> dict:
-    n = db.scalar(
-        select(func.count())
-        .select_from(Message)
-        .where(Message.recipient_id == user.id, Message.read_at.is_(None))
-    )
-    return {"count": n or 0}
-
-
-# --- live delivery -----------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-@router.websocket("/ws")
-async def messages_ws(ws: WebSocket) -> None:
-    """Live push channel: authenticated by the session cookie, registers the connection so
-    sent messages reach this user's open tabs instantly. We don't consume client→server frames
-    (sending goes through POST /api/messages); the receive loop only detects disconnect."""
-    # Which signed-in account this socket acts as — the SHARED per-tab resolution (a wallet-gated
-    # ?account=, the session default when none is named, nobody for an account no longer signed in
-    # here). A browser WebSocket can't send the X-Siftlode-Account header, so resolved_user_id falls
-    # through to the ?account= query param.
-    uid, _ = resolved_user_id(ws)
-    if not uid:
-        await ws.close(code=1008)
-        return
-    db = SessionLocal()
-    try:
-        user = db.get(User, uid)
-        # SA4: honour server-side session revocation on the live channel too — reject a cookie whose
-        # recorded epoch is behind the account's current one (mirrors current_user). Without this a
-        # copied cookie could keep receiving pushes after a password reset / "log out everywhere".
-        epochs = ws.session.get("epochs") or {}
-        epoch_ok = user is not None and int(epochs.get(str(uid), 0)) == (user.session_epoch or 0)
-        ok = epoch_ok and is_messageable_user(user)
-    finally:
-        db.close()
-    if not ok:
-        await ws.close(code=1008)
-        return
-    await manager.connect(uid, ws)
-    try:
-        while True:
-            await ws.receive_text()
-    # silent-ok: the ordinary way a chat socket ends — a closed tab. The `finally` below is the
-    # whole handling, and nothing failed.
-    except WebSocketDisconnect:
-        pass
-    finally:
-        await manager.disconnect(uid, ws)

backend/app/routes/notifications.py

@@ -1,9 +1,5 @@
 """Per-user notification inbox (phase 1): the durable, server-backed center that coexists
-with the client-side transient bell. Read-only listing plus read/dismiss/clear mutations.
-
-All endpoints use `current_user` (not `require_human`): notifications and their read/dismiss
-state are personal UI state with no quota or YouTube involvement, so the shared demo account
-manages its own inbox normally."""
+with the client-side transient bell. Read-only listing plus read/dismiss/clear mutations."""
 
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, Query
 from sqlalchemy import func, select, update